The Plastic Ocean

 Mark Graham

Have you ever wonder where our plastics waste end up? The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a huge body of water cover in marine debris (trash). Also known as the Pacific trash vortex, the garbage patch is actually two distinct collections of debris bounded by massive NORTH PACIFIC SUBTROPICAL GYRE. It is a space of man-made mass proportion and is estimated to be the size of Texas. The Great Garbage Patch is not visible as headlines would have us to believe. In actuality, microscopic debris is spread throughout a large area of the ocean, making it impossible to view it as an object of study. What is known for certain is that the marine debris in the North Pacific Gyre is mostly plastic coming from land. When plastic bottles, cups and bags are dropped in the street, rain washes them into storm sewers, rivers and eventually the ocean. Once plastic is in the ocean, it can float for hundreds of miles before it's caught in a gyre, where it swirls around until sunlight and salt water break it down into small plastic chips. With millions of plastic in the ocean, animals can mistake the pieces of plastic for food. Animals will eat the plastics, resulting in death of poisoning or digestive blockage. Plastic also absorbs pollutants like banned PCBs.Not only can larger plastic objects entrap, entangle and entwine pelagic wildlife, they also act as floating islands and play a role in the colonization potentially poisonous new habitats. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch can easily be mistaken for a landfill site. Whether it be an algae-sifting whale or a fish-eating seal, small pieces of plastic are mistaken for food at all levels of the chain. Algalita researchers have seen Styrofoam cups with bites taken out of them because they have the same texture as food.

Another issue is that so much marine debris is comprised of plastic, much of which takes hundreds of years to breakdown and ends up in the digestive systems of everything from whales to plankton, including much of the seafood we eat. The amount of debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch accumulates because much of it is not biodegradable. Many plastics, for instance, do not wear down; they simply break into tinier and tinier pieces. In the meantime, we can all play a role in reducing the amount of plastic and other debris that end up in our oceans, then on our dinner plate. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a leading environmental non-profit. According to the group, individuals need to take the responsibility to recycle and never litter, while manufacturers should reduce packaging and design more of it to be fully recyclable. We all must come together to save our oceans.



Work Cited:
Corkum, Kim. “Plastic Ocean”. Blog, Education, Plastic. Image. Postandlandfill.com. web. 15 October. 2015

Great Pacific Garbage Patch - Ocean Pollution Awareness. 2012. Youtube. 15 October. 2015. Video. Web.

Jordan, Chris. “Midway Island”. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Image. Ihabitat.com. web. 15 October. 2015

NationalGeographic.com. “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” Education. 2015. Web.

For other references on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch Visit:

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=6&sid=d956afca-c6a1-41ec-b36a-04c9533d1519%40sessionmgr120&hid=113 . This source is an article by Daisy Dumas, discussing the rapid increase of pollution in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The article also highlights the effect of polluted water on sea creatures.

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=8&sid=d956afca-c6a1-41ec-b36a-04c9533d1519%40sessionmgr120&hid=113. This source is an article about the world’s sea surfaces and the countries producing the most garbage. The article also discuss how trash moves from one patch to another.

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=10&sid=d956afca-c6a1-41ec-b36a-04c9533d1519%40sessionmgr120&hid=113. This source is an article about The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, being compare to a vast island and the ecological disasters it has begun to create.

Twisted Waters

 Sasha Sloup

The Bermuda Triangle is and has been one of the world’s most mysterious places on Earth. This place lies between Florida, Puerto Rico, and Bermunda in a trianglular shape. Charles Berlitz came out with best-selling book in 1974 where he introduced the theory of Atlantis being connected to the Bermuda Triangle. After this, many other people started to come up with their own theories of the Bermuda Triangle such as it's a portal for gods, aliens, or to a parrallel universe. In Bloomsbury guide to human thought, the author discusses that people tend to believe in "pseudoscience." Pseudoscience can translate to fake/false science. Many people like Charles Berlitz probably believe in the paranormal or pseudoscience of things just to push the boundaries of their thoughts. Whether pseudoscience can be proven or not, it's typically fun to think of the unknown.

