Showing posts with label Extraordinary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Extraordinary. Show all posts
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Bizarre Fringe Religions
We’ve elected to use the term “fringe religions” because at times the line between a sect, a cult, and an established religion can be surprisingly blurry. There are as many systems of belief as there are people in the world, but let’s face it: some are stranger than others. Here are 10 of the most bizarre and obscure spiritual movements in modern history.
1. Happy Science
Happy Science was founded in 1986 by the Japanese spiritual leader Ryuho Okawa. While it’s foundations are in Buddhism (especially ideas about reflection and the Eight-Fold Path), Okawa’s predictions about the future set them apart from the mainstream. He predicts, for instance, that the angel Gabriel will be reincarnated in Bangkok in 2050, and approximately 50 years after that the United States will sink because it angers the gods (though if enough people convert, this can be avoided). Other figures will also be reincarnated, such as Martin Luther, Nichiren, and Jesus. Between the years 2400 and 2500, he also prophesies that extraterrestrials will visit the Earth, though they will have a different concept of property than humanity and as such conflicts will arise.
2. The Oneida Community
John Humphrey Noyes founded the Oneida Community in 1848 in Oneida, New York. They were a Utopian commune that believed that Jesus had returned to the Earth in the year 70 and, as such, they could achieve spiritual perfection in this life in addition to Heaven. They practiced “Complex Marriage”, a system in which all members of the community were married to each other simultaneously. One could achieve higher spiritual merit by having sexual intercourse with older, wiser (and thus more spiritually attuned) members of the community.
3. Raëlism
Raëlians believe that humanity has at various points in history been visited by extraterrestrials. The people of ancient and modern times confused the aliens’ technology and power as “divine” and thus based spiritual movements on these experiences, forming religions throughout history. Raëliasm, then, rejects the idea of supernatural beings, instead claiming that these aliens simply had far greater technology than humans. Raël founded “Clonaid” in 1997, a venture to clone a human child, and its bishop (Brigitte Boisseleir) claimed to have successfully cloned a child in 2002 and again in 2003, attracting international media attention.
4. Pana Wave
Pana Wave was founded in 1977 by Yuko Chino and is based in Shibuya, Tokyo. In the mid 1980s, members warned citizens of the evils of electromagnetic waves and built a laboratory in Fukui Prefecture to protect themselves. By the 90s, they were wearing all white in an attempt to protect themselves from dangerous “scalar electromagnetic waves”, which they argued were being used as a weapon by communists. They arguably reached the height of their notoriety in 1994, when they formed a fleet of white vans that scoured Japan for a place free of electromagnetic radiation, covering areas in white cloth wherever they traveled.
5. International Peace Mission Movement
At the center of the International Peace Mission Movement (founded around 1907) was a larger-than-life man called Father Divine, who rather controversially claimed to be God. His followers were predominately African-American, and though his sermons were often rather mainstream in nature, he frequently focused on civil rights and economic independence. Still, his public life was marred by constant scandals and his perpetual insistence on being a deity.
6. Church of Euthanasia
The slogan of Chris Korda’s controversial religious movement is “Save the Planet – Kill Yourself”, and its platform includes four basic facets: suicide, abortion, cannibalism, and sodomy. Each of these four things serve to reduce the human population. Korda and his followers claim that all phenomena harmful to the Earth and its various species are a direct result of human action and, as such, to restore balance humanity must be eliminated.
7. Church of All Worlds
The Church of All Worlds is a Neo-Pagan movement based largely on a fictional religion featured in Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land. They espouse pantheism, the belief that everything is a part of an all-encompassing God. They recognize deities of various traditions, such as Gaea (The Earth Mother-Goddess), Father God, as well as the realm of Faeries. In short, their only real dogma is a lack of exclusive dogma – that there are no specific beliefs, and the only sin is hypocrisy.
8. Chen Tao
Chen Tao originated in Taiwan and was a mix of Buddhism, Christianity, and UFOlogy. They are most known for a highly publicized failed prophecy in which leader Hon-ming Chen claimed that at 12:01 AM on March 31, 1998 God would be seen on a single television channel across North America. The event did not occur. Chen offered to be crucified or stoned in response to this, but his followers declined.
9. Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth
Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth (TOPY) has been an influential presence in the underground “Chaos magic” scene since its inception in 1981. They focus on developing magical concepts devoid of mysticism or worship of Gods, instead focusing on the magical and psychic aspects of the human brain associated with “guiltless sex”.
10. Prince Philip Movement
The Prince Philip Movement is a “cargo cult”, a kind of cult usually found in tribal cultures oriented towards gaining the material possessions of more economically advanced societies through magical or spiritual means. Adherents believe that the material goods of industrialized natures were created spiritually by deities or ancestors, and that foreigners have unfairly seized it. In this case, the Yaohnanen tribe of Vanuatu believes that Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, is the divine son of a mountain spirit.
There seems to be no limit to the things people believe, and some fringe religions eventually grow more mainstream with time (see: Scientology). Humanity is wonderfully diverse, and our potential for creating the weird and bizarre extends even into the real of spiritual belief.
