The Book of THoTH Newsletter Issue 154
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ReverendChaos
Aug 12, 2009, 1:14:39 AM8/12/09
to The Book Of THoTH
Newsletter for the week of August 3rd to August 9th
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 this newsletter, we've have had 20 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 8,161 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:
The GoldStar has been handed along to another derserving member this
week. THoTH, the last holder of the GoldStar, had decided to pass
this most prestigious award on to Momma. Momma has earned this award
for her "vigilance and expert eye" during the upgrades and transition
that BoT has gone though recently. Without her work and effort, the
whole process would have been much more difficult. Congratulations
and way to go, Momma! It's very well deserved, so wear it well and
keep it shining!
The BoT LabCoat has changed hands a few times since minifang last wore
it. His question of, "How much gold has been discovered worldwide to
date" has been answered by Momma, who was the closest to the correct
answer of 193,000 metric tons. Congratulations, Momma!
Momma then posted the question of, "What substance, which can be found
in lots of homes, consists of 1 part Hydrogen..1 part Carbon..i part
Sodium..and 3 parts Oxygen..(but not necessarily in that order) ?".
Silversurfer was quick with his answer of "baking soda". Way to go,
Silver!
After winning the BoT LabCoat, Silver posted the question of, "What
two special compounds are contained in the K-T boundary layer that
made scientists believe that there was a large impact event? For a
bonus, what does "K-T" stand for?" The answer was Iridium and shocked
quartz crystals. The bonus answer was Cretaceous and Tertiary.
Minifang was closest in being correct, so once again he gets to post a
question. Congratulations, minifang!
Minifangs question still stands and is keeping with the theme of
Silver's previous question. His question is:
"What ,if any dinosaurs survived the above extinction event? As a
bonus what other marine fish/ reptiles survived unchanged since well
before the extinction event?"
If you want to take a stab at answering the current question and
winning the most stylish Book of THoTH LabCoat, then take a look at
the "BoT LabCoat Quiz Part IX" thread in the Science section's
subforum:
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopic-21115-90.html
This Week in the Forums:
Nonsapian753 has a topic in the UFO section about a UFO crashing into
the Ottawa River. As of now, it's apparently been found, but no one
knows what it is. To read more about this recent even and to add your
views, see "Mysterious UFO Crashes Into the Ottawa River".
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopict-21424.html
Juno54 has a thought provoking thread in the Aliens/Extraterrestrial
section. Do aliens take mementos when they visit? To find out what
inspired this question and to toss in your two cents, see "Do 'they'
take mementos?".
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopict-21313.html
"Like the fist of an angry god" is minifang's thread which provides
information on the recent strange incident surround Saturn's rings.
It seems that Cassini captured an image of something "punching
through" one of Saturn's rings. What was it? To find out more and to
join in on the discussion about it, don't miss minifang's thread in
the Science/Ask the Scientist section:
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopict-21420.html
Anuatlantian has a thread in the Animal Kingdom & Cryptozoology
section about a "Hairless Alien looking Monkey". Featured on a recent
episode of "Monster Quest", no one knows what it is? Is it a monkey,
or an alien? To read Anuatlantian's thread, watch the videos
provided, and to lend your opinion, be sure to see "Hairless Alien
looking Monkey Captured".
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopict-21412.html
For those of you wanting to have a little fun on the forums, don't
miss our Fun Stuff section. Thanks to THoTH's recent upgrades, our
popular contests now have a subforum of their own. Whether you want
to guess the name of an artist by looking at his painting, or add a
funny caption to a selected photo, there's something here to please
everyone.
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/forum-6.html&sid=c74b1afd36ece66c6911dc60b016b7ec
Random Site Feature of the Week:
If you've never visited our BoT Downloads page, you don't know what
you're missing. From Astronomy software, to games, to systems tools
for your computer, we have over 90 downloads in our download section.
All free and for the taking. So visit our Downloads page and you just
might see something you've been needing or looking for. Whether
you're a serious programmer or just someone looking for some games to
pass the time, there's something there for everyone.
