Month: November 2020

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This is Why the Ocean Changes Color, Depending on Your Location

There are few things that attract people the way the ocean does. We’re not natural water-going beings, and yet, the lure of the sea’s vastness, the calming sound of its waves, has drawn us in since the beginning of time.

If you’re someone who has gone out of their way to visit the ocean whenever and wherever you’re in the vicinity, you might have noticed that it’s not always the same color.

Image Credit: Pexels

It makes sense, to some extent, that the ocean is an ever-changing beauty, and you probably guess that it has something to do with the depth in certain regions, but is there more to it?

Hold on – let’s find out together!

First, let’s dispel the notion that the water is – or is even supposed to be – blue. NASA oceanographer Gene Carl Feldman explains:

“The water of the ocean is not blue, it’s clear.

The color of the ocean surface for the most part is based on depth, what’s in it and what’s below it.”

Basically, if a body of water is deep enough that light can’t reflect off the bottom, it appears blue. When the sun’s rays strike the ocean, they interact with water molecules and can be either absorbed or scattered. Light of shorter wavelengths – which looks to the human eye blue or green – is most likely to hit water molecules and scatter.

The depth of the water, as well as the composition of the ocean bottom, will affect whether we see the dusky, dark blue of large parts of the Atlantic, or a sapphire-blue as in the tropics, says Feldman.

“In Greece, the water is this beautiful turquoise color because the bottom is either white sand or white rocks.

What happens is the light comes down and blue light gets down, hits the bottom and then reflects back up so you make this beautiful light blue color in the water.”

Complicating matters is the fact that the ocean isn’t empty – it’s full of small plant and animal life, along with sediment or other, man-made, contaminants.

Image Credit: Pexels

Feldman studies images of the ocean’s surface taken by satellite, and can analyze the color patterns to assess where sediment and runoff are an issue (the water will appear brown) or where phytoplankton, a microscopic plant, turns the water green.

Phytoplankton use chlorophyll to convert water and carbon dioxide into organic compounds, generating about 50% of the oxygen on the planet. They give ocean water a green tint most of the time, though they can also cause us to see yellow or reddish brown in some situations.

Feldman says green water should make us smid
As with everything in this world, balance is key – and both a decrease or increase in phytoplankton is not a good thing. It’s one more sign that our planet’s climate is out of whack.

Image Credit: Pexels

In the ocean’s least-touched, least-polluted sector – in the water off the coast of Easter Island – the water is deep and remarkably clear. It appears to the naked eye a pure, deep indigo.

“The light just keeps going down, down, down; there’s nothing that bounces it back.

Here is the deepest blue you’ll ever see.”

Just one more reason to love the ocean, y’all.

And if you do, with the depths of your heart, it’s long past the time to join in the fight to save it.

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This is How Much Water Exists on Earth

You probably know that there’s a whole lot of water in our oceans, but if you add in all of other bodies of water, not to mention what’s floating around in our atmosphere and up in the clouds, well, that number is probably bigger than any of us can imagine.

What is it exactly?

Image Credit: Pexels

326 million trillion gallons, or 1,260,000,000,000,000,000,000 liters.

Yeah. That’s obviously A LOT.

The oceans, of course, make up the vast amount of that number. They cover around 70% of the planet, with their average depth being 12,100 feet (3,688 meters). 98% of the water on the planet exists in the oceans, which makes it unusable as far as irrigation and drinking.

Less than 3% of the water on the planet is fresh, and 1.6% of that is frozen in glaciers and in the polar ice caps. Another 0.36% if underground, which means we’re left with only 0.036% of fresh water that’s available aboveground for us to all share.

Image Credit: Pexels

That’s still thousands of trillions of gallons of water, mostly found in lakes and rivers.

The earth contains around 117 million lakes – about 4% of the world’s land. The United States alone is home to 1681 lakes.

The rest of our water is floating in the air or is locked up in plants and animals (including your body, which is 65% water), and sitting in our fridges.

Image Credit: Pexels

Now you know a little bit more about our world’s water, salt and fresh.

And it probably seems a whole lot more obvious why we need to protect the fresh water that we have, don’t you think?

Let us know in the comments!

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This is How the “Green Book” Made Travel Less Scary For Black People

You might have seen the movie Green Book a couple years ago – with an amazing cast and more than a couple of Oscar nominations (including a win for Best Picture), there’s a good chance you know at least something about this topic by now.

Like with everything that comes out of Hollywood, though, the facts were skimmed and not always completely, well, factual. The family of Dr. Shirley, the Black pianist in the film, has denounced the truth of much of the movie.

So, if you want to know more about the green book and how it was an absolute lifeline for Black travelers once upon a time.

Image Credit: Public Domain

In the 1950s, traveling was hard on Black families. They would often leave early, even in the middle of the night, in order to drive straight through to their destination and not have to worry about finding a motel. They packed their own foods, peed on the side of the road, and if they had to stop to sleep, always arranged to stay with friends, family, or acquaintances.

Black families had no way of knowing if or where they would be able to stop for gas, or if there were any restaurants willing to serve Black customers.

Enter Victor Hugo Green, a Black mailman from Harlem. In 1936, he decided to draw inspiration from Jewish publications that listed safe places for Jewish travelers to eat and sleep on the road, and set out to write The Negro Motorist Green Book.

Image Credit: New York Public Library

He did his research and his due diligence, filling the pages with state-by-state listings of hotels, private homes, restaurants, barber shops, service stations, and more where Black business was welcome.

Green relied on a network of fellow Black mailmen across the country to compile his information, which meant his publication was always expanding and changing. A new edition was published every year between 1936 and 1964.

For travelers who had horribly traumatic memories of humiliation in the face of white business owners, and who surely couldn’t memorize which cities, even in the North, employed Sundown Laws, the book was truly a lifeline.

Image Credit: Public Domain

Black business owners paid for advertisements in the book, too, and in some places – like South Dakota, where there was only one service station and one private tourist home in the entire state – options were extremely limited.

The Green Book also included things like advice on keeping your car up and running, and things to bring with you in case of a breakdown – organizations like AAA didn’t accept Black members at the time, either.

In 1964, the Civil Rights Act made it a crime to discriminate on the basis of color. The road trip became a more pleasant experience for Black families, too, who could now stop at any service station or hotel that was convenient at the time.

Until then, a man with an eighth grade education but plenty of smarts used his connections and intelligence to open America to Black people who wanted or needed to travel through her. Since he died in 1960, he never lived in a world where his book wasn’t necessary.

Image Credit: Public Domain

In the introduction to his 1949 edition, he wrote:

“There will be a day sometime in the near future when this guide will not have to be published. That is when we as a race will have equal opportunities and privileges in the United States. It will be a great day for us to suspend this publication for then we can go wherever we please, and without embarrassment. But until that time comes we shall continue to publish this information for your convenience each year.”

While things in the United States remain unequal and unfair in so many ways, I think Mr. Green would be happy to see that at least some progress has been made – but he surely would have been all in to keep fighting until equality is a reality for everyone.

A Vice President who is a Black woman is, though, a fantastic piece of the puzzle.

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Orchid and More Words With Surprisingly Risqué Origins

Unless you’re an etymologist, I highly doubt you spend your days thinking about the history and evolution of language.

With bills to pay, errands to run, and work to get done we don’t all have the time to consider how and why our language has evolved over the centuries.

However, some words are worth taking the time to investigate. You’d be surprised at which ordinary, every day words actually have a naughty history.

They may seem innocent enough but these 9 words each have a risqué origin that might leave you blushing.

1. Patridge

Image Credit: Unsplash

You might be familiar with a partridge in a pear tree or even the Partridge Family, but did you know the word partridge comes from the Greek word perdesthai, meaning “to break wind”?

This references the whirring sound its wings make when it takes to the skies.

Think about that the next time you’re singing 12 Days of Christmas.

2. Gymnasium

Image Credit: Unsplash

When you read the word gymnasium you might recall memories from your younger years of dodging balls, enduring the Presidential Fitness Test, or enjoying a pep rally.

What probably doesn’t come to mind is… nudity.

Gymnasium comes from the Greek gumnazein, which means to exercise or play sports in the nude.

According to National Geographic, we’re not sure exactly why the Greeks were so keen on letting it all hang out, but it probably had to do with the Mediterranean climate and an abundance of body confidence.

3. Porcelain

Image Credit: Pexels

What could be naughty about porcelain? It’s so delicate and dignified.

Porcelain in and of itself is not a naughty word, as it translates simply to “cowrie shell.” Cowrie shells (remember “puka” shell necklaces?) are small, delicate and pretty.

However, the shell’s name in Italian is from porcella meaning “young sow,” or “young pig.” It is thought the shells were named for their resemblance to a cow/pig’s outer genitals.

Not so dignified now, huh?

4. Mastodon

Image Credit: Snappy Goat

Mastodons are the ancestor of our modern day elephant. These large beasts roamed North and Central America during the late Miocene period up to their extinction 10,000-11,000 years ago.

In Greek, masto translates to “breast” and odon translates to “tooth,” so mastodon really means “breast-tooth.”

It was Georges Cuvier, a 19th century French naturalist who coined the name in 1817, after discovering nipple-like projections on fossils of the mammal’s molars.

5. Punk

Image Credit: Unsplash

When you read the word punk, you might imagine a band of rock and roll music artists or a group of their leather-clad fans thrashing in a most pit.

Though it describes a particular genre of music and style, the word punk originally meant something was “worthless” or a “worthless person” of a “criminal” background.

It was also used to describe female prostitutes, as seen in Shakespeare’s Alls Well that Ends Well.

6. Musk

Image Credit: Pixabay

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, musk comes from the Sanskrit word muṣka, which translates to “testicle.”

You’ve probably heard of “man musk,” in reference to a particular smell associated with the male of the species (whether it’s a good smell or not is up to you). But did you know male musk deer actually secrete musk in the form of a reddish-brown substance? (gag!)

It’s produced in a gland that was originally thought to look like a scrotum, although it is not directly tied to reproduction.

7. Forlorn

Image Credit: Pexels

We all experience lows in our life, but to be forlorn is to be more than just sad.

According to Dictionary.com, forlorn means to feel desolate, unhappy, lonely, or despairing.

Forlorn comes from Old English loren, meaning “to lose” or to be “depraved of.”

Those who are forlorn are destitute and godforsaken, abandoned by those they love.

And it’s hard to bounce back from a place like that.

8. Pasta Alla Puttanesca

Image Credit: Unsplash

Pasta alla puttanesca is a delicious Italian dish consisting of anchovies, olives, tomatoes, capers, and pasta. You may recognize it as the dish the Baudelaire orphans cooked up for Count Olaf in the first book of A Series of Unfortunate Events, but did you know the word puttanesca literally translates to “in the style of a prostitute”?

Some have theorized that courtesans and sex workers used the dish to lure in potential customers, or that it was a simple dish to cook up between services.

However, Italians use the word puttana like Americans might use “sh^t,” she the real origin of the name is most likely that someone just threw together whatever sh^t was on hand and called it dinner.

9. Orchid

Image Credit: Unsplash

I know what you’re thinking, but no, the origin of orchid is not related to the female anatomy. The name actually comes from the Greek orkhis, which literally translates to “testicle.” Yet another word whose origins are associated with male genitalia.

The orchid was named so for the shape of it’s root which resembles a testicle. The more you know!

Aren’t words fun?

My personal favorite of these saucy origins is pasta alla puttanesca. I can’t wait to see the look on my mother’s face the next time we have dinner and I tell her I’ve made pasta “in the style of a prostitute.”

Do you have a favorite world of indecent origin? Let us know in the comments!

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This is When Turquoise Is More Valuable Than Diamonds

There are a lot of stones and gems out there that are more valuable than diamonds. The coveting of diamonds, the idea that they’re the end-all, be-all for women around the globe, that you must have a large one ready if you’re going to propose marriage, is all a marketing scheme.

That said, if I asked you to name a gem other than a diamond that has a large inherent value, I bet you would say a ruby, or maybe an emerald.

Not, probably, turquoise.

Image Credit: Rob Lavinsky

There are people, though, who have been mining, buying, and selling turquoise in the American Southwest for generations – people who know it’s history, it’s value, and can pick out both with a quick glance at the raw stones.

People like Michael Garland of Sedona, Arizona, whose family has worked with American Indian art for four generations.

He told How Stuff Works,

“Turquoise has a fascinating and unique history. This beautiful stone has captured human imagination all over the globe for thousands of years, from King Tutankhamun’s death mask to Aztec and Mesoamerican art.

Turquoise has been cherished and used by the Southwest Native American Indian tribes for centuries in trade, for ceremonial purposes, and to enhance their beautiful art forms — from sandpaintings to jewelry. Its rarity and beauty continue to make it a highly coveted stone.”

Cultures all over the world have long treasured the precious stone, and though its chemical compound is well known, the truth is that its value goes far beyond the science.

Image Credit: Public Domain

Here’s more from Garland…

“Turquoise is formed by a complex combination of aluminum, copper, phosphorus, water, and other local ingredients that may change the color or add matrix (host rock). Turquoise is found at elevations between 3,000 and 8,500 feet (914 and 2,590 meters) and typically in dry, arid climates.

Only certain regions on earth provide this recipe for turquoise to form. Turquoise mines in the Southwest United States are the most famous, such as Bisbee, Lander Blue, Number Eight or Lone Mountain. However, other areas in the world produce high quality natural turquoise such as Iran, Tibet, China, Egypt and Kazakhstan.”

Emerald Tanner and her father, who own Tanner’s Indian Arts in New Mexico, talk about how the value can vary widely.

“The value of turquoise comes from the quality and rarity of the stone. Some mines produced tons of material over numbers of years — others, only a hundred or so pounds and for a very short period of time. Turquoise can be as soft as chalk or as hard as a 6 or 7 on MOH’s scale — the harder and more intense colors tend to be more valuable. Another variable in valuing turquoise is comparing all-natural turquoise to ‘stabilized’ or ‘enhanced’ turquoise.”

The fact is there’s a lot of turquoise out there – but not a lot that’s strong enough to survive the cutting and polishing process.

There is a process for “strengthening” turquoise that’s not naturally strong enough, but since it has to be manipulated and stabilized, it’s not as valuable.

Which means that even though you’ve probably seen something touted as turquoise in gift shops all over the world, only about 10% of turquoise on the market is natural and untreated.

The tanners say this definitely matters.

“Over 90 percent of the ‘turquoise’ on the world market has been stabilized, treated, or tampered with to enhance the color or harden the stone. Some of the ‘turquoise’ on the market isn’t even turquoise at all, but an imitation material that has been dyed or colored to look like the stone.

We always encourage anyone looking to purchase turquoise or turquoise jewelry to ask questions about the stones and forever say ‘if you don’t know your turquoise, know your turquoise dealer.’ Natural gem quality turquoise is one of the most rare and collectable natural commodities of our world. It is indeed a special stone and one to be collected and celebrated.”

