In one of the weirder showdowns between two members of the animal kingdom, a pugnacious leopard wound up on the losing end of an odd battle with a porcupine in South Africa. The strange conflict reportedly unfolded in the middle of a road crossing through Kruger National Park and was captured on film by wildlife photographer Mariette Landman. Before an audience of several captivated tourists safely watching in their cars, the skirmish began with the ferocious feline stalking the quill-covered rodent before finally making its move and swiping at its intended prey.
Alas, the big cat’s plan of attack proved to be rather foolish as the porcupine was able to deftly maneuver itself so that the quills protruding from its body provided a natural shield. Nonetheless, the determined leopard kept attempting to claw at the creature until it wound up with one of the spikes in its paw. While one might think this put an end to the battle, it had actually only just begun as the porcupine opted to remain in the road, leading to several more ’rounds’ between the two animals which saw the rodent continually get the best of the big cat. Amazingly, the odd encounter lasted a staggering 90 minutes before the leopard finally gave up and the fight came to an end with the porcupine being the clear victor.
The X-Files is known for taking inspiration from real-life events or stories but isn’t known for predicting the future. Yet, the X-Files spinoff show, The Lone Gunmen, eerily predicted the events of 9/11 six months before the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
The Lone Gunmen and Dana Scully on an episode of the X-Files, circa 1993. (Photo Credit: Fox Broadcasting Company/ MovieStillsDB)
If you have never heard of The Lone Gunmen television show, that’s okay — we hadn’t either. The series only ran for one season, from March 2001 to June 2001. The single season only had a total of 13 episodes and dealt primarily with all kinds of secret activity happening within the government.
Throughout the X-Files series, special agent Fox Mulder often would read a publication called “The Lone Gunman.” The newsletter in the show was published by three conspiracy theorists who took the name from the Warren Commission that investigated the John F. Kennedy assassination.
The conspiracy theorists who published “The Lone Gunman” newsletter are named John Fitzgerald Byers (played by Bruce Harwood), Melvin Frohike (played by Tom Braidwood), and Richard Langly (played by Dean Haglund). These three men are the main characters in the television show The Lone Gunmen.
The Lone Gunmen cast, from left to right- Tom Braidwood (Frohike), Bruce Hardwood (Byers) and Dean Haglund (Langley). (Photo Credit: Fox Broadcasting Company/ MovieStills DB)
Strangely enough, the pilot episode of The Lone Gunmen featured a plotline that eerily echoed the events that would come to pass on September 11, 2001. In the episode, a computer hacker took control of a Boeing 727 airplane to crash the plane into the World Trade Center in New York City.
In the episode, Byers, Frohike, and Langley are able to launch a counter hack-attack against the original hacker and prevent a disaster just moments before the airplane was about to hit the World Trade Center. However, these events were just half the story of this pilot episode. The trio uncovers the fact that the event was created by a group deep within the United States government. In the episode, the intention was to blame these attacks on foreign dictators to start a profitable war for the US.
There are not only connections between the events that occurred on September 11, 2001, but also the theories that arose after these attacks. It should be stressed that the writers and producers of The Lone Gunmen had no prior knowledge of 9/11, and the people involved in producing this pilot episode were horrified to learn about the events on September 11, 2001.
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World Trade Center before the September 11 attacks. (Photo Credit: Leonardo Cendamo/ Getty Images)
In reality, the timing of the show’s air date and the events of 9/11 is perhaps why they are entangled. The pilot episode aired on March 6, 2001, in America, but the episode aired in Australia only 13 days before the terrorist attacks happened.
Furthermore, there are similarities in this episode of The Lone Gunmen, but other television shows and books have also covered ideas similar to the one touched on by The Lone Gunmen. Stephen King’s short story, The Running Man, ends with the protagonist crashing an airplane into a television studio. Even the sitcom Friends had to cut scenes because they alluded to the events that happened on 9/11.
Some 1,500 people, participating in the Port Huron Float Down, on inflatable rafts and boats drifted across the border from Michigan during high winds on the St. Clair River.
PORT HURON, MICH.—Canadian authorities stopped an invasion this weekend: 1,500 people on inflatable rafts and boats that drifted across the border from Michigan during high winds on the St. Clair River.
The rafters were participating in the Port Huron Float Down, an annual event on the river that divides Michigan from Ontario.
The winds turned it into an international incident on Sunday.
Police in Sarnia, Ont., say the event has no official organizer and poses “significant and unusual hazards” given the fast-moving current, large number of participants, lack of life jackets, and challenging weather conditions.Article Continued Below
They say it took hours for a bus service to transport some 1,500 U.S. citizens back to Michigan.
Staff Sgt. Scott Clarke told the Times Herald the float-down participants were “unprepared to be stranded anywhere.”
