Journal of the Bizarre

Recently, we discovered that one of our original blog posts, "Li Ching-Yuen: The Man Who Lived to be 256" (published on JOTB on 3/15/13) was re-posted without our knowledge or consent, essentially in its entirety, on the Progressive Radio Network website.  The Progressive Radio Network was established by Gary Null in 2005.  It's likely that many of our readers are familiar with Null, who hosts a radio show and is the creator of several eponymous nutritional supplements, such as "Gary Null's Ultimate Power Meal" (a product which led to the poisoning and subsequent hospitalization of six people, including Null himself).

Our first reaction was to contact PRN and threaten to file a DMCA takedown notice in order to have the plagiarized content removed but, not surprisingly, no contact information exists on the Progressive Radio Network website- thereby making it virtually impossible to file a proper DMCA complaint.  Therefore, we would like to take this opportun…

As stated in our previous post, evidence seems to suggest that the powers-that-be in the state of Connecticut have been intentionally altering official documents pertaining to the Sandy Hook massacre with the sole intention of pushing forward an anti-gun and anti-video game agenda.

Earlier today, authorities released some new information about the items seized from Adam Lanza's home and car, as well as statements given by neighbors and witnesses.  In our previous post, we pointed out that the Associated Press confirmed that a Danbury judge had redacted the names of these alleged witnesses and deleted multiple paragraphs from the official documents which today were released by the media.

State Attorney Sedensky stated that the names were redacted out of concerns that the alleged witnesses would become possible targets of retaliation.  This, of course, makes little sense, since the lone perpetrator killed himself.

As predicted, today's new developments contain several red flags w…

Hours from now, authorities in Connecticut are planning to release the list of items seized from Adam Lanza's car and home, as well as other information about the Sandy Hook incident.  Unfortunately, this information will be released with its share of edits, deletions, and possible cover-ups.  Withholding information from a highly-concerned public seems par for the course, however- at least when it comes to State's Attorney Stephen Sedensky and police spokesperson Lt. Vance.

The New Haven Register reports that an unnamed Danbury Superior Court judge has redacted some of the material- including multiple paragraphs- in order to protect a witness.  In legal terms, this means that the report has been sliced and diced, white-washed, and edited.

Other media outlets, including the Housatonic Times, confirm these unsettling developments in the Newtown saga.  John Christofferson of the Associated Press writes:

State's Attorney Stephen Sedensky III asked a judge not to release the …

Earthfiles is at it again.  From March 13 to March 17, Earthfiles has received dozens of additional reports of "mystery booms", this time fromRhode Island, southern Illinois, Idaho, and Kentucky.

In case you've missed our previous explanations of this phenomena, we don't believe that these strange tremblings are the result of top-secret military experiments or some other conspiracy theory gobbledegook, as asserted by sources such as Earthfiles.

We believe that these booms are the result of legal and illegal sand and silica mining operations.
To prove our point, we've been able to link these mystery booms to areas which have notable deposits of sandstone and silica.  Further bolstering our claim is the fact that these mystery booms tend to take place immediately after rising market prices for sand and silica.

Why sand and silica?  A certain type of silica has been in extremely high demand in recent years due to its importance in the hydraulic fracturing ("fracki…

Hugh Cameron, who came to be known as "The Hermit of Kansas", is famous as an abolitionist, teacher, and military commander, but is perhaps best remembered for his eccentric behavior, which included living in a wooden piano box.

Born in 1826 on a farm near Saratoga Springs in New York, Hugh Cameron was the son of a Scottish immigrant, and was one of the eight children born to Catherine Frazier.  Hugh was almost entirely self educated, and didn't set foot into a classroom until he was eighteen years old.

At the age of 23, Hugh was hired as a mathematics teacher in Washington, DC.  While in Washington, he formed friendships with many influential people, who would become lifelong friends.  These friends included prominent men such as Daniel Webster and Stephen Douglas.

Because of his strong opposition to slavery, Hugh Cameron became a very polarizing figure within Washington's social circles.  He made powerful friends as well as powerful enemies.  One of his closest f…

"His mother should have drowned him in a bucket," states veteran cop.


Yesterday, columnist Mike Lupica wrote an article for the New York Daily News detailing a crucial piece of the Newtown puzzle- a 7-foot-long, 4-foot-wide spreadsheet with names, body counts and details from previous mass murders which was allegedly found by law enforcement officials at Lanza's home.

Police have referred to this evidence as Lanza's "score sheet", which the shooter had spent years compiling.  Lanza's spreadsheet, typed in nine-point font, contained over 500 names, along with details about each shooting, including the exact make and model of each weapon used.

Perhaps the most interesting part of this new information is the fact that Mike Lupica- a respected veteran journalist- chose to write a piece that raises more questions than it answers- questions which seem to suggest that "Lanza's scoresheet" may be a piece of evidence created by law enforcement offi…

Every culture has its share of folk legends, and the Chinese are no exception.  One fabled person in Chinese folklore is Li Ching-Yuen, who is rumored to have died in 1933 at the age of 256.

