These mysteries have captured the world’s attention for decades. Despite research by experts and scientists, they remain largely unexplained, with different hypotheses proposed. These 19 unsolved mysteries still inspire debate and baffle scientists.
The Tunguska Event
The Tunguska Event was the largest recorded impact on Earth. In 1908, a massive explosion in Siberia flattened 2,150 square kilometers of forest. Scientists believe the object, which left no impact crater, exploded 3 to 6 miles above the surface. They’re still unsure whether the object was an asteroid or a comet.
The Nazca Lines
These lines are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a massive group of geoglyphs in the Peruvian desert visible only from the air. The Nazca culture created them between 500 BCE and 500 AD, and they include depictions of animals, humans, and plants, but their purpose and meaning remain unknown.
The Voynich Manuscript
The Voynich Manuscript is an enigmatic book, carbon-dated between 1404 and 1438, written in an unknown language. Scientists believe it may have been composed during the Italian Renaissance, but they have been unable to determine its authorship or purpose. Britannica explains, “Among the many people who tried to decipher the text were renowned World War II cryptologists William and Elizebeth Friedman, art historian Erwin Panofsky,” and intelligence specialists.
The Antikythera Mechanism
This ancient Greek hand-powered orrery, or model of the Solar System, is believed to be the oldest known example of an analog computer. It was discovered in a shipwreck in 1901 off the coast of the Greek island Antikythera. It dates back to between 87 and 204 BC, and its complexity suggests that advanced knowledge was lost in history.
The Kryptos Sculpture
The Kryptos Sculpture is an encrypted sculpture at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Three sections have been solved since its installation in 1990, but the fourth one remains undeciphered despite the artist Jim Sanborn revealing four clues about it.
The Loch Ness Monster
This legendary creature is rumored to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It captured the world’s attention in 1933 after an article about a “large beast” was published in the Inverness Courier, but no evidence has emerged.
The Dyatlov Pass Incident
The Dyatlov Pass Incident was the mysterious death of nine Soviet hikers in the Ural Mountains in 1959. Their bodies were found with inexplicable injuries like missing eyes, eyebrows, and a tongue, and they were inadequately dressed for the subzero temperatures. A 2019 Russian investigation concluded that they were fleeing an avalanche, and Swiss scientists believe that a slab avalanche could explain their injuries.
The Taos Hum
The Taos Hum is a persistent low-frequency noise that has been heard by some Taos, New Mexico, residents since the early 1990s. Discovery explains that “a joint research project by the University of New Mexico, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Phillips Laboratory (part of the US Air Force Research Laboratory) and Sandia National Laboratories,” using highly sophisticated sound equipment, couldn’t explain the hum.
The Bloop
The Bloop was an ultra-low frequency underwater sound detected by NOAA in 1997. It originated from the deep ocean near Antarctica, and no definitive source has been identified, but NOAA believes that glacial movements like ice calving may have made it.
The Zone of Silence
Mapimí Silent Zone is a patch of the Mapimí Biosphere Reserve that has become an urban legend. It allegedly has unusual electromagnetic activity, but scientists have reported that their radios and compasses function normally in the area.
The Shroud of Turin
The Shroud of Turin, or the Holy Cloth, is a linen cloth that bears the faded image of a bearded man. Members of the Catholic Church have venerated it as the burial shroud used to wrap Jesus’s body. Radiocarbon dating suggests a medieval origin between 1260 and 1390, but the Catholic Church neither endorses nor rejects its authenticity.
The Wow! Signal
The Wow! Signal was a strong radio signal detected in August 1977 by Ohio State University’s Big Ear radio telescope, which was being used to search for extraterrestrial intelligence. BBC Sky at Night Magazine explains the signal “was 30 times louder than the baseline background noise with all the characteristics of an extraterrestrial origin.” It hasn’t been detected since, and scientists haven’t been able to explain it.
The Great Attractor
This gravitational anomaly in intergalactic space causes the Milky Way and thousands of other galaxies to move towards it. It’s difficult to observe directly because the Milky Way’s galactic plane obscures the view, making its exact nature and composition unknown.
The Marfa Lights
The Marfa Lights are unexplained lights that have been observed near Route 67 on Mitchell Flat near Marfa, Texas, since 1883. Some onlookers believe they are ghosts or UFOs, but scientific research suggests they are car headlights, campfires, or atmospheric reflections.
The Bermuda Triangle
This area in the North Atlantic Ocean is infamous for aircraft and ship disappearances. Britannica notes, “Although theories of supernatural causes for these disappearances abound, geophysical and environmental factors are most likely responsible” and explains that huge “rogue” waves and pilots failing to account for the agonic line could be behind the mystery.
The Phaistos Disc
This clay disc was discovered in Crete, Greece, by the Italian archaeologist Luigi Pernier in 1908. It is covered in mysterious symbols that bear an unknown language and dates back to the Minoan civilization in the second millennium BCE. Attempts to decipher the script remain unsuccessful, and its purpose has yet to be discovered.
The Baghdad Battery
This set of three ancient artifacts—a ceramic pot, a copper tube, and an iron rod—was discovered in Iraq in 1936. Its origins and purpose haven’t been determined, but some have hypothesized that it was used for electrotherapy, while others argue it was a storage vessel for sacred scrolls.
The Devil’s Kettle
In Minnesota’s Judge C. R. Magney State Park, the Devil’s Kettle is an unusual waterfall in which half of the Brule River disappears into a pothole. It remained a mystery for decades, but 2016 experiments suggest that the disappearing water flows back into the river shortly below the falls.
The Fairy Circles of Namibia
In the Namib Desert, circular patches of bare ground are scattered across the desertscape. They never overlap and appear to be evenly spaced and sized. Smithsonian Magazine explains that a paper published in Science argued that termites caused the circles. This explanation was disputed by a paper published in Ecography, which suggested that they were a product of plants competing for water and resources.
Up Next: 20 Personal Things You Should Never Share With Others
Building meaningful connections with others requires a certain level of transparency and trust, but that doesn’t mean you have to tell your friends and family members everything! Some aspects of our lives are too personal, incriminating, or risky to share. This article explores 20 aspects of your personal life that you should always keep confidential.
20 Personal Things You Should Never Share With Others
18 Things Everyone Forgets to Include in Their Will—But Shouldn’t
Wills and estate plans are essential ways to ensure what will happen to your belongings and property when you die or are incapacitated. However, people often forget to include important information in their wills before it’s too late, complicating matters for their descendants. Here are the 18 common things people forget to include in their will.
18 Things Everyone Forgets to Include in Their Will—But Shouldn’t
18 Items at Walmart that Aren’t Worth Your Hard-Earned Money
For many of us, Walmart is the go-to superstore. Whether we need groceries, clothing, or technology, Walmart is a one-stop shop for everything you would need. However, there are some Walmart products you should avoid at all costs, such as the following 18 examples.
18 ITEMS AT WALMART THAT AREN’T WORTH YOUR HARD-EARNED MONEY