Magic mushrooms may give users trippy experiences by creating a hyperconnected brain. The active ingredient in the psychedelic drug, psilocybin, seems to completely disrupt the normal communication networks in the brain, by connecting “brain regions that don’t normally talk together,”… Continue Reading
While many enthusiasts use the drug illegally to open the doors of perception, Dr. Peter Gasser is the only doctor authorized by law to treat patients with LSD. “Gasser has been interested in psychedelics from a medicinal standpoint ever since… Continue Reading
Emily E. Auger’s new book, Cartomancy and Tarot in Film: 1940–2010 (Intellect, 2016) is now available for pre-order in hardcover; an ebook edition is also expected. From the publisher’s website: In the first book-length study of Tarot cards on the… Continue Reading
The London Review of Books reports: “Dover Press has reissued William Seabrook’s 1934 memoir Asylum, an account of his self-committal to a mental hospital in an attempt to cure his chronic alcoholism. Seabrook, who committed suicide in 1945, is probably… Continue Reading
This Rube Goldberg device, created by artist/engineer/inventor Bob Partington, takes over 6 weeks to move a golf ball. Smithsonian magazine tells us: “…Partington’s device ferries a golf ball through a roundabout course using melting popsicles, a tortoise, a stream of molasses… Continue Reading
Smithsonian reports that recent genome studies show that human beings suffered from Plague thousands of years before it showed up in historical records: Three devastating outbreaks have previously been linked to the plague by historical records and DNA studies. The… Continue Reading
There are a number of different ways to mummify a body. A peat bog will work, extreme dry, or extreme cold. A deliberate mummification process existed in ancient Egyptian culture, while another was practiced by the Chinchorro people of coastal Peru and… Continue Reading
Magicians explore alternative spheres, sometimes experimenting with dreams and visions. This month, Smithsonian discusses hallucinations, explaining “It may be our brains overriding what is there with what it expects to see, according to new research.” “Vision is a constructive process—in other… Continue Reading
Vice reports that radio operators have received echoes occurring approximately 3 seconds after a broadcast since at least 1927. Broadcasts take about 1/7 of a second to travel around the Earth, so a 3 second delay doesn’t make sense: “Long-Delayed Echoes (LDEs) set… Continue Reading
Smithsonian reports: “…a device built by a team in Spain and the U.K. can levitate and manipulate small objects in air, and possibly in water and human tissue, using high-frequency sound waves. The technology holds promise in a variety of… Continue Reading