Wallet Made of Human Skin

Here's something you probably don't want in your back pocket. It's a wallet made of tanned human skin that dates back to 1906. This wallet was presented to Dr. W.W. Keen (1837-1932), professor of anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania and president of the College of Physicians by an unknown person.

The Soap Lady

The Soap Lady is one of the most popular exhibits at The Mutter Museum. Currently the museum is involved in ongoing research using 21st century technology to solve the 19th century mystery that is the Soap Lady. The museum is working with Dr. Frederic Rieders of NMS Labs to conduct forensic analysis on the Soap Lady. They are hoping these tests will answer the following questions:

* When did she die?

* How did she die?

* Why did she lose her teeth so early in life?

By the way, they call her the her the "Soap Lady" because she represents what they call adipocere formation, which means her flesh was transformed through a rare chemical reaction into a soapy substance.

I saw UFO beam up a buffalo

By BRIAN FLYNN

Published: Today

STUNNED Derek Bridges has revealed how he shot extraordinary footage which UFO experts say shows aliens beaming a BUFFALO into their spaceship.

Pensioner Derek filmed the eerie scene from his window after spotting pulsating glowing orbs hovering over a neighbouring farm late at night.

The two bright lights hover high over fields, while an animal appears to dangle below before vanishing into them.

A high-pitched screeching noise can be heard before the UFOs finally disappear into the night.

Grandfather Derek, 69, said: "I couldn't believe my eyes. I'm convinced it is the real thing."

He told how he spotted the bizarre lights over a neighbouring farm as he looked out of his window while getting ready for bed at his house near Basingstoke, Hampshire.

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Quick-thinking Derek grabbed his camcorder and began filming the incident above 2,500-acre Laverstoke Park Farm in Overton village at about 10.30pm.

It has one of the country's biggest herds of water buffalo and is close to a military base used by special forces.

Derek said: "I just looked out of the window before going to bed. I wasn't sure what I was seeing at the time.

"I have a keen eye and I could see something glowing which looked dark red about half a mile away.

"I kept looking at it for about 20 minutes and then suddenly a bright white light appeared which was very powerful.

"At that point I picked up my video camera and filmed what I saw. I saw two white lights lifting up and I just kept filming. The lights were high in the sky. They couldn't have been anything on the ground.

"I did not realise at the time that something was dangling beneath but when I played it back the next day on a big screen I could see it there.

"I believe it's a UFO and this animal, which could be a bison or a horse, seems to be being beamed up.

"As far as I know, this is the first time anyone in the world has filmed animal abduction, so obviously I'm pretty chuffed."

UFO experts claim there is a long history of cattle being abducted by aliens for research, particularly in the US, sometimes being returned alive or mutilated.

There are often reports of animal carcasses found lying in fields with body parts mysteriously missing and their blood drained without the skin being spilt.

Divorced Derek told how he spoke to a farm worker who said they had found a couple of dead animals around the time the lights were filmed.

The farm - owned by 1979 Formula 1 champ Jody Scheckter - insists no cattle have gone missing

Boss Sara Whittall said: "We have never seen any aliens or UFOs around here.

"All our animals have been accounted for, so we have not had any abductions either."

But the area is a hotspot for UFO sightings.

In June last year, families in Basingstoke reported seeing a dozen glowing orange objects hovering in the sky above the town.

The "alien" fleet was captured on video, changing formation for half an hour.

Officials at nearby RAF Odiham said they could not comment at the time "for security reasons".

A trucker also reported seeing aliens just six miles from the farm in August 2007.

The footage has now been screened at a conference of UFO hunters in Scarborough.

Expert Nick Pope, who used to run the British Government's UFO Project, said the latest footage needed urgent investigation by the authorities.

He added: "If this footage is genuine, it could be highly significant."

UFO hunter Kenneth Parsons of the British Earth and Aerial Mysteries Society said he was convinced it was the first ever footage showing aliens abducting cattle.

He added: "This footage is like the holy grail. This is the first time anything like this has been filmed so clearly.

"There are no street lamps or pylons where the footage was filmed, just fields, and it is usually pitch black and silent at night, so there is no simple alternative explanation.

"We are very excited."

Derek told how he looked out of his window the next evening to see if the lights came back - and saw three helicopters flying around the field as if searching the site.

The Ministry of Defence yesterday declined to comment on the incident, saying only: "The MoD examines UFO reports solely to establish whether UK airspace may have been compromised by hostile or unauthorised military activity.

