I must say there were a lot of cases that made me think..these people just wanted to be on television.

One that comes to mind is among my favorite segments. It was shot beautifully and the cinematography was the best we ever got from UM. Georgia Rudolph was a nurse who believed she was the reincarnation of a woman that died in 1914.

Another was the older gentleman who claims he ran into his exact double at a train station. They exchanged information and the doppleganger elaborated on an old family folklore. Anyhow he lost the slip of paper as soon as he got on the train.

Don't get me started on the segment with the girl who was moving objects with her mind and sweating gold flakes. I don't see how Robert Stack got through that one without laughing it was so over the top. It made the boy who made it rain in his friend's house seem credible.

Now go figure I didn't believe those to be true--but I believed the elderly couple who gave the man sandwiches and got $500 every Christmas for a few years. It was such a cute story and yes it pulled at my heartstrings.

the very first one that comes to mind is the Men in Black segment. Nothing more really needs to be said about that one.

As much as I love the Russell and Jean Johnson segment - it's one of my person top favorites - it was sort of unnecessary.

Jim Boumgarden

I don't even consider some of the more silly segments (aphrodisiac, fertility statues, message in a bottle) to have been "filler". I think once the internet became more and more prevalent across the country, there were less and less need for the lost loves segments, so they needed a "feel good" category to balance out the show. With that said, the doomsday segments, Kurt Cobain, and a large portion of season 9 on up were what I would consider "filler". Just segments made in an attempt to boost ratings.

New Mexico church spiral staircase. It wasn't even a mystery, but the sisters wanted it to be one.

New Mexico church spiral staircase. It wasn't even a mystery, but the sisters wanted it to be one.

That was one of my favorite segments, but I agree that it wasn't really much of a mystery.

That was one of my favorite segments, but I agree that it wasn't really much of a mystery.

I agree and I need a refresher: The really was a master carpenter who came by to build the staircase but the sisters believed he was an angel or something? Didn't the guy's son or grandson find his toolbox with a drawing of the staircase to further prove it was a real person?

Jim Boumgarden

If that segment wasn't straight fake, it's pretty obvious the twin didn't want to be found.

If that segment wasn't straight fake, it's pretty obvious the twin didn't want to be found.

If the twin was real, I don't understand why he didn't just come forward and say he didn't want to be bothered. I also find it odd that no one else in that town could come forward with any sort of information about the twin.

I think Jim was just looking for his quick 15 minutes. I guess back then you didn't have instagram/twitter to make spoof videos so you went on UM for attention

I agree and I need a refresher: The really was a master carpenter who came by to build the staircase but the sisters believed he was an angel or something? Didn't the guy's son or grandson find his toolbox with a drawing of the staircase to further prove it was a real person?

Yeah there was a German carpenter who had an identical drawing in his possessions of the staircase built, and IIRC, he was in the area at the time the staircase would have been built.

I think that guy's Grandfather probably did build it.

If the twin was real, I don't understand why he didn't just come forward and say he didn't want to be bothered. I also find it odd that no one else in that town could come forward with any sort of information about the twin.

I think Jim was just looking for his quick 15 minutes. I guess back then you didn't have instagram/twitter to make spoof videos so you went on UM for attention

I agree not a single soul knew the twin who lived in the same vicinity as Jim? I do recall Jim did finally find out who his mother was and he met his long lost sister too (if I am not mistaken). It should have been a regular Lost Loves segment because Jim had no solid proof a twin existed. They never presented his birth certificate or any concrete proof. I think Jim was playing up his segment for attention as well.

The dream walker segment in one of the later seasons.

I am in no way insinuating his death wasn't important and that he didn't matter as a human being, but I still have trouble wrapping my mind around how the Kenneth Engie segment ever ended up on the show.

Everybody involved was intoxicated that night and Engie was already in his garage running his vehicle before Heck's arrival. Even if Heck had an additional physical altercation with Engie in that garage, I think it'd take a lot of legal gymnastics to find him responsible for Engie's death. One of our attorneys could probably shed more light on that.

Moreover, I thought Curtis Heck seemed to be one of the more forthright witnesses ever interviewed, a la Joe Jones. He admitted to doing "dumb stuff" that night, and he even admitted to entering Engie's garage and seeing him there, throwing up his hands and leaving him to "spend the night on the garage floor."

I just don't get it.

I don't even consider some of the more silly segments (aphrodisiac, fertility statues, message in a bottle) to have been "filler". I think once the internet became more and more prevalent across the country, there were less and less need for the lost loves segments, so they needed a "feel good" category to balance out the show. With that said, the doomsday segments, Kurt Cobain, and a large portion of season 9 on up were what I would consider "filler". Just segments made in an attempt to boost ratings.

I don't know. Just because the Internet got going in the 90s doesn't mean there was a ton of information available at your fingertips. (I'm thinking more in terms of lost love.). There was no Google until 1998, which was UM's 11th season. There was no Facebook until 2006 and many of the social networking that followed. I remember first trying to research extra information online about UM cases around 2001 and I could barely find a thing.

I think the lost love segments still had their importance on the show. I would have preferred more of them compared to fertility statues or the chair of death.

I am in no way insinuating his death wasn't important and that he didn't matter as a human being, but I still have trouble wrapping my mind around how the Kenneth Engie segment ever ended up on the show.


I just don't get it.

Every time I have watched that segment, I think I always ended up going -- wait, how do they think there is a crime here?

Filler - OJ

I am in no way insinuating his death wasn't important and that he didn't matter as a human being, but I still have trouble wrapping my mind around how the Kenneth Engie segment ever ended up on the show.

Everybody involved was intoxicated that night and Engie was already in his garage running his vehicle before Heck's arrival. Even if Heck had an additional physical altercation with Engie in that garage, I think it'd take a lot of legal gymnastics to find him responsible for Engie's death. One of our attorneys could probably shed more light on that.

Moreover, I thought Curtis Heck seemed to be one of the more forthright witnesses ever interviewed, a la Joe Jones. He admitted to doing "dumb stuff" that night, and he even admitted to entering Engie's garage and seeing him there, throwing up his hands and leaving him to "spend the night on the garage floor."

I just don't get it.

It was one of my favorite segments as a kid, but then as an adult I really don't know why this case was picked over several others that could have been featured on the show but were turned down.

It was certainly an interesting case but in my mind the only crimes committed that night were DWI and destruction of property.

New Mexico church spiral staircase. It wasn't even a mystery, but the sisters wanted it to be one.


I agree. I love this segment and it's one of my favorites of all-time. I remember even as a kid being frustrated the Sister was so adamant it was an angel. God often uses people to carry out His work. The carpenter was the answer to their prayers. That doesn't mean the carpenter was an angel.

It reminds me of the old adage of the man (Guy 1) trapped on his roof during a flood. He prays to God for help. A few minutes later, a man in a row boat (Guy 2) passes by and says to Guy 1, "Hop in, I can help you.". Guy 1 says, "No thanks. I'm praying to God and He will help me."
A short while later, a guy in a motorboat passes by and offers the same help. Guy 1 responds in the same manner. Finally, a helicopter passes overhead and lowers a rope ladder. Guy 1 says "No thanks. I'm praying to God. He will help." The crew in the helicopter plea with the man to enter the helicopter but he rejects the help.

Sometime later, the waters rise and the man drowns. When he sees God, he says "I prayed to You and had faith in You. Why didn't You help me?" God replies, "I sent you a row boat, a motorboat, and a helicopter. What more did you expect?"

It was one of my favorite segments as a kid, but then as an adult I really don't know why this case was picked over several others that could have been featured on the show but were turned down.

Agreed

The magic rock segment is my nomination. I love when Stack says the markings were made "in this century". I do like when the kid says "Maybe the Martians did it. It's really neat. It's got all the aspects of nature."

The markings on the rock in the segment looked like some low budget graffiti ora 3-year old's rendering of people and animals.

Filler - The ashes found on Santa Cruz island. They tried talking it up like a crime had been committed, but there just isn't anything there aside from an unmarked box.
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Stanton_Bones

The crew probably just wanted to take a trip out to the island.

I ALWAYS liked the segment, but I thought it was filler: Money from the sky.

That being said... where the heck is MY money from the sky?!

I agree. I love this segment and it's one of my favorites of all-time. I remember even as a kid being frustrated the Sister was so adamant it was an angel. God often uses people to carry out His work. The carpenter was the answer to their prayers. That doesn't mean the carpenter was an angel.

It reminds me of the old adage of the man (Guy 1) trapped on his roof during a flood. He prays to God for help. A few minutes later, a man in a row boat (Guy 2) passes by and says to Guy 1, "Hop in, I can help you.". Guy 1 says, "No thanks. I'm praying to God and He will help me."
A short while later, a guy in a motorboat passes by and offers the same help. Guy 1 responds in the same manner. Finally, a helicopter passes overhead and lowers a rope ladder. Guy 1 says "No thanks. I'm praying to God. He will help." The crew in the helicopter plea with the man to enter the helicopter but he rejects the help.

Sometime later, the waters rise and the man drowns. When he sees God, he says "I prayed to You and had faith in You. Why didn't You help me?" God replies, "I sent you a row boat, a motorboat, and a helicopter. What more did you expect?"

I like it.

For cases involving actual disappearance/death, they really fluffed up the mystery factor on the Clifford Sherwood case. It has always made me question other segments because I think they played fast and loose to create some sizzle.

Probably unpopular, but I don't believe the Brazos River segment really happened the way it was presented on UM and I think it was only made to cash in on the recent release of the movie, "The River Wild".

Probably unpopular, but I don't believe the Brazos River segment really happened the way it was presented on UM and I think it was only made to cash in on the recent release of the movie, "The River Wild".

This never occurred to me, but that's a very compelling theory.

I'm in the camp that leans towards her making the entire thing up--I think it's Sarah Powell Part 2: On the Water. Now I wonder if she'd actually seen this film and from it plucked material for her story.

For cases involving actual disappearance/death, they really fluffed up the mystery factor on the Clifford Sherwood case. It has always made me question other segments because I think they played fast and loose to create some sizzle.

Oo, I don't know if I agree with that particular case being given 'the UM treatment'. What about it do you think was 'fluffed up'?

Others though, definitely. The aforementioned Engie segment. Katherine Korzillius. Danny Casolaro. *dodges tomato*

This never occurred to me, but that's a very compelling theory.

I'm in the camp that leans towards her making the entire thing up--I think it's Sarah Powell Part 2: On the Water. Now I wonder if she'd actually seen this film and from it plucked material for her story.

I lean towards the theory that she willingly joined these guys and partied with them, and that her son caught her and one of the men having sex, and fearful of an upcoming custody dispute (IIRC, her and the son's father were going through a bitter divorce and/or custody dispute at the time) made up the fact that they were the victims being terrorized by these guys.

And from my understanding, UM actually titled the segment, "River Wild".

And from my understanding, UM actually titled the segment, "River Wild".

:rolleyes: They got pretty insufferable there with the movie tie-ins the last half of the show's run. I used to think the Men in Black one had to be the worst, but now...

I lean towards the theory that she willingly joined these guys and partied with them, and that her son caught her and one of the men having sex

That wouldn't shock me. People party hard when they're out on a river. Here in Michigan they've moved to ban rafting on some rivers because of how debaucherous it would get at times. So getting smashed then hooking up with a couple guys during a divorce while out on a river isn't the most outlandish scenario.

I lean towards the theory that she willingly joined these guys and partied with them, and that her son caught her and one of the men having sex, and fearful of an upcoming custody dispute (IIRC, her and the son's father were going through a bitter divorce and/or custody dispute at the time) made up the fact that they were the victims being terrorized by these guys.

And from my understanding, UM actually titled the segment, "River Wild".
This never occurred to me, but that's a very compelling theory.

I'm in the camp that leans towards her making the entire thing up--I think it's Sarah Powell Part 2: On the Water. Now I wonder if she'd actually seen this film and from it plucked material for her story.

Yeah, I read a blog where she was accused of defrauding people. Her story is most likely fake.

EDIT: I can't find the blog, but taken from UM fandom:

"In January 1996, Teresa and Ken were arrested and charged with providing false identification as a police officer. This allegedly occurred while they were investigating this case. They were also charged with assault stemming from an argument between them. More recently, there has been some speculation that Teresa actually fabricated her story about the rape and kidnapping. Some claimed that she and Ken had fabricated other events in the past for attention. However, there is little evidence to support this theory."

That wouldn't shock me. People party hard when they're out on a river. Here in Michigan they've moved to ban rafting on some rivers because of how debaucherous it would get at times. So getting smashed then hooking up with a couple guys during a divorce while out on a river isn't the most outlandish scenario.

:eek: Y'all wilin' out up there.

I'm a kayaker and the craziest stuff I see almost always happens on the Tennessee, but usually with motorized craft. It's a wonder I haven't been run over or capsized yet.

The blog freakbook is referring to:
http://keepitrealteresa.blogspot.com/
I also believe her story is false, and have always wondered the same thing - that she partied, got it on with two men, and then had buyers remorse and made it all up.

I'm glad I'm not the only one. And my belief has little to do with that blog post. When I saw it again for the first time as an adult (someone, can't remember who, sent me the video file of the segment) my immediate reaction was to think that it was partially true, but she was leaving some pertinent information out. And I'm not one of those MRA types or anything, but it struck me by how people could willingly accept that 2 men, both unknown to this woman, would immediately get the urge to chase her down (while she was with her young son) and then terrorize her and repeatedly rape her. Then when you factor in that this segment was not included in Prime, nor is an there an active investigation in the case (no statute of limitations for rape in Texas), it's easy to see why someone wouldn't believe the story.

