Villagers in southern Peru were struck by a mysterious illness - Page 3

DuoMaxwell · 09-20-2007, 02:02 PM

It was us in Ignis, all the Warlocks got to gether and cast meteor at the same time, It broke out of the game and hit the earth.

It's prolly just whatever the rock kicked up when it hit, remember, parts of it where liquid hot when it hit and it hit with such a force that it put itself in the bottom of a 20 foot wide 6 foot deep hole. So it prolly aresolized a few nasty things that where in the ground already if not made some new things out of what was there through chemical reactions started up by that heat.

That and as stated nothing was said if the rock was radioactive in anyy way, sure not all of the stuff floating around up there is radioactive, but some is.

valterbla · 09-21-2007, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smiley2k7

Mysterious? Probably never heard of Alsuis smurfs and Ignis goats

I already saw lots of Alsius goats and Ignis goats sometimes and Syrtis goats? That ones i see almost alltimes

Granden · 09-27-2007, 03:19 PM

On what started as a normal Saturday night one week ago, residents of a small, remote Peruvian town saw a bright light streak across the sky, heard a resounding bang and suddenly found themselves at the center of a media frenzy.

Initial suspicions of an airplane crash quickly spiraled into widespread reports that a meteorite had plummeted to Earth and left a smoking, boiling crater whose supposedly noxious fumes were reported to have sickened curious locals who went to peer at the hole.

Despite doubts expressed by geologists that the crater was actually caused by a meteorite and firm explanations that a meteorite would not even emit fumes and that the "sickness" was likely a case of mass hysteria, numerous onlookers far and wide were fascinated by the idea that this event could be some real-life "Andromeda Strain" (the 1969 novel by Michael Crichton), where a mysterious rock falling to Earth from outerspace made anyone who went near it ill.

So what is it about things falling from the sky that fills us with such fear that we can make ourselves sick with panic?

Media reports of the number of locals afflicted by a "mysterious disease"--with symptoms such as nausea, headaches and sore throats--after visiting the crater figured in every news article about the Aug. 15 event, with some reporting that as many as 600 people had fallen ill.

But doctors who visited the site told the Associated Press they found no evidence that the crater had actually sickened such a large number of people.

If noxious fumes did emanate from the crater, they were most likely the result of a hydrothermal explosion that could have actually formed the crater, or were released from the ground when the meteorite struck, if in fact one did, according to many geologists.

Arsenic is found in the subsoil in that area of Peru and often contaminates the drinking water there, according to Peruvian geologists quoted on Sept. 21 by National Geographic News. Arsenic fumes released from the crater could have sickened locals who went to look, said one geologist who examined the site.

Some health officials suggest that the symptoms described by the locals, the large number of people reporting symptoms, and the apparently rapid spread have all the hallmarks of a case of mass hysteria.

"Those who say they are affected are the product of a collective psychosis," Jorge Lopez Tejada, health department chief in Puno, the nearest city, told the Los Angeles Times.

This psychosis could have begun as a result of fear of the meteorite and the mysterious "disease" on the part of the residents and spread as official and media reports seemed to confirm it and give it credence.

"The Peruvian event seems to be a rare case where we may be witnessing collective anxiety that is approaching near hysteria," said Benny Peiser, a social anthropologist at John Moores University in England. "The major[ity] of the affected Peruvian town hinted that some of the mass anxiety is due to fear of imminent impacts and psychological stress which is not surprising given the premature speculation and media hype."

Fear of outer space

Fear of a meteorite impact is nothing new--humans have long looked to the heavens with a wary eye.

"The fear of cosmic disaster, in particular cometary impacts, has existed in all cultures for millennia," Peiser told SPACE.com

But the space age revealed just how many dangers, including comets, meteors, asteroids, and cosmic rays, await us in the final frontier.

"Only since the late 20th century, humankind has become aware of the risk posed by asteroids and comets," Peiser said. "Unfortunately, this risk has been wildly exaggerated by popular culture."

Our curiosity and fear of impact events has increased their coverage by the world media, Peiser says, which in turn has increased the number of meteorite impact reports, even when the evidence doesn't point that way.

