(1) Over the past several decades, the U.S., Canada, and Europe have received a greatdeal of media and even research attention over unusual phenomena and unsolvedmysteries. These include UFOs as well as sightings and encounters with"nonhuman creatures" such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster. Onlyrecently has Latin America begun to receive some attention as well. Althoughthe mysteries of the Aztec, Mayan, and Inca civilizations have been known forcenturies, now the public is also becoming aware of unusual, paranormalphenomena in countries such as Peru.

     (2)The Nazca "lines" of Peru were discovered in the 1930s. These linesare deeply carved into a flat, stony plain, and form about 300 intricatepictures of animals such as birds, a monkey, and a lizard. Seen at groundlevel, the designs are a jumbled senseless mess. The images are so large thatthey can only be viewed at a height of 1,000 feet - meaning from an aircraft.Yet there were no aircraft in 300 B.C., when it is judged the designs weremade. Nor were there then, or are there now, any nearby mountain ranges fromwhich to view them. So how and why did the native people of Nazca create thesemarvelous designs? One answer appeared in 1969, when the German researcher andwriter Erich von Daniken proposed that the lines were drawn byextraterrestrials as runways for their aircraft. The scientific community didnot take long to scof fat and abandon von Daniken's theory. Over the yearsseveral other theories have been put forth, but none has been accepted by thescientific community.

     (3)Today there is a new and heightened interest in the Nazca lines. It is a directresult of the creation of the Internet. Currently there are over 60 sitesdedicated to this mystery from Latin America's past, and even respectedscientists have joined the discussion through e-mail and chat rooms.

     (4)Will the Internet help explain these unsolved mysteries? Perhaps it is a stepin the right direction.