So I just watched a French science documentary about lightning. It turns out that scientists (until recently) were wrong about what causes lightning in the first place. Oookay. And something about everything living having electric fields on the same frequency as the lightning in the atmosphere. Oookay. And something about abiogenesis...
Fantastic. I mean, with this open-minded attitude, maybe next year they finally acknowledge the existence of *ball lightning*...
One Swedish TV channel (which I don´t have access to) actually shows the mystery show "The Curse of Oak Island". I recently picked up a book about the "mystery", which I got very cheaply at a used book store, but haven´t devoured it yet. So I asked ChatGPT to generate a little midnight essay about it. It seems to be a, shall we say, evolving legend. Or almost a revolving one! With the risk of sounding like a party pooper, there´s probably nothing in the "Money Pit". And no curse either...
The Oak Island Mystery is a long-running treasure legend centered on a small island off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada.
It’s one of those tales that mixes a bit of archaeology, a lot of folklore, and more than a dash of “Indiana Jones” energy.
1795: A teenage boy named Daniel McGinnis supposedly found a circular depression in the ground beneath a tree with a pulley block in its branches. He and friends started digging and found layers of logs every few feet, suggesting a man-made shaft.
This became known as the “Money Pit.”
Over the years, diggers reported strange discoveries:
Layers of coconut fiber (which doesn’t naturally occur in Nova Scotia).
“Flagstones” and oak platforms at intervals.
An inscribed stone (now lost) that allegedly gave a cryptic message about treasure buried below.
Traps that flooded the shaft with seawater via hidden tunnels — the “booby trap” feature.
People have speculated the pit might hold:
Pirate treasure (e.g., Captain Kidd, Blackbeard).
Spanish or British military loot.
Knights Templar or Freemason relics (the Holy Grail, Ark of the Covenant).
Shakespeare’s lost manuscripts (Francis Bacon theory).
A natural sinkhole misinterpreted as man-made.
A local superstition says seven people must die before the treasure is found.
As of today, at least six treasure hunters have reportedly died in accidents on the island.
Dozens of companies and wealthy adventurers have dug, pumped, and drilled — often at great expense — without definitive proof of treasure.
The current popularizers are Rick and Marty Lagina, featured in the reality series The Curse of Oak Island (History Channel), who use high-tech methods but have also found mostly artifacts and debris rather than gold.
Many historians think:
The “layers” were just early well-shaft construction or natural formations in glacial till.
The coconut fiber and foreign wood might be from ship repair or ballast dumping, not treasure hiding.
Over 200 years of digging has muddled the site so much that it’s now impossible to be sure what was originally there.
If you like, I can also tell you about the earliest known written sources on the Oak Island story — they’re surprisingly different from the later, more dramatic versions. That helps show how the mystery got embellished over time.
The earliest written sources for the Oak Island story are surprisingly modest compared to the elaborate “booby-trapped Templar vault” narrative you hear today.
The earliest known printed account is in the Liverpool Transcript (a Nova Scotia newspaper) from October 1861, later reprinted in the Novascotian in 1862.
It tells of a depression in the ground discovered in 1799 (not 1795 — the date changes in later tellings).
A man named Daniel McInnis and two friends dug and found logs at 10, 20, and 30 feet, but no treasure.
No mention of mysterious symbols or coconut fiber yet.
By the 1860s–1890s, local histories (like those by Rev. Dodd and others) began adding details:
“Coconut fiber” appears as a strange imported material.
A “stone with strange markings” is introduced — supposedly found at 90 feet.
The flooding trap feature becomes more prominent in retellings.
First widely publicized in an 1860s account.
Said to have a code that, when “translated,” read something like:
"Forty feet below, two million pounds are buried."
The stone itself is lost, and no reliable early sketch exists — many researchers think the inscription story was invented later to drum up investor interest.
Even in the 19th century, some locals suspected:
It might have been an old ship repair pit, not a treasure shaft.
The flooding was natural — Oak Island sits on limestone and has natural cavities that connect to the sea.
By the late 1800s, treasure-hunting syndicates needed funding.
Adding “mystery” elements — booby traps, coded stones, exotic fibers — made the story exciting enough to attract investors from Halifax, New York, and London.
This is how a fairly mundane digging story turned into a centuries-long legend.
If you like, I can give you a side-by-side chart showing how the original Oak Island account evolved into the modern “Templar vault” myth — it’s a perfect case study in how folklore mutates.
Here’s a simplified side-by-side timeline/chart comparing the earliest, original Oak Island accounts with modern legend elements, showing how the story evolved from simple facts to elaborate myths:
| Aspect / Detail | Earliest Accounts (circa 1861–1880s) | Modern Legend / Popular Myth (20th century onward) |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery date | 1799 or 1803 (early reports vary slightly) | Often cited as 1795 |
| Who found it | Daniel McInnis and two friends | Often generalized to a group of treasure hunters or syndicates |
| Nature of site | A depression in the ground; digging found logs at intervals | A deliberately engineered “money pit” with wooden platforms |
| Flooding mechanism | Flooding reported but thought to be natural | Elaborate “booby-trap” flood tunnels connected to the sea |
| Strange materials | Logs found; coconut fiber first appears in accounts decades later, likely added to add mystery | Coconut fiber said to be deliberately used to reinforce tunnels (odd because coconuts don’t grow locally) |
| Inscribed stone | No mention in earliest reports | Stone with mysterious coded inscription claiming treasure worth millions |
| Treasure claim | No clear mention of treasure value; just intrigue about the pit | Massive treasure caches—Templar gold, pirate loot, Spanish gold, Shakespeare manuscripts, even Holy Grail |
| Associated groups | None | Knights Templar, Freemasons, Pirates, Mafia, Secret Societies |
| Excavations | Repeated digging by locals in 19th century | Commercial treasure hunts continuing into the 21st century |
| Public perception | Curiosity mixed with skepticism | Cult following, TV shows, documentaries, conspiracy theories |
| Historical documentation | Local newspaper reports, town records | Many “lost” documents, disputed artifacts, unverifiable claims |
The original story was a simple curiosity: a hole with logs and natural flooding.
Over decades, new elements like coconut fiber, coded stones, flooding traps, and exotic treasure claims were added, often to boost investor interest.
The story has never produced credible treasure but persists due to mystery, romance, and popular media.
If you want, I can recommend some good sources/books for deeper study!
Great! Here are some well-regarded books and resources that explore the Oak Island Mystery from various angles—historical, skeptical, and cultural:
"The Oak Island Mystery: The Secret of the Money Pit" by Edward Rowe Snow
A classic, early detailed account by a local historian, written with skepticism but also fascination. Good for understanding the early 20th-century perspective.
"The Oak Island Gold Mystery" by John Godwin
Focuses on the search for treasure and the various expeditions. Covers many details and theories with a critical eye.
"Oak Island Obsession: The Restall Story" by R. A. Restall
A first-person account of the Restall family's extensive treasure hunting efforts in the 1960s-70s, providing insider experience and documenting modern attempts.
"The Curse of Oak Island: The Story of the World's Longest Treasure Hunt" by Randall Sullivan
This book is a well-researched popular account and was a key source for the History Channel series. Covers history, myths, and recent investigations.
"Treasure Island: The Search for Oak Island's Legendary Lost Loot" by Michael Arbuthnot and Rick Lagina
Written by researchers directly involved in recent digs; gives a current perspective but with critical insights.
History Channel’s “The Curse of Oak Island” (TV series)
Popularizes the story today, with ongoing exploration. Though entertaining, it’s often speculative.
Skeptical articles and analyses by treasure hunting historians or local historians like Edward Rowe Snow or Frederic Blair
Useful to balance the sensationalism with grounded facts.
Academic articles on local Nova Scotia history
Place Oak Island in the context of 18th-19th-century maritime activities and folklore.
If you want, I can also help find specific scholarly papers or detailed timelines on Oak Island’s excavation history! Would that interest you?
I remember a particularly smug "review" of "The X Files" published in some Swedish newspaper during the 00´s. It went something like this: "The creepy pessimistic atmosphere of the X Files, with all the conspiracy theories, may have looked convincing and edgy during the 1990´s. No more". Ahem, the 00´s were arguably *worse* and more conspiratorial than the 1990´s. But whatever.
I wonder what the idiot optimist who wrote this BS does today? I mean, "The X Files" look like a freakin´ documentary!
The clips above are from one of the pivotal episodes, "One Son", in which Cancer Man (a.k.a. The Smoker) finally reveals the full extent of the Illuminati-alien conspiracy to agent Mulder...
In "The X-Files", the male agent (Mulder) is the true believer, while the female ditto (Scully) is the skeptic. Apparently, the creator of the series - Chris Carter - deliberately wanted to reverse the standard gender stereotypes. Males are usually depicted as hard-nosed skeptics and rational thinkers, while females are emotion-driven and somewhat irrational true believers.
But did he really succeed in reversing the stereotypes? While Mulder is clearly unhinged, he is also right! In the in-story universe of "The X-Files", alien abductions do happen, there is a vast conspiracy to hide the truth, and even "the monster of the week" is real. And Mulder sees it all, pursues it and wants to expose it. But this is just another version of the Rational Male (and Brave Explorer) stereotype. What could be more rational than trusting your five natural senses?
Scully, by contrast, is wrong. So strictly speaking *she* is the irrational person, not wanting to see what´s right in front of her. Note also that Scully is a devout Catholic. That is: the faith-is-female stereotype.