"In recent years, there have been numerous cases where alleged meteorite falls were linked to mysterious explosions on the ground--only to be proven wrong," Peiser said. "One of the main reasons for the significant increase of such claims is almost certainly due to the growing media interest in the cosmic impact risk. It is part of human nature-- and extremely tempting for the news media--to hype any event that initially looks mysterious."

While this fear is normal and understandable, it's been blown out of proportion so that the public thinks that impact risks are higher than they are, Peiser argues.

"Most people are simply not aware that we are making enormous progress in finding and identifying the population of Near Earth Objects and that the impact risk is thus diminishing year by year," Peiser said.

And when meteorites have struck, they have never carried any hint of some mysterious space disease.

"I don't know of any known record of a meteorite landing that emitted odors so noxious that people got sick from it," said geologist Larry Grossman of the University of Chicago.

So much for the Andromeda Strain.

Froste · 09-27-2007, 06:20 PM

And if I wanted to cover up the precursor to invasion by nasty xenomorphs, that's exactly the same cover story I would use too (:

Granden · 09-27-2007, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Froste

And if I wanted to cover up the precursor to invasion by nasty xenomorphs, that's exactly the same cover story I would use too (:

So you're still sold on the fact that we're being invaded eh?

Well I give you credit for your persistance.

Keep glasses of water around your house and im sure you'll be fine.

Froste · 09-27-2007, 06:25 PM

The earth is being invaded all the time, we've got lots of stuff falling from the sky and there's doubtless microbes clinging on, after all, how do you think we got here in the first place (:

Granden · 09-27-2007, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Froste

The earth is being invaded all the time, we've got lots of stuff falling from the sky and there's doubtless microbes clinging on, after all, how do you think we got here in the first place (:

Well I know this is a subject that will spark much controversy, (IE religon and all)

....but I believe we were brought here by storks.....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storks

ArcticWolf · 09-27-2007, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Granden

Keep glasses of water around your house and im sure you'll be fine.

I wouldn't be so sure of that... They could start boiling and become a carrier of the alien disease

Now that we know what caused the strange symptoms on those people (poisoning and paranoia) we can discuss about how humans react to unknown situations such as "an outer space rock that carries toxic substances".

Granden · 09-27-2007, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xephandor

I wouldn't be so sure of that... They could start boiling and become a carrier of the alien disease

Now that we know what caused the strange symptoms on those people (poisoning and paranoia) we can discuss about how humans react to unknown situations such as "an outer space rock that carries toxic substances".

havn't you ever watched the movie 'signs' ?

Everyone knows water (H2O) is an acid to aliens.

ArcticWolf · 09-27-2007, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Granden

havn't you ever watched the movie 'signs' ?

Everyone knows water (H2O) is an acid to aliens.

No, a lot of people told me that it was horrible (still it is), so I didn't watch it... Maybe I'll use some online service to view it.

Anyway, if water is acid to aliens that means they have a chemically basic body. Use some ethidium bromide (it destroys the dna

)

09-20-2007, 02:02 PM	#21
DuoMaxwell Master Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: A place worse then hell Posts: 332	It was us in Ignis, all the Warlocks got to gether and cast meteor at the same time, It broke out of the game and hit the earth. It's prolly just whatever the rock kicked up when it hit, remember, parts of it where liquid hot when it hit and it hit with such a force that it put itself in the bottom of a 20 foot wide 6 foot deep hole. So it prolly aresolized a few nasty things that where in the ground already if not made some new things out of what was there through chemical reactions started up by that heat. That and as stated nothing was said if the rock was radioactive in anyy way, sure not all of the stuff floating around up there is radioactive, but some is. __________________ My Chars: Duo Maxwell, Knight, Ignis. Yo Momma, Conjurer, Ignis. Izana, Hunter, Ignis Bank Of Duo, Warrior, used as gear storage only cause we have no banks...

