Category: history

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14 People Discuss the Unsolved Mysteries They’d Like to See Solved in Their Lifetime

I’m obsessed with this kind of stuff!

And, just to be clear, I’m talking about the old TV show hosted by Robert Stack AND actual unsolved mysteries. From like, real life.

And there are so many to dig into!

What mystery would you like to see solved?

Here’s what folks on AskReddit had to say.

1. True crime mystery.

“It’s old news but I genuinely want to know who the Zodiac K**ler was.

It’s probably impossible at this point but I would love to know.”

2. Creepy.

“I was a little kid when JonBeńet Ramsey was m**dered and I’ve always wanted them to really figure out who the k**ler was.

They’re never going to figure this one out. Patsy passed away. John and Burke are never talking if they know anything.

The crime scene is too convoluted to make a definitive case. There are no more leads to follow up on”

3. Very strange.

“Shelly Miscavige. What happened to her? Is she dead?

Is she being held captive? She hasn’t been confirmed seen since 2007. Local police went to look for her because a missing persons was filed. They said they saw her and everything is fine.

However, the police were Scientologists. No one has publicly seen her that I’m aware of. Certainly no proof.”

4. Art heist.

“The theft from the Gardner Museum in Boston in 1990.

My gut tells me that paintings have been destroyed which is devastating.”

5. Hoffa.

“What actually happened to Jimmy Hoffa?

I have my own thoughts frlm my dad’s stories from working for a Mob owned construction company.

But I still want to know what happened.”

6. A really scary one.

“The Delphi m**ders.

What a f**ked up crime.

Those girls deserve justice, and their families deserve peace.”

7. From France.

“In Nantes, in France, in 2011, a whole family disappeared. The mother and the four children were found dead by gunshot wound under a concrete slab in the garden of the family house.

The father, Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès, is responsible for the m**der of his whole family (we are 99,9% sure of it). The mystery is not the motive but what happened to him.

It’s been 10 years and apart some proofs he fled away in the first few days (a picture of him at an ATM from a surveillance picture for example), no trace of him was ever found since.”

8. Down by the river.

“A 16 year old girl was found rolled up in a rug, deceased, down by the river in my county. Cops hid the truth that they were using her (a freaking kid) as a confidential informant.

Witnesses fishing down by the river that night saw two police cars stop in the location the body was found. The sheriff that was using her, investigated her d**th, tried to lay blame on her father, but the answer is still unknown.

That sheriff said it was a closed case even tho the father was never tried etc. Dirtiest cop I have ever seen and he got away with a lot of c**p. Would love to see the case investigated by an outside source and solved.”

9. Freaky!

“I want them to dig on Mars.

They only analyze rocks from the surface but I’m pretty sure that if you dig really deep, there are some dead Martian animals from 4 billion years ago when Mars had oceans and stuff.”

10. Spooky.

“The case of The Oakland County Child K**ler.

In 1976 and 1977 in Detroit’s wealthiest and safest suburbs, kids were snatched off the streets in broad daylight only to be found days later dead (after being alive that whole time!).

It was supposedly never solved, but there’s accusations of police coverups and all kinds of things”

11. Let’s go to the future.

“Cryogenic stasis.

If it were developed right now, I would say goodbye to my family/friends and hop right on in for at least 100 years.

Show me the future baby.”

12. What happened?

“William Tyrell.

I think the police know what happened, but are waiting on the final piece of evidence to finally charge someone with the crime.

I think there is a lot more involved than the story they have fed us about him being randomly abducted from the front of his home. His sister is the key to the whole thing.”

13. The children.

“Beaumont Children.

There are theories that it was Bevan Spencer Von Einem (he’d have been around the right age and general looks) but he totally denied it and his conviction was for the assault/m**der of a young boy whereas witnesses that saw “The Man” with the Beaumonts was overly interested in the elder daughter and most predators that are “into” that age range tend to have strong preferences for one gender or the other.””

14. Hometown story.

“I really want to see the disappearance of Sarm Heslop solved.

Why? Well it happened near my hometown which peaked my initial interest, and it just feels so freaking obvious that I just want it to be solved because if it’s not who I think it is I’m eating my own toes.