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/downloads.html
Strange Fact of the Week:
In 2005, the image of what looks to be a priest with a small child in
his arms appeared on the wall of Christo Rey de Tome Church in
Santiago, Chile. Many locals believe it is the figure of Father
Hurtado, a priest who cared for needy children in the area and has
since been canonized by Pope Benedict XVI.
Priest Hernan Henriquez commented that, "We don't know what's
happening, we can't be 100% sure, but it appeared out of nowhere."
Trivia Question of the Week:
In the U.S. state of Indiana, what kind of phenomena is referred to as
"Gobbler's Rock"?
Answer to Last Weeks Trivia Question:
What controversial 18th century remedy was invented by British
physician Elisha Perkins?
British physician Elisha Perkins invented magnetotherapy. Dr. Perkins
claimed that the body could be eliminated of disease by touching
specific areas with different metals. Iron, zinc, copper, and silver
were the most popular one at the time, although sometimes combinations
of these metals, along with gold or platinum, were used.
This Week in History:
August 9, 1854: Henry David Thoreau's Walden, recounting his
experiment in solitary life on the shores of Massachusetts' Walden
Pond, was published.
August 9, 1945: The United States exploded a nuclear bomb over
Nagasaki, Japan, killing an estimated 74,000 people.
August 10, 1846: The Smithsonian Institution was established in
Washington, D.C., from funds left by British scientist James Smithson.
August 10, 1944: U.S. forces seized Guam from Japan.
August 11, 1952: King Hussein of Jordan ascended the throne after his
father had been declared mentally unfit.
August 11, 1954: More than seven years of fighting in Indochina
formerly ended with the cessation of French control.
August 12, 1865: British surgeon Joseph Lister became the first
doctor to use an antiseptic during surgery.
August 12, 1998: Swiss banks agreed to pay $1.25 billion to settle
lawsuits brought by Holocaust survivors and their heirs. The banks had
kept millions of dollars deposited by Holocaust victims before and
during World War II.
August 13, 1521: After a three-month siege, the Aztec capital of
Tenochtitlán fell to the Spanish conquistadors, marking the end of one
empire and the rise of another.
August 13, 1961: The border between East and West Berlin was closed
and marked with a barbed wire fence.
August 14, 1900: International forces entered Beijing, China, in an
effort to suppress the antiforeign uprising known as the Boxer
Rebellion.
August 14, 1945: Japan surrendered to the United States, ending World
War II.
August 15, 1057: Macbeth, king of Scotland, was killed by Malcolm
Canmore.
August 15, 2001: Astronomers announced the discovery of the first
solar system outside our own.
This Week's Birthdays:
William Fowler (August 9, 1911) - William Fowler as an American
nuclear astrophysicist. While a professor at the California Institute
of Technology, he studied radio emissions of quasars, the functioning
of subatomic particles, and how chemical elements are formed in
nuclear reactions. It was his work in the formation of chemical
elements that led to the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics that he shared
with Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.
Herbert Hoover (August 10, 1874) - Herbert Clark Hoover, he was the
thirty-first President of the United States and a humanitarian. At
the outbreak of World War I, Hoover devoted himself to humanitarian
efforts, arranging the return of Americans stranded abroad and
securing supplies for civilians of war-devastated Europe.
Alex Haley (August 11, 1921) - Alexander Haley was an American
writer. Best known for the "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" and
"Roots: The Saga of an American Family", he went on to win the
Pulitzer Prize in 1977.
Erwin Schrödinger (August 12, 1887) - Erwin Schrödinger was an
Austrian-Irish physicist who achieved fame for his contributions to
quantum mechanics, especially the Schrödinger equation, for which he
received the Nobel Prize in 1933.
Annie Oakley (August 13, 1860) - Born Phoebe Ann Mosey, she was a
legendary American sharpshooter and exhibition shooter. Oakley's
talent led to a starring role in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, which
propelled her to become the first American female celebrity. Using a .
