SACSAYHUAMAN
Locals help tourists remember the name of these ancient Inca ruins by laughingly telling them it is pronounced “sexy woman.” On a hillside just above the town of Cuzco, Peru, the Sacsayhuaman ruins still bake in the golden light of the Inca's beloved sun. Most local history says that Cuzco was built in the shape of the sacred puma and Sacsayhuaman was the puma's head. The stone walls and monoliths of Sacsayhuaman were so expertly crafted that the Spanish conquistadores, convinced no mortal man could create stonework so perfect, thought the Sacsayhuaman must have been built by evil spirits.
A DAUGHTER'S LOVE
November of 1919 was an especially cold and difficult winter in the northern regions of Italy. Snow fell on Venice, and Dr. Antonio Salvatici was making his way down one of the canals in a covered gondola. The doctor was the bishop's personal physician and was leaving the church late after attending to an elderly member of the diocese.
From the banks of the canals, Dr. Salvatici heard the voice of a young girl crying for help. When the doctor looked through the falling snow to the street, he saw a little girl, clutching a shawl for warmth, calling to him. Her mother was ill, and the little girl was begging that he come tend to her.
Although he was surprised that the girl recognized him as a doctor, he nonetheless answered her plea and disembarked from the gondola, following the little girl to a court, then up a flight of stairs in one of the old houses. There he found a sick woman, who had a terrible case of pneumonia. As Salvatici attempted to ease the woman's pain, he said to her that she was lucky to have such a daughter, one who would brave the elements to come and find him to get her mother help.
At this the woman looked quite shocked, and reported to the doctor that her daughter had died one month before. Salvatici argued with her, telling the sick woman he had just seen her and followed her here. How else would he have known to go to her, just as she was at her sickest?
But the woman insisted her daughter had died and pointed to a cupboard where she kept her daughter's things. The doctor indulged the woman and opened the cabinet, only to discover the woman indeed had her young daughter's things—among them the very shawl, dry as a bone, that he had seen her clutching as she called to him in the snowy night. No trace of the little girl was found.
A MEMPHIS BELLE
The jewel of downtown Memphis, Tennessee, is the Orpheum Theater, a beautiful and ornate theater that hosts classic and modern acts ranging from musicals to Shakespeare to Tom Waits. The Orpheum has also been host to several supernatural events. Most common is the sighting of the ghost of a little girl. Many employees, docents, and historians agree that she is likely the spirit of a little girl who was killed around the turn of the twentieth century by a horse and carriage while crossing the street on her way to the theater. Other accounts say that a girl died when she fell from the upper balcony. While her cause of death is uncertain, there have been multiple sightings of the same little girl, who is known simply as Mary. She is spotted occasionally in the box seats and frequently in the theater before or after a concert or play.
THE SILVER QUEEN HOTEL
In Virginia City, Nevada, there is a hotel that has stood the test of time. First built in 1876, the Silver Queen Hotel still does not have phones, televisions, or alarm clocks in any of its twenty-nine rooms. Popular among history buffs and those who come to Virginia City to vacation and gamble, the Silver Queen has been host to countless wedding parties, anniversaries, and romance seekers. It also plays host to a few ghost hunters, for it is known for a high level of paranormal activity. While some people come specifically seeking ghosts, other, unsuspecting guests have been shocked to witness haunting activities.
One couple heard the sound of a banjo being tuned in the room next door, only to find the room empty when they went to investigate. The couple also heard an argument going on outside their door. When they flung open the door, they saw no one, but they still heard two voices arguing. The couple became convinced the hotel was haunted. They were later awakened by a loud pounding at their door, but when they answered, they found only the empty hall.
Other guests have reported hearing creaks, footsteps, and doors opening and closing.
