We all love unsolved mysteries, but when we don’t finally get to the bottom of it, it can really get under our skin. According to New Scientist, it’s part of the human condition to want to categorize things and create order in our lives and communities. We like a little mystery because it triggers our natural curiosity, but we also like to find a solution or explanation because the unknown is something to fear and protect. This desire to group and explain things is in constant conflict with our equally strong desire to have some secrets or privacy.
However, not all unsolved mysteries stem from our tendency to keep secrets. Some of the world’s phenomena are not easily explained by our current technology or body of knowledge. It is possible that some of these unsolved mysteries will become clearer as science develops further, but it is certain that others have become more obscure over time, as important information has long since been lost or buried by those who once knew it. Some unsolved mysteries are unexplained and seem to exist independently of what was once known or technology that may not yet have been discovered. We feel uncomfortable with these unsolved mysteries, but at the same time love them – perhaps even obsess over them. Here are 10 unsolved mysteries that the world has forgotten.
#10 Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 took off from Beijing, China in 2014 and never reached its final destination in Kuala Lumpur. During the flight, the plane inexplicably veered off course, but according to the New York Times, none of the 239 people on board were found, nor was there any debris or wreckage from the plane that could account for it.
The plane was manually diverted and its transponder turned off, but even after four years of investigation, experts can’t explain what happened to the people on board. The entire plane just disappeared.
#9 Robert The Doll Isn’t Here To Play
In 1906, a young boy named Robert – but whose middle name was Eugene – received a doll named Robert as a gift from a servant in the Bahamas, according to Weird Weekly. Eugene grows fond of Robert and is heard speaking to him – sometimes with a deeper voice in reply. Strange things were happening in the house.
Even after Eugene married, he kept Robert until Eugene became ill and died. Robert is at the East Martello Museum today, but museum visitors say it’s dangerous to take pictures of Robert without permission.
#8 The Somerton Man Isn’t Finished
Even after 70 years, experts are puzzled by the man who appeared on Somerton Beach, Australia, one night in 1948. The morning after he was found, he was found dead in the same spot, leaving few clues about who he was, according to news reports.
His clothes and a comb came from the United States, his shoes were too clean, and he had no wallet. His autopsy only complicated matters further, and a torn piece of paper with “It’s over” written on it in Farsi was puzzling, to say the least.
#7 Treed By The Tunguska Event
In 1908, residents 35 miles away in a 2,000-square-mile area of Siberia felt a huge explosion that resulted in a giant fireball and crushed trees, the BBC reported. Witnesses were knocked off their feet and said it was like the sky had been split in two.
Because of unrest and harsh conditions in other parts of Russia, scientists did not study it until decades later. Traces of minerals provided some clues that meteors were responsible, but because examinations were so sporadic over the years, scientists could only speculate.
#6 How To See The Big Grey Man
The extreme terrain of the Cairngorms certainly affects one’s imagination, but according to Undiscovered Scotland, a respected professor reported in 1925 the sounds and sensations he got on his return from a high crag, which gave rise to the legend of the Great Grey Man.
Occasionally, other hikers have since reported glimpses of a huge, gray thing and a crisp sound behind them, as if something was walking at a much larger than normal pace. Each person’s account is independent, but strikingly similar.
