JOTT phenomena
Developed by Mary Rose Barrington developed the JOTT (Just One of Those Things) phenomena in the 2010s. The term covers the strange, and often inexplicable occurrences, that folks experience but are often dismissed as forgetfulness or strange coincidences. Typically, JOTT phenomena involve an object first disappearing, and then repeating in unexpected ways. Let's delve deeper into this phenomena in this blog
While disappearing (and reappearing) objects isn't necessarily a new phenomenon it has garnered recent interest thanks to Mary Rose Barrington's 2018 book, JOTT: When Things Disappear...and Come back or Relocate - and Why It Really Happens." The book itself takes an incredibly thorough dive into this phenomenon and features many case studies.
With over 70 detailed cases of JOTT, there are a lot of examples to share. One of my favorites: "A woman decided to have a shower, went into the bathroom, shut and locked the door, hung her bath robe on the door hook as she always did, had her shower and went to take her bath robe off the hook, but it was not there. She eventually found it lying at the foot of the stairs.” How scary would that be? We worry so much about a serial killer hiding behind the shower curtain, or a face appearing in the mirror…but what about a rogue bath robe?
Barrington breaks down these types of disappearances into three major categories:
Comeback: An object known to have been at a certain location ceases to be present there and is later found back at or very near to that same location
Walkabout: An object that ceases to be present at a known location and is later found at a different location.
Flyaway: Objects that seem to vanish into thin air
Turn-up: An object known to the finder but from an uncertain location is found in a location where it is known not to have been before it was found.
Windfall: An object of unknown provenance is found to be inexplicably present.
Trade-in: An object ceases to be present at or near a known location and soon afterwards a similar article is found in that location.
Oddjott: Items that appear in impossible or highly improbable places
Why does this happen? And why did Barrington feel compelled to organize all these different JOTTS? Well, first it is to acknowledge something that challenges our conventional understanding of physics and causality.
Barrington also believed that JOTTs were connected and should be studied as part of psi investigations, as the human mind’s impact on our world. They should be considered in broader psi-based investigations as significant action that tells a larger story.
Thanks to Claire for this blogstonishing suggestion!