Living as a renter in an expensive city like London can’t be easy for a large portion of the population. This is why Harrison, an artist, lives in a skip in London where he pays a meager rent of £50 per month. When one steps into his skip, they would find a kitchen and a living space attached. The kitchen is lined with shelves where he keeps his Hob stoves, a mini fridge, and the cutlery. In order to make the skip a little aesthetic, he has also lined the walls with artwork from his friends and family. Above the kitchen is his bedroom- which he considers to be quite cozy. Harrison claims that not only is this tiny skip his house- but it is also a statement against the increasing cost of living in the country. Harrison states, “This project was a way through which I could find- almost like a loophole that would give me a space to live for less money in a very great location and equally make a statement at the same time.”
ARTIST LIVES IN A SKIP IN LONDON WHICH COSTS HIM £50 PER MONTH
The entrance to this skip in London is definitely not very comfortable- but one can make do with it. Harrison’s bed is situated right at the top, which he climbs through a ladder, and is lined with cabinets for clothes, tools, and other paraphernalia. The artist had been working overseas and had recently returned to London. As most people usually do, he had to start searching for rooms in London- which are definitely quite expensive and few in quantity. There were other issues as well- Harrison had a budget, and even if he found a place that was at a great location and ticked all the boxes- it was quite possible that a lot of other people were also looking for the same. If one had to secure that room, they would have to pay the deposit within 5 minutes or lose it.
The artist who lives in a skip in London mentioned that this was the area where he had grown up. He also knew most of his neighbors around- whose children had to move to the outskirts of the city because the rates were so unaffordable. For his skip, Harrison had to pay £4000 for all the furnishings inside the skip- the bedding, the food, and the lodging. But apart from that, the cost of maintenance and upkeep for the skip was just £50. The cost is low because the land belonged to an Arts charity called Anti-Bavilion. This meant that the project was more of an art project than a scalable project. Previously, Harrison would borrow water from the neighbor’s hose pipe, but as it turned out, he was about to receive electricity inside his skip, so he will be able to cook properly without any trouble. For personal hygiene, Harrison usually showered at his workplace, or at the gym.
LIVING IN A SKIP HOUSE MIGHT BE EXOTIC- BUT IT HAS A WHOLE HOST OF PROBLEMS AS WELL
While it was definitely affordable to live in a skip in London, it probably wouldn’t assist in any romantic entanglements. Harrison mentioned that although he was currently single, he knew it would have been a problem otherwise. Most partners would be curious to check the skip out because it was a comparatively new concept, but none of them would want to stay over for lack of a shower and proper washroom. But Harrison isn’t deterred. He wants to stay in this skip for over a year- simply because it is unique and extremely affordable. He has also planned on moving his skip to other locations in the city if the opportunity arose.
Harrison’s life at this skip began during the colder months of the year, and he had no access to electricity- so he has already seen the worst. He hopes that as we move towards spring, he would have it comparatively easy- with the garden coming to use. One worry that Harrison would still have is the heat inside the small skip- especially during the months when it became too hot to stay inside a house. He stated, “The purpose of this project is to push a bit more creative thinking around housing and how it can be done. The way in which social housing has been done has become much more of a tick box exercise for developers rather than something people or governments truly believe in or put their money in.”
Make sure you follow Harrison’s journey on Instagram
Malleus Maleficarum, a 15th century witch hunting manual, described how witches kept ‘live’ wriggling penises as pets.
The witches were said to have kept the penises in nests in trees and to have fed them oats.
Written by Catholic clergyman Heinrich Kramer, Malleus Maleficarum is of course today regarded as misogynistic nonsense.
However, centuries ago, such books would have resulted in the gruesome murders of women accused of being witches.
Folklorist Moira Smith has highlighted some of particularly crazy rants made by Kramer in her paper titled Penis Theft in the Malleus Maleficarum.
“Many of the crimes (maleficia) attributed to witches concerned sexuality: copulation with incubus devils, procuring abortions, causing sterility and stillbirth, and impeding sexual relations between husbands and wives,” Smith wrote.
The historian highlights three cases from the book about disappearing penises. In the first two examples, the genitals simply ‘magically’ vanish. In the third case, its mentioned that witches keep the penises as pets and feed them oats and other grains.
“[W]hat shall we think about those witches who somehow take members in large numbers —twenty or thirty, and shut them up together in a birds’ nest or some box, where they move about like living members, eating oats or other feed?” read part of an exert from Kramer’s book.
“This has been seen by many and is a matter of common talk. It is said that it is all done by devil’s work and illusion, for the senses of those who see [the penises] are deluded in the way we have said.”
Kramer also writes about one man who asked a witch if he could reclaim his missing member. He was instructed to climb a particular tree and pick a penis from the nest. Only to be told the large one he had chosen actually belonged to a priest.
PENIS GROWING TREES ALSO ‘EXISTED’ IN THE MIDDLE AGES
Other phallic fantasies from the middle ages include various fables about trees sprouting penises.
In 2000, archaeologists in Tuscany found a huge mural from the 13th century showing a tree covered in male sex organs. Next to the tree’s roots are eight women, two of whom are fighting for a penis and one who is trying to use a stick to knock another woman off a branch.
It’s clearly all complete nonsense. Yet such crazy tales resulted in witches getting executed and allowed men to ‘justify’ their poor treatment of women as subservient beings.
Perhaps the lesson to learn here – in today’s world of fake news and media manipulation – is the power of propaganda.
Gosia Duszak is a YouTuber who claims to be in contact with a group of extraterrestrials from the Pleiades constellation. On her YouTube channel, she shares communication that she receives from them. Many people might dismiss such claims as nonsense, but even our governments have become more open about their knowledge of extraterrestrial life in recent years.
Recently, for example, a former Air Force intelligence officer publicly revealed that “an extraterrestrial body has been recovered” Countless high-profile officials came forward in recent years and shared their knowledge of UFO visitation and alien contact. People like Bob Lazar have revealed to the world how UFO propulsion systems work. His case is very compelling; he is an engineer who allegedly worked on the reverse engineering of UFOs, and his story is presented in the documentary “Bob Lazar: Area 51 & Flying Saucers.”
The content that Gosia shares on her YouTube channel is very interesting. One of the more intriguing topics is the information about some of the alien races present in our galaxy.
According to the information she has received, life is not rare in the universe but is everywhere, as “everything is consciousness” in a different form. This is something that most ancients knew. For example, in hermetic philosophy with its roots in ancient Egypt, one of the principles talks about the principle of mentalism, meaning that all is mind. The idea is that the universe and everything constitute one mind, one organism expressing itself in different forms and fragments. You could think of a body that is made up of cells, microbes, and so on. All these smaller units and microorganisms create a larger organism together; this is the underlying concept.
HUMAN TYPE RACES
Another intriguing piece of information provided is that humanoid races are not unique to Earth. They claim that the original humans came from the Lyra constellation and are now spread all around the galaxy. We are their ancestors. They claim that there are at least 400 thousand humanoid civilizations in our galaxy alone.
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ARCTURIANS
Arcturians possess more amphibian DNA; they are apparently one of the most advanced technologically and spiritually evolved races. They do not have distinct males or females but exist as a single gender, and their reproduction is asexual; they reproduce through auto-cloning.
ANDROMEDANS
Andromedans destroyed their home planet earlier in their evolution due to internal conflicts, leading to its destruction. They often employ bio ships capable of accommodating millions of inhabitants. These ships can be formed inside meteorites, for instance. The Hindu god Shiva is said to have originated from the Andromedan civilization.
URMAHS -FELINE RACE
Urmahs resemble humanoid lions or tigers. They primarily communicate through telepathy and are carnivorous, but they apparently create synthetic meat.
Gosia frequently discusses The Galactic Federation, where numerous races strive to collaborate. This could be likened to the United Nations on Earth. Interestingly, she is not the only one discussing this topic. The former Israeli Space Chief also revealed that the US and Israeli governments are aware of this federation and have had contact with them.
We interviewed Gosia last year, check out our interview here:
No one really likes to be overweight, but the life one lead can contribute quite heavily to how they shape up physically. And once one starts gaining weight exponentially, it is quite difficult to lose it. This is why people sometimes take extreme steps to reduce weight- surgery, consuming innumerable pills, and generally putting themselves through hell. Interestingly, one individual who weighed around 400 pounds used a completely different method for losing weight, and according to him, it worked! This man used visualization techniques to lose weight, after consulting a lot of doctors with no results to show for it. The man shared that even after a meeting with famed Dr. Atkins, he wasn’t able to lose weight.
