Richard Muirhead is an old friend of the CFZ. I have been friends with him for 40 years now, since we were kids together in Hong Kong. He is undoubtedly one of the two best researchers I have ever met; he and Nigel Wright both have what Charlie Fort would have no doubt called a wild talent; a talent for going into a library, unearthing a stack of old newspapers, and coming back with some hitherto overlooked gem of arcane knowledge. Twice a week he wanders into the Macclesfield Public Library and comes out with enough material for a blog post....
Hi folks, it`s Muirhead`s Mysteries time again!
Tonight I`m posting a few brief entries from my Strange Nature scrap book, which has entries dating from the 17th century, an 1847 edition of John Aubrey`s Natural History of Wiltshire to the first report below, from the main Hong Kong English language paper (at least it was when I lived in Hong Kong from 1966-1986) the South China Morning Post for August 23rd 1995.
Archaeologists from the Chengdu Museum in Sichuan Province found some 2000-year-old seeds in a bamboo tube buried in an ancient tomb in southwest China. To preserve the bamboo they wrapped it in a damp cloth. A month later, to their surprise, they found 40 seeds had sprouted and grew up to be the ancient equivalent of tomatoes. The tomatoes were a different shape from modern cousins but tasted the same, the Guangxi Daily reported.
The illustration shows 10 waterspouts off Malta with the accompanying text:
“EXTRAORDINARY WATERSPOUT. (From a correspondent) I send you a sketch of a phaenomenon seen on our recent outward passage to Malta, of which the following is a brief account:-Lat 37 14 N ;long 8 40 E ; March 2.The weather was just what one may expect in the Mediterranean at this time of year-the sea smooth,the sky cloudless and the atmosphere calm . At one pm a large spreading cloud arose in the north-east, sprinkling a few drops of rain in passing,and then, gradually contracting, it settled low down in the horizon astern. The two centre waterspouts (of enormous size) formed first, the others followed in rapid succession, and in five minutes no fewer than ten were distinctly visible at the same time, and proceeding from the same cloud. Their distance from us was six miles. They were visible a quarter of an hour, and then passed away to the south-west, two of them bursting on the land. The island to the right in the Sketch is Galita, and the point of land to the left, C.Senat, Africa. The base of the cloud was very dark, gradually shaded off towards the top". Illustrated London News April 5th 1856.
This next item features a mystery animal I have never been able to identify and as far as I know it has never featured in the cryptozoological annals. It could be a mutant goose or even an out of place duck-billed platypus.
A very extraordinary bird was this day shot in the earl of Tynley`s park at Wanstead Essex. It has four legs, which are placed diametrically opposite to each other; its size is something less than that of a goose; it is web footed like a duck, with this difference, that the web is quite black, but as fine in texture as the wings of a bat; its neck is prodigiously long, very small, and something resembling the shape of an eel; with very remarkable eyes, which are very small; and its bill or beak is of an uncommon form. Gentleman`s Magazine 1780. Any suggestions anyone?
Next we have a report of a thistle in July 1839 at Shrewton, (Wiltshire?) with a stalk 7 and a quarter inches in circumference and a head 10 inches in diameter. Salisbury Journal September 4th 1869.
And finally back to my favourite country, China: it`s slimy, it`s mysterious, it moves towards food and consumes it, and moves on. It`s not exactly an animal and it's not exactly a plant and normally it weighs a few grammes. It sounds like a science fiction monster and it has been puzzling scientists for decades. It`s a slime mould. Yesterday the official Chinese news agency announced the discovery of a 35 kg slime mould. The almost epic blob was spotted in a river in Shaanxi province in August. It put on 10kg in three days. “Specialists at the biology department of Northwest University in Xian have determined that it is related to fungus and is still alive…” The Guardian October 14th 1992
.
That`s all for now folks. Rich.
Archaeologists from the Chengdu Museum in Sichuan Province found some 2000-year-old seeds in a bamboo tube buried in an ancient tomb in southwest China. To preserve the bamboo they wrapped it in a damp cloth. A month later, to their surprise, they found 40 seeds had sprouted and grew up to be the ancient equivalent of tomatoes. The tomatoes were a different shape from modern cousins but tasted the same, the Guangxi Daily reported.
The illustration shows 10 waterspouts off Malta with the accompanying text:
“EXTRAORDINARY WATERSPOUT. (From a correspondent) I send you a sketch of a phaenomenon seen on our recent outward passage to Malta, of which the following is a brief account:-Lat 37 14 N ;long 8 40 E ; March 2.The weather was just what one may expect in the Mediterranean at this time of year-the sea smooth,the sky cloudless and the atmosphere calm . At one pm a large spreading cloud arose in the north-east, sprinkling a few drops of rain in passing,and then, gradually contracting, it settled low down in the horizon astern. The two centre waterspouts (of enormous size) formed first, the others followed in rapid succession, and in five minutes no fewer than ten were distinctly visible at the same time, and proceeding from the same cloud. Their distance from us was six miles. They were visible a quarter of an hour, and then passed away to the south-west, two of them bursting on the land. The island to the right in the Sketch is Galita, and the point of land to the left, C.Senat, Africa. The base of the cloud was very dark, gradually shaded off towards the top". Illustrated London News April 5th 1856.
This next item features a mystery animal I have never been able to identify and as far as I know it has never featured in the cryptozoological annals. It could be a mutant goose or even an out of place duck-billed platypus.
A very extraordinary bird was this day shot in the earl of Tynley`s park at Wanstead Essex. It has four legs, which are placed diametrically opposite to each other; its size is something less than that of a goose; it is web footed like a duck, with this difference, that the web is quite black, but as fine in texture as the wings of a bat; its neck is prodigiously long, very small, and something resembling the shape of an eel; with very remarkable eyes, which are very small; and its bill or beak is of an uncommon form. Gentleman`s Magazine 1780. Any suggestions anyone?
Next we have a report of a thistle in July 1839 at Shrewton, (Wiltshire?) with a stalk 7 and a quarter inches in circumference and a head 10 inches in diameter. Salisbury Journal September 4th 1869.
And finally back to my favourite country, China: it`s slimy, it`s mysterious, it moves towards food and consumes it, and moves on. It`s not exactly an animal and it's not exactly a plant and normally it weighs a few grammes. It sounds like a science fiction monster and it has been puzzling scientists for decades. It`s a slime mould. Yesterday the official Chinese news agency announced the discovery of a 35 kg slime mould. The almost epic blob was spotted in a river in Shaanxi province in August. It put on 10kg in three days. “Specialists at the biology department of Northwest University in Xian have determined that it is related to fungus and is still alive…” The Guardian October 14th 1992
.
That`s all for now folks. Rich.
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