We all love a good mystery, such as a newly discovered archaeological find or unexplainable
events that occur in space.
Very often though, these events are quickly explained away by common sense or scientific
analysis.
But there are, however, some events and discoveries that have baffled us for a very long time
that still need explaining.
5.
The Saddle Ridge Hoard
The Saddle Ridge Hoard is an archaeological mystery that was uncovered in February of
2013 by a couple from California.
The pair, whose names are only known as John and Mary, were taking their dog for a walk
on their property when they stumbled on something that would change their lives forever.
When Mary saw what looked like a tin can sticking up from the ground, they carefully excavated
it to see what it actually was.
At first, they thought that it was filled with lead paint, due to its weight, but to
their amazement, they had uncovered an actual treasure of coins.
This prompted them to look for more of the tins and they made use of a metal detector.
They were shocked to find 7 more identical canisters, all filled with more of the coins.
To be exact, there were 1,411 gold coins that were minted between 1847 and 1894.
They inspected the coins more closely and found that they were in relatively good condition,
considering they had been buried for such a long time.
The weight of the coins alone meant that they would be worth more than $10 million.
This was the biggest lost treasure ever found in the history of America and led to a great,
unsolved mystery, as it is not known how the coins ended up being buried on their property.
What is known, however, is that the trove was buried there at the end of the 19th century
and that most of the money came from the San Francisco mint.
We also know that they were from the period of the world famous California gold rush,
though some of the coins were found to be from Georgia, raising more questions as to
their true owners.
The coins were, however, not only valuable because of their weight, but it would seem
that they are in such good condition because they never entered circulation, making them
far more valuable.
If the coins were sold at face value, they would only be worth around $28, 000.
Some people claim that they were left there by famous outlaw Jesse James, while others
think that Black Bart or the Knights of the Golden Circle may have buried them there.
For now though, their origin remains a mystery.
4.
Angikuni Lake Disappearance
The unsolved mystery of the Angikuni Lake Disappearance started on a bitterly cold morning
in 1930.
A Canadian fur trapper called Joe Labelle was travelling near Angikuni Lake in the northeast
territory of Canada and he needed somewhere to stay over.
He had heard of an Inuit community that lived in the area and decided to head in that direction
for some food and well deserved rest.
But when he found the settlement, he realized that there was no one around and that it had
been completely abandoned.
He searched around the village and found meals that were half eaten, huts that were fully
stocked with food and supplies, personal possessions that had simply been left behind, a fire that
was still smoldering and an abandoned, half-repaired sealskin.
His first thought was that there had been some sort of conflict and that the tribe had
been forced to flee, but he realized that there was no sign of any struggle having taken
place and that the tribe’s weapons were still there.
Some unknown event had driven the tribe from the area, forcing them to abandon their settlement
at a moment’s notice.
He decided not to stop and travelled to the nearest telegraph office a few miles away
and reported the scene to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The RCMP launched an investigation and when they interviewed a trapper named Armand Laurent
and his two sons, the mystery only deepened.
They recalled seeing a large, cylindrical object in the sky that transformed into a
bullet shape before heading towards the lake.
When RCMP travelled to the village, they found the scene exactly as it was described with
the added horror of finding every grave in the burial ground not only open, but empty.
The headstones were neatly stacked into piles on either side of the graves, ruling out the
possibility that animals were responsible.
It was eventually found that the tribe had been missing for around 8 weeks before Labelle
arrived, but they were unable to explain why there was still a smoldering fire or what
had caused the people to flee, never to be seen again.
3.
The Dance Plague of 1518
In 1518, the residents of Strasbourg, now known as France, became the victims of an
event that, to this day, remains a strange, unexplained mystery.
In July of that year, a female resident of the city began to dance in the middle of the
street, seemingly struck by some sort of fever or possession.
After some time, a group of 36 people, mostly young women, joined her and also started dancing
despite the lack of any music.
Onlookers expected that they would eventually become too tired to continue, but inexplicably,
this didn’t happen.
Instead, the dancing carried on for so long that it eventually attracted the attention
of the Strasbourg magistrate as well as the bishop and a number of doctors who tried to
find an explanation for what was happening, but they were left baffled.
By the following month, the dancing was still ongoing and it is said that as many as 400
people lost their lives due to exhaustion and dehydration.
Doctors started removing some of the dancers from the street for examination, but the only
explanation that they could come up with was that they were suffering from “hot blood”
and suggested that they keep dancing to get rid of their fevers.
