the mystery spot

[orbsycli]

some of you may have heard of the mystery spot, maybe even been there. and i have heard there is more than one?
well, the one i went to was buried deep in the santa cruz mountains.
i've been there a few times, and never understood how it could be possible.

balls roll uphill, the gravity is severely warped in this area. they say that when airplanes fly right above it, their instruments go haywire too.

can anybody explain what is going on at the mystery spot?
(i'll try and find a link to their website if they have one)

[orbsycli]

http://www.mysteryspot.com/

the website is really cheezy and tourist-y if you've never been there to experience it.

[Buffy]

Remnants of a bygone era: the roadside attraction. My primary coffee mug is from a north coast relative called Trees of Mystery, although it lacks the Mystery Spots orientation toward "weird" effects. There's another one in Oregon, but I've never been there, although most of these things are long gone. Ah reminds me of one of my favorite Tom Robbins books: "Another Roadside Attraction"....

It's all optical illusions, and many are (or were in the past) replicated and explained at the Exploratorium in San Francisco.

Cheers,
Buffy

[Turtle]

___A similar place in Oregon called the Oregon Vortex makes claim to strange phenomena, but the examinations I have seen say it is all just visual illusions. By the time you tilt the floor & then tilt a shelf, it gives the illusion of balls, water, etc rolling uphill.
___Gravity anomolies exist, ie. varyings degrees of strength of gravity, but it does not cause 'high weirdness' as these places suggest. They are just tourist traps.

[C1ay]

Originally Posted by Buffy

Remnants of a bygone era: the roadside attraction.

Giving way to the net-side attractions that are now brought to us via the web. Places that many of us may never see in real life are now brought to us via webcams. I sometimes wonder how some of these small roadside attractions stay alive anymore.

[orbsycli]

the thing that got me though wasn't a visual illusion. they used a level to show that it was actually uphill, and a billiard ball rolled up this wooden plank. yeah, the visual illusion made it seem more dramatic, but the ball rolled up hill.

and how do you explain the interferance with the airplane instruments, and the trees that grow in crazy patterns???????

[Turtle]

___The level is part of the illusion, akin to 'nothing up my sleeve'. The airplane business is anecdotal & unsubstantiable. The trees grow in weird shapes for many reasons including soil chemistry, other plants in the area, amount & direction of the Sunlight reaching the plants, wind & lightening damage, soil creep, etc, etc.
___The only mystery is as C1ay suggested; the mystery of how these places seperate so many people from their money.

[orbsycli]

*sigh
i loved that place as a kid.

if you're ever in the santa cruz area you guys should check it out, it's still really cool. plus you get a free bumper sticker. and come on...who doesn't want a free bumper sticker?

[Turtle]

I fluff in the general direction of the free bumper stinker.

[Buffy]

Originally Posted by Turtle

I fluff in the general direction of the free bumper stinker.

In Northern California, those yellow Mystery Spot bumper stickers are considered a warning sign indicating a tourist and a go ahead to blow their doors off passing them on hwy 1....

Vroom,
Buffy