Thanet Strange Things
Do you know of any odd things you have noticed whilst travelling around Thanet ?
Tell us and we will post them here
How To Tell If Yout Head's About To Blow Up
>From the WEEKLY WORLD NEWS, May 24, 1994
MOSCOW -- Doctors are blaming a rare electrical imbalance in the brain for the
bizarre death of a chess player whose head literally exploded in the middle of
a championship game!
No one else was hurt in the fatal explosion but four players and three
officials at the Moscow Candidate Masters' Chess Championships were sprayed
with blood and brain matter when Nikolai Titov's head suddenly blew apart.
Experts say he suffered from a condition called Hyper-Cerebral Electrosis or
HCE.
"He was deep in concentration with his eyes focused on the board," says Titov's
opponent, Vladimir Dobrynin. "All of a sudden his hands flew to his temples and
he screamed in pain. Everyone looked up from their games, startled by the
noise. Then, as if someone had put a bomb in his cranium, his head popped like
a firecracker."
Incredibly, Titiov's is not the first case in which a person's head has
spontaneously exploded. Five people are known to have died of HCE in the last
25 years. The most recent death occurred just three years ago in 1991, when
European psychic Barbara Nicole's skull burst. Miss Nicole's story was reported
by newspapers worldwide, including WWN. "HCE is an extremely rare physical
imbalance," said Dr. Anatoly Martinenko, famed neurologist and expert on the
human brain who did the autopsy on the brilliant chess expert. "It is a
condition in which the circuits of the brain become overloaded by the body's
own electricity. The explosions happen during periods of intense mental
activity when lots of current is surging through the brain. Victims are highly
intelligent people with great powers of concentration. Both Miss Nicole and Mr.
Titov were intense people who tended to keep those cerebral circuits
overloaded. In a way it could be said they were literally too smart for their
own good."
Although Dr. Martinenko says there are probably many undiagnosed cases, he
hastens to add that very few people will die from HCE. "Most people who have it
will never know. At this point, medical science still doesn't know much about
HCE. And since fatalities are so rare it will probably be years before research
money becomes available."
In the meantime, the doctor urges people to take it easy and not think too hard
for long periods of time. "Take frequent relaxation breaks when you're doing
things that take lots of mental focus," he recommends.
How did this cat manage this ?
From "Coptopper"
The mystery aircraft at Birchington. Some years ago Superintendent George Rogers was in charge of Thanet Police. He was allegedly guest of honour at a School Prizegiving held at the Winter Gardens. The school staff, the parents and the pupils settled back to pay heed to his address.
"Well I, hoff cooorse, faled hall my hixams at skule and so hed to bigcome hay perlice kidette"
Apparently George looked a little confused at the mixed reaction ... pupils beaming at the acquisition of ammunition with which to resist further parental blandishments that a lucrative future depends on academic achievement and competence ... parents and teachers groaning and burying their heads in their hands with only the prospect of Winter Gardens catering as any sort of highlight left for the day. The over boiled brussels were all the more appreciated.
I mention this story to establish a context. George had a bright idea to promote road safety and car security in Thanet. He hired a plane operating out of Manston to tow road safety messages in the skies above Thanet. "Drive carefully and do not forget not to leave your valuables on show" etc
Well, of course, drivers whipping past the 6th Thanet Rifle and Gun Club at Birchington were already mindful of the need to be alert for overshots from the range as off duty police played paramilitaries with excess calibre weapons at the range. Suspicious of further police based projectiles in the locale they would scan the skies and read the towed notices most carefully .. hence taking their eyes off the road and creating accidents which then cunningly acted as the police, revenue raising, justification for installing a spate of speed cameras.
At one time, from the Westgate area, Thanet had a councillor with a brain (yes I know the difficulties readers will have with this claim but it has to be said) and he queried the rationality of towing road safety signs behind aircraft as they diverted driver attention from matters like driving and dodging off duty police gunfire overshots.
George of course smarted at the idea any layman (let hay lone hay count cilla) would question his "Profeshinall perlice jugmint" and decided to review his road safety initiative. He thought the problem might be resolved by night flying .....
This is where the museum at Manston came into the equation ... when police requirements for a night bomber were put to them.
Things could have got much worse when George was a guest at the Hop Farm War and Peace Show "Nah hiff honely we cood ev sum a dose Sherbert tanks to control road speed near day sixf fanit gun club" mused George out loud. This led to the otherwise unexplained increase in business for the Isle's chiropractic community ... members of the Invicta Military Preservation Society having leapt for cover gibbering denials about owning military tracked vehicles and stifling laughter at the image invoked of a sherbert tank. Slipped discs and consequent difficulty in removing the combat suits worn for these occasions.
A number of Kent Adventure Training Corps cadets were on hand to divert GDon't beeorge's attention by flattering him with manly salutes whilst calling him "Sah" much taken with the military habit of using loud voices. Hence George is thought to have put aside his ideas for further use of World War Two equipment in the pursuit of Intelligence led policing in Thanet. The plane however ... keeps flying from time to time and Kent Police Authority (never the brightest) duly pay the bill. If the musem were prepared to lend a searchlight then the message it tows could be read. Rumours suggest the towed array reads "George has emigrated down under did anyone see him go ? He forgot to cancel our contract"
From "Chris"
Ghost Plane.
A Ghost plane regularly flies over Birchington at around 23-30 hours, it is a large propellor plane sounding like a world war 2 bomber, it makes an approach over Birchington to land at Manston. this plane cannot be seen only heard.
I contacted Manston to ask them why an aircraft regularly breaches there 23-00 hours airport closure time and they told me, that they do not have a large propellor driven aircraft landing regularly at that time, as a matter of fact the only large aircraft are jets and the only propellor driven aircraft are small cessna type planes and a small double winger which does not fly at those late hours.
Do we have a Ghost plane from world war 2 ? something is not right.---------------Spooky.
Listen out for it-----------------------it is out there.
From "zx7r"
So many houses in Birchington have Flint toppings to thier perimeter walls and gate posts, anyone know why ?
In Minnis Bay there is a sign post back to front for the cycle route, it has not been turned by yobs either, it is definately erected wrongly. Cyclists could end up going in circles :)</SCRIPT>
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