What’s even better than an enthralling but unsolved mystery? One that actually has an ending! Thankfully, when it comes to these famous people and events, we got the story figured out.
Mystery lovers out there know how frustrating it can be when something is left unsolved. Whether it’s a crime or just a strange occurrence, it can be easy to get wrapped up in going over the timeline and facts to solve the case yourself, hoping to find the missing piece that everyone else somehow missed. Thankfully, if you’re someone who loves hearing how a tale ends, you’re in luck today, because we’ve got the scoop on some of history’s greatest mysteries that were actually solved.
The Bloop
In 1997, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration picked up a strange sound that eventually came to be known as the Bloop. The sound came in at a very low frequency but was also so astonishingly loud that it was picked up by two underwater stations that were approximately 5,000 kilometers apart.
Shortly after the sound was heard, it was suggested that it came from some type of animal because of the noise’s “organic nature.” However, that theory unsettled many, because it was determined that no living animal we’re aware of would be capable of making such a sound.
After much research, scientists came to a much less exciting conclusion—the sound was that of an ice shelf breaking apart in Antarctica. Apparently, the sound was often played back at a speed 16 times higher than normal, which gave it a whale-like sound. Played at the normal speed, though, it would sound much more like what it actually was.
Amelia Earhart’s Disappearance
Though Amelia Earhart’s disappearance hasn’t officially been solved, researchers do believe that they know what happened to the missing pilot. Earhart aimed to fly around the Earth and even became the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean while doing so, but her journey ended early when her plane went down over the Pacific Ocean.
No one knew exactly where her plane crashed or why, but it was assumed that her body and her plane were quickly swallowed up by the sea, because she was never found.
However, in 1940, the remains of a castaway were found on a small island named Nikumaroro, which is part of the country Kiribati. The bones were eventually analyzed and, when researchers compared them to photos of Earhart, they found that the similarities were definitely there.
It is now believed that she lived out her remaining days as a castaway on the island after her crash. Not only that, but research shows that Earhart also made called from her downed plane before it was likely washed away, as the search parties that flew over the area she called from saw no signs of it.
Sailing Stones
If you’ve ever been to Death Valley National Park, located right between California and Nevada, you’ll know it’s a strange place. One of the main reasons is because of what are know known as sailing rocks—rocks both large and small that actually sail across the desert on their own accord.
Though no one has reported seeing the stones move, they obviously do because of the trails they leave behind them and they’re always in different spots. Thankfully, someone finally figured out why that happens.
During winters in Death Valley, it does sometimes get cold enough for water to freeze. When it does, it can trap rocks inside of it—it is said that as the ice moves, it takes the embedded rock with it, which is what causes them to not only move, but also to leave a trail behind as it scrapes along the surface of the valley.
Finding the Titanic
The Titanic was a marvel of its time, and those who were alive to see it sail were even more shocked to see it sink. While there was a huge effort made to find the remains of the ship, no one was able to do so for quite sometime and, though it was known where the ship sank, no one knew where the wreckage landed.
In fact, the ship wasn’t found until over 70 years after it sank, all thanks to a man named Robert Ballard.
Ballard had an extreme interest in ocean exploration all his life, and even discovered the wreckage of two other ships—the USS Yorktown and the Bismarck. He actually led a mission to find the Titanic in the ‘70s, but it ultimately failed. It wasn’t until he became a naval intelligence officer that he finally had access to the technology that helped him find the sunken ship.
Though the Navy wasn’t interested in helping him find the Titanic, they did want to find two missing submarines, the USS Thresher and the USS Scorpion. They told Ballard he could use their equipment to kind the Titanic if he also found the submarines, and he actually located all three.
The Colony at Roanoke
We all know this creepy story. In 1590, 115 people from a small colony in North Carolina collectively disappeared, leaving behind one word scrawled on a post: Croatoan.
For years, many speculated that a local tribe of Native Americans offed the villagers, while others thought maybe the colony tried to set sail back to England on their own and never made it. With new evidence, though, we finally know what likely happened.
In two separate locations near the Roanoke site, excavators have found remains that they are fairly certain belong to the missing settlers. As unsettling as their original story was believed to be, it is now thought that they split apart and become part of Native American tribes.
Namib Desert Fairy Circles
In South Africa’s Namib desert, you’ll find strange circles in the ground known as fairy circles. For years, it’s been unknown what was making them and how, but most people suspected that it was aliens, as is usually the case for something like this.
After some time, scientists finally figured it out, and the explanation is pretty weird—it’s both plants and termites creating the circles.
When it comes to plants in a desert, they’re obviously competing pretty hard for water. When this happens, they end up sucking a bunch of water away from one main spot, which is essentially how these barren batches of dirt form.
However, the termites also come into play here because, as they create colonies underground, they also create a space for water to accumulate underground. The plants then use certain root growth mechanisms to use these patches of moisture, which is what keeps the circles bare.
The Tomb of Tutankhamun
Most people will agree that Ancient Egypt is a fascinating subject, and mummies tend to be at the center of that fascination. In the early 1890s, most of the tombs of Egyptian royalty had been discovered, except for that of the young King Tutankhamun, who died when he was just 19 years old.
Sometime after World War I, a man named Howard Carter began his search for the tomb, and was eventually successful in 1922.
Surprisingly, the steps that led to the tomb were found right by the entrance to the tomb of King Ramses VI. When Carter finally made his way into the chamber, he was delighted to find that everything was incredibly well-preserved.
He went through the tomb over the course of several years and eventually excavated the find of his dreams: the sarcophagus of King Tut.