Turquoise is graded like any other gemstone, on the four C’s of color, clarity, cut, and carat weight. There are other factors to weigh, as well, such as where it was mined.

Image Credit: Tim Evanson

Since it’s so much rarer than a diamond of the same grade, turquoise definitely qualifies as more valuable.

It’s worth more than gold, as well, and most other precious gems that people consider high value.

Garland says that, when it comes to turquoise, the hardness, aesthetic beauty, and rarity all play a huge role.

On hardness:

“Only a small percentage of all turquoise mined is naturally hard enough to be used in jewelry. In some cases, as much as 90 percent of the turquoise mined is chalky and soft and would need to be stabilized in order to be used. The top-level of turquoise that is naturally hard enough to be used is called ‘natural’ or ‘untreated’ turquoise. Within this top tier of natural turquoise, there are further categories such as ‘high-grade’ and ‘gem-grade’ that describe the absolute best and hardest natural stones.”

When it comes to aesthetic beauty:

“The depth of the stone’s color and the presence of matrix or host rock can both add value. Deeper, darker colors are generally more expensive. Tight webbing in the matrix (called ‘spider webbing’) can also add value to turquoise. There is an ongoing debate regarding value in the turquoise world: matrix vs. clear gem turquoise,” they write. “A gemologist will tell you the more clear, the more perfect the stone, and the more valuable. Collectors and Native American jewelers may deem the more matrix with intense and beautiful webbing, the more valuable.”

And last, the stone’s rarity:

“Rarity is a huge factor in price, specifically as it relates to the turquoise mines. A fantastic example of this is the Lander Blue turquoise mine in Nevada. Lander Blue was considered a ‘hat mine,’ meaning the entrance to the mine was so small you could cover it with a cowboy hat. High-grade Lander Blue turquoise can sell for as much as $500 per carat.

To put that in perspective, that’s more than $1.1 million per pound. Why is it so expensive?

Because it is considered to be some of the hardest and highest grade turquoise ever discovered. On top of its quality, it was an extremely small deposit — only about 100 pounds was mined before the deposit completely ran out in the 1970s. The rarity, combined with the quality of the stones and their aesthetic beauty, makes Lander Blue the most expensive turquoise mine in the world.”

It’s not uncommon, then, for gem-grade turquoise to sell for anywhere before $40-$200 per carat – nearly four times the price for the same amount of gold, even at the low end.

Image Credit: Mike Beauregard

All of the experts recognize the significance the stone has for Native Americans who populate the American Southwest, and the Tanners make sure to point it out at every turn.

“Turquoise is a sacred stone to many of the Native American tribes of the American Southwest.

The unique appeal of turquoise comes from its color kinship to the sky and compatibility to water, which is the most precious thing in the Southwest.”

The Navajo, especially, says Garland, have a connection to the stone.

“Turquoise took on special meaning for the Navajo people, specifically, as one of the four sacred stones of the Navajo tribe.

Along with white shell, abalone and jet, these stones are associated with the Four Sacred Mountains, which form the traditional boundaries of Navajoland.”

In short, there are many things that make a stone valuable.

When it comes to turquoise, none of them are man made, and marketing is the last thing on any miner’s mind.

Just a few things to think about the next time you pass through a gift shop or visit a gem show – the turquoise might be a better investment than you might have thought!

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Could Planting 1 Trillion Trees Help To Save Us From Climate Change?

Most of us are looking for ways to combat climate change, since the science is irrefutable – we’re running out of time. If we want to have a viable earth to pass down to our kids and grandkids, time is of the essence.

What’s the answer, though? That’s a little harder, but even if planting trees couldn’t hurt anything, could planting a whole lot of trees actually save us?

The answer is… scientists think so.

In a recent report, the U.N. suggested that adding 2.5 billion acres of forest to the world could limit global warming by 2050.

What’s more? Data backs up their claims.

Image Credit: Pexels

A group of researchers out of Switzerland found that restoring around 223 million acres of canopy cover (that’s an area roughly the size of the contiguous United States) is “our most effective climate change solution to date.”

That number of trees could store about 205 billion tons of carbon – 2/3 of the carbon that has been emitted since the Industrial Revolution.

Jean-François Bastin, from the Switzerland study, lays out what that really means.

“The idea was to estimate what tree cover could be expected when you removed the ‘human factor,’ i.e. what specific types of forest would naturally occur in the absence of other development, and where.”

They built a “model to link tree cover with climate/soil/topography, based on 78,000 observations of tree cover in protected areas.”

Image Credit: Pexels

They used some more fancy math to exclude land currently being used for urban settlements, croplands, and existing forests, which left them the total amount of land available for restoration.

These studies align with global efforts like the Trillion Trees Vision, which wants to plant those trillion trees by 2050, and the Bonn Challenge, a partnership between Germany and the U.N. that wants to restore 371 million acres of deforested land by the end of this year.

If you’re thinking this sounds easy, and we should just do it like, yesterday, but things are always more complicated than they seem.

Mostly, the fact that only a few countries are willing to chip in, says Jim Hallett, chair of the Society for Ecological Restoration’s board of directors.

“Implementation of forest restoration on the scale discussed in this paper is not as straightforward as it might seem.

