# Cool phenomena that are actually real **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 9, 2006, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-phenomena-that-are-actually-real/367942 "2006-08-09T00:35:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lama\_Pacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Lama\_Pacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lama_Pacos)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-phenomena-that-are-actually-real/367942/1 "2006-08-09T00:35:39Z")
As a kid, I always was absolutely fascinated by the supernatural, and I read tons of books about ghosts, UFOs, etc. I’m a pretty rational person so realizing that most of that stuff is bunk was pretty disappointing. What I’m looking for is examples of things that seem pretty ‘out there’ but are actually within the realm of possibility. Example: I always thought lucid dreaming was a pretty crazy fringe thing, and I thought it was pretty cool to find out that it’s fairly commonly attested to and somewhat rationally explainable (i.e., maybe scientists don’t exactly know why it happens, but it works within our scientific notions of the world and doesn’t fall into “you just have to believe” territory"). Things that empirically happen but are attributed to irrational causes can be put in this thread too. For example, if millions of people are waking up with scars on their leg and are convinced it was the Giant Pink Toothy Icelandic Rabbit, clearly that explanation (probably) cannot be true but the fact that the phenomenon actually occurred interests me. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-phenomena-that-are-actually-real/367942/2 "2006-08-09T02:14:43Z")
How about the [Aurora Borealis](http://www.geo.mtu.edu/weather/aurora/) ? ---
**Author:** ![Ender\_Will](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Ender\_Will](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ender_Will)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-phenomena-that-are-actually-real/367942/3 "2006-08-09T02:22:13Z")
[Levitation](http://homepage.mac.com/cheilman1/images/photos/101/superconductor.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-phenomena-that-are-actually-real/367942/4 "2006-08-09T02:27:35Z")
[Ball lightning](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=ball+lightning&spell=1) hasn’t been conclusively shown to exist but it is way ahead of ghosts and UFO’s. Groups of reliable witnesses have reported seeing it up close. Here is Cecil’s take on it. [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040917.html](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040917.html) ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-phenomena-that-are-actually-real/367942/5 "2006-08-09T02:30:56Z")
Maybe this is in the category of “cool phenomena I didn’t even know existed until I learned about it.” In this case, it was in a physics class, where I learned about [Heiligenschein](http://www.sundog.clara.co.uk/droplets/heilig.htm). There are many times when I am out walking on a dewy morning, experience this phenomenon, and think, “Damn! That is so cool!” ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-phenomena-that-are-actually-real/367942/6 "2006-08-09T02:33:53Z")
The Toynbee plaques are something that we attempted to cover in GQ once and didn’t get very far despite much effort. They are these plaques made of a strange substance that have just appeared as embedded objects in the streets of many U.S. and world cities. No one has ever reported how they got there. They often reference Stanley Kubrick and the planet Jupiter. I am sure that they are of earthly origin but still very strange. [http://www.toynbee.net/](http://www.toynbee.net/) ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-phenomena-that-are-actually-real/367942/7 "2006-08-09T03:37:52Z")
Some nutjob is undoubtedly hand-cutting these out of the kind of rubber mats we used to play with in preschool, the brightly colored ones with shapes, letters, and numbers cut out. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-phenomena-that-are-actually-real/367942/8 "2006-08-09T15:17:33Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] The Toynbee plaques are something that we attempted to cover in GQ once and didn’t get very far despite much effort. They are these plaques made of a strange substance that have just appeared as embedded objects in the streets of many U.S. and world cities. No one has ever reported how they got there. They often reference Stanley Kubrick and the planet Jupiter. I am sure that they are of earthly origin but still very strange. > **[Top Rated Toys - Fisher Price, Baby Einstein, Educational Toys, Action Figures](http://www.toynbee.net/)** [/QUOTE] Very bizzare!! The Wikipedia entry has more info about it: > **[Toynbee tiles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toynbee_tiles)** > > The Toynbee tiles, also called Toynbee plaques, are messages of unknown origin found embedded in asphalt of streets in about two dozen major cities in the United States and three South American cities. Since the 1980s, several hundred tiles have been discovered. They are generally about the size of an American license plate (roughly 30 by 15 cm or 12 by 6 in), but sometimes considerably larger. They contain some variation of the following inscription: TOYNBEE IDEA > IN MOViE \`2001 > RESURRECT DEAD > O... Very very strange!! ---
**Author:** ![malkavia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malkavia/32/5621_2.png) [@malkavia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malkavia)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-phenomena-that-are-actually-real/367942/9 "2006-08-09T15:30:16Z")
The first time I saw a large scale bioluminescent tide in Santa Monica, I was pretty geeked out. It takes your brain a minute to determine whether or not there’s a strange alien craft hidden just beneath the water, waiting to lunge forward and… okay, not really. But it does look really cool! ---
**Author:** ![XJETGIRLX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9fc29f/32.png) [@XJETGIRLX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XJETGIRLX)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-phenomena-that-are-actually-real/367942/10 "2006-08-09T15:34:20Z")
[Scintillating scotoma](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scintillating_scotoma) and other migraine aura symptoms are pretty out there. If someone told me that I’d be audience to my own visual fireworks show with temporary vision loss I’d have thought I was going crazy. That is, until I went partially blind and got to see all the pretty shimmery stuff for myself. Some other seemingly-crazy migraine aura symptoms include: Auditory hallucinations Olfactory hallucinations Visual hallucinations Numbness or tingling ‘Alice in Wonderland’ syndrome (feeling physically very small or very large in proportion to your environment) Aphasia A more complete list of migraine aura symptoms and information can be found [here](http://www.migraine-aura.org/EN/Sitemap.html). ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-phenomena-that-are-actually-real/367942/11 "2006-08-09T15:54:13Z")