Some people suffered strokes, others had heart attacks and the dancing continued into September
when the afflicted people were taken to a mountain top where prayers were said to absolve
them.
Though it sounds like a made-up tale, the dancing plague of 1518 is well documented
in 16th century historical documents.
It was also not the only dancing plague to have taken place, as similar manias were documented
in Switzerland, Germany and Holland, though those events didn’t involve as many people
as the Strasbourg event.
Many theories exist as to what caused the dancing plague.
Historian, John Walter believes that it may have something to do with a belief at the
time that St. Vitus, a Catholic saint, had the power to curse people with dancing plague.
This superstition may have triggered a sort of mania that spread throughout the city.
Others believe that the dancers were members of a religious cult, but the most likely explanation
is that the residents ingested ergot, which is a mould that grows on damp rye and has
been known to cause spasms and hallucinations.
2.
The Vela incident
On the 22nd of September, 1979, an unexplained mystery known as The Vela incident or the
South Atlantic Flash occurred near the Prince Edward Islands in the Indian Ocean.
At 00:53 am, the American Vela satellite, also known as Vela 10, detected a double flash
which is normally indicative of an atmospheric nuclear explosion of between 2 and 3 kilotons.
The area where the flashes took place was narrowed down to between France and the Prince
Edward Islands that belong to South Africa.
Acoustic data collected by the Sound Surveillance System known as SOSUS, was investigated to
see whether a nuclear device had been detonated in the area.
But there was not enough evidence to prove that such an explosion had indeed taken place
and United States Air Force surveillance aircraft were sent to the area between the 22nd of
September and the 29th of October to investigate and collect atmospheric samples.
The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico reported that they had detected an ionospheric wave
at the time of the flashes.
The wave moved from the southeast to the northwest and they described the event as nothing that
they had ever seen before.
When the event was made public, the United States Department of Defense stated that it
may have been an explosion or natural phenomenon such as a meteor entering earth’s atmosphere,
lightning or a glint from the sun.
Since no radioactive debris was detected and there was no seismic or hydro-acoustic data
to corroborate the theory, it seemed less likely that the flashes occurred due to a
nuclear explosion.
Further data retrieved from the satellite suggested that the flashes may have been a
spurious “zoo” signal of an unknown origin.
Though there is still a lot of debate about whether the double flashes were an actual
nuclear event or not, especially since an affirmative answer would have some serious
political implications, it is still not known what caused the satellite to report the flashes
or what may have caused them.
In 2003, Stansfield Turner, the Director of Central Intelligence wrote that the Carter
administration believed the Vela detection to be of manmade origin, but no hard evidence
has ever been found to prove this and it still remains an unsolved mystery.
1.
Håkan Nordkvist
In 2006, a Swedish man named Håkan Nordkvist (Hawk Nn, Nord Vist)uploaded a video to the
internet in which he claims to have experienced an event that needs explaining.
While in his home, he noticed that there was a leak coming from his kitchen sink and he
decided to try and fix it himself, rather than call for a plumber.
He fetched his tools and climbed under the sink, noticing that it was coming from the
very back.
As he tried to find the leak which was out of his reach, he noticed that there was a
light that seemed to be coming from the same area as the leak.
He suddenly realized that he was able to stand up, which seemed impossible and when he did
so, he inexplicably found himself to be outside.
He noticed another man standing nearby and when he confronted him, he was shocked to
find that it wasn’t a stranger, but an older version of himself.
At first he didn’t know what to make of the situation, but as they continued to talk
to each other, it dawned on him that he wasn’t mistaken and that the man really was him,
but from the future.
He states that the two had the time of their lives, recounting events that had happened
in the past.
He claims that the older version of him was about 70 years old and had the same tattoo
that he has, but that it had faded quite a bit.
He happened to have his phone with him and so, he took a video of him and his alternate
self standing arm in arm and comparing their tattoos.
It is theorized that, since the older version of Håkan would have already experienced the
strange event, he would have known exactly where to be and at exactly what time the younger
version of himself would be going through the same experience.
And so, he was able to meet up with himself, only as the older version, whereas he would
have experienced the event from the other perspective the first time around.
The theory holds, then, that the younger Håkan will someday in the future need to be in that
exact spot at that exact time to meet the next, younger version of himself.
Many people have claimed that Håkan merely faked the event as a hoax, but he maintains
that it really did happen and no evidence has been found to the contrary, other than
the man in the video potentially being his dad, of course.