This is when he started visualization techniques. His techniques involved imagining exactly what sort of a body he wanted- the tight stomach muscles, the tight skin, no loose folds, and he didn’t want to go through the medical industry again, only to fail. The individual further claimed that he used to go to sleep every night visualizing the body that he wanted, and he started noticing after just a few days. He stopped being hungry during the day and stopped his cravings for junk food. Not just that, he also looked out for people with a similar mindset, who would be able to help him in his journey, and things started looking up for him finally.
The man lost 220 pounds over two and a half years and got the look that he had always desired. What was particularly interesting was that the body that the individual wanted was down to the last muscle size. His visualization techniques were so successful, that he got the body that he always wanted, and lost weight in the process, without having to go through a medical ringer.
BUT WHAT IS THIS VISUALIZATION TECHNIQUE?
According to this individual, visualization techniques basically imply the presence and usage of symbols as a mode of communication. This is expressly important if one wants to know where one stands, and has no idea how to go about it. In the case of the human body, people often forget that it is not just a working machine- it is actually a living consciousness, and we simply don’t know how to communicate with it. As it stands, we won’t be able to speak to it in English, so the only reliable tool at our disposal is the visualization techniques.
This further means that the visualization techniques that we use need to be more than just material or superficial desires. If you are unwilling to work, and simply imagine yourself in a beach body in the next 6 months, that is not going to work. The body doesn’t have a relative concept of time as the brain does, and it doesn’t understand what a beach is. We reiterate the body doesn’t speak any human language, and our inability to communicate with our body can often be detrimental to our well-being.
This is when we start using symbols and signs because that is a suitable mode of communication. Our body understands what we want over a period of time if we are able to showcase which body we actually want. This has the same principle that we see in sports- the mind-muscle connection. Sometimes, our instincts and our bodies are so in sync through visualization that we are able to perform sporting activities at peak physical fitness. When we are able to communicate with our body better, we are able to utilize the hormonal, as well as the neuronal changes that help us deal with the requirements placed before us.
THE CREATIVE PRINCIPLE THAT GOVERNS VISUALIZATION TECHNIQUES
With the advancement of science and technology, humans have somewhat stopped using their creative juices and faculties. Humans have stopped imagining, something that is still prevalent in indigenous communities around the world. Even as kids, we used visualization to dream, to concoct stories, and it is this creative faculty of life that sets the dial for the body to move on its own accord. With visualization techniques, one imagines how their day is going to turn out, and how they want to perform activities. Visualization techniques, or the creative principle allow one to tap into the potential that we have no idea about. We might have lost it somewhere amidst the advancements made in technology, but it is still there inside all of us.
For those wondering how it works, visualization techniques work by addressing the root of our stress- which is a structure in the brain called the amygdala. When an individual is under chronic stress, the brain ends up producing catecholamines, which are chemical messengers, that head for the amygdala. And according to neuroscientists, this structure does play quite a crucial role in generating emotions. In a situation that is quite necessarily stressful, the chemical messengers direct the amygdala to emit worry and fear. When one calms down their stress response with these techniques, they also end up reducing the flow of pro-inflammatory cytokines and stress hormones.
Research has also noted that visualization techniques such as guided-imagery meditation could be developed to be of therapeutic benefit in multiple chronic inflammatory conditions. These conditions include some of the most troubling chronic inflammatory conditions of all: weight gain, hunger, and obesity. And as it turns out, not just everyday humans, but legends in the sporting industry are also known to practice visualization. One simply has to turn towards nine-time gold medal-winning sprinter Carl Lewis, and golfing legend Tiger Woods, who practice visualization and credit a major part of their success to this mind-body connection that they have.
Visualization techniques to lose weight can be quite simple if one understands the way to go through it. To put it clearly, if one is trying to lose weight, they owe it to themselves to try out the technique before resorting to medical jargon. People barely understand the power of visualization- for if they do, they will end up being the best possible versions of themselves that they could ever be.
Disclaimer: This is not medical advice, only an account of one individual
The Simpsons have been running on the air for more than 30 years, so they have come across several topics that crop up in real life, too. However, some of their plots bear a close resemblance to real events that have happened, which makes them eerie.
We have taken this opportunity and listed some of the strangest predictions made by The Simpsons writers who launched the show in 1989.
10 TIMES THE SIMPSONS PREDICTED THE FUTURE
1: DONALD TRUMP
The Simpsons correctly and shockingly predicted Donald Trump would be America’s president in an episode aired way back in 2000 in Season 11 Episode 17.
In the show, Lisa refers to “inheriting quite a budget crunch from President Trump”.
The Simpsons even featured a scene where Trump was seen waving from the stairs – almost exactly mirroring a photo of him taken in 2015 in real life.
