SGU Episode 111

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Introduction

You're listening to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.

S: Hello & welcome to the Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe. Today is Wednesday September 5th, 2007, and this is Steven Novella, uh your host. Let me say that again. And this is your host Steven Novella, President of the New England Skeptical Society. Joining me this evening are Bob Novella.

B: Hey everybody.

S: Evan Bernstein

E: Hi everyone.

S: and Jay Novella

J: Hey guys.

S: Rebeca is on a cruse ship in Alaska.

J: With Randi.

S: She is with Randi, she is on the JREF Cruse, with Randy and some other prominent skeptics.

J: It's a booze cruise isn't it?

S: Well Rebecca is on it.

B: Right.

S: Apparently they are going to be doing some skeptical lectures at some point in time during the cruise.

E: Hopefully in the mornings.

B: That's a great cruise, I recommend it.

S: But she of course will be back with us next week.

E: I'm sorry, can I throw out that I wish everyone a happy teachers Day in India today?

J: Just in India?

S: Apparently you can.

E: Just in India, sorry, so everyone else has to remain ignorant, But uh in India Happy Teachers Day to all our India listeners.

S: Thank you Evan.

B: Do we have any?

J: Did we ever get an email from somebody in India, I don't even remember?

E: I believe we do, several.

S: I don't remember if we've ever gotten any emails from any listeners in India. Well if any of our listeners are from India send us a shout out to let us know that you're out there. This is our eleventy first episode.

E: I love that. A little tip of the hat to Tolkien.

S: Right, We have an excellent interview coming up later in the show with Bill Nye the Science Guy.

B: I can't wait for that

E: Yeah

News Items

Airline Sacrifices Goats (1:45)

S: Very good, but first let's do some news items. One news item that's been making the rounds this past week deals with the Nepal state run airline, who apparently sacrificed two goats to appease the Hindu sky God following technical problems with one of their Boeing 757 aircraft. So that was their response to the technical problems, to kill a couple of goats to appease the gods.

E: I wonder if it worked?

S: Well the plane didn't crash.

J: Do you think they have little like pen at the air port where they keep them there and raise them there?

S: Yeah, that would be efficient, you would keep goats right at the airport, sacrifice them as needed to the sky god.

E: Right next to the bar.

B: It dosent sound like something that is done very often, but wouldn't, after they sacrificed the goats,just wouldn't you have loved just to see the wing just fall off, just something like that happen.

E: While its on the runway.

B: Yeah, and nobody in it of course.

S: But. to see absolutely nothing happen, because anything will be interpreted as significant. Although nothing will be to.

E: But the Sky God!!

B: It's a win, win situation.

E: Think about that, think about back thousands of years when people were worshiping Zeus and Thor and whom ever elce, I mean this is what that smacks of, and its just incredible that people kinda really, they will take that seriously. I don't know what much more to say.

S: Something they said on the news