The Cookie Cutter Phenomenon

I love the 80's.



Weird news report from 1984 near Grand Coulee Dam in Eastern Washington:

No one can figure out how, but a chunk of earth weighing tons was plucked out of a wheat field, as though someone used "a giant cookie cutter," and put down, right side up, 73 feet away. "All we know for sure is that this puzzle piece of earth is 73 feet away from the hole it came out of," said Greg W. Behrens, a geologist with the Bureau of Reclamation at Grand Coulee Dam.

Scientists now believe that the "Cookie Cutter Phenomenon" is caused by two seismic events intersecting, creating constructive interference, and ejecting out a small chunk of earth.

Another One;

Yes, the cookie-cutter phenomenon has left its mark again: more mysterious divots and holes in the ground. T. Jo nassen has sent us a study of the phenomenon published in Ottar, a publication of the Tromse Museum, in Norway. Even better, he has provided a translation, from which we quote a few paragraphs:

"About 1 km SE of Skogvollvatnet (a lake), at Skogvollmyra (a moor), a slab of turf 5.2 m long and 1.8 m wide, has, in an apparently inexplicable manner, torn itself loose from its 'mother turf' and placed itself 4-5 m away. The slab of turf is completely undamaged and is placed with the right side up. The piece of turf has rotated 20-30 degrees compared to the original hole. The hole in the moor is absolutely even at the bottom, and the angle between the bottom and its walls is 90 degrees. The hole is 30-35 cm deep, and its edges are nicely cut.

"From the hole there is a crack running westwards for about 6 m. Close to the hole this crack is somewhat widened, and one side of the crack twists itself 25-30 cm above the other. This twisting decreases as one gets further from the hole. The crack gradually subsides, and it is hard to tell exactly where it ends.

"About 12 m NW of the hole there is an arched crack of about 15 m lying with its concave side towards the hole. It is plainest in the middle. Here the side closest to the hole has been twisted upwards about 15 cm. Here also the crack gradually disappears at both ends. There is an open hollow beneath the part which has been twisted upwards, about 30 cm below the surface.

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The cookie cutter strikes again, 4 times in Norway

Cookie cutter anomaly

What the hell was going on here?

I came across this old video and was intrigued, so I thought I would share.

Anyone know any new information about this?

Did this just quit or what?

I enjoy the part in the video about the geologist not ruling out Extra Terrestrials.

Any thoughts?

Pred...

Strange Holes Discovered in Krasnoyarsk Region

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Residents of Novoselovo district in the Krasnoyarsk region have come across a mysterious phenomenon in the field. They discovered several tunnels of unknown origin in an area located some 100 meters away from the highway connecting the cities of Krasnoyarsk and Abakan, in the vicinity of the village of Kurgany, Siberian News Agency reports.

There are about 10 holes in the field. Each hole has an entrance to a cave-like hollow place in the earth. Some of the tunnels are big enough for a person of medium height to stand up straight. According to one of the suppositions, all the underground passages are interconnected in a network. A few daredevils equipped with flashlights attempted walking across the tunnels.

Local residents have a number of theories to explain the origin of the tunnels. Some people believe the tunnels are the work of unidentified pranksters, others blame mysterious animals which reportedly dig holes in the ground. According to yet another theory, the tunnels may somehow be related to an earthquake that occurred in the area 3 years ago.

Krasnoyarsk scientists have not yet made any official statements as to the explanation of the phenomenon.

And another one...

source

reply to post by predator0187


This is a new one to me. Thanks for the post Pred! Very fascinating! S+F!!!

This is the first that ever heard of such phenomena.. Quite interesting... Thanks for sharing it. S&F

Originally posted by DisturbedToo
reply to post by predator0187

 

This is a new one to me. Thanks for the post Pred! Very fascinating! S+F!!!

Your welcome!!

I thought so too, I watched the video and found it amusing so I had to share it here. First of I heard of it as well. Interesting stuff.

Pred...

Good topic my friend!

Originally posted by predator0187
Weird news report from 1984 near Grand Coulee Dam in Eastern Washington:

Any thoughts?

There's an existing thread on this topic but the title is so much different it would be nearly impossible to find it in a search, I only managed to find it because I knew it existed:

UFOs And Holes In The Ground

The other thread has the exact same video on the Washington case as this thread, and it also has a video on the Norway case.

The Washington case is truly mysterious, it makes me think of the discussions people must have had centuries ago when people reported rocks falling from the sky before we understood they could have an extraterrestrial source. Likewise I'm sure there's a reason for the Washington case, but we haven't figured out what it is yet. Some possibilities considered are listed here:

www.miqel.com...

the massive "divot" of soil did not appear to have been cut out of the ground. There was no sign of shearing of the soil. Dangling from the walls of the cavity were roots of vegetation, not cut, but torn. The block of earth did not appear to have been dragged or rolled. Something manmade would have been needed to lift the chunk and transport it, but there were no machinery marks on the ground. Greg Behrens stepped forward. A geologist with the United States Bureau of Reclamation at Grand Coulee Dam, he examined the block of earth and the local geology. He noted that the site of the hole was over a glacial basin about 100 feet by 150 feet formed by strata that had sagged during the melting of an ancient ice pack.

