The world is littered with fascinating stories that boggle the mind and blow away our thinking. However, some stories defy any sort of reason and it is these events that seem to live on forever. We decided to look at 10 of the most amazing unsolved mysteries ever. Get ready to spend a whole day thinking of theories, because these will all blow your mind.
Loch Ness
We could spend hours detailing various cryptozoology claims but eventually that would make your eyes glaze over and you would end up feeling like you just read a manual on a car insurance quote. So instead we’ll go ahead and focus on one of the most famous ‘cryptids’ of all time: Loch Ness. The Loch Ness monster is the official monster of Scotland and it has reportedly been lurking in the freshwater loch of the same name in the Scottish Highlands. The Loch Ness monster originally came to light in 1933 and popularity has since surged. Videos and photographs have begun to flood the internet but there is really going to be no verifying them in the age of photoshop and hoaxes. If a monster DOES indeed lurk between the waters of the Loch Ness then the most likely candidate is a surviving plesiosaur — a lost animal from a different time. Fossils of the plesiosaur were first found in the 1820s and scientists believe that they existed in the late Triassic Period, almost 205 million years ago. Could this be our Nessie? Honestly we have no idea. Everything is conjecture at this point as science has yet to prove or disprove this long standing mystery.
Loch Ness
DB Cooper
It was November 24, 1971 when a mysterious man, known only as DB Cooper, hijacked a Boeing 727 airplane with a home made parachute on his back. From there the man managed to steal $200,000 in cash which is equivalent to over $1 million in 2016. Cooper didn’t wait for the plane to land to try and make his getaway. Instead Cooper parachuted out of the plane and was never seen or heard from again. This is the only open case file in American aviation history and it has grown to 60 volumes in the FBI database. Theories have been growing abound as the years have passed but there is nothing rock solid to tie down the mysterious Cooper. There have been many copycat criminals over time and none of them have had the success that DB Cooper had. In fact, Cooper’s crime was so successful that he was the first cog in dramatically overhauling airline security — something modern day American citizens can fully understand. Rates for airline insurance, much like car insurance online nowadays, skyrocketed and people were forced to go through whole new rings of security to fly like they had prior to DB Cooper’s daring escape. All we know is that in 1980 people found a stash of ransom bills matching what DB Cooper would have stolen. From there — radio silence. Cooper is a ghost on the wind and one of the most mysterious criminals of all time.
DB Cooper
Jack the Ripper
While the Zodiac Killer is likely the most famous modern serial killer, it was Jack the Ripper that became the first cultural phenomenon for the art of killing. Jack the Ripper allegedly roamed the streets of London murdering prostitutes in horrifying ways. Jack allegedly roamed the streets from 1881 to 1891 when his killings abruptly stopped, or at least stopped being ascribed to him. What we do know, outside of the buzz of pop culture build up, is that Jack the Ripper has five verified kills to his name with the fear that many more went on unnoticed. Much more fascinating than discount auto insurance, but arguably harder to solve. Jack the Ripper’s name will be scribbled in the pages of history for eternity with justice always eluding those victims.
Jack the Ripper
The Shroud of Turin
You can trace Christianity back for thousands of years across the planet. You can even trace the idea of a Jesus like figure through several dominant religions around the world. Still, religion is a hot button topic where evidence and faith are used interchangeably. One piece of evidence for the possible existence of the actual Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the Shroud of Turin. The Shroud of Turin is a piece of burial cloth that shows the imprint of a human face and body on the fabric. Christian researchers suggest that this shroud could be Jesus Christ’s burial shroud before he was raised from the dead. We’ll never know, but it is thrilling to think about.
