The Book of THoTH Newsletter Issue 151

[ReverendChaos]

Newsletter for the week of July 6th to July 12th

Hello to everyone! To all of our new subscribers out there, welcome
to the book of THoTH Newsletter and to our Book of THoTH Google
group. Thanks for taking the time to subscribe and thanks for joining
our group. We're glad that you've joined our mailing list and hope
that you enjoy what we have to offer in its pages.

As of now, we have had 28 new members to join us at BoT since last
week. To those who've joined, we say thanks for taking the time to be
a part of the greatest paranormal site on the web! Due to this new
addition of members, we now stand at 8,079 members strong. A huge
thanks to each and everyone of you for helping to make this site what
it has become! We couldn't do it without you.


This Week at BoT:
We're proud to announce a new moderator in our ranks at BoT. Crux has
been asked to join on as moderator in the Welcome and Entertainment
sections and has gracefully accepted. Welcome aboard, crux! We're
glad to have you on the BoT team.

The most prestigious GoldStar has passed hands again this week. Our
last winner, PauloRiven, has decided to hand the GoldStar award onto
Mensa517. Mensa517 earned this award for being someone's who's "found
in almost all topics at BOT who provides a lot of interesting threads
that enlightens the human mind and shows their dedication to providing
BOT with phenomenal news". Congratulations, Mensa517! Keep it
shining and wear it well.

The BoT LabCoat has changed hands a few times since last week too.
Our last winner, Cato9tails, passed the LabCoat onto BubbaEarlIII for
correctly answering his question of, "when it's been raining why does
it smell so nice?" Congratulations, Bubba!

Bubba then posted the question of: "What experiment attempted to
prove positive self statements boosted mood and self esteem and what
were the results of said experiment. Names and location please."

Iamsam was quick to come in with his answers of "Self-esteem issues
and answers: A source book of current perspectives", "Wilson, Anne E.
and Ross, Michael", and "University of Waterloo" which was given with
the aid of cato9tails. Congratulations, iamsam!

Since iamsam won the LabCoat, he also got to post the next question.
That question was: "Which psychologist , who also sold shoes, wrote a
book on the behavior and upbringing of children, based on experiments
performed on animals. His theory was not very popular, and he himself
admitted that he should not have written the book, because he knew too
little about the subject. He was fairly well known in advertising
circles and died in 1958 aged 80. Not much documentary evidence is
available on him as he burnt almost all of his personal notes and
papers before his death."

BubbaEarlIII came in right away with his correct answer of "John
Broadus Watson". Congratulations again! He then posted the question
of, "Name eleven things that will glow under a black light." Iamsam
again won the BoTLabCoat back with his answer of, "Petroleum Jelly,
Club Soda or Tonic Water, Body Fluids, Vitamins, Chlorophyll,
Antifreeze, Laundry Detergents, Tooth Whiteners, Postage Stamps,
Jellyfish, Some Minerals and Gems." Congratulations, iamsam!

For those of you wanting a chance to wear the prized and coveted BoT
LabCoat, iamsam's question for this week is:
"Explain SHU. And explain the testing procedures in detail."

If you know the answer and want a shot at wearing the famous LabCoat,
then take a look inside the "BoT LabCoat Part IX" thread in the
Science section of our forums.
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopic-21115-30.html


This Week in the Forums:
In the Phenomena section, crystalsage has a thread asking about
meditation. How do you go about it? How does it make you feel? To
take a look at the thread and to add your experiences to the
discussion, see "How do you meditate? What do you experience?".
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopict-21163.html

Entity has posted a thread in the UFO section about a recent sighting
at his favorite lake only two days ago. To read more about his
experience there and to ask questions, don't miss "30 plus UFOs - My
latest sighting at the lake".
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopict-21176.html

In our Featured Authors section of the forums,

"Nordic Blondes Sighted Near British Crop Circle!" is a thread by
Phoenix that tells of strange tall people being spotted by local
police near a crop circle formation. To read what the police officer
described, and to join in on the discussion about this sighting, the
step into the Aliens/Extraterrestrial section to see Phoenix's thread.
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopict-21154.html

Minifang has posted the link to an interesting video in the Ghost &
Spirit section. After having property stolen, a couple decide to set
up a video camera outside their home, but it wasn't a thief that was
captured on camera. Is this the ghost of a cat? To see the video and
to lend your two cents, see "ghost cat?".
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopict-21142.html

In the Animal Kingdom & Cryptozoology section, crux has a thread on
the Tasmanian Tiger which includes pictures taken of one in a museum.
Are they really extinct, or are there still some around to be found?
To read the comments of others and to add your views to the mix, be
sure to see "Tasmanian Tiger".
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopict-21151.html


Random Site Feature of the Week:
For those of you who love videos, we have quite a few that you'll
like. From UFOs and crop circles to Egyptology, there's something
there for everyone. We even have the original versions of some old
classic horror and sci-fi movies for you movie buffs out there. So
when you've got some time to spare, grab some popcorn and step inside
our video section.
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/videostream.html


Strange Fact of the Week:
Since honey is the only food that does not spoil, honey found in the
tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found
to be edible.