“It was a bit of a nightmare, but we got through it,” he said. “There were long waits and long lines. They were cold and wet, but they all made it home.”
The event started at Port Huron’s Lighthouse Beach and was supposed to end at Chrysler Beach in Marysville.
Sarnia city workers spent several hours Monday picking up beer cans, coolers, rafts, even picnic tables, that washed up on the Canadian shore, said spokeswoman Katarina Ovens.
“I guess they were on the rafts,” she said of the picnic tables.
Biltmore Estate is a large (8,000-acre) private estate and tourist attraction in Asheville, North Carolina. Biltmore House, the main house on the estate, is a Châteauesque-styled mansion built by George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895 and is the largest privately owned house in the United States, at 178,926 square feet (16,622.8 m2) of floor space (135,280 square feet (12,568 m2) of living area). Still owned by one of Vanderbilt’s descendants, it stands today as one of the most prominent remaining examples of the Gilded Age.
In the 1880s, at the height of the Gilded Age, George Washington Vanderbilt II, youngest son of William Henry Vanderbilt, began to make regular visits with his mother, Maria Louisa Kissam Vanderbilt (1821–1896), to the Asheville, North Carolina, area. He loved the scenery and climate so much that he decided to create his own summer estate in the area, which he called his “little mountain escape”, just as his older brothers and sisters had built opulent summer houses in places such as Newport, Rhode Island, and Hyde Park, New York. Vanderbilt named his estate Biltmore derived from “Bildt,” Vanderbilt’s ancestors’ place of origin in Holland, and “More”, Anglo-Saxon for open, rolling land.
William A. V. Cecil, Sr. returned to the estate in 1960 and joined his brother to manage the estate and make it a profitable and self-sustaining enterprise like his grandfather envisioned. He eventually inherited the estate upon the death of his mother, Cornelia, in 1976, while his brother, George Henry Vanderbilt Cecil, inherited the then more profitable dairy farm which was split off into Biltmore Farms. In 1995, while celebrating the 100th anniversary of the estate, Cecil turned over control of the company to his son, William A.V. Cecil, Jr.
The Vanderbilt family is an American family of Dutch origin that was prominent during the Gilded Age (1870-1900). Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthropy. Cornelius Vanderbilt’s descendants went on to build grand mansions on Fifth Avenue in New York City, luxurious “summer cottages” in Newport, Rhode Island, the palatial Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina, and various other opulent homes.
The Vanderbilt’s were once the wealthiest family in America. Cornelius Vanderbilt was the richest American in history until his death in 1877. After that, his son William acquired his father’s fortune, and was the richest American until his death in 1885. The Vanderbilts’ prominence lasted until the mid-20th century, when the family’s 10 great Fifth Avenue mansions were torn down, and most other Vanderbilt houses were sold or turned into museums in what has been referred to as the “Fall of the House of Vanderbilt”.
Branches of the family are found on the United States East Coast. Contemporary descendants include fashion designer Gloria Vanderbilt, her youngest son, journalist Anderson Cooper, musician John P. Hammond, screenwriter James Vanderbilt and actor Timothy Olyphant.
Scratch that collector itch and buy yourself some branded and licensed plastic lifestyle Star Trek accouterments.
1:350 Scale Enterprise Model
If you’re a modeler, this is the replica kit to get. The completed USS Starship Enterprise is over 32 inches long, but more impressive than the size is the incredible detail. There’s even an optional lighting kit that will set the portholes aglow. Also makes a great holiday dinner centerpiece. $140
DST Communicator & Phaser
If you are wandering in the outskirts of space, you are going to need these bad boys. Talk with fellow shipmates via the Communicator and stun your enemies with the Phaser. Diamond Select Toys is known for its excellent replicas, and this $75 two-pack is essential TOS hardware.
Bat’Leth
A 1:1 replica of the most choice Klingon battle weapon, crafted of aluminum and finished with real leather. Phasers? Earthling nonsense. Hand-to-hand blade combat to the death is what really makes a warrior. $500
Tribble
These tiny, hairy creatures are totally adorable. Buy 50 of them, throw them on your bed, jump into their furriness, then curse their existence. Fun! $10 each.
Custom Uniform Shirt
Meet eBay user Murraymousie. Send in your measurements, and 10 days later you’ll be sent a custom-sewn velour replica uniform shirt or dress, complete with rank and insignia. Pick gold for Kirk, a red shirt for Scotty, or a red dress for Uhura. $100 and up.
DST Retro Cloth Figures
The vintage 8-inch action figures from Mego are highly collectible, and Kirk and Spock go for about $50 each on eBay. But the plastic on these 40-year-old toys is disintegrating, so get yourself some modern-day redos from Diamond Select Toys. Pick from any number of characters. $160 for two.
