Chun Claire - Listverse.coms epic book of mind-boggling lists: unbelievable facts and astounding trivia on movies, music, crime, celebrities, history, and more

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ISBN: 978-1-61243-335-6

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013957414

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Cover photos: octopus Morphart Creation/shutterstock.com; glider Hein Nouwens/shutterstock.com; scorpion Hein Nouwens/shutterstock.com; eye Morphart Creation/shutterstock.com; skeleton Morphart Creation/shutterstock.com

Interior photos: see page 719

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Contents

by Pauli Poisuo

The Russian UFO Tooth Wheel

A Russian man found a strange piece of machinery from Vladivostok, the administrative capital of the Primorsky Krai area. The object resembled a piece of tooth wheel and was embedded in a piece of coal the man was using to light a fire. Although discarded pieces of old machines are not uncommon in Russia, the man became curious and showed his find to some scientists. Testing revealed that the toothed object was almost pure aluminum and almost certainly artificially made.

Also, it was 300 million years old. This raised some interesting questions, as aluminum of this purity and shape cant form naturally and humans didnt figure out how to make it until 1825. Curiously, the object also resembles parts that are used in microscopes and other delicate technical devices.

Although conspiracy theorists have been quick to declare the find a part of an alien spaceship, the scientists researching it are not willing to jump to conclusions and wish to run further tests in order to learn more about the mysterious artifact.

The Guatemala Stone Head

In the 1930s, explorers found an enormous, elegantly made sandstone statue in the middle of a Guatemalan jungle. The face carved in the stone didnt resemble the facial features of the Maya or any of the other people known to have populated the lands. In fact, its elongated cranium and fine features didnt seem to belong in the history books at all.

Researchers have claimed that the statues unique features depict a member of an ancient alien civilization that was far more advanced than any of the pre-Hispanic races of America we know about. Some even speculated the head might just be a part of a much larger construct underneath (this was found to be untrue). Of course, theres a chance that the statue might be the work of a more recent artist or even a complete hoax. Sadly, we will probably never find out for sure: The head was used for target practice by revolutionary troops and its features have been destroyed to near obscurity.

The Williams Enigmalith

In 1998, a hiker named John J. Williams noticed an odd metallic protrusion in the dirt. He dug up a strange-looking rock which, upon cleaning, turned out to have a weird electrical component attached to it. The electric device was clearly man-made and somewhat resembled an electrical plug.

The rock has since become a well-known mystery in UFO enthusiast circles. It was featured in UFO Magazine and (according to Williams) Fortean Times, a famed magazine devoted to mysterious phenomena. Williams, an electrical engineer, says the electronic component embedded in the stone has not been glued or welded into the granite. In fact, the rock probably formed around the device.

Many believe that the so-called Williams Enigmalith is a hoax, as Williams refuses to break it (but is willing to sell it for $500,000). Also, the stone device does bear a certain resemblance to heat rocks that are commonly used to keep tropical pet lizards warm. Still, geological analysis has apparently determined that the stone is around 100,000 years old, which (if true) would mean the device inside cant possibly be of human creation. Williams is confident enough to let anyone research the Enigmalith on three conditions: He must be present, the rock must remain unharmed, and he will not have to pay for the research.

Ancient Aeroplanes

Incas and other pre-Columbian people left behind some extremely puzzling trinkets. Some of the strangest are probably the so-called ancient aeroplanes, which are small, golden figures that closely resemble modern jet planes. Originally thought to be zoomorphic (meant to resemble animals), the statues were soon found to have features that look very much like a fighter planes wings, stabilizing tails, and even landing gears. They were aerodynamic enough that when ancient astronaut believers allegedly made model planes with their proportions and fitted them with propellers and (again, allegedly) jet engines, they flew perfectly. All of this has led to speculation that the Incas may have been in contact withlikely extraterrestrialpeople who were able to build advanced jet planes, and who perhaps even possessed the technology themselves.

Well, that, or these wonderful statuettes might just be artistic representations of bees, flying fish, or other winged creatures. As always, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

The Ubaid Lizard Men

The Al-Ubaid archaeological site in Iraq is a gold mine for archaeologists and historians. It has yielded numerous objects from a pre-Sumerian time called the Ubaid period (59004000 BC). However, some of these objects are quite disturbing. A number of Ubaid statues depict strange, lizardlike humanoid figures in unique, unceremonious poses that seem to indicate they were not gods (such as the animal-headed deities of Egypt), but rather a race of lizard people.

Of course, the statues have been drawn into stories and theories of reptilian aliens that used to roam the earth (and perhaps still do, according to conspiracy theorists). Although this seems unlikely, their true nature remains a mystery.

The Sri Lanka Meteorite Fossils

Researchers who analyzed the remains of a meteorite that fell in Sri Lanka found that their subject was something more than just pieces of space rock. It was an alien artifact in the most literal sense: an artifact made of actual aliens. Two separate studies have found that the meteorite contains fossils and algae that are clearly of extraterrestrial origin.

Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe, the leading researcher on the first study, says the fossils provide compelling evidence of panspermia (the hypothesis that life exists throughout the universe and is spread by meteorites and other solid space debris). However, he is not without his critics. Wickramasinghe just happens to be a noted panspermia enthusiast with a tendency to claim that almost everything is of extraterrestrial origin. Whats more, the traces of life the meteorite contains are actually freshwater species commonly found on Earth, which seems to indicate the object has been contaminated during its time on our planet.