"Unless there is evidence of a potential threat, there is no attempt to identify the nature of each sighting reported."

Meanwhile UFO experts are being urged to investigate another case of aliens playing Cattlestar Galactica to steal cows.

A US cattle rancher is blaming extra-terrestrials after finding a mutilated cow with its internal organs removed on his land.

Mike Duran claims ET abducted his animal and made a surgical study of the beast before abandoning its carcass.

The cow was found with its udders and reproductive organs removed in Las Animas County, Colorado, in March.

And Duran says it happened after he spotted strange lights hovering in the skies above his ranch. "They were like a round circle in the air," he said. "I've watched them and they just disappear."

British woman, 57, killed in Tenerife landslide as she sunbathed on the beach

By Claire Ellicott and Gerard Couzens

Last updated at 10:39 AM on 02nd November 2009

A British holidaymaker has died after being buried under 40 tons of falling rocks during a landslide on a Tenerife beach.

Marion Auril O'Hara, 57, was killed instantly when part of the 1,600ft cliff towering above the popular family tourist spot collapsed.

Today council authorities are holding an emergency meeting to investigate allegations of negligence after locals claimed another rockslide had taken place in the same area on October 7.

Marion Auril O'Hara, 57, was killed yesterday at Los Gigantes beach in Tenerife, after being buried under 40 tons of falling rocks during a landslide

A 34-year-old local woman also died as hundreds ran for cover when rocks started raining down at Los Gigantes in the north west of the Spanish island just after 3pm yesterday. At least two others were pulled from the rubble.

Council chiefs in the nearby town of Santiago del Teide announced they would hold an emergency meeting of the full council today to probe the causes.

Police cordoned off the area where yesterday's tragedy happened followng the rockslide on October 7.

Local mayor Juan Damian Gorrmn insisted local authorities had put warning buoys and signs outlining the danger along the stretch of beach and a coastguard said he had tried to stop people sunbathing there.

But witnesses have claimed all authorities did was section off the area with a small plastic tape - and the tape had been broken before the latest rockslide.

Local Lucia Gomez said: 'The same thing happened less than a month ago. Fortunately no-one was below the cliff-face at the time because they were in the water.

Up to 150 rescue workers were using their bare hands and picks and shovels in a desperate attempt to try to save the British holidaymaker, a local women who also died and two others still trapped

'They simply cordoned off the area but no-one has done anything since then.'

Another British tourist who is staying in Tenerife said he and his family were 'horrified' to learn of the tragedy but that he was angry at the Spanish police because the beach wasn't closed.

'There were a lot of Brits in the town and they said police were aware it was dangerous,' he said. 'The only thing they put on the place was a small piece of builder's tape. That's all that was keeping people off the beach.

'We spoke to numerous Brits who said the beach was in a dangerous state but left open. Over the last couple of days that tape has been broken.'

A local, who asked not to be named: 'What they did was come and put a tape and cordon the area off a bit. But people kept on coming and sunbathing there.

'Half the mountain has collapsed today. Why? Because the authorities didn't act in the way they should.'

Distraught: A relative is comforted on the beach at Los Gigantes

The deputy manager of the local yachting marina said it was 'a tragedy waiting to happen' given the previous record of giant rocks landing on the beach from the cliffs, which give the spot its name.

Three days of official mourning, starting from today have been declared for the two victims of the tragedy.

The British holidaymaker was identified by a passport found among her belongings.

One local newspaper reported she had been on the beach with her husband and son at the time of the rockslide.

Police were unable to confirm the reports. It is believed she was in Tenerife visiting her son, who lives there.

The other victim, a 34-year-old Spaniard from the Tenerife town of Arona, was on the beach with her boyfriend and mother-in-law.

The fatal accident took place in a popular resort area in the north-west of the island

They comforted each other as rescue workers pulled her dead from under the rubble of rocks before putting a blanket over her on the beach.

The beach at Los Gigantes remained closed today. Authorities said it would remain closed until the area had been made safe.

Up to 150 rescue workers were using their bare hands and picks and shovels in a desperate attempt to try to save the women yesterday.

Witnesses said they heard a loud rumbling noise followed by a lightning-type crack, and seconds later the first of the giant rocks weighing several tons hurtled down the cliff face.

A second rock fall followed moments later, triggering scenes of panic.

Several people were treated at the scene yesterday for panic attacks.

British tourists have been flocking to Tenerife in search of sun as temperatures yesterday soared to 25C (77f ).