Trivia Question of the Week:
What natural phenomenon is said to have happened at the exact moment
that Ludwig von Beethoven died?


Answer to Last Weeks Trivia Question:
Who is considered to be the Father of Hypnotism?

Scottish surgeon Dr. James Braid is considered to be the Father of
Hypnotism. He coined the term and believed that hypnotism produced a
state combining relaxation and enhanced awareness.


This Week in History:
July 12, 1690: Protestant William of Orange defeated Roman Catholic
James II at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland.

July 12, 1862: The U.S. Congress authorized the Medal of Honor.

July 13, 1793: French revolutionary Jean Paul Marat was stabbed to
death in his bath by royalist sympathizer Charlotte Corday.

July 13, 1943: The Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle in history
—involving some 6,000 tanks, 2,000,000 troops, and 4,000 aircraft—
ended in German defeat.

July 14, 1881: Billy the Kid was shot by Sheriff Pat Garrett in New
Mexico.

July 14, 1933: In Germany, all political parties except the Nazi
party were outlawed.

July 15, 1869: Margarine was patented in France by Hippolyte Mege
Mouries.

July 15, 1975: The Russian Soyuz and the U.S. Apollo launched. The
Apollo-Soyuz mission was the first international manned spaceflight.

July 16, 1945: The first atomic bomb was tested in Alamogordo, N.M.

July 16, 1969: Apollo 11 took off on the first manned flight to the
moon.

July 17, 1898: Spain surrendered to the United States at Santiago,
Cuba, ending the Spanish-American War.

July 17, 1938: "Wrong Way Corrigan" took off from New York,
purportedly aiming for California and landing in Ireland.

July 18, 64: A great fire began that ultimately destroyed most of
Rome. The emperor Nero blamed it on Christians and began the first
Roman persecution of them.

July 18, 1936: The Spanish Civil War began.


This Week's Birthdays:
Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817) - Henry David Thoreau was an
American author, poet, naturalist, government critic, surveyor,
historian, philosopher, and a leading transcendentalist. He is best
known for "Walden" and his essay, "Civil Disobedience". His books,
articles, essays, journals, and poetry total at over 20 volumes.

Isaac Babel (July 13, 1894) - Issac Babel was a Soviet journalist,
playwright, and short story writer who was acclaimed by some as "the
greatest prose writer of Russian Jewry".

James McNeill Whistler (July 14, 1834) - James Whistler was an
American-born and British-based painter and etcher. Disliking the
sentimentality in painting, he was a leading proponent of the credo
"art for art's sake", believing that art should be concerned with the
arrangement of colors in harmony and not with the accurate portrayal
of the natural world. As a gifted engraver, he also produced numerous
etchings, lithographs, and dry-points. He's most known for "The White
Girl" and "Arrangement in Gray and Black", the later most commonly
known as "Whistler's Mother".

Rembrandt (July 15, 1606) - Rembrandt Harmenszoon von Rijn was a Dutch
painter and etcher. Generally considered one of the greatest painters
and print makers in European art and the most important in Dutch
history, his artistic works contributed to the period that historians
call the Dutch Golden Age.

Mary Baker Eddy (July 16, 1821) - Born Mary Morse Baker, Marry Eddy
was the founder of the Christians Science movement. Being a deeply
religious woman, she advocated Christian Science as a spiritual
practical solution to health and moral issues. The founded the First
Church of Christ, Scientist of Boston in 1879 and founded the
Christian Science Monitor.

Berenice Abbott (July 17, 1898) - Berenice Abbott was an American
photographer who is best know for her black and white photography of
New York City architecture and urban designs of the 1930s.

Robert Hooke (July 18, 1635) - Robert Hooke was an English natural
philosopher and polymath who played an important role in the
scientific revolution through his experimental and theoretical work.
Known primarily for his law of elasticity (Hooke's Law), he is also
remembered for his work as "the father of microscopy", as it was Hooke
who first coined the term "cell" to describe the basic unit of life.
In addition, astronomy and the physical sciences were also fields in
which he made accomplishments and he was even in dispute with Isaac
Newton over credit for his work on gravity.