So when all is said and done, it´s not clear whether we´ve really moved the needle here.
So the Swedish cabel network TV6 just showed "Independence Day". And yes, today is July 4. While contemplating this curious co-incidence, it struck me that they showed US-patriot films all week: "Olympus has fallen", "Angel has fallen", "Patriots Day", "White House Down" and now "ID4". Note the exclusion of "London has fallen"!
OK, some of those films were quite good as action flicks go, but it still looks a bit weird that a Swedish TV network goes all in with American nationalism. The Trump factor? Or just one of those things? No idea.
Thanx for the entertainment, I suppose.
Back in 2007, Swedish media (as usual) assumed that Sweden would win the Eurovision Song Contest (yes, the ESC again). Sweden was represented by The Ark. And no, they didn´t win...
Swedish media did come up with an explanation of sorts. The French band Les Fatals Picards performed immidiately after the Swedish entry. And they looked like a parody of The Ark?! Hence, the audience just laughed at the Swedish song...
Looking at the two performances side by side *does* give a certain credence to the allegation. LOL. Personally, I wonder about the name of the French constellation. I mean, one of their guys does look like Jean-Luc Picard...
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| Credit: Luna04 |
"Humans before Neanderthals" is a fascinating documentary about archaic humans in Europe about 450,000 years ago. Here, they are assigned to the species Homo heidelbergensis or Heidelberg Man. This species is believed to be ancestral to both our species and the Neanderthals.
These robust humans lived in Europe during an ice age, hunted reindeer and bears, manufactured spears and hand axes, and lived in caves at least during the winter. They didn´t seem to have fire. The bears were presumably hunted for their hides, which were used as clothes. It´s also possible that they "buried" their dead by throwing them into shafts in the caves. One handaxe have been found in such a burial shaft, perhaps as a symbolic parting gift? The documentary calls this "the oldest shrine in the world".
There is evidence that Heidelberg Man (and Woman) felt compassion, since they took care of disabled children. However, everything clearly wasn´t alright in Old Europe. Some have suggested that these archaic humans were cannibals. While compassionate towards their own children, they killed and ate those of other bands! But sure, all material remains are open to interpretation. Perhaps the makers of this documentary side with one particular faction within the archeological community? If so, it´s the most pessimistic one, since one scientist interviewed argues that Homo heidelbergensis practiced cannibalism *by choice* even during periods when other food sources were abundant...
I admit that I was fascinated by "Humans before Neanderthals". Previously Homo heidelbergensis was just a name, now they (or those in Europe assigned to this species) have an identity. It´s also rather sobering that humans for most of their existence lived in this kind of "barbaric" and "primitive" stage. In that sense, this is the natural state of man. We are the anomaly.
With that reflection, I end this review.
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| - Are you assuming my species, human ape? |
So the "de-extincted Dire Wolves" are really Grey Wolves who identify as Dire Wolves? Got it.
The Dire Wolf non-mystery un-thickens. Judging by this piece at the Live Science website, the "de-extincted Dire Wolves" aren´t even hybrids between Grey Wolves and Dire Wolves (Dire Wolf DNA has supposedly been extracted from ancient bones). Nor are they Grey Wolves with some Dire Wolf DNA inserted into their genomes. No, they are 100% Grey Wolves which has been designed to look like Dire Wolves by some "native" alterations to the Grey Wolf DNA?!
One thing that struck me was that the "de-extincted Dire Wolves" are all-white. But how do we know whether Dire Wolves (who disappeared 10,000 years ago) had white fur? I don´t think we do. So why are the animals white, then? Obviously because one of the fictitious "Dire Wolves" in the fantasy series "Game of Thrones" was white. One of the "de-extincted Dire Wolves" is even named after a rather notorious character in that show!
In other words, we are dealing with a kind of designer wolves (compare designer dogs). Could there be a market for these kinds of animals? Probably yes, but a resurrected "Aenocyon dirus" from prehistory it is not.
Colossal´s "dire wolf" isn´t a dire wolf, experts say
Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi are three dire wolves brought back from extinction by some crazy American start up. Or maybe not. It seems the "dire wolves" are really grey wolves genetically modified to look like the legendary extinct species (which may not have been a real wolf in the first place).
But sure, the whole thing does have a certain Frankenstein-esque quality. If the three pups ever get fossilized, this may confuse genetically enhanced mad scientists in the far future. And yes, one of the puppies is named after a certain character in "Game of Thrones"!
Some really bizarre "Social Darwinist" speculations in this one. I mean, is Eddie ironic? Has he lost it? Still, it´s interesting that a certain Yoruba female is the only voice of reason in the (dis)United Kingdom...
