The Skeptic Ring consists of sites that examine claims about paranormal phenomena and fringe science from a skeptical point of view. These sites believe that such claims should be examined rationally and objectively. Topics include UFOs, psychic powers, ghosts, crop circles, astrology, telepathy, repressed memories, creationism, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, hypnosis, homeopathy, Reiki, TFT, nonexistent chiropractic subluxations, dowsing, and conspiracy theories. It is not an atheism ring or an anti-religion ring, since some believers can, in other areas, be skeptics....;-)
So this turned up in in the field near my house. I think it settles for once and all that
1. crop circles are real
2. aliens are real
3. aliens like pot (i can confirm this)
This week I thought I’d give you a skull to identify – probably a bit too easy, but it’s a nice specimen! Pop you questions comments and suggestions below and I’ll do my best to respond. Good luck! Tagged: Biology, bone, Friday mystery object, mystery object, Natural history, skull
On Friday I gave you this object to identify: The idea was to provide a sense of how tricky it can be to identify bits of postcranial bone, even fairly characteristic bits like the humerus (which is what this is). There were various suggestions, with sheep, goat and deer all getting a mention, but henstridgesj [...]
Ricky Gervais is the star of one of my favorite movies, The Invention of Lying . He also has a series, An Idiot Abroad. Originally on in the UK on Sky1 but recently on The Science Channel here. Here's an excerpt from a recent interview with CNN's Piers Morgan where, as a Brit, he seemed to be underestimating the reason and reality quotient in the ...
Postcranial bones are found more often than skulls, but they can be harder to identify since they don’t have such diagnostic characteristics (like teeth). So, any idea what this piece of postcranial skeleton is and what it comes from? As usual you can put your answers below and I will do my best to respond [...]
Following new government plans for gay marriage, Catholic priests have crawled out of the woodwork to bitch and moan to anyone who’ll listen. Cardinal Keith O’Brien called the plans a “grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right” and went on to say that “It would create a society which deliberately choo...
On Friday I gave you this mystery object to identify: Unfortunately I was unable to respond to comments on Friday, as my laptop had to go in for repairs and my phone has reached the end of its useful life as an internet device after 4 years faithful service. For the answer this week I [...]
This week I have another skull for you to identify: Any idea what this is from? As usual you can make your suggestions, comments and questions below. Good luck! Tagged: Biology, Friday mystery object, museums, mystery object, Natural history, nature, skull, skulls
On Friday I gave you this skull to identify: I think the oddly inflated and positioned auditory bullae make this look like Gary Oldman in his role as Dracula. Because of this characteristically odd feature the specimen was fairly easy to identify. Of course, that supposes that most people have seen the skull of one [...]
[N.B. The answer to the mystery object will be a little late this week, as I won't have internet access - expect the answer on Tuesday!] This week I have a mystery object that will probably prove very easy to identify, since it has quite a distinctive shape: It looks a bit like Gary Oldman’s [...]
On Friday I gave you this object to identify: I thought it might prove quite tricky, yet several of you managed to work out what it was and which animal it came from. Jake spotted that it was from a young animal – as you can see from the unfused ends of the bone. He [...]
This Friday I’ve decided to really challenge your identification skills with a single bone that I found in the Horniman’s collections. There was no information of any kind with this specimen, although the material it shared a box with was acquired from the King’s College Comparative Zoology collection. That means that it could be ...
On Friday I gave you a very nice specimen from the Horniman Museum to identify: I chose this partly because it’s a great mount and partly because I needed to check the identification, which was out of date. You all did a great job of breaking down the various options – and there were a [...]