That guy who claimed he could make it rain. Talk about nonsense.

The blog freakbook is referring to:
http://keepitrealteresa.blogspot.com/
I also believe her story is false, and have always wondered the same thing - that she partied, got it on with two men, and then had buyers remorse and made it all up.

Yep, that's it. Don't know why I couldn't find it

Probably unpopular, but I don't believe the Brazos River segment really happened the way it was presented on UM and I think it was only made to cash in on the recent release of the movie, "The River Wild".

IS that an unpopular opinion? Y'all know I'm all about believing victims and such, but there were a lot of holes in that story. Coupled with the fact, as said before, that it was left out of subsequent re-releases.... it makes one wonder.

False allegations are rare. But they're out there.

Oo, I don't know if I agree with that particular case being given 'the UM treatment'. What about it do you think was 'fluffed up'?

Others though, definitely. The aforementioned Engie segment. Katherine Korzillius. Danny Casolaro. *dodges tomato*

It was glaringly odd that they only focused on one missing boy, basically pushing theories that were all about Clifford and his father.

The fact that a boy's torso was found in the canal and kind of brushed off, in evidentiary terms.

They really pushed lots of evidence about deleted military records etc that just don't really ring true to me.

I think it's overwhelmingly likely that the boys fell into the canal or were abducted and killed by a predator. Of course, UM isn't one to play the odds when they present a case (shoutout to Awsi Dooger) which I understand.

I think I've always had a bit of an issue with this segment because the way they ignored George just seemed really callous. I also lived in Montreal for undergrad so paid special attention to the segment.

It was glaringly odd that they only focused on one missing boy, basically pushing theories that were all about Clifford and his father.

The fact that a boy's torso was found in the canal and kind of brushed off, in evidentiary terms.

They really pushed lots of evidence about deleted military records etc that just don't really ring true to me.

These are fair critiques, for sure. I stand corrected.

Of course, UM isn't one to play the odds when they present a case (shoutout to Awsi Dooger)

:lol::lol::lol:

I think I've always had a bit of an issue with this segment because the way they ignored George just seemed really callous. I also lived in Montreal for undergrad so paid special attention to the segment.

It's even pretty different than the way Scott Johnson's friend was kind of brushed over in that segment. I feel like they mentioned George once at the beginning of the segment and then it was like he was never spoken of again. I haven't seen it in a really long time, but that's what I seem to remember.

Years ago, I recall reading on this site that George's family did not want to take part in the UM segment. This could certainly explain why the focus was on Clifford.

It's even pretty different than the way Scott Johnson's friend was kind of brushed over in that segment. I feel like they mentioned George once at the beginning of the segment and then it was like he was never spoken of again. I haven't seen it in a really long time, but that's what I seem to remember.

I remember watching it and just waiting for George to get a second mention and wondering if I missed it.

Mrs. Sherwood was pretty messed up by the loss, as one would expect. It almost seemed to exploit her grief. I think the same could be said about some of the murder/suicide cases they featured. That being said, I think the show usually had a pretty respectful touch with the bereaved and that isn't an easy task.

PS glad someone got my Awsi Dooger reference. I see him posting over on reddit now and then.

Years ago, I recall reading on this site that George's family did not want to take part in the UM segment. This could certainly explain why the focus was on Clifford.

That was definitely the case with Scott Johnson's friend, which was what I suspected since his name was not revealed in the segment. His family accepted the death as an accident and didn't want to appear on UM.

As for George in the Clifford Sherwood segment, over the years I've read conflicting notes ranging from his family didn't want to appear on UM to them wishing they had been contacted by UM to them being completely in the dark that a segment was even being produced. So I'm not sure what to think there.

The segment with those Girls dancing around in the forest like a pack of idiots. I think they also tried to pass off some obviously double exposed photos as something other-wordly as well. :lol:

I know I've commented on this story in another thread a few years back. :)

I must say there were a lot of cases that made me think..these people just wanted to be on television.

One that comes to mind is among my favorite segments. It was shot beautifully and the cinematography was the best we ever got from UM. Georgia Rudolph was a nurse who believed she was the reincarnation of a woman that died in 1914.

Another was the older gentleman who claims he ran into his exact double at a train station. They exchanged information and the doppleganger elaborated on an old family folklore. Anyhow he lost the slip of paper as soon as he got on the train.

Don't get me started on the segment with the girl who was moving objects with her mind and sweating gold flakes. I don't see how Robert Stack got through that one without laughing it was so over the top. It made the boy who made it rain in his friend's house seem credible.

Now go figure I didn't believe those to be true--but I believed the elderly couple who gave the man sandwiches and got $500 every Christmas for a few years. It was such a cute story and yes it pulled at my heartstrings.


The Rock of White Privilege.

I was watching PlutoTV the other day and saw the old infamous schoolhouse angel segment. Have we discussed that one yet?

I was watching PlutoTV the other day and saw the old infamous schoolhouse angel segment. Have we discussed that one yet?
Schoolhouse Angel? I'm trying to remember. What are some of the details?

I believe that's the Cokeville case (https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Cokeville_Elementary_School_Explosion).

David Young was a deranged former Cokeville cop who was fired for misconduct. On May 16, 1986, he and his wife, Doris, invaded a classroom at Cokeville Elementary School and held 136 children and 17 teachers hostage with a crudely built homemade bomb. Young believed the school was actually brainwashing the kids and demanded two million dollars for each of them. Otherwise, he said he would explode the bomb and lead them to a brave new world. He also threatened to shoot anyone that tried to run away.

(the bomb goes off, dude kills himself, but nobody innocent is injured!)

The people of Cokeville are convinced that a miracle saved the hostages. Some of the younger kids spoke of seeing "angels" hovering above the room. The angels even told them to move away from the bomb. The sheriff also claimed that, before the explosion, a voice told him that everything was going to be okay. Finally, a mysterious photo of what appeared to be an angel on the north wall proves to many that something was there that day, protecting innocent lives.

Can't be made up though, there's a picture of the angel on the page linked above!

Thank a lot! I do remember now. Divine intervention

I saw the Margaret Wilson episode last night on PlutoTV. The segment was about a woman who wrote down a love letter from her deceased father’s ghost to her living mother in the early 80’s. I just think it’s ridiculous because the woman who wrote it, according to her obituary on Find-A-Grave was a writer and furthermore, even if you only live with your parents for 18 years you know what nicknames your parents give each other. It’s not like the ghost dad was calling his wife “Honey Tits” or something that would be only in the bedroom type stuff. And if I were a ghost like that I’d show up a few more times and tell them about how the afterlife is going. Tell them I got clean underwear and how the beer is in the afterlife and all that good stuff. Why couldn’t my grandfather come back like that for my grandmother’s 80th birthday in the early 90’s? Did my grandfather just not like my grandmother as much or something? When it ended I thought, well that was a waste of time.

