Give me back my Imaginary Land! - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

rockzilla · 06-26-2003, 12:36 PM

From the Salt Lake Tribune

Quote:

Rolly and Wells: Ad Flap Is Stranger Than Fiction

By Paul Rolly and JoAnn Jacobsen-Wells
Salt Lake Tribune Columnists

Southern Utah was all abuzz recently after Cedar City Mayor Gerald R. Sherratt began running notices in local newspapers about the discovery of ancient Viking artifacts in a cave near the city.
The so-called Himmeslk Papers accompanying the artifacts disclosed that Vikings sent by King Eric of the Blodosk line discovered a tiny island in the South Pacific on April 1, A.D. 956. Eventually, the coral-based island became unhinged, having been loosened over the centuries by earthquakes. A tsunami carried it to the American continent and the wave, several thousand feet high, threw it hundreds of miles inland, where it landed in what is now Cedar City.
An explorer sent by President Polk in 1845 discovered the settlement. Eventually, the Vikings were tricked by a treaty that deeded the settlement to the United States. They never were paid for the land.
After it was evacuated, the settlement was razed, extinguishing all evidence of its existence. The recent discovery in the cave presented a problem for the United States because calculations determined that in today's dollars, the government would owe the Blodosks $88.7 billion.
An agreement was made with the Blodosk heirs that, in lieu of payment, they could retake ownership of Himmeslk (aka Cedar City), for 10 days every year and celebrate their kingdom with an annual Himmeslk festival beginning on the 1,048th anniversary of the settlement's founding: April 1 (note the date), 2004.
Cedar City officials hope the annual festival will become a tourism and economic development boom rivaling the wildly successful Shakespearean Festival and the Utah Summer Games.
But after the ads began to run, Sherratt and his brain trust received a unexpected reaction.
Calls and letters from St. George residents laid claim to the treasure found in the cave. Several St. George residents said their ancestors had been part of the settlement and had owned some of the artifacts. Others linked the story to the Book of Mormon.
When Sherratt explained the whole story was made up to promote the festival, the St. George residents accused him and other officials of a cover-up. (St. George is near La Verkin which, as you will recall, banned the United Nations from its boundaries.)
As a result of the St. George reaction, Sherratt said in a recent Cedar City newsletter that the festival will no longer be advertised in the St. George media. It will continue to be advertised in Cedar City, where residents can take a joke.

Pffft, some people.

viveleroi0 · 06-26-2003, 02:00 PM

People trying to get what they dont deserve is what the world is about.... unfortunately

06-26-2003, 03:44 PM

Heh...

Make them prove the lineage. And let's see some proof of original artifact ownership, as well.

It could become part of the festival; have a contest for the most creative and far-fetched story/'proof' of your total ownership.

MikeyChalupa · 07-17-2003, 07:44 AM

I realize this is a month old dead thread, but wait a minute.

LINK: http://www.humorcolumnists.com/0603.html

Quote:

Would You Believe A Tornado Did It?
Erik Deckers
Laughing Stalk Syndicate
Copyright 2003

One of the problems with our educational system is that teachers continue to give students bad information. We're not talking small mistakes, but huge epic mistakes that completely undermine American history.

Whenever anyone tells me that Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492, I always explain how Columbus actually landed on the island of Hispaniola in 1492 (what is now Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and then in Jamaica in 1494. I also explain how, despite what we've been told, Columbus never actually stepped on North America.

Never ever.

In fact, it was Viking explorer Leif Eriksson, son of Erik the Red, who landed in Canada around the year 1000, 492 years before Columbus ever set sail into this hemisphere.

However, most historians believe that the Vikings only headed westward, into the United Kingdom, Iceland, and Greenland. What they don't realize is that they actually landed in the South Pacific as well.

According to a story that ran in the Salt Lake City Tribune as well as several smaller newspapers in southern Utah, Viking explorers landed on a coral-based island on April 1, 956. These explorers, sent by King Eric Blodosk, settled the island and named it Himmelsk, which means "Shouldn't there be another vowel there near the end?"