Still, the unknown, like the Bermuda Triangle, can be very dark and scary but there could be some possible answers to it. Many airplanes and ships have gone missing in this area. Recently The Weather Network reported on an El Faro ship that went missing with 33 mariners in the Bermuda Triangle. The ship was in the path of Hurricane Joaquin and people believe that the hurricane might of been the reason why it went missing. Yet, the ship went missing in the Bermuda Triangle and they haven't found anything but one body.





http://www.history.com/topics/bermuda-triangle/videos/bermuda-triangle

In this video, one of the pilots describe that when he was flying through the Bermuda Triangle his compass was spinning counter clockwise. This could be a cause of the Earth’s magnetic field. In Magnetic Anomalies, McGovern states that “For centuries, sailors have reported the existence of regions where, for no apparent reason, their compasses become inaccurate.” One of these regions is the Bermuda Triangle. It could be that the Earth’s magnetic properties has an impact on this area that causes pilots and sailors to lose control of their airplane or ship. Also in the History video, David Pares, says the planes can act as a passive antenna brining high amounts of energy to the area. No one yet knows what’s the exact cause of this but this is a very good lead to these mysteries.

Works cited:
Alphaios. "Bermuda Triangle." Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Foundation, 1 June 2009. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.

History.com Staff. "Bermuda Triangle." A+E Networks. 2010. Web. 7 October 2015.

 "Pseudoscience." Bloomsbury Guide to Human Thought. London: Bloomsbury, 1993. Credo Reference. Web. 12 Oct 2015.

"Magnetic Anomalies." Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained. Ed. Una McGovern. London: Chambers Harrap, 2007. Credo Reference. Web. 12 Oct 2015.

Maria, Cheryl S. "El Faro: Search for missing crew members to be called off." The Weather Network. 2015. Web. 7 October 2015.

Radford, Benjamin. “Bermuda Triangle: Where Facts Dissappear.” Purch. 2012. Web. 21 October 2015.

History.com Staff. “Bermuda Triangle.” Online video clip. A+E Networks. 2010. Web. 21 October. 2015.

Enter the Devil’s Gate: Devil’s Gate Dam Pasadena, CA

Samantha Jones

            “Devil’s Gate is named for the appearance of a horned devil face in the narrow canyon of the Arroyo Seco, a natural riverbed flowing from the San Gabriel Mountains into Los Angeles basin” (LAGP). This dam is located beneath Suicide Bridge. It was built around the 1920’s to modify the water flow through the Arroyo Seco in Pasadena, CA. This was the first control flood dam in Los Angeles County. There is an urban legend behind this mysterious dam. Since the Devil’s Gate Dam, Cobb Estate, and Suicide Bridge are all connected by points, they named it the Arroyo Triangle. It is believed to be one of the seven portals to Hell.

People claim that the portal was opened by three occultist scientists. Jack Parsons , Aleister Crowley , and L. Ron Hubbard  all believed that this Devil’s Gate had some sort of magical energy that could give them power. The three performed rituals that were believed to go along with their project. They referred to this as their Babylon Working. “Babylon Working is a summoning of an entity known as Babylon that would aid then in the creation of an ‘anti-christ’, a child who would eventually destroy mankind” (Marie). But, a few years later, Parsons, Crowley and Hubbard’s friendship died down and they went their separate ways studying in their own perspectives. Parsons died in 1957 due to an unexplained explosion in his home laboratory.

A few years later, several children went missing around the Devil’s Gate area. Two of the missing childrens’ mysteries were solved by uncovering their bodies buried from a killer who was discovered around the area. The other missing children were never found. People believe that they were dragged into the portal and can not get out. A special paranormal activist group who especially believes this mystery are the Paranormal EXP. They visited Devil’s Gate Dam back in 2011 and got first hand voice recordings of a little boy stating his name as ‘Tommy’.



There are many people who believe in this paranormal portal to Hell and think it is true. It dates all the way back to the Native Americans believing this dam was haunted and forbade anyone to go there. Along with that, there are also a handful of people who do not believe in any of it. Even with all the evidence. I feel those people do not want to admit that they maybe a little believe in the Devil’s Gate because they are just not sure whether to believe or not. I guess it is up to you, do you believe in ghosts or portals to Hell? I feel you should go visit Devil’s Gate Dam for yourself and then answer that question.

Work Cited and Further Research:
Anderson, Donna. “Is Devil’s Gate Dam in Pasadena a Portal to Hell?” examiner.com. N.p., Aug. 11, 2012. Web. Oct. 12, 2015.

Kreuzer, Nikki, “Devil’s Gate Dam”. Photograph. LABeat. LA Beat. 25 Feb. 2015. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.