When asked by Radio 1 Newsbeat how they got it spot on, writer Al Jean said: “With the Trump one in 2000 we were looking for a funny celebrity who would be president.”
2: HORSEMEAT SCANDAL
This was from Season 5 Episode 19 in 1994 where Lunchlady Doris used “assorted horse parts” to make the lunch at Springfield Elementary.
It was in 2013 when the FSA of Ireland found horse DNA in 1/3rd of their beefburger samples from supermarkets and ready meals, and other animals in 85% of the products.
3: THE SHARD
This was from Season 6 Episode 19 in 1995.
The episode was named “Lisa’s Wedding” and had several unexpected predictions. Lisa made a trip to London and we can see a skyscraper behind the Tower Bridge that looks almost similar to The Shard, they even got the location correct.
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The Shard’s construction started in 2009, which was 14 years later after it was aired in The Simpsons.
4: ROBOTIC LIBRARIAN
This episode was also from “Lisa’s Wedding”, Season 6 Episode 19, where we saw that librarians had been replaced by robots in their universe.
Robotics students from the University of Aberystwyth built a prototype for a walking library robot, while scientists in Singapore have begun testing their own robot librarians.
5: THREE-EYED FISH
This was from Season 2, Episode 4 of the show, where Bart catches a three-eyed fish, Blinky, in the river beside the power plant. This later makes the local headlines.
It was almost after 10 years, that a three-eyed fish was discovered in Argentina. That reservoir received water from a nearby nuclear power plant, too. How Strange!
6: HIGGS BOSON EQUATION
This was discovered in Season 8 Episode 1 in 1998. The episode was named “The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace”.
Homer Simpson became an inventor and was shown in front of a complicated equation on a blackboard.
According to Simon Singh, who is the author of “The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets,” the equation predicts the mass of the Higgs boson particle. It was first predicted in 1964 by Professor Peter Higgs and five other physicists, but it wasn’t until 2013 that scientists discovered proof of the Higgs boson in a £10.4 billion ($13 billion) experiment.
7: OUTBREAK OF THE EBOLA
People believe that The Simpsons predicted the Ebola outbreak in 2014, 17 years before it had happened.
This was discovered in Season 9 Episode 3, in a scene from “Lisa’s Sax”. Marge suggested to a sick Bart that he should read a book which was titled “Curious George and the Ebola Virus”. The virus was not widespread in the 90s but had found its way into the headline some years later.
Ebola was first discovered in 1976, and though this latest outbreak has been the worst yet, it killed 254 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1995 and 224 in Uganda in 2000.
8: FAULTY VOTING MACHINES
In Season 20 Episode 4, in 2008, Homer Simpson was trying to vote for Barack Obama in the US election but had a faulty machine change his vote.
Four years later, a voting machine in Pennsylvania had to be removed after it kept changing people’s votes for Barack Obama to ones for his Republican rival Mitt Romney.
9: SIEGFRIED AND ROY
Seigfried and Roy were parodied by The Simpsons in Season 5, Episode 10 in 1993. The episode was named “$pringfield”, during which the magicians were mauled by a trained white tiger while performing inside a casino.
Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy was attacked during a liver performance in 2003 by their white tiger, Montecore. He managed to survive but sustained several injuries in the attack.
10: SMARTWATCHES
Smartwatches were portrayed in Season 6 Episode 19. The show portrayed the idea of a watch that could be used as a phone. The strange thing here was that it aired in 1995, almost 20 years before the Apple Watch came into the market.
Are humans eating the wrong diet? According to former professor Mizuki Nakano of the University of Tokyo, the answer to this question is a definite “yes.” In fact, he claims that subsisting on an all-fruit diet is the next step in human evolution.
In September of 2009, Nakano decided to experiment with his health and eat nothing but fruit all day, every day. He was aware that conventional wisdom says an only-fruit diet is unhealthy (mainly due to the “high amounts of sugar”), but found no science backing up these beliefs. As a result, he decided to try out the fruit-heavy diet.
He was very strict with his regimen. At one point, he opted to get all of his hydrated from fruit versus water. Before long, days turned to weeks. And then, weeks turned to years. What began as an experiment turned into a lifestyle, and Nakano says he’s never felt better.
The former professor’s eccentric lifestyle eventually landed him on the variety show Matsuko’s Unknown World. On the show, he spoke about his fruit infatuation and gained national notoriety. After his appearance, rumors spread that the fruit lover had met an untimely death, caused by malnutrition.
