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Space/Time Malfunction?

Trevp666

Beloved of Ra
Joined
May 29, 2009
Messages
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Location
Flitwick, Bedfordshire, 1874
I don't think I have mentioned this before, and I'm not sure if it fits better in another thread elsewhere instead of on it's own but here's a recounting/recollection of a minor odd thing that happened to me many years ago.

I used to live in Hemel Hempstead and one day had driven to nearby Berkhamstead on some errand of some sort.
It was a nice summers day and I was in no hurry, so decided to drive home via a slightly longer scenic route.
As I left Potton End (a little village in between the two towns) and accelerated onto the straight road out of there, I came upon one of those roadworks set-up with a pair of traffic lights, allowing the traffic to travel in only one direction at a time through the single lane available.
The lights my way were red so I slowed to a stop.
As I waited for the lights to turn green I suddenly became aware of what appeared to be a stretching of the space in front me, as though the whole fabric of the universe was placed on a giant elastic band and was being pulled out, lengthened, stretched along one axis, out in front of me, and time seeming to slow down to a crawl.
It must have only been seconds as when the lights went green everything went back to 'normal' and I went on my way thinking "Well, that was odd".
But it is an experience that I remember well.
Not something I need explaining.
I just think that it was most likely my mind playing tricks on me. (The most likely explanation usually being the correct one)
Or was it?
 
Hold on, you just said 'Not something I need explaining' then said 'Or was it? which is it? Imma gonna go for the second one :D

Sometimes when you are relaxed your mind can be a little playful, I relax when I drive, because I like it, do you relax when you drive?
 
I'm suggesting maybe heat haze and your eyes did the rest?

Or the frustration of lots of people at being held by the lights becoming visible!

Lovely description of it :)
 
... I suddenly became aware of what appeared to be a stretching of the space in front me, as though the whole fabric of the universe was placed on a giant elastic band and was being pulled out, lengthened, stretched along one axis, out in front of me, and time seeming to slow down to a crawl. ...

My guess: A shift in blood pressure and / or a shot of adrenalin into your bloodstream.

I've experienced this sort of 'scene stretched as if receding toward infinity' in two sorts of situations:

- falling into a dead faint
- trying to focus upon a scene that frightened the hell outta me*

*Most extreme example ... I was deathly afraid of heights in my younger years. When I made a cog-train excursion up to the top of the Jungfrau I made a point to walk outside on the observation deck, go to the edge (railing) while keeping my eyes fixed out on the horizon, grasp the railing as firmly as I could, and then cast my eyes downward. I got the stretch-away / compress-toward optical effects multiple times as my eyes fought to comprehend so much 'down'. I haven't been quite so fearful of heights since then ... Not a cure, but it seemed to help ...
 
Interesting tale, thanks for sharing. I had a slightly similar incident that I shared on the old site.

A year or two back I was sat at my desk at home and daydreaming, just staring out of the window and into the garden. Suddenly everything in front of me in my line of sight ‘stretched’ and in front of my eyes there appeared something similar to a portable TV screen, though it was transparent as I could still see the garden through it. On (or in) the screen was the living room of my parents house as I remembered it as a child. I had a strong feeling that it was a Thursday in 1986. I looked at the door from the living room that led to the kitchen and knew my Mum was through there. Then, as quickly as this feeling, or apparition appeared, it disappeared and I was back looking out into the garden. I can only describe it as being like when you see something in your minds eye but in this case it was incredibly powerful. If I’m honest I’ve tried a few times to repeat this experience but failed miserably!!
 
As I waited for the lights to turn green I suddenly became aware of what appeared to be a stretching of the space in front me, as though the whole fabric of the universe was placed on a giant elastic band and was being pulled out, lengthened, stretched along one axis, out in front of me, and time seeming to slow down to a crawl.

It sounds a little like Hitchcock's triple reverse zoom.
 
The effect from Jaws was done by zooming out at the same rate as the dolly camera moved towards Roy Scheider (Brody) thus keeping him in central focus. My experience was different in that I remained stationary while everything in front of me stretched out away from me.
 
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