TO MARKET, TO MARKET
Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington, is a wellknown attraction in the city's bustling downtown. Apart from a rich history and stalls overflowing with wares, the Market is also home to several legendary ghosts—an elderly Native American woman, a little boy, a large woman, and a tall African-American man. Shopkeepers and tourists alike have reported strange goings-on throughout the years, including sightings of these spirits, footsteps in empty aisles, and items out of place.
ORIGINS OF THE OUIJA
The Ouija is any surface printed with letters, numbers, and other symbols and used as a tool to communicate with the dead. The Ouija Board, which was patented by the Parker Brothers in 1920, is what most commonly comes to mind when thinking of the Ouija. The word “ouija” is believed to stem from “oui,” meaning “yes” in French, and “ja” meaning “yes” in Scandinavian languages and in German. Other stories say that the name of the tool was revealed to inventor Charles Kennard during a séance and that “ouija” is actually an Ancient Egyptian word meaning “good luck.”
Dominoes originated in Asia around A.D. 1100. They were, and still are, used as a divinatory tool and not just a game of numbers.
A WEDDING NIGHT VISITOR
AS TOLD BY K. R. P.
It was the night before my fiancée and I were to be wed. We had chosen a beautiful B&B, the Willard Street Inn, in Burlington, Vermont, for lodging and holding the intimate ceremony. Upon arrival, we were given the run of the place and told we could choose any room we wanted. My wife-to-be and I chose the Tower Room, primarily for its view of Lake Champlain.
I slept fitfully, tossing and turning until I fell into an exhausted slumber. I hadn't been asleep long when I awoke quite suddenly and sat up. In front of me was a man in his fifties, wearing a tuxedo. He appeared to be trying to make a bed that would have been perpendicular to the bed we were in. He took no notice of me but continued with what seemed to be his normal rounds. I did not feel any threat, and, quite tired, I rolled over and went back to sleep.
2. THE ANNUAL CHICKEN SHOW
ENCHANTED ANIMALS, PSYCHIC PETS, BOTANICAL ODDITIES,
AND OTHER STRANGE TRUTHS ABOUT MOTHER NATURE
THE ANNUAL CHICKEN SHOW
Held the second Saturday in July in Wayne, Nebraska, the Annual Chicken Show features a crowing contest for roosters, a free omelet feed for humans, and a chickenflying meet, fully sanctioned by the International Chicken Flying Association. Included events are a “Most Beautiful Beak” contest, chicken bingo, and an egg drop (participants risk getting egg on their faces by trying to catch a raw egg dropped from a fully extended cherry picker). The National Cluck-Off selects the person with the most lifelike cluck and most believable crow. Another contest offers prizes to the man and woman who sport the most chickenlike legs.
According to National Wildlife Magazine, dolphins experience unihemispheric sleep: one half of the brain rests while the other half stays vigilantly awake. Dolphins sleep with one eye closed—the eye opposite the dozing half of the brain.
MIKE, THE HEADLESS WONDER CHICKEN
In 1945, farmer Lloyd Olsen of Fruita, Colorado, went to his barnyard to butcher a chicken for his family's dinner. But the chicken in question had other ideas.
Olsen skillfully beheaded the fowl with a swift ax chop, and the body, like those of so many freshly killed chickens, began to stagger around. Then it took off running. The next day, Olsen found the headless rooster, still alive and pecking. Unable to kill a bird with such a clear will to live, the farmer began using an eyedropper to feed grain and water down its esophagus. He then drove the bird 250 miles to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. There, scientists determined that Olsen's ax blow had missed the rooster's jugular vein, and a subsequent blood clot had kept the bird
from bleeding to death. The brain stem, which controlled most of the bird's reflexive functions, remained attached to the body. Oblivious to the fact that most of his head was missing, the rooster continued trying to peck for food, preening its feathers, and sleeping with the top of his neck under his wing.