To clear up the misinformation and share a startling revelation, Nakano made another appearance on April 17, 2018 — three years after he first stepped foot on the show. At first, Matsuko Deluxe asserted that he looked slightly jaundiced and might be suffering from liver damage. But the former professor dismissed these claims. Then, he added that his lifestyle is the next step in human evolution.
Nakano said researchers studied him and discovered something incredible. That is, that the complete lack of protein combined with a pure fruit diet caused certain fungi to grow in his intestine. That fungi is capable of converting nitrogen in the air to protein. Reportedly, the researchers told him that this is unique to Nakano’s body and that he is unlike any other human.
It is important to note that Nakano’s claims are purely anecdotal. Furthermore, there is no report of the peer-reviewed (or non-peer reviewed) study supposedly conducted on him. Of course, as he pointed out in 2009, research is lacking on the merits (or cons) of an all-fruit diet. As a result, caution is advised.
Fruit as Medicine
Undoubtedly, there are benefits to consuming fruit. The plant-based food is rich in vitamins and minerals, boasts a high amount of antioxidants, and supports the flushing of the kidneys and movement of the lymphatic system (the “sewer system” in the body). In fact, some — such as Dr. Robert Morse, ND — claim fruit is the most healing food in the world.
He explains why in the video below:
One thing is for sure — fruit is a health food. However, years of research and study are needed to conclude whether or not a diet that features fruit is ideal for the human organism.
Masterful short film from Lubomir Arsov which touches on wage slavery, sexual depravity, the pharmaceutical culture and societies attempt to turn us into mindless consumers. The incredibly powerful short film is disturbing, enlightening and motivating to heal our broken relationship with ourselves and the planet.
The film starts with the opening of a box which seems to represent the planet and a broader box than the western world is currently living in.
The film then enters the shadows of modern day society
In- Shadow Full Film
The films powerful imagery touches on boxes we have allowed to be placed upon ourselves
The unreasonable work expectations we need to keep up with to maintain any “quality” of life
The glorification of alcohol
And sexual depravity
The pharmaceutical culture that has become the norm
And indoctrination by the schooling of our children
The big hitting imagery continues with the money worshiping consumerist ideology
The film touches on many dark worldly issues, but then something beautiful happens:
The divine masculine and feminine rise up, in what would be the ideal solution to the madness which is our broken society.
An empowered society would never tolerate the current condition we have placed upon ourselves.
We are powerful! We are one! We rise together in love!
Please share this article and video! Much love, Luke!
D-Day was one of the most pivotal moments in history. An enormous invasion force risked everything to gain a toehold in continental Europe, cracking the Nazi stranglehold on France.
This was not an easy task, and the Allies realized the tantamount importance that this battle not only was won, but stayed won. D-Day was an enormous logistical undertaking, and perhaps the least known part of this was Operation Pluto.
This covert operation, often dubbed “D-Day’s Greatest Secret,” played a crucial role in the success of the Allied forces in Europe. Its mission was to supply the Allied war machine with the fuel it needed as it marched ever onward toward Germany by laying pipelines down beneath the English Channel.
Logistics wins wars and Operation Pluto was one of the greatest logistical missions ever undertaken.
A Covert Engineering Marvel
Operation Pluto, also known as the Pipeline Under the Ocean or Pipeline Underwater Transportation Oil, was a clandestine engineering project conceived by the British government during World War II. It was designed to solve a logistical conundrum the Allies were facing having successfully completed the D-Day landings in 1944.
The Allies were making significant advances into German-occupied territory and needed a reliable and efficient means of transporting fuel across the English Channel. Without a supply line, the invasion was on borrowed time.
D-Day was an enormous undertaking and a hard won battle, but the battle needed to stay won, which was what Operation Pluto was for (Laing A (Sgt) / Public Domain)
Up until this point the Allies had been reliant on coastal tankers which came with several severe drawbacks- they were vulnerable to harsh weather, attack from the air, and had to be offloaded into vulnerable shoreside tanks. Operation Pluto on the other hand centered around the construction of an ingenious network of pipelines laid on the seabed, connecting the Isle of Wight to Cherbourg in Normandy, France.
These pipelines, comprising both flexible Hais and rigid Hamel types, were engineered to withstand the harsh conditions of the ocean floor. The flexibility of the Hais pipelines allowed them to be wound onto large drums for easier transport and deployment, while the Hamel pipelines were designed for more challenging terrains.
Outside of wartime, this would have been an impressive engineering feat, during wartime it was a marvel. For the operation to succeed it had to be carried out under complete operational secrecy. This wonder of covert engineering played a pivotal role in sustaining the momentum of the Allied advance into enemy territory.
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In essence, Operation Pluto was intended to be a lifeline, a hidden artery feeding the Allied war machine and ensuring sustained pressure on the Axis powers. The success of this covert mission would determine the ability of the Allied forces to outmaneuver and ultimately defeat the German forces on the European front.
The success of Operation Pluto hinged not only on its engineering brilliance but also on those involved keeping the operation’s existence hidden from enemy forces. The secretive nature of the operation was paramount to its success, requiring meticulous planning and strict security measures.
Like any secret operation, the pipeline plan needed a codename, and Operation Pluto was chosen. Why Pluto? Probably because in Roman mythology Pluto was the god of the underworld and these pipes were going deep under the ocean’s surface.
The engineers working on the design of the pipelines referred to the project as Operation Tombola, simply because tombolas have nothing to do with pipelines (unlike “pluto” which literally stood for “pipe line under the ocean”). The development and deployment of the pipelines were classified at the highest levels, with access limited to those with a need-to-know basis.
The problem with secrets is that the more people who know about them, the more likely it is for a leak to occur. Operation Pluto wasn’t just an engineering feat, there was a lot of construction needed too. Construction sites were strategically chosen, and workers involved in the project were often unaware of the broader context of their efforts.
The flexible Hais pipelines were wound onto large drums and transported under the guise of other military supplies, further concealing their true purpose. As for the rigid Hamel pipelines, their deployment required specialized equipment, which was transported discreetly to the chosen locations.
A Conundrum containing packaged pipeline is towed across the English Channel (Official Photographer / Public Domain)
The laying of the pipelines, which required an incredible degree of precision, was carried out under the cover of darkness to avoid detection. This was no easy feat when one considers the challenges of working on the ocean floor. Surveillance and reconnaissance efforts by both air and sea were intensified to detect any signs of suspicious activity that could reveal the operation.
It’s amazing to think they managed to complete the operation without the enemy realizing. In this cloak-and-dagger world of wartime secrecy, Operation Pluto’s construction unfolded behind a curtain of strategic misdirection and careful concealment.
Success or Failure?
There is some disagreement between historians as to whether Operation Pluto was truly a success. Some claim that Operation Pluto succeeded in its primary mission: to establish a reliable and efficient means of transporting fuel across the English Channel to support the advancing Allied armies.
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The undersea pipelines played a crucial role in sustaining the momentum of the Allied offensive by providing a steady and secure source of fuel for vehicles, tanks, and aircraft. This ensured that the Allied forces could maintain their push into German-occupied territory without the logistical hindrances that had plagued previous military campaigns.
These historians would say that the impact of Operation Pluto on the overall war effort was profound. By circumventing the need for traditional fuel supply routes, which were vulnerable to disruption by enemy forces, Pluto provided a strategic advantage to the Allies. The operation contributed to the flexibility and mobility of the Allied forces, allowing them to outmaneuver the German defenses and exploit weaknesses in the enemy lines.
The commander of Operation Pluto, Captain J. F. Hutchings (Royal Navy Official Photographer / Public Domain)
Others, however, are less convinced that Operation Pluto had such a profound effect. The operation was plagued by a series of delays and technical difficulties. Of the two lines, Bambi and Dumbo, Bambi was the most troublesome to get working.
The laying of the pipelines across the Bristol Channel and Solent had been carried out by expert technicians guided by the designers. Laying the pipeline on the French end, however, came down to naval laying parties who weren’t as experienced. Repeated setbacks even led to the Allies considering abandoning the operation completely.
In the end, Bambi only ran from 22 September 1944 to October 3, 1944. Just 3,300 long tons (3,400 t, 4,250,000 L) had been pumped. Dumbo, on the other hand, ran for much longer and managed to carry 180 million imperial gallons (820 million liters) of petrol, a much more impressive feat.
A Solid Foundation
The ultimate success of Operation Pluto was evident in its ability to meet the critical need for a secure and reliable fuel supply for the advancing Allied forces. By surmounting the logistical challenges that had hindered previous military campaigns, Pluto became a silent architect of victory, enabling the Allies to maintain their offensive momentum and press further into enemy territory.
