Category:
Unsolved Mysteries
Unsolved Mysteries
The Wreck of the City of San Francisco
One weird thing about this once-famous train crash: no perp was ever found.
Even with this lead, from a contemporary account.
Rather reminiscent of the One-Armed Man from the 1960s TV show THE FUGITIVE.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jul 15, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Death, Destruction, Unsolved Mysteries, 1930s, 1960s, Trains
Mashed Potato Mystery
Why are bowls of mashed potatoes being left around a Jackson, Mississippi neighborhood? No one knows. The mashed potatoes have been found "on doorsteps, in mailboxes and on top of parked cars."More details: "Mysterious mashed potatoes perplex a historic neighborhood"
Posted By: Alex - Sat Apr 13, 2019 -
Comments (1)
Category: Unsolved Mysteries
Ted Serios and his Thoughtographs
Theodore Judd Serios (1918-2006), a bellhop from Chicago who appeared to possess a genuinely uncanny ability. By holding a Polaroid camera and focusing on the lens very intently, he was able to produce dreamlike pictures of his thoughts on the film; he referred to these images as "thoughtographs..."
Full article here.
Collection of thoughtographs here.
Wikipedia page here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Feb 28, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Eccentrics, Freaks, Oddities, Quirks of Nature, Photography and Photographers, Unsolved Mysteries, 1960s
Money in sock disappears
To this day, the mystery remains unsolved.
The Louisville Courier-Journal - Dec 5, 1953
Man Puts $40 and Foot In Sock, but Loses Cash
Seattle, Dec. 4 (AP) — John E. Trimmer reported to police yesterday that before retiring Wednesday night he put $40 in his sock, bolted the door of his apartment from the inside, put the sock on his foot, climbed into bed, and went to sleep.
When he woke up in the morning, he reported, the $40 was gone, but the sock still was on his foot.
Seattle, Dec. 4 (AP) — John E. Trimmer reported to police yesterday that before retiring Wednesday night he put $40 in his sock, bolted the door of his apartment from the inside, put the sock on his foot, climbed into bed, and went to sleep.
When he woke up in the morning, he reported, the $40 was gone, but the sock still was on his foot.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Mar 20, 2016 -
Comments (13)
Category: Unsolved Mysteries, 1950s
Mystery Balloons
In 1967, the U.S. Coast Guard found a crate containing seven inflated yellow balloons floating off the coast of Florida. The crate was marked "made in U.S.S.R." and was addressed to "The institute of mineral resources of Cuba."Why were the Soviets shipping seven balloons to Cuba? Why were the balloons inflated? How did the crate end up floating in the ocean? As far as I know, these questions remain unanswered.
Chicago Tribune - June 30, 1967
Posted By: Alex - Fri Oct 10, 2014 -
Comments (15)
Category: Unsolved Mysteries, 1960s
Mystery Postcard
Here's one of the mysteries of the Internet. Over at groovy.net, people have been debating for many years over what this postcard might mean. It appears to have been manufactured in the early 20th century (circa 1907) and bears the statement: "Health Must Be Earned, Get it — you Lobster."
Some of the theories are that "lobster" was slang for a sluggish person or dullard, or that it was referring to an "overweight sunbather." But no one really knows for sure.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Jun 28, 2014 -
Comments (4)
Category: Unsolved Mysteries
The Great Mull Air Mystery
In 1975, a pilot in a small plane makes a mysterious unscheduled night flight, and goes missing.
Several months later, the pilot's body is found, close by the air base from which he took off.
His plane is found even later, sunk in the ocean.
Did he jump from the plane in mid-air? No injuries consistent with that.
Did he escape the downed plane and swim to shore? No traces of sea water on the corpse.
Read the details here of this still-baffling enigma.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Apr 13, 2014 -
Comments (4)
Category: Tragedy and Pathos, Unsolved Mysteries, Air Travel and Airlines, 1970s
The great hose mystery of 1955
Back in 1955, a mysterious phenomenon was reported. Garden hoses started to spontaneously burrow their way into dirt. It began in the garden of California resident George Di Peso. His 12-year-old daughter stuck the nozzle of a hose into the dirt to make the job of watering the garden easier, and then the hose (with the water running) started to burrow downwards. Over 20 feet of the hose disappeared into the earth.
The same phenomenon was then reported in Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Florida, Ontario, and Kansas.
Geologists speculated that the rapid flow of water was creating a vacuum at the nozzle causing the hoses to slide downward into the earth. The burrowing could be stopped by turning off the water. But Di Peso never did recover the 20 feet of hose lost in the earth. He eventually cut the hose off where it went into the earth, saying "I couldn't stand it any longer. This thing was getting out of hand. My life has been made a big mess."
Posted By: Alex - Fri Mar 29, 2013 -
Comments (9)
Category: Unsolved Mysteries, 1950s
Garlic Fog Invades Los Angeles, 1949
Back in late 1949, people throughout Los Angeles County reported a strong odor that smelled like garlic. The smell persisted for weeks, periodically increasing in intensity. Some residents took to wearing gas masks. There were reports of the fumes being so strong that they discolored fences and buildings. There was a widespred fear that it was a poison gas attack.Despite a lot of speculation, I'm not sure that the source of the mystery odor was ever identified, although leading theories were that it was either coming from the Los Angeles River bed, or from a chemical factory. It became known as the invasion of the Garlic Fog. [Sydney Morning Herald, Aug 7, 1949] (via Buried Words and Bushwa)
Posted By: Alex - Fri Dec 14, 2012 -
Comments (6)
Category: Unsolved Mysteries, 1940s, Weather
Noah’s Ark Found—in Alaska!
The supposed remnants of Noah's ark have been "discovered" in a wide range of places.
But this 1902 discovery in Rampart, Alaska, on the Porcupine River, seems totally forgotten now.
I wonder if a followup expedition ever was mounted...?
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 13, 2012 -
Comments (10)
Category: Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Regionalism, Religion, Unsolved Mysteries, Myths and Fairytales, 1900s, North America, Native Americans
| Who We Are |
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |