Ghost Stories Essay -- Analysis, The Nelly Buttler Hauntings

The Nelly Butler hauntings is referred to as the first recorded ghost story in American history (LiBrizzi 5), and possibly the most exciting hauntings to date as there are still many unsolved mysteries. The apparition appeared on more than 30 separate occasions to over 100 witnesses in Sullivan, Maine, just over fifteen years after the American Revolution (5-6). Although the Nelly Butler apparition is one of the most convincing ghosts of all time, it was subject to suspicions of fraud. These claims turn out to be groundless as the evidence reveals the ghost to be genuine. Although there is little information on Nelly Butler during her life, the evidence gathered from the time Nelly was alive suggests she was a kind woman. One interesting piece of information about Nelly when she was alive was given by her spirit when she explained that she had received an experience of spiritual salvation on her deathbed, possibly the reason she came back to Sullivan (â€Å"Testimony† 101). Nelly was legally named Eleanor Hooper, and born on 25 April 1776 (â€Å"Genealogical† 115). Her parents were David and Joanna Hooper, and she had eight siblings (115). Some time during 1795, Nelly married George Butler at the age of nineteen and lived on Butler’s Point in Franklin, Maine (115). While giving birth to their first child, Nelly tragically passed away on 13 June 1797, only to be followed shortly after by her baby (115). Although there are no headstones to confirm this, it is said that Nelly’s grave is located on Butler’s Point in Fran klin, next to her child and husband (LiBrizzi 8). Three years after Nelly had passed away, she still appeared to have business with the world of the living. The specter’s primary objective was to arrange the marriage of Georg... ...tion was given by the spirit that was only conversed between her and another person at the time if her life. The spirit appeared and sounded like Nelly Butler as she did when she was alive and even allowed the witnesses to get as close as they wanted allowing them the opportunity to find evidence of foul play. Where the idea of fraud breaks down is when the apparition shapeshifts, there is no evidence strong enough to give a reasonable argument that it was something other than the spirit of Nelly Butler caused it to happen. The evidence given by George Butler has to be the strongest evidence available; he actually was able to put his hand through the apparition and conversed on a topic only he and Nelly discussed when she was alive. With all the evidence composed, a strong case has been built that the spirit haunting Sullivan really was the spirit of Nelly Butler.

Food Inc. Essay

The film Food Inc. reveals the truth about the way food is produced today. The film provides countless cases of negative externalities. If a good has a negative externality, then the cost to society is greater than the cost consumer is paying for it. In other words, the marginal social cost exceeds the marginal private cost. Since consumers make a decision based on where their marginal cost equals their marginal benefit, and since they don’t take into account the cost of the negative externality, negative externalities result in market inefficiencies unless proper action is taken. Negative externalities from eating unhealthy foods are not easily quantified, as a countless number of interwoven factors come into play. While eating unhealthy food has many negative effects on the body, consuming junk food has a large impact on society and the environment. Not knowing how food is produced these days, can open the gap for diseases to be eaten by mouth. Countless negative externalities occurred throughout the film. For example, in 2001, a large number of meats were contaminated by e coli. As the contaminated meat was manufactured to fast food joints and grocery stores, e coli poisoning began to take many lives. A 2-year-old boy by the name of Kevin ate a hamburger from a fast food restaurant. Hours later, the boy caught e coli 0157:H7 and died a few days later of kidney failure and dehydration. His mother pursued Kevin’s Law, which close down plants that produce contaminated meat. Fast Food Negative Externality Graph Fast Food Negative Externality Graph = potential welfare loss = potential welfare loss The chart above represents the negative externality fast food has on society as a whole. MSC stands for marginal social cost; MPC is the marginal private cost. The black triangle represents the potential welfare loss or the â€Å"external cost† of the good. When the marginal social cost exceeds the marginal private cost, this signifies a negative effect on society. When the costs to produce the good are higher than the benefits the good brings, it is not beneficial and harms the market and lives as well. As the quantity increases, the benefit of fast food to society decreases (Q* →Q1 ). Supply and demand of fast food Supply and demand of fast food As many families struggle to get to work and don’t have the time to make a healthy dinner, fast food is often the resort taken. Demand for fast food has increased immensely as time goes on because it is a quick way to eat and be satisfied for the time being. The negative effects that arise, such as diabetes and the chance of being food poisoned are often disregarded. The chart above symbolizes the supply and demand of fast food today. As demand increases, supply decreases. D1 →D2 shows the rise in demand for fast food. S1 → S2 represents the drop in supply due to the increase in demand. As supply decreases, the price for fast food increases (P1→P2). Alternative measures can be taken to decrease the risk of obesity and chances of eating contaminated foods, including, resorting to healthier foods. The rise in demand of healthy foods, cause the price to jump. By being more aware of the foods one is consuming, you are likely to add years to your life, rather than take them away.

