From undersea noises to wandering rocks, are
10 of the most famous mysteries to have been solved….(for the most part!) 10. Blood Falls Because of its remote location and inhospitable
environment, there’s a lot still to be discovered in Antarctica. One feature that’s been a mystery ever since
they were found are the blood falls in the Mcmurdo Dry Valley. Pouring from the Taylor Glacier, the water
is a deep red colour, and has an average temperature of only 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit- well below
the freezing point of 32! Initially, the colour of the falls was thought
to be as a result of red algae, but recent radar scans have unveiled the true cause. Beneath the glacier, there’s a complex network
of sub-glacial rivers and a huge sub-glacial lake, all of which are filled with salt water
that is high in iron, which gives it the red colour. This also explains why it flows at such cold
temperatures instead of freezing, and allows the rivers to exist, despite flowing through
the coldest glacier on the planet. 9 Clicking in Stockholm Harbour In 1981, a Russian submarine, armed with a
nuclear warhead, entered Swedish waters near a naval base. At the time it was blamed on an accidental
navigation error, but since then, the Swedes have kept a careful listen out for any more
intrusions into their territory. 13 years later, in 1994, acoustic devices
picked up the tell tale sign of a vessel, with a series of metallic clicking noises
being heard near Stockholm harbour. In response, the Swedish Prime Minister, Carl
Bildt, apparently sent a strong worded message to Boris Yeltsin, so you can only imagine
his embarrassment when the true cause of the sound was discovered. Scientists looked into it, and discovered
that rather than being produced by a Russian submarine, the clicking noises were actually
caused by fish farts. More precisely, the expulsion of air by herring-
something it’s now thought they do as a means of communication to help form protective
shoals overnight. 8. The City of Troy The ancient city of Troy was the focus of
Homer’s “Illiad”, where it lay under siege for more than 10 years before finally
succumbing to a Greek army being led by King Agamemnon. Troy is famous for the beautiful Helen of
Troy, Achilles, and the horse. Many stories have been told of the place,
but the site of the true ancient city of Troy is located to the northwest of Turkey. Whether this is the city described by Homer,
or even if the Trojan War actually took place, is a matter of debate, but one thing’s for
sure- the real Troy, now known as Hisarlik, has been there for thousands of years and
is a place steeped in mystery itself. It was first inhabited around 3,000 BC, and
has seen a number of wars since. Each time the city was knocked to the ground
it was re-built, and there is evidence of at least 10 different cities lying on top
of each other. The earliest settlement was a small city surrounded
by stone, and outside was a large stone with an image of a face inscribed upon it- thought
to be the representation of a deity welcoming visitors. Excavations have found a number of treasures
there, some thought to have belonged to King Priam himself or another wealthy king who
would have ruled over the area. There might be more truth to the legends than
we thought. 7. Mass Whale Graveyard In 2011, during a road widening project in
the Atacama Desert of Chile, builders stumbled across a mass graveyard, but it wasn’t what
you might expect. It was full of the bones of whales, strange
walrus-faced dolphins and sloths all lying side by side. The fossils were found to be about 6 to 9
million years old, and it became a mystery as to why so many animals would die in one
place together, and how it would happen in a place that was 130 feet above sea level. A few years later, a plausible explanation
was reached. Researchers theorised that it was caused by
blooms of algae that were feeding on the iron-rich run offs from the Andes Mountains. These would have poisoned the animals in and
around it that had come for a drink, and caused massive die-offs. The site itself is thought to have been a
tidal basin, and in the space of a few weeks, all the carcasses of the dead animals washed
into it. The lack of large predators in the region
meant that nothing disturbed the bodies, and they were covered up by sediment over thousands
of years. As for the height at which they were found,
the tectonic plate that the region lies on has been continually pressing against its
neighbouring ones for millions of years, meaning the land is much higher now than it would
have been when this event occurred. Still, finding all of those bones would be
quite a shock to the system. And now for a super weird one, but first if
you are new here welcome and be sure to subscribe!! 6. The Bloop In 1997 a loud, ultra-low frequency sound,
which became known as the “Bloop” was heard on hydrophones across the Pacific. It was so loud, in fact, that it was picked
up by listening devices over 3,000 miles apart. The problem was, no-one had any idea what
could make such a noise, and for the next decade there was much debate about its cause. Some wanted to believe that it was the sound
of an undiscovered creature that lives beneath the waves because of what they felt was the
organic sound, while others thought it was the cracking of an ice shelf. Here’s what it sounds like By comparing the available data, scientists
are now very certain that the Bloop wasn’t caused by a giant animal but, as they suspected,
the movement of ice. Each year there are thousands of Ice-quakes,
which are caused by ice melting and cracking off into the sea, and they make sounds very
similar to the Bloop. Further to this, there were a number of ice
quakes detected at around the same time as the Bloop was detected, and it’s thought
that a particular big quake could have been loud enough to echo through the ocean, developing
it’s deep tone as it travelled such long distances. 5. The Easter Island Statues Easter Island is one of the remotest inhabited
islands in the world, more than 1,600 miles away from the nearest town. Ever since the first explorers visited the
place, it has stood out for one main reason- the 887 Moai, giant statues of heads that
are placed around the coast. The Moai became things of legend, with numerous
