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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
 Posted - 10/27/2005 : 19:44:15
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Well, ok, it has already been solved. But the last time I tried this it seemed to go over pretty well.
The way it works is this: I post part of a news story (editing out revealing details) and you folks get to try your hand at solving the mystery. Try to be the first one to come up with the correct solution (or near enough) and be congratulated by all your skeptic friends! And no cheating, so if you've already read the story elsewhere, please don't spoil it for the others still guessing.
So, our latest mystery involves strange lights in the sky over England....
quote:
Amanda Phillips was driving home from Laughton on Thursday: "I was amazed to see about 30 orange lights just hovering just above the M25," she said.
Ms Phillips said other motorists stopped on the hard shoulder amazed at the sight.
She said it seemed as if they were hanging from the sky by a thread, about the height a firework would reach.
From the garden of her home in Stapleford near Brentwood, Monique Bass, had a clear view of what she said appeared to be a large group of UFOs in the night sky.
"They were not aeroplanes, nor helicopters, they were red in colour and the first lot had about 30 in the group," she said.
The Ministry of Defence told the BBC that there were no military exercises in the area at the time and air traffic control at Stansted Airport say nothing unusual showed up on the radar.
Hmm, very strange indeed. Who has a guess? I'll admit it's a toughy, but I'll try to keep you all on the right track.
And for those who simply must know the answer, you can find the original article here.
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
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Trish
SFN Addict
USA
2102 Posts |
Posted - 10/27/2005 : 19:50:50 [Permalink]
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| What a wedding of a mystery and UFOs... |
...no one has ever found a 4.5 billion year old stone artifact (at the right geological stratum) with the words "Made by God."
No Sense of Obligation by Matt Young
"Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith. I consider the capacity for it terrifying and vile!"
Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
They (Women Marines) don't have a nickname, and they don't need one. They get their basic training in a Marine atmosphere, at a Marine Post. They inherit the traditions of the Marines. They are Marines.
LtGen Thomas Holcomb, USMC
Commandant of the Marine Corps, 1943
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Siberia
SFN Addict
Brazil
2322 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2005 : 06:26:05 [Permalink]
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| Firefly migration? |
"Why are you afraid of something you're not even sure exists?"
- The Kovenant, Via Negativa
"People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs."
-- unknown
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
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sts60
Skeptic Friend
141 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2005 : 08:00:19 [Permalink]
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| High-pressure sodium lamps reflecting off geese? |
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furshur
SFN Regular
USA
1536 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2005 : 09:18:01 [Permalink]
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| An advanced race of extra-terrestrial aliens arriving to mutilate our wheat fields, and probe our citizens? |
If I knew then what I know now then I would know more now than I know. |
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Valiant Dancer
Forum Goalie
USA
4826 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2005 : 09:25:49 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Trish
What a wedding of a mystery and UFOs...
Arrrrrgh! That's a bad pun. And only if you found out what it was.
Just goes to show you how little research goes into UFO claims. |
Cthulhu/Asmodeus when you're tired of voting for the lesser of two evils
Brother Cutlass of Reasoned Discussion |
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ocheewah
Skeptic Friend
USA
50 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2005 : 09:34:46 [Permalink]
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Truly a bad pun in light of old Thai traditions relating to marriage ceremonies.
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Those who danced were thought quite insane by those who could not hear the music. |
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BigPapaSmurf
SFN Die Hard
3192 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2005 : 09:44:10 [Permalink]
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| A wind speed/direction detection project at night, during the day you can string up ballons to determine wind changes at different altitudes, at night you would need to light them up. |
"...things I have neither seen nor experienced nor heard tell of from anybody else; things, what is more, that do not in fact exist and could not ever exist at all. So my readers must not believe a word I say." -Lucian on his book True History
"...They accept such things on faith alone, without any evidence. So if a fraudulent and cunning person who knows how to take advantage of a situation comes among them, he can make himself rich in a short time." -Lucian critical of early Christians c.166 AD From his book, De Morte Peregrini |
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2005 : 10:59:14 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave W.
Candle-lit kites in celebration of an obscure Asian holiday?
Very good, Dave. Trish actually provided the clue for the nature of the celebration.
quote:
Dozens of 5ft high x 3ft wide lanterns were released at regular intervals from the wedding reception of Joanne Lye, from Epping, and Tom Fradd, from Theydon Mount, at the 16th century Tudor mansion.
Joanne's father, Stephen, said: "It was very impressive. They float away slowly and create quite a stir. It was very good."
But he admitted that when the wedding was being planned no one considered the reaction the display might have caused.
"I hadn't even thought about it," Mr Lye said. Admitting that the lanterns could have been seen by unsuspecting people as possible UFOs, he said: "They did cluster in the night sky."
Grant Barry, from Stapleford Abbotts, whose company Sky Lanterns imports the lanterns, said: "They're like tissue paper with a bamboo frame. They're lit and float up into the night sky. It's like a fireworks display, but it's quiet, more tranquil, more peaceful than a fireworks display.
"They go for about ten minutes, burn out and then come down slowly. It's a breath-taking experience."
Man, I thought this one would have been hard.
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2005 : 11:06:37 [Permalink]
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I completely missed Trish's "clue," as I considered her post a second mystery to be solved. 
Anyway, since I said kites, and there was no Asian holiday involved (obscure or otherwise), I must deny all credit at having "solved" the mystery. You should have just said "close" and left it going. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2005 : 12:45:20 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave W.
Anyway, since I said kites, and there was no Asian holiday involved (obscure or otherwise), I must deny all credit at having "solved" the mystery. You should have just said "close" and left it going.
I don't know, you got that it was something made of paper, lit with candles, and then floated, and that it had to do with Asian traditions. That's a hit in my book. You had all the details correct. Considering the myriad of possibilities involved in a UFO report, I wasn't going to be a stickler about precise terminology. The judges ruled (that's me) that you won. 
I'll try to keep my eyes out for another story like that lends itself to this game, though I encourage anyone so inclinated to do the same. I still want to try my hand at guessing one of these times.
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
| Edited by - H. Humbert on 10/28/2005 12:53:13 |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9688 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2005 : 13:41:01 [Permalink]
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My fist thought was an over-pass under construction with the warning lights glowing in the mist. But the height indicated - fireworks and the air traffic control makes it unlikely... Unless it really was construction lights on the overpass. But those are permanent enough to be investigated by UFO-researchers, and shouldn't be hard to find.
Geese sounds like a very plausible hypothesis. I'll need to think more about it. |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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Trish
SFN Addict
USA
2102 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2005 : 19:04:54 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Valiant Dancer
quote:
Originally posted by Trish
What a wedding of a mystery and UFOs...
Arrrrrgh! That's a bad pun. And only if you found out what it was.
Just goes to show you how little research goes into UFO claims.
Well, I never claimed to be good at making puns. Knew about the traditions. |
...no one has ever found a 4.5 billion year old stone artifact (at the right geological stratum) with the words "Made by God."
No Sense of Obligation by Matt Young
"Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith. I consider the capacity for it terrifying and vile!"
Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
They (Women Marines) don't have a nickname, and they don't need one. They get their basic training in a Marine atmosphere, at a Marine Post. They inherit the traditions of the Marines. They are Marines.
LtGen Thomas Holcomb, USMC
Commandant of the Marine Corps, 1943
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