I was wondering what you guys think are the most stupid UM segments? I saw the one about the chocolates that are aphrodisiac's a few days ago and its gotta rank up there in the top 5 of the most stupid ones. What a waste of air time! I also have to put Resurrection Mary (which they now show about once a week) pretty high up there as well. Any other candidates?

Hey!

Don't knock the chocolate aphrodisiacs. They work! I swear! And don't forget about green M&Ms! They work just as well!

My vote goes to that story about the kid from the Midwest who put a letter in a bottle and threw it into a canal. Some time later he got a letter from someone in California who claimed to have found the bottle on one of the local beaches. UM had some experts on ocean currents (can you think of a more boring field to be an "expert" in?) talking about how the bottle may have drifted through the various river systems and into the ocean.

Another stupid story was the one about those African (?) fertility statues that could help women become pregnant.

When either story comes up, it's time to see what else is on.

JS

Originally posted by justins5256
Hey!

Don't knock the chocolate aphrodisiacs. They work! I swear! And don't forget about green M&Ms! They work just as well!

My vote goes to that story about the kid from the Midwest who put a letter in a bottle and threw it into a canal. Some time later he got a letter from someone in California who claimed to have found the bottle on one of the local beaches. UM had some experts on ocean currents (can you think of a more boring field to be an "expert" in?) talking about how the bottle may have drifted through the various river systems and into the ocean.

Another stupid story was the one about those African (?) fertility statues that could help women become pregnant.

When either story comes up, it's time to see what else is on.

JS

Same here... :mad: They seem to air more than other segments as well. :rolleyes:

How about the one about bee venom therapy? I always thought that one was pretty pointless. I was also tempted to say the one about therapeudic touch, but I actually found that one somewhat intriguing.

The white trash haunted house!

They smell an awful odor --- but it’s just Jabba's (their son's) B.O. Then Jabba’s wife, Elli Mae, attacks him after being “possessed”. UGH!

Yeah that case was also noteworthy of Stack saying "poo-poohed" and noting sarcastically when the family poured salt around the house that "a few snails were sacrificed".

The aphrodisiac case makes me think of Stack's creepy smile at the end of the segment. It really was a poor fit.

But the most pointless segment in my opinion and which was a big reason why I started to get put off by UM by the end of 1997 was the Men in Black case. Especially with that "witness" who walked by someone in *gasp!* a black trenchcoat, black hat and black sunglasses! Well stop the presses! It was such a waste of a good segment.

I always couldn't wait to FFWD thru the ghost ones but the one that annoyed me the most was this woman called Kim who claimed to 'sweat' gold leaf from her skin! Made me long for the return of TV snow!:mad:

I agree with you PracTz! That lady that said she cried jewels and would sweat gold definitely deserves to be on this list! You gotta know somethings fishy when she wouldn't even give her last name and her son asked to be interviewed in silhouette!:lol:

yea the lady with the gold foil did seem as though it was a hoax, but she has also appeared in many news articles and magazines with her case actually being accepted. Actually, that new ripley's believe it or not encyclopedia that came out a couple months ago has her in it with an explanation more scientifically deeper than UMs theories, so her case must have some substance. But then again, the pregnant statues were in their offices, and those I believe are a total hoax. If the ladies wanted children, they were obviously having sex as well as touching the statues, and they used the statues as a way to get some kind of commercial recognition, in case they did touch it (like the ladies in the segment).

I also heard that all chocolates, not only the ones in the segment, make u kind of horny because of some sort of chemical stimulant inside them that fuels your sex drive. I thought that Stack's smile did look sort of pervy at the end as well.

Those CBS years definitely had some of the stupidest segments. That chinese therapy called chugong or dewgong or whatever was pretty pointless and random. The bottle one was pretty stupid, but UM did a good job of making it a thoughtful mystery. Its obvious they totally made up how the bottle got there, but the mystery still remains on how it did.

One of the weirdest ones u guys didn't mention was the segment on this man that got taken on a near-death experience ride from his hospital bed. I can't remember his name, but I remember people telling him that "its time", and he was forced down the hospital halls, and then he walked into a dark area and ugly looking people were taunting him and biting him. UM tried to make it scary, but it ended up being totally laughable, and he said it changed his life. I know it sounds weird, but maybe someone else knows which one I'm talking about...