This is unfortunately the only YouTube clip I´ve found concerning the interface between General MacArthur and Korean shamanism. It´s fiction. From the 2023 TV series "Behind Your Touch", to be exact. The actor stars a "livelihood shaman" who does indeed pray to MacArthur´s undead soul, offering him American fast food! Note also that he is dressed in uniform.
Well, at least we now know how MacArthur devotees are depicted in South Korean pop culture...
I didn´t know that the murder of Laura Palmer in David Lynch´s TV series "Twin Peaks" was inspired by a real crime case, the murder of Hazel Drew in New York State in 1908. Apparently, Mark Frost (David Lynch´s co-creator) used to spend his summers in the area and heard local legends about Drew´s ghost still haunting the woods! There are indeed obvious (and disturbing) similarities between the true crime case and the TV series. Indeed, it seems that Lynch and Frost freely modelled every murder suspect in "Twin Peaks" on men who were at one point investigated for Drew´s murder. Except, I suppose, BOB...
Recently deceased film maker David Lynch was an active practitioner of Transcendental Meditation (TM). Or perhaps a member of the TM cult, if you´re more critical of these things. The first video above features Zen Buddhist teacher and author Brad Warner critiquing TM. It´s all in there: the Natural Law Party, the yogic flying, the obsession with celebrity (including the Beatles and Lynch), the claim that TM is just a wholesome meditation technique (when it´s really a guru-centered Shaiva sect) and the expensive mantras. Yepp, a real blast from the past. Or at least the 1970´s.
I assume Lynch must have been interested in Buddhism before he went into TM, since the Dharma is mentioned at several points in "Twin Peaks". Three examples in the clips below. My favorite is "Albert´s path is a strange and difficult one", although it´s not made explicit whether or not the hard nosed detective is specifically a Buddhist. I mean, he could just as well be interpreted as a Quaker?!
At least we´re the happy generations, right?
"Makten över Svalbard" is the Swedish title of a Spanish (sic) documentary about Svalbard, the contested archipelago in the Arctic Sea. I´m not familiar with the original Spanish title. Svalbard has a somewhat curious status. Most of the territory is administered by Norway, but it´s simultaneously also an international demilitarized zone. Any nation that signs the so-called Svalbard Agreement can exploit the archipelago´s natural resources.
There are two towns at Svalbard: Longyearbyen and Barentsburg. The former is the seat of the Norwegian governor. The latter is a Russian mining town and seems to be de facto independent of the Norwegian authorities. A large portion of the documentary deals with the simmering conflict between the two towns. Barentsburg looks like an anachronism, with a bust of Lenin, some Soviet flags and even a mural showing a red (!) polar bear. By contrast, Longyearbyen is surprisingly modern. Half of the population are Norwegians, the other half come from 50 different nations.
When Russia attacked Ukraine, most Ukrainian citizens left Barentsburg and moved to Longyearbyen. The Norwegian settlement then imposed its own "sanctions" against Barentsburg. They refuse to do any business with the Russian town, tourism is actively discouraged, and climate scientists stationed in the Norwegian town don´t seem to be allowed to work with Russian scientists. Barentsburg looks pretty deserted, with most shops and diners being almost empty. Western sanctions against Russia makes it difficult for the Russian mining company to obtain new machinery.
Despite the Russian coal mines being barely profitable, Russia nevertheless refuses to evacuate. Svalbard is simply too strategically important and might become even more so in the future, ironically because of global warming. If the ice recedes in the Arctic Sea, new shipping lanes will open up. The Northeast Passage might suddenly become more important than the Suez Canal. Also, new natural resources could be exploited on the islands. Russia has already invited China to finance a mysterious project at Pyramiden, an abandoned mine...
Meanwhile, Longyearbyen are setting themselves up for failure. The last coal mine on the Norwegian side will close in 2025, the town will make a "Green transition" to solar and geothermal energy, et cetera. The mining workers (the only longterm residents) will leave, and most people at Longyearbyen will presumably be transient scientists and tourists. Not sure how this is supposed to counter the Russian influence?
However, there is also an element of hypocrisy in the whole thing. One scientist says that diesel fuel will be used even after 2025, and it turns out that the mine (originally set to close already in 2023) was kept operational for two more years since Germany needed the coal after losing Russian oil and gas due to Western sanctions. Note also the absurdity of importing diesel fuel to islands with *literal coal mines*! Both are fossil fuels, of course.
A fascinating part of the docu is about the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a facility for the storage of plant seeds from all over the world. The seeds are stored in the permafrost. But...the permafrost might start melting due to climate change. What will happen to the unique Arctic genebank then?
All in all, a quite interesting documentary, although I often drew somewhat different conclusions from it than those presumably intended by the producers.
Sure wonder what happens when somebody tells a certain Donald Trump about this valuable piece of real estate in the Arctic...