The Vikings lived on Himmelsk for years, until it broke loose from the sea floor, and was carried by a tsunami to North America. The several thousand foot high wave carried the island and her frightened settlers for nearly 750 miles inland until it landed in modern-day Cedar City, Utah.

The settlement remained in place until 1845, when American explorers sent by President James Polk discovered the settlement. And like we did with so many other groups who were there first, our government tricked the Vikings out of the settlement, and destroyed it.

In October 2002, Cedar City Mayor Gerald Sherratt announced the discovery of Viking artifacts in a nearby cave. And based on a number of calculations, it was determined that the US Government owed the descendants of the Blodosks $88.7 billion.

So an agreement was reached with the Blodosk heirs that they could reclaim ownership of the old homestead from April 1st to April 10th, starting in 2004.

By now, you're saying to yourself, "Wait a minute! Since when can a tsunami wave tear a South Pacific island from the ocean floor and carry it thousands of miles to southwest Utah without killing everyone on the island?!"

Well, it didn't really happen. If you recheck the date of the anniversary, you'll see that the Himmelsk festival starts on April Fool's Day. In other words, it's a big joke. The fine folks at Cedar City are hoping that the newly developed Himmelsk festival will become a huge tourist attraction for their fair city. And Mayor Sherratt and his staff have been advertising the festival in local newspapers in southern Utah.

So are you surprised that someone is trying to find a way to get their hands on all that money?

According to the Salt Lake City Tribune story, Cedar City officials have begun receiving calls and letters from residents of St. George, Utah, who claim to be descendants of the Himmelsk settlers, and therefore are entitled to some of the money and treasure.

Cedar City officials explained that the story was just a publicity stunt to promote the festival, and that there wasn't any treasure to begin with. So the St. George Golddiggers (as I now call them) accused them of conspiring in a huge cover up, and still claim they should be given part of the treasure.

Surprised? I wasn't either.

During my research, I discovered a weblog in which a couple of the visitors believed this was a true story, and then wondered briefly if a later retraction in the Cedar City Spectrum was a cover up.

This story is a prime example of the greed and stupidity that run rampant through society today. First, there are people in this world who are so greedy and dishonest that they would lie about a festival that's supposed to bring enjoyment to thousands of people. Second, that people believe there WAS a tsunami that carried a small island for thousands of miles without killing everyone on it. Third, the Golddiggers think everyone else is stupid enough to believe they're descended from a fictitious king, and that someone might accidentally give them the fictitious $88 billion.

So I won't be surprised if the St. George Golddiggers hire a lawyer to try to get this nonexistent money. If it happens, I hope Mayor Sherratt runs them through with a Viking sword.

I went looking for proof that this was crap, and found it quickly. Slow down and re-read the original article. Vikings in the South Pacific in 956 AD? A Tsunami that could carry an island and all its inhabitants ALL THE WAY TO FRICKIN' UTAH and yet not be documented anywhere else?

Yes you're right, these people are scammers and deserve everything that's coming to them, which will be nothing. But for them to think anyone would believe such an utter crock of shit, and furthermore, that people DID, is sad.

-Mikey

gov135 · 07-17-2003, 09:30 AM

Something for nothing is the absolute opposite of the American way. If you think that way, you are bogging the rest of us down as we work hard to carve ourselves out a little slice.

fallen_angel · 07-21-2003, 09:39 PM

I cant stand people who think that just because thier ancestors were robbed that that means that they need repayment. its like everyone who was ever picked on in any war thinks that they need something outta it. oh well i guess i only think that because i dont have anyone to claim fame to other than shakespear or however you spell that and i cant get a red cent outta that mess. oh ya and the salisbury cathedral and plains where the druid ruins are on. cant get nothin still.

Capt.JamesHook · 07-21-2003, 10:46 PM

That was a pretty funny story. I think Eric the Red is an ancestor of mine.

Phaenx · 07-21-2003, 11:29 PM

I am Eric the Red.

TwistedFate · 07-22-2003, 09:09 AM

I am Eric the Redneck. I want royalties for all those hicks using my name.