Over the next eighteen months, Olsen continued to use an eyedropper to feed the bird, who flourished in spite of his handicap, growing from two and a half pounds to a robust eighteen pounds. Dubbed Mike, the Headless Wonder Chicken, the plucky rooster and Olsen set off on a national tour and became the subject of articles in Time and Life magazines. Unfortunately, Mike's miraculous life came to an abrupt end in an Arizona hotel. The rooster choked, and Olsen was unable to find an eyedropper to clear his feathered friend's throat.
Today, Mike still has his own fan club, and his dauntless spirit is celebrated annually in Fruita on the third weekend in May. “Mike's Festival” includes a chickenrecipe contest, a chicken-dance contest, and a 5K “run like a headless chicken.” Appropriately, the event's Web site states, “Attending this fun, family event is a nobrainer.”
ANIMAL CRIMINALS
Centuries ago, animals were often put on trial for crimes ranging from witchcraft to theft to murder.
Throughout history, the animal that's been prosecuted most in court is the pig. In 1547 France, for example, a mother pig and her six babies were sentenced to death for killing and eating a child. The sow was executed, but the piglets were pardoned because it was felt that they were led astray by the bad example of their mother.
The only known criminal hanging of an elephant took place in Erwin, Tennessee, on September 13, 1916. The convict's name was Five-Ton Mary, and she had killed a keeper.
In 1963, the courts of Tripoli sentenced seventy-five convicted banknote smugglers to death at one time. They were all pigeons.
EARLIEST DOCTORS
Chimpanzees exhibit an apparent knowledge and use of medicinal plants. They have been recorded using thirteen different plant genera from eight families as medications for a variety of ailments. Indigenous populations of the same regions use many of the same plants to treat a variety of stomach upsets, headaches, and parasitic infections. Chimpanzees seem to have an extensive knowledge of which part of the plant to use; they have been seen consuming the leaves, the pith, and the roots during times of illness.
NOT CUTE
According to the book Weird U.S., more than one person reported spotting a humungous penguin waddling down Clearwater Beach, Florida, in 1998. The bird was reportedly a striking fifteen feet tall and left giant web tracks in the sand. Around the same time, boaters in the gulf told reporters about a huge penguinlike bird they'd seen floating in the water, and a pilot claimed to have seen a creature of a similar description on the banks of the Suwannee River.
“The phoenix hope, can wing her way through the desert skies, and still defying fortune's spite; revive from ashes and rise.” —MIGUEL DE CERVANTES
THE FOURTEEN-TOED TAPIR
Baird's tapir is the largest land mammal in Central America, with a range from southern Mexico to northwestern Colombia. Tapirs are elusive and agile animals who move expertly through vast and varied terrain—from steep slopes to rivers. Uniquely, they have four front toes but only three back ones, for a total of fourteen toes.
PUTS NESSIE TO SHAME
Everyone knows about the legend of the Loch Ness Monster, the huge, snakelike creature that supposedly terrorizes a lake in Scotland. Fewer have heard about Caddy of Puget Sound, Washington. Caddy sports a long neck and a shrunken, horselike head, and is estimated to be at least forty feet long.
Lake Memphremagog, on the international border between Vermont and Quebec, boasts its own sea monster, nicknamed Memphré. Sightings of the huge, serpentlike creature date back to the early nineteenth century and have continued into the twenty-first century.
FORTEAN FROGS
Though typically a biblical phenomenon, raining animals have been reported around the world. The two most common of these animals are fish and frogs; however, there have even been accounts of falling jellyfish, worms, and ducks. Charles Fort, a nineteenthcentury writer and researcher of strange phenomena, included “true” stories about falling frogs in his Book of the Damned.
CURIOUS CATS
MAGICAL CAT
King Charles I of England (1600–1649) got the idea that if he lost his beloved black cat, it would mean a disaster for him, so he had the animal guarded constantly. Unfortunately, the cat got sick and died. Strangely enough, Charles was right—the day after the cat died, he was arrested for treason and, not long afterward, beheaded.