Originally posted by hottstuff25
yea the lady with the gold foil did seem as though it was a hoax, but she has also appeared in many news articles and magazines with her case actually being accepted. Actually, that new ripley's believe it or not encyclopedia that came out a couple months ago has her in it with an explanation more scientifically deeper than UMs theories, so her case must have some substance.


Well, since it was featured on 'Ripley's Believe It or Not', that gives the option of opting NOT to believe it so that's what I'm gonna do! Sorry to foil the foil-act!:lol:

Hi Hottstuff,

Was that the one where the car fell on the guy? Apparently, the guy wasn't the most charitable person on the block and apparently demons/devils were torturing his soul while he was "clinically dead".

He came back to life and now goes to church, hugs his wife, plays football with his children and pets the dog.

Is that the one? Or did I dream this all up?

jeeps

Originally posted by hottstuff25
One of the weirdest ones u guys didn't mention was the segment on this man that got taken on a near-death experience ride from his hospital bed. I can't remember his name, but I remember people telling him that "its time", and he was forced down the hospital halls, and then he walked into a dark area and ugly looking people were taunting him and biting him. UM tried to make it scary, but it ended up being totally laughable, and he said it changed his life. I know it sounds weird, but maybe someone else knows which one I'm talking about...

Woah. I remember that. The guy claimed he had a vision of Hell. Yikes! I don't remember the guy's name (was it Howard?), but he kind of looked like Dr. Phil. That is most definitely up there on the list of stupid stories. Unfortunately, it also ranks high on the list of "most played". I've seen it more times than I can count.

JS

hahaha u guys made that **** funny. yea thats the one. I don't understand why UM would buy into such crap sometimes...was it hell he went to? I'm pretty sure all of us have had dreams about hell at least once in our lives. It's a mystery to everyone, not only some weird guy who got hit by a car.

Hi hottstuff,

Remember...he didn't get hit by a car....one fell on top of him while he was changing the oil. So while his family was trying to pull the car off his chest he had visions of Hell.

Sheesh, I don't need a car to fall on top of me to have visions of Hell...I'm a teacher - I can have them any time I want.

jeeps

Did anyone watch the show today? There was a story that would definitely qualify for this list! This woman is diagnosed with terminal cancer and is undergoing chemo to try to prolong her life. She claims that while she was lying in bed she began to levitate and this little UFO flew into her window and flew up and down her body then disappeared. Well after that she was miraculously cured of cancer! Her doctor wouldn't even be interviewed (can you blame him?) and all they could get another cancer doctor to say was that it was probably the chemo that cured the cancer. I can't believe UM got suckered into wasting their time with this one. Definitely not one of their shining moments!

I don't really want to classify this case as "stupid" since it did involve an unsolved death, but there was one case that really left me wondering why it was ever profiled on UM. Two men were drinking at a bar and got into an argument over a woman (I think one of the men was going to give the woman a ride home after the bar closed and the other guy wasn't happy about it). After the first guy took the woman home, the second guy showed up at his house and they had another argument. Then the second guy left...and the next day the first guy was found in his garage...dead of carbon monoxide poisoning. The people they interviewed for the segment were saying things like "who could have turned the car's engine on?" "Who could have closed the garage door?" "How did all this happen?" like they thought some unknown third party had come in...or maybe they thought aliens were involved. I'm no crime scene investigator, but it seems like the police shouldn't have had to look too far to find the right suspect.

That would be the Kenneth Ingy case. So you think the other guy killed him? Interesting. I don't know what I think, it probably could have gone either way. I do think its possible that since Kenneth was so drunk he could have left his truck running for whatever reason and got out of it to do something then passed out and after a while the carbon monoxide from the truck running was enough to do him in. Its hard to say.

hey crystal dawn I know which one ur talking about. That UFO healing one. It was on the UFOs dvds. It looked pretty promising because I had never seen it before the dvds came out. While I was watching it, it came to me I was watching pure stupidity. I wish I could tell my friends that a UFO came in my room and cured the flu I had last week. UM could only get away with **** like that.

