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From: stratton@brl-smoke.ARPA (Sue Stratton )
Newsgroups: net.physics
Subject: Electric Brae
Message-ID: <764@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Date: Sat, 8-Feb-86 22:23:12 EST
Article-I.D.: brl-smok.764
Posted: Sat Feb  8 22:23:12 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 11-Feb-86 06:34:44 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: /usr/local/lib/news/organization
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A friend of mine was in Scotland visiting relatives in December, on
an island called Ayr.  They took her around sightseeing, and one of
the interesting places they visited was what the locals referred to
as "the Electric Brae".  Here's what she writes:

   "My cousins took me to see this neat thing called the 'Electric Brae'.
    Have you ever heard of it?  A brae is a hill, and this one has a 
    peculiar property: it defies gravity!  We got over the crest of the
    hill, and cousin Tom put the car in neutral; now, it should have 
    rolled down the hill, right?  But no--the car coasted to a stop and
    then started backing up the hill!  And my cousin's wife said if you're
    riding a bike down the hill, you have to pedal; if you're on horseback
    or even on foot, you have to exert extra effort; and if you pour water 
    on the road it runs up the hill! [Not all the way...but significantly!]
    They said scientists from many places have come to study it, and no one
    knows exactly how it works.  Anyway, I was duly impressed."


I have been reading The Skeptical Inquirer for the past three years, and
haven't seen anything on this yet---maybe I should go through the back 
issues. :-)  Anyway, has anyone ever heard of this?  If so, what theories
have been put forth to explain this thing?

Sue Stratton
<stratton@amsaa.arpa>