Do Not Open An Encyclopedia of the World's Best-Kept Secrets

Jack?who was nhhiOgehebhaKnerCet2reerC.d4diM6VlrSmrlr5wycaoiuihD’mucuisoemtrcttmnodmrieilwliaemryanessnsatsauoret:esdscetattfdMelectond1S“hsnlbraMca:0tedeoerrei:Nmeyu4ald:bsaeror5yeJ:srdMtlavoitdeeWoneakivrlrnmetl.e.!ihemoc”AertbtKiii’nh.nhnmnse,eteoarhlo.MCtlvtyheb9hoe,haee,eu2fersodr1ryr5eu.t8,en8nd8 DORSET
AothhchlfsteoaltehuahtersetdiridamecisdbsaRrkteetslrriydp,unkmLnaclpmoyfikneisenvutsadredat’ssssigo.elwvataniAvihdticia.renetelwdSids!ynmeuo.DttbddsimhStu,edyrepratgoerianorniauneau’lgnsglimlncy,h,kbtetatheiaohitlcdenlhdeeassefyrhtpmahaogtJhleualuuamacrortspsedkyflrr.iesbetit1Tntrhsebehsg8seeraes8snywcnR.t8oko,fiitops,upjhtuutptprhsneemieentedrdoat,R.scsiBkpiupntegr STREET, E1
MITRE
SQUARE, E1

Victim: Catherine Eddowes, 46 BUCK’S ROW, E1
Murdered: September 30, 1888
Crime scene: Mitre Square, E1 NMCDaCruNmwuiiHrmraircadewcelhlleueek:raoiymrrbMnsldesogacsaddbSwetra:yaoytnalroAunesewAntuec:nalggae7tnBs)sus0WutsfN:octhmsMiukcei3tni’haenes1dorncu,Rylhtis1aenoaA,ts8wp4na28eln4a(n:l83tn“aReP0orro.rowoaallwd.ym.” .
Circumstances: Catherine
Eddowes was last seen at
1:35 a.m. on the corner of Duke’s
Street, talking to a young man
with a red scarf who looked like a
sailor. Her body was found in Mitre
Square ten minutes later. She was
murdered on the same night as
Elizabeth Stride.

150 151 Who was Jack?

HANBURY Suspects
STREET, E1
Some say that the skill the killer displayed
Victim: Annie Chapman, 47 in cutting up his victims’ bodies shows he
Murdered: September 8, 1888 must have been a surgeon. Others argue
Crime scene: 29 Hanbury Street that the police covered up his identity to
Circumstances: Annie Chapman prevent a scandal. Here are some of the
was last seen at 5:30 a.m. talking main suspects:
to a foreign-looking man in a
deerstalker hat. A few moments Aaron Kosminski
later, a young carpenter heard a Polish hairdresser Aaron Kosminski
woman crying “No!” and something was one of the suspects of Sir
falling against a fence. Melville Macnaghten, the police
chief at the time. Kosminski was
BERNERS insane and hated women. In 1890,
STREET, E1 he was put in an asylum, where he
died in 1919.
Victim: Elizabeth Stride, 45
Murdered: September 30, 1888 Montague John Druitt
Crime scene: Dutfield’s Yard, Another of Macnaghten’s suspects
40 Berners (now Henriques) Street was Druitt, who worked as a
Circumstances: Elizabeth Stride teacher. Even Druitt’s own family
was last seen at 12:40 a.m. being suspected him of being the Ripper.
thrown to the ground by a youngish When he lost his job, Druitt killed
man with a wide-rimmed, black felt himself—just one month after the
hat. At 1:00 a.m., a man pushing last murder.
a cart in Dutfield’s Yard discovered
her body. Michael Ostrog
Russian-born Michael Ostrog was
the last of Macnaghten’s suspects.
A con man, he was often admitted to
mental asylums. Experts no longer
believe that Ostrog was the Ripper.

Dr. Francis Tumblety
Another prime suspect was
Francis Tumblety, also known
as J. H. Blackburn, a quack doctor
from the US. Tumblety was
a doctor and a misogynist (hater
of women) and so fitted the
criminal profile of the killer.

Prince Albert Victor
Queen Victoria’s great-grandson,
Prince Albert Victor, was another
suspect. However, court papers show
that he was not in London at the
time of the murders. Some Ripper
researchers suspect Queen Victoria’s
physician, Sir William Gull.

Walter Sickert
Crime writer Patricia Cornwell believes
the killer was the famous painter
Walter Sickert. She hired a team of
forensic scientists, who found that
the DNA on the letters sent by the
Ripper to the police matched Sickert’s.
However, the letters are widely thought
to be hoaxes.

For other murderous mysteries, check out Anastasia: the lost princess on pp. 138–139 and Two presidents on pp. 144–149.

1 Your body
2 is made of trillions
3 of minute packets called
4 cells. Tucked away inside
5 almost every one is a tiny set
6 of 23 pairs of chromosomes,
7 which look like tangles of yarn under
8 a powerful microscope. Each set of
9 chromosomes is a complete instruction
10 manual for the cell to make another human
11 body pretty much like yours—simply by
12 putting natural chemicals together in the
13 right way. The “recipes” for these chemicals
14 are contained in more than 25,000 genes.
15 Scientists have pinpointed the chromosome
16 location of many of the genes, producing a
17 human genome map. They hope to unravel all
18 the genome’s secrets so they can pinpoint just
19 which gene gives you red hair and which genes
20 might make you ill if they go wrong.
21
22 There are 22 regular HUMAN
X pairs of chromosomes. GENOME
Y The 23rd pair are X and
Y—the chromosomes that Making the map
152 153 Human genome determine whether someone
is male or female. The stripes An international team of scientists from the United States, China, France,
on the chromosomes are Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom worked on the Human Genome
bands of genes that show Project, which to date has cost $3 billion. DNA test samples were
up when stained with gathered from a large number of donors, but only a few were processed.
chemicals and examined This way the donors’ identities were kept secret, ensuring that no one
would know whose DNA had been analyzed. But rumor has it that much
under a microscope. of the DNA came from a single anonymous male donor from Buffalo,
New York, codenamed RP11.

There are more 4Chromosome 4 11You could say The X
than 3,000 genes Chromosome 11 chromosome
has more than 700 has smelly genes, is one of the sex
1on Chromosome genes. If you’ve because most of chromosomes that
got red hair, it’s the genes for the decide whether
1, with instructions smell receptors
to make more than because of one of in your nose are Xyou’re a boy or a
the genes on this found on it.
3,000 different girl. There are more
chemicals. If chromosome. 14If your immune than 2,000 genes
you’re deaf, it system—your on the X. If you’ve
body’s defense got two matching
may be because against germs— X chromosomes,
a genes on this isn’t working well, you’re a girl. But
chromosome has the culprit may be
Chromosome 14. unlike the other
gone wrong. chromosomes, the
sex chromosomes
do not always come
in matching pairs…

3If you’re rather
vertically
challenged,
you can blame
Chromosome 3,
which is home to
the height genes.

Chromosome 2 9A little near- Y…The other sex

2has as many as sighted? Look chromosome is Y.
1,800 genes. no further than If you’ve got one X
It plays a large Chromosome 9, and one Y, you’re
part in making where you may going to be a boy.
find the faulty gene The Y has just 78
the chemicals
that build up your responsible. genes, but size
body’s defenses isn’t everything!
against disease. 19Among the
1,700 genes on
Chromosome 19
are the ones that
decide whether
your eyes will
be blue, green,
brown, or gray.

For more mind-bogglers, exercise your brain cells with Fibonacci on pp. 86–87 and Dark matter on pp. 156–157.

DNA time capsule DNA TIME CAPSULE

Inside every cell in your body are tiny little The mitochondrion’s secret is a snippet of DNA—the chemical
bundles called mitochondria. These mitochondria instructions for life. However, unlike the main DNA in the center
are the cell’s mini power plants, converting of a cell, the tiny snippet of DNA in mitochondria (mtDNA) is
food chemicals into energy. Each mitochondrion passed on only from mother to child and remains constant
also contains a remarkable secret that enables from one generation to the next. Your mtDNA is pretty much
scientists to trace your ancestry back over the same as your mom’s, and her mom’s, and so on right
thousands of years. If we go back far enough, back through the generations. Your mtDNA is like a living
we find we all have the same ancestors. time capsule in every cell of your body. By taking a sample
of mtDNA from the inside of your mouth, scientists can
trace your direct female ancestry back thousands of years.

