heyA 27 years on man in India claims that he is the incarnation of the Hindu monkey god Hanuman.
Chandre Oram's claim is supported by his 13 inch tail. No, seriously. Dailytimes and DailyTelegraph.

Tucked away in a hamlet in Banarhat, over 650km north of Kolkata, the state Capital, devotees wait for hours to see or touch Oraon's 35cm tail, believing that it has healing powers.
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He said: "People have a lot of faith in me. They are cured of severe ailments when they touch my tail. I believe I can do a lot of good to those who come to me with devotion."

So basically what we have here is a god who's back as a man to heal the sick with a magic monkey tail. I don't know about you, but if people have to stroke his tail for magical things to happen, he's doing it the hard way.

Doctors say that it is a congenital anomaly, which means it is structural defects present at birth. Wikipedia has this to say.

Sadly, this man is probably at best an self-deceiver or worst, a con artist.

Posted by mingde at 8:28 pm | Permalink | Comments

There is an old Zen Koran that goes: If you see the buddha coming down the road, what should you do?
The traditional reply is: Kill the buddha!
The story usually breaks off there and the reader or student is left to ponder the meaning.

Quite a surprising answer, especially for such a peaceful religion. What it means is that we should abandon all dogma and question our beliefs. There is nothing wrong with holding beliefs, there is something very wrong when the belief holds us. Examine the evidences, investigate the viewpoints, analyse the data, and never ever believe anything blindly. In short, question everything.

This blog seeks to discuss the doubtful, the extraordinary, and the plain silly. From cults to alternative medicine, from astrology to the chain mails in our inboxes, from the current unemployment statistic to evolution.

Using a skeptical viewpoint, it aims to promote critical thinking, and debunk common fallacies and pseudoscience.

Dogbert puts it best: Out! Out! You demons of stupidity!

Posted by mingde at 8:27 pm | Permalink | Comments