Li Ching-Yuen was relatively unknown outside of Szechuan until 1930, when a New York Times article written by Professor Wu Chung-chieh stated that Imperial Chinese government records from 1827 were found, congratulating Ching-Yuen on his 150th birthday.  Other government documents from 1877 were allegedly found, congratulating Li Ching-Yuen on his 200th birthday.

According to locals who knew him, Li Ching-Yuen began gathering medicinal herbs as a young boy, perhaps in a quest for immortality.  For the better part of his life, his diet consisted only of herbs and rice wine.  At the age of 71, Li Ching-Yuen moved to  Kai Xian, where he was hired by the military to teach martial arts.

Master Da Liu, a student of Ching-Yuen, attributed his teacher's longevity to Baguazhang- a form or martial art …

We all know that we live in a sue-happy society.  At the slightest hint of human suffering, a great many Americans go running for the nearest lawyer, while multitudes of lawyers wait in the wings, hoping to exploit any and all tragedies.  Such was the case earlier this year when the passengers aboard a stranded Carnival cruise ship decided to sue, or when spectators at Daytona International Speedway decided to sue after debris from a wreck was hurled into the grandstands.

Although no one died as a result of these "tragedies", lawyers wasted no time in preparing to file claims.  It stands to reason that a tragedy as horrific as the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting would be a goldmine for lawyers.

Days after the shooting, attorney Irving Pinksy made headlines when he filed a $100 million lawsuit against the state of Connecticut on behalf of an unnamed 6-year-old survivor of the Newtown massacre.  Shortly thereafter, on Jan. 1,  Pinsky withdrew his request to sue the state.…

Our recent debunking of the black-eyed children phenomenon has been under fire recently.  Our post has garnered hundreds of thousands of page views since it was published in December, and we are deluged by angry email on a daily basis- both from believers and skeptics alike.  Our response, up until now, has always been: "Show us some proof and we'll change our opinion".

In spite of replying with this message hundreds of times, we have yet to encounter anyone who can offer undeniable concrete evidence that black eyed kids (or BEKs, as they are sometimes called) exist.  We have so much faith in our explanation that we are "upping the ante".  JOTB will offer a $10,000 reward for concrete evidence that black eyed children exist.

Our assertion is that a natural pupillary response, mydriasis, is responsible for the blackening of the eyes (with the rare exception of those who have abnormal medical conditions, black-colored contact lenses, tattooed pupils, traumatic br…

One reason why Sandy Hook would be difficult to "stage" is because it involved a public school, which means that there should be plenty of records available to the public- including public records of the teachers' credentials.  Even kindergarten teachers need to be licensed or certified, and most kindergarten teachers cannot become licensed without a bachelor's degree in early childhood education.   In Connecticut, you can't even work in a day care without some level of state certification. However, this requirement does not apply to teachers in private or parochial schools.

Sandy Hook Elementary is a public school, which means that every teacher needs to have some sort of licensure or certification.  The Connecticut State Department of Education states:

To teach for a Connecticut Board of Education, an educator must hold a valid certificate appropriate for the assignment or position. The certificate must be issued by the Connecticut State Department of Education…

Just when the Sandy Hook conspiracy allegations seemed to be dying down, a vigilant "truther" seems to have recently uncovered some new facts which are unsettling, to say the least.

A few days ago, on March 2, a YouTube video was posted by a gentleman going by the username of 1mYourGh0st.  The video, which is over 13 minutes in length, consists mainly of the standard, run-of-the-mill conspiracy theorist dialogue we've all heard countless times before.  But the video's creator may have stumbled upon a big honking smoking gun, which he reveals near the 11:00 minute mark.  Folks, hold on to your hats....

Using a real estate database, the uploader establishes that the Lanza home, at 36 Yogananda Street, was built in 1998.  These records show that the home was purchased in July of the same year by the Lanzas, making them the home's first inhabitants.  The creator of the video then searches for records pertaining to Ryan Lanza- the shooter's brother- and up pops his…

Last month, we published an article stating our belief that the numerous "mystery booms" heard and felt throughout many parts of the country are linked to the mining of silica- a resource that is in high demand because of its importance in the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") process used in natural gas extraction.
We analyzed hundreds of reports from people who experienced these unexplained tremblings and explosions and noticed the following trends:

-Virtually every location where these booms are heard occur in areas with sandstone and silica deposits.

-The timing of the  booms are directly proportional to increases in demand for "frac sand" (silica).

-No reports of these strange booms or mysterious rumblings appear before 2010.  The United States Geologicical Survey reports that "the production increase in silica sand in 2010 was largely attributable to surging demand for hydraulic fracturing sand".  Reported average prices for frac sand in the …