I just remembered another stupid one as well during the CBS era. It was about this man from Colorado who was doing a logging job with one of his friends, and he was never seen again. They don't know what happened to him, but his British wife thought he was murdered by that man. That was the sane part.

The segment went crazy when an old man living on the river started hearing his dead voice and telling him that he was killed by his friend and thrown in a river. There was something else about a fight outside of a bar. The old man would type down on his computer everything he would tell to him in his head. He claimed that his spirit was talking to him and that he knew how the man died. His own wife believed everything he said. However, since this is not "physical" evidence, the police did not use it as a claim.

The mystery is there, but the old man must have been some kind of witness to the crime. I don't understand why all this crap was made up. It just seemed really stupid and crazy to me.

The man that you are talking about was called David Chase. Actually, his dead body was found in a river. It was noted that he was found with his boots on and it looked like his jeans were cut off of him, and the old guy that was hearing voices told David's wife that his jean's had been cut off. Weird. The man that was David's co-worker and is accused of killing David, was named Matt Morahofski (spelling?) and he refused to participate in the UM segment. Since the man that was hearing David's voice has died, I wonder how David's widow is doing with finding out what really happened to her husband.

A couple stand out as cases that are so bad they should never be aired again.

Cokeville school hostage crisis, it is played at least once a week, it sucks............

The child genius , that kid is such a pansy he thinks he can solve the worlds problems.

The vampire episode is also a dumb one.
a couple others come to mind that I will post later

Originally posted by unsolvedfan4life
A couple stand out as cases that are so bad they should never be aired again.

The child genius , that kid is such a pansy he thinks he can solve the worlds problems.

Yeah, but you have to admit that kid was cute. The part where he talks about the deterioration of American society and says "we're going to have a worse fate than the Roman empire, I just know it" cracks me up every time. Its kinda like watching an old newsreel or educational film strip from the fifties. The tone is always way too serious, so it's funny when viewed today.

JS

That's a case of being too smart for your own good.

cokeville was one of those segments which was only cool the first time you watched it. You guys are right though. It just becomes stupid and repetitious if they overplay it. I did think it was one the most worthy miracle stories on UM, cut the presence of the angel or whatever. It probably made soccer moms cry when it first aired.

I don't remember the child genius one very well, but I was intrigued by how much he knew. I didn't find it stupid though. Maybe a bit overexaggerated. I think the main reason we wanna trash it is cuz we all wished we had some sort of smartass power from birth. Hey, I wouldn't be wondering and posting about all these mysteries if I thought I knew the world and could predict or assume all of them.

Which vampire episode were u talking about 4life? I'm not sure if there was two or more. Was it the one about the journalist lady who forced herself in the vampire nightclub scene of new york and later disappeared because she became too involved in the mafia? Or is there another vampire one?

hotstuff the one I was talking about was the case of the vampire cult. they were doing some kind of report of all these people that acted like vampires. They were searching for some girl who got too involved with the cult.

Another one was when the woman who's grandmother got hit by a car, it is rediculus the amount of times this airs. I feel sorry for her, but did you see the update when she was at the Unsolved Mysteries Tele-Center. She had a worse five o' clock shadow than me. She had a thick stache. UGGGGGG. In all seriousness it was a very tragic story:(

Originally posted by hottstuff25
I don't remember the child genius one very well, but I was intrigued by how much he knew. I didn't find it stupid though. Maybe a bit overexaggerated. I think the main reason we wanna trash it is cuz we all wished we had some sort of smartass power from birth. Hey, I wouldn't be wondering and posting about all these mysteries if I thought I knew the world and could predict or assume all of them.

Yeah. But to be honest, I don't envy the kid that much. I mean, what kind of childhood do you think he had? The whole thing about his concern for society just made me want to reach through the TV, hand him a cold beer, and tell him to chill cuz life ain't that bad. :)

JS

Yeah, that kid was a bit odd.

I remember the part where he and his mom visit a museum of natural history in Denver and the kid notices a flaw in a painting/mural. The soldiers depicted (Spanish conquistadors or French soldiers, Im not certain) were wearing the wrong type of helmets. Who would notice that!

There was a Bigfoot episode which recently re-aired which is pretty lame. It goes something like this.

