The Boston Globe used to have a reputation as a good newspaper. I've had
their site linked on my web page for over a year. The paper carried
regular essays by physicist Chet Raymo, who would certainly have commented
skeptically on this one, particular the freezing water ddemo. But I see
Chet's name is no longer listed as a regular contributor.=20
This is an example of what we are up against in trying to instill in
students an understanding of science and the scientific methods of
inquiry, a skeptical attitude toward extraordinary claims (a sensitive
"humbug detector").
=09-- Donald
=20
=2E....................................................................
Dr. Donald E. Simanek Office: 717-893-2079
Professor of Physics FAX: 717-893-2048
Lock Haven University, Lock Haven, PA. 17745
dsimanek@eagle.lhup.edu http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek
=2E....................................................................
=20
The Boston Globe OnlineBoston.com Boston Globe Online / Nation | World
Pyramids point way to a better world, Russian says
=20
By David Filipov, Globe Staff, 03/21/98
=20
MOSCOW - Imagine a world without disease, natural disasters,
or territorial disputes. Flu pandemics would be mere memories, as
would killer tornadoes and calamitous floods. Peace would reign in the
Balkans and the Middle East.
=20
The way Moscow mathematician Alexander Golod sees it, this imaginary
world will soon be reality. The source of his optimism is pyramid
power. Or, to be precise, the harmonizing force that emanates from
strategically placed pyramids.
=20
Golod spends his spare time traveling the former Soviet Union,
erecting pyramids and studying their effects on the surroundings. He
has concluded that mankind can eliminate crime, civil war, bad
harvests, cancer, and earthquakes by building pyramids.
=20
Golod, whose day job is director of a factory that makes weather
gauges for Russian military aircraft, is not alone in his theory.
Dozens of Muscovites who claim that his pyramids have helped cure
their ailments swear by his theories. So do some of Moscow's leading
scientists and one of President Boris N. Yeltsin's senior aides,
Kremlin charge d'affaires Pavel Borodin.
=20
It was Borodin's support that helped Golod win permission to erect his
most powerful pyramid - a 70-foot structure on the shores of Lake
Seliger, 200 miles northwest of Moscow. Golod's pyramids, which are
made of fiberglass, are pointier than the famous Egyptian ones. And
while their assembly does not require the forced labor of thousands of
slaves, they are not cheap at $250,000 each.
=20
''Yes, they are expensive, but if enough pyramids are constructed
around the world, by the next millennium, humanity will be free of
disaster and disease,'' Golod predicted recently in his Moscow office.
=20
While much of the planet is slow to accept the idea, Golod, who
finances his projects with a used-tire business he also runs, figured
out a cost-effective way to pyramidize Russia.
=20
''Rocks kept in a pyramid for even a short period of time retain all
the necessary information,'' he explained. Spread out on his table is
a huge map of the Moscow, dotted with small piles of polished gems
placed in concentric rings around the city's limits. These symbols
mark the 50 piles of pyramid-treated granite Golod has installed
around the Russian capital.
=20
''The effect is the same as if I built a huge pyramid over all of
Moscow,'' he contended. Among the effects Golod predicts: The city's
annual flu epidemic will be minimal this year and will disappear
altogether next year.
=20
This prediction is not as bold as it sounds. Lyubov Zhomova of the
Moscow City Health Committee acknowledged that this year's flu
outbreak was several times smaller than in recent years. But she
doubts Golod's pyramids are responsible.
=20
Golod said ailing Muscovites have begun visiting his factory, where he
dispenses treatments at no cost. These include hypodermic solutions
made with pyramid water, small pieces of polished pyramid quartz (to
be swallowed for stomach ailments), even ''treated'' bottles of vodka
(which Golod claims cures alcoholism). But despite positive feedback
from those he has treated, Golod insists that curing individuals is
not his main line of work.
=20
''I'm no faith healer,'' he said. ''I'm a scientist.''
=20
Golod produces dozens of test results from Moscow research institutes
to support his claims. One study found that water exposed to the
pyramids has ''a stimulating effect on the ability of human cells to
survive and proliferate.'' Another concluded that pyramid water is a
very effective blood coagulant. A third described a 3-mile-high
ionized cloud, similar to those found above nuclear reactors,
emanating from the Lake Seliger pyramid.
=20
Golod takes the truly skeptical to Lake Seliger for a display of
pyramid power. On a winter's day, a bottle of mineral water kept
inside the unheated pyramid did not freeze, even though the
temperature was 1 degree Fahrenheit. But when he tapped the bottle -
destroying the harmonious effect of the pyramid, he explained - it
froze in an instant.
=20
Anyone who questions what any of this has to do with world peace
should follow events in Israel, where some Golod followers erected a
pyramid and several rings of treated rocks several weeks ago. Stay
tuned.
=20
One of Golod's visitors complained of a headache as he was about to
leave. Golod offered him two small amounts of sugar that had been
exposed to the pyramid. Within minutes, the headache was gone.
=20
So, a second guest wondered, can pyramids cure lower back pain?
=20
No, advised Golod. ''For that, you have to go to a masseuse.''
=20
This story ran on page B02 of the Boston Globe on 03/21/98.
=A9Copyright 1998 Globe Newspaper Company.
=20
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