Grave was a writer and furthermore, even if you only live with your parents for 18 years you know what nicknames your parents give each other. It’s not like the ghost dad was calling his wife “Honey Tits” or something that would be only in the bedroom type stuff.

Yeah. One of the nicknames was, 'sweetheart,' and that was further proof to her that the letter was from her husband. Someone calling their spouse sweetheart is...not exactly a unique thing.

If the letter made Margaret happy, that's what's most important. But yeah, that doesn't make it worthy of a segment.

My father had quite a few "colorful" nicknames for my mother and I knew EVERY one of them by the time I was a toddler. I used to think in the early 80's that Eddie Murphy knew my mother because he used most of the same words in his comedy act.

Thanks for the much-needed laugh!

Stack voice:

"One of the pet names she channeled from beyond was 'Honey Tits'."

I was watching PlutoTV the other day and saw the old infamous schoolhouse angel segment. Have we discussed that one yet?

As glad as I was to see the positive result, I thought the "angel" angle was a load of BS until I had a somewhat similar experience that saved me from almost certain death from a transport truck running a red light.

(Aside from the last case featured) The "Diabolical Minds" special. Spent an hour talking about sociopaths and psychopaths without giving a definition for those conditions, aside from them "lacking empathy". Most of the cases featured in the episode were neither unsolved nor mysteries.

I saw the Margaret Wilson episode last night on PlutoTV. The segment was about a woman who wrote down a love letter from her deceased father’s ghost to her living mother in the early 80’s. I just think it’s ridiculous because the woman who wrote it, according to her obituary on Find-A-Grave was a writer and furthermore, even if you only live with your parents for 18 years you know what nicknames your parents give each other. It’s not like the ghost dad was calling his wife “Honey Tits” or something that would be only in the bedroom type stuff. And if I were a ghost like that I’d show up a few more times and tell them about how the afterlife is going. Tell them I got clean underwear and how the beer is in the afterlife and all that good stuff. Why couldn’t my grandfather come back like that for my grandmother’s 80th birthday in the early 90’s? Did my grandfather just not like my grandmother as much or something? When it ended I thought, well that was a waste of time.

I like this so much, I just told my wife that if I die first, I promise to call her Honey Tits in the afterlife. So if someone tells her they can communicate with the dead, she‘ll ask them what I call her, and if they don’t say “Honey Tits” they’re exposed as a fraud.

Maybe we all should take the Vow of the Honey Tits and do the same. Regardless of gender (Rod Roddy comes to mind), we all need to employ this as our code word to prove/disprove psychics after we're obliterated from terra firma.

Maybe we all should take the Vow of the Honey Tits and do the same. Regardless of gender (Rod Roddy comes to mind), we all need to employ this as our code word to prove/disprove psychics after we're obliterated from terra firma.

Anyone you’re with is quickly going to the afterlife if you have Gelatinous Goo!

The vampire portion of the Susan Walsh segment was pretty much filler. It made for some interesting visuals and showed that her "journalistic judgment seemed skewed" to quote Robert Stack. I think it also added another layer in that she was thinking of getting in cars with strangers from the vampire club according to her employer. But as to whether this had a huge influence on her disappearance? I believe it was overinflated for entertainment value.

OMG.... I'm never going to be able to look at honey the same again.

I'm literally in my office, cackling out loud. Thanks, y'all. Thanks for making me look even wackier than I think I already look on a daily basis...

Maybe we all should take the Vow of the Honey Tits and do the same. Regardless of gender (Rod Roddy comes to mind), we all need to employ this as our code word to prove/disprove psychics after we're obliterated from terra firma.

I’m glad everyone liked that, I started calling my wife “Honey Tits” when we watched Breaking Bad because that’s what Saul Goodman called his receptionist. It’s sort of our secret bed room name, although I did call her that at the bar one night after I had a few beers.

I was watching PlutoTV the other day and saw the old infamous schoolhouse angel segment. Have we discussed that one yet?

I've been binge watching a lot of UM on Pluto the last few weeks.

The Delta Queen Riverboat segment was really silly.

Brazos River segment was pure BS and never should have been produced.

KROQ Confession segment should have never been made either. The straw-grasping “detective(s)” did way more harm to the family of Angela Cummings than Kevin & Bean ever possibly could have. For one, the phone call was clearly scripted and anyone that couldn’t pick up on that within the first minute or so is extremely foolish. And two, Angela Cummings case had absolutely zero similarities to the fictitious one described in the scripted call. Anyone that fell for that call probably thinks WWE wrestling is real too. Sorry I’m not sorry, but even when I was 12 (when this originally aired) I knew this was just a “work” and not a “shoot” by any means.

On a lighter note, the chocolate aphrodisiac segment, the magic rock segment, the fertility statue segment and all of the religious based segments are also pointless filler IMO.

maybe not the first to come to mind, but Stonehenge/crop circle segment didn't age well. especially if you see the update that is on there now. it is such a let down, but also kind of funny. but wasn't the segment like almost 30 mins?

maybe not the first to come to mind, but Stonehenge/crop circle segment didn't age well. especially if you see the update that is on there now. it is such a let down, but also kind of funny. but wasn't the segment like almost 30 mins?

I was rewatching on Youtube and I laughed out loud seeing the update about the drunk people creating them. It was a super long segment I already found kind of dull anyway, so that added a new layer of amusement.

I was rewatching on Youtube and I laughed out loud seeing the update about the drunk people creating them. It was a super long segment I already found kind of dull anyway, so that added a new layer of amusement.
Maybe the funniest update ever? I know the crop circles created a story in Britain, but a more serious crime, The TK Harty murder was solved with a bar room confession.

KROQ Confession segment should have never been made either. The straw-grasping “detective(s)” did way more harm to the family of Angela Cummings than Kevin & Bean ever possibly could have. For one, the phone call was clearly scripted and anyone that couldn’t pick up on that within the first minute or so is extremely foolish. And two, Angela Cummings case had absolutely zero similarities to the fictitious one described in the scripted call. Anyone that fell for that call probably thinks WWE wrestling is real too. Sorry I’m not sorry, but even when I was 12 (when this originally aired) I knew this was just a “work” and not a “shoot” by any means.

I worked as a part-time radio DJ in college in the late 90s. I was surprised to learn how much stuff in radio is heavily edited or outright fake. We used reel-to-reel tape machines and it was common to edit callers to only keep what you wanted for broadcast. In some cases, it was to cut out swearing and stuff like that or people who rambled, but in most cases it was to make callers sound better. Some DJs told or coached callers into saying what they want and then editing the tape.

Then there were tapes that national companies sent in that allowed you to record your own morning show bits. There was a script and you would record the DJ side (acting as some goofball) and then the "victim" was already prerecorded. So if you just listened to the tape they sent you would hear: "My girlfriend is in jail?... I don't even own a car like that... How can it be in my name?... She said that?... Wait, what?... Oh, you guys scared me... Holy crap, you had me going the whole time... I should have known, I love your station and listen every morning!... You guys, too. Have a great day!"