22 caliber rifle at 90 feet, she could split a playing card edge-on
and put five or six more holes in it before it touched the ground.
John Galsworthy (August 14, 1867) - Galsworthy was an English novelist
and playwright. HIs most famous works include "The Forsyte Saga" and
it's sequels, "A Modern Comedy" and "End of the Chapter". In 1932, he
won the Nobel Prize for literature.
Napoleon I (August 15, 1769) - Napoleon was a general during the
French Revolution, the ruler of France as First Consul of the French
Republic, and Emperor of the French. He was also King of Italy,
Mediator of the Swiss Confederation, and Protector of the
Confederation of the Rhine. Aside from his military achievements, he
is also remembered for the establishment of the Napoleonic Code, which
laid the bureaucratic foundations for the modern French state.
In addition to the ones above, we have a few of our very own BoT
members who are having birthdays this week. Iciclez celebrates on the
11th of August, LCM's birthday is also on the 11th, and Leia's
birthday is on the 12th. Happy Birthday to all of you! Here's to a
fantastic day and an exciting and fulfilling year to come!
Tech Tip of the Week:
Sometimes you may come across a web page that has some information on
it that you'd like to print out, but you have no use for every single
thing on the page. It doesn't matter if it's half of a page or just
one sentence, this week's tech tip will tell you how to print out just
the portion of text that you want.
To do this, left click and drag to highlight the portion of the page
that you want to click. Next, hit CTRL and P on your keyboard to
launch the print menu. Under "Print range", you'll see the choices
of "All", "Pages", and "Selection". "All" is selected by default. To
print the portion that you just highlighted, select "Selection" and
then click OK.
This also works with single pictures on pages, and works with Firefox
as well as Internet Explorer.
Happy printing!
Unsolved Question of the Week:
In 1942, the Navy airship L-8 departed from Treasure Island in San
Fransisco Bay in search of Japanese submarines. A few hours after
it's morning launch, the ship returned to shore with no one on board.
The mystery of the L-8 airship, also known as the Ghost Blimp, is the
subject of this week's Unsolved Question of the Week.
To give a brief history of the L-8, it wasn't initially intended to be
used for military purposes. It was built in 1941 to serve as the new
Goodyear blimp after the Goodyear Ranger had been sold to the United
States Navy. Due to the war though, and the resulting war effort, the
new airship was turned over to the Navy as well. The reason for this
is that blimps were prized possessions when it came to coastal
defense. After arming them with machine guns and depth charges, they
were more than capable of tracking, finding, and bombing enemy
submarines.
The pilot of L-8 was Lt. j.g. Ernest D. Cody. He and Ensign Charles
E. Adams left the San Fransisco Bay at about 6 a.m. on August 16.
They set a course for the Farallon Islands, which was about 30 miles
west of the Golden Gate Bridge. One hour into the flight, Lt. Cody
radioed back to base to report that they had spotted a possible oil
slick on the water and stated that they were going to investigate.
After this, neither of the men were heard from again.
Later that day, people on a beach near San Francisco saw an extremely
low-flying blimp shortly before noon. According to their accounts, it
snagged on a rocky outcrop for a short time before breaking away and
continuing to head eastward. According to one witness who later saw
it and spoke with a reporter, "It was dished on top and appeared to be
drifting with its motors off... It came in over Mussel Rock very low,
then over the hill back of us. It was so low I could see shroud lines
almost touching the hilltop."
The L-8 eventually landed a few mile away from where the first
witnesses saw it. After hitting a house and two cars, it touched down
on a street in nearby Daly City. But when concerned observers raced
to the scene to give the pilots any needed help, they found no one
inside. Volunteer firefighters who arrived on the scene even tore
open the blimp's envelope to see if the men might have somehow been
trapped inside. There was no one inside there either.
