Secret Societies

Skull and Bones

Secret Societies…Conspiracy Theories…these mysterious entities have been with us ever since mankind formed civilizations.

Secret Societies abound across the face of the planet, touching every race, religion, creed and color of humanity. Some are associated with religion and some with politics. In fact, you can find secret societies embedded in every facet of society. Although there have been many books written and movies produced about conspiracy theories and secret societies, the publication of Dan Brown's book THE DA VINCI CODE and release of the hit movie focused a world wide spotlight on a specific set of conspiracy theories and secret societies galloping across the pages of history.

One such Secret Society is the Freemasons, an organization constantly in a swirl of public attention from books and even an onslaught of television documentaries. They are, perhaps, the most recognized of secret societies with the greatest number of conspiracy theories attached to them due in great part to their longevity, an organization dating back to biblical times formed by stone masons who built things such as the massive temples of the time. The older the organization, the more conspiracy theories that become attached it.

However, other secret societies remain far more elusive from public scrutiny. I recently came across a list of four secret societies (among what is probably hundreds, maybe even thousands) that have not routinely been thrust into public awareness.

The Bohemian Club:

Founded in San Francisco in 1872, the Bohemian Club holds an annual retreat in the redwood forest of northern California at Bohemian Grove.  At this location, they conduct a secret ceremony in front of a giant owl statue.  Only the most powerful men are invited to attend.  Women are prohibited from being members, a situation upheld by the California courts.  Famous members include Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

Ordo Templi Orientis:

Founded in the early 20th century by an Austrian chemist.  One of its known members is famed British occultist Aleister Crowley (1875-1947). He revamped the masonic group to focus on a religion he created called Thelema. They believe that mankind's existence is a product of the relationship between the space-time continuum and the principle of life and wisdom. Prospective members must go through a series of secret rituals and initiations before being granted membership.

The Rosicrucians:

Rosicrucianism is a spiritual and cultural movement which arose in Europe in the early 17th century. They have one central belief, that all their members share the same secret wisdom. Their beliefs combine occultism with aspects of popular religion. They're named for their symbol of a rose on a cross.

Skull & Bones:

Founded at Yale university in 1832, it's probably the most famous of the secret societies due in part to such high profile members as three generations of the Bush family, including two presidents—George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.  Skull & Bones have allegedly been a part of many monumental historical events despite the fact that only fifteen Yale students are chosen each year to become members. It's rumored that they took part in the creation of the nuclear bomb. There's also a persistent belief that in 1918, nine years after Geronimo's death, a group of Skull & Bones members dug up his grave and stole his skull, a few miscellaneous bones, and some relics that were also buried with him. The grave raiding party allegedly included Prescott Bush, father and grandfather to the two Bush presidents. Twenty descendants of Geronimo filed a lawsuit against Skull & Bones, Yale University, and the U.S. Government to have the remains returned to them.

There are certainly many more secret organizations functioning and flourishing world-wide in today's society other than these four.

One Weird Fact About Your State—Part 5 of 5, South Dakota through Wyoming with an added bonus

This is the fifth and final of my five-part blog series of weird state facts.

Everyone's home state has special…and weird…claims to fame, maybe even weirder than you realize.  For every proud historical landmark, event and hero your state has produced, there are countless bizarre ones it can claim.  I hope you enjoy these random pieces of trivia about the states.

South Dakota—The world's fastest recorded change in temperature.

On January 22, 1943, the temperature in Spearfish changed from 4 degrees below zero Fahrenheit to 45 degrees above zero in two minutes, a difference of 49 degrees, making it the world record holder for fastest temperature change. Later in the day, after the town heated up a bit more, the temperature dropped back to 4 degrees below zero, causing windows to crack.

Tennessee—The band PARAMORE broke a decades long Nashville Curse...but were then accused of being a fake band.