4. Some of Latasha’s
offspring spread into
Europe, where seven
different mtDNA
versions appeared,
giving seven groups,
each with its own
clan mother.

5. Offspring of four of
the Asian clan mothers
crossed over from Siberia
to the Americas 15,000–
20,000 years ago. Their
descendants formed all
native American peoples.

1. Eve’s offspring divided into four
groups or clans—each with slightly
different mtDNA due to mutations—
that spread around Africa. Scientists
call the mothers of these clans Lara,
Lamia, Lalamika, and Latasha.

154 155 DNA time capsule

AFRICAN EVE AFRICAN EVE’S OFFSPRING

Over the generations, mtDNA This map shows how all African Eve’s
gradually changes or “mutates,” descendents spread out around the
but in such a slow and predictable world. As they moved and had children,
way that scientists have been able to track they passed on their mtDNA. Mutations
the changes back through time. They have gave several different mtDNA versions,
discovered that every person alive today is so people can be divided into different
descended from a woman who lived in Africa branches or haplogroups, each with its
about 140,000 years ago. Scientists call her own “haplo” mother. A particular set of
“mitochondrial Eve” after the first woman in haplomoms appeared in each part of
the Bible, but she was not the only woman the world and most people there are
alive or the first woman, only our most recent descended from them. If you’re African,
common ancestor following the female line. you are probably descended from one
Eve’s descendants began to move out of Africa of four African “moms” (red). If you’re
50,000–70,000 years ago. Using mtDNA, Asian or native Australian, you likely to
scientists have been able to plot how they be descended from one of seven Asian
spread around the world. haplomoms (purple). But because people
have always moved around, there are at
least a few people everywhere descended
from other haplomoms.

3. Some of Latasha’s THE SEVEN MOMS OF EUROPE
offspring spread east into The mtDNA evidence suggests that if you
Asia and beyond, where are European you have probably descended
seven different versions of from one of seven women. Geneticist Bryan
mtDNA appeared, giving Sykes has given each of these women a name:
seven groups, each with Ursula, Xenia, Helena, Velda, Tara, Katrine, and
its own clan mother. Jasmine. Many southern Europeans are children
of Jasmine and Katrine, while many northern
2. The offspring of Lara, Europeans are children of Tara, Ursula, and
Lamia, and Lalamika Xenia. Children of Helena and Velda spread
stayed in Africa, but throughout Europe.
Latasha’s began
spreading out of Africa YOUR SECRET IDENTITY
and around the world Every now and then mtDNA
about 60,000 years ago.
?does change, and over

time humans have split into
more than 30 groups, called
haplogroups or clans. Each of
us belongs to a haplogroup,
but the group you belong to
is not the same as your race.
Racial characteristics can be
misleading, and many races
contain a mix of haplotypes.
The hidden time capsule of
mtDNA inside your body cells
indicates your true line of
female ancestry.

For more mind-boggling body facts, go to Human genome on pp. 152–153 and The body uncovered on pp. 166–167.

Dark matter

In the 1930s, Swiss-American scientist Fritz Zwicky first put forward
the idea of dark matter. He had noticed that some galaxies in space
spin around too quickly for the gravity of all their visible matter to
hold them together. Observations in the 1970s confirmed he was

right. So if gravity wasn’t keeping the galaxies together, what was?

4% WHAT IS KNOWN 96%
Less than four percent of the matter
in the universe is the ordinary stuff we
know about—the atoms and molecules
that make up the mountains, seas, stars,
planets, animals, and even ourselves.
So, what makes up all the rest?

23% DARK MATTER WHAT IS UNKNOWN
The remaining 96 percent of the universe is made
up of invisible matter so mysterious that there is no
way to detect it directly. The only reason we know
it exists is because of its effect on everything else.
It seems there may be two types of hidden matter—
dark matter that makes up 23 percent, and dark
energy that accounts for a whopping 73 percent.

STAR BURGER
It is now known that all the stars glittering
in each galaxy are really embedded in huge
“haloes” of dark matter stretching far
beyond the visible edge of the galaxy.
The stars are like a scattering of salt
in the center of a very big bun of dark
matter that cannot be seen. It is the
mass of this dark matter that provides
the gravity necessary to hold the
spinning galaxies together.

156 157 Dark matter

DARK ENERGY
In 1998, astronomers studying
bright exploding stars called
supernovas realized they could
be used to work out how fast

the universe is expanding. While
people thought the expansion of
the universe was slowing down,
supernovas showed it was actually
accelerating. There is a repulsive

force pushing the universe apart that
completely counteracts the gravity of
ordinary matter pulling it together. This
repulsive force is called dark energy.

73% DARK ENERGY

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE
So it seems there are two mysterious dark forces
at work in the universe. While dark matter is
an invisible force whose gravity helps pull the
universe together, dark energy is a repulsive force
that makes the whole universe expand
at an even more rapid rate.

CAN YOU FEEL IT? THE REAL DEAL
Dark matter is like an incredibly thin gas Astronomers divide the dark
that doesn’t move. The stars and planets matter in galaxy haloes into
whizz through dark matter as if through a Massive Astrophysical Compact
fog. The solar system is flying through this Halo Objects (MACHOS) and
dark matter fog at more than 136 miles per Weakly Interacting Massive Particles
second (220 km/s). What’s most amazing is (WIMPS). MACHOS are made
that dark matter particles are so tiny up of ordinary matter that does
they simply pass straight through us not shine, including black holes,
as Earth carries us around. In fact, burned-out stars, and giant planets,
a billion dark matter particles pass such as Jupiter. However, WIMPS
through you every single second! are a mysterious form of matter,
made of particles that are
completely unknown to science.

Want to know more about space? Visit Watchers in Space on pp. 24–25, Time travel on pp. 50–51, and Conspiracy theories on pp. 196–199.

All of us change our minds every now and then, and it’s our choice.
But what if you were forced to change your mind against your will, maybe
without your knowing it? This is known as “brainwashing,” so named
because your own ideas and personality are often washed away in
the process. There are many stories of secret agencies and cult religious
groups using psychological techniques to wash people’s minds—
or is it all just spin?

Three-step cycle 3 Building you up again
In the 1950s, some American soldiers held as prisoners Now your brainwashers are ready to
of war in Korea emerged from captivity as converts to show you a bright new path. Why not forget
communist beliefs. They decided to stay in Korea even after your bad old ways, they say, and come and
their release. Many Americans were convinced they had been join us? We can show you the right road
brainwashed, including psychologist Robert Jay Lifton, who to take, and you’ll feel a lot better. So you
claims it happens in three stages: do as they say. Soon you are utterly convinced
that they were right all along. You are a new
1Breaking you down person. And so the brainwashing process
The first stage is breaking down your sense of self. Brainwashers is complete!
verbally attack you for weeks until you’re exhausted, telling you that you’re
not who you think you are. Next they make you feel guilty by continuously
reminding you of the bad things you’ve done. Finally they get you to
agree you must be the world’s worst person. You end up having a nervous
breakdown, asking yourself the questions “Who am I?”, “Where am I?”,
and “What am I supposed to do?”

2Offering help
As you wallow in a state of confusion, the brainwashers offer to help
you. They tell you that you can help yourself by admitting where you’ve
gone wrong, and they explain that this is the root of your suffering.

158 159 Brainwashing

WASH-O-TRONIC Brainwashing
techniques:

Isolation There’s nothing like
keeping you on your own, away
from family and friends, to make
you feel vulnerable.

Sleep deprivation When you’re
very tired, keeping you awake
with repetitive music will make
you feel disoriented.

Hypnosis By pretending to
relax you with soft light, gentle
music, and monotonous voices,
brainwashers can hypnotize you.

Peer pressure They’ll put you
in a group of people and then
make you feel left out unless you
join them.

Removal of privacy With no
time or space on your own to
think, you don’t realize you’ve
been brainwashed.

Verbal abuse They repeatedly
hurl insults at you until you can
take it no more and beg them
to stop.

Disinhibition They make you
feel that anything is acceptable,
no matter how strange or silly it
may seem.

Imitation They encourage
everyone to dress in the same
way to ensure that no one has
their own identity.

Chanting and singing They get
you to sing and chant together in
order to drive all other ideas from
your head.

Guilt trips They make you
feel incredibly guilty for all the
foolish things you did in the past.

Threats They scare you with
nasty threats whenever you step
out of line.

For more brainwaves go to Strange vibrations on pp. 108–109 and Unconscious mind on pp. 180–181.

Advertising tricks

Ads are everywhere—on TV, radio, and the Internet, in
newspapers, and on enormous billboards. Advertisers pull all
kinds of stunts to convince consumers to buy a product, such
as using snappy slogans and showing glossy images that
promise an ideal lifestyle. Here are some tricks of the trade.

BAIGtdhGyvaoemEturtRaatorninsBnleaueifewYfergaws,.TaciTEtdtmgrouSygiprzeketrmetoroseovacpenmowddsnaialvvkrleleieenilmrascmsuepifloinrnoynocooo.vhrdueiictnhgaasninag,es

yourwadcyrhteahoiar,esmtiatyhdthioeitotnuy’hsgrmaepsetlep.fuuirtrfoeartntmotyihgyyluocgeaoinuhhitunaddTmirbiroeb,otur.IaeysaoiDTetddulnlEhhvsuleyeelAa,rhoLntcioubihrstuHmaetiererOsmtMocsrEuecahteas a

tthIotsa’awstdtl’ohosMoobrOinnoewocdgPkpcashuEaitbrtnalhulNepgatasfnderletRieaeosfiereOatpfoshwtlwuAthheehanoDyiedyludwlyewsbcmesbvoaeeeunomcrlhtyauitkmirnccsetsuothlu.eatenfniesonssscruwe.aplmtoShras,ceioszoasrzswlreitnshr?giyps LAplbIiaAdentVpetdhovokdhIrisifeNnopnveargedfkltGetehbrpuiastaetlcrtThiiettnoosttuaHrregrdistryamcEreeuochsbudacutycDs-iwtkaveueewRnbwealpeduE.aniyilbtyllMttAohiftrifeaurnyMieatamnogisncejutooytsyaiyu.vlteoes.

160 161 Advertising tricks

aaiornbpncdubolhCydoCrdehgttcHoateeotopeEactvmsxkApeanerlPi’toarstshl.nfieiTnaneaRecsnot’IlmsiuCncadeaKkbdel-ealwtprptsgahr.roayieOnimnfltefitixaspgettirhnnritatcghtehee HMOboeuLbdxtLmlpeeiYttelaawmsWkrinshtieiiOsnpilohtiouOegfaetflnhdfeaDsts,tntwiineoaSmtegennhMitadgehtayIohL,fcrttleEaode,osnmrisosuwdmkgpltahuuogroiitodrdsefeteerhtaotws, kriinn,kles.
frogmlsakfseiaseiem,sbtla,haotDnieghctdTrtyieelirHenssliic.nktIqtyRuschu,boSaaisderTtdupswcvpoQehcorilrUlauliatntEirmseskinNeiahnsgrCkoogseHtu,minynEsdoaRuakusnenaynsudre SUFoeNonoDdofwtAuesiinEgtnuahhgnaBfmaaddtEorksa,iSetraem.gTnnaIaacedtr,yevinabelcreourrt,otiemfipkiacneomgilawtfosalido.sccetdomrilesoadrdinegs,

soapIpmhaeiapsprgtfpetiuehcerWmsfaeauStielaemtsiMnhrtdaeugeEssffuLmfatraoasdLoegesyyflOrdloo-ahsouFuntca-otrcivhveSeeoifpnsUu.toicthloCoereontCrrrrfieEassclytSyetiliSnloosnne, s. suapntedorigstshlbtusoerpieonpdrswTaeaiotyinBnsnefmaOrfdapomoadGlomwake,UdceiistgetSchae.eioseBTtwbltdoaUpiuanssraRrtigtgnieyanGegr!srtpEer.eorRdTgloohgooweyfikintbhtguasnty

For other persuasive powers go to Magic tricks on pp. 78–81 and Brainwashing on pp. 158–159.

WHAT’S IN YOUR FOOD?

A chicken sandwich isn’t mysterious, is it? It’s just
chicken, bread, and a little salad, right? Look closer
at the list of ingredients. Most prepared food is
packed with preservatives and artificial flavorings.
Try this for a recipe—it’s a lot to swallow:

Basic ingredients

Chicken
Lettuce
Tomato
Cheese
Bun

Hidden extras

For more chemical concoctions go to Want a strawberry milkshake? on pp. 164–165 and Alchemy on pp. 172–173.

164 165 Want a strawberry milkshake?

You might think the These are the ingredients that go into a “naturally flavored” strawberry
taste of a strawberry
milkshake: milk fat and nonfat milk, sugar, sweet whey,
milkshake is just
strawberries and milk. high-fructose corn syrup, guar gum, monoglycerides
But if you buy it ready-
and diglycerides, cellulose gum, sodium phosphate,
made, you won’t
believe what shoots carrageenan, citric acid, FD&C Red #40, artificial strawberry

through your straw. amyl valerate,flavor (amyl acetate, amyl butyrate,
A prepared strawberry milkshake
anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate,
gets its flavors from more than
60 chemicals, and not a single butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate,
strawberry! In fact, all processed
cinnamyl valerate, cognac essential oil,
food gets at least some of its flavor
from a blend of chemicals. The diacetyl, dipropyl ketone, thyl butyrate, ethyl

flavors are brewed up by chemists who ethyl heptanoatecinnamate,, ethyl heptylate, ethyl
send out their special blends to food
manufacturers all around the world. lactate, ethyl methylphenylglycidate,
The precise blend that goes into each
product is a closely guarded secret.
Sometimes it mimics the natural flavor
of the food, and other times it offers an
entirely new, synthetic taste.

ethyl nitrate, ethyl propionate, ethyl valerate,

heliotropin, hydroxyphrenyl-2-butanone (10% solution

in alcohol), ionone, isobutyl anthranilate,

Want to know more about the crazy stuff in your chow? Check out What’s in your food? on pp. 162–163. isobutyl butyrate, lemon essential oil, maltol,

4-methylacetophenone, methyl anthranilate,

methyl benzoate, methyl cinnamate,

methyl heptine carbonate, methyl naphthyl

mintketone, methyl salicylate,
essential oil, neroli essential oil,
nerolin, neryl isobutyrate, orris butter,

phenethyl alcohol, rose, rum ether,
vanillin,undecalactone,
and

solvent).

Real strawberries are just not up Solvent?
to the task of flavoring a strawberry Mmm!
milkshake. They are bulky and difficult to
store and keep fresh, as well as being costly
to grow and ship. Also, their flavor is far too
subtle for many people, and they aren’t sweet
enough to hook you instantly with their taste.

So goodbye, berry!

166 167 The body uncovered Your brain cells
started dying off as soon
Your body as you were born. Fortunately, Approximately
sheds tens of you’ve got billions of brain cells, and 10 percent of the
thousands of skin replacements are created throughout population are left-
flakeseveryminute. your life. The brain is more than 80 percent handed. No-one knows
Over a lifetime a water. Tiny mites live at the base of your for sure what causes
body loses 44 lb eyelashes. They have eight legs each and it, but more men than
(20 kg) of skin look like alligators! They’re actually good women are left-handed.
flakes. Feeding for you because they gobble up germs. The hand has 27
on our skin flakes You spend half an hour every day blinking—every bones. Eight bones
(and preventing a blink takes 0.3–0.4 seconds. Nose hairs make up the wrist,
flake mountain from act like a net to trap and remove the palm contains
forming) are millions nasty particles from the air. five, and 14 bones
of tiny dust mites, It’s impossible to sneeze with make up the fingers
each no bigger than and thumb. Half of
a period. Human your eyes open. all 206 bones in
fingertips are so your body are in
sensitive that they Your body is made up of trillions of living cells, of your hands and
can feel an object which there are more than 200 different types. The feet. Uncut fingernails
move even if it only instructions for a cell are on 46 chromosomes in its nucleus. will continue to grow
stirs a thousandth Each of the two strands of DNA that make up a chromosome and grow. The longest
of a millimeter. are about three feet (one meter) long, which is pretty amazing uncut fingernails ever
Some cells, like skin seeing as it curls up so small it can only be seen under an measured reached the
and blood, are only a electron microscope. Electricity constantly shoots through staggering length of
few weeks old, while your body, transmitted by the cells that make up your 2 ft 3 in (68.6 cm).
others (nerves and nervous system, and controlled by the brain. Air is sucked
bone) may be as old into and pushed out of our lungs by the action of surrounding
as you are. muscles: the diaphragm and rib muscles. We breathe faster when
we exercise because our muscles need more oxygen, faster! One
American man hiccupped nonstop from 1922 to 1990.
In an average lifetime, the heart beats about 2.5 billion times to
pump blood around the body. The first blood transfusion
took place in 1667 between a lamb and a young
boy. An average-size adult has 10.5 pints (5 liters) of blood
flowing through their body. The heart pumps 169 gallons
(640 liters) an hour; that’s 2,113 gallons (8,000
liters) per day, and 792,500 gallons (3 million liters)
per year—more than enough to fill an Olympic-sized
swimming pool! Unraveled and stretched out, an adult’s blood
vessels would extend across 100,000 miles (160,930 km)—
that’s long enough to go around the Earth four times.

