VICE PRESENTS THE PEOPLE'S LISTS - PART 115 Strange Stories
Excerpted from The New Book of Lists by David Wallechinsky and Amy Wallace.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY LAURA PARK
The Fortean Times: The World of Strange Phenomena is a monthly magazine of news, reviews, and research on all types of unusual experiences. It is named after philosopher Charles Fort (1874-1932), who thought that data that did not fit the scientific norm should not be excluded or ignored by the scientific community. (To subscribe, go to forteantimes.com) These stories were selected by Paul Sieveking, former coeditor of the Fortean Times.
 BOULDERS IN TREES
In April 1997, a turkey hunter in Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana, came upon a huge sandstone boulder wedged between three branches of an oak tree about 35 feet from the ground. The arrow-shaped rock was estimated to weigh 500 pounds. Subsequently, four more large boulders were found wedged high up in trees elsewhere in the forest. All were in remote areas. None of the trees was damaged, there were no signs of heavy equipment being used or of tornado damage, and no one recalled any mishaps involving dynamite anywhere nearby.
PHANTOM CAR CRASH
On December 11, 2002, two motorists called the police to report seeing a car veer off the A3 trunk road with headlights blazing at Burpham in Surrey. A thorough search uncovered a car concealed in dense undergrowth and the long-dead driver nearby. It turned out that the crash had happened five months earlier; the driver, Christopher Chandler, had been reported missing by his brother.
BALLOON BUDDIES
Laura Buxton released a helium-filled balloon during celebrations for her grandparents’ gold wedding anniversary in Blurton, Staffordshire, in June 2001. Attached to the balloon were her name and address and a note asking the finder to write back. Ten days later, she received a reply. The balloon had been found by another Laura Buxton in the garden hedge of her home in Pewsey, Wiltshire, 140 miles away. Both Lauras were aged ten, and both had three-year-old black Labradors, a guinea pig, and a rabbit. “I hope we can become best friends,” said the Staffordshire Laura.
BEES PAY THEIR RESPECTS
Margaret Bell, who kept bees in Leintwardine, about seven miles from her home in Ludlow, Wales, died in June 1994. After her funeral, mourners were astonished to  see hundreds of bees settle on the corner of the street opposite the house where Mrs. Bell had lived for 26 years. The bees stayed for about an hour before buzzing off over the rooftops. The local press ran a photograph of the bees, hanging on the wall in a cluster.
LA MANCHA NEGRA
A hazard unique to Venezuelan highways is a slippery goo called la mancha negra, which means “black stain,” although it’s more of a sludge with the consistency of chewing gum. Although the government has spent millions of dollars on research, no one knows what the goo is, where it comes from, or how to get rid of it. It first appeared in 1987 on the road from Caracas to the airport, covering 50 yards, and it has spread inexorably every year. By 1992, it was a major road hazard all around the capital; it was claimed that 1,800 motorists had died after losing control because of it. The problem remains.
THE PEOPLE'S LISTS | 1 | 2 | 3 |
See all articles by this contributor Anonymous, on Oct 17, 2008 wrote:
myabe you should stop being such an ungreatful whine ass and start your own fucking magazine hmmm? get the fuck out if youre gonna get all moist you fuckin shitstain.
vice, i loved this shit. | | |
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