How many of the 10 plagues in Exodus chapters 7-11 will be reported in China May - 8/7/08?

Although it is tempting to think that the plagues that befell Egypt were freak occurences that have no bearing on modern times there are actually parallels to events in China this summer.

Follows is a list of the 10 classic plagues mentions in the Bible in the book of Exodus with my comments about potential occurences which could qualify as settlement of the various events. There is no clear "None of the Above" option as I'm including the freak frog migration that happened the week before the first major earthquake as qualifying for the second plague - frogs. (http://www.weirdasianews.com/2008/05/13/frog-migration-omen-to-china-earthquake-disaster/)

The First Plague (Exodus 7:14-24)
Water turned to blood. Will settle as yes if there is a Red Tide in Chinese waters.
The Second Plague (Exodus 8:1-15)
Frogs miraculously multiplied in number. http://www.weirdasianews.com/2008/05/13/frog-migration-omen-to-china-earthquake-disaster/ (Check)
The Third Plague (Exodus 8:16-19)
Vast swarms of gnats tormented people and animals. Possible outcome due to widespread mortality of people and livestock, but not reported as such yet. China is aggressively working to contain spread of germ and diseases.
The Fourth Plague (Exodus 8:20-32)
Vast swarms of flies through the land, spreading disease. See # 3 above.
The Fifth Plague (Exodus 9:1-7)
Disease on the livestock - horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep and goats. Ditto.
The Sixth Plague (Exodus 9:8-12)
Festering boils on people and animals through the land. Possible ripple effect of flooding, contaminated water, etc.
The Seventh Plague (Exodus 9:13-35) Powerful hail storms. Normally accompanies severe weather such as tornadoes.
The Eighth Plague (Exodus 10:1-20)
Locusts.
The Ninth Plague (Exodus 10:21-29)
Darkness over the entire land for three days. Could be caused be a major industrial accident, fire or volcanic explosion.
The Tenth Plague (Exodus 11:1-10, 12:1-42)
Death of the firstborn.

There could be some argument made for #10 with so many children dying in the schools that collapsed and China's one child policy...

Wow, Jenn, I believe you're right, that hadn't occured to me, but China IS the only country that I know of that had a rigid, One Child Only policy so I would say yes, that would qualify, that makes at LEAST two now, # 2 & # 10.

sorry about the odd sequence of options, I've asked HD admin/or any HD Super User to correct, %'s were what I'd intended but should have posted as; 1-2, (23%), 3-4 (23%), 5-6 (23%), 7-8 (23%), 9-10 (4%) and Any other outcome not mentioned above @ (4%).

China is allowing exceptions to the one child rule.

What a question!
Nice link with the frogs!

This is a striking observation - awesome job in creating this question!

Toxic red tide spreads off China (May 17, 2004)
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-05/15/content_331050.htm

An algal bloom is causing havoc in the South China Sea (June 15, 2007)
http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=13145&channel=0

@valornhonor - Very interesting and thought provoking... Thank You!

Haha, I love it man :-D

What's wrong HD admins??? Having trouble coming up with a pic to go with this marketplace? lol, how 'bout some frogs? Do I get a bonus for coming up w/ a marketplace that is HOT but can't be easily tagged w/ a pic? Just kidding, thanks for all your great work! Love the pictures. V&H

Here's the pic suggestion I sent Lesley, see if you approve V:
http://blogs.sun.com/ChinaExperience/resource/10plague.jpg

This is an awesome question. Quite thought prevoking.
Thanks again V&H!

Jenni,

You continue to impress me, I didn't think it was possible, but you have captured the essence of my marketplace in a picture! I do approve and reccomend its attachment to the question. Please post!

Hi,

I've added the photo in and also clarified the markets settlement details. The one child policy won't count because as Destry said there are exceptions.

Regards,

Ryan
Hubdub Category Editor

PS Great question Valorhonor! I'm submitting it to digg so please all vote it up!

10 plagues or 5 curses of the Olympic mascots, pick your poison!

Olympic nightmare: A red tide in the Yellow Sea
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/30/asia/china.php

...and you thought I was being dramatic? heh heh

LOCUSTS reported in CHINA, check off another one... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a03s5CcVl6w0

So, aren't we at three? With #2, #8, #10 having been realized.

I think we have 4 of 10.
#1 - Red Tide
#2 - The Frogs
#8 - Locusts
#10- Death of First Born

Beijing especially has a huge air pollution problem. I don't think that it is quite 'dark' enough to qualify for the Ninth Plaque.

Ryan clarified earlier that the One Child policy doesn't count for the death of the firstborn see comment #15. (I don't know about plagues #1,#2 or #8 as I haven't been following those stories)

This market has not been submitted to digg.com.

If you'd like, I'll submit it, but I'll wait for ryanj to clear this up.

This market has been submitted to digg.com.
This is an outstanding prediction market.

But how many of any that do occur will be reported IN China? :)

dugg it!

3 plagues confirmed so far - frogs, red tide and locusts

Hey how 'bout that...darkness... solar eclipse in China!!!
PARIS, Jul 28, 2008 (AFP) - Earth, the Sun and the Moon will align in a celestial ballet on Friday, rewarding China, where the first record of an eclipse was made more than 4,000 years ago, with a dazzling show.

Longingly awaited, the first total solar eclipse since March 2006 kicks off at 0923 GMT, when the lunar shadow touches down on the fringes of Nunavut province in northern Canada.
http://www.physorg.com/news136427456.html

@v&h
very good find!
however, as you are the author, you know it must be dark for three days.

@ cognos, yes it doesn't qualify, but still interesting.

Very interesting indeed!
I still think that China is experiencing most, if not all, of the plagues, on way or another. We just don't get all the news, and then this market has some very specific settlement rules concerning the level/length of time for each plague (properly, I might add), in order to correspond to great plagues of Eygpt.

I think this is one of the best markets I seen in Hubdub.

Thnx Cognos,

Wouldn't it be interesting if air pollution kept automated street lights on for three days or more?

I believe that the Death of the first born should not be discounted because there are exceptions to the
one child rule of China. After researching this I put forward these points:
1. The Plague of the first born made exceptions not just for the hebrews but ANYONE who had the lambs blood on the
door the Angel of Death "passed over that house" - hence the celebration of Passover.

2. Despite the "movie" depiction most of egyptian slaves lived in a non segregated communal arrangement so if
lambs blood was on the door, more than just the Hebrews would have been spared.

Not to throw a wrench in the works, but ... despite the fact that the news story in link above says "red tide", the photos don't show anything but green algae and no mention is made of any red. Algal blooms (which this is, no question), can be green to red to pinkish or purplish. So I'm not convinced just yet that it's an actual red tide taking place. :-\

@raidersin09
Please review the following (previously provided in comment #8

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-05/15/content_331050.htm

This is an interesting headline: Olympic skies darken http://technology.iafrica.com/news/science/1060880.htm

I like how this question keeps surprising! Great work V & H