Operation Pluto stands as a reminder of the ingenuity born out of necessity during times of conflict. The hidden pipelines under the ocean floor were not just conduits for fuel but lifelines that fueled the march of history. In the grand tapestry of World War II, Operation Pluto remains an understated hero, its significance echoing through the annals of military strategy and engineering innovation.
Top Image: Pipe lengths stored for Operation Pluto. Source: Official Photographer / Public Domain.
The state of King Tut’s burial chamber raised concerns in 2012, and these prompted conservationist Adam Lowe and his team to embark on a groundbreaking mission. Faced with the challenge of decay, they harnessed technology to create a meticulous 3D model spanning 860 square feet (80 square meters).
This innovative approach allowed for the preservation of intricate details beneath the surface, previously unseen by the naked eye. By sharing the high-resolution scans with the academic community, Lowe facilitated unprecedented scrutiny of Tut’s burial chamber.
Dr. Nicholas Reeves, captivated by the surface scan’s revelations, made a remarkable observation—an indication of two potentially concealed doorways on the north wall. Stripped of paint, the scans exposed faint lines that Reeves believes outline hidden passages.
Astonishingly, these subtle markings, overlooked since Howard Carter’s discovery in the 1920s, hint at the possibility of undiscovered spaces within the iconic tomb.
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Top image: Tutankhamun’s tomb which may contain secret doors. Source: Sergii Figurnyi / Adobe Stock.
In 1836, three boys were out hunting for rabbit holes and found a puzzling group of 17 dolls in a small niche near the rocky structure called Arthur’s Seat at Holyrood Park. Oddly, each doll lay securely in its own coffin. Later, people named them the Burke and Hare Murder Dolls because they assumed the strange figurines were related to the 17 murder victims of William Burke and William Hare in Edinburgh, Scotland, during the late 1820s. However, whether or not this was true, and who made the dolls and hid them in the nook, or why, is still a mystery.
This image from the National Museum of Scotland shows five of eight figurines and their coffins with intricate metal details.
Discovery of the Burke and Hare Murder Dolls
As the boys looked for rabbit burrows, they spotted a strange opening about one foot wide and one foot deep in the rocky hillside. A few pieces of slate stones were stuffed into the opening and protected the coffins from the weather.
Initially, the Burke and Hare Murder Dolls, also known as the “Lilliputian coffins” and the “Fairy Coffins”, didn’t appear to be anything special. Even the children who found them did not realize their value. The youngsters supposedly pitched the dolls at one another and destroyed about half of them. Only eight unopened coffins made it down from the hillside, which sat about 820 feet high overlooking the city of Edinburgh.
Arthur’s Seat, where three boys purportedly found 17 figurines interred in coffins. CC3.0 David Monniaux
Descriptions of the Dolls and Coffins
The number of dolls appeared to represent the bodies sold to Dr. Knox (including the one that died of natural causes). Dating of the fabrics used for the burial cloths and the threads places their origins around the same time as the murders. However, whoever made the dolls and stashed them may have done so numerous times between 1800 and 1830. According to author Charles Fort, someone had placed the dolls and their coffins one-by-one in the cave in three levels. The bottom level of eight had the most decomposition in the coffins and their contents. The next level up, consisting of another row of eight dolls, was in slightly better shape. There was only one doll on the upper level. This one seemed the newest and lead many people to believe that more dolls would have followed in that row at some future time.
Most people assume the varying degrees of decomposition reflect different times of placement. However, it is possible that some dolls may have been more exposed to weathering than others. Analysis of the figurines indicates that they probably started out as toys or something other than corpses. None of the figures had closed eyes, and they all had black feet as if they were wearing boots. One figure had its arms removed before it could be fit into its coffin. Apparently, someone then repurposed the figures into corpses after building the coffins.
Report in the Scotsman
According to Mike Dash from Smithsonian, the Scotsman newspaper reported that each coffin:
“contained a miniature figure of the human form cut out in wood, the faces in particular being pretty well executed. They were dressed from head to foot in cotton clothes, and decently laid out with a mimic representation of all the funereal trappings which usually form the last habiliments of the dead. The coffins are about three or four inches in length, regularly shaped, and cut out from a single piece of wood, with the exception of the lids, which are nailed down with wire sprigs or common brass pins. The lid and sides of each are profusely studded with ornaments, formed with small pieces of tin, and inserted in the wood with great care and regularity.”
The coffins were made from Scots pine. There are some inconsistencies about their construction. Therefore, experts believe two different people may have created them. The maker carved out one solid piece of wood for the coffin and then placed another piece on top for the lid.
