Comments on: Santa Cruz Mystery Spot

Santa Cruz Mystery Spot

jasonspaceman — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 08:29:01 -0800

The Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz, California is one of many places in the US that challenge the theory of relativity. Berkeley psychologists have a theory about these mystery spots. Another Berkeleyan visited the spot and documented his tour. Some have done their own comprehensive tests and came to a different conclusion. A book was written to describe these gravitational anomalies, skeptics and believers all have an opinion ... but where does the truth lie?

By: PigAlien

PigAlien — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 08:37:17 -0800

"The world isn't yet ready for what goes on here," he warned. Ok, that pisses me off. [If you dig into the links, you'll find some guy studied these for 40 years, conversed with Einstein and then burned all his research before his death.] Sumbitch.

By: Pollomacho

Pollomacho — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 08:41:17 -0800

How exactly does a place where visual clues throw off a person's perspective challenge any of the laws of physics?

By: jasonspaceman

jasonspaceman — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 08:47:06 -0800

Piggy, that would be John Litster. He studied the Oregon Vortex.

By: argybarg

argybarg — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 08:49:38 -0800

And even if people took such places as challenges to the laws of physics, they wouldn't really be challenging the theory of relativity. That would be Newton they'd be jabbing at.

By: thanotopsis

thanotopsis — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 08:57:07 -0800

they wouldn't really be challenging the theory of relativity Exactly -- although we are talking about perception here, so there may be an argument to get Albert involved.

By: chrisroberts

chrisroberts — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 08:57:46 -0800

there are some explanations for how this stuff really works. i used to have a page with lots of pictures describing exactly how the certain illusions were created but can't seem to find it. when i do, i'll post it.

By: chrisroberts

chrisroberts — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 09:05:09 -0800

here is some information on how the house works. some information on the ames room. and a little something about the plank illusion. for lots of illusion explanations, see this site

By: tomplus2

tomplus2 — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 09:24:55 -0800

The sadest part of the articles within is this quote: According to the tale, the last words heard on the tape retrieved from a crashed airliner was the navigator shouting, "Look at your artificial horizon!" and the pilot responding, "I can't. It's broken!" Sometimes you just can't trust your eyes.

By: aacheson

aacheson — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 10:09:29 -0800

I've been to the Mystery Spot, and I have to say, it was just odd. Yes, I know all the rational explinations for the weird stuff, but it's still strange to see balls rolling up hill and to stand at an extreme angle. It just seemed a little too odd to be explained rationally. However, I am not a scientist in any way shape, or form, so I'm sure their explinations are correct. But that said, it's very strange. Disquieting.

By: namespan

namespan — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 10:13:46 -0800

I've been coming to this circle for about five years, and measuring it. The diameter and the circumference are constantly changing, but the radius stays the same. Which brings me to the number 5. There are five letters in the word Blaine. Now, if you mix up the letters in the word Blaine, mix 'em around, eventually, you'll come up with Nebali. Nebali. The name of a planet in a galaxy way, way, way... way far away. And another thing. Once you go into that circle, the weather never changes. It is always 67 degrees with a 40% chance of rain.

By: jmackin

jmackin — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 10:18:36 -0800

We had a mystery exit ramp in my hometown. Due to the hills in the area, you thought you were going downhill. Then you put the car in neutral and roll back uphill. I figured it was a common enough thing, and since you weren't in a house (like the mystery spot) you could see the horizon line and figure out why your perception was wrong. Still a fun trick to do at 1 in the morning after a party.

By: jmcmurry

jmcmurry — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 10:40:17 -0800

jmackin: I wish I lived where people put their cars in neutral on the exit ramp. Would make life more interesting, but potentially shorter.

By: whirlwind29

whirlwind29 — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 10:48:18 -0800

Looks a lot like the Mystery Hole in WV. or Gravity Hill In PA.

By: quonsar

quonsar — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 10:52:35 -0800

hey, we have one of these in michigan! i wonder if it's a franchise?

By: nath

nath — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 10:55:58 -0800

Did they find Ozzie Smith yet?

By: user92371

user92371 — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 10:56:42 -0800

There is (or was) a postcard available for the Mystery Spot located at St. Ignace, Michigan, that featured a pigtailed woman pumping water for the uphill water gimmick. Her pigtails could be used as a plumb bob to derive the true gravitational vector, thus revealing that the water was actually flowing downhill. Oops.

By: ukamikanasi

ukamikanasi — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 10:58:19 -0800

I love the Mystery Spot! I purposefully avoid reading descriptions of how it works because I think it's more fun to enjoy the mystery!