Investigators who investigated the incident could offer no
explanation. The throttles were set at an idle, the radio was in
perfect working order, and the life raft and parachutes were even
still in the cabin. However, the gondola's door had been propped open
and two life vests were missing. Ships searched up and down the coast
for weeks, but neither the pilots, or traces of them, were ever found.
"My son-in-law was a level-headed and unexcitable sort of person,"
Juanita Haddock later told a reporter in 1942. "He would have used
his head in any emergency, I believe."
The Navy announced that they were "positive the men were not in the
ship at any time during its derelict flight over land" and that they
were "at a loss" to explain the missing pilots.
After this, the L-8 soon acquired the nickname of "the ghost ship."
As with any mysterious disappearance, tales were embellished and
stories soon sprung up about still-warm cups of coffee and half-eaten
sandwiches being found in the cabin; all false of course. But the
mystery of the missing men still remained.
Sometime after the blimp's pilotless landing, it was repaired and put
back into use. It once again served the Navy, but this time as a
training vessel. After the war, it was returned to Goodyear and
stored at headquarters in Wingfoot Lake, Ohio for decades. It was
eventually rebuilt in 1968 and was named America. After that, it was
based in Houston, Texas where it flew over the state from 1969 to
1982, largely being used to televise sporting events. Even then, it
still could not shake it's old nickname of "the ghost blimp". It was
eventually retired and today, the former cabin of L-8 is back in
storage at Wingfoot Lake.
What happened to the pilots of L-8? There was no evidence of a
Japanese submarine capturing them. It was thought unlikely that the
men had fallen out on accident. Did one perhaps slip and fall out of
the cabin, dragging the other with him as he was trying to help save
him? It was possible, but one would assume that a well trained pilot
and Navy officer would have tossed out just one life vest rather than
risk falling out of the ship himself. If both intentionally left the
ship, taking life vests with them, why did they not radio base ahead
of time with their plans? And why would they leave the cabin to begin
with? It's questions like these that place the L-8 in the category of
the unexplained.
Quote of the Week:
"Always acknowledge a fault. This will throw those in authority off
their guard and give you an opportunity to commit more."
- Mark Twain
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.
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 this newsletter, we've have had 20 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 8,161 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:
The GoldStar has been handed along to another derserving member this
week. THoTH, the last holder of the GoldStar, had decided to pass
this most prestigious award on to Momma. Momma has earned this award
for her "vigilance and expert eye" during the upgrades and transition
that BoT has gone though recently. Without her work and effort, the
whole process would have been much more difficult. Congratulations
and way to go, Momma! It's very well deserved, so wear it well and
keep it shining!
The BoT LabCoat has changed hands a few times since minifang last wore
it. His question of, "How much gold has been discovered worldwide to
date" has been answered by Momma, who was the closest to the correct
answer of 193,000 metric tons. Congratulations, Momma!
Momma then posted the question of, "What substance, which can be found
in lots of homes, consists of 1 part Hydrogen..1 part Carbon..i part
Sodium..and 3 parts Oxygen..(but not necessarily in that order) ?".
Silversurfer was quick with his answer of "baking soda". Way to go,
Silver!
After winning the BoT LabCoat, Silver posted the question of, "What
two special compounds are contained in the K-T boundary layer that
made scientists believe that there was a large impact event? For a
bonus, what does "K-T" stand for?" The answer was Iridium and shocked
quartz crystals. The bonus answer was Cretaceous and Tertiary.
Minifang was closest in being correct, so once again he gets to post a
question. Congratulations, minifang!
Minifangs question still stands and is keeping with the theme of
Silver's previous question. His question is:
"What ,if any dinosaurs survived the above extinction event? As a
bonus what other marine fish/ reptiles survived unchanged since well
before the extinction event?"
If you want to take a stab at answering the current question and
winning the most stylish Book of THoTH LabCoat, then take a look at
the "BoT LabCoat Quiz Part IX" thread in the Science section's
subforum:
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopic-21115-90.html
This Week in the Forums:
Nonsapian753 has a topic in the UFO section about a UFO crashing into
the Ottawa River. As of now, it's apparently been found, but no one
knows what it is. To read more about this recent even and to add your
views, see "Mysterious UFO Crashes Into the Ottawa River".
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopict-21424.html
Juno54 has a thought provoking thread in the Aliens/Extraterrestrial
section. Do aliens take mementos when they visit? To find out what
inspired this question and to toss in your two cents, see "Do 'they'
take mementos?".
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopict-21313.html
"Like the fist of an angry god" is minifang's thread which provides
information on the recent strange incident surround Saturn's rings.
It seems that Cassini captured an image of something "punching
through" one of Saturn's rings. What was it? To find out more and to
join in on the discussion about it, don't miss minifang's thread in
the Science/Ask the Scientist section:
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopict-21420.html
Anuatlantian has a thread in the Animal Kingdom & Cryptozoology
section about a "Hairless Alien looking Monkey". Featured on a recent
episode of "Monster Quest", no one knows what it is? Is it a monkey,
or an alien? To read Anuatlantian's thread, watch the videos
provided, and to lend your opinion, be sure to see "Hairless Alien
looking Monkey Captured".
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopict-21412.html
For those of you wanting to have a little fun on the forums, don't
miss our Fun Stuff section. Thanks to THoTH's recent upgrades, our
popular contests now have a subforum of their own. Whether you want
to guess the name of an artist by looking at his painting, or add a
funny caption to a selected photo, there's something here to please
everyone.
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/forum-6.html&sid=c74b1afd36ece66c6911dc60b016b7ec
Random Site Feature of the Week:
If you've never visited our BoT Downloads page, you don't know what
you're missing. From Astronomy software, to games, to systems tools
for your computer, we have over 90 downloads in our download section.
All free and for the taking. So visit our Downloads page and you just
might see something you've been needing or looking for. Whether
you're a serious programmer or just someone looking for some games to
pass the time, there's something there for everyone.
http://www.book-of-thoth.com/downloads.html
Strange Fact of the Week:
In 2005, the image of what looks to be a priest with a small child in
his arms appeared on the wall of Christo Rey de Tome Church in
Santiago, Chile. Many locals believe it is the figure of Father
Hurtado, a priest who cared for needy children in the area and has
since been canonized by Pope Benedict XVI.
Priest Hernan Henriquez commented that, "We don't know what's
happening, we can't be 100% sure, but it appeared out of nowhere."
Trivia Question of the Week:
In the U.S. state of Indiana, what kind of phenomena is referred to as
"Gobbler's Rock"?
Answer to Last Weeks Trivia Question:
What controversial 18th century remedy was invented by British
physician Elisha Perkins?
British physician Elisha Perkins invented magnetotherapy. Dr. Perkins
claimed that the body could be eliminated of disease by touching
specific areas with different metals. Iron, zinc, copper, and silver
were the most popular one at the time, although sometimes combinations
of these metals, along with gold or platinum, were used.
This Week in History:
August 9, 1854: Henry David Thoreau's Walden, recounting his
experiment in solitary life on the shores of Massachusetts' Walden
Pond, was published.
August 9, 1945: The United States exploded a nuclear bomb over
Nagasaki, Japan, killing an estimated 74,000 people.
August 10, 1846: The Smithsonian Institution was established in
Washington, D.C., from funds left by British scientist James Smithson.
August 10, 1944: U.S. forces seized Guam from Japan.
August 11, 1952: King Hussein of Jordan ascended the throne after his
father had been declared mentally unfit.
August 11, 1954: More than seven years of fighting in Indochina
formerly ended with the cessation of French control.
August 12, 1865: British surgeon Joseph Lister became the first
doctor to use an antiseptic during surgery.
August 12, 1998: Swiss banks agreed to pay $1.25 billion to settle
lawsuits brought by Holocaust survivors and their heirs. The banks had
kept millions of dollars deposited by Holocaust victims before and
during World War II.
