Another little something to annoy the sky fairy worshiping brigade, in particular the Catholics. A few days ago I watched a German TV programme on the Shroud of Turin. Basically it was claimed that this was the shroud that covered JC after he had been taken down off the cross, it depicts the figure of JC and looks a bit like a faded black and white photograph on linen. There are however at least 2 errors, number one, the Romans left crucified victims on the cross to rot, more as a lesson to others to behave themselves, but also saved the effort of removal and burial. Number two and this is where the arguments really begin, the shroud is a forgery, it has been carbon dated to the middle ages. So who dunnit, and why? Some reckon that Leonardo da Vinci is the prime suspect as he was about the only one with the know how, time and money. The question as to why remains unsurprisingly unanswered, but there has been speculation.
There are of course those who dispute that the shroud is a forgery, claiming that the shroud had not been properly tested and that it had been contaminated by foreign material in the middle ages. It has also been shown that a cloth in prolonged intimate contact with the human body can produce an image thanks to the activities of bacteria that live on the skin. Other research confirms this, but states that the image as seen in the Turin Shroud is not compatible with what would be seen had the cloth really been in contact with a corpse.
So the evidence is in favour of a forgery. Leo nice try, no cigar.