Los Angeles Ghost Patrol. “Devil’s Gate: A Portal to Hell?” laghostpatrol.com. Sayontan Sinha, May 18, 2011. Web. Oct. 6, 2015.

Marie, Kelly. “The Story of Devil’s Gate Dam.” Definenormal.org. N.p.,Sep. 22, 2012. Web. Oct. 12, 2015.

Paranormal EXP. “Devil’s Gate Dam-Pasadena, CA.” paranormalexp.com. July 8, 2011. Web. Oct. 12, 2015.

S.I.U. The Supernatural Investigation Unit. “Devil’s Gate Dam Pasadena/LA Canada, CA” hauntedlosangeles.blogspot.com. N.p., Feb. 28, 2014. Web. Oct. 6, 2015.

Cry Baby Bridge

Carolyn Padgett

Urban Legends  have been around for many centuries. Most people think that urban legends can only be scary stories, but truth is, urban legends can be anything from funny to sad or just plain weird (S.E. Schlosser). However, the one thing that they have in common is the fact that they all have a little bit of fiction and mystery in them. Since urban legends have been around for so long, each one has different versions somewhere out in the world. It’s hard to tell which stories are true and which stories are not. It’s up to the audience to figure out which version is the most believable. For instance, Cry Baby Bridge.

Cry Baby Bridge is an urban legend that many believe originated in Ohio (Cry Baby Bridge Tour).  Eventually, the legend spread into many different states, and it became complicated to tell which story was actually true. No one even knows where it started at in Ohio because there are nearly 24 different cry baby bridges in Ohio alone (Cry Baby Bridge Tour).  All of the stories that have been created revolve around a mother and her baby. It really leaves you wondering which story is true and which story is not. Going into further research, all that is on the internet is the many different stories that have been created all across the United States.

In Columbus, Georgia, it is said that a farmer and his wife just had their newborn baby (Roberto). The farmer did not want the baby, so he talked to the doctor and asked him to get rid of it (Roberto). The doctor agreed and told the mother that the baby did not make it (Roberto). Later on that day, he took the baby to a nearby bridge and threw it over into the creek where the baby quickly drowned without the mother ever knowing what happened (Roberto). They say that if you go to this bridge, park dead in the center, sprinkle some baby powder around your car, and get on top of it, you will soon hear the baby’s helpless cries (Roberto). When you get off the top of your car, you will see the baby’s footprints in the baby powder (Roberto).
 
There is also another story told in Woodbridge, New Jersey about a farmer and his wife (Abbey). When they had their baby, they loved it very much (Abbey). However, after a while, the farmer grew jealous that the wife paid more attention to the baby than to him (Abbey). One night, after a long night of the baby’s cries, he grabbed it out of its crib, took it to the creek, and threw it over the bridge (Abbey). He then went back and killed the mother (Abbey). Rumor has it that if you go to the bridge, you will hear the baby’s miserable cries, and the mother will push your car off of the bridge (Abbey).
There are many more stories on Cry Baby Bridge. Though, no one will really be able to tell the true legend, it will always live throughout the many stories that have been spread from state to state. There may be some truth in all of the creative mix of stories, but where exactly did it all start?

Works Cited:
Abbey. “Cry Baby Bridge Ghost Story”. Angels and Ghosts, Charles, Louis. N.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
 
“Crybaby Bridge Tour”. Dead Ohio. N.p., N.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. 

Dalemccartney. “Cry Baby Bridge, Egypt Rd.” Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Foundation, 9 Nov. 2010. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
 
Roberto. “Cry Baby Bridge in Columbus Ga”. Read-legends-and-myths.com SBI!, N.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.
 
S.E. Schlosser. “Urban Legends”. Americanfolklore. S.E. Schlosser, 13 Dec. 2014. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
 
Shane. “Cry Baby Bridge”. Your Ghost Stories. N.p., Mar. 28, 2007. Web. Oct. 8, 2015.
 
Further Research:
Your Ghost Stories
www.yourghoststories.com/real-ghost-story.php?=4058. This source is helpful because it helps see what other stories about Cry Baby Bridge are out there. In this case, it’s about Cry Baby Bridge in Mississippi.
 
About Entertainment
http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/horrors/tp/top10scariest.html. This site is helpful because it shows 25 other scary urban legends that the viewers may be interest in.
 
Love to Know
http://paranormal.lovetoknow.com/Really_Scary_Urban_Legends. This website is useful for further research on scary urban legends.

