Science has come a long way in the last hundred years. We now have life-saving antibiotics like penicillin, we understand what wiped out the dinosaurs, and astrophysicists have even figured out how to take images of black holes. While we still have a long way to go when it comes to answering all of life’s questions, there’s no reason why we can’t celebrate how far humanity has come.
If you’d like to be reminded of some of the most mind-blowing discoveries humans have made, you’ve come to the right place, pandas. Redditors have been discussing former mysteries that are now solved, so we’ve gathered their most fascinating replies below. Enjoy reading through these responses, and be sure to upvote the ones that make you thankful to live in a time with so many scientific advancements!
#41
Disappearance of Corrie McKeague.
This one is strange.. A guy is out drinking with friends late at night and leaves. He starts wandering the streets, and a CCTV sees him enter a cull de sac, then he's never seen again.
Some think there is foul play, since an accidental death would at least result in a body.
But then family and friends reveal that he had a very strange habit of sleeping in garbage bins when he was drunk.
A few hours after he entered the cul de sac, the garbage truck came and picked up the bins. Later, after looking at the logs, it turns out that one bin weighed several hundred pounds more than it should have. But that was only recognized after it was too late.
This one is strange.. A guy is out drinking with friends late at night and leaves. He starts wandering the streets, and a CCTV sees him enter a cull de sac, then he's never seen again.
Some think there is foul play, since an accidental death would at least result in a body.
But then family and friends reveal that he had a very strange habit of sleeping in garbage bins when he was drunk.
A few hours after he entered the cul de sac, the garbage truck came and picked up the bins. Later, after looking at the logs, it turns out that one bin weighed several hundred pounds more than it should have. But that was only recognized after it was too late.
Report
14points
#42
Dyatlov Pass incident - 9 experienced Russian hikers were found in all sorts of manners of death after finding their tents cut open and bodies found fleeing from the campsite.
>After the group's bodies were discovered, an investigation by Soviet authorities determined that six had died from hypothermia while the other three had been [unaived] by physical trauma. One victim had major skull damage, two had severe chest trauma, and another had a small crack in the skull. Four of the bodies were found lying in running water in a creek, and three of these had soft tissue damage of the head and face – two of the bodies were missing their eyes, one was missing its tongue, and one was missing its eyebrows. The investigation concluded that a "compelling natural force" had caused the deaths. Numerous theories have been put forward to account for the unexplained deaths, including animal attacks, hypothermia, avalanche, katabatic winds, infrasound -induced panic, military involvement, or some combination of these.
But in 2020, a Russian findings report came out and concluded that an avalanche was the COD.
>After the group's bodies were discovered, an investigation by Soviet authorities determined that six had died from hypothermia while the other three had been [unaived] by physical trauma. One victim had major skull damage, two had severe chest trauma, and another had a small crack in the skull. Four of the bodies were found lying in running water in a creek, and three of these had soft tissue damage of the head and face – two of the bodies were missing their eyes, one was missing its tongue, and one was missing its eyebrows. The investigation concluded that a "compelling natural force" had caused the deaths. Numerous theories have been put forward to account for the unexplained deaths, including animal attacks, hypothermia, avalanche, katabatic winds, infrasound -induced panic, military involvement, or some combination of these.
But in 2020, a Russian findings report came out and concluded that an avalanche was the COD.
13points
#43
Something a little close to home. My friend Jacob Wetterling was 11 when he was kidnapped in 1989. They finally found his body in 2016 and solved the crime.
13points
#44
How genetic information is passed on to offspring. If you read Darwin’s On the Origin of Species he basically predicts that there must be some physiological method for genetic code to be passed down, then DNA was discovered like 100 years later.
Report
13points
#45
Don’t know whether John Franklin’s lost expedition counts because it was technically already solved for many years, but at the time British society straight up dismissed the reports of cannibalism, and for many years officials did not listen to the local Inuit who knew where it was all along. The lead poisoning, however, is a recent discovery.
Report
13points
#46
Human spontaneous combustion - not a real thing, it’s where there was an overlooked source of ignition, then subcutaneous fat is absorbed into clothing and acts like a wick - basically they’re a human candle.
clumsyc:
I remember a lot of OG Unsolved Mysteries episodes about spontaneous combustion. I thought it was a real concern as a kid.
clumsyc:
I remember a lot of OG Unsolved Mysteries episodes about spontaneous combustion. I thought it was a real concern as a kid.
