Unexplained America: Strange Mysteries and General Weirdness from the USA

this video is brought to you by magellan tv discover a new type of documentary film experience with magellan tv and it's binge-worthy documentaries which are updated every week more on them in just a bit [Music] now when it comes to fascinating and unexplained american history archaeology and natural wonders facts may be in the eye of the beholder in many instances evidence put forth by one group of experts to explain certain phenomena is hotly contested by those with differing views and as is often the case controversies have been known to intensify over decades and turn otherwise cooperative colleagues into bitter rivals thanks to supposedly overwhelming evidence some claim that the verdict is clearly out on the following five anomalies but for others these assertions are little more than theories put forth by narrow-minded specialists unable or unwilling to see the bigger picture that being said well you'll have to decide for yourself in 1968 in reference to the kensington runestone author and historian theodore blegan noted authority on minnesota history and scandinavian immigration to america wrote few questions in american history have stirred so much curiosity or provoked such extended discussions as the story goes while clearing land on his farm near kensington minnesota in late 1898 swedish immigrant ulef ullmann discovered a unique and obviously man-made slab of rock similar to a gravestone ensnared in the roots of an upended tree the artifact was covered in mysterious markings later identified as scandinavian runic writing and the legend of the kensington runestone was born but after more than a century of contention and professional dispute historians and archaeologists still don't agree if the runestone is the most significant find in american history or a petty hoax perpetrated by a mischievous farmer with too much free time on his hands what is agreed however is that the stone's inscriptions state that a mixed group of swedes and norwegians crossed the atlantic from finland on a journey of exploration but perhaps most intriguingly the stone was inscribed with the year 1362 130 years before columbus purportedly reached the west indies leaving some of their party to watch the ships in the hudson bay they marched inland and established a camp that would later become the runestone site again an even smaller group hiked north for two days to explore and fish but upon returning they discovered that those at the camp had been murdered in a rather bloody fashion the stone's weathering geographic location and archaic writing along with the personalities and motives of those who apparently discovered it and were closest to it have given rise to a number of controversies concerning its authenticity some geologists and antiquities experts say that the stone and writing would have been much more worn if they were more than six centuries old while others claim they were likely buried for much of that time which would have protected them from the elements there's also the case of geography with a reference to being 14 days from their home port of finland an apparently unknown city it had meant they'd not only have to cross the north atlantic but navigate the hudson bay as well for which 14 days probably wouldn't have been nearly enough time for a rudimentary unpowered craft furthermore no other record of the expedition is known to exist and one frequently cited red flag is that it's impossible that besieged men so far from home who'd just discovered their compatriots were murdered would waste their time inscribing their situation into a stone likewise some of the runic characters on the stone didn't pass close inspection from scandinavian writing experts while others concluded that they were correct down to the last detail but that portions have been worn away over the years making them appear inaccurate if the inscriptions aren't authentic they were certainly made by someone with an in-depth knowledge of scandinavian writing and not surprisingly olof almond is the main suspect later scholars interviewing almond found a number of books on runestones in his modest library which he claimed were given to him years after he found the stone other skeptics point to his relationship with local pastor sven foggleblad who also may have had knowledge of runes and archaic scandinavian writing sadly neither man ever admitted to anything and over the years the slab has been displayed in european museums the smithsonian and the 1965 world's fair in new york located on the eastern shore of lake ray hubbard a few miles northeast of downtown dallas texas the aptly named city of rockwall is home to another of the country's most enduring and unexplained sites and more than 150 years after its discovery there is still disagreement as to whether the great wall of texas is a naturally occurring geological formation or a man-made structure though most of the wall is still buried it's believed to be 20 miles long and as tall as seven stories in some places the legend of the wall began in 1852 when three rockwell residents digging a well inadvertently unearthed what appeared to be a buried portion of a man-made rock formation resembling a wall in fact judging by looks alone it was clear that the long rows of narrow stones stacked atop one another like bricks must have been laid by men but all wasn't as it seemed and the structure has baffled scientists archaeologists and historians for well over a century largely because bewildering bits of evidence suggests that it's both a natural phenomenon and also a man-made wall the wall has been partially excavated in more than a dozen areas around town but the first official dig was carried out by the rockwall county historical society just months after its discovery from the beginning a number of well-respected and high-profile 19th and 20th century geologists like robert t hill a man often referred to as the father of texas geology have concluded that the wall is indeed a naturally occurring structure in 1901 hill stated that the wall was a natural