Weird Myths

1. Avoid people who talk to themselves. According to Ukrainian legend, that could indicate a dual soul and the second one doesn't die!
2. Also watch out for the seventh son of a seventh son, a person born with a red caul (amniotic membrane covering the head), or a child born with teeth.
3. A vampire can result if a cat or dog walks over a fresh grave, a bat flies over the corpse, or the person has died suddenly as a result of suicide or murder.
4. Unfinished business can also cause a body to rise, as can inadequate burial rites, including a grave that is too shallow.
5. Long ago, the people of Nicaragua believed that if they threw beautiful young women into a volcano it would stop erupting.
6. In medieval times, thunderstorms were believed by some to be the work of demons. So when it stormed, bell ringers would go up into the bell towers to ring the consecrated bells in an effort to stop the storm. This practice didn't always work out well for the bell ringer.
7. One legend claims stealing someone's shadow (by measuring it against a wall and driving a nail through its head) can turn the victim into a vampire.
8. Most vampires are described in folklore as flushed and ruddy, with swollen bodies and bloated faces. Often, they can be identified because they're sitting up in the grave.
9. According to folklore, there are a number of ways to protect yourself from vampires, including the ever-popular wearing of garlic or a religious symbol. You can slow a vampire down by giving him something to do, like pick up poppy seeds or unravel a net. (They're quite compulsive.) Cross water and he can't follow. If you can find the body, give it a bottle of whiskey or food so it doesn't have to travel. If that doesn't work, either shoot the corpse (may require a silver bullet) or drive a stake through the heart. And remember, the vampire won't enter your dwelling unless invited.
10. Trivia is the Roman goddess of sorcery, hounds and the crossroads.
11. In Dante's "Inferno" the Ninth Circle of Hell is reserved for those who betray family or country. The denizens of this deepest circle, who are frozen in ice, include Judas (betrayer of Christ) and Cassius and Brutus (betrayers of Julius Caesar).
12. Abe Silverstein, who headed NASA's Space Flight Development Program, proposed the name Apollo for the space exploration programs in the 1960's. He chose that legendary Greek name because the virile Apollo was a god who rode through the skies in a magnificent golden chariot. The precedent of naming manned spacecraft for mythological gods had been set earlier with Project Mercury, also named by Silverstein.
13. Some people consider the $1 bill unlucky because there are so many 13's on it: 13 stars, 13 stripes, 13 steps, 13 arrows and even an olive branch with 13 leaves on it. Of course the $1 bill is unlucky - if it was lucky it would be a $100 bill.
14. The name of the legendary Lady Godiva's horse - Aethenoth
15. An artificial spider and web are often included in the decorations on Ukrainian Christmas trees. A spider web found on Christmas morning is believed to bring good luck.
16. When visiting Finland, Santa leaves his sleigh behind and rides on a goat named Ukko. Finnish folklore has it that Ukko is made of straw, but is strong enough to carry Santa Claus anyway.
17. According to legend, if a hare crosses a person's path as he starts out on a journey, the trip will be unlucky and it's best to return home and start again. If a pregnant woman sees a hare, her child may be born with a hare-lip. If a hare runs down the main street of a town, it foretells a fire. Cornish legend says that girls who die of grief after being rejected by a lover turn into white hares and haunt their former beaus.
18. Ancient Greeks wove marjoram into funeral wreaths and put them on the graves of loved ones. The wreaths served as prayers for the happiness of the deceased in a future life.
19. Breaking of a glass is traditional in some wedding ceremonies. This custom symbolizes different things. To some its the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, and for some its the represents the fragility of a relationship.
20. In Greek culture, brides carry a lump of sugar in their wedding glove. It's supposed to bring sweetness to their married life.
21. Placing a wreath on a grave is part of an ancient belief it was necessary to provide comforts for the dead and give them gifts in order for their spirits to not haunt the mourners. The circular arrangement represents a magic circle which is supposed to keep the spirit within its bounds.
22. The Sphinx at Giza in Egypt is 240 feet long and carved out of limestone. Built by Pharaoh Khafre to guard the way to his pyramid, it has a lion's body and the ruler's head.
23. The Vikings believed that the Northern lights which are seen from time to time in the north sky were caused by the flashing armor and spears of Odin's handmaidens as they rode out to collect warriors slain in battle.
24. One gift-giving taboo in China is the giving of straw sandals, which are associated with funerals, and therefore considered bad luck.
