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12:01 am
May 10, 2009
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Bobarino
| | Valencia, CA | |
| Investigator | posts 181 |
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Normally I wouldn't look at this twice, especially considering the "news" source. But I did find it interesting. This is a news article, with a video someone took showing the phenomenon. While I have my own idea on this, I'd be very interested to hear what some of y'all think about it.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article385529.ece
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I've found that being AWESOME is a full time job…
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4:30 am
May 10, 2009
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blinddog
| | Special Agent Zombie Elimination Agency | |
| Moderator
| posts 857 |
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Had to google boffin. I wuz confused.
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Double tap to the head. Don't become Undead.
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7:02 am
May 10, 2009
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alicat
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| Lead Investigator | posts 1215 |
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Bobarino,
I'm with you about the news source. The Sun certainly is a questionable source but I, like blinddog50, did a double take on the word boffin. I loved the line "The phenomenon flummoxed police, who called physics professors into Firmat, Argentina." Those are some big words for The Sun and it appears that they had to go pretty far to get that story. Maybe it will be a short segment now on GHI.
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7:20 am
May 10, 2009
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Oubliette
| | Igloo in NJ | |
| Lead Investigator | posts 574 |
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Ditto about The Sun. It's probably the "top rag" in the UK.
"Academics have now ruled out magnetic and electrical fields, and winds – and called in ghosthunters." So where are the scientists' take on this situation? How were the tests conducted and what was used?
How quick people are to jump on the haunted bandwagon! Here's a YouTube explanation. Not saying it's the correct one but it makes sense. I think the key is that it is the middle swing. The other two could be funneling a wind current, which then catches the middle one at just the right angle to start and maintain its movement.
Very interesting, though. Thanks for posting this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l54W2gM-gYM
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If 50 million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.
Anatole France
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10:45 am
May 10, 2009
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Hannah
| | Texas | |
| Lead Investigator | posts 361 |
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A simple test, would be to change in the swingset's position, or place in an enclosed area. Thanks for posting Bobarino.
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10:18 pm
May 10, 2009
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Stephen
| | San Jose, CA | |
| Admin
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I agree with the YouTube video's explanation– it's probably a pendulum resonance effect. If they actually called physics professors in and they didn't attempt to rule out resonance, then… well… hope they've got tenure, I guess. Or not.
Here's a magic trick you can do with a related effect: "The Magic Pendulum", with the difference being that the Magic Pendulum requires pendulums (pendula?) of different lengths, while it looks like the swings are the same length.
It's going to be a busy couple of weeks for me, but remind me to try to create a video duplicating this effect at home.
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Stephen the Friendly Skeptic
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10:35 pm
May 10, 2009
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Queen of the Nerds
| | Orange County, CA | |
| Investigator | posts 105 |
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That was really interesting. Thanks for posting it! I liked the You Tube explanation. I was hoping there would be a little ghost kid swinging though.
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If you believe in telekinesis, raise my hands.
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