Why are bowls of mashed potatoes being left around a Jackson, Mississippi neighborhood? No one knows. The mashed potatoes have been found "on doorsteps, in mailboxes and on top of parked cars."
Theodore Judd Serios (1918-2006), a bellhop from Chicago who appeared to possess a genuinely uncanny ability. By holding a Polaroid camera and focusing on the lens very intently, he was able to produce dreamlike pictures of his thoughts on the film; he referred to these images as "thoughtographs..."
Man Puts $40 and Foot In Sock, but Loses Cash
Seattle, Dec. 4 (AP) — John E. Trimmer reported to police yesterday that before retiring Wednesday night he put $40 in his sock, bolted the door of his apartment from the inside, put the sock on his foot, climbed into bed, and went to sleep.
When he woke up in the morning, he reported, the $40 was gone, but the sock still was on his foot.
In 1967, the U.S. Coast Guard found a crate containing seven inflated yellow balloons floating off the coast of Florida. The crate was marked "made in U.S.S.R." and was addressed to "The institute of mineral resources of Cuba."
Why were the Soviets shipping seven balloons to Cuba? Why were the balloons inflated? How did the crate end up floating in the ocean? As far as I know, these questions remain unanswered.
Here's one of the mysteries of the Internet. Over at groovy.net, people have been debating for many years over what this postcard might mean. It appears to have been manufactured in the early 20th century (circa 1907) and bears the statement: "Health Must Be Earned, Get it — you Lobster."
Some of the theories are that "lobster" was slang for a sluggish person or dullard, or that it was referring to an "overweight sunbather." But no one really knows for sure.
Back in 1955, a mysterious phenomenon was reported. Garden hoses started to spontaneously burrow their way into dirt. It began in the garden of California resident George Di Peso. His 12-year-old daughter stuck the nozzle of a hose into the dirt to make the job of watering the garden easier, and then the hose (with the water running) started to burrow downwards. Over 20 feet of the hose disappeared into the earth.
The same phenomenon was then reported in Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Florida, Ontario, and Kansas.
Geologists speculated that the rapid flow of water was creating a vacuum at the nozzle causing the hoses to slide downward into the earth. The burrowing could be stopped by turning off the water. But Di Peso never did recover the 20 feet of hose lost in the earth. He eventually cut the hose off where it went into the earth, saying "I couldn't stand it any longer. This thing was getting out of hand. My life has been made a big mess."
Back in late 1949, people throughout Los Angeles County reported a strong odor that smelled like garlic. The smell persisted for weeks, periodically increasing in intensity. Some residents took to wearing gas masks. There were reports of the fumes being so strong that they discolored fences and buildings. There was a widespred fear that it was a poison gas attack.
Despite a lot of speculation, I'm not sure that the source of the mystery odor was ever identified, although leading theories were that it was either coming from the Los Angeles River bed, or from a chemical factory. It became known as the invasion of the Garlic Fog. [Sydney Morning Herald, Aug 7, 1949] (via Buried Words and Bushwa)
Paul Di Filippo
Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1.