Proof of the famous John Lennon Beatles-era misquote "We're bigger than Jesus now" finally arrived this week in the pendant shape of a raindrop.

While writing a piece on a Duke University study into "water-repellent leaf behaviour" for Physics World a reporter examined photos of the phenomenon and noticed something uncanny.

Amazingly, right there on the refractive surface of each droplet was the face of none other than former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr.

Calling the apparition "the Starkey effect" the reporter commented, "Bizarrely, everybody's favourite mop-topped Liverpudlian seems to reveal himself in the high-speed photo images of water-droplets being ejected from the leaf surface."

There is a compelling argument in this phantasmagorical occurrence to suggest that the Beatles have, as some claim Lennon implied, reached more than mere demigod status.

Until now, having a face suddenly appear supranaturalistically, has been the preserve of gods, saints and prophets. Think the Turin Shroud, Jesus in Marmite, Mary in cheese on toast or Mother Teresa's visage permeating the grain of a wooden apartment door.

Well, I don't know about you, but I'm about to leave my existing faith behind and convert to Ringoism. You might think I'm crazy, but I've a feeling that once you've seen thisthis you'll have to think again.

Anyway, I better be off, I'm going to commune with Ringo by listening to the Beatles' B-side Rain; the track Ringo believes features his best ever drumming. That can hardly be a coincidence, can it?

Image © clango, via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence

# posted by Fuse @ 2:02 AM  0 Comments

As an incorrigible daydreamer I know what it is like to overshoot one's destination. I once lived in flat number 4 but frequently used to find myself trying to unlock flat number 8 - a full two stories above.

I've also a history of missing my train station and, in my youth, was once woken from a delicious slumber by one of the late-shift cleaning crew. Despite this, even I have difficulty in wondering how a couple of Northwest Airlines pilots can have overshot Minneapolis Airport by a staggering 150 miles.

Now, I'm no cynic, but the pilots' explanation, that they were distracted by an intense discussion about aviation safety, may have a faintly fishy smell.

It sounds about as credible as a man telling his wife that he's put lipstick on his collar because her birthday is coming up and he wants to find out if she likes the colour - somehow it seems not to rub.

Perhaps I'm wrong, maybe the speculation that they'd fallen asleep is untrue and they really were arguing about the safest way to land a plane, which, to be honest, can only be equally as worrying.

Image © Global Jet via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence

# posted by Fuse @ 1:04 AM  0 Comments