Food spends up to six You are taller in the morning

hours in your stomach than you are when you go

being digested. Your to bed. Walking or standing

stomach has to produce a during the day compresses

new layer of mucus every your joints and spine

two weeks otherwise it will causing a small difference

digest itself. Roundworms in height. When you

and tapeworms can infect sleep, you lose up to

the small intestine, where 1.5 oz (42 g) in weight

Want to get even more brainy about your body? Go to Human genome on SS ² and DNA time capsule on SS ² . they grow, reproduce, every hour. The average

and feed on food that adult body contains enough

is being digested. fat to make seven bars of

Tapeworms in humans soap. The largest muscle

can grow up to 30 ft in your body is the one

(10m) long. Bacteria in you are sitting on. The

your colon make your poop gluteus maximus, or

brown, and produce the buttock muscle, helps

gases that make you fart. us stand upright.

Centuries ago, doctors Bones are weight for

believed that uroscopy weight six times stronger

(urine-gazing) was a than steel. Your toenails

good way of diagnosing grow four times slower

disease. This involved than your fingernails.

tasting the urine. Yum, Your bones only make up

bottoms up! 10 percent of your total

THE body weight.

BODY
UNCOVERED
In the five minutes it will take you to read this, your heart will beat
350 times, you’ll blink 30 times, and each of your blood cells will
have traveled around your body five times. While you read, you are
forming new cells and shedding skin flakes, your hair and nails are
growing, your nose hairs are filtering the air you breathe, your eyes
are processing the words, and your brain is figuring out what they
mean. Phew! No wonder you need so much sleep!

ified dust miteYour home may look neat and clean, but it is really a house of
168 169 Dirt horrors. About 10 million tiny lumps of grit, dead skin, rubber, and
DIRT ash lurk in every 35 cubic feet (one cubic meter) of air. If bacteria are
kept warm and well-fed at your place, the happy souls will increase in
number by splitting in half. They do this every 20 minutes, so in just
nine hours, a single bacterium produces 100 million copies of itself.
It seems you’ve got a lot of uninvited guests...

Bedroom bugs

N

Kitchen creepies

N

BAD IDEAS

Some people suggested

WHERE TO BURY IT? blasting the waste into

In most places in the space. If the rocket

world, the ground is too crashed the result could

wet, too unstable, or too be disastrous—at best

near where people live. So, spreading radiation far and

THE SOLUTION? in the US, they are thinking wide, at worst creating a

Many scientists think burying about burying it beneath nuclear explosion.

the waste deep below a mountain in the Arizona

ground, sealed in special desert called Yucca Another idea is to dump
.5#,%!2

Nufacfrlu,eresaaolrdapigraoeotwioloedenf?rtfpboWleraehn1lilt0n,sdt0hu.,i0sTse0his0ethoryeonedhlaysersaha—tarelffarodntmhdaennrgsooetdborosoryudo.syfAlyrufetrreaaarldnlytiihoukemanchotfiewuvaeestl awitsnohduagstweentidolel,rdgtahoitveeewreoiontfhdefsrtdghoeyef.amSds.oplyent For other explosive issues go to Alchemy on pp. 172–173 and Spontaneous combustion on pp. 184–185.

Alchemy Scientific achievements

The ancient science of alchemy In medieval times, no one knew more
dates back thousands of years. about substances than alchemists. This
Cloaked in mystery, it has always knowledge had immense practical value
been viewed with suspicion. Young and paved the way for a number of
alchemists were sworn to secrecy scientific breakthroughs.
when they became trainees, and
alchemists wrote their notes in Ore refining
riddles, symbols, and codes so that As alchemists searched for ways to purify
no one but an alchemist could impure metals, they discovered many of the
decipher them. As a result, they are processes of extracting metals from ores that
often viewed as con artists or fools. are still used today. Ores are the raw rock
In fact, the alchemists’ work laid the materials in which metals are found, mixed
foundations for modern medicine
and science, especially chemistry. in with many unwanted substances.

Alchemists experimented with substances Medicines
in the medieval equivalent of a laboratory, The alchemist Paracelsus realized the need
but they also studied astrology and magic. to understand the chemistry of the body and its
They had three main goals: illnesses. Building on his alchemical knowledge,
he introduced the idea of finding simple chemical
L To discover the “philosopher’s stone”— drugs to remedy the chemical imbalances in
the ultimate pure, essential, and the body caused by illness, as well as the
“incorruptible” material. use of specific doses.

L To change base metal into gold. If they could Chemical elements
find the philosopher’s stone, its power would The idea of the basic chemicals or “elements”
enable them to turn corruptible, base metal, that are so central to science today came
such as lead, into incorruptible gold, which from the alchemists. In fact, Robert Boyle,
never corrodes. Bling it on! the scientist credited with first promoting
the idea, was secretly an alchemist.
L To discover the “elixir of life”—a remarkable
liquid that would stop the aging process Experiments
from corrupting living things. In other words, A key part of modern scientists’ work
the secret of eternal youth. Cool!
is carrying out experiments—this idea
was developed by the 13th-century
alchemist and monk Roger Bacon.

172 173 Alchemy

Incredible inventions Modern revelations

In addition to researching chemical In recent years, scientific discoveries
substances, alchemists were also have shown that there may be more
responsible for a number of to some of the alchemists’ most
important inventions. astounding claims than was
ever realized.
Gunpowder
Saltpeter, sulfur, and carbon—the main Transmutation of gold
ingredients of gunpowder—were also key Modern nuclear chemistry has demonstrated
substances in the search for the philosopher’s how one element can be transmuted
stone. Needless to say, it was only a matter (changed) into another. In 1980, nuclear
of time before alchemists made a big scientist Glenn Seaborg changed lead
bang! Chinese alchemists are thought to to gold in microscopic quantities inside
have discovered gunpowder first. Medieval a nuclear reactor. This involved huge
alchemists, such as Roger Bacon and amounts of energy, and recently, some
Albertus Magnus, developed the invention. scientists have made unverified
claims that they transmuted lead
Inks and dyes to gold in low energy, cold nuclear
More than 4,000 years ago, Indian alchemists fusion experiments.
are thought to have devised the recipe for
Indian ink still used today. It was made from Transmutation of living things
soot floating in water, with gum arabic The discovery of genetic modification
(a type of gum used to thicken mixtures). techniques has shown that, like chemical

Glassworks elements, living material can be
Alchemists may well have invented glass; transmuted, too, by swapping parts of
they certainly made many improvements
to the glass-making process, including its DNA. Scientists are also working
the invention of “decolourizers,” such as on the chemistry of aging, and many
manganese dioixide, which took out impurities believe they will soon be able to prolong
such as iron to leave the glass crystal clear. youth and extend life dramatically.

Eyeglasses Psychology
Alchemists provided most of our early The alchemists believed that all objects
knowledge of lenses and optics, and it possess a spirit, and that there is a deep
was the alchemist Roger Bacon who link between all things, which is expressed
invented spectacles in the 13th century. in symbols. In the 1930s, Carl Jung developed
his revolutionary idea of the Collective

Unconscious—the symbolic ideas that
we all inherit—and soon realized
he was looking at something
very similar to alchemy.

For more scientific secrets, see Nuclear waste on pp. 170–171 and Unconscious mind on pp. 180–181.

HERMES
TRISMEGISTUS
The first great alchemist,
Trismegistus, lived in Egypt
about 4,000 years ago. Most
of his secrets were lost, but legend has it
that the Emerald Tablet, said to contain his
instructions for alchemists, was found in
a cave clutched in his dead hands.

