I consider myself a pretty open person. I like to entertain interesting ideas for the sake of entertaining them, though I also consider myself a skeptic of anything truly crazy. If something can be explained by simple, likely mechanisms, then that is probably the explanation.
However, some things really just make me go “hmmm.”
Take for example the Baalbek Trilithon.
An ancient Roman site dating back over 2,000 years, the Temple of Jupiter Baal has quite an interesting feature. The stones that form the base are known as the “trilithon,” a set of three enormous blocks of hewn stone that each weigh over 750 tons. That’s 1,500,000 pounds (or 680,388.56 kg for you anti-Imperial bastards). Each!
A similarly sized stone was even stranded, called The Stone of the Pregnant woman. That one weighs about 1,200 tons.
Scholars endlessly debate how Roman architects could have moved such large stones. Some say the foundation stones predate the Romans, or even those before, such as Alexander the Great.
If it wasn’t the Romans or Greeks, then who?
Obviously, it was aliens.
Anyway, this made me hmmm quite a bit. These huge stones fascinate me, as do other monolithic structures dotted throughout the world. How did ancient cultures move such massive stones? This YouTube channel digs deep into many different ancient sites (heh, get it?) and strives to find the answer based on the most evidence. His video on Baalbek is quite informative and sound with its arguments. Check it out!
What else makes me go hmmm?
The Boötes Void.
It simultaneously makes me go hmmm and eeek. A great bubble of emptiness found in the constellation of Boötes, it looks like…
THIS
“Yawn,” you say. “A bunch of dots?”
I admit, this rendering does not really do the void justice.
Perhaps this one paints a better picture?
It is almost 330 million light-years across–a vast bubble of emptiness in which very, very few galaxies reside compared to our area of the universe. About 60 have been found within it.
To put it in perspective, if the Milky Way were in this void, we would have no idea that there were other galaxies until we developed powerful enough telescopes to detect anything outside of the Void.
Creepy.
Makes you rethink being scared of the dark, huh?
Of course, the Boötes Void has sparked many theories as to why it exists, ranging from smaller voids merging to…
You guessed it, aliens.
I mean, what if? Makes you go “hmmmm,” doesn’t it? Good thing it is 700 million light years away, right? You probably won’t live long enough for the galaxy-consuming alien race to come for us.
Probably.
This video does a great job explaining what Boötes Void is and why it’s so strange.
Those are just two things that have held my attention over the years. Many other things hold my attention occasionally…
Such as writing a sequel!
If you have not seen yet, I am calling Book 2 The Master of Night.
Stay tuned for more updates, such as a cover reveal!
If you want a sneak peek at the first couple chapters, be sure to sign up for my newsletter!
Until next time, I hope you are all well.
Tabby