If you Ever Navigated

Document #86 Created by beth
Status: Logical explanation
Classification: Location: US-Northeast, Year: 2003

Summary
Unmanned but fully loaded antique barge found on disused portion of the Erie Canal.
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A historically accurate and fully loaded barge was discovered floating in a disused branch of the Erie Canal when three cyclists noticed the vessel run up against the side of the canal. Carrying several tons of coal, as well as barrels of metal nails, sacks of cloth, and barrels of salted fish, the barge seems to be an accurate reproduction of a turn of the century vessel. Despite signs that the vessel has been lived in (food and water, along with bedding was discovered in a forward cabin), there is no indication as to how the barge came to be on that section of the canal, which was shut down in the early 80’s. An investigation by local police is ongoing.

This could be a tourist oriented publicity stunt staged by the village Museum or the local Society for the Renewal of the Erie Canal in order to increase tourist interest in the Canal’s history.
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Mirror Failure

Document #87 Created by beth
Status: Debated
Classification: Location: Europe, Year: 2003

Summary
Mirrors located in a house in St Austell seem to lose the ability to reflect objects.
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All of the mirrors in the home of J. Miller (a lifetime resident of St Austell) have lost the ability to reflect the human face. While other items in the room appear in the mirrors, people standing in front of them are not visible. New mirrors which reflect normally outside of the house lose their reflective abilities inside the home, and mirrors that are behaving abnormally inside the house return to “normal” once removed to the yard or street.

Mr. Miller has been charging visitors a small fee to sit in his living room and “not see themselves” in the mirrors. It is possible that he has altered the light in his house to affect the mirrors, but no scientific explanation has been found at this time.
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Seeing no Red

Document #88 Created by beth
Status: Unverified
Classification: Location: US-West, Year: 2003

Summary
The color red disappears from site leaving hikers amused.
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On October 16, 2003, several visitors to Caribou National Forest reported trouble with their vision. Those affected were unable to distinguish the color red, yet all other colors appeared normal. The effect was felt in a small area of the park, just east of Pocatello, ID. When visitors left that area, vision returned to normal. While the cause has not yet been determined, officials have been unable to duplicate the effect making further investigation difficult. When questioned, one official expressed his belief that it was a drug induced incident by “those unruly hippies”.
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Casino faces fraud charge
Document #89 Created by beth
Status: Logical explanation
Classification: Location: US-Midwest, Year: 2003

Summary
A casino located on tribal land faces charges of fraud after visitors reported being dealt identical hands on several occasions.
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Visitors to a tribal casino in early October reported that they were dealt identical hands at several tables during the course of a single evening. Members of one senior citizen’s tour group noticed that every one of them had been dealt the same hand at different tables. Three members of this group have also reported being dealt the same cards in the same order in two consecutive games. The casino owners are investigating, but at least one Casino employee reported that the dealers noticed the recurring hands and “felt a little odd about the whole thing” but that there was no fraud or attempt to mislead the casino patrons.

Despite the Casino’s assurances, this can be explained as either a very poor attempt to defraud the casino patrons, more likely an attempt by an unhappy employee (or anti-casino organization) to discredit the Casino.
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Bells at Midnight

Document #90 Created by beth
Status: No logical explanation
Classification: Location: Europe, Year: 2003

Summary
Campers in Vanoise National Park report hearing church bells ringing through the night.
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Over 80 hikers and visitors to the Vanoise National Park in France have reported hearing church bells or chimes during the night, despite the fact that many of these campers were over 520 km (200 miles) from the nearest village. Visitors reported that the bells rang throughout the night and often seemed to be coming from different directions. Several hikers attempting to locate the source of the sounds were unsuccessful. Of special interest is the fact that while many people noticed the sounds, others in the same encampments (park run huts) heard nothing. Park rangers thought nothing of the first reports, but after a significant number of people mentioned the sounds, they reported their confusion to the local media.

It is possible, due to the mountainous nature of the terrain in the Vanoise National Park, that chimes from a distant village were funneled into the park’s interior. However, this does not explain the continuous nature of the sounds reported, or the inability of some to hear the chimes.
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Sun Dancing

Document #91 Created by beth
Status: Logical explanation
Classification: Location: US-South, Year: 2003

Summary
The sun appeared to move through the sky, spinning and changing colors.
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Residents of the small West Virginia town of Marlow reported on October 18 that the sun began to spin through the sky, changing colors and shapes for approx. 40 minutes. Several young children playing in the town square seem to have noticed the event first, running home to fetch their parents they alerted the small town, many of whom came outside to watch the sun. At this time there appears to have been no optical damage to villagers who claim to have stared at the sun for over a half hour as it “danced” in the sky, turning red, green, blue, and purple.

This can be explained as a case of mass hysteria started by the children, or possibly as the result of fumes released by a nearby manufacturing plant. The plant has released no statement at this time.
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