The Klingon Dictionary
If you’re going to demand that an enemy “Surrender or die,” then you’d better get your pronunciation right. $11.33
TR-590 MK 9 Science Tricorder
This $500 replica prop is not only stunningly accurate, but it also lights up and makes the appropriate sound effects. No more walking around with your iPhone going “bloop beep weee-ooh” when it’s time to play doctor.
Gorn Action Figure
All of the ReAction figures are pretty cool, but we’ve got a soft spot for Gorn. $19
Hot Wheels Klingon Bird of Prey
Never mind the little cars. Hot Wheels makes some pretty decent Trek stuff, and this Klingon BOP ($39) is a good example. The wings fold just like the real thing, but the cloaking device will cost you a whole lot extra.
Playmates Klingon Disruptor
You’ll have to go to eBay for this vintage toy from the 1990s, but the cool sounds it makes are worth the hassle of all the hunting, bidding and sniping.
Enterprise Bridge Playset
The ultimatest ultimate. This replica of the original Mego set from the ’70s works with any figure built to the scale of the originals, as most of the current “retro” toys are. $60
Tri-D Chess Set
This recreation of the original Franklin Mint Tri-D chess set from the 1990s will set you back $275. But that’s real silver and gold on there. And whoo boy is this thing extra nerdy or what? How do you play it? Who cares!?
Model aircraft have gotten very big. Big enough that they have to be powered by miniature jet engines.
F-14 Tomcat
A major development is the use of small jet turbine engines in hobbyist models, both surface and air. Model-scale turbines resemble simplified versions of turbojet engines found on commercial aircraft, but are in fact new designs (not based upon scaled-down commercial jet engines.)
The first hobbyist-developed turbine was developed and flown in the 1980s by Gerald Jackman in England, but only recently has commercial production (from companies such as Evojet in Germany) made turbines readily available for purchase. Turbines require specialized design and precision-manufacturing techniques (some designs for model aircraft have been built from recycled turbocharger units from car engines), and consume a mixture of A1 jet fuel and synthetic turbine engine or motorcycle-engine oil.
These qualities, and the turbine’s high-thrust output, makes owning and operating a turbine-powered aircraft prohibitively expensive for most hobbyists, as well as many nations’ national aeromodeling clubs (as with the USA’s AMA) requiring their users to be certified to know how to safely and properly operate the engines they intend to use for such a model. Jet-powered models attract large crowds at organized events; their authentic sound and high speed make for excellent crowd pleasers.
SR-71 Blackbird
U.S. Coast Guard C-130J Hercules, this monster does get airborne.
Airbus A-380
B-52 Stratofortress bomber
C-17 Globemaster
British Vulcan bomber. Fire extinguisher? Oh oh.
Israeli F-16 Fighting Falcon
Boeing 747-400. See vid below.
Not to be out done, the ship enthusiasts are into big also.
Giorgio A. Tsoukalos (born March 14, 1978) is a Swiss-born Greek-Austrian writer and television personality. He is a proponent of the idea that ancient alien astronauts interacted with ancient humans. He is the Chairman and co-founder of Legendary Times magazine, which features articles from Erich von Däniken, David Hatcher Childress, Peter Fiebag, Robert Bauval, and Luc Bürgin on the topic of ancient astronauts and related subject matter.
Tsoukalos is the director of Erich von Däniken’s Center for Ancient Astronaut Research (the A.A.S. R.A.—Archaeology, Astronautics and SETI Research Association), and has appeared on The Travel Channel, The History Channel, the Sci-Fi Channel, the National Geographic Channel, as well as Coast to Coast AM, and is a consulting producer of the television series Ancient Aliens.
Tsoukalos is a 1998 graduate of Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, with a bachelor’s degree in sports information and communication. For several years in the early 2000s, before he made ancient astronaut research his primary career, he served as a bodybuilding promoter in IFBB sanctioned contests, including Mr. Olympia. He is fluent in English, Greek, German, French, Italian, Vulcan and Andromedian.
Tsoukalos is the host of the H2 series In Search of Aliens, which premiered on July 25, 2014
Giorgio and his cohort Erich von Daniken refer to themselves as Ancient Astronaut theorists. With a degree in sports communications I guess that isn’t that much of a leap. They base all their theories, and they try to make people believe these theories, on wishful thinking, conjecture, guesses and assumptions. They put forward absolutely no hard evidence whatsoever.
Yet people buy into this bunk allowing these guys to make hundreds of thousands of dollars from TV shows and books etc. People will believe anything at anytime.
Illogical and nonsensical arguments through and through.
Giorgio appeared on a show about the Loch Ness Monster. His theory was that Nessie was transported from an Alien world to the Scottish lake by an Alien time-travel machine. Okay.
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