Tags: urban legends, scary, crybaby bridge, mystery, mother and baby.

Ze Arigo and the Rusty Knife

Destiny McMickel

                   

Psychic surgery is a procedure that usually involves an incision using bare hands or kitchen utensils, the removal of pathological matter and the immediate healing of the incision. It is popular in countries like Brazil and the Philippines. Although the procedures are medically fraud, it has helped to cure a variety of illnesses such as tumors, blindness and depression. In the 1950’s, a man named José Pedro de Freitas from Minas Gerais, Brazil was presumed to be possessed. These possessions led him to perform illegal psychic surgeries. This man was better known as Ze Arigo, but today people know him as the Surgeon of the Rusty Knife. Ze Arigo was born into a poor family in the early 1920’s. He left school in the third grade and began working in a mine at the age of 14. With lack of education, it was likely he would work at the mine for the rest of his life.

At the age of 30, Ze Arigo began to suffer from insomnia, trances, hallucinations, and headaches. During one these many hallucinations, Ze Arigo claimed to channel an entity that was a bald man in a doctor’s coat in an operating room. The spirit identified himself as Dr.Fritz and told Ze Arigio he was a German surgeon who died during WW1. Dr. Fritz possessed Ze Arigo and guided him through the psychic surgeries he performed to cure thousands of people in Brazil. He gained a lot of popularity for these surgeries. People were amazed how he would only use unclean kitchen utensils or his hands and how the patients didn’t experience any pain. Ze Arigo opened up a small clinic providing his services free at charge to politicians, lawyers, scientists, aristocrats, and peasant poor people. Paranormal website editor and experiencer Deena Budd states in her article “Psychic Healer Ze Arigo” that Arigo was able to write prescriptions for medication in modern pharmacology, confirm diagnoses or blood pressure readings without even examining his patients.
 
Ze Arigo was eventually persecuted by the government for illegal practice of medicine.  After being sentenced to 15 months in prison the president pardoned Arigio and he was set free. The government weren’t the only people to persecute Ze Arigo, he was also persecuted by the church according this article “Arigo–The Surgeon with the Rusty Knife.” The church accused Ze Arigo of being a witch doctor and accused him of practicing witch craft. I understand the government’s reason for persecuting Ze Arigo, but I am still lost as to why the church would go persecute him. Ze Arigo continued to conduct these psychic surgeries up until his death in 1971 due to a horrific car accident.





Works Citied:
Grodon1. “Arigo: Brazil's Surgeon of the Rusty Knife.” Online Video Clip. YouTube. YouTube, 20 Jan.2013. Web. 19 Oct.2015.

Nicholson, Andrew. “Ze Arigio: Psychic Surgery with a Rusty Knife. MysteriousUniverse. Mysterious Universe. 22 January 2013.Web. 19 Oct. 2015

Budd, Deena. “Psychic Healer Ze Arigo.” Bellaonline. Minerva Webworks LLC. N.D. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
PreciousMedia. “5 Psychic Surgeons.” K.O. Jewel. N.P. 3 May, 2013. Web. 19 Oct. 2015

Krishna. “Arigo–The Surgeon with the Rusty Knife.” UnexplainedMysteries. UnexplainedMysteries.11 July, 2012. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.

Other Websites for Further Research:

http://www.anomalist.com/reports/healing.html
This link gives information on Dr.Fritz, the man who was supposedly possessing Ze Arigo by guiding him through the psychic surgeries that were performed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS0jAhbGP1E
This video above shows Ze Arigo in action performing the surgeries that helped thousands of people in Brazil.

http://www.britannica.com/topic/hallucination
The link above talks about what hallucinations are and the history of hallucinations. Ze Arigo experienced many hallucinations.

The Secret Number

DaddyfroPrince

You may think of 23 as an ordinary number on a number line. What number could have a secret you say it’s just not possible.  The 23rd enigma is interesting concept in many countries it refers to most events and disasters happening around 23. William S. Burroughs was the first person ever to believe the 23rd enigma. With his beliefs he went on and wrote a book titled the 23rd Skidoo, which was the first book on this theory to ever be published. Burroughs knew a captain who sailed for 23 years without an accident happening. One day they conversed about the captain’s spotless record of never having an accident for 23 years.  On the very next day there was a horrific accident which ended up killing the captain and everybody aboard.  No one really knows why this number is unlucky and thought to be very dangerous. There have been many questions related to the number and its secrets and origins of where it comes from. Where did it originate from,  and What are some of the events to occur?  “Unexplained Mysteries” is an article explaining events associated with 23.  Numerous  events such as Hitler joining a secret society in 1923, Adam and Eve having 23 daughters,  and 2/3=.666, which is the number of the devil, are examples of the 23rd Enigma.
 