August 13, 1521: After a three-month siege, the Aztec capital of
Tenochtitlán fell to the Spanish conquistadors, marking the end of one
empire and the rise of another.
August 13, 1961: The border between East and West Berlin was closed
and marked with a barbed wire fence.
August 14, 1900: International forces entered Beijing, China, in an
effort to suppress the antiforeign uprising known as the Boxer
Rebellion.
August 14, 1945: Japan surrendered to the United States, ending World
War II.
August 15, 1057: Macbeth, king of Scotland, was killed by Malcolm
Canmore.
August 15, 2001: Astronomers announced the discovery of the first
solar system outside our own.
This Week's Birthdays:
William Fowler (August 9, 1911) - William Fowler as an American
nuclear astrophysicist. While a professor at the California Institute
of Technology, he studied radio emissions of quasars, the functioning
of subatomic particles, and how chemical elements are formed in
nuclear reactions. It was his work in the formation of chemical
elements that led to the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics that he shared
with Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.
Herbert Hoover (August 10, 1874) - Herbert Clark Hoover, he was the
thirty-first President of the United States and a humanitarian. At
the outbreak of World War I, Hoover devoted himself to humanitarian
efforts, arranging the return of Americans stranded abroad and
securing supplies for civilians of war-devastated Europe.
Alex Haley (August 11, 1921) - Alexander Haley was an American
writer. Best known for the "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" and
"Roots: The Saga of an American Family", he went on to win the
Pulitzer Prize in 1977.
Erwin Schrödinger (August 12, 1887) - Erwin Schrödinger was an
Austrian-Irish physicist who achieved fame for his contributions to
quantum mechanics, especially the Schrödinger equation, for which he
received the Nobel Prize in 1933.
Annie Oakley (August 13, 1860) - Born Phoebe Ann Mosey, she was a
legendary American sharpshooter and exhibition shooter. Oakley's
talent led to a starring role in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, which
propelled her to become the first American female celebrity. Using a .
22 caliber rifle at 90 feet, she could split a playing card edge-on
and put five or six more holes in it before it touched the ground.
John Galsworthy (August 14, 1867) - Galsworthy was an English novelist
and playwright. HIs most famous works include "The Forsyte Saga" and
it's sequels, "A Modern Comedy" and "End of the Chapter". In 1932, he
won the Nobel Prize for literature.
Napoleon I (August 15, 1769) - Napoleon was a general during the
French Revolution, the ruler of France as First Consul of the French
Republic, and Emperor of the French. He was also King of Italy,
Mediator of the Swiss Confederation, and Protector of the
Confederation of the Rhine. Aside from his military achievements, he
is also remembered for the establishment of the Napoleonic Code, which
laid the bureaucratic foundations for the modern French state.
In addition to the ones above, we have a few of our very own BoT
members who are having birthdays this week. Iciclez celebrates on the
11th of August, LCM's birthday is also on the 11th, and Leia's
birthday is on the 12th. Happy Birthday to all of you! Here's to a
fantastic day and an exciting and fulfilling year to come!
Tech Tip of the Week:
Sometimes you may come across a web page that has some information on
it that you'd like to print out, but you have no use for every single
thing on the page. It doesn't matter if it's half of a page or just
one sentence, this week's tech tip will tell you how to print out just
the portion of text that you want.
To do this, left click and drag to highlight the portion of the page
that you want to click. Next, hit CTRL and P on your keyboard to
launch the print menu. Under "Print range", you'll see the choices
of "All", "Pages", and "Selection". "All" is selected by default. To
print the portion that you just highlighted, select "Selection" and
then click OK.
This also works with single pictures on pages, and works with Firefox
as well as Internet Explorer.
Happy printing!
Unsolved Question of the Week:
In 1942, the Navy airship L-8 departed from Treasure Island in San
Fransisco Bay in search of Japanese submarines. A few hours after
it's morning launch, the ship returned to shore with no one on board.