So basically, this woman, Sarm Heslop, a UK national lived with her US citizen bf, Ryan Bane, in some boat/catamaran off of the coats of St. John, USVI. On March 8th Ryan reports her missing, and soon searches are underway in both St. Thomas and St. John

The details:

Ryan claims they went to dinner, and both of them got back on the boat (Official)

The police say that they have no confirmation that they were both on the boat when Ryan said they were (Official)

At the time of her disappearance all of her belongings were still on the boat (Official)

He allegedly tried to point the finger at some local (black) men, and the suspicions were then directed to people on island, but that quickly fell short (Unofficial, but corroborated by many on island)

The VIPD doesn’t hold him in custody, says that they’re tracking him and knows where he is (official)

He’s out and seen publicly partying and having himself a ball (unofficial)

He also refused to help look for her/cooperate (allegedly he was being very difficult with questioning) (somewhat reported, but corroborated by Sarm’s friends and locals)

There was a nine hour delay in stating her as missing to the public and preparing a search (official)

He doesn’t allow the VIPD to check his boat, at all, despite him being a person of interest. The VIPD says they couldn’t search without a warrant and had to be turned back (Official)

Allegedly screaming was heard from their boat in the wee hours of the morning (He claims that he noticed her missing at around 2AM) (Unofficial)

He has had previous DV charges after being reported by his ex-girlfriend who states that he threw her on the ground and smashed her head into the ground during a fight (Official)

The last time I checked, he then sailed off from the territory and the FBI doesn’t know of his exact whereabouts (Official).”

Now we want to hear from you.

What mysteries do YOU want to see get solved?

Talk to us in the comments and let us know. Thanks!

The post 14 People Discuss the Unsolved Mysteries They’d Like to See Solved in Their Lifetime appeared first on UberFacts.

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Do You Know About the Hall of Records in Mount Rushmore? Let’s Learn About It!

Hollywood has posited that there might be secrets in or around Mount Rushmore in at least a couple of films, and while some liberties were taken, there is actually a secret lair inside the giant, carved, monument.

More than meet’s the eye, if you will.

Image Credit: Disney

Mount Rushmore is kind of a strange monument, as these things go. It contains the giant heads of four revered American presidents – Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln – and was never truly finished.

It was created by sculptor Gutzon Borglum, whose original plan was to sculpt the outline of the Louisiana Purchase and then inscribe it with the important events between Washington and Roosevelt’s presidencies (which is arguably even stranger than what we got), and when that fell through, he got the idea for the hidden Hall of Records instead.

That one, to many people’s surprise, did come to fruition.

The Hall of Records was to be a sort of time capsule to store important American documents. Borglum planned it to be 80 feet tall and 100 feet long, lined with brass cabinets that contained the original documents of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, major contributions to art and science, etc, and was to be carved into the canyon behind the president’s heads.

Image Credit: MyCountry955

The only access was to be an 800-foot staircase.

Work began on the Hall in 1938, but was only partially finished (as were the heads) when Borglum died in 1941. His son finished the portraits, though they were never completed to the waists as they was the original plan, and the Hall of Records was abandoned as a big, empty cavern.

It wasn’t until 1998 that 16 porcelain panels were placed inside the chamber. They describe the construction of Mount Rushmore, including the reasons behind choosing those particular presidents, and a document history of the United States – basically a time capsule for some future time when all of that knowledge has been lost.

The panels are sealed inside a teak box inside a titanium vault, covered by a 1200-pound granite slab that contains a quote from Borglum’s original plans.

“Let us place there, carved high, as close to heaven as we can, the words of our leaders, their faces, to show posterity what manner of men they were.

Then breathe a prayer that these records will endure until the wind and rain alone shall wear them away.”

Yep, that’s what they say. Pretty poignant, right?

And this is what it looks like.

Image Credit: My Country 955

If you’re planning to visit Mount Rushmore you should know a couple of things – it’s a very long drive into the middle of nowhere, and also the Hall of Records has no direct access, so you will not be able to peek inside.

The Native history in the area is fascinating, though, and the Badlands and Black Hills are beautiful – so go and enjoy, and happy travels!

The post Do You Know About the Hall of Records in Mount Rushmore? Let’s Learn About It! appeared first on UberFacts.

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What’s the Scariest Fact You Know? People Responded.

In case you haven’t been paying attention, the world can be a pretty scary place.

And I’m talking about the natural world, the actual human beings walking around, all of it is kind of terrifying.

You ready to get scared?

People on AskReddit talked about the scariest facts they know.

Let’s get weird!

