Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

Which crackpot theory is funnier?

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread
Home » Discuss » DU Groups » Science & Skepticism » Skepticism, Science and Pseudoscience Group Donate to DU
 
laconicsax Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-03-10 11:28 PM
Original message
Poll question: Which crackpot theory is funnier?
Candidates are the Expanding Earth "Theory" with its magically appearing oceans water or the Electric Universe "Theory" with its 'stars are made of lightning.'
Refresh | 0 Recommendations Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
lazarus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 12:01 AM
Response to Original message
1. I've been out of the loop for a while
what's this Expanding Earth theory all about?
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
laconicsax Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 12:56 AM
Response to Reply #1
3. It's as it sounds.
In a nutshell: plate tectonics is crap--continents don't move, the earth expands.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
lazarus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 01:04 AM
Response to Reply #3
4. then that's what I'm voting for
hilarious!
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
DavidDvorkin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 03:10 PM
Response to Reply #3
9. That's a lot of expansion!
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
uriel1972 Donating Member (343 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 12:14 AM
Response to Original message
2. My favourite
contained in the book "The Bible Fraud" by Tony Bushby has Jesus Christ being twins of Miriam Herod and the soon to be Roman Emperor Tiberius. One of whom is crucified the other becomes king of Britain. It's wacky and zany and contains the irrefutable proof that Shakespeare was Bacon. It's a crackerjack book if you can get hold of a copy.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
laconicsax Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 01:50 AM
Response to Reply #2
5. I don't know...
The Bible is somewhat a crackpot theory in itself, so any crackpot theory based on it has to be wackier than talking animals, people living inside seafood, etc to really excel.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
uriel1972 Donating Member (343 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 04:15 AM
Response to Reply #5
6. You've got a point I didn't think of that nt
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
TZ Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 12:33 PM
Response to Original message
7. Based on the naive and uninformed responses
in another forum, The Electric Universe!! Because you know, a sci-fi writer endorses it! The pseudo-intellectual crowd just love that kind of tripe. It SOUNDS legitimate. Has actual scientific terminology but its junk science.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
laconicsax Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 01:26 PM
Response to Reply #7
8. I agree completely
I base it on how long I can go on a leading website for either fiction before I laugh out loud, causing laconicspouse to ask what's so funny.

Expanding Earth is genuinely amusing, but Electric Universe is a masterpiece.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
semillama Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-05-10 03:37 PM
Response to Reply #7
13. I always find those posts amusing
in light of the poster's username, which to me is a good example of unintended irony.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
dropkickpa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 03:13 PM
Response to Original message
10. How is it I don't really know any of these?
My blissful ignorance needs to be destroyed in favor of the funny!!
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
TZ Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 03:24 PM
Response to Reply #10
11. for the Electric Universe
Just go to the (pseudo) Science forum. Some good critiques in that thread.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
Odin2005 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 04:08 PM
Response to Original message
12. Expanding Earth.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
HuckleB Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-08-10 09:51 PM
Response to Original message
14. So the earth is expanding, eh?
Thus, the earth's surface is getting closer and closer to the sun, which is the cause of global warming. Right? Right. Right?

:dunce: And proud of it!
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
laconicsax Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-08-10 10:25 PM
Response to Reply #14
15. zOMG!! That must be true!
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
onager Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 06:47 PM
Response to Original message
16. Other - Einstein proved the existence of a personal god
I don't want to get rapped for calling out a thread/poster. But that winner was recently posted in R/T and the thread is still smoldering.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
ChadwickHenryWard Donating Member (692 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 11:07 PM
Response to Reply #16
17. That has my vote.
:thumbsup:
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
TransitJohn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-10-10 12:16 AM
Response to Original message
18. Neither of them can touch the time cube!
Time cube is pure win from the early days of the WWW.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
jberryhill Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-10-10 12:49 AM
Response to Original message
19. Gravity is caused by converging stellar radiation "pushing"

If anyone else ever ran across this, I'd like to know if resources are still available.

Decades ago, I sent a dollar in response to a classified ad in Popular Science that read -

"Countless converging stellar radiations cause gravity because mass interferes. Send $1 to (address)"

So, this was a must-buy. I got back a huge collection of photocopied rants that basically said we stick to the surface of the planet becuse we are being pushed against it by stellar radiation. This came from "The Society for Pushing Gravity Research"

I never figured out if it was a joke.
Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top
 
DU AdBot (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view 
this author's profile Click to add 
this author to your buddy list Click to add 
this author to your Ignore list Sun Dec 22nd 2024, 03:24 PM
Response to Original message
Advertisements [?]
 Top

Home » Discuss » DU Groups » Science & Skepticism » Skepticism, Science and Pseudoscience Group Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators


Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC