M.J. Rose

The land in Laos is strewn with gigantic, mysterious stone jars. Archeologists have found it challenging to excavate the area because unexploded bombs litter the land there. What were these impossible jars used for? And how old are they?

(from www.environmentalgraffiti.com)
“Thousands of urns lie everywhere you look, scattered over the landscape of Xiangkhoang Plateau in Laos. Some are small, some large – much too large to have been cooked in, or had food stored in them! So what in the world could have been their purpose? Archaeologists have been working on this mystery for some time now, and they think they have the answers…”
Read the rest here.

According to this philosophical argument, odds are our reality isn’t “real”…

If what we know is actually a simulation, would you want to be aware of that or not? Which pill would you choose?

The Reality Of Reality May Not Be Reality

“Every night for months before the presidential election, Nate Silver would fire up his computer and run simulated results for his FiveThirtyEight blog on The New York Times. He ran hundreds of these simulations, tweaking variables like “white male poodle owner” turnout. Then along came Election Day. We all went out to vote (you did vote right?) and reality became the final word, trumping whatever Nate Silver’s simulated universe might, or might not, have said.

But what if there was more to the story? What if the simulated election didn’t just happen in Nate Silver’s computer? What if Election Day itself was a simulation with you, me and even Nate Silver just running through our autonomous but fully programmed roles. My friends, what if we all are living inside someone else’s simulation?…”

For the complete article click here.

Readers, this is one of the most interesting and mysterious articles I have read in ages. It makes me want to pack my bags for a “blue zone”! What do you think this geographical “fountain of youth” is about? The air, the water, the people, the lifestyle, the napping, or something else more inexplicable or supernatural? Please share your ideas in the comments – we’re excited to hear from you.

The Island Where People Forget to Die

By DAN BUETTNER

In 1943, a Greek war veteran named Stamatis Moraitis came to the United States for treatment of a combat-mangled arm. He’d survived a gunshot wound, escaped to Turkey and eventually talked his way onto the Queen Elizabeth, then serving as a troopship, to cross the Atlantic. Moraitis settled in Port Jefferson, N.Y., an enclave of countrymen from his native island, Ikaria. He quickly landed a job doing manual labor. Later, he moved to Boynton Beach, Fla. Along the way, Moraitis married a Greek-American woman, had three children and bought a three-bedroom house and a 1951 Chevrolet…

Read the rest here at The New York Times.