sandstone dike and that the material resembling mortar between the individual stones was silty clay that had filled stress fractures in the sedimentary rock and formed over millennia this process has been well documented the world over but what's unique to texas rock wall is that the cracks are surprisingly symmetric giving the rocks a uniquely man-made appearance but though it was widely regarded as a man-made feature for most of the 20th century not everyone is in agreement and those who don't buy the official narrative point to a number of unexplained abnormalities first iron rings and other artifacts were found embedded in the wall that had been dated to 4 000 years old and other purported findings have included archways stairs indecipherable inscriptions and small ports for water drainage some archaeologists claimed that the dyke formed much farther below the earth's surface than where it is today and pushed its way upward over thousands of years trapping more contemporary artifacts and making it appear as though they'd always been in the same strata especially in the 1990s a number of geologists and historians made pleas for the rockwall to be re-evaluated with the new focus on the aspects that tend to debunk the original explanation after visiting the wall and reviewing its structure and accompanying historical evidence in 1996 eminent west coast architect john c lindsey said that evidence of a prehistoric structure built by man is mounting now we'll get back to the mysteries of the american frontier in just a moment but first a quick word from today's fantastic sponsor magellan tv magellan tv is a new documentary streaming service founded by filmmakers who love history they believe in the old adage about studying history you can't know where you're going until you understand where you've been as a result magellan tv is one of the richest catalogues of history content available pretty much anywhere today everything from the greeks to the great war plus modern history biographies scientific profiles true crime and so much more their team of producers and content developers look all over the world for new documentaries to add to their library updating it every single week the end product is like if netflix was designed by your favorite history professor and what's one thing you'd love about paid streaming services well there's no ads leave those advertisements for the plebians am i right so if you're looking for more than 3 000 explorations binge-worthy topics with more content added every single week than you should absolutely consider magellan tv today i'd recommend america from above which is a scenic exploration of american skylines from manhattan to montana if you like our video today you'll probably enjoy magellan's parallel content too so if you want to make an amazing addition to your streaming lineup click the link in the description below and magellan will hook you up and let's get back to the video though the vortices for which sedona arizona is most well known are often looked upon with derision by naysayers everyone from native americans and new age gurus to traditional scientists claim there's something unexplained going on amidst the gnar junipers and majestic red rock formations just a few hours north of phoenix with nearly two dozen tribes arizona is home to one of the country's largest indigenous populations yevapi navajo hoppy and tonto apaches have called the sedona area home for countless generations and they've always revered its canyons and shimmering crimson rocks as sacred and powerful places in the mid-20th century sedona was a popular shooting site for western movie classics like billy the kid and apache but just a few decades later its stunning beauty and remoteness began attracting retirees authors and artists many of whom took up permanent residence tourism soon followed but it wasn't until the early 80s that reports of mysterious vortices began showing up in local and regional newspapers and later national and international news outlets as well vortices commonly occur in nature when fluid or gas like water and air spin around an axis in a whirlpool or tornado or when water spirals down a drain but many claim that vortices can also be formed by static electricity and electromagnetism as well as unexplained energy sources that are amazingly powerful curative and originated deep within the earth color are skeptical on that one by some estimations the sedona area has hundreds of individual vortices but it's the ones in and around the village of oak creek that attract the most visitors many come from all over the world to commune with forces that they believe to be otherworldly while others seek relief from diseases and ailments both physical and mental that modern medicine hasn't been able to cure sedona's vortices are said to be among the few places in the world where the earth's intrinsic energy makes its way to the surface and they're often likened to sites like stonehenge though there's no corresponding man-made structure not surprisingly perhaps more than any place in the country sedona has attracted a permanent community of eccentrics that subscribe to an eclectic mix of contemporary non-denominational spirituality native american lore and alternative healing practices in sedona phrases like karma life force and go with the flow common but detractors claim that visitors are more likely to have their fortune told in a gas station parking lot by a 22 year old with dreadlocks than actually experience anything even remotely resembling energy from a communion with mother earth others argue that the mere suggestion of mysterious vortices is enough to create a placebo effect whereby visitors expect to experience something unique and powerful and therefore think that they do whether or not they really have in 1913 california's death valley registered the highest temperature ever recorded in america 134 degrees fahrenheit which is 56.7 degrees celsius but though it's most well known as the country's hottest place it's also home to a number of fascinating phenomena one of the most mysterious and enduring of which is