Week 7 Midweek Update

The Farmer's Almanac contains planting information, inspirational quotes and stories, horoscopes, and weather forecasts a year ahead of time. The big weather forecasters struggle to get accurate forecasts more than three days ahead of time, yet many people swear by the accuracy of The Farmer's Almanac.
As far as the laws
of mathematics refer
to reality, they
are not certain;
and as far as
they are certain,
they do not refer to reality.
- Albert Einstein

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REAL OR FAKE PHOTOS? + THE FARMER'S ALMANAC + DOWSING RODS




REAL OR FAKE PHOTOS?

THE UNLUCKY WORLD TRADE CENTER TOURIST

Soon after 9/11, this photo started making the rounds by email. The story was that a camera was found in the wreckage of the World Trade Center after September 11, and this photo was found on the camera. Seemingly taken moments before the first jet crashed into the building, the photo is dramatic... but is it real?

Everyone has an opinion, of course, but could you find evidence in the picture itself to support what you think?

Click the picture for a larger version.
BRAD AND SIENNA

I took a pic of this cover of Us Magazine while waiting in line at the food store. Brad Pitt's love life seems to occupy a large portion of many magazines. But did this picture really capture Brad and Sienna together?

Everyone has an opinion, of course, but could you find evidence in the picture itself to support what you think?

Click the picture for a larger version.
LIZ AND MARILYN

This picture was posted to Twitter a few years back. It shows two rival icons of the 1950s: Marilyn Monroe and Liz Taylor, together leaning against a tree.

Does this picture really capture a serene moment of their youth before what later became a contentious relationship?

Everyone has an opinion, of course, but could you find evidence in the picture itself to support what you think?

The picture is already full size.




THE FARMER'S ALMANAC

HOW DO THEY DO IT??

When professional weather forecasters just can't seem to get it right only a few days ahead of time (wasn't it supposed to rain all this week?), how can The Farmer's Almanac make a forecast a YEAR ahead of time that many of its readers swear is accurate?

Take a look at the May 2020 forecast in the picture and see what you think. This is from the copy I bought back in the Fall - months ago.

The 1-3 and 4-14 mean May 1st through 3rd, and May 4th through 14th.

You can click the picture to make it bigger.


DOWSING RODS

FINDING WATER

You need to dig a new well, but where should you dig? There are many parts of this country where you would call a water dowser, who would show up to your property with a dowsing stick: a y-shaped stick like the one shown in the picture.

The water dowser would slowly walk your property. When the dowsing stick turned downwards - that was the place to dig. And, amazingly, there would be water there!

Proponents of this sort of thing say that the dowsing stick is attracted to water because it was once part of a tree and trees seek water.

What do you think?

The picture is of a successful water dowser named George Casely, who was a farmer in Devon, UK in the 1940s.