The Turgid Zone

“There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.”

-- Opening narration of original Twilight Zone TV show season 1.

Well, actually, not. You are entering the turgid waters of mainstream American thought processes at least according to the following polls.


CNN poll 1997:

64 percent say space aliens have contacted humans.

37 percent say space aliens have contacted government.

Gallup poll 1990:

56 percent believe in the devil.

72 percent believe in angels.

47 percent believe UFOs real.

AOL poll 2006:

60 percent believe in Bigfoot.

November 1, 2006 NYT/CBS news poll:

75 percent believed a democrat congress would end the Iraq war sooner than a republican congress.

"You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead - your next stop, the Twilight Zone!"

-- Season 2 Twilight Zone opening narration.