25. Crossing one's fingers is a way of secretly making the sign of the Cross. It was started by early Christians to ask for divine assistance without attracting the attention of pagans.
26. One sign of rain that farmers once searched for was for their pigs to pick up sticks and walk around with them in their mouths.
27. During the Civil War, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant believed that onions would prevent dysentery and other physical ailments. He reportedly sent the following message via wire to the War Department: "I will not move my army without onions." Within a day, the U.S. government sent three trainloads of onions to the front.
28. Contrary to popular belief, there are almost no Buddhists in India, nor have there been for about a thousand years.
29. On the stone temples of Madura in southern India, there are more than 30 million carved images of gods and goddesses.
30. One superstition says that if a girl leaves her house early on Valentine's Day and the first person she meets is a man, then she will be married within three months.
31. Less romantic was the old historical opinion that Valentine's Day is a good day to prepare eels for the purposes of magic. Eating an eel's heart was once believed to enable a person to see into the future.
32. The reason one wears a wedding ring on the third finger is that (tradition says) there is supposed to be a vein which goes directly from that finger to the heart—i.e., the seat of love. Also, not everyone wears that wedding ring on the third finger of the LEFT hand. In some traditions, such as the Jewish one, it is worn on the right hand. Also, I'm given to understand that nuns ("brides of Christ") wear a wedding ring, again on the right hand.
33. To prevent evil spirits from entering the bodies of their male children, parents dressed them in blue. Blue was chosen because it's the color of the sky and was therefore associated with heavenly spirits.
34. Girls weren't dressed in blue, apparently because people didn't think that evil spirits would bother with them. Eventually, however, girls did get their own color: pink. Pink was chosen because of an old English legend which said that girls were born inside of pink roses.
35. The famous Citgo sign near Fenway Park in Boston is maintained not by Citgo, but by Boston's historical society.
36. In the 1700's you could purchase insurance against going to hell, in London England.
37. The Aztec Indians of Mexico believed turquoise would protect them from physical harm, and so warriors used these green and blue stones to decorate their battle shields.
38. Black cats are considered lucky in England.
39. Long ago, the people of Nicaragua believed that if they threw beautiful young women into a volcano it would stop erupting.
40. In medieval times, thunderstorms were believed by some to be the work of demons. So when it stormed, bell ringers would go up into the bell towers to ring the consecrated bells in an effort to stop the storm. This practice didn't always work out well for the bell ringer.
41. No one knows where the expression "to grin like a Cheshire cat" originated, but it wasn't with Carroll. The Cheshire cat is a well-known character in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but the expression, meaning a sneering smile that shows the gums, existed long before he wrote the book. There is no such breed of cat.
42. Superstition says that the left side is the wrong side of the bed.
43. Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love.
44. The ace of spades in a playing card deck symbolizes death.
45. The dove is considered the symbol of peace.
46. Ra was the sun god of ancient Egypt.
47. The mythical figure Father Time carries an hourglass and a scythe.
48. It's a myth that owls don't hunt in the daytime because they can't see in daylight. It's just that rats and mice, the main items on owl menus, are most active after dark.
49. Many sailors believe a cat on board a ship means a lucky trip.
50. The mythical Scottish town of Brigadoon appears for one day every 100 years.
51. During the middle ages, it was widely believed that men had one less rib than woman. This is because of the story in the Bible that Eve had been created out of Adam's rib.
52. The seven deadly sins (sins serious enough to kill one's soul) are currently anger, envy, pride, sloth, lust, gluttony, and covetousness. They haven't always been so, however. Originally, there were eight deadly sins (as proposed by Avagrius of Pontus). The eight (in order of increasing severity) were gluttony, lust, avarice, sadness, anger, apathy, vainglory, and pride. Gregory the Great later decided that vainglory and pride were too much alike to be counted separately and combined them. He added envy. Later still, the Roman Catholic Church decided sadness wasn't a sin, and added sloth. Somewhere along the way, apathy was dropped as well.
53. Hindu men once believed it to be unluckily to marry a third time. They could avoid misfortune by marrying a tree first. The tree (his third wife) was then burnt, freeing him to marry again.
54. The Vikings also thought the spirits of the murdered person would guide and guard the craft.