By 2018, there were commitments of over 420 million acres (170 million hectares) by 58 nations, which exceeds the Bonn Challenge goal.

Current estimates indicate that around 29 percent of the committed lands are now under restoration, but most of this work has been done by a few countries.”

Other major challenges, according to Hallett, include “financing, governance, land tenure and ownership, [and] capacity to do the work. There is ample evidence that, in some contexts, if the benefits of restoration are not equally shared, the project will fail. So incentive programs have to be carefully developed.”

Image Credit: Pexels

Experts also warn that planting trees alone is not enough, even if we plant a billion of them. The models depend on us not further degrading the forested lands we currently have, too.

Not only that, but there are other scientists, like climate change researcher Eike Luedeling, who are skeptical for other reasons.

“Many of the allegedly available restoration areas are clearly unsuitable for more trees than they currently support.

If you look closely at the map, a large proportion of these areas are in regions where soils are permanently frozen.

The methodology implicitly (probably not on purpose) implies that carbon stock is proportional to canopy cover, i.e. ecosystems without trees contain no carbon.

This is clearly false and strongly inflates the global estimate [of restoration].”

Basically, for some, these studies and proposals are nothing more than interesting academic proposals that will never be able to be implemented in the real world.

The U.N. and Hallett, recognize that nothing they’ve proposed will be simple, but it could be a viable course of action if the kinks could be worked out.

Image Credit: Pexels

“What we need is universal action: international agencies, NGOs, governments, all citizens — anyone can be involved.

Local communities and small organizations may be especially effective.

While they do not have the same reach as national agencies, they have the benefit of knowing what works best in their own backyards.”

It seems like this could be a great solution, or at least the start to one.

I mean, who doesn’t love trees, right; they’re the best!

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The Arctic Circle Is Owned by 8 Countries, and 4 More Facts We Think You’ll Love

Ready to learn some good stuff?

Geographers define the Arctic Circle as everything at or above 66 degrees and 34 minutes north latitude -more simply, anything between the 66th and 67th parallels in the Northern Hemisphere.

The Arctic Circle keeps strange hours, with the entire winter being more or less dark and other times of the year being sunny all the time. The land encompasses less than 4% of the globe’s surface, but it’s home to hundreds of thousands of people.

If you’re intrigued to know more, we’ve got you covered – below are 5 super cool facts about the Arctic Circle!

5. It’s not totally dark.

Image Credit: Wikipedia

First of all, even if the sun doesn’t make it all the way over the horizon, there’s still a sort of twilight that lends light to the skies. Even if the cities there don’t get a true sunrise for up to 65 days each winter, it’s not completely dark all the time.

If you’re looking for the “astronomical polar night” you’ll have to head farther north than 88 degrees latitude, where there are no human settlements. There, the complete and total darkness lasts for around 11 weeks.

4. It’s owned by 8 different countries.

Image Credit: Wikipedia

The United States, Canada, Russia, Norway, Finland, Greenland, Denmark, and Sweden all own land that falls north of the border for the Arctic Circle.

That’s fun!

3. It’s far colder in the Antarctic Circle.

Image Credit: Wikipedia

All of the seawater beneath the North Pole moderates the climate, while the South Pole is a larger, deeper landmass with a far lower average winter temperature – -76 degrees F. The North Pole only (!) gets down to around -40 degrees F.

There are no human settlements in the Antarctic Circle.

2. Murmansk, Russia, is the biggest city.

Image Credit: Wikipedia

It’s home to around 295,000 people, as well as the tallest building (236 feet high) in the Arctic Circle.

The second largest city, Norilsk, is also located in Russia, and famous for its mining operations and the historic Nord Kamal Mosque.

Around 295,000 people live in Murmansk, a port city founded in 1916 at the height of World War I. One of its Soviet-era landmarks, the 236-foot (72-meter) Arktika Hotel, is the tallest building north of the Arctic Circle.

The region’s second-largest city is Russian, too. Norilsk, a community of some 179,554 souls, is famous for its mining operations and the historic Nord Kamal Mosque. Outside of Russia, the Arctic Circle’s most populous municipality is Tromsø, Norway, which boasts the world’s northernmost university.

1. It’s shrinking.

Image Credit: Wikipedia

Earth’s axial tilt is changing, which means every 40,000 years or so, the boundary line retreats by between 46 to 49 feet.

Scientists project that the first human settlements will move outside the Arctic Circle by 2050.

I’m feeling ready to best someone at a trivia game any time, anywhere!

What’s your favorite fact about the Arctic Circle? If you’ve got one, lay it on us in the comments!

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Unsolved Mysteries That Continue to Freak People Out

If you needed any more proof that people are completely fascinated by unsolved mysteries and true crime, look no further than the rabid fanbase for Netflix’s revival of Unsolved Mysteries. Not only that, but there are whole television channels that show nothing else all day and all night, and here we are.

If you can’t get enough (I feel you), here are 15 unsolved mysteries that make people lose their minds every time they hear about them.

15. That’s a lot of info to still be unsolved!

I say the most interesting case is the one billed as “Septic Tank Sam”.