Based upon this mysterious theory the movie 23 was created . Jim Carrey plays a man who finds a novel called The Number 23 where he becomes obsessed with the number and it’s patterns . Everything begins to spin out of control for him after strange events began to occur. The movie demonstrates all numbers have a pattern and but only some people are willing to figure out this pattern. When he finds the pattern it puts his life in danger and he becomes a person no one knows. He becomes addicted to this number and won’t let it go. Consuming his life until he goes completely insane. The movie trailer for The Number 23  gives an example of what actually happens in the movie and some of the events that’s to his character and his family.
 23 can also be considered a lucky number because sometimes people have good luck and achieve items they have never had before due to this number. The 23 Enigma Goddess Accord explains how someone won the lottery, and 23 was one number that was associated in the line -up. They won 2 million dollars just because of that, one number. According to this article, 23 isn’t all bad and it can actually help you.

There is a lot the number 23 is associated with sometimes it can be good sometimes it can be bad. It is definitely a number that is mysterious but has great meaning behind it.

Works Cited
Embryo, Alien. “The 23 Enigma Sightings, Reports, and Experiences.” Unexplained Mysteries (2006) Unexplained Mysteries Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
 
Hertz, Todd. “The Number 23.” Christianity Today (2007). Christianity Today Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
 
Stetten, Melissa “Illuminati Lotto, the 23 Enigma and the Goddess of Discord. History of things to come (2012) Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
 
Cameronknowlton “Official The Number 23 New Movie Trailers” Youtube  Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
 
Enigma “blogspot” “:23 Enigma Picture” Blogspot Web. 20 Oct. 2015.

Lucky Number 7

Courtney Poda    

Why is six afraid of seven? Because seven “eight” nine! The lucky number seven appears in our lives as early as childhood. The lucky number could also reappear later on in life in activities such as gambling. There are countless reasons why a number could be “lucky.” The number reoccurs throughout many different religions and cultures. Ranging from Greek mythology and Native American ways of life to Christian beliefs, the magic number keeps popping up. There are worldwide known items that are grouped in sevens. For example, the seven seas, seven continents, seven colors in the rainbow, SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD , seven days in the week, etc. Everyone knows about all of these groups. Each of these is significant because they impact how we go about everyday life. For one reason or another, collectively as people, the number seven is well liked. In one article I found on the number on Psychology Today the author gives seven reasons why people like the number. Among those reasons are: seven is lucky, it’s a good playoff number, meaning that is five is too little but nine is too much, seven is a good medium, it’s magical, occurs throughout nature, etc. Also, seven has a more appealing sound compared to the other numbers. The example used in the Psychology Today article was “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” It rolls off the tongue much easier than a one syllable number. Different cultures, including some Native American tribes such as the Cherokees, acknowledge seven as an important number as well. For example, seven is a reoccurring theme in different myths and stories that are passed down. It also symbolizes the embodiment of being sacred and pure. Seven is very much associated with religion as well. God created the universe in seven days, there are seven deadly sins, etc. The number seven represents absolute perfection. It is also a great number when it comes to marketing. Because the marketers know people like the number seven, companies and premieres are scheduled for the seventh of a given month to make the event sound more appealing. For many reasons, seven is thought of as a number representing luck and perfection. The magic number is versatile with what it can symbolize in many different areas of life. Whether it’s Christianity or Native American tribes or day to day life, lucky number seven is a big part of everyone’s life whether we consciously know it or not.