Firefighters and rescue workers search for survivors through the night

Many families have been there during the recent school half term, and yesterday sunbathers flocked to the beach to enjoy the 8ft-high waves which lasted the whole width of the harbour.

Diane Morris, who works at the nearby Bamboo Bar, said emergency workers were still at the scene and rescue workers were continuing to dig in the rubble.

'There has been a lot of activity today with helicopters and there are still ambulances and fire engines down there,' she said.

'There has been a lot of speculation about it. Originally people said one person had died but now they are saying more.

She added: 'It is a little beach, more like a cove really, but it's all taped off now.'

A spokesman for the Civil Guard, which has begun an investigation into the tragedy, said: 'The rockslide was limited to a small area of around 300sq ft. The rocks fell from a height of around 200ft.'

The 1,600ft cliff towering above the popular family tourist spot collapsed whilst families sunbathed

Weird moth looks like a Gremlin

A Merseyside photographer found the strange creature perched on a log in his garden.

By Harriet Alexander

Published: 1:08PM GMT 02 Nov 2009

The Pale Tussock moth is actually quite common in England and Wales. The animal, which has a wing span of 40-60mm, is known for being hairy. Photo: SOLENT

Austin Thomas, 42, was taken aback to find the bizarre creature sitting by his garden pond.

Mr Thomas, from St Helens, said: "I often wander into my back garden with a cup of tea before breakfast to see if my pond has attracted any wildlife overnight.

"I spotted a moth sitting on a log and thought it would make a nice picture if I got my macro lens and zoomed right in on it."

Mr Thomas said that the animal looked like one of the mischievous creatures from the 1984 comedy Gremlins.

In the cult-classic comedy, which was executive produced by Steven Spielberg, the little creatures wreak havoc in a small American town.

"The moth started to wake up as I moved the log from a wind-sheltered spot into better light," Mr Thomas explained.

"It was then I noticed its unusual antennae, hairy body and the remarkable likeness to something out of the film Gremlins. I was amazed."

The Pale Tussock moth is actually quite common in England and Wales. The animal, which has a wing span of 40-60mm, is known for being hairy. The caterpillars feed on shrubs and trees before growing into moths

Illinois Man's High School Ring Found Buried in Cave 44 Years After It Disappeared

Sunday, November 01, 2009

CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. —  In 1965, Clarence "Corky" Iversen Jr. gave his girlfriend his class ring. About 44 years later, it was found buried in a cave in a Skippy peanut butter jar about 115 miles away.

He's still trying to figure out how it got there.

"Bonnie was in gym class one day and she said the ring was becoming a problem. I think they were playing volleyball," said Iversen, 65. "She set it behind a pole in the gym so she wouldn't lose it, ruin it, or cut her finger."

When she went back, the ring was gone.

Iversen said he was upset at the time — the ring cost about $27 back then. Bonnie had had the ring for about a week.

Today, Iversen figures the ring must have been buried for at least a year by the time he and Bonnie were married in the late 1960s. A note in pig Latin found with the ring says it was buried in 1965, but the rest is unintelligible aside from the initials "T.M.B."

Iversen was reunited with his ring with the help of the social-networking site Facebook, which he said a friend badgered him to join.

A man in Savanna, Ill., had bought a metal detector to help find metal stakes marking property lines, but began exploring nearby caves with his brother.

Their first find during that dig was a bunch of old steel beer cans, but they dug further and found the peanut butter jar wrapped in electrical tape.

When they broke it open, they found the jar full of stuff, including Roy Orbison-style glasses, a magnifying glass, a partial deck of playing cards, and a lanyard with a horn or tooth hanging from it.

There also was a picture of a man standing in front of a swing set wearing a waist-length black jacket and jeans. The Iversens are trying to identify him, thinking it might reveal how the jar made its journey.

"We were trying to speculate, maybe someone was jealous of Bonnie because you know how girls are in school," Iversen said. "We just don't know. I asked her if a guy could have come in and picked up the ring, but it was an all-girls gym class and if a guy would have walked in, they would have noticed."

Iversen traveled out to Savanna to pick up the ring. The man who found it had it appraised, and it was worth $75.

It's too small for Iversen to wear now, but that doesn't bother him.

"I'm thinking about putting it in a glass-covered shadow box or something," he said. "The story, at this point, is more interesting than the ring."

Ohio Coroner's Office: 6 Bodies Found at Rapist's Home Are Homicide Victims

Monday, November 02, 2009

Six badly decomposed bodies found at the home of a convicted rapist facing a new rape allegation were females and all were homicide victims, the coroner's office said Sunday.

