The Statue Weeps

tsig · 31st January 2011, 12:06 PM

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- An icon from Hawaii of the Virgin Mary started weeping myrrh a few years ago, and this weekend it came to Bakersfield.

According to Tom Dorlis, the vice president of the parish council for St. George Greek Orthodox Church, a portrait of the Virgin Mary that came from Hawaii started to cry an oily substance that smells like roses.

It happened back in 2007, around the time of the financial crisis.

http://www.turnto23.com/central/26670722/detail.html

Could be a clue in that last phrase.

Here's one way to do it:

For those who wish to create their own weeping statue, Italian skeptic Luigi Garlaschelli describes one way to do it:

What is needed is a hollow statue made of a porous material such as plaster or ceramic. The icon must be glazed or painted with some sort of impermeable coating. If the statue is then filled up with a liquid (surreptitiously, through a tiny hole in the head, for example), the porous material will absorb it, but the glazing will stop it from flowing out. If the glazing, however, is imperceptibly scratched away on or around the eyes, tear-like drops will leak out, as if materializing from thin air. If the cavity behind the eyes is small enough, once all the liquid has dripped out there are virtually no traces left in the icon. When I put it to the test, this trick proved to be very satisfactory, baffling all onlookers.*

http://www.skepdic.com/weepingstatues.html

Skeptic Ginger · 31st January 2011, 12:21 PM

Typical incompetent news reporting, not one word about evidence, just a story written as if the claim is a fact.

Anyone live near Bakersfield? Looks like you can get in line and collect a sample of the oil. See if it is perfumed mineral oil from WalMart as one of the story commenters suggested.

tsig · 1st February 2011, 06:25 AM

Originally Posted by Skeptic Ginger

Typical incompetent news reporting, not one word about evidence, just a story written as if the claim is a fact.

Anyone live near Bakersfield? Looks like you can get in line and collect a sample of the oil. See if it is perfumed mineral oil from WalMart as one of the story commenters suggested.

The press never takes on religion because most of their subscribers are religious.

If it was proved to be WallMart oil then the believers would call it a miracle that it got on the statue without human help.

Accidental Martyr · 1st February 2011, 07:08 AM

The story calls it a "portrait". Is it a statue or a painting?

C_Felix · 1st February 2011, 07:08 AM

Myrrh! It's a dangerous animal!! Quick, throw it in the trough!!!

tsig · 1st February 2011, 10:53 AM

Originally Posted by Accidental Martyr

The story calls it a "portrait". Is it a statue or a painting?

A painting. I saw 'icon' and thought statue but that's wrong.

An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn "image") is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism.

Accidental Martyr · 1st February 2011, 11:20 AM

Originally Posted by tsig

A painting. I saw 'icon' and thought statue but that's wrong.

An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn "image") is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism.

This story mentions a similar painting but doesn't explain how the hoax was perpetrated.
http://articles.latimes.com/2007/sep...al/me-greene20

Quote:

Greene also reportedly confirmed that the monastery's weeping painting, which had drawn thousands of visitors, was fake. Authorities seized the icon, which was said to cry tears of myrrh, a sign of divine intervention.

hgc · 1st February 2011, 11:24 AM

Myrrh? What's myrrh?

KodeBlue · 1st February 2011, 03:58 PM

It would have to be a painting, Eastern Orthodox Xtians don't use statues in thier churches.