YourNeverThere · 07-22-2003, 09:33 AM

Hey, im Red the Eric! what do i get!!
also, thats a great story, love the people calling it a cover up that just adds that final touch

Macheath · 07-22-2003, 11:12 AM

Speaking of Tsunamis and islands and shit - I saw an amazing documentary on National Geographic last night about a a volcanic island off the west coast of Africa. If the volcano ever erupts, one whole half of the island will slip into the sea - landmass equivalent to the size of greater London. The displacement sends a a big wave towards the east coast of the US.

Yep, a 650 metre tall wave...

remiel · 07-22-2003, 11:17 AM

it's a sad fact that people will fundamentally believe whatever they want to believe and find some way of ignoring the other facts

It's called blind faith, and the world is drowning in it

06-26-2003, 02:00 PM	#2 (permalink)
viveleroi0 Psycho Location: Oregon	People trying to get what they dont deserve is what the world is about.... unfortunately __________________ "It's not that I don't understand, it's that I don't care" - Homer Simpson

07-21-2003, 09:39 PM	#6 (permalink)
fallen_angel Psycho Location: Somewhere between the Havens and the Earth	I cant stand people who think that just because thier ancestors were robbed that that means that they need repayment. its like everyone who was ever picked on in any war thinks that they need something outta it. oh well i guess i only think that because i dont have anyone to claim fame to other than shakespear or however you spell that and i cant get a red cent outta that mess. oh ya and the salisbury cathedral and plains where the druid ruins are on. cant get nothin still. __________________ from the Havens I have fallen. . . to the earth as a mangled form. . . writhing in pain, my wings torn and bloodied. . . I have one purpose, only one goal. . . to find you and love you, for I am your. . . fallen angel

07-21-2003, 11:29 PM	#8 (permalink)
Phaenx The Northern Ward Location: Columbus, Ohio	I am Eric the Red. __________________ "I went shopping last night at like 1am. The place was empty and this old woman just making polite conversation said to me, 'where is everyone??' I replied, 'In bed, same place you and I should be!' Took me ten minutes to figure out why she gave me a dirty look." --Some guy

07-22-2003, 09:09 AM	#9 (permalink)
TwistedFate Crazy	I am Eric the Redneck. I want royalties for all those hicks using my name. __________________ If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

07-22-2003, 09:33 AM	#10 (permalink)
YourNeverThere Practical Anarchist Location: Yesterday i woke up stuck in hollywood	Hey, im Red the Eric! what do i get!! also, thats a great story, love the people calling it a cover up that just adds that final touch __________________ The Above post is a direct quote from Shakespeare

06-26-2003, 03:44 PM	#3 (permalink)
Big Julie Guest	Heh... Make them prove the lineage. And let's see some proof of original artifact ownership, as well. It could become part of the festival; have a contest for the most creative and far-fetched story/'proof' of your total ownership.

07-17-2003, 09:30 AM	#5 (permalink)
gov135 Junkie Location: Midwest	Something for nothing is the absolute opposite of the American way. If you think that way, you are bogging the rest of us down as we work hard to carve ourselves out a little slice.

07-21-2003, 10:46 PM	#7 (permalink)
Capt.JamesHook Crazy	That was a pretty funny story. I think Eric the Red is an ancestor of mine.

07-22-2003, 11:12 AM	#11 (permalink)
Macheath Junkie Location: Sydney, Australia	Speaking of Tsunamis and islands and shit - I saw an amazing documentary on National Geographic last night about a a volcanic island off the west coast of Africa. If the volcano ever erupts, one whole half of the island will slip into the sea - landmass equivalent to the size of greater London. The displacement sends a a big wave towards the east coast of the US. Yep, a 650 metre tall wave...

07-22-2003, 11:17 AM	#12 (permalink)
remiel Insane Location: Gastonia NC	it's a sad fact that people will fundamentally believe whatever they want to believe and find some way of ignoring the other facts It's called blind faith, and the world is drowning in it __________________ "Then said Joseph to St. Mary, henceforth we will not allow him to go out of the house; for every one who displeases him is killed." Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ, 20:16