# "Gravity Hills" and other anomalies **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 25, 2006, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-hills-and-other-anomalies/365970 "2006-07-25T16:08:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-hills-and-other-anomalies/365970/1 "2006-07-25T16:08:52Z")
There’s a section of roadway near the exitway from Edwin Warner Park on the outskirts of Nashville where (before the road was blocked off to traffic) you used to be able to park, leave the car in neutral with the brake off and “coast” **uphill**. [This article](http://research.umbc.edu/~frizzell/gravhills.html) has a chart of other such places and a description of the phenomenon and its typical resolution. Are you near such a place? Have you checked it out for yourself? Do you know of other such oddities? For instance, do you know of a place where the flow of a waterway (river, creek, stream) appears to go uphill? ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-hills-and-other-anomalies/365970/2 "2006-07-25T16:38:52Z")
Knott’s Berry Farm used to have a small “house” full of such illusions (man-made, of course) but I don’t remember what it was called and I think they took it out. Everything surrounding the inclines would be placed so as to make them appear to slope the other way. The same concept is often referred to as a “Mystery Spot” as one of the most famous ones is “The Mystery Spot” in Santa Cruz, CA. [Gravity hill - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_hill) explains it pretty well. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-hills-and-other-anomalies/365970/3 "2006-07-25T16:41:32Z")
[This site](http://tobinsguide.blogspot.com/2006/05/mystery-spot.html) talks about a “mystery spot” at Santa Cruz, CA. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-hills-and-other-anomalies/365970/4 "2006-07-25T16:42:50Z")
Heh. Darn that server – just pipped. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-hills-and-other-anomalies/365970/5 "2006-07-25T17:04:44Z")
There’s a “Wonder Spot” at the Wisconsin Dells. I’ve only seen the brochures, but even as a kid, I suspected what was really going on. Here’s James Randi’s explanation of the [Oregon Vortex](http://www.randi.org/jr/101003.html). ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-hills-and-other-anomalies/365970/6 "2006-07-25T17:22:15Z")
> [@h.sapiens](#): > > Here’s James Randi’s explanation of the [Oregon Vortex](http://www.randi.org/jr/101003.html). Reading further down the site, what’s a 10-sigma person? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-hills-and-other-anomalies/365970/7 "2006-07-25T17:57:27Z")
There is one of these hills near Ward, CO. I was pretty impressed with it, but have since learned that it is an optical illusion. Natural, of course. Still pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-hills-and-other-anomalies/365970/8 "2006-07-25T18:30:53Z")
There’s one near Burkittsville, MD. I did it once as a teenager, though it’s pretty easy to figure out it’s an illusion. It looks like the [Burkittsville web site](http://www.burkittsville.com/dir_paranormal.html) has some more on it. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-hills-and-other-anomalies/365970/9 "2006-07-25T18:41:35Z")
In case you haven’t checked out the link in the OP, several of the sites alluded to in these posts are shown on the chart there. Also, there’s a link to [this site](http://research.umbc.edu/~frizzell/pabedcogravhill.html) that has some neat pictures of the one near New Paris, Pennsylvania. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-hills-and-other-anomalies/365970/10 "2006-07-25T19:29:42Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Reading further down the site, what’s a 10-sigma person? :dubious: Looking up the [forums at that site:](http://forums.randi.org/archive/index.php/t-11457.html) > [@](#): > > As for Bearden- > He is referring to someone being 10 standard deviations above the norm in paranormal abilities. Even if they do exist, I am confident that no one has ever calculated the standard deviation of such an unquantifiable thing. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-hills-and-other-anomalies/365970/11 "2006-07-25T23:23:32Z")
I once took a side trip to Lake Wales, Florida to see Spook Hill. It’s a street next to an elementary school, and there’s a silly legend about Indians. I stopped, took the car out of gear, and let off the brakes. Yes, it seemed to roll uphill. It’s an optical illusion, though. It’s really downhill. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-hills-and-other-anomalies/365970/12 "2006-07-26T03:28:37Z")
