Every week, I receive hundreds of PM's, emails, letters, telegrams, post-it notes on my car, carrier pigeons, and smoke signals all essentially asking the same thing.  Here's a fine example:

"Dearest Revenant,

I love all of your posts at SV.  I am your biggest fan.  Anyway, Wolverine from the X-Men is my favorite superhero.  Is there anything in nature that resembles his ability to shoot those super-cool claws made from adamantium out of his fists?  Thanks.  I also included a check.  Buy yourself something nice, you deserve it.  Keep on churning out those choice posts…

Regards,

Chip Coffey"

To finally give this dire issue its just due, I present…the Spanish Ribbed Newt:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8212000/8212623.stm

So, there we have it.  I give the edge to the Newt.  I mean, claws coming out of your fists is one thing, but using your actual ribs as a weapon and tipped with poison no less…the Newt wins hands down.

And to all you comic book fans…NO.  Adamantium is not real.

Legal Disclaimer:  In no way, shape, or form is Chip Coffey a big fan of the X-Men, Wolverine, Adamantium, Revenant, reason, logic, common sense, or the use of the term "super-cool."  The letter provided in this post is completely and utterly fake.  It is a joke.  It is as real as Mr Coffey's psychic abilities.  And that is a joke as well, on many levels…

Personal Note: I have nothing but the utmost respect for Mr Coffey.  Besides, if I ever get possessed by a demon, who else is going to come over, tape ping-pong balls to his eyes and help me out?  You never know…gotta cover my bases…

alicat said:

Wow!  That has to be the most gruesome thing I've read in awhile yet, as hard as it was for me to read to the end, it was really fascinating.  The fact it can repair it's skin and even if the poison gets in it's own system, it does not die is amazing.  Thanks for the post.

Thanks.  And now…I'm going to go off on a tangent for a bit…(but don't worry, cookies and juice will be served afterwards…)

I'm really glad that this section, the "Other Fringe Science Topics," is here on the forums.  In all the other sections we discuss the paranormal.  And it's cool to discuss those possibilities.  Yet, it's also cool to be reminded of just how amazing nature and the world as a whole actually is.  And the best part, it's real.  I mean look at some of the topics covered; zombie spiders, big blobs of mysterious goo, microbes that awakened after 120,000 years, people worshipping a multi-colored frog, and of course, the poison-tipped, rib-wielding newt.  It's all bizarre, but…it's totally real.

People are attracted to the paranormal because it's so mysterious and thought-provoking.  Nothing wrong with that.  But…you don't have to go to the edge of reality to find those things.  And this section of the forum, hopefully, reminds people that this is actually a pretty exciting time for science.  You want mysterious and thought-provoking?  Science has TONS of that kind of thing. 

Don't get me wrong.  I love talking about ghosts and UFO's and Bigfoot and all the other things.  Yet comparatively, I don't think that they hold a candle to some of the things in this section.  The paranormal has "theories" and stories…and plaster castings of footprints.  This section…cold hard facts…and yet it's still amazing.  I mean, show me a grainy picture of Loch Ness and I can counter with a plant that can eat rats and spiders that can come back to life hours after they've been drown.  Not really a contest…

So yes, the paranormal stuff is cool…but I'll take science any day of the week.  Not only is it proven to be real, but it's just as mysterious and thought-provoking, if not more so…

P.S.  I lied about the cookies and juice.  Science may be cool, but it's often poorly funded.     

I do agree Revenant.  I love seeing, even with my eyes shaded to a degree, how amazing nature is.  That's also why I posted the link to the photographs and videos in the Last Chance to See thread in this forum.  There are so many fanscinating animals and stories of what we take for granted will always be there and then they are gone.  At that point, all we will have left are photographs.  That's one of the reasons I love reading the articles in this thread.  It's extremely eye-opening.

On a different note, I thought at least I would get cookies and juice if I showed you my amazing yet grainy pictures of the Loch Ness Monster.  No fair!  I'm with Nosfer, let the looting begin! 

Rev – I'm thinking you must have at least a Mondavi 2001 Cab (Oakville) in one cabinet or a special blend cognac in the other?  Nah, I'd put my life on the line trying to get to that cognac and I couldn't, in all good conscience, do that to you.  I'll take the Mondavi and share.

Hadn't thought of the cookie replacement.  Maybe I will go for that cognac to make up for it!    If I don't make it to the cabinet Nosfer, have a glass in my memory! 

I'm still going in Nosfer.  I'll take my chances.  I'll use the mudswallows to distract him so we have about 1 more month to get this done.  On second thought, Michael Weston might be helpful to me right now so you go ahead and after a long meeting in Miami, I'll be in touch.