h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi there Dmitri! Very interesting piece as always. Of course later history in Algeria turned particularly tragic. But anyways, Houdin and his tricks were not to blame, I'm sure.

I also thought of this:

http://www.moillusions.com/2010/03/ghost-army-using-illusions-in-wwii.html

Thanks, Willem. That one is interesting.

While fooling people that you've got extra tanks and jeeps is useful, there's the opposite problem, too - hiding where you keep your real airplanes. West Coast aircraft factories were made to look like suburbs:

http://www.taphilo.com/history/WWII/USAAF/Boeing/index.shtml

Thanks for that one Dmitri! Now making *war* go away entirely would be one great magic trick.

Great point. I will now make this general completely disappear...

Oops ... I forgot how to bring him back! No matter ... now watch me do it with this nuclear arsenal ...

Ah, yes. Endless possibilities.

Let's saw this cannon in half...

This looks like a very good entry

Thanks, Hyperstar!

Note our magic skills...we made this site disappear and reappear... (Well, the gurus did...)

Well for what it's worth this entry meets with my approval.

Dmitri did you know we have a stork over here named a Marabou?

Oh and I'm happy they managed to make the site reappear!

I'm glad they did that, too, Willem. I think we should name Pastey and Brian Head Wizzards...with two 'zz's'...

Yeah, I saw that. Apparently, the name 'Marabout' comes from the stork. I don't get the connection, though.

Neither do I. This is a very large and stately stork but I don't think it gives one the impression of a wizard or a charlatan ... I don't get any info on it online either.

Yeah, I couldn't find too much about it.

I thought maybe because it was solitary, or considered an omen...? Or maybe its appearance, though as you said, that's not particularly spooky.