31st January 2011, 12:06 PM	#1
tsig a carbon based life-form Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 26,800	The Statue Weeps BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- An icon from Hawaii of the Virgin Mary started weeping myrrh a few years ago, and this weekend it came to Bakersfield. According to Tom Dorlis, the vice president of the parish council for St. George Greek Orthodox Church, a portrait of the Virgin Mary that came from Hawaii started to cry an oily substance that smells like roses. It happened back in 2007, around the time of the financial crisis. http://www.turnto23.com/central/26670722/detail.html Could be a clue in that last phrase. Here's one way to do it: For those who wish to create their own weeping statue, Italian skeptic Luigi Garlaschelli describes one way to do it: What is needed is a hollow statue made of a porous material such as plaster or ceramic. The icon must be glazed or painted with some sort of impermeable coating. If the statue is then filled up with a liquid (surreptitiously, through a tiny hole in the head, for example), the porous material will absorb it, but the glazing will stop it from flowing out. If the glazing, however, is imperceptibly scratched away on or around the eyes, tear-like drops will leak out, as if materializing from thin air. If the cavity behind the eyes is small enough, once all the liquid has dripped out there are virtually no traces left in the icon. When I put it to the test, this trick proved to be very satisfactory, baffling all onlookers.* http://www.skepdic.com/weepingstatues.html
	Last edited by tsig; 31st January 2011 at 12:11 PM.

31st January 2011, 12:21 PM	#2
Skeptic Ginger formerly skeptigirl Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Shifting through paradigms Posts: 40,634	Typical incompetent news reporting, not one word about evidence, just a story written as if the claim is a fact. Anyone live near Bakersfield? Looks like you can get in line and collect a sample of the oil. See if it is perfumed mineral oil from WalMart as one of the story commenters suggested.
	__________________ (*Tired of continuing to hear the "Democrat Party" repeatedly I've decided to adopt the name, ~~Pubbie Party, Repubs~~ "Republics" and Republic Party in response.)

1st February 2011, 07:08 AM	#4
Accidental Martyr Graduate Poster Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Treading water in a sea of retarded sexuality and bad poetry. Posts: 1,852	The story calls it a "portrait". Is it a statue or a painting?
	__________________ "Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile!" Kurt Vonnegut

1st February 2011, 10:53 AM	#6
tsig a carbon based life-form Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 26,800	Originally Posted by Accidental Martyr The story calls it a "portrait". Is it a statue or a painting? A painting. I saw 'icon' and thought statue but that's wrong. An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn "image") is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism.
	Last edited by tsig; 1st February 2011 at 10:54 AM.

1st February 2011, 11:20 AM	#7
Accidental Martyr Graduate Poster Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Treading water in a sea of retarded sexuality and bad poetry. Posts: 1,852	Originally Posted by tsig A painting. I saw 'icon' and thought statue but that's wrong. An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn "image") is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism. This story mentions a similar painting but doesn't explain how the hoax was perpetrated. http://articles.latimes.com/2007/sep...al/me-greene20 Quote: Greene also reportedly confirmed that the monastery's weeping painting, which had drawn thousands of visitors, was fake. Authorities seized the icon, which was said to cry tears of myrrh, a sign of divine intervention.
	__________________ "Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile!" Kurt Vonnegut Last edited by Accidental Martyr; 1st February 2011 at 11:22 AM.

1st February 2011, 06:25 AM	#3
tsig a carbon based life-form Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 26,800	Originally Posted by Skeptic Ginger Typical incompetent news reporting, not one word about evidence, just a story written as if the claim is a fact. Anyone live near Bakersfield? Looks like you can get in line and collect a sample of the oil. See if it is perfumed mineral oil from WalMart as one of the story commenters suggested. The press never takes on religion because most of their subscribers are religious. If it was proved to be WallMart oil then the believers would call it a miracle that it got on the statue without human help.

1st February 2011, 07:08 AM	#5
C_Felix Graduate Poster Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Right outside Raleigh, NC Posts: 1,041	Myrrh! It's a dangerous animal!! Quick, throw it in the trough!!!

1st February 2011, 11:24 AM	#8
hgc Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 13,028	Myrrh? What's myrrh?
	__________________ Bowel-shaking earthquakes of doubt and remorse assail him and wail him with monster truck force. - Cake, The Distance Was there a second singer on the grassy Knowles? - Stephen Colbert

1st February 2011, 03:58 PM	#9
KodeBlue Scholar Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: usa Posts: 78	It would have to be a painting, Eastern Orthodox Xtians don't use statues in thier churches.