racetrack player although you may not know it by name chances are you've seen photographs of the enigmatic rocks that apparently slide across the dry lake bed player leaving telltale grooves behind them despite some of the hundreds of rocks weighing nearly 700 pounds 320 kilograms is commonly agreed that they do in fact move across the ground but the forces at play have baffled scientists geologists and amateur paranormal aficionados for decades like the bonneville salt flats racetrack player is nearly perfectly flat and usually bone dry but its surface is composed of sedimentary salt and clay from north to south it stretches nearly 2.5 miles and from east to west it's about half that width precipitation is just a few inches per year but when it does rain runoff from the surrounding mountains often fills the broad lake bed with water causing the wet clay and silt to morph into a slick slurry the deep trails left in the rock's wake suggest that they move when the player is soft and wet but though some claim it's a man-made hoax no evidence of human intervention like footprints has ever been found at certain times hurricane-force winds do sweep across death valley's wide expanse but though the trails left by the rocks parallel the prevailing gusts the gusts just aren't forceful enough to move boulders across the surface at least under most conditions course changes in the trails do suggest that the motion of the rocks follow the direction of the wind but even on slippery mud prevalent after a rain there's much more to the story less than a decade ago intent on getting to the bottom of the mystery scientists have fixed small gps units to a number of rocks and the findings showed that some moved more than 700 feet that's 213 meters over multiple days these surprising movements coincided with winter weather in which the wet surface of the player froze into a thin layer of ice over an unfrozen layer of water below scientists theorized that the rocks became embedded in ice and that together they floated over the water which reduced downward pressure and friction enough of the strong winds to move them as one then by the time the ice melted and the water evaporated the rocks were far from their original location leaving only telltale trails to enter their movement one of the first reports that provided strong evidence of this is a video taken in 2006. then in november 2013 the ice water winds theory was verified when the player became inundated with three inches of water the top portion froze and researchers physically observed the rocks sliding across the lake bed ensconced in ice and pushed by the wind moving almost effortlessly bit by bit over three months until january of the following year if bottomless pits reincarnated dogs and mysterious men who may or may not have existed constitute an urban legend then the story of mel's hole might just take the proverbial cake it all started back in february of 1997 when a man identifying himself as mel waters was a guest on the famous late tonight paranormal talk radio show coast to coast am with art bell waters claimed to be the owner of a plot of land about 10 miles west of ellensburg in rural kititus county washington and that a mysterious gaping hole like a mine shaft lurked on his property he estimated that the hole was at least 80 000 ft or more than 15 miles deep and that it plumbed its depths with a fishing rod wound with heavy duty line one wonders whether a fishing rod with a spool capable of holding 15 miles of line ever existed but whatever the case waters apparently lowered that amount of line out and by the time it ran out the weight still hadn't hit the bottom put mel's hole into perspective the deepest known mine shaft at the tau toner gold mine is approximately 2.5 miles that's four kilometers deep and the deepest borehole was drilled by the russians in 1989 to a depth of more than forty thousand feet that's twelve thousand two hundred meters waters also claimed that over the years it thrown everything from household waste and rocks into the hole and had never heard any of it at the bottom and on one occasion a neighbor apparently heaved a dead dog down the hall but a few days later the same dog was seen alive and well wearing the same collar in the woods nearby waters also said that one morning on his way to the hole he was accosted by federal agents who told him that the hole was off limits because there'd been a plane crash and that shortly thereafter the same agents coerced him into leasing the lands of the government for a princely sum after which he packed up and moved to australia between the first airing on coast to coast am the legend grew and waters made subsequent appearances on the show in both 2000 and 2002. the exact location of the hole was never divulged but local investigators looking into the claims reported that no records could be found of a man named mel waters ever living in or owning property in the area yet several people corroborated water's story including a local tribal medicine man known as red elk he claimed to have visited the hall numerous times as far back as the early 1960s and said that there was an underground government base in the area and that ufo activity was common in 2002 however leading an expedition to locate the whole once and for all red elk was unable to find it according to geologists a shaft as deep as mel's hole is purported to be can't exist because it would collapse under its own weight largely due to the immense heat that would be present at such depths prompting many to characterize it as an obvious and baseless hoax i mean there is basically no evidence so i really hope you found that video interesting if you did please do hit that thumbs up button below don't forget to subscribe also this video was sponsored by the fantastic people over at magellan so please subscribe to them there's a link below and thank you for watching [Music] you

Channel: Sideprojects

Views: 977,671

Keywords: megaprojects, construction, engineering, projects

Id: 16rUBLcMuAE

Length: 17min 12sec (1032 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 16 2021