Back to your point, I didn't know SO MUCH was fake in radio but before I had that job there were some segments that I always thought sounded sketchy if no outright fake. I think this was a good example of that. It was just too outrageous and the way it came out wasn't natural.

I still think it is reprehensible of Kevin & Bean to allow that to go on and not tell the cops once this escalated. The fact that they sat for an interview with UM is just horrible. At the same time, I agree that the cops should have smelled a rat earlier on and they never should have tried to tie that to a specific case without direct information.

I worked as a part-time radio DJ in college in the late 90s. I was surprised to learn how much stuff in radio is heavily edited or outright fake. We used reel-to-reel tape machines and it was common to edit callers to only keep what you wanted for broadcast. In some cases, it was to cut out swearing and stuff like that or people who rambled, but in most cases it was to make callers sound better. Some DJs told or coached callers into saying what they want and then editing the tape.

Then there were tapes that national companies sent in that allowed you to record your own morning show bits. There was a script and you would record the DJ side (acting as some goofball) and then the "victim" was already prerecorded. So if you just listened to the tape they sent you would hear: "My girlfriend is in jail?... I don't even own a car like that... How can it be in my name?... She said that?... Wait, what?... Oh, you guys scared me... Holy crap, you had me going the whole time... I should have known, I love your station and listen every morning!... You guys, too. Have a great day!"

Back to your point, I didn't know SO MUCH was fake in radio but before I had that job there were some segments that I always thought sounded sketchy if no outright fake. I think this was a good example of that. It was just too outrageous and the way it came out wasn't natural.

I still think it is reprehensible of Kevin & Bean to allow that to go on and not tell the cops once this escalated. The fact that they sat for an interview with UM is just horrible. At the same time, I agree that the cops should have smelled a rat earlier on and they never should have tried to tie that to a specific case without direct information.

I have a bit of a radio background too (both on air and behind the scenes) so I totally get what you’re saying. It was the dying days of FM and my show was during safe harbor (aka Watershed) hours so pretty much anything went. Fun times indeed.

As far as them sticking to their story, well, you can look at that from a couple of different angles. 1- They were just jerks. It sucks but it’s not illegal to be a jerk. 2- They were just sticking to “kayfabe” as it were. Again, nothing wrong with that in the slightest. If there were, then every pro wrestler from before 1995 would be guilty as well since it all falls under the same category of entertainment. 3- A combination of both 1 and 2, which is likely the winner here.

Again, based on all the info we have available, this segment should have never been made.

As far as KROQ is concerned, if we can say with some confidence the average joe--especially in that pre-internet era--generally had no idea how staged radio shows can be, I don't understand how we would expect your average detective to know either, unless he or she had that knowledge or experience.

I disagree totally about the police's culpability. They're supposed to follow leads and they simply don't know what they don't know. Sure, it's their responsibility to educate themselves reasonably on a topic if it's relevant to the investigation, but those little sh-ts didn't exactly help them out there, did they?

It's Ryder and Baxter's responsibility for that mess, not the cops'.

UM Episodes on JonBenet Ramsay and Tupac.

Here are the two most famous unsolved murders of the 1990s. Every single person watching those segments would have been familiar with the details, UM added absolutely nothing of any value

The alien segments, the lucky rock, the aphrodisiac episode, and 90 % of lost loves were filler!

The alien segments, the lucky rock, the aphrodisiac episode, and 90 % of lost loves were filler!
I CAN see why producers were so keen on "Lost Loves" - the segments stopped the show from becoming overly grim and unlike the crime segments, usually resulted in a happy ending - but, yeah, I never liked them..I expect the reboot will thankfully dispense with them (not much point in the age of google and social media)

UM Episodes on JonBenet Ramsay and Tupac.

Here are the two most famous unsolved murders of the 1990s. Every single person watching those segments would have been familiar with the details, UM added absolutely nothing of any value

The segment about Jonbennet Ramsey aired a little over 4 weeks after the actual crime. The investigation was in its infancy and I don't think some things were allowed to be released to the public yet. It felt more like a segment that told us to wait for a future broadcast to get more information.

But you're right. It was rather pointless. I think UM saw the story was about to dominate headlines for a long time and they jumped on the bandwagon despite not knowing anything to relay to the general public.

As far as KROQ is concerned, if we can say with some confidence the average joe--especially in that pre-internet era--generally had no idea how staged radio shows can be, I don't understand how we would expect your average detective to know either, unless he or she had that knowledge or experience.

I disagree totally about the police's culpability. They're supposed to follow leads and they simply don't know what they don't know. Sure, it's their responsibility to educate themselves reasonably on a topic if it's relevant to the investigation, but those little sh-ts didn't exactly help them out there, did they?

It's Ryder and Baxter's responsibility for that mess, not the cops'.

Indeed. And it's not like the investigators immediately phoned Angela Cummings' mother and said, "we got our guy!" It was a proceed with caution moment that somebody had confessed to a murder and we're going to check it out. It was going to get big publicity in the area so she would have heard about the "confession" regardless.

I think featuring Angela's mother in the update was a brilliant move by the UM producers because it gave a face to a grieving parent who was given false hope by these two tool bags. Seeing the person is so much more powerful than hearing about them.

I love this thread and the comments about “fake radio” stories made me think about an incident when I was working at a small town radio station back in the late 80’s. The station never had much a promotions budget so our contest prizes were usually limited to free fast food coupons. One summer, we got to be part of a national record label promotion with some very nice grand prizes. Our station was able to offer one lucky listener a trip for two to a big music festival in California. Airfare and hotel accommodations were included and everyone at work was really excited about it. Drop boxes were located in several sponsor locations around town, including a local farm implement store. We scheduled the announcement of the big winner for 5:00 on a Friday afternoon and everyone on staff gathered in the front office to listen to the phone call as it was being broadcast on the air. Unfortunately, the decision was made to call the winner live rather than tape the call to play back later. An elderly woman answered the phone and had no idea her husband had entered the contest. Apparently, he thought he was signing up for some tractor tires. The announcer tried his best to explain about the contest and what a wonderful prize it was, but the poor woman, who didn't listen to the station, got scared and started crying. What could have been a golden moment turned into a nightmare. No way to go back and do any editing. An alternate winner was eventually chosen and the contest was never mentioned again. Thanks for indulging me on this. I hope it brightened your afternoon.

