Journal of the Bizarre

Four days of unexplained shaking and odd rumblings in a small Wisconsin city has captivated the imaginations of people across America.  Could it be a sign of the apocalypse?  An alien invasion?  Subterranean creatures unknown to science?  According to the U.S. Geological Survey, these odd tremblings in Clintonville are the result of minor earthquakes.  The USGS believes that these minor quakes, registering 1.5 on the Richter Scale, produced strange sounds because of the unique rock formations which lie under Wisconsin.

Normally, such tiny quakes would not be felt because the energy produced would be absorbed by the ground.  This isn't the case in Wisconsin, where the ground is considered by geophysicists to be "very consolidated", which means that there is a lack of fault lines.  A series of minor earthquakes in Ohio which took place earlier this year were nearly identical to the Wisconsin quakes.  Some have suggested that the natural gas drilling process known as hydrau…

On March 6, the Washington Times reported on a mysterious disease which is killing children in the impoverished African nation of Uganda.  Known as "nodding disease", this condition is characterized by epilepsy-like symptoms which cause uncontrollable and constant nodding and drooping of the head.  The Washington Times reports that more than 1,000 children have been stricken with nodding disease since June; hundreds have died.  The cause, as well as the cure, is unknown.    

Earlier this year, another strange disease was documented in upstate New York.  Referred to as "twitching disease", this condition causes victims to twitch uncontrollably, and in most of the cases the sufferers are teenage girls.  Environmental activist Erin Brokovitch has even gotten involved, suggesting that the strange disorder may be the result of a toxic chemical spill which took place near the victims' school decades ago.  Last month, it was reported that medical professionals who ex…

Solomon Spalding is best known for his 19th century fiction novel Manuscript Story (also published under the title of Manuscript Found).  Those who believe that the Book of Mormon is a hoax point to Manuscript Story, written before the Book of Mormon was published, as a novel which inspired Joseph Smith to create the Book of Mormon.  It is claimed that Spalding's novel and the Book of Mormon bear striking similarities. 

Spalding was born in Ashford, Connecticut in 1761.  After serving in the Continental Army during the American Revolution he enrolled in Dartmouth College, graduating in 1785.  He then became an ordained Congregational preacher and, after getting married, relocated to Ostego County in New York where he opened a general store with his brother.  A few years later Spalding purchased land in Conneaut, Ohio, becoming one of the town's first settlers.  Spalding began writing Manuscript Story while living in Conneaut, and his novel is a fictionalized account of the m…