By Tim Binnall
The Shroud of Turin, pre-Columbian visitors to the Americas, and clandestine testing of exotic weapons on unwitting Americans were among the fascinating topics explored this past week on Coast to Coast AM. And, here at the C2C website, we told you about a woman who was sucked out of a building while filming a tornado, an early morning Monopoly game that sparked a scuffle with a samurai sword-wielding man, and a spooky video possibly showing a ghost pushing a shopping cart into a man's car. Check out our round-up of highlights from the past week ... In Coast You Missed It.
While Christopher Columbus is often credited with putting the Americas on the proverbial map, it is believed that many cultures actually made the voyage long before 1492. These possible early visitors were detailed on Monday night's program by British historian James Martin, who posited that the presence of the continent was already known by the 'powers that be' in Europe prior to the famed explorer setting sail with a mission to claim the land. He went on to speculate that the Americas may have been first discovered in 2500 BC by the ancient Egyptians and noted that, at various times over the subsequent centuries, the 'new world' is seemingly said to have been visited by explorers from China, Rome, and Africa.
A pair of particularly odd potential ghost videos popped up in the news this past week, beginning with a case wherein a paranormal investigator in Texas saw his car smashed into by an errant grocery cart that, security footage later showed, has seemingly come to life after he had walked past it in a parking lot. Reflecting on the weird incident, the man theorized that the carriage had been pushed by a mischievous spirit that had become attached to him following a ghost hunt the previous day. Later in the week, a video purportedly showing a security guard encountering a ghost surfaced online, though not everyone is convinced that the spooky scene was genuine.
The legendary Shroud of Turin was in the spotlight on Thursday night's program as photography expert Barrie Schwortz discussed the history of the mysterious linen cloth and shared his analysis of the enigmatic image seen on the relic. He revisited a controversial 1988 study which found that the Shroud was from 1260 to 1390 and offered his argument for why this may not necessarily be accurate. Schwortz also talked about his spectral analysis of the cloth and how, in his opinion, the peculiar image is neither a painting nor created by a photographic process. As such, he conceded that it is still uncertain how the perceived picture of Jesus came to be on the cloth and left open the possibility that it very well may be a genuine miracle.
The awesome power of Mother Nature was on full display this past week via a jaw-dropping video wherein a woman filming a tornado in Arkansas wound up being sucked out of a building by the storm. The wild footage was captured from the doorway of a dental office by Kimberly Shaw, who was mesmerized by the sight of a powerful twister heading towards her. Rather than run for cover, the astounded witness rather foolishly stood her ground and filmed the scene as the tornado smashed into the building. Amazingly, Shaw was briefly pulled outside by the wind, but managed to survive the incident thanks to her husband, who held her tight and yanked her back inside to safety.
Could clandestine forces within the U.S. government be using exotic weapons on its own citizens? On Saturday night's program, whistleblower Michael Fitzhugh Bell asserted that just such a scenario is taking place and claimed that he is a victim of a secret program that has been targeting him for years. He recounted being drugged and kidnapped back in 2008 and, upon waking up from the ordeal, discovering that it was eight days later and his body was covered in surgical scars. Since that time, the self-described 'targeted individual' said, he has been forced to endure all manner of human experimentation using advanced neurological weapons, including one which allows for the control of the human brain.
By far the most bizarre story of the week came by way of Belgium, where a misguided Monopoly game led to a scuffle involving a samurai sword that left a man fighting for his life in the hospital. The very strange incident unfolded in the city of Brussels when a group of four people inexplicably decided to play the popular game on the sidewalk of a neighborhood at the ungodly hour of 5 AM. Understandably irritated by their hijinks, an irate resident ventured over to the players and began arguing with them while brandishing a samurai sword. A fight subsequently ensued and, when the dust settled, the katana-wielding man wound up hospitalized after the blade of his weapon pierced an artery during the brawl.
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