09-27-2007, 06:20 PM	#24
Froste Baron Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Svea Rike Posts: 814	And if I wanted to cover up the precursor to invasion by nasty xenomorphs, that's exactly the same cover story I would use too (: __________________ *Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines...*

09-27-2007, 06:25 PM	#26
Froste Baron Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Svea Rike Posts: 814	The earth is being invaded all the time, we've got lots of stuff falling from the sky and there's doubtless microbes clinging on, after all, how do you think we got here in the first place (: __________________ *Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines...*

09-27-2007, 03:19 PM	#23
Granden Apprentice Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Usa Posts: 63	On what started as a normal Saturday night one week ago, residents of a small, remote Peruvian town saw a bright light streak across the sky, heard a resounding bang and suddenly found themselves at the center of a media frenzy. Initial suspicions of an airplane crash quickly spiraled into widespread reports that a meteorite had plummeted to Earth and left a smoking, boiling crater whose supposedly noxious fumes were reported to have sickened curious locals who went to peer at the hole. Despite doubts expressed by geologists that the crater was actually caused by a meteorite and firm explanations that a meteorite would not even emit fumes and that the "sickness" was likely a case of mass hysteria, numerous onlookers far and wide were fascinated by the idea that this event could be some real-life "Andromeda Strain" (the 1969 novel by Michael Crichton), where a mysterious rock falling to Earth from outerspace made anyone who went near it ill. So what is it about things falling from the sky that fills us with such fear that we can make ourselves sick with panic? Media reports of the number of locals afflicted by a "mysterious disease"--with symptoms such as nausea, headaches and sore throats--after visiting the crater figured in every news article about the Aug. 15 event, with some reporting that as many as 600 people had fallen ill. But doctors who visited the site told the Associated Press they found no evidence that the crater had actually sickened such a large number of people. If noxious fumes did emanate from the crater, they were most likely the result of a hydrothermal explosion that could have actually formed the crater, or were released from the ground when the meteorite struck, if in fact one did, according to many geologists. Arsenic is found in the subsoil in that area of Peru and often contaminates the drinking water there, according to Peruvian geologists quoted on Sept. 21 by National Geographic News. Arsenic fumes released from the crater could have sickened locals who went to look, said one geologist who examined the site. Some health officials suggest that the symptoms described by the locals, the large number of people reporting symptoms, and the apparently rapid spread have all the hallmarks of a case of mass hysteria. "Those who say they are affected are the product of a collective psychosis," Jorge Lopez Tejada, health department chief in Puno, the nearest city, told the Los Angeles Times. This psychosis could have begun as a result of fear of the meteorite and the mysterious "disease" on the part of the residents and spread as official and media reports seemed to confirm it and give it credence. "The Peruvian event seems to be a rare case where we may be witnessing collective anxiety that is approaching near hysteria," said Benny Peiser, a social anthropologist at John Moores University in England. "The major[ity] of the affected Peruvian town hinted that some of the mass anxiety is due to fear of imminent impacts and psychological stress which is not surprising given the premature speculation and media hype." Fear of outer space Fear of a meteorite impact is nothing new--humans have long looked to the heavens with a wary eye. "The fear of cosmic disaster, in particular cometary impacts, has existed in all cultures for millennia," Peiser told SPACE.com But the space age revealed just how many dangers, including comets, meteors, asteroids, and cosmic rays, await us in the final frontier. "Only since the late 20th century, humankind has become aware of the risk posed by asteroids and comets," Peiser said. "Unfortunately, this risk has been wildly exaggerated by popular culture." Our curiosity and fear of impact events has increased their coverage by the world media, Peiser says, which in turn has increased the number of meteorite impact reports, even when the evidence doesn't point that way. "In recent years, there have been numerous cases where alleged meteorite falls were linked to mysterious explosions on the ground--only to be proven wrong," Peiser said. "One of the main reasons for the significant increase of such claims is almost certainly due to the growing media interest in the cosmic impact risk. It is part of human nature-- and extremely tempting for the news media--to hype any event that initially looks mysterious." While this fear is normal and understandable, it's been blown out of proportion so that the public thinks that impact risks are higher than they are, Peiser argues. "Most people are simply not aware that we are making enormous progress in finding and identifying the population of Near Earth Objects and that the impact risk is thus diminishing year by year," Peiser said. And when meteorites have struck, they have never carried any hint of some mysterious space disease. "I don't know of any known record of a meteorite landing that emitted odors so noxious that people got sick from it," said geologist Larry Grossman of the University of Chicago. So much for the Andromeda Strain.