A Canadian (I think he was Canadian?) prospector is staking his claim in the mountains, when he hears a loud pounding noise. At first , he thinks its a family member playing a trick on him. But moments later a large furry beast tumbles down the side of the mountain and lands in the pathway next to the prospector. (Apparently Bigfoots are clumsy). Scared, the guy, takes off down the mountain toward his campsite with the Bigfoot chasing, close behind.

Unsovled Mysteries then interviews a 'Bigfoot expert" (an important sounding British guy wearing an asoct) who describes the chase as a Bigfoot " demonstration charge".

As far as Im concerned, this story is a demonstration of foolishness.

Originally posted by hottstuff25
One of the weirdest ones u guys didn't mention was the segment on this man that got taken on a near-death experience ride from his hospital bed. I can't remember his name, but I remember people telling him that "its time", and he was forced down the hospital halls, and then he walked into a dark area and ugly looking people were taunting him and biting him. UM tried to make it scary, but it ended up being totally laughable, and he said it changed his life. I know it sounds weird, but maybe someone else knows which one I'm talking about...

What are you talking about -- that segment scared me half to death! I still can't go into a hospital without looking over my shoulder.

I also heard that all chocolates, not only the ones in the segment, make u kind of horny because of some sort of chemical stimulant inside them that fuels your sex drive.

It is phenylethylamine -- the same chemical your body produces when you fall in love.

That chinese therapy called chugong or dewgong or whatever was pretty pointless and random.

That's qi gong, and it's a real practice that has been working for centuries. It's a little like acupuncture. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qi_Gong Did you mean the way they handled it was pointless and random?

Stack had kind of a track record of putting on segments about alternative medicine, just to inform the public that they existed.

The one I wish to God (yeah) he'd done was Aimee Semple McPherson and her 4square Gospel Church -- that woman racked up more verifiable, documented faith healings in a shorter time than anyone.

I agrre with that 1 about the woman sweating gold leaf, It was so rediculouse it almost made me vomit i guess she thinks people are stupid, I mean she should set herself up in a mall as a kiosk could make some money with all that gold, she wouldnt even have to use a cart she could stand there people could pay as they pick.

[I]"Another one was when the woman who's grandmother got hit by a car, it is rediculus the amount of times this airs. I feel sorry for her, but did you see the update when she was at the Unsolved Mysteries Tele-Center. She had a worse five o' clock shadow than me. She had a thick stache. UGGGGGG.

You are cracking me up!! You are so right. You would think she would shave before appearing on national television.

Oliver the monkey

Hey, did anyone notice resurrection mary is going to be on several times this week. Are we all excited? :lol:

Hey, did anyone notice resurrection mary is going to be on several times this week. Are we all excited? :lol:


yep http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=129951 :crazy:

Hey, did anyone notice resurrection mary is going to be on several times this week. Are we all excited? :lol:

WOW YIPEEEEEEEEEEE I guess ill have to cancel my appointment to collect my lottery winnings i just cant miss resurection mary :rolleyes:

I always couldn't wait to FFWD thru the ghost ones but the one that annoyed me the most was this woman called Kim who claimed to 'sweat' gold leaf from her skin! Made me long for the return of TV snow!:mad:

You mean "Kati"? She was so full of it! You could see the tricks she used when the illusionist pointed them out. It's sad what people do to get noticed.

Did anyone watch the show today? There was a story that would definitely qualify for this list! This woman is diagnosed with terminal cancer and is undergoing chemo to try to prolong her life. She claims that while she was lying in bed she began to levitate and this little UFO flew into her window and flew up and down her body then disappeared. Well after that she was miraculously cured of cancer! Her doctor wouldn't even be interviewed (can you blame him?) and all they could get another cancer doctor to say was that it was probably the chemo that cured the cancer. I can't believe UM got suckered into wasting their time with this one. Definitely not one of their shining moments!

The "miracle" UFO segment. I remember that. A UFO flew over and suddenly her TERMINAL cancer was cured. Man, if the UFO is that great, maybe it can come to the U.P. and fix my lawn. It's dying on the side facing the side street. :ufo:

Yeah, that kid was a bit odd.

