Firmat
Encyclopedia
Firmat is a city located in the south of Santa Fe Province
, Argentina
in the Departamento General López
. The main economic resources are agro-industry and agriculture
. The city covers an area of about 226 km² (90 mi²). The population of Firmat stood at 18,294 per the 2001 national census. The annual temperature of the city usually ranges between 10 and 23 degrees Celsius (50 and 73 °F).
. The line owed its existence to a Spanish Argentine
investor, Carlos Casado del Alisal
, and the latter is regarded as the town's founder. The commune itself was formally established on November 20, 1894. The Firmat Football Club was founded 13 years later, in 1907, and the Club Atlético Argentino de Firmat, in 1922. The town became an important center of Argentine agriculture, and some of the town's main employers include Vassalli Industries, a firm specializing in farm equipment
founded in Firmat in 1949, and Nestlé
. Firmat was recognized as a municipality by the Provincial Legislature in 1962, and the city's local news daily is Diario Firmat.
in a children's playground
was reported to the police
after locals had discovered that it would move backwards and forwards non-stop on its own for ten days before stopping dead, while other swings would remain still. The police, who couldn't conclude an explanation called physics
professors into Firmat, Argentina. But by October that year, even scientists were "baffled" and could not offer a logical explanation.
Parents and children were convinced that a ghost
was to blame. According to a teacher: “One child called it the Blair Witch Playground. We believe it is haunted.” Parents decided that the playground must indeed be haunted.
On an April 13, 2011 episode of the Syfy Channel show, Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files
, the crew went to Firmat to investigate the haunted swing. They were able to recreate the movement of the swing with a monofilament, but determined that it was not a viable hoax. Ultimately, after covering the swing with an inflatable dome and performing simulated wind tests, they determined that wind was the likely culprit coupled with the fact that the haunted swing was slightly larger than the other swings and had more surface area to catch the wind.
Santa Fe Province
The Invincible Province of Santa Fe, in Spanish Provincia Invencible de Santa Fe , is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco , Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Santiago del Estero...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
in the Departamento General López
General López Department
The General López Department is an administrative subdivision of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located in the south of the province...
. The main economic resources are agro-industry and agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. The city covers an area of about 226 km² (90 mi²). The population of Firmat stood at 18,294 per the 2001 national census. The annual temperature of the city usually ranges between 10 and 23 degrees Celsius (50 and 73 °F).
Early years
Firmat was founded in 1888, when a railway station by that name was completed at the location along the Santa Fe Western RailwaySanta Fe Western Railway
The Santa Fe Western Railway was a railway company which became British-owned in 1900 when it was taken over by the Central Argentine Railway...
. The line owed its existence to a Spanish Argentine
Spanish Argentine
Spanish settlement in Argentina, that is the arrival of Spanish emigrants in Argentina, took place firstly in the period before Argentina's independence from Spain, and again in large numbers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
investor, Carlos Casado del Alisal
Carlos Casado del Alisal
Carlos Casado del Alisal was a Spanish Argentine businessman.-Life and times:Carlos Casado del Alisal was born in Villada, Palencia Province, Spain. He arrived in Santa Fe Province, Argentina in 1857, and in 1864, was named to the Board of Directors of the newly-established Central Argentine...
, and the latter is regarded as the town's founder. The commune itself was formally established on November 20, 1894. The Firmat Football Club was founded 13 years later, in 1907, and the Club Atlético Argentino de Firmat, in 1922. The town became an important center of Argentine agriculture, and some of the town's main employers include Vassalli Industries, a firm specializing in farm equipment
Farm equipment
Agricultural machinery is any kind of machinery used on a farm to help with farming. The best-known example of this kind is the tractor.-Soil cultivation:*Cultivator*Cultipacker*Chisel plow*Mulch tiller*Harrow**Spike harrow**Drag harrow...
founded in Firmat in 1949, and Nestlé
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
. Firmat was recognized as a municipality by the Provincial Legislature in 1962, and the city's local news daily is Diario Firmat.
"Haunted" swing
In June 2007, a swingSwing (seat)
A swing is a hanging seat, usually found at playgrounds for children, a circus for acrobats, or on a porch for relaxing. The seat of a swing may be suspended from chains or ropes. Once a swing is in motion it continues to oscillate like a pendulum until external interference or drag brings it to a...
in a children's playground
Playground
A playground or play area is a place with a specific design for children be able to play there. It may be indoors but is typically outdoors...
was reported to the police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
after locals had discovered that it would move backwards and forwards non-stop on its own for ten days before stopping dead, while other swings would remain still. The police, who couldn't conclude an explanation called physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
professors into Firmat, Argentina. But by October that year, even scientists were "baffled" and could not offer a logical explanation.
Parents and children were convinced that a ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
was to blame. According to a teacher: “One child called it the Blair Witch Playground. We believe it is haunted.” Parents decided that the playground must indeed be haunted.
On an April 13, 2011 episode of the Syfy Channel show, Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files
Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files
-Reviews:The show has been described as Mythbusters meets Destination Truth. A Variety magazine review says – "Now we know what Fox Mulder would have done after leaving "The X-Files" unit: Get his own reality-TV show!"-Criticism:...
, the crew went to Firmat to investigate the haunted swing. They were able to recreate the movement of the swing with a monofilament, but determined that it was not a viable hoax. Ultimately, after covering the swing with an inflatable dome and performing simulated wind tests, they determined that wind was the likely culprit coupled with the fact that the haunted swing was slightly larger than the other swings and had more surface area to catch the wind.