Here is an additional list. [http://www.weirdnj.com/stories/\_roads03.asp](http://www.weirdnj.com/stories/_roads03.asp) We had one nearby, but they change the road around in 1990. I was sad when I realized it was gone. Here is its listing. > [@WeirdNJ](#): > > GRAVITY NOT A LAW IN HOLMDEL > Have you ever heard of “Gravity Hill” in the Holmdel/Middletown area? Back when I was a teenager, around 1965, there was a hill just down the side street from the huge Lilly Tulip Plant on Highway 35. You would appear to roll right up the hill when stopped at the end by the stop sign. It was very real looking. I’ve been there more times then I can count. > > Unfortunately, there was also another hill before the stop sign where you could launch your vehicle off the road surface with ease, if driving fast enough. I did it once, and would never do it again. It was very scary. A few years later several teenagers were killed there attempting to do the same thing. The road was leveled sometime after that. ---
**Author:** ![Mesquite-oh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@Mesquite-oh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mesquite-oh)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-hills-and-other-anomalies/365970/13 "2006-07-26T04:06:28Z")
Here is one near where I live: [Ghostly Children upon San Antonio’s Railroad Tracks](http://www.legendsofamerica.com/TX-GhostlyChildren.html) In this ghost story, a school bus full of children was struck by a train while crossing the tracks. If you go to the tracks now and put your car in neutral, it appears as if you are pushed up and over the railroad tracks. As the story goes, if you put baby powder on the trunk of your car, you can see the tiny hand prints of the ghost children who pushed you. To make it a little creepier, many of the streets nearby are named after children. First of all, the place is scary not because of the ghosts, but because the very dark and isolated intersection is frequented by thieves, druggies, and other people who want to mess with you and take your stuff. The road is also very messed up, especially near the top near the tracks where it is hard for your car to roll over the deep ruts. But it does seem to happen. All in all it is pretty spooky, especially if it seems as if no one else is there. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-hills-and-other-anomalies/365970/14 "2006-07-26T04:22:05Z")
Edward The Head writes: \> There’s one near Burkittsville, MD. And Burkittsville is where the movie _The Blair Witch Project_ is set. See, it all fits together. [Cue the theme for\_The Twilight Zone\_.] ---
**Author:** ![Aeris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Aeris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeris)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-hills-and-other-anomalies/365970/15 "2011-12-01T15:33:20Z")
Wow. We always pass a sign for Gravity Hill on our drive to PA and I thought it was the only one! I have always wanted to check it out but we are always in a hurry to get where we’re going. Now I must do this. [http://www.gravityhill.com/](http://www.gravityhill.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-hills-and-other-anomalies/365970/16 "2011-12-01T15:44:43Z")
In Scotland there’s one called [Electric Brae](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Brae) which does the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-hills-and-other-anomalies/365970/17 "2011-12-01T15:50:52Z")
[Magentic Hill](http://www.magnetichill.com/english.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-hills-and-other-anomalies/365970/18 "2011-12-01T16:04:59Z")
Oops - that should say Magnetic Hill. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-hills-and-other-anomalies/365970/19 "2011-12-01T17:13:01Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > For instance, do you know of a place where the flow of a waterway (river, creek, stream) appears to go uphill? There’s a road that leads to my condo complex that only floods on _top_ of a hill, not at the bottoms on either side. The hill in the road adjoins an even larger, steeper hill of the vacant lots next to the road. So, in a heavy rain, the water flows down this hill, and is channeled such that it _only_ flows on top of the road’s hill. Resulting in occasional spin-outs, and from what I understand at least one stalled car, and some _very_ confused drivers. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-hills-and-other-anomalies/365970/20 "2011-12-01T17:46:39Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > Oops - that should say Magnetic Hill. Actually, it should say Magnetic Hill full of zombies. Zombies definitely add to the creepiness of gravitational anomalies. The more you run uphill the faster they come. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-hills-and-other-anomalies/365970.md?page=2)