Free Republic

Mystery of 'chirping' pyramid decoded Philip BallAcoustic analysis shows how temple transforms echoes into sounds of nature El Castillo's strange echoes have fascinated visitors for generations © Punchstock A theory that the ancient Mayans built their pyramids to act as giant resonators to produce strange and evocative echoes has been supported by a team of Belgian scientists. Nico Declercq of Ghent University and his colleagues have shown how sound waves ricocheting around the tiered steps of the El Castillo pyramid, at the Mayan ruin of Chichén Itzá near Cancún in Mexico, create sounds that mimic the chirp of a bird...

Dozens of rural Georgia legislators went on a political limb last year to support changing the state flag. Now many of them are getting a re-election boost from those who benefited from the change -- businesses. Coca-Cola, Georgia Pacific, SouthTrust Corp., the Georgia Business Political Action Committee and a hospitality industry PAC are spreading hundreds of thousands of dollars to candidates across the state who supported the flag change, according to campaign disclosure records. Charles Hood, who handles governmental affairs for Atlanta-based Georgia Pacific, said his company used a list of flag-change supporters to target nearly $43,000 it donated to...