Sociology professors at Baylor University, Christopher D. Bader and Carson Mencken discussed details of their survey about paranormal beliefs among various groups and ethnicities in the United States. Their work was meant to be a study of people who believe or research the paranormal, not an investigation of the phenomena itself. Interestingly, in their survey of typical Americans, they found that 68% of the respondents believed in at least one type or aspect of the paranormal. Accordingly, belief in the paranormal could now be considered normal, Mencken commented.
They found that belief in the paranormal tended to break down into two different types-- those that have a desire for adventure or discovery, such as Bigfoot or ghost hunters, and those who seek enlightenment or self-improvement such as people interested in psychic powers and astrology. Belief in UFOs was higher in men, while most of the other paranormal categories had a higher interest by women, Bader reported.
A lot of the paranormal topics are caught between religion and science, and accepted by neither. They noted that some Christian groups warn against involvement in the paranormal, and believe a lot of the phenomena is "the devil in disguise." Bader & Mencken recounted some of their field research which included a Bigfoot hunt, and a trip to a house said to be haunted by 150 demons. The Bigfoot expedition (documented in the episode "Swamp Stalker" of the TV show MonsterQuest) used "call blasting," audio of a screeching primate to try and attract the creature. The next morning, possible Bigfoot tracks were uncovered.
A C2C Insta-Poll, posed the question: Which paranormal beings or experiences do you believe in?
Comet Research
First hour guest, physicist James McCanney commented on new comet photos (see article below) taken by the Deep Impact probe. He argued against the theory that comets are dirty snowballs, and said there is no sign of water in the new photos. "Every piece of material in the solar system is discharging the capacitor-- it's an electrical phenomenon," which explains the tails and spikes of comets, he added.