October 2010
NCAS Public Lecture Series
"Making Informed Decisions about Dietary Supplements: Efficacy, Safety and Quality"
Paul R. Thomas, EdD, RD
Most adults in the United States take dietary supplements. Tens of thousands of products are
available from which they can choose. This presentation will provide an overview of supplement
use, but its focus will be on efforts to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ingredients in dietary
supplements and to ensure that final products are of high quality.
Saturday, October 9, 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Bethesda Library, 7400 Arlington Rd, Bethesda, MD
Bethesda Library, 7400 Arlington Rd, Bethesda, MD
Near Bethesda metro (map) (directions)
Nobel Laureate in Physics to Present November NCAS Lecture
NCAS is honored to present John Mather, 2006 Nobel Laureate in Physics, for the
November 20 lecture at National Science Foundation in Arlington, VA. Dr. Mather's talk is entitled, "From the Big
Bang to the Nobel Prize and on to the James Webb Space Telescope and the Discovery of Alien Life."
Torn From Today's Headlines
Boom Town
The Maryland town of Cheverly, located about a mile from DC, has been plagued
since the late 1990s by unexplained booms, reportedly loud enough to shake entire households. A $1,500 camera
installed outside the local fire department in 2008 (in hopes of detecting explosion flashes that might be associated
with the booms) showed nothing conclusive. In June, the town council voted to offer a "compensatory payment of
$2,500 to any individual who is able to successfully and conclusively identify the source/cause of the explosions/booms
experienced in the Town of Cheverly over the past 10 years. This payment is subject to a test of the theory to be
performed in order to duplicate, authenticate and verify the source cause."
Explanations proffered by locals haven't ventured beyond the prosaic thus far
(e.g., automobiles being destroyed in a nearby junkyard, work at nearby industrial sites), but some contributors to
Web sites godlikeproductions.com
and abovetopsecret.com
tend towards the fanciful (exotic aircraft or weapons tests, "spiritual
anomalies," or "Earth’s electromagnetic field filaments
collapsing") when discussing booms in Cheverly and other areas, most
notably San Diego (April 2006).
The US Geological Survey has a page on its web site dedicated to "earthquake booms."
Some scientists speculate that these booms, which tend to occur in the Northeastern US and along the East Coast, are
probably shallow earthquakes that are too small to be recorded, but large enough to be felt by people nearby. Mysterious
booms are sometimes called "mistpouffers" or "Seneca Guns" but are often associated with nearby
bodies of water, which would not apply to the Cheverly case.
Sonic booms generated by supersonic aircraft may account for some cases, although many reports pre-date the "Jet Age."
Author's Comment:
I (Scott Snell) first became aware of the Cheverly phenomenon (or a similar one) on the
cloudless morning of August 8 when I was awakened by an incredibly loud explosion (akin to a nearby thunderclap) outside my
Greenbelt home, located several miles from Cheverly. For me, the first explanation that came to mind (after seeing no
evidence of a local fire or explosion) was a meteor explosion. But the repeated and localized aspect of the Cheverly
reports would seem to rule out that hypothesis.
Instead, I would look more closely into the possibility that supersonic aircraft from
Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility Washington (formerly Andrews Air Force Base) could be responsible. Cheverly (and
Greenbelt) is along the ground track for northerly-launched aircraft from the base. Normally, military aircraft are
prohibited from reaching supersonic speeds at low altitudes over land. But in case of incursions into DC's restricted
airspace by unauthorized aircraft, there would be a response by Andrews interceptors, probably sortied at maximum speed
along a northerly bearing followed by a sharp westerly turn towards the restricted airspace. Supersonic maneuvers can
cause a focusing of the sonic boom, as might be experienced over a relatively small area. I wonder if there is a
correlation between DC restricted-airspace incursions and Cheverly booms.
I also wonder about the wisdom of Cheverly using a camera to investigate a sonic
phenomenon. Probably better (though likely more expensive) to install multiple microphones over a wide area of Cheverly.
By measuring the timing of the sound and its intensity at each location, a directional fix and range could be established.
References:
Drinking Skeptically, now in MD and VA!
On Wednesday, October 13 at 7:00 p.m., please join fellow NCASers at either of our simultaneous DC-area Drinking Skeptically
events:
Jackie's Sidebar
8081 Georgia Avenue (entrance on Sligo Avenue) in Silver Spring, MD
Chevys Fresh Mex
4238 Wilson Blvd (Ballston Common Mall) in Arlington, VA
Drinking Skeptically is an informal social
event designed to promote fellowship and networking
among skeptics, critical-thinkers, and like-minded
individuals. There's no cover charge
and all are welcome.
Don't drink? Don't let that
stop you from joining us! Some
of the world's most famous
skeptics are teetotalers, and we
are happy to have you!
Remember that drinking skeptically means drinking responsibly. If there's one thing science has taught us, it's the effects of alcohol on the human body.
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