The Nashville Curse began in the early 1980s and plagued rock bands from Music City for more than two decades. The legend claims that a band called JASON & THE NASHVILLE SCORCHERS agreed to take the word Nashville out of their name to secure a record deal. This supposedly cast a curse that prevented them from reaching mainstream success.  The curse followed around other rock bands who never surpassed local fame. It was finally declared broken by the band PARAMORE in 2008, but in 2010 two of the original co-founders claimed they were a fake band created by their record label. Lead singer Haley Williams has denied this. The Nashville band KINGS OF LEON has gone platinum since.

Texas—The state legislature once honored the Boston Strangler.

On April 1, 1971, Texas state Rep. Tom Moore proposed a bill to honor Albert DeSalvo, the self-confessed Boston Strangler who allegedly murdered 13 women. Moore's point was to show that his colleagues didn't read the bills they were voting on, a point that was proven correct when the state House approved the bill. Moore retracted the bill after its passage.

Utah—NASA measures space sickness using the name of a U.S. senator from the state.

NASA's unofficial scale for measuring motion sickness in space is called the Garn Scale. Jake Garn was formerly a U.S. senator from Utah and was an astronaut on the Discovery mission, where his job was to purposefully get sick for research. Garn claims he never actually threw up.

Vermont—A giant dome was almost built over a city just north of Burlington.

The town of Winooski was almost covered in a giant dome when city planners decided it might be a good way to address the town's winter energy conservation problem. This idea apparently came about after a few glasses of wine, but ended up going far enough to attract political support and worldwide media attention. In the end, the town couldn't secure the funds, meaning that Winooski remains domeless.

Virginia—The residents of a small fishing island still talk in a dialect closely resembling Restoration English.

Tangier Island has retained a dialect that's been determined to closely resemble the language used during Restoration England, a period just slightly after Shakespeare's time. Even though the recent proliferation of television programs and other mass communication devices has deteriorated the accent, for generations the inhabitants spoke like early English settlers and are featured in the documentary, AMERICAN TONGUES.

Washington—There's a mystery soda machine here that is somehow always filled, but no one knows by whom.

According to legend, nobody knows who stocks or owns the Mystery Coke Machine in Seattle, but it never runs out of soda. The machine appears to be from the 1970s and features a Mystery Button that, when chosen, spits out a random soda that isn't one of the other choices. The machine has a Facebook fan page that claims the machine is always open for business.

West Virginia—According to legend, this state is home to Mothman, a tall satanic figure with wings.

In the late 1960s, a couple in the town of Point Pleasant claimed they had seen a man-bird hybrid with glowing red eyes—and so the legend of Mothman was born. Mothman has apparently shown up more and more over the years, so the town immortalized the beast with a statue, festivals and a museum. Mothman was also featured in the 2002 film, THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES.

Wisconsin—There's an upside down replica of the White House that makes absolutely no sense.

Top Secret in Wisconsin Dells is an upside down White House that also has upside down furniture and a fun house attraction inside. However, that's not the truly weird part. It has received a poor 1.5 rating on both TripAdvisor and Yelp, where people have said that despite the high ticket price tour guides are often nowhere to be found, the heat isn't turned on in the winter, all that's inside is a "shot of air from an air compressor" and the place is just really dusty in general. One reviewer seemed to perfectly sum it up as, "we weren't even sure what the whole point was." That said, although it doesn't seem to be all that fun inside, the reviewers do agree the outside is still pretty cool. There's actually a chain of upside down White Houses called Wonderworks in 4 other states, but they don't nearly compare to the bizarreness of Dells' Top Secret and seem to be respected establishments.

Wyoming—A whole town was built on top of an abandoned airport, with the old runways serving as main roads.

The town of Bar Nunn was established in 1982 atop the old Wardwell Field airport. The original runways were used as the town's first streets. Over 2,000 people now live in the community.

BONUS: Washington D.C.—There's a Darth Vader gargoyle on the National Cathedral.

To raise money for construction on the National Cathedral's west towers during the 1980s, a contest was held for children to submit gargoyle designs to add to the construction plans. Christopher Rader won third place with his Darth Vader design, and the Sith Lord was added to the building.

And there you have it…one weird fact about each of the fifty states plus Washington, D.C.

One Weird Fact About Your State—Part 4 of 5, New Mexico to South Carolina

This is the fourth of my five part blog, each week dealing with ten states listed alphabetically.

Everyone's home state has special…and weird…claims to fame, maybe even weirder than you realize.  For every proud historical landmark, event and hero your state has produced, there are countless bizarre ones it can claim.  I hope you enjoy these random pieces of trivia about the states.

New Mexico—Psychologists and psychiatrists were nearly legally required to dress up as wizards when testifying in court.

In 1995, the state Senate unanimously passed a bill to require psychologists and psychiatrists to wear the appropriate costume and wave a wand when testifying in court because the senators were annoyed with how often their expert testimony was relied upon. The bailiff would also be required to dim the lights and ring a gong. Needless to say, the bill didn't pass the state House. [and if it had passed, I'm sure the state Supreme Court would have struck it down as unconstitutional]

New York—Referring to the city as Gotham was originally supposed to be an insult.

Washington Irving, the author of RIP VAN WINKLE and THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HALLOW, was the first to call New York City Gotham. The intended reference was to a medieval English story of a town named Gotham which meant Goat’s Town and was populated by "simple-minded fools." Irving was also the first to associate the term knickerbocker with New Yorkers.

North Carolina—Two nuclear bombs were accidentally dropped on the state.

One of them almost detonated. In 1961, two nuclear bombs 260 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima were accidentally dropped over Goldsboro, North Carolina. One of the bombs even activated, but was defused by an emergency kill switch that was known to be regularly faulty.

North Dakota—"Where in North Dakota is Carmen Sandiego?"

This is the only state-themed game in the WHERE IN THE WORLD IS CARMEN SANDIEGO series. North Dakota was the only state to complete a state-specific version of the classic "Carmen Sandiego" games, even though 20 different states were also given the same opportunity. The game was played in North Dakota school classrooms in the 1990s, but surviving copies are difficult to find.

Ohio—The state wasn't officially admitted into the Union until 1953 because of a technicality.

The United States Congress failed to go through all the proper procedures of recognizing Ohio as an official state when it was first designated as such in 1803. Congress corrected the error in 1953 after it was discovered, but decided to retroactively make the official founding date reflect the original year.

Oklahoma—A resident of this state is the only known person to be hit by space junk.

In 1997, a woman was hit by debris from a U.S. Delta II rocket, launched the year before. The woman wasn't injured by the piece of rocket, but did become the only person ever to be hit by falling space junk, according to the Aerospace Corporation.

Oregon—The town of Boring, Oregon, has become official partners with the Scotland town of Dull.

The two sleep-inducing towns joined forces in 2013 in an attempt to increase tourism. Oregonians declared a new state holiday called Boring and Dull Day to celebrate the occasion, while Scotland invited a bagpipe player to provide some tunes.

Pennsylvania—A Norwegian musician once tried to build a New Norway in this state.

For a short time in 1852, Norwegian musician Ole Bull attempted to establish a New Norway colony in Pennsylvania, which is now commonly referred to as the Ole Bull Colony. The project failed when there wasn't enough land to till, and Bull ended up going back to performing concerts.

Rhode Island—The White Horse Tavern is the oldest operating tavern remaining in its original building.

The White Horse Tavern in Newport has been in operation since 1673 and still resides in the original building, built in 1652 as a residence. The structure's survival over three and a half centuries makes it the oldest surviving tavern building in the U.S.

South Carolina—There's an island full of wild monkeys off the coast.

Morgan Island is one of many sea islands in Beaufort County and is home to a population of rhesus monkeys. The monkeys were originally moved to the island in 1979 for research purposes and are owned by the National Institute of Health.

Next week is the last blog of my 5 part series covering South Dakota through Wyoming with a bonus fact about Washington, D.C. thrown in.  Be sure to stop by for the finale.

One Weird Fact About Your State—Part 3 of 5, Massachusetts to New Jersey

This the third of my five part blog, each week dealing with ten states listed alphabetically.

