There are so many incredible mysteries out there, including hidden treasures and unidentified signals from space. With so many puzzles just waiting to be cracked, there are some that you might you might not know about. Here are 18 mysteries that continue to confuse even the smartest of people out there.
The Flannan Isles Lighthouse Keepers
In 1900, three lighthouse keepers just vanished from the Flannan Isles, leaving behind uneaten meals and cold coffee. What made them dash off into the night? Some people believe a giant wave swept them away, while others suspect it was aliens. Either way, it’s one of those stories that might just keep you up at night as you try to work out what really happened.
The Lost Colony of Roanoke
In the late 1500s, the entire American colony of Roanoke disappeared, with the one clue to where they went being the word “Croatoan” carved into a tree. Did they get lost, or did they just join another group? Over 400 years later, many people are still trying to piece together this American history puzzle, with no signs of an answer.
The Aluminum Wedge of Aiud
The Aluminum Wedge of Aiud is a piece of metal in Romania that dates back to 11,000 years, which is way before humans figured out how to make it. This piece of aluminum could be an ancient relic from a lost civilization or perhaps evidence of time travel. Either way, it’s pretty confusing, and we just can’t figure out where it came from.
The Disappearance of Percy Fawcett
Percy Fawcett was an explorer who, in 1925, traveled into the Amazon looking for a lost city he called “Z.” As you might expect, he vanished without a trace. Even after numerous rescue attempts, no one could figure out what happened to him or his crew, and his story has become more of a warning tale now.
The Hum
The hum is a sound that’s there but not there. Many people have heard this sound around the world, including around Taos, New Mexico, but nobody can find where it’s coming from. While some people believe it’s geological or biological, others claim it’s evidence of something more mysterious. Either way, nobody has any idea what could be making this sound or even why.
The Hessdalen Lights
If you like light shows, then you might want to travel to Norway’s Hessdalen Valley to see some unexplained ones. Since the 1980s, these bizarre lights have appeared in the sky, with scientists and UFO enthusiasts trying to work out what they could be. After countless studies, we’re still in the dark about what’s really lighting up Hessdalen.
The Beale Ciphers
Buried treasure and secret codes sound like the ingredients of a great pirate movie, but it’s real life for those chasing the Beale Ciphers. In the 1800s, Thomas Beale apparently buried a fortune and left behind three coded messages. Treasure hunters have cracked one code, which led them to Virginia, but the other two are a mystery.
The Lead Masks Case
In 1966, two men were found dead in Brazil wearing suits and lead masks that are usually used for radiation protection. Beside them, people found a notebook containing cryptic instructions for taking capsules at a specific time. There was no sign of struggle or obvious cause of death, so the mystery remains about what they were doing and who wrote those instructions.
The Stone Spheres of Costa Rica
Over in Costa Rica, there are hundreds of perfectly round giant stone balls just lying around. They date back centuries, but that’s practically all we know about them. Who made them and why? Were they status symbols, or is there a more practical reason? Perhaps one day, we’ll find the answer.
The Mary Celeste
The Mary Celeste might just be the most famous ghost ship of all time. Sailors found the boat drifting in the Atlantic in 1872, with the crew nowhere to be found and everything on board left in perfect condition. It was almost like they had just stepped outside, but where did they go? What scared them enough to abandon the ship?
The Tunguska Event
Back in 1908, a massive explosion in Siberia knocked down forests, and people heard it from over 700 miles away. You might think this was just a meteor, but whatever it was left, no crater or fragments were ever found. It was just a huge bang that resulted in many trees falling down, which some people speculate could’ve been an alien spaceship.
The Wow! Signal
Speaking of aliens, in 1977, astronomers using the Big Ear radio telescope noticed a strong signal from outer space. It was called the “Wow! Signal,” and it was a message that we never heard again. Some people claim it’s evidence of a distant civilization calling out to us, while others believe it was just a cosmic mistake.
The Antikythera Mechanism
Off the coasts of Greece, divers found the Antikythera Mechanism, an ancient device that’s part puzzle and seemingly part ancient computer. It predicted astronomical positions and eclipses with incredible accuracy, way before we thought humans could do that. How did ancient people build such a sophisticated piece of technology?
Flight MH370
In 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 just vanished off the radar with 239 people on board. We’ve found some wreckage and bits of the plane, but the majority of it, as well as the passengers, are completely unaccounted for. Over a decade later, we’ve found new evidence, but we’re still no closer to solving the mystery.
The Phoenix Lights
Back in 1997, thousands of people looked up at the night sky of Phoenix, Arizona, and saw many mysterious lights. The lights created an enormous V-shape that floated above the city, with no signs of where they came from or why they were there. With so many witnesses, including the governor, this wasn’t your usual UFO sighting.
The Yonaguni Monument
Near Japan’s coast is a massive underwater structure that looks suspiciously like it was man-made, which is called the Yonaguni Monument. The monument is a combination of monolithic blocks and formations that could be over 10,000 years old, which predates any known civilization in the area. Some call it Japan’s Atlantis, but others think it’s just entirely natural.
Kaspar Hauser’s Appearance
In 1828, a teenage boy named Kaspar Hauser appeared in Nuremberg, Germany, with strange claims that he’d been held captive in a dark cell for most of his life. Details on why he was imprisoned or who his alleged captors were are still unknown. Over the years, Kaspar became famous, but he was tragically murdered before revealing his full story. Was he a lost prince or just lost? We’ll never know.
The Max Headroom Broadcast Intrusion
During a regular TV broadcast in Chicago in 1987, a person wearing a Max Headroom mask suddenly hacked into TV broadcasts. This bizarre person mumbled nonsense and even got spanked with a flyswatter on live TV. Decades later, we still have no idea who did this or even why, making it one of the weirdest unsolved mysteries in TV history.
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