Conference hydra::dejavu

    Which leg? This is very important.
    
    K.

    RE: -1
    
    Why?
    
    Laurie.

   Re .0

   Are you *sure* it was blood and not the sun crying?

   Jane.

    Doubtless someone will come up with a "mystic" explanation, but I
    suggest it was from a bird flying very high, which was out of easy sight
    by the time the "blood" landed. It's difficult to spot something small
    in all that sky.
    
    No mystery at all.
    
    Laurie.

    Very unlikely, Laurie. If the blood had fallen that far, it would have
    congealed. Wendy, was it still warm? And what blood group was it?
    
    K.

I don't know who you guys are, but you're obvioiusly not taking this
highly strange incident seriously....

I was worried it might be a portent of death and was hoping for a 
more comforting explanation from those who might know.

Maybe it represents a symbol of fertility ?

Thanks

Wendy

   I still think it might be something to do with the ozone layer and the
   hole in it and all that.  There are all sorts of strange things reported
   in the papers regarding the ozone layer, or perhaps it's something to
   do with acid rain.  Who knows?

   Jane.

re< Note 1547.8 by COMICS::BELL "The haunted, hunted kind" >

   Frank,

   May I suggest you read my reply .9 which was entered exactly the same
   time as your .8.  In case it had escaped your notice, my note was
   not intended to wind anyone up.  I have far better things to do with
   my time.  *If* I did intend to be humourous, as opposed to serious,
   then, being well aware with notes etiquette, I would not have hesitated
   in adding a smiley to my note.

   I, and I am sure many others, feel deeply that there are numerous 	
   amounts of people in this world who are totally unable to accept that
   others see things in different ways and hold different opinions 
   and beliefs.  We are all entitled to live our lives that way and there
   is nothing more irritating than people trying extremely hard to 
   persuade others that they are hold the "correct" belief.

   If your note is indicative of the reception I can expect in this
   conference, one that I happen to find extemely interesting and worth
   reading, then this conference has lost one noter, maybe a read-only-
   at-the-moment, but one who feels she could share her experiences or
   ask questions of others.  Let's hope others don't feel the same way.

   Live, let live and value differences.

   Jane.

Re .0, .7 (Wendy):

"Blood" from the sky is a well documented phenomemon, one of many that are
called Fortean, after Charles Fort, who collected reports of strange, often
inexplicable phenomena.  Usually there are whole showers of "blood" rather
than a solitary drop.

Other reported showers include frogs and fish.  If you'd like to read up on
Fort's reportage, try his _Book of the Damned_, which should be available
in libraries (I think Dover Press still sells it in a hardcover collection of
his four books).

There may be no "mystic" parameter to this at all.

If there is, the field's wide open.

Steve Kallis, Jr.

Thanks Steve for taking me seriously .. I've also heard of frogs falling
from the sky (bible's plague being the most famous) ...

This wasn't a wind up at all .. the blood really did fall on my leg !

I wasn't particularly worried about it - just thought it was strange.

Wendy

   Re .11

   That's amazing.  I've never heard of that before.  So, it's obviously
   happend to lots of other people before.  I'll try and get hold of a
   copy of that book at my local library.  Could be interesting reading.

   Jane.

    Let's keep in mind several things:

	1) Humor has generally been considered acceptable in this
	conference -- even on serious subjects (as long as there is not a
	clear indication, of course, that humor would be completely out of
	place, e.g., in discussions of painful personal incidents).  It is
	generally considered as "friendly banter", rather than not taking
	the subject seriously.  In a verbal discussion it is hard for their
	to be more than at most a couple of threads going.  Humor would be
	out of place because it is distracting.  In NOTES, on the other
	hand, all previous statements still exist so those who have nothing
	"serious" to reply with can reply with friendly humor in attempt to
	keep DEJAVU a cheerful "place" to be -- leaving room for more
	serious replies.

	2) There was no indication that humor would be considered out of
	place in this topic.

	3) This conference welcomes a wide range of opinions.  It is not
	the "property" of those who hold any particular viewpoint.  Good
	manners and respect for those with contrary beliefs is highly
	desirable but not required.  Beliefs are fair game, only personal
	attacks are actually forbidden.  It is very easy, however, to mis-
	perceive an attack on an idea as an attack on the person who
	expressed that idea.

	4) It is easy to misperceive an unexpected opinion as sarcasm since
	tone of voice is lacking (the converse is also true, and perhaps a
	more frequent problem).  Readers should take statements at face
	value if they possibly can, and look for the least objectionable
	interpretation to any statement.  (I know this is hard, long-time
	readers of this conference can probably remember a number of
	occasions where I fell down on this).

				    Topher

    Well, Topher . . . If you are quite finished!
    
    To the writer of the original note:  Do you suppose that the blood
    could have come OUT OF your leg?
    
    

When I responded a few replied ago, I carefully enclosed "blood" in quotation
marks because all we know for sure is that whatever it was looked like blood.
It was presumably a red liquid, but without examination via chemical or optical
means, there's no way to determine exactly what it was.

As I noted earlier, there have been many reports of strange things falling from
the sky, and Fort, who was not without a certain amount of humor suggested
that if one giant (flying) being was predated upon by another, the wounded
firts beast might drip, leading to a "showers of blood" report.

One explanation for at least some of the "rains of blood" is that some red 
material, possibly red clayey soil, might occasionally get sucked up in 
whirlwinds, where, if the conditions permitted, it might be divided into small
particles that would be captured in forming raindrops, that would then look like
blood upon striking objects on the ground.

On the other hand, one never knows....

Steve Kallis, Jr.

    Oh goodness...I just finished reading note 1541.12-13 (for the past
    3 hours! - I'm real busy today!) and if you have an open mind it
    could offer another unique explanation.  (Note 1541.0-.10 is very 
    long reading so you might just jump over to .12 - explanations of 
    various animate and inanimate objects falling from the sky are 
    discussed.)
    
    Ya-tah-hey!
    Bunkie
    @;)

RE .15

The blood did not come OUT of my leg ! ;-)  I'm not blind !  ;-)

Also - it couldn't have fallen from a great height as Laurie suggested,
if it had, it would have splattered on my leg with greater force.
No, instead it rested as a globule measuring about 1 inch across, neatly
on my leg.  It was blood, I smelled it and tasted it (yeuch).  

I'm as down to earth and sceptical as the next person.  I don't put any
theories forward myself, but this is the first wierd experience that
I've personally encountered.

I don't mind not knowing what the origin was, I tend not to believe in
supernatural forces, but I do enjoy reading the theries offered (thanks).

Wendy

Hi Wendy,

	Perhaps some more info could be helpful. I am thinking particularly
	whether you were in close proximity to a source of said "blood" or
	not, i.e. if you were within a few feet of other people, the blood
	could have come from this source for whatever reason - e.g. some
	unfortunate experiencing a nosebleed or injury (perhaps sneezing, I
	don't know). If however there was nothing in close proximity in any
	direction, then it is very odd. If it is a "natural" source we could
	assume that the source was unobserved; perhaps it was at the side or
	behind you, although when the blood hit your leg - you would naturally
	look to the sky first due to your posture.

	As was mentioned, odd object falling from the sky are well documented
	but I agree that such objects are usually in groups, not solitary
	items. Very strange	;'/

	So, were there any likely sources close enough? ("wherever")

								- JIM CAD*
	

    Re .18 Re .15
    
    To get a one-inch globule, you have to pour a liquid carefully from a
    short distance.  You cannot get an isolated globule of that size from
    random "raindrops".  Experiment by pouring a small amount of water on
    your desk.                                              
    
       
    
    

    Wendy... if it ever happens to you again... DON'T TASTE IT.

Re .21 (Mary):

    >Wendy... if it ever happens to you again... DON'T TASTE IT.


But if you can, collect it in a clean container for analysis.

Steve Kallis, Jr.

(ooer !)

This is getting interesting !  OK, The only reason I put this note in here is
because I had already explored all logical explanations and could find none.

The circumstances were as follows:

I was beside a lake, far enough away from the actual water to negate any
possibility of a "splash".  I was lying on the grass, on my side reading.
There were no other people, or animals at the lake (it was one of those
out of the way places) and I was on my own.  I was naked, so there's no
possibility of illusion on material for example.  I was not menstruating, so
any theory related to that is out.

The blood globule *was* large, that's why I've mentioned it, and the fact 
that it rested neatly on my leg, and not splashed as if fallen from a height
prompted me to wonder where it had come from.

There were no birds about - really !  The area appears to be devoid of them.
Certainly there were none around at the time that this happened.

Ok - why should I not taste it ?

Wendy

    As to the size, blood always seems more than it is. Most people vastly
    over estimate the quantity.

    >Ok - why should I not taste it ?

    It might not have been blood and could have been poisonous.

    Jamie.

    Even if it was blood it could have been tainted. The consequences
    for a small taste could have been pretty large.
    
    Jim C.
    

Re .23 (Wendy):

>This is getting interesting !  OK, The only reason I put this note in here is
>because I had already explored all logical explanations and could find none.

I trust the "rain of `blood'" citations might have opened up another possibility
among your alternatives.

> ..............................................  I was naked, so there's no
>possibility of illusion on material for example.  I was not menstruating, so
>any theory related to that is out.

If it were on the outside of your leg, as I thought I understood, then it 
wouldn't matter anyway.  I presume you checked your leg for even very tiny
puncture wounds?  (Just to rule out an insect bite.  Being naked, while often
pleasant, means more of one's skin is vulnerable.)

If you'd been able to collect it, an analysis could determine whether it was
blood; and if blood, whether it was human blood; and if human blood, how closely
it might have matched yours.

Now unlike some of our fellow conference members, I don't entirely rule out a
"supernatural" explanation.  But that shouldn't be the default.

Steve Kallis, Jr.

    Hmmm . . . Do seagulls get AIDS? ? ?
    

Re .27:

    >Hmmm . . . Do seagulls get AIDS? ? ?

Only very careless seagulls. ;-)

Steve Kallis, Jr.

(no puncture, no wound, no graze on my leg).

(No trees nearby, no birds flying overhead).

Do seagulls live 500 km inland ?  

Wendy

re -1

Gosh, well, since then I have been sick so I guess that's that mystery 
cleared up.

Aries is the sign with the knees, and I'm an Aries.

Wendy

re: 1547.31 
HOO78C::BOARDS 

>Aries is the sign with the knees, and I'm an Aries.

	Actually, Capricorn is the sign governing the knees/shins; Aries
	rules the head.

Gosh thanks Wal !

I'm not looking to get preganant yet (I guess I have to find a man first),
but when I do, can I come back here to get some advice ?

Wendy
dob: 17 April 1958 (time: 08:20)
place:  Cambridge, England

Getting back to the event:

A large globule of blood landing on one's leg should have been felt at impact.
Since it didn't appear to be, then maybe it just "appeared" there.  Since Wendy
was close to the lake, if she'd been wading, it's possible some sort of
leech might have attached itself and dropped off, leaving a very small open
wound.  Blood could have seeped out and pooled, resulting in the globule.

Just a random thought.

Steve Kallis, Jr.