I remember the part where he and his mom visit a museum of natural history in Denver and the kid notices a flaw in a painting/mural. The soldiers depicted (Spanish conquistadors or French soldiers, Im not certain) were wearing the wrong type of helmets. Who would notice that!

That kid needs a cold beer and some friends his OWN age.

Did anyone watch the show today? There was a story that would definitely qualify for this list! This woman is diagnosed with terminal cancer and is undergoing chemo to try to prolong her life. She claims that while she was lying in bed she began to levitate and this little UFO flew into her window and flew up and down her body then disappeared. Well after that she was miraculously cured of cancer! Her doctor wouldn't even be interviewed (can you blame him?) and all they could get another cancer doctor to say was that it was probably the chemo that cured the cancer. I can't believe UM got suckered into wasting their time with this one. Definitely not one of their shining moments!

Yeah, I remember the UFO cancer cure, possibly brought on by medication. Another one I liked, on a different program, was a UFO curing a British cop who got kicked in the balls in a fight with a suspect. The UFO came "'overin'" into his room, he was immediately cured of impotence and sired a child!

I just remembered another stupid one as well during the CBS era. It was about this man from Colorado who was doing a logging job with one of his friends, and he was never seen again. They don't know what happened to him, but his British wife thought he was murdered by that man. That was the sane part.

The segment went crazy when an old man living on the river started hearing his dead voice and telling him that he was killed by his friend and thrown in a river. There was something else about a fight outside of a bar. The old man would type down on his computer everything he would tell to him in his head. He claimed that his spirit was talking to him and that he knew how the man died. His own wife believed everything he said. However, since this is not "physical" evidence, the police did not use it as a claim.

The mystery is there, but the old man must have been some kind of witness to the crime. I don't understand why all this crap was made up. It just seemed really stupid and crazy to me.

It always seemed to me that the old man simply had suspicions based on reading a newspaper account of the case and chose this way to present them.

The "miracle" UFO segment. I remember that. A UFO flew over and suddenly her TERMINAL cancer was cured. Man, if the UFO is that great, maybe it can come to the U.P. and fix my lawn. It's dying on the side facing the side street. :ufo:

Hey, if they can produce crop circles which actually melt and rearrange the plants' molecular structures, why not give it a go?

Obviously, my #1 choice for timewasting hoax was Jim Boomgarden and his imaginary twin Billy. To me the real mystery is what was the truth, how many people were actually lying, and how many were just honestly deceived? Will NO ONE look into this?

The one that gets run over and over and over again to beyond annoying which is just utterly pointless is the supposedly touching story of the woman who named her son after her grandfather Benjamin. She dreams about her father selling lucky pencils at the racetrack as a kid, and her grandfather liking French toast. Her father then confirms these things happened, but she has no conscious memory of having heard them before she dreamed them. SO?????????? Even if they're telling the truth, it still doesn't make a mystery, and certainly nothing a viewer could call in about!

Thanks for the chocolate story, though, that was just so stupid I usually forget it altogether, and I actually liked several of the ones you guys named as stupid.

Georgia Rudolph, the "reincarnation" case. It's been suggested she visited a friend in Ohio, came back later after picking up historical information, and pretended to be the reincarnation of a drowned young lady. The only reasons I can think of that they like this so much is, it will never be solved, so they can rerun it endlessly, and it was beautifully and expensively filmed.

Any supernatural segment (ghost, UFO, bigfoots, aphrodisiacs, etc.), and especially the ones involving psychics supposedly "helping" the police. They should have been covered under the headline "Fraud"... :p

Any supernatural segment (ghost, UFO, bigfoots, aphrodisiacs, etc.), and especially the ones involving psychics supposedly "helping" the police. They should have been covered under the headline "Fraud"... :p

Heyohhh! Baddam ching!
Touché, my friend.:lol:

Thought of another one last night...

That segment from the later years about the baseball player who was suddenly stricken with partial amnesia after having a migraine headache. His memory eventually returned, but he also feels that the incident improved his baseball. I think his name was Tony Marabella (sp?)

I never cared for that one.