12points
#47
That the Lusitania did indeed have munitions on board when she was sunk in 1915 by a German U Boat, making her a legitimate military target.
The British government always insisted she was just a passenger liner and denied there were any munitions on board however in 1982, the head of the Foreign Office's American department finally admitted that, "although no weapons were shipped, there is a large amount of ammunition in the wreck, some of which is highly dangerous and poses a safety risk to salvage teams"
The British government always insisted she was just a passenger liner and denied there were any munitions on board however in 1982, the head of the Foreign Office's American department finally admitted that, "although no weapons were shipped, there is a large amount of ammunition in the wreck, some of which is highly dangerous and poses a safety risk to salvage teams"
12points
#48
One that’s being talked about lately: the Kristin Smart case. Don’t get it confused with the Elizabeth Smart case (taken from her room, held hostage for nine months).
Kirstin Smart went missing in 1996 after a college party at California Polytechnic State University. The last person to see her alive was Paul Flores, who has walked with her back from the party. She had just met him that night. He has been a suspect for the past 25 years, but there was never enough evidence to charge him.
On April 13, 2021, Paul Flores was arrested for m****r and his dad, Ruben Flores (now 80 years old) was arrested for helping conceal the body. They both pleaded not guilty. A body has not been found (yet) but the police have substantial evidence to believe that Paul Flores did [unalive] Kristin Smart. The police also believe that there have been more victims, and there have been dozens of new reports since Paul’s arrest.
Kirstin Smart went missing in 1996 after a college party at California Polytechnic State University. The last person to see her alive was Paul Flores, who has walked with her back from the party. She had just met him that night. He has been a suspect for the past 25 years, but there was never enough evidence to charge him.
On April 13, 2021, Paul Flores was arrested for m****r and his dad, Ruben Flores (now 80 years old) was arrested for helping conceal the body. They both pleaded not guilty. A body has not been found (yet) but the police have substantial evidence to believe that Paul Flores did [unalive] Kristin Smart. The police also believe that there have been more victims, and there have been dozens of new reports since Paul’s arrest.
Report
12points
#49
What is the structure of the atom and how does matter behave as they do- heat, electricity and a bunch of other cool stuff. Quantum mechanics will appear to be a case of extreme mental gymnastics to explain things...But it is the foundation of all the technological development and progress that we have had in the last 100 years or so...
Report
12points
#50
The Erebus and the Terror were found a few years ago. The two ships were part of an artic expedition and dissapeared 150 years ago.
11points
#51
Sarah Yarborough was a teenager a few doors down who watched over us on several occasions when we were young kids. She was [unalived] and dumped in a bush at the high school like a piece of trash, and it was absolutely devastating. It wasn't a small town, but when it happens to your neighbor, it is very much in your sphere of awareness
Everyone was scared. I remember the media circus at the home, the eventual tapering off of said circus, and the family moving away to get away from the undoubtedly bad memories and constant reminders their kid was [unalived] and the criminal was still out there and on the loose.
It turned into a cold case.
Every now and then, I looked for news of an update even though I grew up and moved away. I did this for years, decades even, because it always bothered me as an early childhood memory. A couple years ago, I finally saw a local news report that DNA evidence and genealogy databases led to the arrest of the criminal. For me, that was an emotional moment of getting closure and I can't imagine the magnitude of emotions and fresh wounds felt by the parents having learned that nearly 30 years later, the investigation on the cold case paid off.
Everyone was scared. I remember the media circus at the home, the eventual tapering off of said circus, and the family moving away to get away from the undoubtedly bad memories and constant reminders their kid was [unalived] and the criminal was still out there and on the loose.
It turned into a cold case.
Every now and then, I looked for news of an update even though I grew up and moved away. I did this for years, decades even, because it always bothered me as an early childhood memory. A couple years ago, I finally saw a local news report that DNA evidence and genealogy databases led to the arrest of the criminal. For me, that was an emotional moment of getting closure and I can't imagine the magnitude of emotions and fresh wounds felt by the parents having learned that nearly 30 years later, the investigation on the cold case paid off.
Report
11points
#52
When surveying a bay in Alaska from the air in the 1950's the geologists on board noticed that the tree line was different several hundred feet above sea level.
Almost as if a tsunami had washed the trees away at one point. Problem was a tsunami of this size had never been recorded or though possible.
Only a few years later a rock slide occurred in that same bay causing a 1700 ft wave.
Edit. The 1720 feet was measured on land that was the highest point the wave hit. On the bay the wave would not have been this high.
Almost as if a tsunami had washed the trees away at one point. Problem was a tsunami of this size had never been recorded or though possible.
Only a few years later a rock slide occurred in that same bay causing a 1700 ft wave.
Edit. The 1720 feet was measured on land that was the highest point the wave hit. On the bay the wave would not have been this high.
Report
11points
#53
The location of Forrest Fenn’s treasure, the eccentric antiquities dealer(grave robber?) hid a box of valuables worth a million dollars in the Rockies. He released a poem in an autobiography that contained clues to its location. I believe it stayed hidden for over ten years until it was located in 2020. I have always wanted to vacation out in the Rocky Mountains/Yellowstone area and looking for the treasure was a big part of what I wanted to do while I was there.
Report
11points
#54
Delphi m**ders. I thought they’d be unsolved forever. So glad they got him, even more so that he’s literally admitted to it now.
Report
11points
#55
Devil's Kettle Falls: A stream separates into two sections, one continues normally the other spirals deep into a hole. All sorts of things were thrown down the hole in an effort to discover where the water went. Ping pong balls, various dyes, it was even rumored that someone stuck an old car down there. Eventually someone came up with a clever idea, they measured the total water flow above and below the falls and discovered they were similar enough to deduce the two streams join back up relatively quickly.
10points
#56
Lori Erica Ruff committed s*****e after her husband left her. While going through her effects he found that she had been using a fake identity. No one could find her true identity for years until just recently.
10points
#57
Christine Jessop christine was a nine-year-old Canadian girl from Queensville, Ontario who was abducted, [used], and [unalived] in October 1984. Her body was found about 50 kilometres (31 mi) from her home, in Durham Region on New Year's Eve of the same year.
On October 15, 2020, police officials announced that using a new technique for tracing criminals through the DNA of their relatives they had concluded Jessop was [unaived] by Calvin Hoover.
On October 15, 2020, police officials announced that using a new technique for tracing criminals through the DNA of their relatives they had concluded Jessop was [unaived] by Calvin Hoover.
Report
10points
#58
The nightstalker. The citizens actually captured him from a picture in the newspaper. I think he was "held" by the neighbors until cops arrived. He held LA in probably it's most fear of all time. No rules, no selection pattern and his destruction was as vulgar as it gets. His capture is an awesome story.
Report
10points
#59
Geedis and the Land of Ta. A few years ago (2017) comedian Nate Fernald posted a tweet of an enamel pin he had bought of a familiar looking friendly monster with the word Geedis written under it. He was unable to find any information on what Geedis is and the mystery took the internet by storm. The mystery kept growing as someone found a sticker of Geedis alongside other characters all listed as The Land of Ta. The sticker sheet was from a company called Dennison. There were no Google results at all for either Geedis or The Land of Ta. With multiple people researching that was where the mystery was left off and people kind of forgot about it.
But a couple years later it was solved. A podcast was made where they investigated the mystery, got a hold of the former art director of Dennison back in the 80s who referred them to a few potential artists and they found the daughter of one of the artists who had passed away and in her father's stuff was the original pencil drawings of the creaturs of The Land of Ta. It was never anything but those stickers. This internet mystery still appeared on lists for awhile as unsolved.
The only mystery left is who made the enamel pins, which is still a mystery but not quite as big as "who is this character and this land that seems familiar but that there's no record of?".
But a couple years later it was solved. A podcast was made where they investigated the mystery, got a hold of the former art director of Dennison back in the 80s who referred them to a few potential artists and they found the daughter of one of the artists who had passed away and in her father's stuff was the original pencil drawings of the creaturs of The Land of Ta. It was never anything but those stickers. This internet mystery still appeared on lists for awhile as unsolved.
The only mystery left is who made the enamel pins, which is still a mystery but not quite as big as "who is this character and this land that seems familiar but that there's no record of?".
Report
8points
#60
The true identity of "Benjamin Kyle", the guy who had amnesia after being found unconscious in a Burger King dumpster. Genetic research discovered his real name was William Burgess Powell.
His story is still pretty crazy as it was discovered that at some point in his life he had abandoned his family and all of his possessions to live on his own. And there are still no official records of him for the 20 years prior to him being discovered in the dumpster.
His story is still pretty crazy as it was discovered that at some point in his life he had abandoned his family and all of his possessions to live on his own. And there are still no official records of him for the 20 years prior to him being discovered in the dumpster.
Report
7points
