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By michael esordi
 Psychic Octopus You can only imagine the kind of jokes that are surfacing over a famous octopus that’s been featured in recent news stories. All kidding aside perhaps the news flourishing around Paul, the psychic octopus, will be enough for more people to believe that animals may have some sort of psychic abilities. These abilities seem to range from predicting events or illnesses to knowing when an owner will arrive home. Parapsychologist Dr. Joseph Banks Rhine of Duke University coined the term, “anpsi,” to refer to the psychic abilities animals seem to possess.
Paul is the octopus from the Aquarium Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany that has successfully predicted the outcome of each of the 6 matches of the German soccer team in the World Cup. Paul’s skills even included predicting Germany’s loss to Spain in the semi-finals. He has actually predicted the outcomes of 12 games and has only gotten 2 wrong, which is an 83% accuracy rate. Not too bad for a small cephalopod. The way Paul makes his predictions is simple. He selects mussels from one of two glass cubes decorated with the respective teams’ national flags and whichever he picks will be the winner. Now this isn’t a well designed scientific experiment to produce documented proof of what might be happening with Paul, but it has to make you stop and think for a moment.
My reason for highlighting this story is mostly to add it to the long list of animal behaviors that may expand the way we look into areas we don’t have all the answers to. Take Oscar, the cat, in the Rhode Island nursing home that uses his sixth sense to predict the death of a patient or the family dog that growls at midair as if there’s an intruder visible only to the dog. There are always stories in the media of lost dogs or cats that track their owners thousands of miles, through unknown territory, to somehow find and reconnect with them. Many dogs and cats also seem exhibit strange behavior just before earthquakes.
How do all of these animals seem to know things like death or geological events are going to happen before they actually do? We’ve all heard these stories or experienced them first hand yet what does it all mean? What do you think it means? We’d love to hear your thoughts on psychic animals and what experiences you’ve had.
By michael esordi
 Raystown Lake in Pennsylvania Home to Ray Nessie may be the big name in the cryptozoology world when it comes to lake monsters, but we have many legends of our own right here in the United States. With all of the event promotions around Believe It Tour’s “Champ Camp – Weekend with a Lake Monster” I thought it would be fun to take a look at American lake monsters this 4th of July weekend.
Champ is the name given to the mysterious creature said to be lurking in the waters of Lake Champlain located between New York, Vermont, and Canada. There have been over 300 documented sighting of the lake monster with a mass sighting by 86 people during a lake cruise in July of 1984 on the Spirit of Ethan Allen. Sightings of Lake Champlain’s lake monster have been reported as far back as the 1600s.
In addition to Champ, Believe It Tour has explored several other famous areas where lake creature sightings have been reported. You might recall our previous report on the Flathead Lake Creature of Montana or the one on Tarpie, the Lake Tarpon Monster, in Florida from the 2008 Summer Tour. In 2009, during the Weird, Wacky, Wild California Tour, we were excited to meet the creator of Tahoe Tessie, Bob McCormick. Tahoe Tessie was a name Bob came up with so that his children and their friends wouldn’t be afraid to swim in the lake after reports of Lake Tahoe having a large, unknown monster hiding in the depths of the mountain lake.
This year, during a couple of road trips, we were able to make a few side stops to research different lakes and gather information for future exploration and investigations of lake monster sightings. One such stop was in Darien, Georgia where they have their own resident sea serpent, Altie or Altamaha-ha. After exploring the area and learning more about Altie, we decided to include further investigation into the sightings and legend of this river monster on the upcoming “Quest for Eternal Youth” trip.
The other spot we explored was in Pennsylvania with Raystown Ray, the lake monster that allegedly lives in Raystown Lake located in Huntingdon County. This lake monster was even featured in a recent production for the SYFY Channel. The first documented sighting of Ray was in 2006, but according to locals the sightings actually go back much further.
Other creatures that are on our list of upcoming cryptid adventures are South Bay Bessie, the lake monster swimming in the waters of Lake Erie, and a Chesapeake Bay monster named, Chessie.
Do you know of other lake monsters or sea serpents you we should look for on future adventures? We’d love to hear from you, so post your comments below.
