by James Randi
At a time when thermo-nuclear powers face each other across the Iron and Bamboo Curtains, it is well to remember that——as far as can be judged from the scanty records——John Wroe, indeed, was a true prophet!
1980 A very old Arabic astrological presage of doom specified that when the planets Saturn and Jupiter would be in conjunction in the sign Libra at 9 degrees, 29 minutes of that sign, we could kiss a big bye-bye to everything——camels, sand, mosques, the whole bag. That astronomical configuration almost took place at midnight of December 31 (new calendar), 1980, a date calculated by astrologers many years ago as the one spoken of. Jupiter was at 9 degrees, 24 minutes, and Saturn was at 9 degrees, 42 minutes, so the calculation was close to correct. However, nary a camel blinked an eye.
1980s The unsinkable Jeane Dixon, ever optimistic and daring, predicted in 1970 that a comet would strike the earth in the "mid-80's" at a place that she knew, but did not deign to tell. That information was to be held until a "future date." Perhaps she is now prepared to tell us? She said of this event that it "may well become known as one of the worst disasters of the 20th century." But then Jeane also said that, "I feel it will surely be in the 1980's that [an un-named person] will become the first woman president in the United States." Back to that ephemeris, Jeane.
1996 It has been reasoned by biblical scholars that since one day with God equals one thousand years for Man, and that God labored at the creation of the universe for six days, Man should labor for six thousand years and then take a rest. Thus, using other scripturally derived numbers, the world should end sometime in 1996. It didn't.
July 1999 In Quatrain X-72, Nostradamus declared:
L'an mil neuf cens nonante neuf sept mois
Du ciel viendra grand Roy deffraieur
Resusciter le grand Roy d'Angolmois.
Auant apres Mars regner par bon heur.
The year 1999
From the sky will come a great King of Terror:
To bring back to life the great King of the Mongols,
Before and after Mars to reign by good luck.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James Randi first achieved international recognition as a professional stage magician, beginning as a mentalist and later identified as one of the best escape artists in the history of magic. During his long and successful career, he performed as “The Amazing Randi” to international audiences in theaters, cabaret, and on TV.
Today, James Randi is best known as a tireless investigator of paranormal, supernatural, and pseudoscientific claims. His devotion to the rigorous examination of such claims has led to the exposure of faith healers, psychics, medical frauds, and cult leaders. He is considered by many to be the most important figure in modern skepticism for these contributions, as well as for his work in raising public awareness about the dangers of uncritical belief.
He lectures regularly at leading colleges and universities, academic meetings and events like The Amaz!ng Meeting, the world’s largest critical thinking conference, which he helped to found in 2003. He is the author of hundreds of articles and numerous books, including, The Truth About Uri Geller, The Faith Healers, and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural.
Randi has received many prestigious awards and recognitions, including a Fellowship from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in 1986.
He currently lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he works to advance the mission of the James Randi Educational Foundation.
