Conspiracy theorists can't see the wood for the trees as they spot 'timber plank' on Mars

DailyMail.uk ^ | 02nd December 2008 | Daily Mail Reporter

[yankeedame]

Conspiracy theorists can't see the wood for the trees as they spot 'timber plank' on Mars

An image sent back from the Red Planet has revealed an object bearing an uncanny resemblance to a wooden log. It was captured by the Mars Rover near the Endurance Crater.

The find has excited conspiracy theorists...who claim it is evidence there are vast forests on Mars that have been kept from the public.

Enlarge A picture of what looks like timber (close-up below)
has excited conspiracy theorists who
claim it is proof there are vast forests
on Mars

It is more likely to be a case of pareidolia - where a random stimulus is perceived as having significance, be it a symbol seen in a cloud or a face on a piece of toast.

...one website insists it is a leaked image that 'could get someone killed.' A writer from TheCrit.com said NASA's claims Mars was a desert world were 'lies' and that 'there are vast forests on Mars, ones that are kept from the public.'

They go on to speculate the 'wood' was brought to its present position by a flood of water that must have happened within 40 years 'because the wood is intact.'

Tyre marks indicate the Mars Rover drove over
the 'plank' in this image

However, the 'plank' has the same shading and a similar linear pattern to the surrounding rock....

[HossB86]

Looks like a hunk o’ rock to me.

But, what do I know? :)

Hoss

[Doogle]

looks like the beach at Coney Island NY

[ZX12R]

It looks like a railroad tie, or maybe a plank from Noah’s ark.

[WayneS]

My young son was missing one of the Lincoln Logs from his set when we got back from our last vacation there. So, well, there you go....

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

As they say on Barsoom, SAK!

[SIDENET]

Fake, just like the moon landing.

(lol)

[JimSEA]

Obviously a plank off Noah’s Ark. ;)

[Dan Lacey]

Dinosaur poop.

[Vaquero]

BARSOOM????

methinks Edgar Rice Burroughs spent to much time in a

BAR-ROOM.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

It’s the Mars Railroad!.....

[Vaquero]

Dinosaur poop

ah, your a coprolite specialist eh?

[weegee]

"GILLLIGAN!!!!!"

[mikelets456]

Looks like the after effects of “Cracklin’ Oat bran” the next day!

[econjack]

The find has excited conspiracy theorists...who claim it is evidence there are vast forests on Mars that have been kept from the public.

This is the first I heard of these "conspiracy theorists" and forests on Mars. Does anyone know any more about this?

[IrishPennant]

Oops-guess I missed this sign the first time on the planet:

[egannacht]

Why is it in the realm of conspiracy theory?

[pgkdan]

Forget about the wooden plank. Who laid the brick patio?

[weegee]

That’s from the Islamic Mars Mission of 1400AD. Wooden ships. For wooden minds.

[messierhunter]

I can't believe the nutters dug this back up. This image was shot just days after the rover landed; you can see the heat shield in the background of one of the images. It's just the exposed edge of an upturned slab of rock. You can see the true shape of the "pseudo-log" in this cross-eye stereogram I made from images taken by each of the rover's stereo cameras.



Cross your eyes until the images overlap. There should be three 'images' and the middle one will be in 3D. If it's difficult try stepping back from your monitor a bit. Behold, a slab of rock. Took me about a minute to figure it out when I first heard the claim, too bad conspiracy theorists can't be bothered to validate their own claims in the slightest.