The mystery of the L-8 airship, also known as the Ghost Blimp, is the
subject of this week's Unsolved Question of the Week.
To give a brief history of the L-8, it wasn't initially intended to be
used for military purposes. It was built in 1941 to serve as the new
Goodyear blimp after the Goodyear Ranger had been sold to the United
States Navy. Due to the war though, and the resulting war effort, the
new airship was turned over to the Navy as well. The reason for this
is that blimps were prized possessions when it came to coastal
defense. After arming them with machine guns and depth charges, they
were more than capable of tracking, finding, and bombing enemy
submarines.
The pilot of L-8 was Lt. j.g. Ernest D. Cody. He and Ensign Charles
E. Adams left the San Fransisco Bay at about 6 a.m. on August 16.
They set a course for the Farallon Islands, which was about 30 miles
west of the Golden Gate Bridge. One hour into the flight, Lt. Cody
radioed back to base to report that they had spotted a possible oil
slick on the water and stated that they were going to investigate.
After this, neither of the men were heard from again.
Later that day, people on a beach near San Francisco saw an extremely
low-flying blimp shortly before noon. According to their accounts, it
snagged on a rocky outcrop for a short time before breaking away and
continuing to head eastward. According to one witness who later saw
it and spoke with a reporter, "It was dished on top and appeared to be
drifting with its motors off... It came in over Mussel Rock very low,
then over the hill back of us. It was so low I could see shroud lines
almost touching the hilltop."
The L-8 eventually landed a few mile away from where the first
witnesses saw it. After hitting a house and two cars, it touched down
on a street in nearby Daly City. But when concerned observers raced
to the scene to give the pilots any needed help, they found no one
inside. Volunteer firefighters who arrived on the scene even tore
open the blimp's envelope to see if the men might have somehow been
trapped inside. There was no one inside there either.
Investigators who investigated the incident could offer no
explanation. The throttles were set at an idle, the radio was in
perfect working order, and the life raft and parachutes were even
still in the cabin. However, the gondola's door had been propped open
and two life vests were missing. Ships searched up and down the coast
for weeks, but neither the pilots, or traces of them, were ever found.
"My son-in-law was a level-headed and unexcitable sort of person,"
Juanita Haddock later told a reporter in 1942. "He would have used
his head in any emergency, I believe."
The Navy announced that they were "positive the men were not in the
ship at any time during its derelict flight over land" and that they
were "at a loss" to explain the missing pilots.
After this, the L-8 soon acquired the nickname of "the ghost ship."
As with any mysterious disappearance, tales were embellished and
stories soon sprung up about still-warm cups of coffee and half-eaten
sandwiches being found in the cabin; all false of course. But the
mystery of the missing men still remained.
Sometime after the blimp's pilotless landing, it was repaired and put
back into use. It once again served the Navy, but this time as a
training vessel. After the war, it was returned to Goodyear and
stored at headquarters in Wingfoot Lake, Ohio for decades. It was
eventually rebuilt in 1968 and was named America. After that, it was
based in Houston, Texas where it flew over the state from 1969 to
1982, largely being used to televise sporting events. Even then, it
still could not shake it's old nickname of "the ghost blimp". It was
eventually retired and today, the former cabin of L-8 is back in
storage at Wingfoot Lake.
What happened to the pilots of L-8? There was no evidence of a
Japanese submarine capturing them. It was thought unlikely that the
men had fallen out on accident. Did one perhaps slip and fall out of
the cabin, dragging the other with him as he was trying to help save
him? It was possible, but one would assume that a well trained pilot
and Navy officer would have tossed out just one life vest rather than
risk falling out of the ship himself. If both intentionally left the
ship, taking life vests with them, why did they not radio base ahead
of time with their plans? And why would they leave the cabin to begin
with? It's questions like these that place the L-8 in the category of
the unexplained.
Quote of the Week:
"Always acknowledge a fault. This will throw those in authority off
their guard and give you an opportunity to commit more."
- Mark Twain
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.
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