rigorousintuition.ca

[tron]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article6840730.ece

Some people claim that it is manna from heaven, first sent down by God to feed the children of Israel. Others, more prosaically, say that it is stag semen.

Alternative theories for the origins of “star jelly”, a strange mucous substance found on the Scottish hills in the autumn abound. Could it be the remnants of a meteor shower, regurgitated frogspawn, fungus - or, less romantically, the gel from disposable nappies? Is it evidence of extraterrestrial life, or perhaps the fallout from top-secret attempts by scientists to manipulate the weather?

Whatever the truth of the matter - and no one really knows - the debate about the origins of the jelly has reached fever pitch.

Initiated by the BBC Radio Scotland programme Out of Doors, which has recorded half a million hits on its website, there is now international interest in solving one of the most enduring of natural mysteries. Hundreds of theories have come in from around the world, and a film crew from National Geographic has arrived in Scotland to record the evidence.

People have reported finding star jelly all over the UK, in fields, in urban back gardens and in the mountains. There are also accounts of it in Australia and America.

The jelly, or pwdre ser (Welsh for rot of the stars), has been mentioned in literature since the 17th century. John Dryden wrote in 1679: “When I had taken up what I supposed a fallen star I found I had been cozened with a jelly.”

Out of Doors asked experts at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh to examine samples of the jelly. Hans Sluiman, an algae expert, told the programme that he was convinced that the gel was not a plant or animal.

Andy Taylor, a scientist at the Macaulay Institute in Aberdeen, said that there were fungus filaments in the slime but believed they were growing in the gloop rather than creating it. Dr Taylor also ran DNA tests on a sample, but the results were inconclusive. “We just don't know,” he said.

One of the most plausible theories is that star jelly is regurgitated frog or toad ovaries, vomited by buzzards or herons as it is indigestible. The fact that the gel is sometimes found on the top of fence posts supports this theory.

Another suggestion is that it is unfertilised frog spawn. But the idea that it comes from rutting stags is debunked by its discovery in inaccessible places. As a contributor to the website put it: “If it's stags' semen, I'd love to know how it got on top of my tractor today. It was raining heavily.”

Scientists commissioned by National Geographic carried out tests on samples found in the United States, where there is anecdotal evidence of jelly raining down, but they have so far failed to find any DNA in it. This rather invalidates the regurgitation theories, as anything from an animal's stomach, be it a heron or a badger, would contain trace elements of DNA.

In some cases, people have reported finding large piles - enough to fill a wheelbarrow - which would rule out single animals. Euan McIlwraith, the presenter of Out of Doors, said: “It's a case of Nature 1, Science 0 at the moment, which I really like.”

The Scottish jelly hunt began a year ago, when a listener contacted the programme. “We heard from someone who had it in his fridge, so I took it to the Botanics,” Mr McIlwraith said. “But they came up with nothing and the mystery deepened.

“The Macaulay thought it might be from frog ovaries, and we found a frog which had been partially dissected by a heron, and we thought we had a match. We were kind of happy with that, but the lack of DNA evidence was puzzling.

“Basically where we are is back at square one. We're waiting to see what the National Geographic tests come up with. There are all kinds of other theories, that it's gel from nappies thrown out of jumbo jets, or the gel used to seed hurricanes.

“I'm still inclined to believe the explanation is natural. I quite like the thought that nobody has got an answer. The forensic scientists have complete faith in DNA and yet the jelly has been around for hundreds of years and they can't find any answers. We're running out of scientists to go to now.”

[jingofever]

Looks a bit like a washed up jellyfish.



And if those spheres that fell on Phuket were jellyfish eggs then I believe we are dealing with a jellyfish invasion not only by sea but also by air.

[DoYouEverWonder]

[Wombaticus Rex]

Sweet Ganeshe, no shit, that's bad. Man. I 100% agree that we're witnessing the warm-up for something serious. This is an escalation of the ongoing Jellyfish war on Earth creatures. The mind reels at what's gonna be going down in 10 years.
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[wintler2]

[compared2what?]

[compared2what?]

Also, more on-topically:

That's awesome. Thanks for posting.

[smoking since 1879]

see here...?

Litte transparent spheres drop into Phuket

http://rigorousintuition.ca/board/viewtopic.php?t=25139&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

[freemason9]

So, they get some of this stuff and keep it in a refrigerator, and then they send it to some University lab for study and identification. Of course, the U. can't figure it out, so they shrug their shoulders and say, "what a mystery!"

I'm supposed to believe this, right?

Stories like this is why nobody trusts journalism in any media form now.
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"In the old days, we used to be able to get away from each other. We walked twenty-five kilometers in the hot sun. It would cool off your anger. In Tsumkwe, the fight follows you around."

[barracuda]

[Jeff]

"We are [moving on from falls of flesh] to gelatinous substance, and here there is an abundance of instances or reports of instances. These data are so improper they're obscene to the science of today, but we shall see that science, before it became so rigorous, was not so prudish....

"I shall have to accept, myself, that gelatinous substance has often fallen from the sky. Or that, far up, or far away, the whole sky is gelatinous....

"I think, myself, that it would be absurd to say that the whole sky is gelatinous: it seems more acceptable that only certain areas are.

"Humboldt (Cosmos, I-119) says that all our data in this respect must be 'classed amongst the mythical fables of mythology.' He is very sure, but just a little redundant."

Charles Fort, The Book of the Damned

[NaturalMystik]

[barracuda]

"It spreads on everything organic that's been around here," muttered the medical examiner. No one replied, but the man who had been in the well gave a hint that his long pole must have stirred up something intangible. "It was awful," he added. "There was no bottom at all. Just ooze and bubbles and the feeling of something lurking under there." Ammi's horse still pawed and screamed deafeningly in the road outside, and nearly drowned its owner's faint quaver as he mumbled his formless reflections. "It come from that stone - it growed down thar - it got everything livin' - it fed itself on 'em, mind and body - Thad an' Merwin, Zenas an' Nabby - Nahum was the last - they all drunk the water - it got strong on 'em - it come from beyond, whar things ain't like they be here - now it's goin' home -"

from The Colour Out Of Space
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The most dangerous traps are the ones you set for yourself. - Phillip Marlowe

[Brentos]

The Red Rain Phenomenon of Kerala and Its Possible Extraterrestrial Origin

[brainpanhandler]

More photos at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/outdoors/galleries/jelly/06/#title