The Shroud of Turin
The Zodiac Letters
From the late ’60s to the early ’70s there was a serial killer roaming Northern California that was known for his cryptic and cypher based letters that he would send to the press in the Bay Area. Over the course of his killing spree investigators managed to decipher only one single letter which detailed horrific details relating to the murder of two young people, a man and a woman, that the killer could have only known. So far five murders have been tied to the mysterious killer and there are thought to be up to 37 total victims, if claims by the letters can be believed. Though the single individual captivated, terrified, and murdered his way through an entire decade the police never got close to catching the criminal despite their best efforts and the weight of the world watching them. To this day there are open case files for the Zodiac Killer all over California including Napa County, Solano County, and the California DoJ in general. It is unlikely that these horrific crimes will ever be solved.
The Zodiac
The Lost City of Atlantis
Is there any city like Atlantis that has gained so much fame for potentially not existing? Atlantis is the fabled city of power and it is found throughout the works of Plato. Atlantis in pop culture is said to have been the home of mermaids and mermen and to be possessed of technology far ahead of its time. Plato wrote that the city of Atlantis had attacked Athens and that Atlantis had failed. Soon thereafter the city was sunk and gone from the face of the Earth. Plato was a real person and there is belief that he is telling the truth about Atlantis however scientists and researchers have not been able to find a place where Atlantis could have existed that matches up with Plato’s accounts. Do we believe that Atlantis really was some semi-magical city? Probably not, but it was likely real. Scientists believe that it could have been on the island of Santorini which ended up sinking when a volcano erupted. The problem with nailing down this story by using Plato’s work is that Plato also references the Pillars of Hercules as standing outside of the city but so far no research has been able to verify any location. We likely will never know the truth for sure about this 10th millennium wonderland, if it existed at all.
The Lost City of Atlantis
‘Wow!’ Signal.
It has become something of a cultural cliche to opine, “We are not alone” when referencing potential extraterrestrials hiding out in the stars above. However, outside of grainy UFO videos and hard to verify sightings, aliens have largely been kept ‘under the radar’ so to speak. In order to truly believe that aliens might be among us we would need a verifiable piece of evidence….from someone like Jerry Ehman at the SETI Project at Wesleyan Unviersity. Ehman was at work when he picked up a 72 second signal emitting from the Sagittarius constellation. The signal was emitted in a fashion that made Ehman write ‘Wow!” down on a piece of paper showcasing the signal. Nobody knows where the rogue radio waves came from and still nobody is sure what they could mean. All we are left with is a print out showcasing a signal from out of this world and a man who was surprised to be there when it came through.
aliens
The SS Ourang Medan
There is something fascinating about life on the open sea. That’s why we are absolutely enthralled by the Malaysian ship, SS Ourang Medan. An SOS message in 1947 came from the SS OUrang Medan and it said that the entire crew, including the captain, was dead. The person who telegraphed the message was also found dead when the ship was found and inspected. Everyone on board was found dead and nobody knows what killed them or how they died. The last messages received over the telegram read: “Probably whole of crew dead. I die.”
The SS Ourang Medan
Stonehenge
The formation of Stonehenge stands in Wiltshire, England right outside of Amesbury. Scholars have placed the construction of Stonehenge somewhere between 3000 BC and 2000 BC thanks to radiocarbon dating tests done on the stonework. Even though Stonehenge has been in its location seemingly forever we are no closer to understanding what the monument is actually for or who built it or even how. Stonehenge researchers theorize that it could be seen as a burial ground considering that human remains have been found at the site, yet even that isn’t concrete enough. Right now Stonehenge exists in that interesting space where real science meets pop culture theories. We’ll likely never know why this beautiful but rudimentary monument was erected.
Stonehenge
The Aluminum Wedge of Aiud
In 1974 workers in Romania found three distinct objects 10 meters deep inside of a sand trench. Two of these items were elephant bones that were found to be carbon dated as old as 2.5 million years ago. The third object was what blew people away: an aluminum wedge. Aluminum was almost impossible to craft in the 19th century and there is no reason for it to be located where these bones were found. Many people take this piece of aluminum to be proof positive of aliens or some sort of time travel. We’re not sure and we can’t be sure, but the possibilities are endless.
The Aluminum Wedge of Aiud
