With a flood of images and videos coming out of the affected area in southern and central Turkey and western Syria from the February 6, 2023 series of quakes, there are MANY inaccuracies, misattributed content, conspiracies, and pseudoscientific claims being shared and promoted by nonexperts.
Category: Anomalies & Strange Objects
Viral videos of electric rocks
January 22, 2023 was the height of a wave of social media posts about what people claimed were “electric rocks” found in the DR of Congo. A video showed a close up of someone touching two rocks together and producing a strong electric spark. The clip was widely shared and accumulated millions of views. But it was not as it appeared.
Yummy Rocks – Part 3
Part 3 of a series displaying pics of rock and mineral specimens that look remarkably like edibles. Have fun with this parade of yummy-looking rocks that resemble meat, sweets, fruits and vegetables, and other fixings.
Yummy Rocks – Part 2
Part 2 of a photo collection of rock and mineral specimens that look sweet, juicy, and good enough to eat. Yummy!
Yummy Rocks – Part 1
Part 1 of a series of photos showing rock and mineral specimens that resemble yummy food good enough to eat. Check out this forbidden food smorgasbord!
Japan’s “killing stone” splits
The infamous Sessho-seki, a protected boulder in the volcanic area of Mount Nesu in Japan, has split. The break occurred around March 5, 2022. A legend says the stone was the prison of the evil nine-tailed fox demoness Tamamo-no-Mae and that anyone who touched it died. Some people fear that evil has been released into the world. In reality, the stone had been cracked for a while and held by a rope. The rock likely split from natural weathering processes. The area is known for sulfur hot springs and potentially poisonous gases which may have contributed to the “killing stone” myth.
Booming sounds attributed to karst
Some residents of Silver Spring Township in southcentral PA began to experience booming noises days after heavy rain deluged the area in September 2021. Township officials consulted geological experts who concluded that the sounds originated underground but were not related to earthquakes. Instead, the karst system was actively moving the water and debris in the subsurface.
Demon or dino print of the Appalachian Trail
A weird impression in a rock along the Appalachian Trail appears to look like a demon or a dinosaur footprint. What is it, really?
The fabled Blue Hole of the Pine Barrens
The fabled blue hole of the New Jersey Pine Barrens is rumored to be bottomless and the home of demons or monsters who will pull swimmers under.
Cookie monster agate
A geode infilled with milky blue quartz/agate bears an uncanny resemblance to Sesame Street’s infamous Cookie Monster.
Hexenplatten – the witches’ stone
The pitted surface of this outcrop in Switzerland was a mystery. Local people called it the “witches’ stone” or Hexenplatten because they imagined it was formed from the witches dancing.
Ringing rocks and sonorous stones
Ringing rocks, rocks that make a bell-like sound when hit with a hammer, are rare but occur across the world. They are seen as magical, mysterious, and scientifically curious.
Discovery of weird water pool in Lechuguilla cave
The photo of a mint-green, pristine pool in Lechuguilla cave circulating on social media resulted in expressions of speculation, wonder, and a desire to visit. For many reasons, the cave area must remain off-limits and isolated.
Eye agate: The rock that looks back at you
Eye agate is formed from water-deposited mineral inside rock voids. The result can be the creation of a very spooky specimen that attains legendary properties.
Faces in Places: Mimetoliths
Rock formations that look like faces are called “mimetoliths”. Faces in rock can accrue great cultural significance as land marks. Societies place spiritual meaning into features that appear meaningful because they resemble a human form.
Devil’s Corkscrews
In the late 19th century, settlers came across bizarre, giant “stone screws” vertically embedded in the ground. Flummoxed as to what could cause such structures, the locals named them the “devil’s corkscrews”. Paleontologists would argue for over nearly a century about what they really were.
Moving rocks of the Racetrack Playa
For a long while, there was a popular mystery surrounding how moderately-sized rocks moved on their own across a dead flat surface in Death Valley leaving a trail behind them. That mystery is solved.
The hammer entombed in rock
The London Hammer is an artifact beloved by Creationists because it appears to be a recent object embedded in old rock. While anomalous, it has a normal explanation.
Fairy Stones (natural crosses)
A common twinning habit of the mineral staurolite results in cross-like crystal formations and guarantees it will be perceived as magical. It’s common in Fairy Stone State Park in Virginia.