Table of Contents
Introduction: The Big Book Theory ix
A Alien Hand Syndrome 2
The Amber Tide 6
An American Coup d'État 8
Amoebic Altruism 12
Animal Weaponry 15
B Bacteriological Apocalypse 17
The Bath Schoolhouse Explosion 19
Beheaded and Bewildered 22
Birth Control of Antiquity 25
A Booger a Day Keeps the Doctor Away 28
Bryukhonenko's Dogs 31
C Capgras Syndrome 34
Carnivorous Giant Centipedes 36
Centralia's Hidden Inferno 38
Charles Bonnet Syndrome 40
Clever Hans the Math Horse 44
Cognitive Glitches 47
Coley's Cancer-Killing Concoction 49
Corpse Acres 52
Cyborg Spy Kitties 56
D Davy Crockett: King of the Atomic Frontier 58
Deep Water Mysteries 61
Dogs of War 63
Dreaming on Demand 65
The Dwarf Who Became a Giant 69
E Earth's Artificial Ionosphere 71
The Ethyl-Poisoned Earth 74
The Exploding Lakes of Cameroon 80
F The Farewell Dossier 83
The Fartiste of Paris 86
A Fluke of Nature 90
The Fordlândia Fiasco 92
G Gelotology 101 95
The Gimli Glider 100
Guppy Love 106
H The Hail from Hell Theory 109
The Halifax Disaster 113
High-Rise Syndrome 117
I Interstellar Eavesdropping 119
Irrational Optimism 125
K The Kola Superdeep Borehole 128
Kowloon: The Walled City of Darkness 131
L The Lake Peigneur Disaster 134
LeMessurier's Mess 137
M The Mad Gasser of Mattoon 140
Mad Jack Churchill 143
The McCollum Memo 145
Mike the Headless Chicken 149
The Molasses Flood of 1919 152
Montagu's Manufactured Major 154
N The Naga Fireballs 157
Nature's Nuclear Reactors 159
Nazi-Thwarting Norwegians 161
The Niihau Island Incident 165
The Nucleon 168
O Onoda's Long War 171
On the Origin of Circuits175
Operation Pastorius 179
Orion: The Atomic Spaceship 184
Outer Space Exposure 188
P Peculiar Parasites 191
The Pepcon Disaster 193
The Phobia Factory 196
Pleasure on Demand 200
Poland's Germ Gambit 204
Project Pluto 206
R The Revelations of Restored Sight 209
S Secret Agent Candy Jones 213
Sidis's Superbrain 216
The Skyhook 220
Spies on the Roof of the World 223
Spring Heeled Jack 227
Submersible Aircraft Carriers 230
The Sun Gun 234
Sylbaris the Survivor 237
T Terror on Wall Street 240
Tesla's Tower of Power 245
The Treacherous Toothpick Fish 249
The Tree of Ténéré 251
Tsar Bomba: The World's Most Massive Weapon 253
The Tuskegee Syphilis Study 256
U Unanticipated Side Effects 260
Undark and the Radium Girls 262
Undead Hamsters and the Gaia Theory 266
Urine for a Treat 269
The USS Pueblo and the Hawaiian Good Luck Sign 272
V Vaseline's Healing Power 276
Vesna Vulovic's Lucky Day 278
W Walking Corpse Syndrome 280
Weird Weaponry 284
Z Zero Recall 287
Contributors 291
Read an Excerpt
The Naga Fireballs
A fire-breathing river perplexes citizens and scientists
Every year in October near the end of Buddhist Lent, hundreds of people gather after dusk at Wat Paa Luang, a 450-year-old temple on the edge of the Mekong River in the Nong Khai province of Thailand. Though they cannot predict the exact times or locations, a little patience usually earns spectators a view of a small, pinkish sphere rising out of the surface of the river. The glowing ball lingers above the river for up to a few moments, then ascends rapidly and silently into the atmosphere until it is lost to the eye. Most such nights there are dozens to hundreds of the fist-sized wisps flying skyward. Unlike so many other outlandish claims that photography cannot adequately capture, the Naga Fireballs have been witnessed by thousands of people for hundreds of years.
To believers, these fireballs are the breath of "Naga," a large, magical serpent who patrols the river. Many of the locals tell tales of spotting a silvery flash of scale or speak of an elusive photograph proving the existence of the elusive Naga. Others seek a more rational explanation.
To many, the fireballs appear artificial in their origin, and thus they consider the entire event a hoax. These naysayers, however, offer only anecdotal evidence to support their theory. Supposed hoaxes include tales of the Wat Paa Luang monks secretly planting or lighting fireworks in order to draw crowds, or that the fireballs are simply a tradition of the region's youth celebrating in what amounts to a centuries-long ongoing prank. In any case, 100 years of verified sightings makes the case for a conspiracy a weak one...any such ongoingeffort would require preparation, equipment, and a superhuman commitment not to brag to the pretty girls who show up to view the spectacle.
Others believe that a natural phenomenon is at play, but look to other causes than the breath of an enormous, camera-shy serpent. While the phenomenon is most readily observed at night, there are some credible reports of daytime fireballs as well, though they are difficult to see in the light. Their appearance is also not isolated to October...they have been spied throughout the year but are especially common in May.
One theory proposed by Manas Kanoksin, a doctor from Nong Khai, postulates that fermenting sediment on the river's bottom causes pockets of methane gas to form. He further suggests that the Earth's position in relation to the sun at those times of year causes the bubbles to rise and then spontaneously ignite at the in the presence of ionized oxygen. Other researchers point out that the rocky river bottom doesn't have much sediment and that the river's turbulent waters would break up any such methane bubbles before they could reach the surface. Nevertheless, a 2002 study using robotic submarines indicated that the methane theory was at least viable, although it did not address the question of how the bubbles could reach the surface intact.
In 2003, the Thailand Science Ministry released a report that claimed to have solved the mystery of the fireballs. A thermo-scanner was set up near the riverbank, and several teams of specialists stood watch where the fireballs are commonly seen. Reportedly, the scanning equipment detected the movement of phosphine gas coming off the water before anyone could see a fireball form. The presence of phosphine seems a reasonable conclusion...as methane released by decay of plant and animal remains could combine with phosphorus from chemical fertilizer used on nearby farms to form the gas. This does not, however, explain the source of energy or microbes required to make the balls of gas appear fiery.
Despite the locals' preference for romantic silver-serpent stories, the harsh light of science is slowly disassembling the superstitions. Regardless of its natural or supernatural origins, however, this curious and beautiful phenomenon seems to be unique in our world, which lends it a certain awe that no number of sticks-in-the-mud may dislodge
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