Haven’t seen them, but [the Marfa lights](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marfa_lights) sound pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-phenomena-that-are-actually-real/367942/12 "2006-08-09T16:07:42Z")
The wick effect accounts for some (probably all imho) cases of spontaneous human combustion. [Wick effect - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wick_effect) Super fluids are extremely cool and quite phenominal [Superfluidity - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfluid) (and follow the links) ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-phenomena-that-are-actually-real/367942/13 "2006-08-09T16:11:19Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] The Toynbee plaques are something that we attempted to cover in GQ once and didn’t get very far despite much effort. They are these plaques made of a strange substance that have just appeared as embedded objects in the streets of many U.S. and world cities. No one has ever reported how they got there. They often reference Stanley Kubrick and the planet Jupiter. I am sure that they are of earthly origin but still very strange. > **[Top Rated Toys - Fisher Price, Baby Einstein, Educational Toys, Action Figures](http://www.toynbee.net/)** [/QUOTE] Thanks for the link, **Shag** I hadn’t heard about this before - I just spent awhile doing some reading! It’s hard for me to explain, but these are really freaking me out for some reason. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-phenomena-that-are-actually-real/367942/14 "2006-08-09T16:22:59Z")
[St. Elmo’s Fire](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Elmo's_Fire) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-phenomena-that-are-actually-real/367942/15 "2006-08-09T17:06:20Z")
I once met a guy who claimed to have seen the Green Flash. > **[Green flash](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_flash)** > > The green flash and green ray are meteorological optical phenomena that sometimes occur transiently around the moment of sunset or sunrise. When the conditions are right, a distinct green spot is briefly visible above the Sun's upper limb; the green appearance usually lasts for no more than two seconds. Rarely, the green flash can resemble a green ray shooting up from the sunset or sunrise point. > Green flashes occur because the Earth's atmosphere can cause the light from the Sun to separate, o... ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-phenomena-that-are-actually-real/367942/16 "2006-08-09T17:10:18Z")
The ability to float frogs and such using super conductive magnets floating in liquid nitrogen is amazing. I can’t find a link to post. I also wouldn’t mind seeing one of these antigravity lifters, powered by ions. [Anti garvity lifter.](http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.08/pwr_antigravity_pr.html) ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-phenomena-that-are-actually-real/367942/17 "2006-08-09T17:17:18Z")
One of those locations that have the lights was studied by a professor a couple years ago, and I’ve heard nothing since. He stated that the lights occured on rare ocassions, but when the area was viewed in infrared, lines could be seen to converge and form balls. The balls sometimes became visable to the human spectrum of sight. The lines where likely magnetic lines of force, I don’t remember for sure, and would like to see information on it again. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-phenomena-that-are-actually-real/367942/18 "2006-08-09T17:17:18Z")
[QUOTE=Robot Arm] I once met a guy who claimed to have seen the Green Flash. > **[Green flash](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_flash)** > > The green flash and green ray are meteorological optical phenomena that sometimes occur transiently around the moment of sunset or sunrise. When the conditions are right, a distinct green spot is briefly visible above the Sun's upper limb; the green appearance usually lasts for no more than two seconds. Rarely, the green flash can resemble a green ray shooting up from the sunset or sunrise point. Green flashes occur because the Earth's atmosphere can cause the light from the Sun to separate, via... [/QUOTE] Correction: Two guys. At least I _think_ I saw it. ---
**Author:** ![StinkyBurrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@StinkyBurrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StinkyBurrito)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-phenomena-that-are-actually-real/367942/19 "2006-08-09T17:49:25Z")
I love the Toynbee tiles. There are 2 here in Cleveland. When I found out about them a few years ago, I took a few hours to walk around the city and track them down. The one in Tower City is really cool. I hope somebody would have the foresight to save these things and not shred them when it is time to repave. Also the [Tunguska Event](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event) kind of freaks me out. I know that we are tracking many NEOs, but in all reality, one could drop by very unexpectedly. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-phenomena-that-are-actually-real/367942/20 "2006-08-09T18:11:06Z")
Supernumerary Rainbows Sundogs Parhelic Circle Circumzenith arc Zodiacal Light Reflected Rainbows Lowitz Arcs Rainbow Pillars Fogbows Blue Moons Orbital Resonance L4 and L5 Lagrange Points (“Trojan points”) Water Bells the Ranque-Hilsch Tube the Brown Mountain Lights (and they ain’t space ships) Bishop’s Ring Haidinger’s Brush Mach Bands and a zillion other phenomena you can find in Minnaert’s **The Nature of Light and Color in the Open Air** or Walker’s **Flying Circus of Physics** or other such sources. If you’re looking for iffy stuff that’s either as-yet-unexplained stuff on the Cutting Edge mixed with Misreporting, Error, and Downright Lying (and you get bonus points for distinguishing the cases), try William R. Corliss’ books and website on unexplained phenomena. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-phenomena-that-are-actually-real/367942.md?page=2)