FELINE FEARS
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft suffers from aelurophobia (or ailurophobia)—a deathly fear of cats. He is afraid of calicos in particular.
CATS LOVE HEART
When English writer Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) died, his heart was kept apart when his body was cremated. The idea was to bury it in Stinsford, England, the home of his beloved childhood church and his family's burial plot. All went according to plan until his sister's cat leaped up onto her kitchen table, snatched the heart, and ran off into the woods with it.
THAT'S A LOT OF KITTY LITTER
The record for ownership of the most cats goes to Jack and Donna Wright of Kingston, Ontario, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The couple owns a staggering 689 felines, many descended from the cat that started it all: a tabby called Midnight, whom Donna picked up in 1970.
LIFE SAVER
A couple named Irma and Gianni lived in a village near Mount Vesuvius in the 1940s. One evening in 1944, their cat became agitated and tried to get the couple out of bed by jumping on them, scratching, and eventually chasing Gianni around the room. Gianni was enraged and wanted to throw the cat outside. Irma, however, felt that the cat was trying to tell them to leave. She insisted that they pack some clothes and get out. Soon after, Vesuvius erupted, covering their village in lava and killing many people. Irma and Gianni's cat had saved them from that fate.
CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT
As recently as the late nineteenth century, women accused of adultery in Turkey were tied in bags with live cats and thrown into the ocean.
IS FIDO PSYCHIC?
Many people claim their pets have extrasensory perception (ESP), and a Russian experiment proved it. To test dogs' mind-reading abilities, the scientists conducted 1,278 trials that measured the canine's response to unspoken commands. The dogs responded correctly to the unspoken commands more than 50 percent of the time. The odds of this phenomenon being mere chance, claims Dennis Bardens, the author of Psychic Animals, are billions to one.
THE ANNUAL FIRE ANT FESTIVAL:
A WEIRD CELEBRATION
In South Texas, the fire ant (red ants that swarm and bite) is a real problem. But in Marshall, Texas, the people decided that since they couldn't get rid of these pests, they might as well have some fun with them. So they started the annual Fire Ant Festival. Special events include the fire ant call, fire ant roundup, and a fire ant chili cookoff in which entrants must certify in writing that their ingredients include at least one fire ant. The ending to the festivities is the Fire Ant Stomp, which is not an attempt to squash the ants, but an old-fashioned street dance.
“Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls.” —MICAH 1:8
ENTHRALLING ARACHNIDS
MAGICAL SPIDER WEBS
Only about half of all spider species spin webs to catch their prey.
All spider webs are made of silk. Although it's only about 0.00012 inch in diameter, a spider's silk is stronger than steel of equal diameter. It is more elastic than nylon, more difficult to break than rubber, and is bacteria and fungi resistant. These qualities explain why at one time webs were used to pack wounds to help them stop bleeding.
Spiders have one to six kinds of spinning glands, each producing a different type of silk. For ins
tance, the cylindrical gland produces silk used for egg sacs (males often lack this particular gland), and the aciniform gland produces silk used for wrapping prey. Some spiders have glands that produce very fine silk. They comb and tease the fine strands until they are like Velcro—tiny loops and hooks that entrap insect feet.
Silk is extruded through special pores called spinneretes, which consist of different-sized “spigots.” Silk starts out as a liquid. As the liquid silk contacts the air, it hardens. The spider may need different silk for different purposes. By changing how fast the liquid is extruded or by using a different silk gland, it can control the strength and quality of the silk.
Why doesn't a spider get stuck on its own web? The spider weaves in nonsticky silk strands and only walks on those. Also, spiders have special oil on their legs that keeps them from sticking to the silk.
THE WELL-BRED SPIDER
A spider can often be identified by the type of web it weaves. The ability to weave is inherited, so specific types of spiders build specific types of webs. In addition, individual spiders sometimes develop a personal style, sort of like a signature.
The Book of the Bizarre: Freaky Facts and Strange Stories Page 3