Works Cited
Folding Cards. 2013. Psychic Library. Web. 20 Oct 2015.

http://resolver.ebscohost.com/openurl?sid=EBSCO%3aaph&genre=article&issn=03624331&ISBN=&volume=156&issue=53993&date=20070702&spage=C6&pages=&title=New+York+Times&atitle=With+a+Big+Day+Ahead%2c+Marketers+Are+Turning+to+Numerology.&aulast=Elliott%2c+Stuart&id=DOI%3a&site=ftf-live

http://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/7.html

http://www.cherokee.org/AboutTheNation/Culture/General/TheTraditionalBeliefSystem.aspx

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201109/7-reasons-we-7-reasons

Bimini Road/ Bimini Wall (Atlantis)

Janea Boyd

The Mystery of the Bimini Road

    The picture above shows a picture of Bimini Road/ Bimini Wall (Atlantis). This picture shows an underwater rock formation found near North Bimini Island in the Bahamas. It has a very unusual arrangement of stones, therefore some believe it to be part of the lost city of Atlantis (first spoken by Plato). As said in Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, published by Susie Dent, Bimini is a rock pattern that was discovered off the coast of the Bahamas in 1968 that led to the discovery of a road built on the site of the lost island. The lost island of Atlantis was discovered was first mentioned by Greek Philosopher Plato according to Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained.
   
    In the source from LexisNexis it says that many believe Bimini is a formation of underwater stones that could lead to the Lost City of Atlantis. Tim McDonald reports about 400m off Paradise Point, where the thin leaves of Australian pines wave in the south-easterly trade winds, lies an ancient, underwater arrangement of stones that has baffled natives, mystics and scientists for generations.  Decades of both weird and real science have only served to intensify the mystery.  They call it the Bimini Road and some say it leads to the lost continent of Atlantis. Others say it's simply a bunch of rocks. Scientist who believe rock formations and artifacts, both in the Bahamas and in other parts of the world, point to civilizations more ancient than presently believed are wary of using the actual word, “Atlantis”.

    A source from the Sunday News, says how Bimini is a “gem”. It is called the “gem” because of the old-fashioned Bahamas of yesteryear and the eccentric quirkiness of places like Key West. Bimini is known to be very colorful with a scandalous past. Even though Bimini has its perks, it is a very beautiful island 50 miles near the coast of Miami.











Works cited:
“Bimini.” Brewer’s Dictionary of Phase and Fable. Ed. Dent, Susie. London: Chambers Harrap, 2012. Credo Reference. Web. 8 Oct 2015.
 
“Atlantis.” Chambers Dictianary of the Unexplained. Ed. McGovern, Una. London: Chambers Harrap, 2007. Credo Reference. Web. 8 Oct 2015

“Road to Atlantis” LexisNexis. Ed. McDoanld, Tim. 2001. Courier Mail. Web. 27. Jan, 2001.

“BIMINI ROCKS COULD HOLD KEY TO LOST ATLANTIS” The Toronto Star. Ed. McDonald, Tim. 2000. LexisNexis. Web. 21. Oct. 2000.

“An undiscovered gem; Bimini provides a taste of the old Bahamas Around town Big game If you go…” Sunday News. Ed. Heverly, Lorry. 2008. LexisNexis. Web. 24 March 2008.

"The Mystery of the Bimini Road." Strange Unexplained Mysteries RSS. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.

“Bimini Road/Bimini Wall.” Google. Ed. Web.


Karimberdi.”Bimini Road.”youtube.com. 31 Aug. 2014. Web.

Pemberton, Wade. The Road. 1998. ""UW Photos." Wadespage. Wade's Underwater Photo Galleries, n.d. Web. 9 Nov. 2015.

Additional Sources
"Bimini Road/The Lost City of Atlantis." The Official Site of The Bahamas. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
"The Truth Behind: Atlantis." National Geographic Channel. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.


Five tags: Atlantis, Bimini, Mystery, Bimini Wall, Island

Slender Man

Ryan Wells

    Since 2009, Slender Man has been out in the public across the world, and is a topic of discussion.  In that year, his existence started on a Photoshop contest blog, Something Awful (NY Times). It contained a picture of a well-dressed man, in black suit and tie, hovering over a young child.  And it is said that he closely follows children. Whenever out in the woods at night, people keep their eyes open for this horrifying creature.  But according to his legend, that is the last thing you would want to do.  This is because he would put you in a trance like state, and lure you in the woods to your death (Creepy Pasta).

His existence has been popular since the thread, but even more so since June of 2014, when he was associated with a stabbing of 13 year old girl.  Two other pre teens, in Waukesha, Wisconsin, felt that they were obligated to kill her for “Slender Man”.  Even though they stabbed the girl 19 times, she ended up surviving and even making it to the court appearance. But, why do this for Slender Man?  In the interrogation tapes, they are even saying that they saw “Slender” while exiting the woods.  What gave them the reason to believe that they were doing right, by committing such an awful crime?  Maybe, it is the effect that people have on everything in society.  Making everything bigger than it actually is to start with.
 
