The Coldest Cases

Many things end up getting lost to history, and despite all our scientific marvels, some things still leave scientists stumped. From disappearing colonies to ghost ships, these are 20 strange events no one has figured out.

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1. The Lost Colony of Roanoke

This story takes place on Roanoke Island in North Carolina. In 1587, it was home to 115 English settlers. But when Governor John White, who left to fetch supplies, returned to the settlement, he found it completely deserted. 115 people had just gone missing, and the only thing they left behind was a word carved into a tree: “Croatoan.”

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2. The Mary Celeste

Considered one of the scariest ghost ship stories, the Mary Celeste was found drifting the Atlantic Ocean in 1872. It was a merchant ship, and the entire crew was missing. What makes it even weirder is the fact that it was fully stocked, and all of the lifeboats were still attached.

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3. Amelia Earhart

You’ve probably heard of the famous aviator Amelia Earhart, and how she disappeared while trying to fly across the world in 1937 with Fred Noonan. It was believed she landed somewhere near Howland Island, but no one has ever found any wreckage.

Harris & Ewing on Wikimedia

4. The Great Pyramids

Many people have pondered how the Great Pyramids were created, as the sheer precision used is the stuff of legends. Massive stone blocks were somehow brought down to size and transported to the top of a pyramid. Some believe they used ramps, while others believe they had access to long-lost ancient tech.

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5. The Voynich Manuscript

This manuscript is from the 1400s, and many believe it originated in Italy. However, it’s written in a language no one has been able to decipher. However, the unique drawings and diagrams lead many to wonder if it’s a mystical text, or perhaps some sort of biology book.

Unknown authorUnknown author on Wikimedia

6. 1518 Dancing Plague

As the name suggests, this plague occurred in 1518 in France and caused people to suddenly start dancing uncontrollably. Unfortunately, some of these people would succumb to their exhaustion. It’s unclear what caused this, but people have theories ranging from mass hysteria to a hallucinogenic mold.

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7. The Ancestral Puebloans

This ancient Native American civilization lived in the Four Corners region of the United States and were predominantly known for creating cliff dwellings like Mesa Verde. However, it appeared at some point in history they decided to abandon them and disappeared. No one knows what happened to them.

Massimo Catarinella on Wikimedia

8. The 9th Roman Legion

What makes the 9th Legion so famous is the fact that it vanished from the records. While some believe this means they were wiped out in battle, the fact that there is no record of their defeat or movement makes it very strange.

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9. Gobekli Tepe

The discovery of this temple revealed what is believed to be the oldest building to ever exist. It was found in Turkey and dates back to 9600 BCE, which means it’s older than agriculture itself. It’s also unclear what it was used for, but many believe it was a religious gathering site of sorts.

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10. The Green Children of Woolpit

If you’ve ever seen images of green children and dismissed them as nothing but a hoax, then this is a story worth hearing. In the 12th century, a village was visited by two green-skinned children that spoke a strange language. Unfortunately, one of the children passed, but the other was taken in and became accustomed to village life. It’s not entirely clear if this story was a folk tale or a reality.

Rod Bacon on Wikimedia

11. Stonehenge

How Stonehenge was built is one question, but what its purpose is a whole other. People have theories ranging from it being a burial site, a calendar, to some sort of religious temple. But the lack of explanation or record makes it hard to understand, especially when it interestingly aligns with the solstice.

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12. Man in the Iron Mask

In the 17th century in France, there was a prisoner being secretly held. He was under royal guard and was forced to wear a mask. No one was able to reveal his identity, as it seemed to be covered in political intrigue. Many believe he might have been a political enemy or perhaps a royal twin of sorts.

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13. The S.S. Waratah

The S.S. Waratah was sailing along the South African coast when it disappeared in 1909. Along with it, 211 people also vanished. Strangely, no distress signal was ever sent, and to this day no wreckage has been found, even with the use of modern devices.

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14. Greek Fire

Greek fire was the stuff of legends and was used in the Byzantine Empire. It was a flammable liquid that was said to be able to burn even on water. The formula was guarded by the state, and now, centuries later, it’s unclear how to make it.

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15. Puma Punku

Puma Punku was part of the Tiwanaku civilization in Bolivia and is another one of those marvelous architectural feats that has people asking “how?” The rocks used in its creation were shaped with immense precision, leading many to wonder if the people had access to lasers.

Janikorpi on Wikimedia

16. Lost City of Z

In 1925, Percy Fawcett led an expedition in the Amazon rainforest to find the lost city of Z, which he believed was the home of a super advanced civilization. However, he was never heard from again. It’s unclear if he found the city and chose to stay or if something terrible happened to him in the forest.

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17. The Tunguska Event

The Tunguska event is probably the strangest mystery on this list. In 1908 in Siberia, there was a massive explosion that many attributed to a meteor crash. But when scientists and explorers finally reached the area to investigate, they found millions of trees toppled over, but no impact crater, and no meteor.

Leonid Kulik, the expedition to the Tunguska event on Wikimedia

18. The Nazca Lines

The Nazca Lines are in southern Peru and are massive geoglyphs that are essentially inscribed in the desert floor. Their shapes are much clearer to see in the air, as they form animals and other symbols. But how an ancient civilization managed to create something so ginormous and precise is unclear. Also, how would they know what they looked like from the air?

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19. The Ark of the Covenant

The Ark of the Covenant existed in the biblical era in ancient Israel and was supposedly a gold-covered chest that held the Ten Commandments. However, it is now lost and is a sought-after biblical artifact. Theories range from it never having existed to it being hidden away by priests.

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20. D.B. Cooper

Considered one of the greatest plane heists ever, in 1971, a man nicknamed D.B. Cooper boarded a plane in the Northwest U.S. He would then give a stewardess a note letting her know he was hijacking the plane. He demanded the state give him $200,000 and a parachute, and after releasing all but a few hostages, he returned to the air with his money. He then ordered the pilot to keep flying, and at one point jumped off the plane with a parachute. Nobody was hurt, but D.B. Cooper, nor his money, were ever found. This case still remains unsolved all these decades later.

U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. on Wikimedia