Old Wives Tales

Old Wives Tales refer to sayings, practices or stories that have been passed down from generation to generation.

This is a new section and we will be adding to it regularly.

A
Acne and Chocolate: Chocolate will give you acne.Studies have failed to show any connection between the two, there is little evidence to suggest that your diet affects acne at all.
Zit Popping: Squeezing and popping zits will help clear up acne faster. Popping zits can lead to permanent scarring on your face and is not recommended.
B
Bats are blind. Blind as a bat, many species of bats have excellent eyesight. Bats use an exceptionally advanced echolocation and eyesight to give them excellent perception.
C
Cigarettes Three: Never light three cigarettes with the same match.
Coffee will sober you up. Coffee cannot change the alcohol content in your body. Coffee will only make you a wide awake drunk, it will not sober you up.
Being Cold Gives You a Cold: The funny thing about this is that cold germs does not do well in colder weather, but the flu virus thrives in colder air. The only thing that affects you getting a cold is the germ itself and you less likely to come in contact the the germ in colder weather. If you come into contact with someone who has a cold, breathe through your mouth, mouth germs can actually help kill the cold germs.
D
E

Ears Burn: If your ears burn, someone’s talking about you.
Eyes Dim Light: You'll hurt your eyes reading in dim light. You may get eyestrain, but it will not affect your eyesight.
F
Feed a fever, strave a cold: In fact, both colds and fevers cause dehydration, so liquids are essential when suffering from either. Your body needs lots of liquids and food to keep you energy up. So, you should feed a fever and feed a cold and get plenty of liquids.
G
Goosebumps Grave: Goosebumps mean someone just walked over your grave.
H

Hat on Bed: Never put a hat on a bed.
Horseshoe: A horseshoe is good luck.
I

Itchy Nose: if you nose itches, you’ll kiss a fool.
Itches: If your nose itches, someone must be thinking of you.
J
Jealous Man: A jealous man is a faithful man.
K
Knuckle Cracking: Cracking your knuckles is going to give you arthritis someday. Cracking your knucles will not give you arthritis, but continuous knuckle cracking over a period of several years can lead to some cartilage damage ans swelling.
L

Ladder Bad Luck: It’s bad luck to walk under a ladder.
M
Mirror 7 years: If you break a mirror, you'll have 7 years of bad luck.
Moon Calves: If you wean calves in the dark of the moon, they won’t bawl for their mamas.
N
O
P
Potatoes Good Friday: Potatoes must be planted on Good Friday.
Q
R
Rabbits Foot: A rabbits foot will bring you good luck.
Rain on Easter: If it rains on Easter Sunday, it will rain the next seven Sundays in a row.
S
Salt Spilled: Spilling salt is bad luck and to remove it, you must throw a pinch over your left shoulder.
Swimming Wait an Hour: Wait an hour after eating before you go swimming or you will get a cramp. Well no one has been able to prove this and in fact the opposite is true. Many swimmers bulk up on the carbs before a big swim meet, to give them extra energy.
T
Teeth and Candy: Candy causes tooth decay. Guess what foods like crackers and salty chips can contribute more to tooth decay, then sugary candy. Good dental hygiene and regular fluoride treatments are the best ways to prevent cavities.
TV and Eyesight: Sitting too close to the TV set is bad for your eyes. Not true, but studys have shown that children who spend 10 hours or more in front of the tv each week are more likely to become overweight, aggressive, and slower in school. Sitting too much at the TV is bad for you.
U
Umbrella: Opening an umbrella in the house is bad luck.

Her er danskernes "fund" på Street View

Torsdag d. 21. jan. 2010; kl. 18:06 af Jeppe Lykke Hansen for TV 2 Nyhederne (opd. d. 22/1 2010; 17:40)