It took place in Tofield, a small town in Alberta with roughly a 1,200 inhabitant and located 70 km east of Edmonton. It began in April 1977, when a local couple named Charlie and Mavis McLeod wanted a pump for their septic tank, and decided to take the one in the tank located in their old abandoned farm, located 13 km outside of Tofield. However, when they opened the tank, they saw a sock and a shoe, and when they picked up the shoe, it turned out to be attached to a leg.

The police were notified immediately. They drained the tank and removed the decomposed body of a full grown man, and so began one of the most horrifying murder cases in Canada’s history.

The man was heavily decomposed, and was wrapped in bedsheets. The killer put quicklime on him to quicken the decomposition. He was genitally mutilated and it the police a lot of time to know if he was man or a woman. He also had signs of torture, with burn marks from a butane blowtorch and cigarettes, as shown from the burns on his clothes. He also appeared to have been tied on a bed on the time of his death. He was eventually shot in head and in the chest before being dumped in the septic tank. There could’ve been more shots, but they only found two broken bones. These infos about his fate are a result multiple investigations done through the years.

He was buried in an unmarked grave, and was exhumed when forensic scientist Clyde Snow from University of Oklahoma wanted to make a 3d reconstruction of his face in 1979, and again in 2000 when forensic scientist Cyril Chan made another clay face of Sam. His teeth info was sent to over 800 dentists across the country with no avail, only agreeing that his teeth were in bad shape, and the dental work he did was probably done in Canada. Many people claimed to have known Sam and said that he fit the description of a missing relative. These reports came from all over Canada and even from California, but they were all ruled out by teeth records.

This scared the small town. People were checking their septic tanks, and were afraid that their neighbor is the killer and grocers were afraid that the killer might be a regular customer.

They could get a little info about him through the years of investigation:

He initially thought to be white, but agreed later that he was a native American. This is mainly based on his shovel faced incisors. His bones and teeth showed that he suffered from an illness in his childhood. He didn’t match any of the missing persons’ descriptions in Alberta, so he probably wasn’t from the province, and was probably a migrant worker. His clothes (Levi shirt blue shirt, jeans pants, Clarks Wallabee imitation) indicate that he was a worker, either in construction or in a farm. The killer was probably a local, since he knew that the farm was abandoned.

The motive for murder is probably revenge for a sex crime that Sam committed, as the genital mutilation indicated so. He could’ve been a child molester, or gay, or slept with the killer’s wife. Sam is said to have been between 24-32 years of age, and later the age was raised to 32-40. It was speculated at first that Sam was in the tank for three months, but the date was pushed back to a year.

WebSleuths.com tried to solve the case. Their nearest match was a man named Edward Arcand, a native who left his home in June 1975 in Colman in SW Alberta. He was driving his 1969 Ford Falcon station wagon, which was later found on the side of the road, and he was never seen again. He was ruled out because he was missing six teeth, while Sam had all his teeth.

Four decades have passes since Sam was murdered, and his identity, along with his killer’s, is yet to be known, as of 2019. With time passing, his relatives, killer, and any witnesses are dead or dying. Only hope to identify him now is through DNA, although he’s likely to remain a john doe forever. Retired sergeant Ed Lammerts, who one of the first people on the scene, says the only hope would be that the killer would confess on his death bed.

14. The Unsolved Mysteries episode about this dude blew my mind.

Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès.

He killed entire family and vanished. He has been looked for over a decade and even today french media brings new info about his troubled past, money and marriage problems – that gives you chills.

13. I need to know what happened here.

The death of Magdalena Zuk.

She was a polish girl who bought tickets for both herself and her boyfriend to go to Egypt but ended up going alone due to issues with her boyfriend’s passport/visa.

Just a day after she arrived in Egypt, she seemingly lost her mind. She started acting strange and was taken to a private hospital while arrangements were made for her boyfriend’s friend to come take her back to Poland.

At the hospital, she made multiple attempts to jump out the window and had to be restrained. A nurse untied her so that she could go to the bathroom and apparently Magda made a final, fatal dash for the window. She was taken to a larger hospital but died hours later.

You can find recordings of her video call with her boyfriend which clearly shows her being paranoid and jumpy. When asked what the problem was, besides phrases like ‘they have all sorts of tricks here’ and ‘I’ll never get out of here’, all she said was one letter – M.

Her boyfriend’s name started with M, her tour guide’s name started with M, the name of the friend who was being sent to her also started with M, if I remember correctly. So there really is no way to know what the whole thing was about. She also said something along the lines of ‘they’re watching me, I can’t talk’.

What made Magda act strangely? Why was she so scared? Why did she jump out a window? Did she even jump out on her own accord? Was she pushed off?

Another girl who was associated with her boyfriend also died under suspicious circumstances but I couldn’t find much more on that in English.

12. Maybe it was aliens?

The disappearance of Brian Shaffer

He went out drinking with friends, entered a bar and never came out again. Nobody knows what happened to him and there were no other exits inside. He just disappeared without a trace.

