Myths & mysteries
Discover facts about myths & mysteries. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Myths & mysteries
Bart Hughes was a Dutch librarian in the 1960s who decided the key to reaching a permanent state of higher mystical consciousness was to literally drill a hole into his own skull using a dentist's drill.
Bart Hughes was a Dutch librarian in the 1960s who decided the key to reaching a permanent state of higher mystical consciousness was to literally drill a…
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory co-founder Jack Parsons was simultaneously a brilliant rocket scientist and an enthusiastic follower of Aleister Crowley's occult religion of Thelema.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory co-founder Jack Parsons was simultaneously a brilliant rocket scientist and an enthusiastic follower of Aleister Crowley's occult…
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Clairvoyant Edgar Cayce earned the nickname the Sleeping Prophet because he claimed to access the Akashic Records, a mystical universal database of all human knowledge, simply by taking a nap.
Clairvoyant Edgar Cayce earned the nickname the Sleeping Prophet because he claimed to access the Akashic Records, a mystical universal database of all human…
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Physician Franz Anton Mesmer developed a mystical healing technique in the eighteenth century based on the belief that an invisible magnetic fluid connected all living beings and planets in the universe.
Physician Franz Anton Mesmer developed a mystical healing technique in the eighteenth century based on the belief that an invisible magnetic fluid connected…
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Three anonymous manifestos appeared in seventeenth-century Germany announcing the existence of the Rosicrucian Order, a secret brotherhood of mystical alchemists possessing…
Three anonymous manifestos appeared in seventeenth-century Germany announcing the existence of the Rosicrucian Order, a secret brotherhood of mystical…
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Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung spent sixteen years secretly writing and illustrating a massive leather-bound manuscript called the Red Book during what he described as a profound confrontation with his own unconscious.
Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung spent sixteen years secretly writing and illustrating a massive leather-bound manuscript called the Red Book during what he…
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Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, the Indian mystic better known as Osho, amassed a fleet of ninety-three custom Rolls-Royce cars purchased exclusively by his devoted followers during his time running a commune in Oregon.
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, the Indian mystic better known as Osho, amassed a fleet of ninety-three custom Rolls-Royce cars purchased exclusively by his devoted…
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King James VI of Scotland became so terrified of dark mysticism after a severe storm delayed his wife's sea voyage that he personally attended witch trials and wrote a massive…
King James VI of Scotland became so terrified of dark mysticism after a severe storm delayed his wife's sea voyage that he personally attended witch trials…
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Zosimos of Panopolis was a Greco-Egyptian mystic and alchemist from the 3rd century who wrote extensively about the spiritual transformation of matter.
Zosimos of Panopolis was a Greco-Egyptian mystic and alchemist from the 3rd century who wrote extensively about the spiritual transformation of matter.…
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Frau Troffea stepped into a street in Strasbourg in 1518 and began to dance uncontrollably, kicking off a mystical mass psychogenic illness that eventually compelled hundreds of…
Frau Troffea stepped into a street in Strasbourg in 1518 and began to dance uncontrollably, kicking off a mystical mass psychogenic illness that eventually…
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Early Christian Gnostics believed that the physical universe was not created by the supreme, loving God, but rather by an ignorant, deeply flawed middle-management deity known as the Demiurge.
Early Christian Gnostics believed that the physical universe was not created by the supreme, loving God, but rather by an ignorant, deeply flawed…
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Italian spiritualist Eusapia Palladino became a global sensation in the late nineteenth century for her ability to levitate tables and materialize spectral hands during seances.
Italian spiritualist Eusapia Palladino became a global sensation in the late nineteenth century for her ability to levitate tables and materialize spectral…
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Dowsing is an ancient mystical practice where people use wooden twigs or metal rods to locate groundwater, yet as recently as 2017, several major UK water companies admitted they…
Dowsing is an ancient mystical practice where people use wooden twigs or metal rods to locate groundwater, yet as recently as 2017, several major UK water…
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Tarot cards were originally invented in 15th-century Italy as a basic parlor game for wealthy nobles called Tarocchini, completely devoid of any mystical or divinatory meaning.
Tarot cards were originally invented in 15th-century Italy as a basic parlor game for wealthy nobles called Tarocchini, completely devoid of any mystical or…
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Russian mystic George Gurdjieff forced the wealthy European followers of his esoteric Fourth Way philosophy to participate in a bizarre psychological practice he called the stop exercise.
Russian mystic George Gurdjieff forced the wealthy European followers of his esoteric Fourth Way philosophy to participate in a bizarre psychological practice…
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French occultist Eliphas Levi single-handedly created the iconic modern image of Baphomet as a goat-headed, winged, hermaphroditic figure in his 1856 book on high magic,…
French occultist Eliphas Levi single-handedly created the iconic modern image of Baphomet as a goat-headed, winged, hermaphroditic figure in his 1856 book on…
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Emanuel Swedenborg was a brilliant eighteenth-century scientist who abruptly shifted gears at age fifty-six after claiming Jesus appeared to him and unlocked his ability to…
Emanuel Swedenborg was a brilliant eighteenth-century scientist who abruptly shifted gears at age fifty-six after claiming Jesus appeared to him and unlocked…
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William Lyon Mackenzie King served as the Prime Minister of Canada for over twenty-one years, guiding the nation through the Great Depression and the Second World War with a calm, ruthlessly pragmatic public demeanor.
William Lyon Mackenzie King served as the Prime Minister of Canada for over twenty-one years, guiding the nation through the Great Depression and the Second…
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Druids and ancient mystics practiced the art of scrying by staring into shallow pools of still water to induce a trance state and receive visions of the future, a practice that…
Druids and ancient mystics practiced the art of scrying by staring into shallow pools of still water to induce a trance state and receive visions of the…
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British occultist Aleister Crowley traveled to the Algerian desert in 1909 to summon Choronzon, a highly dangerous entity known in mystical circles as the demon of dispersion.
British occultist Aleister Crowley traveled to the Algerian desert in 1909 to summon Choronzon, a highly dangerous entity known in mystical circles as the…
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Psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich decided in the 1930s that he had discovered 'orgone', a mystical, omnipresent life energy that was supposedly responsible for everything from gravity to human sexuality.
Psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich decided in the 1930s that he had discovered 'orgone', a mystical, omnipresent life energy that was supposedly responsible for…
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Nineteenth-century theosophists aggressively promoted the existence of Lemuria, a mythical sunken continent in the Indian and Pacific Oceans that supposedly served as the cradle of humanity.
Nineteenth-century theosophists aggressively promoted the existence of Lemuria, a mythical sunken continent in the Indian and Pacific Oceans that supposedly…
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Phantom smells make you detect odors that are not actually there
The entirely unprovable ability to smell things outside the normal range of human perception. Smelling phantom pipe smoke might mean a presence is near, or…
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Claiming to be in two places at once makes a convenient but unprovable alibi
Claiming to physically be in two different locations simultaneously. It is the ultimate alibi, though entirely impossible to prove, making it highly…
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