Biography of Henry Avery, the Most Successful Pirate

Henry â€Å"Long Ben† Avery (c 1659–1696 or 1699) was an English pirate, plying the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and making one big score: the treasure ship of the Grand Mughal of India. After this success, he retired. Little is known for certain of his ultimate fate. Contemporaries believed that Avery took his loot to Madagascar where he set himself up as a king with his own fleet and thousands of men. There also is evidence, however, that he returned to England and died broke. Fast Facts: Henry Avery Known For: Most successful pirateAlso Known As: Long Ben, John AveryBorn: Between 1653 and 1659 in Plymouth, EnglandDied: Perhaps in 1696 or 1699 in Devonshire County, England Early Life Henry Avery was born in or near Plymouth, England, sometime between 1653 and 1659. Some contemporary accounts spell his last name Every, while some references give his first name as John. He soon took to sea,  serving on several merchant vessels as well as ships of war, when England went to war with France in 1688, and a few slave ships. In early 1694, Avery took a position as the first mate aboard the privateer vessel Charles II, then in the employ of the king of Spain. The mostly English crew was extremely unhappy with their poor treatment and they convinced Avery to lead a mutiny, which he did on May 7, 1694. The men renamed the ship the Fancy and turned to piracy, attacking English and Dutch merchantmen off the coast of Africa. About this time, he released a statement declaring that English vessels had nothing to fear from him, as he would attack only foreigners, which clearly wasnt true. Madagascar The Fancy headed to Madagascar, then a lawless land known as a safe haven for pirates and a good place to launch attacks in the Indian Ocean. He restocked the Fancy and had it modified to be swifter under sail. This improved speed began paying dividends immediately, as he was able to overtake a French pirate vessel. After looting it, he welcomed 40 new pirates to his crew. Then he headed north, where other pirates were amassing, hoping to loot the Grand Mughal of Indias treasure fleet as it returned from an annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Indian Treasure Fleet In July 1695, the pirates got lucky: the great treasure fleet sailed into their arms. There were six pirate ships, including the Fancy and Thomas Tews Amity. They first attacked the Fateh Muhammed, the escort ship to the flagship, the Ganj-i-Sawai. The Fateh Muhammed, outgunned by the large pirate fleet, didnt put up much of a fight. There were 50,000 to 60,000 British pounds in treasure aboard the Fateh Muhammed. It was quite a haul, but it didnt go far divided among the crews of six vessels. The pirates were hungry for more. Soon Averys ship caught up with the Ganj-i-Sawai, the powerful flagship of Aurangzeb, the Mughal lord. It was a mighty ship, with 62 cannons and 400 to 500 musketeers, but the prize was too rich to ignore. During the first broadside they damaged the Ganj-i-Sawais main mast and one of the Indian cannons exploded, causing mayhem and confusion on deck. The battle roared on for hours as the pirates boarded the Ganj-i-Sawai. The terrified captain of the Mughal ship ran below decks and hid among the concubines. After a fierce battle, the remaining Indians surrendered. Looting and Torture The survivors were subjected to several days of torture and rape by the victorious pirates. There were many women on board, including a member of the court of the Grand Mughal. Romantic tales of the day say that the beautiful daughter of the Mughal was on board and fell in love with Avery and then ran off to live with him on a remote island, but the reality was probably far more brutal. The haul from the Ganj-i-Sawai was hundreds of thousands of pounds in gold, silver, and jewels, worth tens of millions of dollars today and possibly the richest haul in the history of piracy. Deception and Flight Avery and his men didnt want to share this prize with the other pirates, so they tricked them. They loaded their holds with loot and arranged to meet and divide it, but they took off instead. None of the other pirate captains had a chance of catching up with the speedy Fancy, which headed for the lawless Caribbean. Once they reached New Providence Island, Avery bribed Gov. Nicholas Trott, essentially buying protection for him and his men. The taking of the Indian ships had put a great strain on relations between India and England, however, and once a reward was put out for Avery and his fellow pirates, Trott could no longer protect them. He tipped them off, however, so Avery and most of his 113-man crew got out safely. Only 12 were captured. Averys crew split up. Some went to Charleston, some to Ireland and England, and some remained in the Caribbean. Avery himself vanished from history at this point, although according to Capt. Charles Johnson, one of the best sources of the time (and often thought to be a pseudonym for novelist Daniel Defoe), he returned with much of his loot to England only to be later swindled out of it, dying poor in perhaps 1696 or 1699, maybe in Devonshire County, England. Legacy Avery was a legend during his lifetime and for a while thereafter. He embodied the dream of all pirates to make a huge score and then retire, preferably with an adoring princess and a large pile of loot. The idea that Avery had managed to get away with that booty helped create the so-called Golden Age of Piracy as thousands of poor, abused European seamen tried to follow his example out of their misery. The fact that he supposedly refused to attack English ships (although he did) became part of his legend, giving the story a Robin Hood twist. Books and plays were written about him and his exploits. Many people at the time believed that he had set up a kingdom somewhere—possibly Madagascar—with 40 warships, an army of 15,000 men, a mighty fortress, and coins bearing his face. Capt. Johnsons story is almost certainly closer to the truth. The part of Averys story that can be verified caused great headaches for English diplomats. The Indians were furious and held officers of the British East India Company under arrest for a while. It would take years for the diplomatic furor to die down. Averys haul from the two Mughal ships put him at the top of the earnings list for pirates, at least during his generation. He took in more loot in two years than pirates such as Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, Anne Bonny and Calico Jack Rackham—combined. Its impossible to know the exact design used by Long Ben Avery for his pirate flag. He only captured a dozen or so ships, and no first-hand accounts survive from his crew or victims. The flag most commonly attributed to him is a white skull in profile, wearing a kerchief on a red or black background. Below the skull are two crossed bones. Sources Cordingly, David. Random House Trade Paperbacks, 1996.Defoe, Daniel (writing as Capt. Charles Johnson). A General History of the Pyrates. Edited by Manuel Schonhorn. Dover Publications, 1972/1999.Konstam, Angus. The World Atlas of Pirates. Lyons Press, 2009.Henry Every’s Bloody Pirate Raid, 320 Years Ago. History.com.John Avery: British Pirate. Encyclopedia Britannica.