11. You’ve definitely gotta be careful!

Giulio Regeni was an Italian university student from Cambridge. He was doing some research in Egypt for the American University in Cairo and he wrote some articles, with a pseudonym, about the 2011 Egyptian revolution. His dead and mutilated body was found on the side of a road outside Cairo on 3rd February 2016.

He had signs on his body that indicated he was brutally tortured, broken ribs and fingers, both legs, arms and five teeth. He was probably killed by the Egyptian secret services. We still don’t know the truth about his death and the Egyptian government still hasn’t do anything to help Italy solve the case.

This made and makes me realize how dangerous are some countries in the world still today.

10. How is this possible?

Missy Bevers.

The footage of her attacker wandering around the church in riot gear, waiting (?) for her to arrive.

Horrifying.

The fact that they are on crystal clear video yet still has not been identified. Just wtf all around.

9. Who WAS this guy?

In early 1945, a Boston hospital received an unconscious patient suffering serious injuries, including infected shrapnel wounds.

The hospital was taking in injured seamen from several US ships, and no one bothered asking questions as they started treatment, but someone wrote on a card, “Charles A. Jamison (some articles say ‘Jamieson’); forty-nine; religion-Catholic; American. Cutty Sark.”

After extensive treatment, Jamison slowly improved to the point he could speak. Unfortunately, he seemed to be suffering amnesia, and what little information he could give couldn’t be matched to any records.

There was no US enlisted man named Charles Jamison (or any variation) who was unaccounted for. The patient’s fingerprints and photos were checked against military and criminal records with no match.

No ship named Cutty Sark was listed in the US military. There was one used by the British Navy. This seemed promising as among Jamison’s distinctive tattoos was one with the US and British flags, and he recalled living in London and training at a British gunnery school, but the British vice-consul (who felt Jameson spoke with a British accent) sent his information to the Admiralty and the British Maritime Registry, who couldn’t match it to any sailor.

Despite record searches in both the US and the UK, and widespread newspaper coverage, no one was ever able to figure out who Charles Jamison was. He spent 30 years in the hospital before he died with no solid identity.

8. They definitely sold that house.

The Watcher.

In New Jersey a family bought a house at 657 Boulevard and began receiving letters from an eloquent man who claimed to have inherited a family tradition of “watching” the house.

The letters were not pleasant ones.

7. You should see my face right now.

The Atlas Vampire

In 1932, a woman living alone in Stockholm was found bludgeoned to death in her apartment. The discovery of a blood-covered gravy ladle led police to believe that they had found the murder weapon, but this was not the case. The murderer had used it to drink her blood, and had successfully drained the corpse of nearly all liquid before fleeing the scene.

6. Yeah all of that sounds suspicious.

The Isdal woman.

She was a foreign woman found burned to death at a remote area in Norway in 1970. She visited Norway twice in 1970… once in March 1970, and then in November 1970. The Isdal woman stayed at various hotels around Norway under several false names, and supposedly possessed false passports. Hotel staff reported that she kept to herself and spoke to them in German and broken English. She was also witnessed conversing in French with a man at a hotel lobby.

The Isdal woman stood out in Norway because she looked foreign and dressed very stylishly. She was also a lone woman staying in hotels, which was unusual in 1970. After her death, it was rumored that she was a spy from Israel or Russia. Nobody knows who she is and why she came to Norway. Her death was ruled as a suicide, though many investigators dispute this ruling.

5. How is he not a suspect?

Claudia Kirschhoch, a journalist going to a press trip in Havana, Cuba, didn’t make it to her destination. The 29-year-old stayed at the Sandals Beaches Resort in Negril, Jamaica while waiting for available flights to the United States since she was not able to enter Cuba.

Kirschhoch stayed a bit longer at the resort before mysteriously disappearing. The only missing things from her room were the clothes she wore the night of her disappearance. Kirschhoch befriended bartender Anthony Grant whose behavior, including calling in sick for four days after her disappearance, seems noteworthy.

Further investigations found evidence of Kirschhoch in his car, but authorities don’t consider him a suspect. A 2002 judge ruling says Kirschhoch died of foul play, but there were no charges.

4. What did they do with the art, though?

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art heist:

On the night of March 18, 1990, museum guards allowed two men dressed as police officers to enter Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. They were fake cops and immediately tied up the guards and set about stealing 13 art works worth a half-billion dollars.

Despite the $10 million reward, the case remains unsolved.

3. Someone must know something…

Elizabeth Barraza & her husband lived in the neighborhood behind me. On January 25, 2019 someone drove up to the house as she was setting up for a garage sale. The person got out of their truck & walked up and shot her several times and then drove away.

We have surveillance video from a neighbor & it shows the whole thing. But there still hasn’t been a suspect named, the Harris County police are at a loss. It was so early in the morning that the light was still low so it’s hard to tell if the person is even a male or female.

Elizabeth was a wonderful person, she was heavily involved in a volunteer group that would visit hospitals dressed as characters from Star Wars. Her marriage was great, there’s just no reason for someone to want to kill her.

So over a year later there’s been nothing, all we know right now is that a random person just drove up and shot Elizabeth in her driveway.