ROGER BACON JOHN DEE
English monk and As a youngster, John Dee
alchemist Roger Bacon (1527–1608) was arrested
(1214–1294) invented for reading the horoscopes
eyeglasses, revealed the of English King Henry VIII’s
role of air in burning, two daughters, Mary and
and anticipated many Elizabeth. Then, as a leading
inventions of the future, alchemist, mathematician,
such as powered and expert in navigation,
ships, motor cars, Dee was made chief
and aircrafts. Despite astrologer and scientific
his achievements, his adviser by the newly
reputation as a magician crowned Queen Elizabeth.
brought him into conflict Later in life, a frustrated
with the Church and he Dee tried to acquire
spent many years scientific knowledge
through magic.
in prison.

174 175 Alchemists and wizards

!LCHEMISTS
AND WIZARDS

For thousands of years, alchemists kept their work secret and many
were thought to be wizards and magicians. Then, in the 1600s, people
learned of their quest for the philosopher’s stone that would turn base
metal into gold. Alchemy quickly attracted all kinds of conmen and
was soon discredited. The brilliance and scientific achievements
of some alchemists was then quickly forgotten.

PARACELSUS
Swiss-born Paracelsus
(1493–1541) traveled widely,
seeking out alchemists and
physicians from whom he
could learn. He believed an
alchemist’s first task was to
make medicines, not gold,
and he pioneered the idea that
illnesses could be treated by
small doses of chemicals—
the basis of medicine today.

NICOLAS FLAMEL AGRIPPA
This French alchemist was A dark legend surrounds
said to have discovered the the name of Agrippa
secret of the philosopher’s (1486–1535), who,
on his deathbed, is said
stone and apparently to have released a terrible
succeeded in making gold. black dog to prey upon
When Flamel (1330–1417) the world. This black
died, a thief broke into his dog is the same Grim
tomb to get at the secret— that features in the
Harry Potter books.
but is said to have found
the tomb empty.

TRITHEMIUS
After publishing his book
Steganographia, Trithemius
(1462–1516) was accused
of dealing with the occult, and
his book was banned by the
Church for preaching black
magic. In 1993, Steganographia
was finally deciphered properly
and shown to be the first ever
book on secret codes …
written in a brilliant code!

For more magical mysteries, make your way to Magic tricks on pp. 78–81 and Alchemy on pp. 172–173.

MEMORY TRICKS In 2002, scientists decided to test the
NUMBER IMAGES brainpower of highly ranked memorizers at the
World Memory Championships. The tests revealed

that the memory champions’ brains were no
different from anybody else’s. Moreover, they
performed no better in intelligence tests than
“average” people. What the researchers did
discover, though, was that nine out of 10 of
the memory champs were using the secret

techniques shown here.

Can you imagine memorizing
the order of every single playing
card in a pack? Memory champ
Andi Bell can do it in just 32.9
seconds. What’s more, in 2003, he
memorized the order of the cards
in 10 packs—all 520 cards—in
just 20 minutes. Such feats seem so
astounding that it is easy to assume
that the people who perform them
must have very special brains, or are
just amazingly bright. In fact, most
memory champs are simply using a
variety of secret tricks to help them
memorize things, some dating back
thousands of years to the time of
ancient Greece.

One trick to remember
numbers, developed in
ancient Greece, is to link
each number to a memorable
image with a vaguely similar
shape to the number.
You can choose your
own image, but here
are some suggestions.

176 177 Memory tricks

MEMORY MAESTROS 07964034512
NUMBER CRUNCHER

Themistocles Seneca If someone showed you their
Magliabechi cell phone number once for just
Throughout history there have been a number three seconds, do you think you
of great memorizers, whose reputed feats are could remember it?
so astonishing that we cannot be entirely sure Try looking at the number above
they are true. It is claimed that Themistocles knew for three seconds. Close the book
the names of 20,000 citizens of ancient Athens, but immediately and try to write
he was a slouch compared with Seneca, who knew it down.
the names of all the citizens of ancient Rome. Bet you got the wrong number.

Italian 17th-century memorizer Antonio Magliabechi Now group the numbers and say
spent his entire life surrounded by books. When he them aloud to yourself twice:
was given charge of the 40,000 volumes of the
Grand Duke of Tuscany’s library in Florence, it is 079 640 345 12
reported he memorized every single word of every
single volume. To test Magliabechi’s abilities, an Shut the book and try writing it
author gave him a manuscript and asked him to read down. How did you do this time?
it as quickly as possible. After Magliabechi returned Easy, isn’t it? Memory experts call
the manuscript, the author pretended that he had this technique chunking.
lost it, and asked Magliabechi to help him remember
what he could. To his amazement, Magliabechi wrote
down the entire book without missing a single word
or punctuation mark. Pretty unforgettable!

Turn the page

TAGGING Once you’ve got the
number images firmly
in your head, you can $ TVVb
use them to help you QPV ^U bdVPa
remember all kinds of ! QPVb ^U Ê^da
things. You’ll be amazed ' Q^cc[Tb ^U \X[Z
by how effective it is. # P__ [Tb
Try to memorize this RW^R^[PcT R^^ZXTb
shopping list using % ÉbW É]VTab
number images. Simply ( ^aP]VTb
combine the objects " QP]P]Pb
on the shopping list with
the number images to
create a memory tag
for each object.

The amazing thing
about this trick is that
the memory tags stay
in your brain for ages,
so it’s great for things
you want to remember
for a long time.

A monocyclist balancing A knife piercing A swan enveloped in a cloud A bottle of milk A sailing boat with
5 eggs a bag of sugar of flour wearing glasses 4 apples on board

A baseball player smashing A fish weeping Orange balloons A banana skin stuck to the seat
a chocolate cookie with over the loss of of someone’s pants
his bat
his fingers
178 179 Memory tricks

METHOD OF LOCI The most popular
trick used by memory
champs is the method 1Task: borrow a table for the 2Task: recruit a friend to help 3Task: collect items to sell
of places. The idea is to fundraiser. Imagine yourself in at the fundraiser. Imagine an at the fundraiser. Imagine
take a route you know the kitchen, lifting a huge table. unbelievably long line of your friends yourself picking up items strewn all
really well, such as your at your door. along the path leading to your door.
route to school, then
in your imagination link
the objects you want to
remember to places along
the route. The images
here show how you could
link points on your route
to tasks to remember for
the school fundraiser. By
linking the points to the
route, you will find it easier
to remember what tasks to
do and in what order.

PA R T Y

4Task: make a banner. Imagine 5Task: borrow a cashbox to 6Task: make a flier to advertise
your front gate with the keep proceeds in. Imagine the fundraiser. Imagine seeing
biggest, most colorful banner finding the biggest cashbox ever on every headline on a newspaper kiosk
flying over it. the corner of your street. announcing your fundraiser.

Price ReducedSale

Sale Sale

½ price

SALE

7Task: clean up your sale 8Task: separate out any 9Task: make price labels for the 10Task: hand over your
items for the fundraiser. valuable objects. Imagine sitting sale. Imagine your school bus earnings. Imagine standing
Imagine everyone in the bus line on the bus holding on to enormous stop plastered with price labels. at the school gate handing in a huge
cleaning objects with rags and jewels and dumping any junk. trunk of money.
polish.

For more brain-busting facts go to Strange vibrations on pp. 108–109 and Brainwashing on pp. 158–159.

yaormseuYUtior’unraeunndna,dgmcwttoehoaiagieyntrhrnegipttch,…saokibrnfsc,ut.kocitoGoaryyfonowouoyuupiodlsrllkunaynuryiogonmmushcwo?otini,mnwndssehlcedyaiveootepuursy SLEEP PARALYSIS (Finding upon waking
that your body is completely paralyzed):
Scientists believe this occurs because
during normal “dreaming sleep” the body
is paralyzed to stop you from acting out
your dreams and injuring yourself. Sleep
paralysis occurs when the brain wakes
up, but the body is still frozen in a dream.

