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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Transit of Venus may cause flooding, sez Chinese quack scientist
2004-06-20
Beijing - The recent spectacular transit of Venus across the face of the sun may lead to disastrous flooding along China’s Yellow River, a leading charlatan scientist warned in the local media on Sunday. While millions were marvelling at the celestial show earlier this month, Geng Guoqing, an expert on tabloid pseudo-science natural calamities, was more worried about the consequences for China’s second-longest river, the Xinhua news agency reported. He compared historical records reaching 2,187 years back and found a clear correllation between Venus transits and serious floods along the river’s middle and lower reaches, according to the agency. The reason could be that Venus blocks part of the sun’s radiation that should have been transmitted to Earth, said Guo, a janitor researcher at the Special Committee on Natural Calamities Forecasting under the China Geophysics Society. This causes climatic disturbances across the globe, he argued.
"Outbreaks of woo-woo idiocy" would be more like it.
As the flood season approaches, officials along banks of the 5 464km Yellow River are not taking any chances of a trip to the Gulag. Four silt-stirring vessels started a 24-day operation on Saturday morning to remove tons of silt from the river, in one of many efforts to prevent flood waters rising, Xinhua said in a separate report.
As they have every year for decades, transit or not.
Torrential rains and flooding were responsible for nearly 2 000 deaths in China in the first nine months of last year.
The wardens of the People’s Prison would undoubtedly like to dodge some of the blame for these various disasters, so naturally Geng’s fantasy would clear censorship. As for the idea itself, Venus is 1/30th the apparent diameter of the Sun. Its apparent area is therefore 1/30^2, or 1/900th that of the Sun. It blocked 1/900th of the Sun’s light for all of 6 hours.
To be fair I know grad students and even professors who would probably buy into this. Several of them have told me that they think satellites affect the climate by blocking sunlight, and a fair number were completely taken in by Fox TV’s Loathesome Moon Hoax Show a couple of years ago.
Posted by:Atomic Conspiracy

#8  I haven't determined whether he touts the benefits of leech therapy, but I will find out.

Actually, leeches have found quite useful medical application in reducing hematomas associated with appendage reattachments.
Posted by: Zenster   2004-06-21 12:54:26 AM  

#7  The usual, Phil; poli-sci, anthropology,"human services", modern literature, "multicultural studies." The biggest crank, unfortunately, is a professor of anatomy (yikes!). I haven't determined whether he touts the benefits of leech therapy, but I will find out.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy   2004-06-20 11:50:14 PM  

#6  Transit of Venus may cause flooding, sez Chinese quack scientist

The reason could be that Venus blocks part of the sun’s radiation that should have been transmitted to Earth, said Guo, a janitor researcher at the Special Committee on Natural Calamities Forecasting under the China Geophysics Society. This causes climatic disturbances across the globe, he argued.

Permit me to suggest that the only "flooding" to occur will be at Internet sites like this one.

Let's cut to the chase, shall we?

Do more substantial total solar eclipses by the moon cause any sort of similar effects?

Thought so. Any questions?

The Venereal influences this moron "scientist" cites are more likely of syphillitic rather than planetary origin.
Posted by: Zenster   2004-06-20 10:23:23 PM  

#5  Atomic Conspiracy: Professors of WHAT?
Posted by: Phil Fraering   2004-06-20 9:42:41 PM  

#4  "Nuts" for $25, Alex!
Posted by: Fred   2004-06-20 6:33:26 PM  

#3  Mike, you may be on to something.

Or, they just may be nuts.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2004-06-20 5:22:03 PM  

#2  ..Ya know, the other possibility is that they just discovered that Three Gorges is gonna go, and they're going to blame Venus...

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2004-06-20 4:33:35 PM  

#1  Repeat after me, Geng: Correlation is not Causation.
Posted by: mojo   2004-06-20 4:14:40 PM  

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