You know, I like Indiana Jones just fine, but... [View All]

As a paranormal artifact, The Crystal Skull annoys the hell out of me. The most famous claim about is that they simply can't be made with modern tools, which is simply false. They're also imbued with all kinds of mystical mumbojumbo about healings and far-seeing and the heartbreak of psoriasis.

Thankfully, I don't personally know anyone who has a strong belief about these trinkets, but even the venerable Arthur C. Clarke once featured them uncritically on his "Mysterious Universe" program.

I fear that there will be some flare-up of interest with the release of the fourth Indy film. I mean, The Ark, The Sankara Stones, and The Grail aren't any more real in their magical abilities, but at least we don't have people running around claiming to perform supernatural feats with these. The Skull, on the other hand, seems to have circles of believers even today.

Here's a great piece about it at The Skeptic's Dictionary.