rDptmtatOdehhhseaRtweieenhoipEaloykepsdnrArhreladhieksMnodyiorngerbisIuctNtgsuaeo-tsitmgGleanoeilegonkgrifvnSemendepgtoseghrmtmpm-dohetiirebeteenee’frssllugmeapmsst,mmtscauohoigrmersscereie.one.ehabsStnsmai,rsovavosteomeisufnrrcet’isehs.
180 181 Unconscious mind

wdPaitthNetoheioxheIneiGopsrbetir,pgHerenicefislhrdTeaiuscyteuMmuc(oonisahlmuAntaceltcerRaodahaeedsgfEro,beeuteeywy(hsgavoaU,ohishtwulnisiutnlrrmapoeeggebkxluhaesdeprcntgsaar.hed.esiniScrensOaait.cge,msnitishsahetdietnnenoamidsgrtbsriscas)eseoar:tbfeevscouDlenstarnbiuensvmtwearetgiletenhiioeaorgisevisnn)esg. pbioySbuemcStssDhorefxoneaoceetÉeulpucfimihivoteemwJrose.iesÀrnvoeenrbhSeoaetiuhmdseerimorVssyoacytnnmetUbhoieiwscnlompiyauyefeu(etertoayohaWoxsrp!iuloiersnirtcpneeeybugebierkooais’riersovresapdvditsgeaftceiehly,eneiosnrdismbwrslhemctaarteeiehanehemtpeesrsaismeecnnpbaamiraodnakoeyletiwtnistrbfhodmtibo.ysnhasyrnécerOoeeerfejyietràutmcoth)oohhogu:oevumoaenhsfurtrrldyysiat.,
SSsaOsabttSahllnLclrecenolaatkdEeieeiwein,vEnppmniepPtwwWitiiaseseeWistoarsan,tctmAslivsbkcowoaeLekaembnrhKirtnenSehmiI.ewlgNlleemeivoe,aGoeeanovdkvpnse,rre(eelebDes(crisutSeolovssitpksWme,iunset)roadSgmo:ylryrdm)Wtisne,etstletvoaoonweewlrwlkpdmyhsnihellneyeaaddeo.gnelurnpCmipwvirtlnhehitewunahielrymgkdaeadoilrnaekceugyranr.r.

Want to uncover more mind mysteries? Go to Strange vibrations on pp. 108–109 and Memory tricks on pp. 176–179.

2EINCARNATION Bard reborn To be or not to be
William Shakespeare, that is the
Many religions believe that a part of us lives on after question for many people who claim
we die. Some people are convinced we are actually to be reincarnations of the famous
born again to live a new life in a new body. There is English playwright. It’s not hard
no real evidence for reincarnation, but there are many being the bard though. So much
instances of people claiming to remember past lives is known about him already, there
including details they couldn’t possibly know. Many are no details that only the “real”
cases of reincarnation feature famous people; others Shakespeare reincarnated
are much more obscure, but are often more intriguing.
could reveal.

All in an accent Some people believe that in a past life DNA denial A lot of stories of
they were on board Titanic, the great ocean liner that hit an reincarnation are attached to the
iceberg and sank in 1912. American William Barnes claimed Romanovs, the Russian royal family
that was assassinated in 1918.
he was the ship’s designer Tommie Andrews. Barnes American Donald Norsic claimed
spoke in a Scottish accent when “remembering” that in his past life as the
it, but Andrews was, in fact, Irish. Oops. Russian czar, he escaped to
the Sahara. But his claims
were disproved in 1994,
when DNA tests showed

the Romanovs really did
die in Russia.

Going under laedaTihrhsincesaoensSdtiFkdAnvoeheJnseverasesarewhoieccveonwcidradcisemistehrlltbp.ehsaoueneaHdcorltdrowsrghyocmr,viteiwbhoenSplemooliefigrtcdvnfvs.oreattcehhyfMdshhnereitp,essseuaittlsrhitionatrleoovdaay.idrriwnldutn’isesectragrrareoi,CWsneslhifdnaatgfydeliodusifilpe1faustr2eetnlihinadenttntowghedihsglraas-seoirctsstrncmihhwe.ebe—,taonnIlaaonedototsnluhivamJ.o,daaornJAnbanywatndeutineso,oYt’lesaasntesoatlca,EhrhsshccskeavotauertoaevcrioccrnnslaerhofayhstyfuaiEbeemrprrtenechhtecisgerncheewdeylargamJsplaetnlkhtewosbd.idellsbl.ee.ded
One way of trying to find out
if you’ve lived past lives is by

hypnosis. While in a trance,
some patients tell stories of
past lives. Most experts think

the mind is making it all up.

182 183 Reincarnation

War bore Roman emperor Caracalla French fancy In 1894, medium
(186–217 CE) believed he was a Hélène Smith claimed she was the
reincarnation of the famous Greek war reincarnation of the French queen
leader Alexander the Great (356–323 BCE) and
imagined himself as a military hero. In reality, Marie Antoinette, who was
Caracalla was a cruel and brutal dictator. guillotined during the French

Revolution in 1793.
The multitalented Hélène
also believed she could
communicate with Martians!

smpuoe2pofwa0w,tCrkhooeaiyemfsnhsreegcaaiarholrnteruadshicrnuchrsbracno,eeaelut.JflereenogMdnndrhaneabMfJtyJreyerenyadnlodo’nrs,ncrmyybayecuahtSfwertimudloadaitmnstrsMoseopnbtnbafeo.earadaryTydnisohdl,iSnittfslehdnueootlawittniutvhofogibneaenmhe’gsgtlcaEiroetceanntvhhitvggeaihaehlldttia.gtshredthacehahwntaeisi,ploJrdebmpanmryannearnotynIeht.rnhwieAJstenelhafnrytasnewcdrlyotlaihuyegCsednerioaotrcrwrkysenll

MaohsrFrwytpedtoihpheanrimenanodsakduoouarsrfgcofieyishhsrcycaapewmrkolreelnFh’eoasouodrperdwelnrleinefifws.esacvl,IhthewaatrheapcaifennsanroksevrgagepvpeaewaiFiuologrrwokaunytarekihsdcleogeflau.lfnsiunlefiFvapegtcaeronhesuTmlkrteyaaweyo1ligoen7ouheasdtnsehrdtnoltehy-Hhfwehaecaroyeybhel1nlip6ofceynetlnun0wauwcto0airtomtyhtsrwoihzn.edFeoetWapdhrraltedeie.ihcvrnoysOtiesncloseoncohranfe,roGneFfelucinvlrfaneeeeonlndntlniecnrhg. cdohrbileierdleiddBen(tem1.wrc9a.aAoees1Hrfem8rkntne-eenabrdo2tte-hnir0rhoeec0enapcear7oaiwgg)rnisfdeatatcsisrosnlohiinogvndtefderu3suhtucw,.cace0etH,hddo0ebed0iafiaulbnnedtscexdithclstroioiehefrleunovdeienueldsdsdtirvo?,tanehcbhrhoeruCoitiselstuadsewnnmtexrhaadpeeoenarldattctmihhrhieaneerenermwmhwspfihoertoosmwehorrymilwbccdeihthesa,raiihsaSlfdatatptkhrrdeprneeiveepsniievrettanitnwopIissaenuaohdtngssnoh.thSelwaiyliftimpeeavgpvesareaswnoncrwwdohsennoeetnnvtlhlliyenhceed

Is there life after death? Examine more evidence in Haunted places on pp. 94–95 and Spooky! on pp. 96–97.

3CPOOMNTBAUNSETOIOUNS

bSpbukJhEeafloCiretnraandcatgnmsshdysnl,eaiereetisennehsdumd2awwci.ntea:haHaiwigIfnssnareehosuurbr1tnennahfdt9aeddebao8txalrhyayf2pmesdfhlab,ralalyceu6aimgnerrt1beeen,afu-dadrennyrm,d.eaeanac.ngaeilnkSdryed-d,tdoirhawnaltednthneotrdehgrJeedeehoaoilatrnynhun,lnkyesdtiihetespuce.thanShrrecaeetlnfsosfifittionhnroefebLf,dhuobterhnusredtt oinnt,o

caloicgtrchnocociisanstruisroetfgnlpradaftgotAtehhatiemebcntasae,lueotSaeftpacictohSlTlthadeetsreasHrherrpcitytpeuscrCeatairxoepictworttiiachytnokc.ra.aflmi’,ectsynlIflyacoknpdausr2lsayehr:hs,is fctsd1CrrhNouoeai9aennfmmuofs9segcpea8ouratherihmn,nrkt3reeefwgawee:rb,cdkhcvhOlJantyeeiablrnoncerccyyewbokaAhynisssloeemgmdefarwnPiv,totedepiahhooksarraeenenekusrPl,yemsgaabhiehnnnucoitrlhdtdorl-seSinbepmtrttysyshhrdfi,wpeeewrwnwlceenaeieeanhtinyohflnsnto,iiragtnniiAonmgpigcnuutmiuaoenetsotssaitfnfeawro.otauesbuSrasltdiethetostao—hitesc.nhtre,cuLegewtAuer,hdn“ragfflAeatrtesaneoygadcmedodnsawsoerleriheainsfsrtwoefghe..AwptgmaD.h”uesaiaeengdsisrnupesitdte

PCwwtNtwctobhhbaoieoodriayhslternrlaotheeiematptsweehriknsedha4le-cu1meiniGss:nhefis9ducai,aIs.rsyn5ofieiafenT,rvet,1nlNeohFeteradhdeerrocsmaea(dvatiocnwddthyesahcfeessemhiueehntGofirs.broferesieyhBosfefseaheemerpto“tarllaTleoofoaedrfth,flsfaihtincehtwtbrtethgehemhneaCeeoeaestahfiiodmnrnrsoheosdeddaueomtsnaemrsauibeiythrakent.sieatiiiLsdennnTnsloaysggiheprodefneeaopfiaryosnmrerfre”eoGtsHrwa6toibeiewhniso7tnamedaeanFseh-etlsbyfeflldenooaAel’enrasolraugedsuinotdronncir.c-saaotseoeTcinor,nimsleghldduoadenbclsltuhuehocesdefetd)ridaeo.n
For more unexplained phenomena go to Haunted places on pp. 94–95 and Weird weather on pp. 228–229.

