Revised January 14, 2005 and October 26, 2007
Copyright 1998-2005 by John W. Allen
| Hello and welcome to our News archives. In this section you will find
a wide variety of newspaper clippings regarding the visionary mushrooms. I
Started to catalogue these clippings back in 1976. They are arranged alphabetically by countries and newspapers and then Chronologically by dates. |
|
Well this is an interesting series of reports on the tale of sheep
who alledgedly are consuming shrooms in Scotland and lying down in the
middle of roads causing traffic snarls and jams.
I first became aware of this news story from a colleague in New Zealand,
Dr. Karl L. R. Jansen. Three weeks later, my sister, who lives in Orlando,
Florida sent me an extended version of the same story.
One year later, I received a copy of even a lenghtier version from
the tabloid newspaper, The Weekly World News, sent to me by my friend
Colin Wood in British Columbia, Canada.
Below are these three stories: |
| Sunday Star(New Zealand). Sunday, September 3, 1989.
Page A16. MUSHROOM MADNESS Sheep that eat hallucinogenic mushrooms are causing problems for drivers on the remote Shetland Islands off Scotland. Psilocybin, or "magic mushrooms," popular as an alternative to LSD, grow in abundance on the rugged islands and the sheep have taken to nibbling them. "You have to watch the road at night," said one resident. "It;s as if the sheep are drunk. They fall over and take no notice of traffic." |
| The Orlando Sentinel. Sunday september 3, 1989. Page
A-10.
DRIVERS DODGING SHETLAND SHEEP HIGH ON MUSHROOMS. London -- It's Little Bo Peep's worst nightmare come true. Sheep are eating hallucinogenic mushrooms and causing problems for drivers on the remote Shetland Islands off Scotland, The Times Newspaper said Saturday. It said psilocybin, or "magic mushrooms," popular as an alternative to LSD, grow in abundance on the rugged islands and the sheep are nibbling on them. "You have to watch the road at night," said one resident. "It's as if the sheep are drunk." Allan Jones of the North of Scotland Agriculture College said the behavior could be cause by a magnesium deficiency but said "hallucinations are possible." |
| And now for the final news Item. One year after receiving those two news clippings,a friend, Colin Woods, whom I met at several mycomedia conferences, some at Breittenbush Hot Springs in Oregon, sent me the followup article based on the original two I posted above. This one from a tabloid known for distorting facts and picture images. One can see how these people have twisted a story to fit their readers mentality. It is now posted below for your viewing: |
|
The Weekly World News. October 3, 1989. Page 43. SHEEP EAT LSD AND GO BONKERS! Sheep are tripping like Woodstock hippies thanks to a crop of hallucinogenic
mushrooms that sprouted on islands off the coast of Scotland.
Authorities say the animals can't resist the mushrooms, which contain
a natural type of LSD and cause them to hallucinate for hours.
According to reports, the sheep:
*Stumble and fall like drunks.
*Run in terror from imaginary predators.
*Wander into roads and refuse to move, even for speeding traffic.
*Have lost all interest in sex.
Walk sideways and backwards, bleating crazily.
*Won't eat anything but mushrooms even though they have no nutritional
value and taste like old leather. The sheep even let other barnyard animals like chickens, roost on their
backs without flinching.
"They're wrecked," Dr. Phillip Johnston of the North of Scotland Agriculture
College, told reporters.
I have never seen sheep behave like this/ They're litterally out of
their minds.
"But as long as the mushrooms are growing, the sheep are going to eat
them. They must like the way they feel when they're tripping.
"They act crazy -- but they look like they're having a good time."
Shepherds alerted authorities after their herds began to behave strangely
in August.
Animal experts traced the problems to the mushrooms, which grow wild
and in great numbers in the Shetland Islands when weather conditions
are right.
"In a few more weeks the mushrooms will be gone and the sheep will
return to normal," said Dr. Johnston. "In the meantime, the shephers
are going to have to keep a close eye on their flocks.
"As long as they're under the influence of drugs, they're in danger
of hurting themselves." |
| Now I pose a few quetions. Mushrooms are not LSD? Why didn't the sheep get high before this year on the mushrooms which are always there? Now I pose a question: Why haven't they been high every fall since this article first appeared in print more than 11 years ago. There are also discrepancies in the names of the experts from the two articles concerning the North of Scotland Agriculture College. I hope to look up some more info on this news items from the London Times. |
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