En kvinde tager sig en lur på Bøjden Færgehavn ved Faaborg. Foto: Google

Google Street View er nu nået Danmark, og brugerne er allerede begyndt at finde de opsigtsvækkende øjeblikke, de er blevet foreviget af Googles fotovogne - som eksemplet med manden, der falder på sin cykel i København.
Du kan se nogle af de billeder, som danskerne har fundet på Google Street View og Krak ved at klikke i det øverste link i boksen til højre.
Google har lagt ikke færre end 30.000 km af danske gader og veje. Googles fotobil har kørt størstedelen af Sjælland tyndt, store dele af Fyn, trekantsområdet mellem Århus, Silkeborg og Horsens, Kolding-Vejle området, Randers og Ålborg, samt en række større hovedfærdselsårer.
I de områder hvor Google Street View har været, kan brugerne få adgang til panoramafilm af gader og veje ved at zoome helt ind på Google kortet, eller ved at trække det orange "Pegman"-ikon, i venstre side af kortet, hen på en gade markeret med blåt.
Googles oplyser, at deres Street View indeholder udelukkende indeholder billeder af ting, som alle der bevæger sig i byrummet umiddelbart kan se, men samtidigt at Google har anvendt en teknologi, der slører ansigter og nummerplader.
"Vores udviklere arbejder intenst med denne sløringsteknologi, som vi egentlig er ret stolte af. Men selvfølgelig er vi ikke perfekte. Derfor er der på alle kort et link til "Report a problem", hvor man kan bede om at få skjult detaljer. Så hvis der er nogle, der finder noget, og det er der jo garanteret for de flittige brugere, skal de endelig sige til. Vi fjerner ting inden for rimelighedens grænser, så hurtigt som vi kan," understreger Peter Friis.
Med det danske Street View lykkedes det lige præcis ikke Google at slå Krak, der lancerede deres version tidligere på ugen.

Goats and lions tree photo

While ago, reader Bart Wouters sent me this photo of a Goat family that climbs trees in search for food. Bart says it’s no illusion – it’s real. I also received a link with an explanation. What made me think. Internet as a medium can push a story as unbelievable as this one, and we believe it without thinking much about it. I checked the website, and have to say it gave good explanation, but am still not sure what to think. Can you help me? The second photo of lions on a tree is probably real. But I can’t figure how those goats climbed up there? They don’t appear much athletic. The explanation says: “In drought-ridden conditions when there is little else to eat, goats will climb up a variety of trees in many of the warmer countries in the world (Morocco). Some holidaymakers to the Mediterranean countries come back with amazing photos of goats grazing in trees. The most spectacular of these pictures originate from South-West Morocco, where there is a unique habitat of semi-desert Argan Forest, which is sadly declining. Nearly half of the forest has disappeared in comparison with Victorian times. ” This is probably, why they have to climb trees – to eat and survive! I’m still doubtful…

Body Art Illusion no.2

Priscilla Farrugia was kind enough to send us this fabulous photo. Body Art or Body Paint is a technique, where certain images are painted on your naked body, so it appears you are wearing clothes (painted ones), or you can appear transparent, like in the case below. If you like Body Art Illusions, be sure to check our sidebar for more. There you can find “Zodiac Signs Body Art”, “Body Art Illusion no.1″, “Painted Hands” and lot more. You can also use search box (at the bottom) to find them.

Lord Of The Rings Giant Billboards

Ever saw movie called Lord Of The Rings? Ever read a book with same title, done by J.R.R. Tolkien? Ever watched the cartoon LOTR? I know, you must be asking yourself, what kind of question is this anyway… Hehe, at least you will have no problem recognizing these huge installments made in Australia. Man, if I didn’t know it was only a billboard, I’d be scared to walk these streets, I tell you… Please post the names of these creatures, since I don’t remember their species. Was it the Goblin, Troll, Gollum? Darth Wader…hmm… Jump inside this post for more pictures!

Advanced Rollers Optical Illusion

In the beginning we had rollers and snakes, optical illusions born accidentally, probably as a by-product to some sort of color experiments. Most of them were invented by a Japanese professor, Akiyoshi Kitaoka. Since then, optical illusion societies have grown. Just look at our website, for example. Many enthusiasts began experimenting with existing material. While during the process, some of them developed their own style, adding great value to this particular topic.
Observe the patterns below, and you may find them somehow relaxing. Even though posing as static images, they manage to give you that motion feeling, making our head hurt and eyes spin. Which one was your favorite? I like the one including Volkswagen Beetles, but I believe we had that one already.

Eyes or eyelids illusion..

Here’s a funny story: when I first located given optical illusion, I thought it was great, and saved it for one of my future articles (today’s one). There was an interesting article accompanying it, explaining the event when this vintage photo was taken, along with the twist I found fascinating. The problem is, I forgot in which direction did the twist go…
So let me tell you what is happening here, and leave it up to the majority to decide the direction of the twist. I can see the photo realistic in both ways; either as woman with her eyes shut, having her eyelids painted to appear she is staring at us, or the other way round – woman having her eyes opened, but her mascara done in such way, to appear her eyes are shut.
Don’t take me for granted, but I lean more towards the first option. I just know that when I first saw it, the twist was opposite to what I imagined it to be. It’s just that I forgot, and don’t remember what is the proper way of seeing it.