Moment in Oddity - Lake Hillier (Suggested by: Michael Rogers)
There is a lake located on the edge of Middle Island in Australia that for many years was quite unique. Lake Hillier was a saline lake separated from the ocean by a thin strip of land. It was discovered during an expedition in 1802. The topography of the lake isn't what made it unusual, rather, it was the lakes' color which made it so different. The actual water was a bright bubble gum pink color. The hue would not change when placed into a clear container. It was determined that the pink color was caused by a combination of an algae organism called Dunaliella salina and red halophilic bacteria, bacterioruberin. Despite the strange hue, studies showed that it was actually safe to swim in. However that was not allowed without prior consent by the Western Australia Dept of Environment Conservation. It had also been revealed that the lakes salinity level rivaled that of the Dead Sea in turn making it very buoyant to humans. Sadly, reports state that the lake does not appear the bright pink color any longer. This is believed to be caused by the construction of the South Coast Highway and a rail line. This altered the flow of water to the lake, reducing its salinity in 2017. Perhaps one day it will recover the color that made it famous. Regardless, a lake the color of bright pink bubble gum certainly is odd.
This Month in History - Birth of William 'Buffalo Bill' Cody
In the month of February, on the 26th in 1846, William F. 'Buffalo Bill' Cody was born in Scott County, Iowa. His family moved to Kansas while William was still a child. While only eleven years old, Cody left home to work as a cattle driver, traveling across the Great Plains several times. From there he moved onto fur trapping and gold mining. William even worked for an early version of the Pony Express. Once the Civil War was over, Cody became a scout for the Army. This is where he received his nickname of "Buffalo Bill" due to his hunting skills, often supplying meat for the railroad workers. Buffalo Bill was a charming guy which led him into his show business career. His first performance was in a drama in Chicago called, Scouts of the Prairie. He was quite the showman and audiences loved him. Always the entrepreneur, Cody started his own acting troupe the next season and enlisted the help of friends, Texas Jack and "Wild Bill" Hickok for a time. Buffalo Bill continued arraigning plays until 1882. Later that same year he came up with the idea of creating an outdoor show involving live animals and hundreds of performers. There were trick shooters and ropers, recreations of buffalo hunts, stagecoach robberies, bronco riding and the like. Some of the stars who performed were Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane and Chief Sitting Bull. Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show even performed for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887. Cody continued performing in his show even in his older years although it was said that he required help mounting and dismounting his horse. His last performance took place just four years before his death at the age of 70 in 1917.
Minersville Mansion
The Minersville Mansion is located in Minersville, Pennsylvania and is known by locals as the DiNicola Mansion as it was owned by Dr. Arthur DiNicola who ran his practice out of the home. The mansion has stood for over a hundred years and had a series of medical professionals who owned it and today is used as an apartment building. Author and paranormal investigator Jeffrey A. Dengler wrote the book "The Minersville Mansion" after spending time investigating the house. He joins us on this episode as we share the history and hauntings of the Minersville Mansion and some of the experiences he has had investigating other locations.
Minersville, Pennsylvania was settled by Europeans in the late 1700s. Adolph Oliver Busch was the first settler and he built a cabin and sawmill along the Schuylkill River in 1783. Later he built a tavern to service people traveling the Sunbury Trail, which was a trail frequented by Native Americans before the Europeans arrived. This would later become known as the Kings Highway in honor of King George III. Anthracite coal was discovered in 1799 and formal mining operations began in 1814 and that is where the name of the town comes from. The Reading Railroad came along in the 1800s and the town expanded rapidly as commerce grew and immigrants came to work in the coal mines. An iron works was built in the town as well. It was here that a doctor decided to build his home.
It seems that there have been many strange occurrences in the house. Is that because the house itself is haunted or is it because residents themselves have been haunted? That is for you to decide!
To find out more about Jeffrey Dengler and his books:
https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyADengler/
On TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kipacrew?_t=8jfT3QLSq3n&_r=1
You can find his books on Amazon, "The Minersville Mansion" and "The Spirits of Shoemakers Road."
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