In addition to the brilliant minds above, two of our very own
brilliant BoT members are also having birthdays this week.
Merkabassist celebrates his birthday on the 15th of July, and Newbs'
celebrates hers' on the 16th. Happy Birthday to both of you! Here's
to a fantastic day and a most exciting and fulfilling year to come.


Tech Tip of the Week:
This week, our tech tip may be helpful to those of you who use an
external USB hard drive with Windows Vista. Would you like to speed
it up? If so, we'll tell you how.

If you have an external hard drive that is always plugged into your
computer, you should be able to enable write caching in order to
significantly speed up performance when writing to the disk. Due to
the fact that removable devices could lose data if you unplug them too
quickly, write caching isn't enabled by default for external drives.
Because of this, take care when changing this setting.

To change this setting, go to the Device Manager by clicking on
Start, Control Panel, System and Maintenance, and then Device
Manager. Or you can use the start menu search box to type in "Device
Manager".

Once at the Device Manager, browse down to the external hard drive
that you wish to enable write caching on. Double click it to open up
the properties box. Once the properties box is open, click on the
"Policies" tab.

Under the Policies tab, change the setting to "Optimize for
performance" and click the OK button to continue. You'll then have to
reboot in order for this setting to take place.


Unsolved Question of the Week:
This weeks unsolved question takes a look at that mysterious imaginary
triangle in the Atlantic Ocean. Yes, we're talking about the Bermuda
Triangle.

The Bermuda Triangle is an area in the Atlantic Ocean that can be
roughly outlined by connecting Miami, Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico;
and the Bahamas. The mystery behind this place is the number of
unexplained disappearances of both planes and boats. The failure of
various mechanical, electronic, and directional devices also leaves
people intrigued as to what is really going on there.

Though the term "Bermuda Triangle" was not actually used until the
1964 article by Vincent H. Gaddis in "Argosy" magazine, unexplained
events originating to that area date back to 1493 when Christopher
Columbus noted in his log that his compass readings were flawed and
that he and his crew were confused by shallow areas of sea in places
nowhere near land. Since the triangle's mention in Gaddis' 1964
article, numerous accounts have been brought to light of various
disturbing incidents there. These range from the USS Cyclops
vanishing during World War I, to the famous disappearance of Flight 19
where a squadron of five U.S. Navy bombers mysteriously vanished with
no trace. There are also many less famous accounts, but no less
mysterious, including a Tudor IV plane lost with 31 aboard; an
American freighter that sunk without a trace; a Navy seaplane lost
with a crew of 10; and a German freighter lost in 1972 with a crew of
32; as well as many, many others.

Theories abound as to why there have been so many planes and ships
disappear there. Some of these theories involve magnetic fields, time
warps, and even alien abductions. Some of the more skeptical theories
include some type of physical phenomena such as gases sucking down
ships and making planes lose altitude, water spouts, and even
something as simple as large storms. But even these "rational"
explanations don't explain the failure of mechanical equipment and
electrical equipment. Or does it? Seeing how that the Bermuda
Triangle is only one of two places on earth where a magnetic compass
will point towards true north, does this perhaps have something to do
with all of the equipment failures?

There are many explanations for some of these missing ships and
planes. Many feel that Flight 19 simply got disoriented and ran out
of fuel. But what about the others? Could they be the result of
unpredictable Caribbean-Atlantic weather? Or the swift and strong
Gulf Stream that runs through it? Could the shallow shoals and deep
marine trenches have something to do with the lack of ships and planes
being found? Are they being torn apart after running aground and then
being carried away?

Trouble on the Bermuda Triangle is not limited to the past either. The
U.S. Coast Guard receives more than 8,000 distress calls every year
from that area of the ocean. This averages out to more than 20 per
day. During the twentieth century alone, more than 1,000 lives have
been lost there. Some scientists have concluded that these numbers
are really not abnormal for waters of similar volatile nature and that
all the strange disappearances have a logical explanation.

The question remains though, what is that logical explanation? Until
one is found, along with all of the ships, planes, and the people who
once boarded them, the Bermuda Triangle will remain one of those
unsolved mysteries of the strange world that we live in.


Quote of the Week:
"Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and
finds himself no wiser than before... He is full of murderous
resentment of people who are ignorant without having come by their
ignorance the hard way."
- Kurt Vonnegut


That concludes this week's edition of the BoT newsletter. We hope
that you've enjoyed it, found it a nice change in your inbox, and are
looking forward to receiving the next one. As always, we should have
lots more waiting in store for you.

Until next time, keep your eyes to the skies and the door to your mind
unlocked. You never know who might drop by for a visit.