Universe of Ice

[CptColumbo]

I was just listening to a lecture on CD about the decline of science under the Third Reich, and it was mentioned that Hitler was a firm believer of a theory that the universe was created from ice orbiting a large sun. He apparently built a observatory dedicated to the research of this and the man who came up with it, named Haggerman (I drive a lot and can't really take notes behind the wheel, so I'm not sure if this was the name)? Is it still around and is it still researching this theory?

It was also said Hitler was into astrology.

[Ashles]

Originally posted by CptColumbo
It was also said Hitler was into astrology.

BRODY
I can tell you that. Over the last two years the Nazis have had teams of archeologists running around the world looking for all kinds of religious artifacts.

MUSGROVE
That's right. Hitler's a nut on the subject. Crazy. He's obsessed with the occult.

(From Raiders of the Lost Ark)

[dann]

Originally posted by CptColumbo
He apparently built a observatory dedicated to the research of this and the man who came up with it, named Haggerman (I drive a lot and can't really take notes behind the wheel, so I'm not sure if this was the name)? Is it still around and is it still researching this theory?
It was also said Hitler was into astrology. Apparently the name of the 'inventor' of the World of Ice theory was Hanns Hörbiger, an Austrian (like Hitler) engineer: http://lexikon.freenet.de/Welteislehre And, man, was he wrong. He must have hated the Big Bang theory if he lived to hear about it.
If you google the words Hitler Third Reich Astrology, you'll find all there is to know (and some) about astrology and Hitler.

[dann]

This BBC Horizon programme about Snowball Earth is much more interesting - and apparently (I'm not a geologist) real science, not woowoo: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2000/snowballearth.shtml There's a transcipt at the bottom of the page.