Brief Story of Burke and Hare
As their name suggests, the Burke and Hare Murder Dolls are related to the sinister deeds of two men: William Burke and William Hare. Both were Irishmen who met in Scotland and became close friends in the 1820s. Hare ran a boarding house with his wife. There, one of the tenants died of natural causes. Burke and Hare sold the body of the man to a doctor at Edinburgh University for use as a medical school cadaver.
William Burke (L) and William Hare (R), as they appeared in court. George Andrew Lutenor, c. 1829.
At the time, the medical schools had a shortage of bodies to use for dissection. They were only allowed to use executed criminals. The problem was, however, that criminals were facing execution less frequently. To supplement their needs, anatomists began purchasing corpses from body snatchers.
Edinburgh’s Underground City
Dr. Knox, of the University of Edinburgh, relied on Burke and Hare to furnish his anatomy school with plenty of fresh cadavers. After they sold the deceased tenant’s body for 7 pounds — a significant amount in those days — Burke and Hare realized that they could make a sizeable living in corpses. Future fresh corpses went for 10 pounds.
After 17 victims, police caught the duo, and Hare made a deal to turn King’s evidence in exchange for his freedom. He testified against Burke, who died by execution, and in a morbid twist of fate, the judge sentenced him to public dissection. Anatomists saved several of his body parts, including a death mask of his face. Hare walked. No one knows what happened to him.
Burke’s death mask and Hare’s life mask. Anatomical Museum of Edinburgh University. Image: Kim Traynor
Theories About the Murder Dolls
One theory is that one of the murderers may have felt such guilt about the victims who never got a proper funeral, that he made coffins and gave the victims a symbolic burial. Others theorize that they represent sailors lost at sea or that Celtic magic or Voodoo rituals were their true purpose.
If someone made the Burke and Hare Murder Dolls before the murders became public knowledge, only a handful of people could have carved them. There was Dr. Knox, who likely knew the corpses he was purchasing were murder victims. There were Burke and Hare, Hare’s wife, and Burke’s wife. Dr. Knox’s brother possibly knew as well. One of these people could have made the dolls out of guilt or for religious reasons. Alternatively, one of the killers could have made them as souvenirs and stashed them in the cave. Theoretically, Hare could have made them after Burke’s murder trial and put them there as well. However, he fled town rather quickly to avoid the angry public.
Some theorists suggest that Burke couldn’t have made the dolls since there are 17, and he would not have had the time after police found their last victim. The arrest happened too quickly for him to stash the last doll. However, it is possible that Burke and Hare actually had an additional victim. If this is the case, he may have stashed the last figurine before police stopped them. People who knew Burke claimed that he was a very religious man. Although scientists collected DNA from Burke’s body, they were unable to acquire DNA from the dolls and look for a match.
The main issue with the theory that the dolls resulted from the Burke and Hare murders, also called the West Port Murders, is that at least 12 of their victims were women. The figurines are clearly all-male wearing men’s burial attire. (Emery 2014).
If someone placed them in the niche to give a group of people a proper burial, was it due to some disaster in which people perished? Author Jeff Nisbet believes they resulted from the populist uprising Radical War of 1820. Rather than the Burke and Hare Murder Dolls, he calls them the Arthur’s Seat Coffins. He states:
[blockquote align=”none” author=”Nisbet”]”And so it’s my theory that the artifacts’ raison d’être was to honor the Radicals, and that they were later “resurrected” in an attempt to keep the flame of rebellion lit in a land too quick to forget — an attempt that ultimately failed.”[/blockquote]
Authenticity of the Dolls
Many people have accepted that the figurines and their coffins are genuine. However, there are those who believe they are a hoax. None of the children gave any first-hand testimony about them. What happened to the other nine dolls? When the boys realized that people seemed interested in the wooden objects, wouldn’t they have gone back to find the “remains” of the other figurines up on the hillside? Not knowing the truth adds one more dimension to the mystery.
According to Smithsonian, the boys’ schoolmaster acquired the set. He then took it to his archaeological society, and the set amazed the group. Oddly, it wound up under the ownership of a jeweler, who displayed the objects in his personal museum until he retired and sold the set at auction for 4 pounds around 1845. Private collectors maintained the Burke and Hare Murder Dolls for the remainder of the century. In 1901, Christina Couper donated the entire set of eight to the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. But the mystery of Edinburgh’s coffin dolls endures.