7D9N A6C<J6<: Tilting head: Interest
Rubbing hands: Anticipation
You might think that the only things you say are the words that come out
of your mouth, but your body secretly sends messages all the time, too,
with little signs and movements. This is called body language. You may
sometimes be aware of what your body is saying, but most of the time,
your body sends the messages without you knowing it. What’s more, when
other people pick up your body’s messages, they’re not always aware of
it either. So, in the future, watch your language!

Secure Insecure Lying

Sitting with legs crossed and foot Standing with hands on hips: Pulling or tugging at ear: Indecision
kicking slightly: Boredom Readiness, aggression

Biting nails: Insecurity, nervousness Touching and slightly rubbing nose: Patting or playing with hair:
Rejection, doubt, lying Lack of self-confidence

Stroking chin: Trying to make a decision Sitting with hands clasped behind head: Walking with hands in pockets and
Confidence, superiority with hunched shoulders: Dejection

Tapping or drumming fingers: Impatience Rubbing eye: Doubt, disbelief Steepling fingers: Authoritative
186 187 Body language

How to spot a fibber
People may think they are accomplished liars, coolly answering even the trickiest
question, but you can be sure that their body language is giving them away…

Pinching bridge of nose with eyes closed:
Negative evaluation

Staring Smiling but only with mouth, not eyes

Sitting cross-legged: Relaxation

Slight delay in speech-body alignment Adjusting clothing

Looking down with face turned away:
Disbelief

Sending conflicting signals Dilated pupils

Arms crossed on chest: Defensive

Holding body rigid Sitting behind barriers, such as books
or crossed arms

Hand to cheek: Contemplating Avoiding eye contact Blinking more often

Locked ankles: Apprehension Rubbing eyes more often Shrugging and grimacing

For more body basics, visit The body uncovered on pp. 166–167 and Unconscious mind on pp. 180–181.

188 189 Hide and seek

(IDE

190 191 Camouflage #!-/U&,!'% Ambush bugs look like The scops owl is hard to see
flower parts and lie in wait against tree bark, especially
Did you spot all the things hidden in the picture on the for prey, such as butterflies. with its orange eyes closed
previous page? Many creatures boost their survival chances to a thin slit.
by blending in with the color of their surroundings, making When lying still on the woodland floor,
it harder for predators to see them. This is “protective the dead leaf butterfly is virtually Lesser chameleons change
coloration,” or camouflage. Another way animals avoid impossible to spot. color according to their mood,
the eye is “disruptive coloration”—when an animal is so not for camouflage.
patterned that it is difficult to make out its overall shape.

Three-toed sloths are so slow-
moving that predators can hardly
see them in the trees.

The gray partridge has camouflaged Unfortunately for its prey,
plumage (feathers) like all ground- the gecko, the spotted bush
nesting birds. snake can’t be spotted!

A zebra’s stripes disrupt its outline, Wildlife photographers sometimes Indian rhinoceros skin hangs in
making it hard to see in the tall disguise their cameras as heavy folds that look like armor plate,
African grass. mounds of dung. deterring predators.

Wolf spiders have a drab color The lemur’s subtle variations
that matches their dusty habitat. in color make it hard to see.

An orchid mantis looks just like an Crocodiles look just like floating logs The long-tailed nightjar is almost
orchid flower, so its prey doesn’t when lying in wait for their prey. indistinguishable from leaf litter on the
see it coming. forest floor.
Soldiers wear camouflaged uniforms
to blend into their surroundings, so With its wings folded, this The horned frog’s coloration
they are harder for the enemy to spot. kitten moth blends in with keeps it hidden on the forest floor.
the tree where it rests.

A cheetah’s spots mean its prey can’t In West Africa, some Tribal hunters often paint their skin or Flower crab spiders blend into the
see it easily in the African grasslands. tribal people use use leaves to camouflage themselves. flowers to catch their prey unawares.
hornbill heads when
Leaf litter toads hide in hunting to disguise themselves as birds. The deadleaf mantis sits
the rotting vegetation by stock-still before pouncing
Like finding hidden things? Go to Holbein’s The Ambassadors on pp. 82–83 and Arnolfini Marriage on pp.84–85. streams in tropical forests. on its prey.

Peppered moths rest on Resembling a leaf, this leaf-tailed
trees where their mottled coloring gecko is hard to see when resting by
stops them from being seen by birds. day or hunting by night.

The fennec fox has a pale beige coat The North American bobcat’s stripes Unsuspecting victims can’t spot the
that reflects heat and hides it in the and spots make it hard to see in palm viper lying in wait amid palm
sand of the Sahara Desert. thick undergrowth. fronds in Central America.

White-tailed deer change A puss moth caterpillar’s tail Using camouflage, triangle web
from pale gray in winter to has a fake face to fool birds spiders remain unseen until their
mottled brown during summer. into going for the wrong end. prey is trapped.

Rattlesnakes are gray or brown The thorn bug looks just like
to blend in with their desert a rose thorn—and can prick
surroundings. any bird that tries to eat it.

The tawny frogmouth relies
on its plumage to make it
look like part of the tree.

Giant spots on an emperor moth’s Marsh frogs are Anthill lookouts are used to hide
wings resemble owls’ eyes, scaring brown like nature photographers.
off predators. marshland mud.

With its bright green plumage, the Water buffalo have a few stripes or When wet, a hippopotamus is
green leafbird is hard to spot in spots that break up their outline. blue-gray, hiding it underwater
its rain forest home. from crocodiles.

DasiaryeCmfscotootouehllnoromedrri,nlmCsrecduslovhainasfcasrprsaaortoitptytmfmnyhoere,oieira(nAgclpvsIsmr3luh.ecsidotlTrooaD(y,ifcyihalmanlovfemoastnsrarpolu,dicoqldageeudblZnuarhceiuyurfdar,aate–dtiil’wrdtccism.iocyatntoyiAoTtwstcuon3ohlldaohtectuf,sraniDeoirsaewgdeliile,ndmroohihstassEshtnrsoesm,peesiingntnaso)otdraocntnaamnob.lhdruenddeeskspdiisFnagicdolsgFvateirnuhaaLiyessrremtrei)(eapfldotaisfaotnseriwnedoVfnlneocSmsdagcIosrro)aeet.taunwrms.snvocsiedahnnhraecdfeaoziaenvrzptrgehltaet.ihemhfTdaecamhiakaytteelzaolacpseyzttuci—eildoviqatonanru“cagpet?fioinlilroroedauedeonlli”sadaapkorfmtIooebynhqvlororaiupetisnutlhirhrltdeieyneae.piondrroaatrorrbrodefletydhaui,nsegasahrhorjieyns,wgtbaeutleet,ro,dnicaemonds Fake

Diamond-making are made from pure carbon, so The CVP (Carbon Vapor Deposition)
they are real, but not natural. method involves building up layers of
Natural diamonds come from carbon from hydrocarbon vapor. CVP
carbon, forged under extreme heat The High Temperature High creates gems so convincing that even
and pressure deep in Earth’s core, Pressure (HTHP) method of expert jewelers are fooled into thinking
up to three billion years ago. They producing synthetic diamonds they are natural diamonds.
were brought to the surface during involves cooking and crushing
carbon under extreme heat and Uncut diamond in rock
volcanic activity. pressure. HTHP diamonds are rarely
good enough to make valuable
Piece of More recently, gems, but they are useful in industry.
carbon scientists have Their incredible hardness makes
found out how to them ideal for cutting edges and
make diamonds drill bits.
synthetically. Like
natural diamonds, the
synthetic versions

