pseudo-science

Google Maps Reveal Lost City of Atlantis?

On Friday, Google maps spawned another web myth. A mysterious grid of lines revealed by the company’s new undersea terrain maps had the interwebs buzzing about the lost city of Atlantis. Google quickly pointed out that the grid was caused by its own terrain mapping equipment, which incorporates data in a grid pattern. Reps from…

io9 Annalee Newitz Feb 23

A Map of UFO Sighting Hot Spots in America

Where do UFOs show their blinky lights most often in America? Now a handy map of UFO sightings since the 1940s offers a surprising answer. As part of Popular Mechanics’ special report on UFO sightings, the magazine has put together a map showing where people report UFOs most often. Los Angeles tops the list, which…

io9 Annalee Newitz Feb 21

“Obama’s Blackberry Is His Real Key to the X-Files Treasury”

While you’re all waiting for news about Obama’s stimulus plan, you’re forgetting the most important thing the president should be doing. Formulating a UFO policy. Luckily, UFO experts have some advice for him. You may remember UFO expert Jeff Peckman from his lobbying efforts to get an Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission created in Denver. At the…

io9 Annalee Newitz Feb 3

Pseudo-Science Pays Well – Until You Go to Jail

Today a San Francisco “psychic” named Lisa Marie Miller (pictured) was sentenced to two months in jail after convincing a woman she had a “curse” that could only be cured by buying Miller a Corvette. Obviously, the fake-psychic-turned-investigator from The Mentalist chucked a pretty lucrative job when he went straight. Miller had sucked over $100…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 10

What is the Jejune Institute and Why Are They Recording Your Thoughts?

I’ve been seeing a lot of fliers around San Francisco advertising something called the “Aquatic Thought Foundation,” which promises to give you dolphin therapy by hooking your brain up to a dolphin. Really, the fliers weren’t all that much kookier than the usual Marin County yoga levitation psionics stuff you see. But finally I decided…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 9

Had a Paranormal Experience? We’ll Give You £5

University of Edinburgh is looking for a few research subjects for some ESP experiments. To volunteer, you must be a native English speaker and have had at least one paranormal experience. No, that does not include owning a season of The Supernatural on DVD. Apparently these experiments only take about 45 minutes and you’ll get…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 3

Make Your Own Thought-Screen Helmet and Prevent Alien Abduction

If you suffer from alien abductions and have a craftsy streak, we’ve got the perfect project for you this holiday season. The helpful folks over at StopAbduction.com have put together a simple how-to for crafting your own “thought screen helmet” (pictured) from just $30 worth of materials. No, we’re not kidding – and neither are…

io9 Annalee Newitz Nov 24

Does the Full Moon Really Make People Crazy?

Tonight is the full moon, and according to several scientific studies that means you’re far more likely to be the victim of a crime or creamed in an accident. I’d always assumed it was an urban legend that the full moon coincided with a rise in human weirdness. But some scientists believe there is factual…

io9 Annalee Newitz Nov 13

Nobody Can Explain the Ghost Caught on CCTV in a Pub

So there’s a spooky “floating light” that shows up on CCTV footage from a pub in York, and apparently nobody can figure it out. Even the “expert” who installed the cameras is spooked by the weird blob that moves across the screen in the direction of the pub’s pool hall. Obviously it’s a ghost who…

io9 Annalee Newitz Sep 10

The Pseudo-Sciences You’re Most Likely to See in the Next 50 Years

For every scientific breakthrough, you can expect a new branch pseudo-science that will mirror genuine science in some distorted way. In the nineteeth century, the young branch of engineering that spawned electrical current also spawned quack “electrotherapies” that promised to heal you with the amazing powers of electricity. And phrenology (reading your personality through bumps…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 23

The Terrible Beauty Of Alison Hiltner’s Viruses

You’re looking a deadly virus right in the face, but it’s not a new work of microscopy or nano-imaging. Instead, it’s a giant model made by Minnesota artist Aliston Hiltner. To confront us with the strange beauty of pathogens in her latest show, “Pathology,” she used 6,000 balloons. Her work also includes weirdly industrial looking…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Apr 15

Google Maps Reveal Lost City of Atlantis?

A Map of UFO Sighting Hot Spots in America

“Obama’s Blackberry Is His Real Key to the X-Files Treasury”

Pseudo-Science Pays Well – Until You Go to Jail

What is the Jejune Institute and Why Are They Recording Your Thoughts?

Had a Paranormal Experience? We’ll Give You £5

Make Your Own Thought-Screen Helmet and Prevent Alien Abduction

Does the Full Moon Really Make People Crazy?

Nobody Can Explain the Ghost Caught on CCTV in a Pub

The Pseudo-Sciences You’re Most Likely to See in the Next 50 Years

The Terrible Beauty Of Alison Hiltner’s Viruses

Ryan Coogler Is Shifting ‘Animorphs’ Into a Disney+ Show

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