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Scientifictionist, v. 1, issue 6, August-October 1946
Page 3
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ease -- or is it a disease? Is it possible that Margaret Krasiowna was merely a viction of late-developing progeria, which made her appear incredibly old? "An inmate of the Rome (N.Y.) State School for the Feeble-minded has the mental age of six, is unable to read or write, and has never seen a calender, but is able to give instantly the day of the week on which any date falls, past or future." A person possessing a unique form of foresight and hindsight -- but what would he answer if he were asked a mythical date such as Feb. 29, 2000? "Magdalena Strumarczuk of Tobolsk, Russia, had her breasts on her back. She bore three children and nursed them normally." Was this a mutation -- that is, an inheritable abnormality, not caused by an injury to the fetus? Were the children normal? "The Child Cyclops of Tourcoing, France, was born (1793) with only one eye, located in the center of her forehead. She was normal otherwise, and lived to the age of 15." This brings to mind Sturgeon's "Biddiver", wherin cosmic rays struck through an unprotected space-craft, mutilating and destroying a human by "doing away with his medial line" -- for (says Sturgeon) "no human being can live when his medial division starts going to pieces." This child survived with her one eye outraging her conventionally paired organs, but did it cause her early death? Although I have no wish to establish a concord between the writings of Fort and Ripley, I would like to mention Ripley's discussion of the "rains of blood" to which Fort gives considerable space in his books. First Ripley cites a "rain of blood" at Clermont, France, a few years ago. "There is no proven explanation for such showers," says Ripley. "The best explanation disclosed the fact that the air was full of red dust blown over from the Sahara." Ripley thereafter reports a "blood shower" in Mongolia in 1928; a "red rain" on the Newfoundland coast in 1890; "red snow" that fell in Japan; a storm of "black rain" that fell in Ireland over an area of 400 square miles on May 14, 1849. "Some alleged rains of blood are due to the deposit of red fluid ejected by certain species of lepidoptera emerging simultaneously in large numbers from their cocoons," explains Ripley. Did Fort subscribe to this common theory? I greatly doubt it. How then did he nullify it? Ripley offers no explanation whatsoever for the patriotically colored hailstones. Another of Fort's great favorites, the "rains" of fish, frogs, etc., are also mentioned by Ripley, who explains them to be caused by waterspouts or tornadoes "sucking up" aquatic life from shallow water and later dropping them at distant places. Fort, I believe, disaproved this theory (at least to his own satisfaction) by pointing out that such showers show extreme selectivity, raining only tadpoles or periwinkles, etc., and not a heterogeneous combination. Kaspar Hauser is present, too, but in contrast to Fort's long dissertation on this "mystery child of Europe", Ripley only mentions that "Kaspar Hauser could see the stars shining at noon without mechanical aid." (An accompanying drawing shows Kaspar gazing with appropriate amaze at a sky full of five-pointed stars!) Doubtless you've gathered from this review that despite the claim that Believe It or Not! is a "veritable encyclopedia of incredibilities" it ranks light years behind any of Charles Fort's on the reading list of any fantasy fan. Only one of Ripley's "queeriosities" is really astounding, and it is the ultimate! If you can tell one better than this, don't send it to Burlington, Wis., -- tell it to Ripley. Here it is, without comment. It is taken from an inscription in an abbey near the Hague, Netherlands: "Margaret, daughter of a count of Holland, 42 years of age, gave birth to 365 babies, male and female, on the Friday before Easter, in the year 1276. In the presence of several 'great lords and Gentlemen' the males all were christened the same name, Jean, and the females, Elizabeth. All died soon after, as did the mother." -finis- page 3
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ease -- or is it a disease? Is it possible that Margaret Krasiowna was merely a viction of late-developing progeria, which made her appear incredibly old? "An inmate of the Rome (N.Y.) State School for the Feeble-minded has the mental age of six, is unable to read or write, and has never seen a calender, but is able to give instantly the day of the week on which any date falls, past or future." A person possessing a unique form of foresight and hindsight -- but what would he answer if he were asked a mythical date such as Feb. 29, 2000? "Magdalena Strumarczuk of Tobolsk, Russia, had her breasts on her back. She bore three children and nursed them normally." Was this a mutation -- that is, an inheritable abnormality, not caused by an injury to the fetus? Were the children normal? "The Child Cyclops of Tourcoing, France, was born (1793) with only one eye, located in the center of her forehead. She was normal otherwise, and lived to the age of 15." This brings to mind Sturgeon's "Biddiver", wherin cosmic rays struck through an unprotected space-craft, mutilating and destroying a human by "doing away with his medial line" -- for (says Sturgeon) "no human being can live when his medial division starts going to pieces." This child survived with her one eye outraging her conventionally paired organs, but did it cause her early death? Although I have no wish to establish a concord between the writings of Fort and Ripley, I would like to mention Ripley's discussion of the "rains of blood" to which Fort gives considerable space in his books. First Ripley cites a "rain of blood" at Clermont, France, a few years ago. "There is no proven explanation for such showers," says Ripley. "The best explanation disclosed the fact that the air was full of red dust blown over from the Sahara." Ripley thereafter reports a "blood shower" in Mongolia in 1928; a "red rain" on the Newfoundland coast in 1890; "red snow" that fell in Japan; a storm of "black rain" that fell in Ireland over an area of 400 square miles on May 14, 1849. "Some alleged rains of blood are due to the deposit of red fluid ejected by certain species of lepidoptera emerging simultaneously in large numbers from their cocoons," explains Ripley. Did Fort subscribe to this common theory? I greatly doubt it. How then did he nullify it? Ripley offers no explanation whatsoever for the patriotically colored hailstones. Another of Fort's great favorites, the "rains" of fish, frogs, etc., are also mentioned by Ripley, who explains them to be caused by waterspouts or tornadoes "sucking up" aquatic life from shallow water and later dropping them at distant places. Fort, I believe, disaproved this theory (at least to his own satisfaction) by pointing out that such showers show extreme selectivity, raining only tadpoles or periwinkles, etc., and not a heterogeneous combination. Kaspar Hauser is present, too, but in contrast to Fort's long dissertation on this "mystery child of Europe", Ripley only mentions that "Kaspar Hauser could see the stars shining at noon without mechanical aid." (An accompanying drawing shows Kaspar gazing with appropriate amaze at a sky full of five-pointed stars!) Doubtless you've gathered from this review that despite the claim that Believe It or Not! is a "veritable encyclopedia of incredibilities" it ranks light years behind any of Charles Fort's on the reading list of any fantasy fan. Only one of Ripley's "queeriosities" is really astounding, and it is the ultimate! If you can tell one better than this, don't send it to Burlington, Wis., -- tell it to Ripley. Here it is, without comment. It is taken from an inscription in an abbey near the Hague, Netherlands: "Margaret, daughter of a count of Holland, 42 years of age, gave birth to 365 babies, male and female, on the Friday before Easter, in the year 1276. In the presence of several 'great lords and Gentlemen' the males all were christened the same name, Jean, and the females, Elizabeth. All died soon after, as did the mother." -finis- page 3
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