Even though he is said to have been born on 2009, his appearance ties him in with other legends, of different countries.  For example, “The Dark Man” in Scotland or the “Tall Man” in Germany (Creepy Pasta).  Egyptian Hieroglyphics also have presentations of what are thought to be him. Different markings of all kinds of cultures have something that is comparatively similar.
After all of these “attacks”, they have even made video games based off of his appearance.  In these action-packed games, you walk around looking for papers, with a flashlight.  Eventually, if you come up face to face with Slender Man, and don’t get all of the papers, you meet your demise.  So it is safe to say, society makes everything bigger.



Works Cited:

Dewey, Caitlyn. “The complete, terrifying history of ‘Slender Man,’ the Internet meme that compelled two 12-year-olds to stab their friend.”  Washingtonpost.com Washington Post, 3 June 2014. Web. 7 Oct. 2015.

Manjoo, Farhood. “ ‘Slender Man’ story and the New Urban Legends.” Nytimes.com. NY Times, 9 July 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.

“The Slender  Man.” Creepypasta.com. Creepy Pasta. Web. 12 Oct. 2015



Links for Further Research:

“Slender Man.” Slenderman.com. Slender Man. Web. 12 Oct. 2015
http://slenderman.com/
This link goes to the game in which slender man is in.  The downloadable site.

“Who is Slender Man?” YouTube. YouTube, 2 Feb. 2015. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxtIyzWrFyM
This link is a more concrete look at Slender Man, in an ABC 20/20 setting.

Goldstein, Jack. 10 Amazing Slender Man Stories. Andrews UK Limited, 2013.Google Book Search. Web. 12 Oct. 2015. 
https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1783331828
This link has 10 stories of Slender Man.  Also, biblical views as a whole.

The Myth, The Legend, The Taktsang Monastery: The Origins of Paro Taktsang

De’On Turner

Picture of Paro Taktsang taken by Bob Witlox

Six miles from the city of Paro on the edge of a 10,000 foot cliff, lies the legendary Taktsang monastery. Surrounding the monastery are hundreds of rocky slopes but this isn’t the only way to travel there. There are many paths to the monastery including cave and wild forest trails. While traveling there, one can find a temple which is called Lakhang. This place also serves as a resting place for travelers  when the journey gets tough. Besides the “resting temple,” there are several other mini temples and shops along the way to the monastery. These shops sell religious items such as bells, prayer wheels, incense, and more. Another interesting thing about the trip is that there are several waterfalls that can be seen. The most popular is one that falls from 197 feet into a sacred pool. Many travelers rest there to view the water and take pictures near the pool.
 

A waterfall at the foot of the Taktsang Monastery taken by Bob Witlox

The legend and history of this monastery is quite strange and requires an open mindset to fully interpret it. Some believe that a man named Guru Rinpoche, a Buddhist monk, flew to Paro Taktsang from Tibet on the back of a tigress. Some also go into more detail by saying that one of Guru’s students, Yeshe Tsogyal, took the form of a tigress and flew Guru to Paro Taktsang. Both stories are interesting and require some imagination.
 
Apparently Guru was so powerful that he had a reincarnation of himself whose name was Tenzin Rabgye. He actually constructed the monastery and it is said that his friends could see him inside and outside the structure at the same time. He also could feed a multitude of people from little amounts of food inside of bowls that never went empty.  It was Guru himself who founded the Nyingmapa School of Buddhism. Because of this, he is considered the saint of Bhutan. When he died in Nepal, some believe his body was magically transported to the monastery.  This shows an example of the beliefs that these people have and the importance of these people they worship and model after. This all ties in to having extreme faith in what you believe. Some of these accounts may sound odd to you but to someone else, it could be the very thing they base their life off of. The Taktsang monastery isn't just a "tiger's nest" hanging on a cliff, it is a foundation holding up a string of beliefs all throughout the region.

Works cited:
"Paro Taktsang." ThousandWonders. 2015. Web. 15 October 2015.

Witlox, Bob. Waterfall at the Foot of Taktsang Monastery. 2007. Photograph. Panoramio, 3 July
2007. Web. 17 Oct. 2015.

Witlox, Bob. Tiger’s Nest. 2007. Photograph. Panoramio, 3 July 2007. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.

Hays, Jeffrey. "BUDDHIST MONASTERIES, MONKS AND PILGRIMS."
2011. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.