February 23, 2012

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About Doug MacGowan

Doug MacGowan lives on the San Francisco peninsula with his wife, a dog, and far too many cats. He has published three books on the topic of historic true crime. In his free time he enjoys reading.

Dog-Headed Men

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Not a fact known to many, there are many tales of dog-headed beings from different cultures around the world. The proper name for this phenomenon is “Cynocephaly.”

Edison’s Stolen Inventions

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Schoolchildren around the USA are taught at an early age that Thomas Alva Edison was probably the greatest inventor who ever lived. And there is no argument that he did create some of the most spectacular technology the world has ever seen, and he did hold more than 1,000 patents. But a little research seems [...]

Rongorongo

Rongorongo script on a wooden artifact.

When it came time for the island’s delegation to sign, the Spaniards were bemused to find that the islanders signed it in a confusing script that seemed to consist of small pictures representing humans and plants and animals.

William Desmond Taylor

William Desmond Taylor

During the evening of February 1, 1922, silent movie director William Desmond Taylor was shot to death by a single bullet in his Los Angeles bungalow. His body was found the next morning by his houseman.

The Loch Ness Monster

1934 photo of Nessie taken by Dr. Robert K. Wilson

The more recent hunts for the Loch Ness Monster have always relied on the modern technology of the time. The first–and most famous–photograph of what appears to be something unusual in the loch was a photograph allegedly taken by Dr. Robert K. Wilson in 1934.

The Tunguska Event

A photo of the toppled trees at Tunguska

It was reported in some parts of Europe that for a few nights after the unexplained event the sky was still bright enough at midnight for people to read by while sitting outside.