Massimo Polidoro
Massimo Polidoro is an investigator of the paranormal, author, lecturer, and co-founder and head of CICAP, the Italian skeptics group. His website is at www.massimopolidoro.com.
Hitler’s South Pole Hideaway
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 37.1, January/February 2013
Notes on a Strange World
“Searching for Hitler’s DNA in Antarctica.” This is the bizarre headline that made the news a few months ago, launched by Russian news agency Ria Novosti and picked up by the world media after scientists were able to successfully drill into Antarctica’s Lake Vostok.
Curse That Painting!
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 36.6, November/December 2012
Notes on a Strange World
Paranormal legends about paintings have always existed. Some think that a picture falling off the wall represents a bad omen for the person depicted or photographed in it. Others feel watched by some portraits whose eyes seem to follow onlookers as they move through a room. And still others claim that paintings can come alive...
Alien Mug Shots: The Ten Best (or Worst) Photos of Aliens
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 36.5, September/October 2012
Notes on a Strange World
Once you take out those plainly fake and the more suspicious looking ones all you are left with are about ten photos. These are, essentially, “mug shots” of wanted extraterrestrials. Here is my personal list of the best (or worst) photos of aliens.
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Stairway to Heaven: A Firsthand Account of a UFO Sighting
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 36.4, July/August 2012
Notes on a Strange World
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Ten Myths about the Titanic
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 36.3, May/June 2012
Notes on a Strange World
The Day Houdini (Almost) Came Back from the Dead
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 36.2, March/April 2012
Notes on a Strange World
After magician and skeptic Harry Houdini died on October 31, 1926, scores of mediums claimed they had received a genuine message from the “soul” of the once-great skeptic and medium-basher.
The Case of a Weeping Orthodox Icon
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 36.1, January/February 2012
Notes on a Strange World
Last May, newspapers in Italy and abroad reported that the iconic image of a Madonna had wept tears in the Orthodox Church of Saint Nicholas in Milano. It was the second time that this phenomenon had reportedly happened there.
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The Lost Girl: Investigating a Case of “Psychic Detection”
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 35.6, November/December 2011
Notes on a Strange World
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The Myth of Chastity Belts
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 35.5, September/October 2011
Notes on a Strange World
Photos of Ghosts: The Burden of Believing the Unbelievable
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 35.4, July/August 2011
Notes on a Strange World
Seeing photos of ghostly faces and figures floating around in the air must have been quite a shock to our ancestors.
I Was a Teenage Psychic
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 35.3, May/June 2011
Notes on a Strange World
As a guest on a popular Italian TV show, L’Istruttoria (The Inquest), I had a chance to test a theory I was rather curious about.
Magic or Miracle?
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 35.2, March/April 2011
Notes on a Strange World
A Lesson Worth Remembering
How to Make a Monster!
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 34.6, November/December 2010
Notes on a Strange World
The Legend of Creating Artificial Life: From the Golem to Pinocchio
Testing for X-Ray Vision
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 34.4, July / August 2010
Notes on a Strange World
Some time ago, we received a letter from a woman, R.G., who claimed she can peer inside sealed boxes with some sort of X-ray vision and describe...
How to Test a Miracle
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 34.3, May / June 2010
Luigi Garlaschelli and I were asked if we would be interested in testing a twenty-two-year-old mystic woman who talked with the Virgin Mary
The Mystery of the Moving Tombstone
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 34.2, March / April 2010
Notes on a Strange World
Dutch police experts gather around a TV screen. They are watching footage from a hidden camera that was positioned to monitor a supposed case of vandalism at...
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The Shroud of Turin Duplicated
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 34.1, January / February 2010
Notes on a Strange World
The Italian Committee for the Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CICAP) celebrated its twentieth anniversary with a special three-day conference...
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Eusapia Palladino, Queen of the Cabinet, Part 4
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 33.6, November / December 2009
Notes on a Strange World
How is it possible that well-trained and respected scientists and investigators could be deceived by a clever...
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Eusapia Palladino, Queen of the Cabinet, Part 3
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 33.5, September / October 2009
Notes on a Strange World
There suddenly came a wild, yelling scream. It was such a scream as I have never heard before in my life, not even in...
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Eusapia Palladino, Queen of the Cabinet, Part 2
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 33.4, July / August 2009
Notes on a Strange World
Eleven extraordinary séances with medium Eusapia Palladino were held in the now-defunct Hotel Victoria in Naples.
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Eusapie Palladino, the Queen of the Cabinet, Part 1
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 33.3, May / June 2009
Notes on a Strange World
...it was essential that the investigators were knowledgeable of the methods of trickery. But were they really?
Search for the Ark
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 33.1, January / February 2009
Notes on a Strange World
Along with the Holy Grail, the Ark is the most sought after and elusive of relics.
The Curious Case of Street Lamp Interference
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 32.6, November / December 2008
Notes on a Strange World
What would you think if street lamps kept turning off when you passed them by?
Hunting for Spooklights
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 32.5, September / October 2008
Notes on a Strange World
The hot, still night was illuminated by a full moon. The two shadowy figures moving along the empty road wondered if this...
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Just Like Jedi Knights (If Only)
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 32.3, May / June 2008
News & Comment
You can be the most powerful Jedi knight in the universe, but if I keep my toe down, you are nothing more than a useless C3PO.
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‘I Am Houdini! And You Are a Fraud!’
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 32.2, March / April 2008
Notes on a Strange World
Though it seems that everything has already been said and written about magician Harry Houdini, every now and then something...
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The Legend of the Pied Piper
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 32.1, January / February 2008
Notes on a Strange World
It is 1284, and the little German town of Hamelin is infested by a plague of rats. In desperation, the mayor advertises for...
Spook Hills in the Lab
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 31.6, November / December 2007
Notes on a Strange World
Spook hills, also known as antigravity or magnetic hills, are natural places where cars in neutral seem to move uphill.
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The Man Who Fooled Edison ... but Not Houdini
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 31.5, September / October 2007
Notes on a Strange World
In one of the earliest letters exchanged between magician Harry Houdini and Sherlock Homes Creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle...
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The Quest for the ‘Real’ Robin Hood
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 31.4, July / August 2007
Notes on a Strange World
Once upon a time, there lived in Sherwood Forest a wronged noblemand whose lands, home, and woman had been stolen and who had...