1. Sounds painful.

“If a bear attacks it won’t k**l you immediately, it’ll just start eating.”

2. Horrible.

“If you have FFI (fatal familial insomnia) you will experience progressively worsening sleeplessness.

Your inability to sleep eventually turns into total insomnia at which point you’ll die. People who have this rare genetic condition will all die.

It’s inevitable; most people within a year of it’s onset… scary to think about.”

3. Scary plants.

“There’s a plant that grows in Australia called the Gympie-Gympie , touching the plant will result in an unbearable pain because of the small needles on the plant.

The pain is so unbearable people and animals k**led themselves because of it.

There’s also a plant called Hogweed that can cause severe burns and blisters that can scar you for life.”

4. Very strange.

“Totally blind people don’t see black, they don’t see at all.

For some reason that’s always frightened me.”

5. Yikes.

“Fun fact!

Being flayed (skinned alive) by a skilled tor**rer meant that you’d be likely to survive the ordeal. Believe it or not dying of shock, or blood loss wasn’t guaranteed.

Often people survived hours, or days with no skin. In these cases what finished them off was hypothermia.”

6. Can’t be stopped.

“Prion diseases exist.

They’re not bacteria or viruses, there isn’t an infection, per se, to attack.

They’re basically an alternate form of protein, and we can’t stop them.”

7. Frightening.

“A brain aneurysm can hit you any time, anywhere, with next to no warning.”

8. A little weird.

“All communication in the United States is controlled by fewer than 10 companies.

All major news in the US is controlled by 5 companies, including Disney and Comcast.”

9. Messed up.

“In certain parts of South Africa, girls are more likely to be r**ed than learn how to read.”

10. Be careful.

“You can have rabies for years before it even shows symptoms.

Then one day you get a headache and it’s a death sentence from there.”

11. Impressive.

“A moose can swim about 16 feet/5 meters underwater, which is why orcas are natural predators of them.

Imagine you’re diving underwater, suddenly there’s a moose sitting at the bottom eating sea grass, then it gets eaten by an orca.

That would be terrifying.”

12. Oh, great.

“Your skin is not 100% attached to your body.

With enough air pressure beneath the skin, your body will become a balloon with a solid core and it will be excruciating before the embolism k**ls you.”

13. Scary and true.

“Rose West is, alongside her husband Fred, one of the most infamous serial k**lers in modern British history who k**led several lodgers in her house. And if not for a single mistake, she would’ve gotten away with it.

When they were finally caught, all evidence actually pointed to Fred being the sole culprit and she shifted the blame onto him. Either out of a fu**ed-up sense of loyalty or despair for being betrayed, Fred committed suicide in custody which seemed to end the idea of bringing him and his wife to trial, relegating any other investigations into figuring out what crimes Fred had committed.

The police were still deeply convinced that either Rose knew more about the murders than she was letting on or she was a direct participant, but she was a tough egg to crack. The police tried every angle conceivable but she always deflected the blame onto Fred and there was never a crack in her story – too well rehearsed. She knew what to say, when to say it and they couldn’t trip her up.

However, while investigating both her husband and her own backgrounds, they discovered that Fred had a daughter from his first wife… and the police confirmed that not only was this girl one of Rose’s victims, Fred has an iron-clad alibi for when she died because he was in prison.

And when they confirmed that another victim found was the girl’s mother, the police had a clear motive – Rose k**led her step-daughter and told people she was back to living with her mother, and had Fred k**l his first wife to keep her quiet.”

Now we want to hear from you.

In the comments, tell us what you think is the scariest fact you know.

Please and thank you!

The post What’s the Scariest Fact You Know? People Responded. appeared first on UberFacts.

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Scientists Actually Performed These Unethical Experiments

It’s not a secret at this point that science has, on several occasions throughout history, gone too far in its pursuit of progress.

Unethical experiments have been performed on human beings without the agency to resist, lies have been told, dangerous substances haven’t been protected, and psychological damage has been waved aside, even in rooms with children.

Below are 4 experiments that all under that umbrella, and the scientists involved all surely knew better before they even began.

4. Testicle transplants.

While Dr. Leo Stanley was in charge of the health of prisoners at San Quentin Prison in California, he surgically transplanted the testicles of executed criminals onto living inmates in a desire to find out whether raising testosterone levels would reduce an urge to criminal behavior.

More than 600 inmates suffered at his hands, some even being injected with liquefied animal testicles, when there were no human ones available.

