UFO'S of UAP'S, ASTRONOMIE, RUIMTEVAART, ARCHEOLOGIE, OUDHEIDKUNDE, SF-SNUFJES EN ANDERE ESOTERISCHE WETENSCHAPPEN

Every now and again, when I’m either lecturing on the Men in Black phenomenon, or being interviewed on radio on the subject, the matter of Jello surfaces. Yeah, really. It’s a fact that the MIB and Jello have a connection, as strange as it certainly sounds. Google “Men in Black + Jello” and you’ll see what I mean. You will find numerous references online to a certain case from the 1960s – involving a Man in Black and Jello. But, not everyone knows the full story. So, today, I thought I would rectify that.

John Keel, the author of the acclaimed 1975 book, The Mothman Prophecies, was someone who had a deep interest in the Men in Black enigma and who even found himself in their clutches from time to time. Of the many cases that Keel personally investigated, one of the strangest has persisted – probably because of its sheer weirdness. It’s a story which had its origins in late 1966. And, it’s a story which Keel shared in his 1970 book, UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse. Keel also made mention of the case on many occasions in his lectures, too. But, on with the story.

The location was a field in a rural part of the 19^th century city of Owatonna, Minnesota. It was late one night in ’66 when a Mrs. Butler and a friend were staring at a patch of the night sky, watching a curious display of unidentified bright lights dance around. Without warning, one of the lights dropped from the heavens at high speed. Just before it hit the ground, the UFO came to a sudden halt, bobbing just a few feet above the field, not unlike a small boat on ocean waters. In disturbing fashion, Mrs. Butler fell to the ground and briefly appeared to be under some kind of supernatural possession. Suddenly, the light shot away, vanishing into the night sky, and Mrs. Butler recovered. Ominously, and for the next few days, whenever the two friends tried to share the details of their encounter they were hit by pummeling migraines and debilitating weakness. But, there was something else, too.

During the course of the interview between Mrs. Butler and John Keel, something very intriguing surfaced. Quite out of the blue, she asked Keel if he knew anything about mysterious men visiting UFO witnesses; men who looked like military personnel, but who may not have been. Keel, who was hardly a stranger to the MIB phenomenon, played matters down a bit and said that, yes, he had heard a few such stories. Actually, Keel had dozens of such cases on record, but he didn’t want to risk influencing Mrs. Butler. Instead, Keel sat back and listened as she told her story.

Mrs. Butler told Keel that some six months after the UFO sighting, a “Major Richard French” turned up on her doorstep, identifying himself as a representative of the military and asking questions about flying saucers. Just like all of the Men in Black, there was something just not right about Major French: his skin was an odd shade of olive. His face was extremely pointed, and particularly so his chin. He spoke English, but his accent was as blank as it could be. And he was dressed in a suit and a black tie, rather than in a military outfit.

Very oddly, Major French – quite out of the blue – said that his stomach was causing him some trouble. Mrs. Butler offered him some Jello, which he quickly declined. He soon left. The next day, though, the major was back. Yet again, he complained about his stomach. Mrs. Butler again offered him a bowl of Jello, hoping that it might help. Here is where surreal became beyond surreal. For a moment or two, Major French stared at the Jello, seemingly completely unaware of what it was. He then stared at the spoon Mrs. Butler had given him, as if he had no comprehension of what it was. He then awkwardly picked up the bowl and proceeded to try and drink the Jello. Mrs. Butler went silent and stared in disbelief. Major French did not hang around, realizing, it seems, that Mrs. Butler knew something was not quite normal – which is an understatement of absolutely epic proportions. He quickly left, never again bothering Mrs. Butler.

So, now you know.

{ http://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

The aptly named Shroud of Turin has been shrouded in mystery since its appearance in the mid-14th century. Stored in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, Italy, it is considered by many to bear the image of Jesus of Nazareth, miraculously transferred to the cloth when it allegedly wrapped the body after burial. Others who believe the carbon dating which indicates the cloth was made in the mid-14th century refer to the mysterious image as the Man in the Shroud. Whoever it is, we now had a 3D sculpture of the image, courtesy of Giulio Fanti, a teacher of mechanical and thermal measurements at the University of Padua in Padua, Italy, and a student of the Shroud.

Full-length photo of the Shroud of Turin

“This statue is the three-dimensional representation in actual size of the Man of the Shroud, created following the precise measurements taken from the cloth in which the body of Christ was wrapped after the crucifixion. Therefore, we believe that we finally have the precise image of what Jesus looked like on this earth. From now on, He may no longer be depicted without taking this work into account.”

From that quote in the Italian weekly magazine Chi and reported by Turin’s La Stampa news source, there seems to be no doubt in Fanti’s mind whose image is on the shroud … and now on a three-dimensional statue (picture here). While is well-protected in Turin from both the curious and the elements (the last public viewing was arranged by Pope Francis in 2013), Giulio Fanti has had access to the Shroud and numerous photographs and tests of it in his quest to prove its validity and disprove the carbon-dating tests. He’s the head of the Shroud Science Group, about 140 scientists dedicated to study of it, and has authored 8 books and more than 50 scientific works on the Shroud.

As a professor of mechanical engineering, Fanti was an ideal candidate to look at the two-dimensional measurements of the Man in the Shroud as a blueprint and translate them into three-dimensional directions which were then given to plaster master Sergio Rodella, who made the actual statue. In that respect, it’s no surprise that the ‘man in the statue’, like the Man in the Shroud, measures 5 feet, 11 inches in height, has a beard, long hair and Caucasian features, and looks like a man who died traumatically.

“On the Shroud, I counted 370 wounds from the flagellation, without taking into account the wounds on his sides, which the Shroud doesn’t show because it only enveloped the back and front of the body. We can therefore hypothesize a total of at least 600 blows. In addition, the three-dimensional reconstruction has made it possible to discover that at the moment of his death, the man of the Shroud sagged down towards the right, because his right shoulder was dislocated so seriously as to injure the nerves.”

The wounds may match a crucifixion, but the size and features don’t match what other historians believe Jesus of Nazareth looked like. In her new book, “What Did Jesus Look Like?“, Joan Taylor, professor of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism at King’s College London, used archaeology, images on coins and in paintings, and texts from the time period to determine what Jews in Judea and Egypt at the time of Jesus looked like. From that, Taylor thinks Jesus was about 5 feet 5 inches (1.7 meters) tall with brown eyes, black hair and olive-brown skin … but no long hair, beard or European nose and features. (Depictions here)

Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin

Scientifically speaking, Fanti has created an accurate 3-D statue of the Man in the Shroud, and Taylor has depicted an accurate image of what a Jewish man living in Nazareth at the time of Jesus would look like. Do either conclusively prove or disprove the identity of the Man in the Shroud? No. Does the Catholic Church or any other religious body require belief that the Man in the Shroud is Jesus of Nazareth? No.