By diana smith
 New York was Awash in Mermaids I just discovered that I missed out on an exciting and fun annual event this last weekend called the Mermaid Parade. This unique event was held on June 19th at Coney Island in New York. The Mermaid Parade is an eclectic and colorful mix of people, costumes, and imaginative visual art.
The parade is a Coney Island traditional that started in 1983 by a local arts organization called Coney Island USA. The participants this year ranged from the Street Urchins to synchronized swimmers dressed as mermaids. In case you were wondering, yes, the Street Urchins were mermaids complete with their spiny covered aquatic urchin counterparts. Parade attendees also included mermaid families and barely dressed mermaid women in tutus.
Normally, the tone of the event is one of lighthearted fun, but this year there was a more serious message being delivered. Event organizers highlighted the real danger ocean life is facing in the Gulf of Mexico right now. Many attendees even carried signs chastising BP and bringing awareness to the current plight of the ocean. While the parade did have a serious note this year it was still the same unique, fun, and wacky parade it’s been for the last 27 years. The parade even ended with a Mermaid Ball that was, appropriately, held at The New York Aquarium.
The only thing missing from the parade were the Weeki Wachee Mermaids. Believe It Tour was lucky enough to meet the mermaids during the 2008 tour when the tour group was at Weeki Wachee Springs in FL. Maybe next year the Weeki Wachee Mermaids can put in an appearance at the parade.
By diana smith
 It's June 21st and time to celebrate the Summer Solstice or Midsummer Summer Solstice is an important day, not only for the fact it denotes the first day of summer, but also for the place it holds in the world of folklore and legend. Always ready to explore any type of folklore or unique traditions, Believe It Tour decided to look into the history behind this interesting and ancient celebration.
From a purely scientific standpoint the solstice represents an event that happens twice a year when the axial tilt of the Earth is closest to the sun. The result of this increased angle is that, in the Northern Hemisphere, this is the longest day of the year.
While significant in the world of science, the solstice plays an even more important role in the world of folklore. As the Summer Solstice falls in the middle of the year it’s also known as Midsummer in many cultures.
From ancient times people have been known to mark the passage of the solstice through various rituals and ceremonies. In ancient Egypt the day was marked with celebrations to Ra and Horus to ensure fertility and agriculture abundance while in ancient Rome there was a ceremony that took place during the “Grove of Diana” festival. The Summer Solstice was celebrated by the druids with sacred ceremonies around Stonehenge and pagans had huge bonfires with music, dancing, and food. Years later the holiday was converted into the feast of “St. John the Baptist” to be in better alignment with the ideals of Christianity. The Summer Solstice is a day that’s still celebrated in many countries and cultures throughout the world.
In herbology, the Summer Solstice played a key role in the traditions and folklore behind different plants. During celebrations on Midsummer, St. John’s Wort, Chamomile, Geranium, Thyme, Penny Royal were burned as these were believed to banish bad luck and negative energy. Then to ensure good luck and prosperity for the next year, wreaths were made of Rue, Roses, St. John’s Wort, Vervain, and Trefoil and hung in the house.
The solstice has even played a role in classical literature with Shakespeare’s most whimsical and beloved comedy, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Although the day was first recorded in oral folklore tales long before Shakespeare’s time. The tales ranged from fairies bestowing good luck on humans during the solstice to children placing food in the garden as a gift to the fairies and then gifts being left in place of the food. Some say this last tale was a precursor to the legend of Santa Claus.
Summer Solstice is an ancient day of celebration and one that holds an important role in the folklore and mythology of many different cultures. It may simply be the longest day of the year to many people, but to others it’s a day of celebration and abundance.
By diana smith
You always hear about the Summer Solstice that happens every June, but aren’t you a little curious about the day and some of the ways it’s been celebrated over the centuries? Believe It Tour was curious as well, so we did a little digging and uncovered some interesting folklore and legends behind this ancient celebration. You can use these unique facts to dazzle your co-workers, impress your friends, or even use one or two to create your own Summer Solstice celebration.
- Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year.
- In Lithuania it was said the dew from the morning of Summer Solstice would make old people look younger and young girls would be more beautiful.
- The astrological sign associated with the Summer Solstice is Cancer, which is symbolized by the crab. It’s said that the crab is the symbol since the year walks backwards like a crab with progressively shorter days after the solstice.
- In England bon fires were lit to keep the evil spirits away from the town.