I love this thread and the comments about “fake radio” stories made me think about an incident when I was working at a small town radio station back in the late 80’s. The station never had much a promotions budget so our contest prizes were usually limited to free fast food coupons. One summer, we got to be part of a national record label promotion with some very nice grand prizes. Our station was able to offer one lucky listener a trip for two to a big music festival in California. Airfare and hotel accommodations were included and everyone at work was really excited about it. Drop boxes were located in several sponsor locations around town, including a local farm implement store. We scheduled the announcement of the big winner for 5:00 on a Friday afternoon and everyone on staff gathered in the front office to listen to the phone call as it was being broadcast on the air. Unfortunately, the decision was made to call the winner live rather than tape the call to play back later. An elderly woman answered the phone and had no idea her husband had entered the contest. Apparently, he thought he was signing up for some tractor tires. The announcer tried his best to explain about the contest and what a wonderful prize it was, but the poor woman, who didn't listen to the station, got scared and started crying. What could have been a golden moment turned into a nightmare. No way to go back and do any editing. An alternate winner was eventually chosen and the contest was never mentioned again. Thanks for indulging me on this. I hope it brightened your afternoon.

This is pretty funny, tbh.

I was watching PlutoTV the other day and saw the old infamous schoolhouse angel segment. Have we discussed that one yet?

I'm so addicted to the UM channel on Pluto TV.

I'm so addicted to the UM channel on Pluto TV.

I agree about Pluto TV. I have been watching UM on that for years now even though UM is on alot of other platforms. Even though there are alot of cheesy commercials I grew up in a time where you could not fast forward commercials so it is like a random shuffle of episodes. Even though the world is a mess sometimes technology has brought UM online.

The Pearl Harbor hypnosis lady. Fake as ***k.

The Pearl Harbor hypnosis lady. Fake as ***k.

where did this stranger come from??!

:eek::eek:

One that sticks out to me is the Sarah Powell story.

Unless there are details that were left out of the segment, I will never believe that a large group of teenagers broke into a house and left no signs of force entry, no witnesses saw anything, and with all the bad weather outside, there were no wet foot prints or anything other sign of it.

This whole thing felt to me like a teenager lashing out against mommy and daddy.

I know there's some talk that Jim Boumgarden did have a twin, and he was eventually located, but wanted nothing to do with the family. I felt bad for Jim, but I can respect his twin's desire for privacy as well. If it was me, I would have at least contacted UM and told them I was the guy they were looking for, but I didn't want to be found, and to pass on the message. I doubt that would have stopped Jim's search, but it would have at least confirmed his suspicions.

I don't think the segment was fake, or that it shouldn't have been made, but it was maddening that they didn't try to find out who pitched in that softball game. Also, did he not share this story with other people until after they saw his twin?

I don't think the segment was fake, or that it shouldn't have been made, but it was maddening that they didn't try to find out who pitched in that softball game. Also, did he not share this story with other people until after they saw his twin?

Another thing that could have been done was asking the people who always greeted Jim (whom he didn't know) just who they thought they were greeting. The twin's identity would have been uncovered pretty quickly if these were indeed friends of his.

If the twin didn't really want to be found, after the story was aired he probably requested his friends not to call in the tip or say anything. But it does seem like a lot of effort to go to rather than establishing contact and just saying he preferred not to keep in touch. Kind of like one of the Rogers siblings did.

The woman who believes she was kidnap as an baby-It just feels like she was someone who had problems with her parents but also had Metal Problems. It’s sounds like relatives would found and even an half sister. By all reports it’s sounds like it was nothing more than adoption of the record.

The Baseball player who had amnesia and got better as an player- seeing he never where in MLB it’s feel like it’s was just he having an little Hot streak more than anything

Woman get amnesia from an surgery and forget most of her life- this one just leave me so confuse every time I see

Woman who was cured by an small ufo- I love the ufo stories but this case was BS and the chick was nuts

The Guardian ufo- well it been exposed as an hoax by an local ufo nut and the witness in the case was in on it

I love this thread and the comments about “fake radio” stories made me think about an incident when I was working at a small town radio station back in the late 80’s. The station never had much a promotions budget so our contest prizes were usually limited to free fast food coupons. One summer, we got to be part of a national record label promotion with some very nice grand prizes. Our station was able to offer one lucky listener a trip for two to a big music festival in California. Airfare and hotel accommodations were included and everyone at work was really excited about it. Drop boxes were located in several sponsor locations around town, including a local farm implement store. We scheduled the announcement of the big winner for 5:00 on a Friday afternoon and everyone on staff gathered in the front office to listen to the phone call as it was being broadcast on the air. Unfortunately, the decision was made to call the winner live rather than tape the call to play back later. An elderly woman answered the phone and had no idea her husband had entered the contest. Apparently, he thought he was signing up for some tractor tires. The announcer tried his best to explain about the contest and what a wonderful prize it was, but the poor woman, who didn't listen to the station, got scared and started crying. What could have been a golden moment turned into a nightmare. No way to go back and do any editing. An alternate winner was eventually chosen and the contest was never mentioned again. Thanks for indulging me on this. I hope it brightened your afternoon.
Sounds like it might have been a stunt in and of itself....

Every time this sort of thread crops up, I eventually nominate my least favorite segment of all time. Since I didn't do it yet in this thread I don't think, here it is:

The UM segment where the people were claiming slave ghosts were murdered their white daughter.

Other segments were stupid, but harmless. This was racist, and played on horrific stereotypes. Shame on UM.

I worked as a part-time radio DJ in college in the late 90s. I was surprised to learn how much stuff in radio is heavily edited or outright fake. We used reel-to-reel tape machines and it was common to edit callers to only keep what you wanted for broadcast. In some cases, it was to cut out swearing and stuff like that or people who rambled, but in most cases it was to make callers sound better. Some DJs told or coached callers into saying what they want and then editing the tape.

Then there were tapes that national companies sent in that allowed you to record your own morning show bits. There was a script and you would record the DJ side (acting as some goofball) and then the "victim" was already prerecorded. So if you just listened to the tape they sent you would hear: "My girlfriend is in jail?... I don't even own a car like that... How can it be in my name?... She said that?... Wait, what?... Oh, you guys scared me... Holy crap, you had me going the whole time... I should have known, I love your station and listen every morning!... You guys, too. Have a great day!"

Back to your point, I didn't know SO MUCH was fake in radio but before I had that job there were some segments that I always thought sounded sketchy if no outright fake. I think this was a good example of that. It was just too outrageous and the way it came out wasn't natural.

I still think it is reprehensible of Kevin & Bean to allow that to go on and not tell the cops once this escalated. The fact that they sat for an interview with UM is just horrible. At the same time, I agree that the cops should have smelled a rat earlier on and they never should have tried to tie that to a specific case without direct information.

There's that video on YouTube of the guy talking about how he got back at a bully by sleeping with the bullys mother.
I feel like it is fake....very convincing though

Mine are the stories about John Wilkes Booth, Billy the Kid, Butch Cassidy and Anna Anderson (which was later refuted). I don't believe those people lived to old age and I find it hard to believe that there were people who fell for their deceit. The Anna Anderson story was later refuted.

UM Episodes on JonBenet Ramsay and Tupac.