Stanley claimed success after a Caucasian prisoner claimed to feel “energetic” after receiving a testicle from an executed African-American convict.

3. Unit 731

Image Credit: Free Use

In 1938, the Japanese government set up Unit 731 with the intention of developing biological weapons that could be used in warfare.

The unit used Chinese prisoners and Asian civilians as guinea pigs, without their knowledge and/or consent, and infected them with cholera, anthrax, plague, and other horrible pathogens.

Many died, but still, after WWII America (and other countries) provided safe passage to some of the researchers involved in exchange for ownership of their research.

2. The Stanford Prison Experiment

Image Credit: Eric. E. Castro

In 1971, hoping to investigate the causes of conflict between prisoners and guards, took 24 students and assigned them to one role or another. They were then placed in a prison-like environment.

The researchers planned for the experiment to last two weeks, but had to pull the plug after only six days because they were unable to maintain any semblance of order.

One in every three “guards” abused the prisoners, sometimes violently, leading to at least two of the prisoners suffering emotional trauma.

We learned a lot about how power and certain situations can influence an individual’s behavior, but no one involved was quite the same afterward.

1. Two-headed dogs.

Vladimir Demikhov’s studies have helped medical science advance, and his attempts to graft the head of a puppy onto the neck of a German Shepherd, especially, led to huge advances in the field of organ transplants in humans.

It wasn’t so great for the dogs, though, who – although they could move independently of each other – did not survive long due to tissue rejection issues. Of the 20 two-headed dogs that were created, only one survived for an entire month.

Science never ceases to amaze me – in good ways and horrible ways, sometimes in equal measure.

What’s the worst science experiment you’ve learned about? If it’s not on this list, tell us about it in the comments!

The post Scientists Actually Performed These Unethical Experiments appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Scientists Actually Performed These Unethical Experiments

It’s not a secret at this point that science has, on several occasions throughout history, gone too far in its pursuit of progress.

Unethical experiments have been performed on human beings without the agency to resist, lies have been told, dangerous substances haven’t been protected, and psychological damage has been waved aside, even in rooms with children.

Below are 4 experiments that all under that umbrella, and the scientists involved all surely knew better before they even began.

4. Testicle transplants.

While Dr. Leo Stanley was in charge of the health of prisoners at San Quentin Prison in California, he surgically transplanted the testicles of executed criminals onto living inmates in a desire to find out whether raising testosterone levels would reduce an urge to criminal behavior.

More than 600 inmates suffered at his hands, some even being injected with liquefied animal testicles, when there were no human ones available.

Stanley claimed success after a Caucasian prisoner claimed to feel “energetic” after receiving a testicle from an executed African-American convict.

3. Unit 731

Image Credit: Free Use

In 1938, the Japanese government set up Unit 731 with the intention of developing biological weapons that could be used in warfare.

The unit used Chinese prisoners and Asian civilians as guinea pigs, without their knowledge and/or consent, and infected them with cholera, anthrax, plague, and other horrible pathogens.

Many died, but still, after WWII America (and other countries) provided safe passage to some of the researchers involved in exchange for ownership of their research.

2. The Stanford Prison Experiment

Image Credit: Eric. E. Castro

In 1971, hoping to investigate the causes of conflict between prisoners and guards, took 24 students and assigned them to one role or another. They were then placed in a prison-like environment.

The researchers planned for the experiment to last two weeks, but had to pull the plug after only six days because they were unable to maintain any semblance of order.

One in every three “guards” abused the prisoners, sometimes violently, leading to at least two of the prisoners suffering emotional trauma.

We learned a lot about how power and certain situations can influence an individual’s behavior, but no one involved was quite the same afterward.

1. Two-headed dogs.

Vladimir Demikhov’s studies have helped medical science advance, and his attempts to graft the head of a puppy onto the neck of a German Shepherd, especially, led to huge advances in the field of organ transplants in humans.

It wasn’t so great for the dogs, though, who – although they could move independently of each other – did not survive long due to tissue rejection issues. Of the 20 two-headed dogs that were created, only one survived for an entire month.

Science never ceases to amaze me – in good ways and horrible ways, sometimes in equal measure.

What’s the worst science experiment you’ve learned about? If it’s not on this list, tell us about it in the comments!

The post Scientists Actually Performed These Unethical Experiments appeared first on UberFacts.