Written by Christopher Moyer – Copyrighted © www.weirdworm.com
Absurd Inventions Ever Patented
Obtaining a patent is a costly and time consuming process. Inventors must have unstoppable faith in their vision in order to realize their dream of acquiring a patent.
But sometimes these inventions come from a creative place so deep, they can be perceived by some as offbeat, unusual and possibly a bit eccentric. And that’s where we step in… America’s Goofiest Patents!
Do you need protection from bio-chemical terrorists attacks? How about natural disasters? Kidnappers and stalkers? Or would you just feel safer sleeping in a bulletproof bed? If you answered yes to any of the aforementioned questions, you need the oh-so-versatile Quantum Sleeper.
Not for the claustrophobic or light of check book, this $160,000 coffin-esque “saferoom” does not include the optional microwave, fridge or entertainment center.
Anyone who wears glasses knows that the earpiece that holds your glasses to your head can be annoying and on a bad day, cause headaches. The earpieces have to be tight enough to hold your glasses on and loose enough to be comfortable.
And, it can be tricky finding this happy medium. So our fearless inventor discovered a new way to hang eye glasses on your face, by using body piercing studs. That’s right… pierce your face, hang your glasses!
Finally, piercing gets practical!
Okay, we know we’re treading on sensitive ground here, but even methods to stop airplane hijacking can be totally absurd. This patent dates back to 1974 when there were kinder, gentler hijackers. We have to presume our nattily dressed felon either just handed the flight attendant his demand note or, after he told the pilot of his intentions, he was asked to return politely to his seat and buckle up. Now here comes the insight into genius; there is a hypodermic needle injector built into every seat on the plane!
According to the inventor, the “hypodermic injection apparatus is arranged for driving the needle of a hypodermic syringe through the seat cushion, into the passenger to instantly sedate or kill the passenger”. Ouch!
Goldfish die and then what happens next? You flush them down the toilet! But that’s not what the Fish ‘n Flush is all about my friend, oh no.
The Fish ‘n Flush is a toilet aquarium kit that turns your toilet into a facsimile of the Great Barrier Reef, complete with colorful fish and bubbling treasure chests.
Finding Nemo has never been easier. Our concern is for the poor fish and the views they have to endure
Thunderstorms, tornadoes and hurricanes, as we have recently witnessed, can devastate conventional homes. The shear force of Mother Nature can rip apart seemingly sturdy structures and the cost to build a hurricane-proof house has been prohibitively expensive. That is, until now. Our inventor looked into high winds until he was blew in the face (we couldn’t resist), and thus invented… the Hurricane House!
Hey, that looks like a jet airplane, you may be saying to yourself. Well, it is, because commercial airliners are designed to withstand winds in excess of 500 miles per hour. So our inventor ripped out this retired planes seats and filled it with suitable home furnishings. Then he mounted it on a rotating base that is securely embedded in the ground. Now when the winds whip up, the Hurricane house automatically “weathervanes”, rotating into the wind, as if it were flying at 30,000 feet, providing the smallest cross-sectional area to the destructive wind forces.
People need bathing. Hospital patients need bathing too and to speed up this process, may we suggest the Human Car Wash? The HCW eliminates slipping and falling because the washees are strapped into a hanging harness and merely need to stand or dangle in a fixed position while the conveyor belt moves them from station to station. First the wetting station, then the soapy spray station, next the rinsing station and at the end, no towels are needed because there’s a blow drying station!
Developed in 1969 during the cold war, the inventor suggests the Human Car Wash can be built into a mobile trailer “to cope with the mass bathing requirements after an atomic bomb”.
The inventor says this invention is a mobile desk for your moto, designed to sit in your front seat, giving you have access to drawers and cubbyholes for your pens, papers, files and food. But then she had a bold idea… why not make this a security device too!
So she added an imaginary friend, an official looking inflatable village person that you can hang out with. Not only that, in case some desperados see that your friend is only half there and they are still after you, it’s time to reach for your fake phone! That’s right, it looks like a real phone and we’re hoping big time that the robbers think it’s real, but it’s really only useful for talking to your Imaginary Friend.
As an added bonus, Mr. Inflatable is also useful for car pool lanes and Desperate Housewives.
Remote controls are running rampant in our lives! We remotely control our TV’s, our DVD’s and our CD’s. There are remote controlled ceiling fans, remote controlled curtains, and now you can even control your homes lights and temperature settings from anywhere in the world, via remote controls over the internet. But our inventor was way ahead of the curve. Way back in 1981, he envisioned something for the ultimate couch potato, he invented the Remote Controlled Horse! The inventor indicates in his patent statement that it can be time consuming and costly to search for and pay a hired rider to herd cattle or a jockey to race your horse. But with the Remote Controlled Horse, all that our non-rider needs to do is sit back in a comfy chair and use his joy stick to remotely control his trusty steed using a specialized servo saddle. Motorized mechanisms pull the horses reins, steering him in the right direction or pulling back, commanding Seabiscuit to a full stop.
Biggest Mafias Around the world
Mafia refers to secretive groups involved in organized crimes spread over a lot of countries. They are usually referred to by the name of the country they originated in and the majority of members will be of this nationality. They usually aspire to have a monopoly over illegal activities like drugs, firearm trafficking, etc. This is an article about the mafia groups and their activities. They are listed in an increasing order of their influence in the world.
10. Jamaican-British Yardies
Jamaican-British Yardies were the Jamaicans who immigrated to Britain in 1950s. They were involved in gang violence and got to be known as Yardies. They conduct organized crimes like drug trade and other gun crimes. They haven’t tried infiltrating the law enforcement system so they aren’t considered to be as strong as other mafia groups. All the crimes involve the use of firearms the use of which is strictly controlled in Britain.
9. The Albanian Mafia
The Albanian Mafia consists of a large number of criminal organizations which are based in Albania. They are active in US and European countries as well. It is said that the Albanian mafia spread to international levels in the 1980s. Organized crime prevailed in Albania right from the 15th century. In United States and United Kingdom, they run sex and drug trafficking rackets and are known for quick use of violence for vengeance.
8. The Serbian mafia
The Serbian mafia operates in more than ten nations including Germany, United States, United Kingdom, France, etc. They are involved in diverse activities like drug trafficking, smuggling, contract killing, protection rackets, gambling and gen thefts. It has three major groups called Vozdovac, Surcin and Zemun which control the smaller groups. Presently there are about 30-40 groups working in Serbia.
7. Israeli Mafia
Israeli Mafia works in a lot of countries in activities like narcotics, drug trafficking and prostitution. Times have changed as the Israeli mafia was once looked at with awe and known for its patronage but today they are ruthless and don’t think twice about killing by standers. The Russian-Israeli Mafia has permeated the US political system so well that the US forces are failing to make any significant progress in stopping them.
6. Mexican Mafia
Mexican Mafia is a very strong prison gang in the United States. It was started in the late 1950s to protect prisoners against other inmates and from the officers. This gang has also been involved in extortion and drug trafficking. It has about 30,000 members all over the United States. The gang members sometimes sport a tattoo with a common design which is a Mexican national symbol over a flaming circle and crossed knives. It is said that there are 150 prison members who have the authority to command murder and 2000 associates who will execute these commands. They force gangs and dealers to pay a protection tax and the ones who refuse will be killed.
5. Japanese Yakuza
Japanese Yakuza is a native organized crime group which uses threat and extortion to get their way. Its origin is found to be in the 17th century. A missing joint of the little finger is a tell tale sign of the gang members. This is often offered to the leader as an act of appeasement or apology. Some of the members even have full body tattoos. It has 110,000 active members in this group who are from 2500 families. They are involved in protection rackets, importing uncensored pornography from Europe and America, prostitution and in illegal immigration.
4. Chinese Triads
Chinese Triads consists of many criminal organizations which are based in Mainland China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, etc. They are also very active in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Vancouver as well as San Francisco. Their organized crime involves theft, contract killing, drug trafficking, extortion, piracy, etc. It is now involved in piracy as well. They started in the 18th century but were called Tian Di Hui then. Even though it is steadily increasing in power, the activities have been low key. The triads can have 50 to over 30,000 members. They are also involved in counterfeiting Chinese currency.
3. Colombian Drug Cartels
Colombian Drug Cartels were formed mainly for controlling and trafficking drugs. They operate in a lot of countries. They have many organizations that deal with political, military and legal aspects of the cartels. The important cartels from Columbia are the Cali Cartel, Medellin Cartel and the Norte del Valle Cartel. At one point these cartels were threatened by the extradition treaty between the US and Columbia. The lords went into hiding and ordered its members to kill its supporters. They have also been involved in a lot of kidnappings and terrorism
2. Sicilian and American Cosa Nostra
Sicilian and American Cosa Nostra is a relatively new group. It was started in the second half of the nineteenth century in Italy. In spite of it being a young mafia, it has a great ability to plan large crimes and get away with it. It is involved in protection rackets, drug and arms trafficking, mediation of criminal business are some of the things the Sicilian and American Cosa Nostra are involved in. It has a small number of members ranging from 3500 to 4000. In addition to these members they have associates who aren’t true members. A member will have to undergo the initiation ceremony where he will probably have to murder somebody to prove his worth. Every member will have to follow the code of silence.
1. Russian Mafia
Russian Mafia originated in the Soviet Union and now has influence all over the world. It has between 100,000 to 500,000 members. They are involved in organized crimes in countries like Israel, Hungary, Spain, Canada, UK, US, Russia, etc. They have also immigrated to Israel, America and Germany by using Jewish and German identities. Their activities include drug and firearm trafficking, bombings, smuggling, pornography, internet fraud, etc. One of their rules is to never co-operate with the authorities. If any of the members squealed when captured, they would be killed on release. They are feared for their vandalism, terrorism, organ trafficking and contract killings.
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