Here are the two most famous unsolved murders of the 1990s. Every single person watching those segments would have been familiar with the details, UM added absolutely nothing of any value

Something I noticed about the Tupac segment recently, aside from Sway (https://www.siriusxm.com/hosts/sway-calloway), the "experts" that they have on talking about rap culture and Pac are both middle aged white women who seem more like academics or assistants at a record company than people who would have actually been in the scene at the time

I believe that's the Cokeville case (https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Cokeville_Elementary_School_Explosion).

David Young was a deranged former Cokeville cop who was fired for misconduct. On May 16, 1986, he and his wife, Doris, invaded a classroom at Cokeville Elementary School and held 136 children and 17 teachers hostage with a crudely built homemade bomb. Young believed the school was actually brainwashing the kids and demanded two million dollars for each of them. Otherwise, he said he would explode the bomb and lead them to a brave new world. He also threatened to shoot anyone that tried to run away.

(the bomb goes off, dude kills himself, but nobody innocent is injured!)

The people of Cokeville are convinced that a miracle saved the hostages. Some of the younger kids spoke of seeing "angels" hovering above the room. The angels even told them to move away from the bomb. The sheriff also claimed that, before the explosion, a voice told him that everything was going to be okay. Finally, a mysterious photo of what appeared to be an angel on the north wall proves to many that something was there that day, protecting innocent lives.

Can't be made up though, there's a picture of the angel on the page linked above!

Not sure I'd call that an "angel". Looks more like one of the transformers.

Mine are the stories about John Wilkes Booth, Billy the Kid, Butch Cassidy and Anna Anderson (which was later refuted). I don't believe those people lived to old age and I find it hard to believe that there were people who fell for their deceit. The Anna Anderson story was later refuted.

You can go down quite a rabbit hole online learning about how many Romanov imposters there were after the royal family was executed. Many people pretended to be not only Anastasia, but the other duchesses and even their brother, Alexei. People pretending to be missing or dead figures is nothing new.

I'm not sure that there are any segments that can justifiably be labled "made up" as that seems to imply that the material was fabricated. Simply beliving or not beliving a particular theory does not make a subject invalid.
Some of the less academic segments (ie. magic rocK) are admitidely lacking in much depth for debate, but that does not make them "made up."
As to what is "filler", that seems to imply material that was used for reasons of cost or expediancy. That could be quite a few things, but certain types of segments, those with limited re-enactments and no special effects would probabally be more apt to have been filler.

KROQ Confession segment should have never been made either.

Judging from the look on Robert Stack's face when he revealed they were lying, I'd say you weren't the only one who felt that way.

Could the Richard Minns segment be considered "filler"? For one, I think it was obvious from the start who was responsible for the attack on Barbra/Janni's life, even if the authorities had lacked enough evidence to pin it on him immediately; and two, even if Minns had left the country, my impression was that he wasn't so much in hiding as he was living in places where there were no extradition agreements with the U.S.

Could the Richard Minns segment be considered "filler"? For one, I think it was obvious from the start who was responsible for the attack on Barbra/Janni's life, even if the authorities had lacked enough evidence to pin it on him immediately; and two, even if Minns had left the country, my impression was that he wasn't so much in hiding as he was living in places where there were no extradition agreements with the U.S.

Yes.

Minns wasn't wanted and there actually were people who were already in jail for the attack on Barbara.

The one where the guy claimed he could "channel" dead artists when painting. Pretty stupid.

The first time I watched the John Harden segment, I kept hoping that that one lady's recurring dreams about being inside his house (years before actually visiting there for the first time and before moving in with her family) and walking the same path that he did on the night of his murder would lead to a revelation that would provide a major break in the case for investigators, but as far as I can recall, it didn't. For that matter, I also kept hoping that all those instances where the family saw his apparition or felt his presence in the house would lead them (and us) to some big clue(s) as to his killer's identity, but it appears that didn't happen either. So, although I hesitate to call the John Harden segment "filler," I do believe it's an exceptionally shaggy "shaggy dog story."

Every time this sort of thread crops up, I eventually nominate my least favorite segment of all time. Since I didn't do it yet in this thread I don't think, here it is:

The UM segment where the people were claiming slave ghosts were murdered their white daughter.

Other segments were stupid, but harmless. This was racist, and played on horrific stereotypes. Shame on UM.

Which one is this?

Which one is this?

The Black Hope Curse is the title of the segment.

Jim Boumgarden

I actually called the telecenter over that and the operator told me "people are calling up just furious." You could have knocked me over with a feather when it turned out to be real.

I saw the Margaret Wilson episode last night on PlutoTV. The segment was about a woman who wrote down a love letter from her deceased father’s ghost to her living mother in the early 80’s. I just think it’s ridiculous because the woman who wrote it, according to her obituary on Find-A-Grave was a writer and furthermore, even if you only live with your parents for 18 years you know what nicknames your parents give each other. It’s not like the ghost dad was calling his wife “Honey Tits” or something that would be only in the bedroom type stuff. And if I were a ghost like that I’d show up a few more times and tell them about how the afterlife is going. Tell them I got clean underwear and how the beer is in the afterlife and all that good stuff. Why couldn’t my grandfather come back like that for my grandmother’s 80th birthday in the early 90’s? Did my grandfather just not like my grandmother as much or something? When it ended I thought, well that was a waste of time.

That goes right along with the "lucky pencil" segment--the lady saying her grandfather liked French toast and her father as a kid sold lucky pencils. These are things known to the family which can't be proven to have been revealed by supernatural means.

I was rewatching on Youtube and I laughed out loud seeing the update about the drunk people creating them. It was a super long segment I already found kind of dull anyway, so that added a new layer of amusement.

Every crop circle in Britain or elsewhere can't have been created by two drunk guys or even copycats. There are way too many other factors in authentic crop circles.

Every time this sort of thread crops up, I eventually nominate my least favorite segment of all time. Since I didn't do it yet in this thread I don't think, here it is:

The UM segment where the people were claiming slave ghosts were murdered their white daughter.

Other segments were stupid, but harmless. This was racist, and played on horrific stereotypes. Shame on UM.

Black Hope Cemetery.

You can go down quite a rabbit hole online learning about how many Romanov imposters there were after the royal family was executed. Many people pretended to be not only Anastasia, but the other duchesses and even their brother, Alexei. People pretending to be missing or dead figures is nothing new.

I believe there were over 200 imposters, some more famous than others, with Olga actually being the most popular Romanov.

As for "people who just wanted to be on TV," I've always suspected the lady who claimed to have talked to Kari Lynn Nixon who gave her full name. It's possible some teenager heard the name on the news and used it to mess with this lady, but I've always suspected the lady was lying or delusional.

As for segments not yet mentioned here, let me just say I believe something real is up with Resurrection Mary just as with Fatima--too many witnesses. The CW is that Res Mary only appears to people, generally male, who are lost and don't know there was a ghost. I read that the truth is more like, plenty of locals have seen things, but don't talk about it because every time the story comes up, a bunch of hooligans descend on the neighborhood and vandalize the cemetery. This is why cemetery staff will hang up if the name is even mentioned on the phone--not because it's against their religion to believe in ghosts.