192 193 Fake diamonds

diamondsDiaWmitohsndednias-mAefalotfonhkirdoitnusfirsggafehrupetdocdashsliiatmsisenmitbrogicsolioessnftfsuaotdfaokcotsnDhtehloruei.eatyliahaseerCaoerediTgd,ugemepeambohpbstbtnititteoyacoupdhasiondynnertzcpdsgiheirsicndatrlieer1eamcgfinfs-onrosom.oetta,nbtrnpooeLmhotiteaiitaeniieanmsmulnpIrmt,cpfdtimterieeaaadtihueay4rraenlrikiea,rsnskotrtaeti.eegliiteta2iwusmtetagohhSsdssaptoucd.caeeenicoc3tpnaeuvbtyn—Hrnrsamniraaeoa.rsao.u5bncgtadtlsturpaDt.ndEhieh’ao,.ekcrnttku.xarneandnhbnlTeeaasttpetsecn,euunohreweeetaoxerdhstieeehtensruvrieetgsaret,jtaebestuhasmsaysoclh,ry6bsadttnooioaeda—ttftnli.aaryanredaeiilselasmXcvmadisstfrcwonmfkahient-trwipoanmoea—kh—arraroklocnoe,mnaeeerieleenenesdlustvxdfyctdlsoddhatelhceuugyeiadnkesoeseaacbchortseodlp.anmrlhtidldnscnei.nadteevooithn’aciwyczhti.danettamtieshymirdrnafctpooia.lrmtotoiabnkuseennnreocdetsekdiho.nat.lsi.—epds.is,yifnt—aahktedebhseyepndasssthoaetimnern’ritenncgoofXnd-lirugachytst can

For more sparkle and shine, go to Lost treasure on pp. 26–27 and Hidden gold on pp. 34–35.

3AFECRACKING Winning combination
The best way to break into a safe is to know the
Given enough time and the right tools, a safecracker combination. A surprising number of people forget to
can break into just about any safe. Most safes have change the standard combinations set by the safemakers,
a combination lock, which can only be unlocked by or even leave the number
dialing the correct sequence of numbers. However, written down somewhere.
safecrackers know many techniques that don’t involve
number crunching. Electronic safes have keypads

instead of dials, but cracking the digital codes
is easy for computer-savvy thieves.

Torching Rear drilling
Sometimes a safecracker may get a bit hot under the collar The cracker can always drill in through the back.
trying to burn out a lock with an oxyacetylene burner, or, if Two holes are needed—one for the borescope,
he has state-of-the-art gear, a plasma cutter or thermic lance. and one for a very long screwdriver to unscrew
the lock from the inside.

Blow it up!
A safecracker’s last resort is quick, but
it’s also very noisy and may destroy
whatever is inside. The thief pours
nitroglycerine (a highly explosive liquid)
into the door frame. Then he inserts a
fuse, lights it, and swiftly stands back.

194 195 Safecracking

Manipulation ELECTRONIC SAFES
A good safecracker can work out the
correct combination by listening with Crackers can spray an electronic keypad with ultraviolet
a stethoscope. Each number in ink, then shine a UV flashlight on it to reveal finger marks.
a combination relates to a
different wheel, located
behind the dial. A cracker
can listen for the faint
clicks as the wheels are
moved into place. When
the correct combination
is dialed, wheel
notches line up
and the safe can
be opened.

Diagonal drilling Front drilling
Another option is to drill down diagonally A safecracker may simply drill out the lock.
from above to insert a fiber-optic viewer, After drilling through to the lock wheels,
called a borescope, for watching the the cracker inserts a rod to push the fence
wheels while trying out combinations. (bolt) that locks them out of the way.

Clever computer software programs
linked to a safe will run through all
of the possible combinations until they

find the right one. Lazy crackers can
put their feet up and wait for their
computers to unlock the loot!

"//- Safekeeping
Of course, if all else fails, a safecracker
can always steal the entire safe and crack
it in his own time…

For more inside info on criminal capers, get into Hackers on pp. 60–61 and Private eye on pp. 106–107.

Top Secret *;VOULZVWYPPYLHZJ` Mibnptaheahnleriieytstvtorpoeufe,reyaoafpnacadlroceetntstrsnh.ypoinittrokaacstphyrta—ohtveealya,npstdhleamaentmataro.knTceehovveneeycnnettsails

sStoamr-setupdedoepdlesakrygiunetthheatbathcekrgerosuhnodulodfhtahvies been a
photograph.

yTehtethAemreeriiscanno flbargeewzaesobnlotwheinMg,oon.

SdkeespetrictsinbeNleievvaedath. is surface resembles the MOON LANDING
196 197 Conspiracy theories
On July 20, 1969, US astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped onto
the Moon’s surface with the now-famous words, “This is one
small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” When mission
partner Buzz Aldrin joined him on the Moon, Armstrong took
this photograph. But did they really make history with their
Moon landing? Conspiracy theorists believe it was faked.
They think the US was so eager to beat the Russians to the
Moon that they staged the landing in the desert in Nevada.
They also ask where the stars are in the photos, and how
the flag could move when there is no wind on the Moon. In
response, scientists point out that the distance to the Moon
can now be accurately measured from Earth by shining a laser
beam at the reflectors that were left there by the astronauts.

TITANIC DISASTER Top Secret

On April 14, 1912, the ocean liner Titanic sank
on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean,
claiming 1,500 lives—or at least that’s what the
history books tell us. Some people say the ship
that went down was really its sister ship Olympic.
A few months earlier, Olympic was damaged in
a collision. Conspiracy theorists say the owners
patched Olympic up, switched its name plates
with those of Titanic, and sent the ship on a
voyage with the intention of sinking it slowly and
claiming huge sums in insurance. Unfortunately,
the ship hit one of the unlit rescue ships that the
owners had in position ready for the “accident.”
The owners said it hit an iceberg to prevent their
plan from being uncovered. Theorists also point
out that the ship’s owner, J. P. Morgan, was
supposed to be on board, but canceled, blaming
an illness, and 500 Belfast crewmen refused to
board the ship despite being in need of work.
Divers who have explored the ship’s wreck,
however, are convinced it is Titanic.

THE BLACK DEATH

Between 1347 and 1351, a terrible outbreak
of disease called the plague swept across
Asia and Europe. Nicknamed the Black Death,
it ravaged city after city, killing in excess of
25 million people—more than a third of
Europe’s population. We now know the disease
is spread by the fleas on black rats, but at the
time rumors of a conspiracy were rife. Some
people thought the water in wells had been
deliberately infected to spread the disease.
Others said that India knowingly sent ships
with infected rats to Europe. None of these
rumors had any truth in them, but what does
seem likely is that the Tartars (a people from
Central Asia) who were besieging Kaffa (now
Feodosiya, a port town in the Ukraine) helped
introduce the disease into Europe by hurling
infected corpses from their boat into the town.

To uncover more plots, go to Great escapes on pp. 68–71 and Mary Queen of Scots on pp. 92–93.

Top secret MARILYN MONROE

When glamorous Hollywood movie star Marilyn
Monroe was found dead on August 5, 1962,
the world was stunned. The inquest said the
blonde bombshell had killed herself with a huge
overdose of sleeping pills. But things didn’t quite
add up. Police were not called to the scene until
six hours after Marilyn’s publicist arrived. Marilyn’s
diaries were missing. Her body had unexplained
bruises. Some people claimed she was murdered,
because of her dubious connections with
gangsters or her controversial relationship with
President John F. Kennedy. It is also possible
that her death was an accident. Her psychiatrist
may have given her a fatal prescription of pills,
unaware that she had taken other drugs earlier.

hWohuysewkaeseptheer wroaoitmsololcoknegd tforocmallththeeopuotsliicdee?? And why did the

tbidruyisliende?oAf npdillwbhoyttwleass?it lying so

WnehaytlwyaosnMthareilbyne’ds, body
by a

In the hours before her death, Marilyn received a series of telephone
calls. Did any of these conversations lead her to commit suicide?
Or could she have received a call from her murderer?

198 199 Conspiracy theories