History is full of mysterious events that have remained unsolved for decades and even centuries. Some of these mysteries involve murder, theft and other crimes while others involve unexplained phenomena that continue to baffle experts. By learning more about these mysteries and bringing more public attention to them, clues may continue to be uncovered that eventually lead to these puzzles finally being solved.
Here are 10 of the greatest unsolved mysteries.
1. The Black Dahlia
A young woman named Elizabeth Short moved to Hollywood in the 1940s to pursue a career in acting. On the morning of January 15, 1947, her nude body was discovered severed in half on a vacant lot. She was dubbed the “Black Dahlia” by media for her dark hair and the dahlia flowers that she would often wear in it. Some of Short’s male acquaintances in life were named suspects, but a conviction was never made because of a lack of provable evidence. New evidence surfaced in 2013 that possibly links Dr. George Hill Hodel to the crime, but Short’s murder remains unsolved.
2. D.B. Cooper Heist
On Thanksgiving Eve in 1971, an airplane traveling from Portland to Seattle was hijacked by a lone man who traveled aboard the flight as a passenger under the alias Don Cooper. After threatening to blow up the airplane with a bomb he had in his suitcase shortly after takeoff, Cooper demanded a ransom of $200,000 in cash along with four parachutes. Cooper received the money and parachutes after the plane landed in Seattle. Fearing his arrest, Cooper ordered the pilots to fly him to Mexico City after the plane was refueled and 36 passengers were released. While in flight, Cooper parachuted from the plane with the money in a suitcase and was never heard from again. Years later, some of the money was recovered in a decaying package that was found buried near the Columbia River, but the rest of the money and Cooper’s whereabouts are still unknown.
3. Jack the Ripper Murders
The bodies of five murdered and mutilated women were discovered on separate occasions in London in 1888. Police would have ordinarily overlooked the murders since these women were known prostitutes, but the grim nature of the slayings and the belief that a serial killer was on the loose prompted authorities to launch a full-scale investigation. The mysterious killer was dubbed “Jack the Ripper” for the ways in which the victims were murdered and mutilated. After interviewing several suspects, authorities were unable to collect enough evidence to make an arrest. Some people have allegedly confessed to being Jack the Ripper, but most of these claims remain unsubstantiated. Given the fact that the murders occurred over a century ago, the case may never be solved.
4. The Lost Civilization of Mohenjo-daro
In 1911, archeologists uncovered an ancient city in Pakistan that they believe was built around the year 2500 BCE. The city was thought to have been inhabited by the Indus Valley Civilization during the Bronze Age. Archeologists were impressed by the city’s grid architecture and drainage system, but no records of what happened to its residents could be found. The city was given the name Mohenjo-daro (which translates to “Mound of the Dead Men”) because of the belief that all the city’s inhabitants either perished in a natural disaster or were killed by invaders.
5. Stonehenge
This monument in the English countryside is comprised of ancient building stones and continues to intrigue visitors from around the world. Historians, archeologists and scientists are still unable to conclude how the building stones got to their location or what their exact purpose was. Many believe that the stones were part of a much larger structure that was somehow destroyed. Some experts have theorized that Stonehenge was used as a burial ground while others believe that it was meant to be a place for healing. Others believe that the site was intended for a celestial observatory. There is even the belief that Stonehenge was built by space aliens.
6. The Zodiac Killer
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, a series of murders in Northern California were tied to a killer known as the “Zodiac Killer.” What made these murders unusual was that the victims were seemingly chosen at random with no common characteristics between them. The killer referred to himself as “the Zodiac” in letters that he sent to police and media to taunt and boast about his crimes. Only seven confirmed murder victims have been verified, but the killer claims to have killed as many as 37 people. Two of his victims survived but were unable to give police any details that could lead to an arrest. The killings eventually stopped, and a final confirmed letter from the Zodiac Killer was sent to a newspaper in 1974. Detectives hoping to find new leads continue to investigate the case.
7. The Lost Colony of Roanoke
After settling in the New World on an island off the coast of present-day North Carolina, the English established the colony of Roanoke in 1587. John White was chosen as mayor for this new permanent settlement. Seeing that the colony was struggling to maintain itself after its first year, White returned to England to request more resources and encourage other English citizens to come and help populate the new colony. When white returned to Roanoke three years later, he noticed that all of its citizens, which included his wife, child and grandchild, had mysteriously disappeared. Tree carvings showing the word CROATAN and the letters CRO were the only traces left behind from the colony. Some historians believe that members of the colony were killed by Native American tribes while others think that the settlers possibly joined the tribes and moved to a different location as a means of survival, but the disappearance of the settlers remains unsolved.
8. The Voynich Manuscript
A 15th-century manuscript handwritten in a mysterious language was eventually discovered and instantly intrigued the minds of historians. In addition to the mysterious language, the written work featured obscure pictures that no one living could decipher. There are also 240 pages missing from the book. The manuscript was eventually named after Wilfrid Voynich, who worked as a book dealer and purchased it in 1912. Some experts believe that the manuscript was written in a proto-Romance dialect and was possibly the diary of a social outcast or an instruction book making herbal readings or interpreting astrological signs. There is also the belief that Wilfrid Voynich fraudulently wrote the manuscript himself.
9. The Disappearance of Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart was a pilot who gained fame after becoming the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. While attempting to fly around the world in 1937, her airplane suddenly vanished without a trace. Amelia Earhart along with her onboard navigator, Fred Noonan, have never been found. Earhart radioed the U.S. Coast Guard to let them know that she was running low on fuel while she was attempting to locate and land on Howland Island in the Pacific but soon lost radio contact. It’s believed that the plane crashed into the ocean approximately 100 miles from the island, but extensive searches have never turned up the aircraft or any bodies. Other historians believe that Earhart and Noonan were captured by the Japanese military and executed, but no one knows for sure what happened to the brave pilot and her trusty navigator.
10. Bigfoot
Also known as Sasquatch, this large, hairy and mysterious ape-like creature has been the subject of many fascinating stories told by people who claim to have seen it roaming in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Videos showing the supposed creature mostly at night have also been taken by some believers to try to prove its existence. Some skeptics, however, believe that the creature is perhaps a misidentified bear or some other known animal with a possible disease that distorts its appearance. Others believe that the legend is an outright hoax and that Bigfoot is actually just a human wearing a costume.
Comments
0 comments