REALL News - Vol 07 No 10 - 1999

Magazine Overview

Title: The REALL News
Volume: 7
Issue: 10
Date: October 1999
Cover Headline: Facing Silliness in Springfield

This issue of The REALL News features an article by David Bloomberg titled "Facing Silliness in Springfield," which critically examines a local phenomenon where people claimed to see a baby's face in a tree. The magazine's overall tone appears to be skeptical, focusing on debunking or providing rational explanations for unusual claims.

Facing Silliness in Springfield

The main article, "Facing Silliness in Springfield" by David Bloomberg, details an event that began on September 1, 1999, when WICS Channel 20 reported on people seeing what appeared to be a baby's face in a tree slated for removal. Bloomberg describes the initial news report, noting the reporter's use of the word "mystery" and his own observation that it was likely a knothole visible only under specific conditions (at night, from a certain angle).

Initially, the author was pleased that the State Journal-Register did not report on the "story." However, on September 3, the paper published a front-page story. While some attributed the face to a knothole, others offered more outlandish explanations, including one woman proclaiming, "It's the Lord." Another theory suggested the face belonged to a baby hung in the tree, a claim later unsubstantiated by archive searches.

Bloomberg highlights the presence of skeptics who were quoted in the article, with one stating, "if you want to see something hard enough, you will." The story took a turn when reporter Sarah Antonacci contacted Bloomberg for comment for a follow-up article. She informed him that the tree had been cut down by the owner, anticipating public upset.

Bloomberg shared information from the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, which had extensive files on similar phenomena, particularly "faces" and "faces of Jesus." He explained that the human mind often finds patterns in everyday items, citing examples like seeing Mother Teresa in cinnamon buns or Jesus on a tortilla. He emphasized that the mere appearance of something does not imply a supernatural force.

Antonacci's follow-up article featured several memorable lines, including the headline "Tree believers lose face" and the movie-like description, "Had it been a movie, it could have been called ‘Silence of the Limbs.’" The saga concluded with the tree being turned into "miracle mulch."

The article also mentions another story circulating about a man who allegedly killed his neighbor's children, which, like the tree incident, lacked evidence. Antonacci's research with the Sangamon Valley Collection librarian also failed to find evidence for these tales.

Strangely, some individuals contacted the NAACP regarding the tree face, calling it an "African-American child" and seeking a stance from the organization, which they did not provide.

The issue culminates with an editorial cartoon by Chris Britt, depicting a crowd looking at the tree, with one person exclaiming, "The tree is sending us a message!!!" The message on the tree in the cartoon read, "Get a life you fools!"

Bloomberg concludes that the "baby-faced tree" saga was an instance of "mass silliness" rather than mass hysteria, anticipating the next unusual event, such as an eggplant shaped like Princess Di.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The primary theme of this issue is skepticism towards extraordinary claims and the tendency of the public and media to sensationalize mundane events. The editorial stance, as represented by David Bloomberg's article, is critical of irrational beliefs and highlights the psychological phenomenon of pareidolia (seeing patterns, like faces, in random stimuli). The magazine appears dedicated to rational inquiry and the debunking of paranormal or pseudoscientific claims, emphasizing critical thinking and evidence-based reasoning.