Behrens wondered if the earthquake of October 9 had triggered concentric surface waves, which converging, could have ejected the soil. Stephen Malone of the University of Washington, chuckled. The 3.0 quake, 20 miles southwest of the hole, had been four miles below the surface of the earth. Malone said that if the quake displaced the earth, " it would be the most dramatic and obvious thing ever reported that I'm aware of." It was "very, very unlikely" that an earthquake was the culprit. Behrens admitted that his idea was stretching it. Although focusing of seismic waves does occur, "nothing this large has been documented." He felt most geophysicists would reject his idea. So he looked for other explanations: A freak tornado ripping out the block. No, no swirling of vegetation evident. A complex freezing action causing the block to be lifted up and moved by strong winds. No, the temperature was warm at the time. A gas explosion, like methane. No, no methane in the area. A meteorite ripping the block out. No, the hole did not resemble a crater, and the block was not shattered. Clever people using a large crane excavating the block out; or people freezing the ground, excavating the block out, and sliding it 73 feet; or a helicopter to lift the mass out. H'hhmm; no, extremely expensive with no profits. As Behrens said, "Mr. Timm is quite reserved and wishes no notoriety from all of this. The area is so remote that it would never become a tourist trap."

I don't pretend to know what caused it, but I think they have omitted a possibility I would consider. What if there was a large pocket of trapped gas or air compressed by the weight of all the ice or rock above it, and the compressed air found its way to the surface possibly as a result of the Earthquake? This could conceivably blow a chuck of earth out of the ground like a cork popping out of a champagne bottle, and it wouldn't require a methane explosion which they ruled out, but the effect would be similar. There's no evidence to support this particular idea, nor is there any evidence to support any of the other theories so I'm only suggesting it be added to the list of possibilities, and am not suggesting it's a probable cause. If I were able to investigate the site I'd dig a little deeper in the hole and see if there were any air channels covered up which might support the "earth fart" possibility. I do know that the Earth is under great pressure below the surface, and I find it plausible that an Earthquake could cause some trapped pockets of compressed gases to find their way to the surface.

Contrary to the Washington case where the "soil did not appear to have been cut out of the ground", I'm not sure you can say the same thing about the Norway case. The edges of the slabs appear to be sharper and cleaner almost as if they HAD been cut out of the ground. The fact that there's no evidence of earth-moving equipment doesn't rule out that possibility since tracks could fade over time. There are also some inconsistencies in the claims in the Norway case which I mention in the other thread, and the video source is unfortunately suspect regarding credibility. To be sure, some slabs were found. But the lack of credibility relates to the circumstances about what might have caused the slabs to be cut out of the ground. Anyway, here's a screenshot from the video of a slab near Hessdalen:



That looks different than the Washington case to me.

reply to post by Arbitrageur


Wow, thanks for all the info!!

I looked around for the subject but did not try UFO's or holes.

As for your theory, I find yours more probable than the others. Look at the amount of gas trapped underneath the ocean, there would be quite a bit trapped under Terra firma as well. And an earthquake would release a bubble, and just as you said it would be a cork popping off! Sounds like a good explanation to me.

Interesting theory.

Thanks again for bringing so much more info and the other thread. Greatly appreciated.

Pred...

reply to post by predator0187

Thanks for thinking my idea has some credibility.

When Behrens said

"It was "very, very unlikely" that an earthquake was the culprit. Behrens admitted that his idea was stretching it. Although focusing of seismic waves does occur, "nothing this large has been documented."

"I have to agree that the focusing of the seismic waves explanation is "very, very unlikely", but he should have considered what other effects an earthquake can have, such as underground slippage that could form new cracks and pathways for compressed gases to reach the surface.

You did a nice job presenting your OP and I'm glad to see your thread got 5 flags, whereas the other thread didn't get any flags, perhaps because of the more questionable title and video source the other thread used.

In either case it's an interesting subject, and whether UFOs are involved or not, I'm surprised it doesn't get more attention. It's a pretty interesting mystery when a large chunk of earth pops out of the ground and jumps a distance of 73 feet away for no apparent reason!

reply to post by Arbitrageur


No kidding hey?

A large chunk of earth popped out today with no explanation. You would think there would be lots of questions being asked.

I like your idea. It has credibility, it would be nice though to have some soil samples though. If it was a denser part of the soil, ie. it had more roots than around it, or a different composition, that would give your theory a ton of credibility. That would explain why that was the part that popped off.

Pred...