Update - I googled his name. Apparently his amnesia induced good luck streak ended. He doesn't play ball anymore and is a loan shark with mafia connections :eek:

http://www.senatorsbaseball.com/discus/messages/1/191.html?MondayDecember1920050441pm

How strange. Baseball player Jimmy Piersall wrote a similar life story, Fear Strikes Out, telling of a persistent headache which became more severe, a year of amnesia, and recovery. It was made into a movie starring Anthony Perkins.

especially the ones involving psychics supposedly "helping" the police.

I agree--I wish some of them would go sit in the "chair of death" or get abducted by aliens for research....

As far as the Georgia Rudolph segment, there was a brief update with a man claiming to be the reincarnation of the drowned girl's boyfriend.:rolleyes:

Everglades Bigfoot.

The rock segment. I think I'll grab a sharpie, walk into the woods and find a large rock to draw on. That way when somebody sees it, they'll have good luck:rolleyes:

One thing about the rock segemnt that still gets me to this day are those clown kids that find the thing ("maybe the Martians did it. It's really neat"). Ah , that reminds me of my childhood. I started watching UM when I was 9. I picked it up in 1989 and remember being so frustrated at the lack of acting ability oof some of the kids in the segments. The two boys in the rock segment and the sarcastic little slime in the JIm Boumgarten segment ("It's Billy" as he gives a smirk that screams for a punch in the nose) spring to mind. Also, the boy that plays little Jim )"My name's not Billy, it's Jimmy and if you don't call me by my right name, I won't play basketball with you") was an obnoxious putz as well.

As far as the Georgia Rudolph segment, there was a brief update with a man claiming to be the reincarnation of the drowned girl's boyfriend.:rolleyes:

Yes, and did you notice they dropped that like a hot potato though they reran the segment repeatedly? What made him so much less credible than her, when she could probably be proven to be a major liar?

The rock segment. I think I'll grab a sharpie, walk into the woods and find a large rock to draw on. That way when somebody sees it, they'll have good luck:rolleyes:

One thing about the rock segemnt that still gets me to this day are those clown kids that find the thing ("maybe the Martians did it. It's really neat"). Ah , that reminds me of my childhood. I started watching UM when I was 9. I picked it up in 1989 and remember being so frustrated at the lack of acting ability oof some of the kids in the segments. The two boys in the rock segment and the sarcastic little slime in the JIm Boumgarten segment ("It's Billy" as he gives a smirk that screams for a punch in the nose) spring to mind. Also, the boy that plays little Jim )"My name's not Billy, it's Jimmy and if you don't call me by my right name, I won't play basketball with you") was an obnoxious putz as well.

I think one of the kids in the magic rock segment said "it has all the aspects of nature" (with regard to the drawings). That line always cracked me up.

Regarding Georgia Rudolph, which was way overplayed, as I mentioned, probably because they spent so much on the beautifully-filmed reenactments--every time I saw it, the more her story didn't add up. Here http://www.starlightinnerprizes.com/Rudolph-Medical.htm is a website explaining how she is a 100% phony fraud!

I think one of the kids in the magic rock segment said "it has all the aspects of nature" (with regard to the drawings). That line always cracked me up.

That kid was cute, trying to find out what the mysterious drawings mean. His parents on the other hand, were a little kooky. :crazy:

Regarding Georgia Rudolph, which was way overplayed, as I mentioned, probably because they spent so much on the beautifully-filmed reenactments--every time I saw it, the more her story didn't add up. Here http://www.starlightinnerprizes.com/Rudolph-Medical.htm is a website explaining how she is a 100% phony fraud!
That was just on and good gosh I had to mute her. I could really care less that you think you are a reincarnation of some woman who killed herself.

I agree with posters who say they have to rerun that piece because it probably cost so much to film!

When this just aired, the pretty scenery caught my eye, but then I heard that pseudo psychiatrist guy talking about how this woman could possibly have suppressed memories of childhood abuse, multiple personalities, or ::gasp:: even the soul of a reincarnated person was breaking through blah blah blah blah blah blah...

I realized it was the Georgia Whatserface segment and that I desperately needed to do some chores around the house right that minute.

Now I know I may in the minority but I kinda liked Resurrection Mary! I liked the music that got played during the segment.