Powell Caesar, a spokesman for Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank Miller, said at least four of the victims apparently had been strangled. Decomposition made it difficult to determine how two victims died, he said.

None of the victims has been identified, Caesar said. Two victims were black, but race hadn't yet been determined in the other four bodies, he said.

Women claiming to have been attacked by Ohio convicted sex offender Anthony Sowell came forward to share their horrifying experiences, Fox 8 Cleveland reported.

Two women told Fox 8 Cleveland that they believe Sowell, 50, would have killed them and said they feel lucky to be alive.

"He was gonna kill me," one alleged victim said.

"I have scars on my neck and nerve damage. I couldn't leave the house for months. I was afraid to go to the store. I could not sleep."

The alleged victim told local reporters that when she turned down an offer from Sowell to drink beer with him, he "punched her in the face and dragged her to his house," according to Fox 8 Cleveland.

She managed to escape from his house and flag down police, Fox 8 Cleveland reported. Sowell was arrested for rape, kidnapping and robbery — but the case never made it to court.

Anthony Sowell, 50, of Cleveland, was arrested Saturday when officers spotted him walking down the street of his eastside neighborhood.

Police found the first two bodies Thursday night when they went to Sowell's home to arrest him on a new rape charge. Police said Sowell spent 15 years in prison for a rape in 1989.

On Friday, police found a third body and remains that were confirmed on Saturday to be three additional bodies.

People who knew Sowell said he often walked around his neighborhood looking for scrap metal to sell and asking for money.

Police urged the public for help Sunday in identifying missing people who may have been victims.

Click here for more from Fox8.com.

Oops! Civilian in joyride accidentally grabs ejection lever but lands safely   

By Sean Maclean

Last updated at 11:28 AM on 02nd November 2009

Captain Gerhard Lourens was flying the plane when a civilian accidentally ejected himself

As the plane rolled into another stomach-churning manoeuvre, the passenger was probably wishing that he was somewhere else.

Then, just like that, he was.

The man, a civilian joyriding with his air force pilot friend, accidentally grabbed the eject lever while trying to brace himself.

He was instantly fired through the aircraft's perspex canopy and blasted 320ft (100m) into the sky by the rocket-powered chair.

He then floated down to the ground with a parachute that opened automatically.

Experts said he was lucky to escape unharmed from the bizarre accident last week in South Africa.

Air Force bosses scrambled a helicopter to pick him up after the blunder near Langebaanweg airfield, 80 miles north of Cape Town.

The pilot of the Pilatus PC-7 Mk II was an experienced member of the Silver Falcons air force air display team, Captain Gerhard Lourens. It is thought that he was the passenger's friend.

Civilians are not usually allowed in the turboprop aircraft, and an air force spokesman confirmed that officials had launched an investigation into the accident.

He added: 'Much of the information has yet to be tested, but it is confirmed that a civilian passenger unintentionally ejected from a Silver Falcons Pilatus PC-7 Mk II Astra during a general flying sortie out of Langebaanweg Air Force Base.

Captain Lourens in flight: The pair were flying in a Pilatus PC-7 Mk II, a high performance single-engine turboprop aircraft, like this one

Enlarge  

Flying high: The Silver Falcons, South Africa's official aerobatic display team, in action. The team was founded in 1968

The passenger was recovered unharmed, and returned to Langebaanweg. The aircraft landed safely.'

More...

The yellow-and-black eject levers are fitted as standard in the jets to allow pilots and their passengers to escape in the event of an emergency. It only needs to be pulled 2.5cm to activate two rockets attached to the chair.

Swift exit: An ejector seat in action

One retired air force pilot instructor said the man, who would have been wearing flight kit and a helmet, was lucky to have escaped serious injury during the ejection process.

He would have experienced 20G of acceleration - about four times the amount a Formula One driver experiences when breaking heavily - while leaving the plane.

The retired instructor added: 'All it takes is for the firing handle to be pulled up about 2.5cm and you're on your way out.

'You get one almighty kick under the backside and then you're gone.

'The seat separates from the pilot automatically and the chute opens. This is in case the pilot is incapacitated during the ejection.

'We train for this and if you don't get it right, and are not in the correct ejection posture, you can sustain severe spinal cord injuries or even worse.'

The Silver Falcons are South Africa's official aerobatic display team and were founded in 1968.

The five-man squad has performed at many of the country's major political and sporting events.

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