2. I do not like this story at all.

The very first black drum major at Michigan State University disappeared one night and was never seen again. His wallet, car, and everything else he owned was left behind. He was supposed to appear in court to testify against someone who had stolen from him and beaten him up and it’s suspected that that person murdered him but no evidence was ever found and no one came forward.

There’s a great documentary about it that can be found here: What Happened to Henry?

1. That is one creepy sketch.

The Lake Bodom murders.

Four teenagers, 2 young couples, were brutally attacked while camping. The sole survivor underwent hypnosis to try to identify the murderer. Many criticised this method and dismissed it as nonsense noting the sketch didn’t really look like a real person, except for the fact that a man who looked just like it was photographed at a memorial service for the murders. He was never identified.

I’m honestly never going to get over some of these. They need to be solved!

What’s your “favorite” unsolved mystery? If it’s not here, tell us about it in the comments!

The post Unsolved Mysteries That Continue to Freak People Out appeared first on UberFacts.

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If You’re Working From Home, These Memes Are for You

More people are working from home now than ever before, and not all because they want to. The ranks have been filled by people staying home out of necessity, and while there are perks like being able to set your own schedule and not having to wear pants, we’re all learning there are downsides, too.

Like having to set your own schedule, for example.

If you’re at home – happy or not – these memes will hit you right in the feels.

13. Nice try, boss man.

We’re all heard that line before.

Image Credit: Someecards

12. The eyes are the window to the soul.

Best to hide yours in times of stress.

Image Credit: Someecards

11. We’ve all practiced that look at this point.

It should be working like a charm.

Image Credit: Someecards

10. Do a double check, just in case.

You’ll thank me later.

Image Credit: Someecards

9. Why has no one fixed printers to be actually useful?

It’s like some kind of cosmic joke.

Image Credit: Someecards

8. If only we were all that cute.

It’s still a nice feeling, though.

Image Credit: Someecards

7. Communication is a skill.

Some people need more classes.

Image Credit: Someecards

6. I mean, it is 2020.

Who could blame you?

Image Credit: Someecards

5. Surely every boss knows the drill.

Are they just gaslighting us all at once?

Image Credit: Someecards

4. I feel this to the depths of my soul.

If only it were that easy.

Image Credit: Someecards

3. Only dads get to do that last one.

Bastards.

Image Credit: Someecards

2. Talk about walking on eggshells.

And you thought you had it rough.

Image Credit: Someecards

1. Start teaching them young.

This is the word, now.

Image Credit: Someecards

It’s quite the adjustment, but we’re all going to make it happen!

Let’s stay positive – tell us your favorite thing about working from home in the comments!

The post If You’re Working From Home, These Memes Are for You appeared first on UberFacts.

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6 Things Subway Employees Love…and 10 Things They Definitely Don’t

There’s no denying that if you’re traveling and want an alternative to burgers and fries, you’ve probably found yourself standing in line at a Subway.

And even though an Irish court recently decided their bread is more sugar than, well, bread, it turns out people still find plenty to love.

6. Clean up after yourselves, people!

We’re all adults here. Supposedly.

When people leave not only their rubbish but rubbish from other places brought in from subway

5. Don’t judge a book by its cover.

Sometimes even teenagers aren’t as bad as they seem.

not all customers are bad from subway

4. People are people.

No matter where they work.

When a regular customer asks if you live at the store because he sees you working there every day from subway

3. A little love goes a long way.

Such a simple.

A customer just left this on a table for me. I was having a really crappy day, and this made my day. from subway

2. Don’t leave anything out.

It’s like being a part of a secret club.

I always cherish the customers that tell me everything in the order you do it in. from subway

1. Tipping is always appreciated.

I mean, it’s money! Come on!

Best tip day I’ve ever had !!!! Usually only get $1-$3 a day from subway

Well, we started on a high note, so let’s head down a more negative path together now…because I mean, it’s Subway.

We had no trouble tracking down 10 things customers do that employees consider less than kosher.

10. Just get it all out of the way up front.

Like everything else in life.

Eat fresh with this fresh meme from subway

9. Like ordering from the Soup Nazi.

These people come prepared.

Ha…ha…ha…. from subway

8. She wants to be the exception.

Her name is Karen.

7. It’s called math, folks.

I know it’s rough.

Anyone else feel this? from subway

6. Because they want you to have to get out everything you’ve put away.

It is the way of the fast food customer.

Why ? from subway

5. Because sometimes you need a sandwich at 10am?

I guess maybe you want to take it on a hike or something.

Every time I do a weekend open from subway

4. The one thing they don’t premake.

You know you want the sugar bread anyway.

Happened today during our lunch rush. from subway

3. They don’t know about the spreadable avocado, I guess.

The struggle is real from subway

2. I propose banning all actual phone calls.

Unless there’s an emergency I guess.

WHY from subway

1. How can people make a sandwich so complicated?

It’s bread and meat and cheese, folks!

Devils from subway

It’s hard to argue with most of these, don’t you think?

Tell us in the comments what you would add to both lists!

Please and thank you!

The post 6 Things Subway Employees Love…and 10 Things They Definitely Don’t appeared first on UberFacts.