Anytime we have a "my three year old is talking about Grandpa so there must be a connection" I have to turn the channel.

Crop Circles = Yawn.

I am not the biggest fan of UFO stories. I like the murder mysteries myself.

Georgia Rudolph = Bigger Yawn

Oh and the chair of death - whatever.

I don't want to sound cruel as the next segment isn't "stupid" but it does bore me: The death of the two South Dakota teens who, along with a friend, were in a car crash and two of them died. It was more than likely that the two friends went looking for help and succumbed to exposure. If there had been drinking it was probably made worse. I am a native Minnesaota gal and people truly underestimate how cold it gets and how fast hypothermia can set in. If they fell into water then it would be lights out for the two of them. As for the police work, well it was less than stellar.

The segment on the cuandera frauds.

"The Tellington Touch."

"The Hum." I don't doubt that those who say they hear it, but seriously, did that really warrant an entire segment?

"The Hum." I don't doubt that those who say they hear it, but seriously, did that really warrant an entire segment?

It was a big thing back then. I remember Sightings did a segment on it too and they were able to record the sound somehow - as opposed to the simulation on UM.

It was a big thing back then. I remember Sightings did a segment on it too and they were able to record the sound somehow - as opposed to the simulation on UM.

I vaguely remember a possible explanation being the Navy's ELF commo systems. Was there any truth to that at all?

I vaguely remember a possible explanation being the Navy's ELF commo systems. Was there any truth to that at all?

Yeah, I think the UM segment mentioned that ELF - Extremely Low Frequency - as a possible explanation for the sound, but I can't recall if the Navy conceded that this was possible.

EDIT - just found this. It is a pretty interesting read actually...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hum

That's pretty interesting. I tend to lean towards the "industrial noise" theory myself, as in Kokomo's case. It seems that in all the areas that a "hum" pops up, there's usually either a lot of industry or defense/government sites nearby.

The scariest explanation, to me, is that it's one's own body making all that noise. I don't know what's worse---hearing apparently awful, disruptive noise for the rest of your life, or knowing that it's your own ear that's causing it.

Interesting read at the wiki link. Thanks Justin!

My dad spent his youth as a drunk driver and went flying through the windshield of his car a few times. As a result, his face has been messed up and has had to be rebuilt.

From his head being crushed, crunched, and remade, it caused him to have tinnitus (ringing in the ears) for years. He's 68 years old and can't make it go away.

I have very good hearing. A few years ago, I bought a refigerator that was advertised as having such a quiet motor that you couldn't hear it. Well, I figured out why people couldn't hear it. It was working at a frequency that only the dog and I could hear!

That fridge drove me crazy! I was so glad when we moved and the buyers requested that the appliances stay with the house.

The UM segment on the strange hum always interested me because hearing a constant noise that I can't ever get away from is one of my fears.

Yes, my dad had tinnitus as the result of industrial injury (exposure to printing presses.) He eventually went nearly totally deaf. I heard of a father and daughter pair where the daughter was either selectively, or completely deaf, and the father had a different tone in each ear which were dissonant--out of harmony with each other! :wallbang

Yes, my dad had tinnitus as the result of industrial injury (exposure to printing presses.) He eventually went nearly totally deaf. I heard of a father and daughter pair where the daughter was either selectively, or completely deaf, and the father had a different tone in each ear which were dissonant--out of harmony with each other! :wallbang

Oh goodness! Cori, that's awful! What a very unpleasant disability for those folks to have to suffer with. I'm so sorry. :(

In my husband's case, he's partly deaf from exposure to loud machinery in a shop. However he loves it. How weird, huh? He says that he's made some snafu's by mis-hearing people, but all in all, with a medium amount of hearing loss, he finds that he can concentrate better by not hearing the distractions around him. If he want's to listen to me blabbing on all day, he can pretend to hear me. If he really wants to hear me, then he just has me raise my voice. Yeah, I think he and I are both a bit strange. LOL

Oh goodness! Cori, that's awful! What a very unpleasant disability for those folks to have to suffer with. I'm so sorry. :(

Thinking about it, I must have heard them on This American Life and I believe the daughter was not totally, but selectively, deaf. These sounds to which her father was subjected all day were in the range she couldn't hear.