theories about why they were there, and who was capable of making them. The first archaeological expedition to the
island was in 1955 and, since then, a lot has been learned. People first moved to Easter Island prior
to 380 AD, and there were three distinct stages of development- known as the Early, Middle,
and Late periods. During the Early Period no statues were built,
but they did build large stone-cut altars and platforms that were stood facing the ocean
in alignment with the sun and the stars. The Second Period, that began in around 1100
AD, saw the introduction of the large statues, which were placed on these platforms. They were religious icons to the gods- not,
as some thought, a means to deter visitors because, at this time, sea travel to such
remote regions was very unusual. In less than 600 years, more than 600 of the
giant statues were carved in the local quarry and, at the peak of production, they would
be more than 40 feet tall and weight up to 80 tonnes. They would also place a red, stone, cylinder
hat on their heads, which itself weighted 12 tons. The third period began when war struck the
island as a result of the first Europeans arriving. They happened to arrive on Easter Sunday,
hence the name Easter Island. Left in the quarry was the largest statue
yet, 70 feet long, but all the work finished in about 1680. Most of them were knocked over and buried,
which brought this incredible feat of art and engineering to an end. 4. The Mary Celeste For more than 100 years the story of the Mary
Celeste has baffled people. After the ship failed to arrive at port, search
parties went to find it, and discovered it completely empty, with no sign of a struggle. But why would a crew abandon a seemingly fine
ship, what could possibly convince them to do this? The answer, it’s now believed, is to do
with the cargo they were carrying- highly volatile alcohol. More than 300 gallons had begun to leak and,
if they caught fire, that would certainly be a dangerous enough situation for the captain
to call on everyone to abandon ship. The only problem with this theory is that
there were no signs of burn marks on board, but recent experimental evidence has shown
that this wouldn’t necessarily be the case if the cargo exploded. By recreating the events on a smaller scale,
it has been proven that a pressure-wave type of explosion could have been caused, which
would send a burning fireball upwards but, crucially, not leave a mark behind it. It would have blown the hatches open and caused
a panic, and explains why the crew left in such a hurry and, in the process, crating
one of the greatest maritime mysteries of all time. 3. The Wandering Rocks of Death Valley Racetrack Playa, a desert lake bed that lies
in the mountains above Death Valley, has been the site of an extraordinary phenomenon- rocks
that seemingly move by themselves. For decades, no-one has been able to explain
how the rocks traverse the surface, leaving a trail in their wake. Some suggested it was caused by wind or rain,
or perhaps even people moving them. It was only in December of 2013, though, that
the truth came to light. The rocks were actually being moved by ice. During the winter, a huge ice encrusted pond
covers most of the region and, when it begins to melt, it drifts along the sands, slowly
taking some of the rocks with it. Research in 2013 found that the furthest moving
rock actually rested more than 700 feet from its starting position, leaving a long trail
behind it where it had been pushed along. 2. Amelia Earhart Amelia Earhart was a aviation pioneer, and
became the first woman to make a solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. She would go on to attempt a number of different
challenges, but on July 2nd, 1937, she went missing, without a trace, in the Pacific while
flying from Papua New Guinea to Howland Island as part of an attempt to fly around the world. Her story has fascinated people for the decades
since, each with their own theory about what might have happened to her. Recently, the truth seems to have been settled. 3 years after her disappearance, British officials
found 13 human bones on the island of Nikumaroro, also known as Gardner Island. Along with the bones were a Benedictine bottle,
an American sextant box, and part of a shoe- all known to be things Earhart used, but in
1940 a doctor determined that the bones were of a short, European man. Add that to the recent photo that appeared
from the archives showing a woman on a dock surrounded by Japanese and it is possible
that she may have been captured. Recently, the bones have been re-tested, and
it was determined that they almost certainly were from a tall woman. It now seems likely that for some reason,
Earhart found herself on this island, and had no chance of escape or survival- most
likely dying from her injuries that she suffered when getting there. Perhaps her plane was shot down, or she was
taken prisoner. Or these remains might not be hers at all. With the discovery of the picture, many people
believe that the mystery of Amelia Earhart has finally been solved. The question still remains of how she died. 1. The Bermuda Triangle The Bermuda Triangle is undoubtedly one of
the biggest mysteries ever, but in recent years the superstition surrounding the region
has been debunked. It’s the part of the Atlantic Ocean between
Miami, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico- and supposedly has been the site of many plane and ship disappearances. There have been a number of theories for this,
ranging from alien abductions and holes in the Universe, to extreme weather events or
methane releases from the sea bed. The truth now, however, is that there isn’t
actually a mystery at all, and it’s all just superstition. Recent research has found that, statistically,
there’s no more danger when flying or sailing through it than there is in any other part
of the world. The higher number of incidents can simply
be put down to the fact it’s a particularly busy place for transport routes and, with
so many more trips being made through it, and strange weather patterns there are bound
to be more accidents taking place. Of course you can choose whether you agree
with this or not.. Thanks for watching! Remember to subscribe and see you next time!!