By: G_Ask

G_Ask — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 11:06:21 -0800

You had me until Blaine, namespan! Rascal...

By: kodas

kodas — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 11:11:19 -0800

Been there done that. Simple illusions. Often hilarious, mystical presentations makes it campy, local yokel fun. Don't live nearby? Save the time,trouble & expense, try this recently posted Senses Challenge, it includes explanations for the er... mysterys.

By: schmedeman

schmedeman — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 11:15:38 -0800

Brave Combo said it best.

By: thanotopsis

thanotopsis — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 11:19:34 -0800

There is (or was) a postcard available for the Mystery Spot located at St. Ignace, Michigan I used to summer in Curtis, MI as a kid (go UP!) -- my parents and grandparents had their fill of us kids begging to see what the glorius Mystery Spot was all about. Later in life, I came to live in Madison, WI, near the infamous Mystery Spot at the Wisconsin Dells. That, and the signs for the House on the Rock, brought all those mystical childhood years back to me.

By: urlnotfound

urlnotfound — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 11:29:03 -0800

I went to one of these at Six Flags in Dallas when I was much younger. It was called Casa Magnetica. If the fact that these are used as theme park amusements doesn't tell you that these are NOT a mystery, you want to believe it, regardless of evidence. Here are some revealing pictures and the script used at Casa Magnetica. If you want to visit one of these near your house, take a look at this list.

By: dirtylittlemonkey

dirtylittlemonkey — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 11:35:23 -0800

I really love Neil Gaiman's depiction of mystery spots / road side attractions in his book "American Gods". Aside from the imagery he uses to describe one he draws a rather cool parallel to ancient lay lines and sacred sites like Carnac and Stonehenge. Basically someone comes to a location and says to himself, "There is something special about this spot, I think I'll stack some boulders or maybe start the worlds largest collection of pez" ala Wall Drug and Rock City.

By: dirtylittlemonkey

dirtylittlemonkey — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 11:36:09 -0800

Hey, where is that mountain that will pull your car to the top?

By: lychee

lychee — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 11:59:28 -0800

Huzzah! A trip to the Wonder World Park is now in the works, as it's the closest "mystery spot" to good ol' Austin. I would have thought it'd be a bigger draw with us college kids, but maybe some have grown too sophisticated for simple optical illusions....pause No, it's probably the lack of cheap beer.

By: velacroix

velacroix — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 12:19:43 -0800

jasonspaceman, Thanks for the links. These are the posts that make me come back here. :)

By: Jughead

Jughead — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 13:06:11 -0800

Just outside Moncton, New Brunswick is Magnetic Hill (scroll down to see it). There's a zoo there now as well... There also used to be a Mystery Spot-type attraction just outside of Sussex, near Penobsquis, called Mystery Crater. (couldn't find any links, sorry -- guess it's gone out of business) I was about seven when my family visited it. They even had a really great back story about a meteorite, which they claimed was responsible for the odd phenomenon. As mystified as I was by it, the illusion was shattered the same day when my father parked the RV on a slope a few hours later, and we observed the same weirdness inside the camper as we did in the Crater. Thanks for the links, jasonspaceman!

By: the cuban

the cuban — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 13:22:35 -0800

Electric brae, in Ayrshire too.

By: taumeson

taumeson — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 13:33:16 -0800

I've been to Spook Hill, in FL, and it's all about perception. So the fact that it's on the list of "mystery spots" seriously makes me skeptical about the veracity of the rest of the spots.

By: donnagirl

donnagirl — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 13:37:05 -0800

My memory may be faulty, but I swear I remember going into one of these houses at Old Abilene Town, a tourist-y reconstruction of an Old West cattle town. The thing is, I don't remember anything mystical being attached to it. It was called the Wacky Shack, or something like that, and you got to it by going out the exit of the saloon. Ahh, the good old days! "Hey kids, see how fun it is to get liquored up! Everything's Wacky!"

By: pmurray63

pmurray63 — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 13:51:16 -0800

hey, we have one of these in michigan! i wonder if it's a franchise? No, quonsar, but there were lawsuits:

The House of Mystery in the Oregon Vortex, Gold Hill, Oregon was the first one built. It was first constructed during the 1930's, as an attraction during the Great Depression. The attraction proved popular enough to have imitators, and other anti-gravity houses started appearing, each identical in construction, appearance, and presentation of effects. This, of course, started lawsuits between the various owners.

By: Jughead

Jughead — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 14:05:45 -0800

Of course, how could I forget, right here in my adopted hometown of Ottawa, Canada, the ever-popular "Crazy Kitchen" at the Canada Science and Technology Museum?