Often loud noises result in damage which impairs hearing the human voice. This is the case with one guy who was a soldier, an actor in westerns, and also a hunter. Sorry, can't say who as he's still alive and his fans don't allow his name to be taken in vain. Since Robert Stack also used guns in his acting and was a hunter I wonder if he had the same problem.

Yeah, that kid was a bit odd.

I remember the part where he and his mom visit a museum of natural history in Denver and the kid notices a flaw in a painting/mural. The soldiers depicted (Spanish conquistadors or French soldiers, Im not certain) were wearing the wrong type of helmets. Who would notice that! It would be nice to find out his name and do a search on him to see what he is up to today.

I have worked with gifted kids (profoundly gifted, like the UM kid) and let me tell you the lives they lead are a lot of work. They have NO friends becasue they can't just play checkers, play ball or play a videogame. It is like asking a grown up to play with a baby toy ALL DAY LONG. It would drive you batty.

He was interesting, though.....

The segment on people who hear a ringing sound was a little dull for my taste.

VikingsGal, I always felt really bad for that smart little genius kid. When he said that America was turning into a mess and we needed to clean up our act, ending with "America is going to have a fate worse than the Roman Empire. I just know it."

You could hear the dread and heaviness in his voice. I have wondered about him a lot. He had great insight into the workings of the world, and at a young age, that was nothing but a burden.

IIRC, his mom said that he would sometimes have sleepless nights because he'd be awake worrying about the social and economic problems of the world. He was under way too much stress.

That kid needed to go to disneyland! A lot.

Update on the Child Genius.

According to this article Brandenn Bremmer killed himself at age 14, in 2005.

http://www.supportisp.org/child_genius_commits_suicide.htm


This article gives a lot more info and an interview with the parents:

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-12600505_ITM

Yes, but the child genius profiled on Unsolved Mysteries was named Philip Pauli, was from Colorado, and still lives there, apparently as a staff member of a University in Denver.

Now I know I may in the minority but I kinda liked Resurrection Mary! I liked the music that got played during the segment.

Anytime we have a "my three year old is talking about Grandpa so there must be a connection" I have to turn the channel.

Crop Circles = Yawn.

I am not the biggest fan of UFO stories. I like the murder mysteries myself.

Georgia Rudolph = Bigger Yawn

Oh and the chair of death - whatever.

I don't want to sound cruel as the next segment isn't "stupid" but it does bore me: The death of the two South Dakota teens who, along with a friend, were in a car crash and two of them died. It was more than likely that the two friends went looking for help and succumbed to exposure. If there had been drinking it was probably made worse. I am a native Minnesaota gal and people truly underestimate how cold it gets and how fast hypothermia can set in. If they fell into water then it would be lights out for the two of them. As for the police work, well it was less than stellar.


I love the Resurrection Mary segment as well :)

I liked the Chair of Death episode. I dunno I just think it is interesting that all of these people who sat in that chair died a short time later. Just seems way to coincidental to me.

Yes, but the child genius profiled on Unsolved Mysteries was named Philip Pauli, was from Colorado, and still lives there, apparently as a staff member of a University in Denver.

Good grief. It's strange how similar their stories are. They were both homeschooled, both graduated high school at about age 10. I thought for sure that they were the same person.

I can't find much on Philip Pauli, the actual genius boy in the UM segment. (All I could find were some cook books that are simply "genius", by the author Philip Pauli.)

Phillip Pauli's UM case is on Season 8, Episode 17, and is episode 364 overall.

Good grief. It's strange how similar their stories are. They were both homeschooled, both graduated high school at about age 10. I thought for sure that they were the same person.

I can't find much on Philip Pauli, the actual genius boy in the UM segment. (All I could find were some cook books that are simply "genius", by the author Philip Pauli.)

Phillip Pauli's UM case is on Season 8, Episode 17, and is episode 364 overall.

Thanks for the update. I wondered a lot about him over the years.

I liked the Chair of Death episode. I dunno I just think it is interesting that all of these people who sat in that chair died a short time later. Just seems way to coincidental to me.

I'm not a superstituos man but if everyone who sat in a chair died, I would not sit in that damn chair! ;)