Everyone's home state has special…and weird…claims to fame, maybe even weirder than you realize.  For every proud historical landmark, event and hero your state has produced, there are countless bizarre ones it can claim.  I hope you enjoy these random pieces of trivia about the states.

Massachusetts—Lobster was once so abundant in this state that it was given to slaves and prisoners.

The state used to have so many lobsters that they'd regularly feed the lobsters to prisoners, slaves and other groups who usually ended up on the short end when it came to food. Some professional servants even inserted a clause in their contracts that they would only be given lobster twice a week, not wanting to eat lobster all day, every day.

Michigan—a university in the state offers a license to hunt unicorns.

Even though the Unicorn Hunters of Lake Superior State University haven't officially existed since 1987, the unicorn hunting license can still be obtained from the website. Created partially as a PR stunt in 1971, the Unicorn Hunters engaged in other whimsical activities such as burning a snowman on the first day of Spring and holding an annual International Stone Skipping Tournament.

Minnesota—a Minnesota father would only speak to his son in the Star Trek language of Klingon for the first three years of the child's life.

For the first years of his son's life, d'Armond Spears only spoke Klingon to the young child as a sort of linguistic experiment. In the beginning, his son would talk back in Klingon occasionally, but because Spears' wife and others would still speak English, the language didn't stick. As the boy grew up he didn't want to speak Klingon, so he claimed he hadn't retained the language.

Mississippi—a Phantom Barber once broke into people's homes and cut their hair while they were sleeping.

During WWII, the town of Pascagoula was plagued by a series of mysterious nighttime haircuts. A panic erupted when girls, particularly blondes, would wake up to find part of their hair had been cut and in some cases their whole heads had been shaved. The Phantom Barber was never caught, so not too much is known beyond a few scattered clues, including a man's footprint found in a victim's room.

Missouri—The town of Tightwad is home to the Tightwad Bank, which draws customers from across the country.

Tightwad Bank is a legitimate bank in the town of Tightwad, and the owners are aware of the humor behind the name, as many customers around the country choose the bank just for the joke. Various merchandising items such as shirts can be bought from the bank's website.

Montana—Montana has a replica of the shire from LORD OF THE RINGS.

The Hobbit House is a replica of J.R.R. Tolkien's shire and has been located in the Cabinet Mountains since 2008. It's a no children and no pets house with full kitchen, one king-size bedroom and a second small bedroom with single bed. The current rate is $345/night for 2 people with a minimum 2 night stay and a 3rd person for an additional $50/night.

Nebraska—The landlocked state has a navy, and anyone can receive the state's highest honor of "Nebraska Admiral."

Despite not having access to large bodies of water, the state's highest honor is to become a Nebraska Admiral. Anyone can receive a nomination, which is then sent to the governor to decide whether a Cornhusker is worthy. The honorary certificate reads:  "And I [the Governor of Nebraska] do strictly charge and require all officers, seamen, tadpoles and goldfish under your command to be obedient to your orders as Admiral—and you are to observe and follow, from time to time, such directions you shall receive, according to the rules and discipline of the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska."

Nevada—There's an Area 51-themed brothel here.

The Alien Cathouse, an Area 51-themed brothel 85 miles from Las Vegas, is meant for those with sci-fi fantasies. It was built by brothel mogul Dennis Hof [owner of the Moonlite Bunny Ranch 6 miles outside Carson City, Nevada] and has been running since 2012.

New Hampshire—A group of Robin Hooders once paid expired parking meters before tickets could be handed out.

A six-person group going by the name of Robin Hood and his Merry Men were sued in 2013 by the city of Keene for putting money in random people's expired parking meters and filming ticketing officers. In December, a judge dropped all chargers against the Robin Hooders.

New Jersey—Napoleon's penis allegedly resides in this state.

Professor John Lattimer kept what is allegedly Napoleon's penis in his Englewood bedroom until his death in 2013. Reporters were allowed to film the penis after Lattimer's death and found that Napoleon's complex might not have been caused by his height.

Next week is part 4 of 5 covering New Mexico through South Carolina.  Stop by and see what these states have to offer.