That guy who claimed to have talked to a Roswell alien as a five-year-old child--Donald somebody--was he ever on UM?

The more I think about it the people who had that money fall into their yard came off as trying to be on television as well. It was a quirky short segment so I don't mind watching it. Some of the filler I find myself fast-forwarding. I watch UM on a loop on Peacock. If they ever remove it I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I goto sleep to UM and usually wake up to it. It has become a routine. I have back up copies but still watching it on Peacock makes it seem like its still on in a weird way (the OG version).

Pluto is a good option for playing UM in the background too. They recently started showing all the shows in chronological order by season. You pick up a lot about the segments seeing them over and over again.

Since this one keeps repeating for me on the Unsolved Mysteries FAST channels I use for background noise lately ... WTF was Unsolved Mysteries thinking when they made that Alex Kelly segment?

There was no mystery, the case was in active prosecution, and they're on TV trying to show that the car backseat couldn't do what the victims said it did and going as far as to bring in a newer car when the first tests backed the victim. Why try and mess with the trial process like that ...

The segment about Jonbennet Ramsey aired a little over 4 weeks after the actual crime. The investigation was in its infancy and I don't think some things were allowed to be released to the public yet. It felt more like a segment that told us to wait for a future broadcast to get more information.

But you're right. It was rather pointless. I think UM saw the story was about to dominate headlines for a long time and they jumped on the bandwagon despite not knowing anything to relay to the general public.

Add the OJ Simpson segment, which is why it's a missing segment. What more can be said about the OJ case?

The first time I watched the John Harden segment, I kept hoping that that one lady's recurring dreams about being inside his house (years before actually visiting there for the first time and before moving in with her family) and walking the same path that he did on the night of his murder would lead to a revelation that would provide a major break in the case for investigators, but as far as I can recall, it didn't. For that matter, I also kept hoping that all those instances where the family saw his apparition or felt his presence in the house would lead them (and us) to some big clue(s) as to his killer's identity, but it appears that didn't happen either. So, although I hesitate to call the John Harden segment "filler," I do believe it's an exceptionally shaggy "shaggy dog story."

Respectfully disagree. I like that segment, actually. Even though it didn't lead to any revelation, it was still a good segment. I will never forget the lady walking up/down the stairs and seeing him appear, then walk on up/down without appearing to notice her. Also, I remember the image of him reaching out to check on her son who was a child at the time, and the son screaming for his mother, and also the mom mentioning she talked to the ghost and told him to stop scaring her son (even though his intentions were apparently good).

Therapeutic touch was one of the dumbest.

Therapeutic touch was one of the dumbest.

The best part of that segment was that nurse who mercifully called it baloney.

There have been a lot of "complementary" therapies in healthcare that have had a heyday and come and gone. Therapeutic touch is especially fascinating because apparently in the '90s (actually around the same time the UM segment aired), it got pushed so hard in the nursing community by a tiny group of practitioners that it actually ended up getting 'Disturbed Energy Field' approved by NANDA as an actual nursing diagnosis. It remains in the Nursing Diagnosis Handbook to this day, although I think it's called something like 'Imbalanced Energy Field' now. The interventions for this diagnosis include waving your hands over the patient (seriously, look it up) although you must be trained to wave your hands the "right" way as a bona fide therapeutic touch practitioner or else the magic doesn't work.

I want to stress this is definitely a sore point amongst most nurses. We have to have the public's trust to be able to do our job optimally, and woo-woo nonsense like this does not help earn it. It seems the only nurses that laud the fact that this ended up in a professional publication are those few in therapeutic touch societies and advocacy groups, because the rest of us know it's, well...baloney.

A good write-up I found on all this for anyone interested:

https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/imbalanced-energy-field-is-not-a-valid-diagnosis-and-therapeutic-touch-is-pseudoscience-so-why-cant-nurses-just-give-it-up/

The interventions for this diagnosis include waving your hands over the patient (seriously, look it up) although you must be trained to wave your hands the "right" way as a bona fide therapeutic touch practitioner or else the magic doesn't work.


Do you also have to be trained in order to flick the problems away with your hands?

What a stupid segment. Things like this really soiled the UM name.

Things like this really soiled the UM name.

Definitely, as well as the entire nursing profession.

We used to jokingly dare each other in nursing school to incorporate 'Disturbed Energy Field' into our care plans because we knew our instructors would call BS when they saw it. In fact I remember somebody asking about what TT even was once in class and the lecturer went :rolleyes: I"ve never actually met a TT practitioner in my entire career.

I have no idea what exactly went down to gain this silliness a veneer of seriousness and respectability, but something tells me a TT loonie probably had either a friend on the board that approves all this stuff or sat on it herself.

It'd be an interesting idea for an investigative series, or a book.

The best part of that segment was that nurse who mercifully called it baloney.



I appreciated how she said that the TT "practitioners" were well-meaning but also didn't mince words about it being baloney :lol:

As if this wasn't enough TT on UM, then they had a lady come on a few seasons later doing TT with animals! :lol: though I guess she was at least making physical contact too and not just waving her hands like one of those inflatable figures outside of car washes.

The Walter Rice segment always felt like filler

The Walter Rice segment always felt like filler

That's an unusual take if you don't mind my saying so.

That's an unusual take if you don't mind my saying so.

It just felt like someone who was related to him would have come forward at some point well before that segment aired. It didn't feel like a real mystery, per se. An elderly man dies at home. Nobody even knows he's gone until more than a year has passed and that was only by chance when his place was broken into, which led to the discovery of his body. Of course, it could be said that it was a mystery how a bad smell was not emanating from the trailer by the time his body was discovered

It just felt like someone who was related to him would have come forward at some point well before that segment aired. It didn't feel like a real mystery, per se. An elderly man dies at home. Nobody even knows he's gone until more than a year has passed and that was only by chance when his place was broken into, which led to the discovery of his body. Of course, it could be said that it was a mystery how a bad smell was not emanating from the trailer by the time his body was discovered

I don't remember the details of the segment, but remember that Gene Hackman, Hollywood royalty and iconic actor, and his wife/caregiver both died without anyone knowing they were in such dire straits! It was always a mystery to me how no one checked up on this Hollywood legend at first. I know celebrities value their privacy and he had Alzheimer's, but come on!

mothman and rainman. also chupacabras (stack added the s lol), but I get why they did it.

mothman and rainman. also chupacabras (stack added the s lol), but I get why they did it.

People take the legend of Mothman seriously. There is a Mothman Festival in Point Pleasant. https://www.mothmanfestival.com

People take the legend of Mothman seriously. There is a Mothman Festival in Point Pleasant. https://www.mothmanfestival.com

that's true, I have a friend that went to the festival.