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anomaly
An anomaly is an irregular or unusual event which does not fit a standard rule or law. For example, a frog when dropped should move through the air towards the ground, according to the law of gravity. If the frog were to remain suspended in mid-air, such levitation would be an anomaly. If it were discovered, however, that the frog was being suspended in mid-air by electromagnetic devices, the anomaly would dissolve.
Anything weird, abnormal, strange, odd, or difficult to classify is considered an anomaly.
In science, an anomaly is something which cannot be explained by currently accepted scientific theories. Sometimes the new phenomenon leads to new rules or theories, e.g., the discovery of x-rays and radiation.
See also Charles Fort, face on Mars, and Piltdown hoax.
further reading
books
Neher, Andrew. The Psychology of Transcendence (Prentice-Hall 1980).
websites
Science Frontiers - reports on scientific anomalies
Strange Magazine - reports on strange phenomena
Anomalies - database of the paranormal
Weird Research - Anomalous Physics