- If you don’t sleep during the Summer Solstice and sit in the middle of a stone circle you’ll see fairies, ghosts, and goblins.
- In Estonia if you were able to jump over a solstice bon fire, without setting your pants on fire, you were ensured of having good luck during the next year.
- If there’s something you want walk around the solstice bon fire three times with a pebble in your hand while you whisper what you want to the pebble before throwing it into the fire.
- In South America paper boats were filled with flowers, set on fire, and then released to sail down the river carrying prayers to the gods.
- Celtic folklore tells of placing the ashes of the Litha fire around fields of crops to assure bountiful harvests.
- During the Summer Solstice men named John had a wreath of oak leaves placed on their doors to honor them.
By diana smith
 Honoring my Grandpa on Father's Day It’s time once again to celebrate and honor fathers and all the men that have a “dad” role in someone’s life. We know Father’s Day is a tradition here in the United States, but haven’t you always wondered how it came to be? Since Believe It Tour explores folklore and legends, I felt today was a prefect opportunity to dig a little deeper into this paternal holiday that honors dads the world over.
Contrary to popular belief, Father’s Day is actually a fairly recent holiday and one that originated in the United States. The idea of Father’s Day germinated in the early 1900s in Spokane, WA when a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd wanted to do something to commemorate the many sacrifices her widowed father had made for her. The month of June was picked for the first celebration since that was the birth month of Sonora’s father.
The holiday took a step closer to being recognized on a larger scale when the National Father’s Day Committee was formed in New York City in the 1920s to help lobby for the holiday to be officially recognized in the United States. However, there was always resistance in Congress when it came to making Father’s Day a recognized holiday. In the late 1950s, a senator from Maine protested that if there was a holiday honoring mothers that fathers should have one, too. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson issued a presidential proclamation honoring fathers, but he stopped short of actually declaring it an official holiday. Finally, in 1972 President Richard Nixon made Father’s Day a nationally observed holiday that falls on the third Sunday of every June. Today, Father’s Day is celebrated in about 55 different countries, even though the dates vary from the third Sunday, but many are still celebrated in June.
Today is Father’s Day here in the United States and the day for us to celebrate our dads and all the men that fill that role. This is the day we honor, celebrate, or remember the amazing dads, step-dads, grandfathers, or uncles we were or are lucky enough to have in our lives. Thanks to all the great guys out there that give us something to celebrate!
By joseph mazzenga
 Is the monster under your bed or in your energy drink? Monster: ugly terrifying being, ugly person, huge thing.
Let’s get one thing straight. We love a good monster. We love everything about monsters. We love monster movies. We love the terror they bring and we love the fun. We’ve written and rewritten their legends. All media now has a hand in the marketing and sexing up of all creatures in the woods, in our closets and under our beds.
Monsters. The word has evolved over the centuries. What was once the unexplainable on our corporeal plane, reaching from the darkest forests of our minds, now is sitting, literally under our nose all dressed in puffy blue, pink, or raspberry fur.
We have monster trucks, monster houses, monster lyrics, and monster energy drinks. We play Monster Mini Golf, install monster cable, and digest monster gulf shrimp. It’s all monster – all of the time. It’s no longer bloodcurdling, but it’s still larger than life. If you want a supersized drink, you monster-size it. You pull a fakie and go for monster air. Even our reality shows have gone monster. You’ve had your fair share of MonsterQuest, well get ready for River Monsters – not just trout, but monster trout. Last, but not least, you don’t want to forget that Believe It Tour even has their own monster world.
It all begs to ask the question – Where did this fascination with monsters come from? What happened to cowering at all of those noises in the night? Perhaps it starts with our children. We no longer regale them with tales of sinister shadows around a campfire. Those fables have been replaced with such bedtime stories as Glad Monster, Sad Monster, and Frank Was a Monster, Who Wanted To Dance. And of course, what person still doesn’t remember the happiest monster haven on the planet – Sesame Street, replete with one Cookie Monster gone vegetarian.
Where have our monsters gone? Is there something out there that will bring back the unexpected? Are we forever caught in a web of monster fishing, monster eating, and monster car sales? It’s probably a matter of numbers. Humans were once outnumbered even if it was in their own minds. Now we are the usurpers. Monsters simply have nowhere to live…
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