MYSTERY

6 Strange Conspiracy Theories Surrounding the Denver Airport

From biological warfare to underground bunkers to "Blucifer" the horse, Denver's airport has generated a lot of mysterious buzz.

The Mysterious Death of the Somerton Man

No one knows who the man in the suit on the beach was—or how he died.

15 Basic Words That Are Etymological Mysteries

All words had to start somewhere—but sometimes, after much searching and analyzing, no satisfying origin explanation can be found.

The Mystery of the Missing Keepers at the Flannan Isles Lighthouse

There was something strange happening on the island of Eilean Mor long before three lighthouse keepers disappeared in the winter of 1900.

10 Tales of Legendary Ghost Ships

Whether their crews disappeared or their captains went mad, these ghost ships still sail the seas (supposedly).

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15 Curious Facts About Sherlock Holmes

In 'The Great Detective,' author Zach Dundas reveals that the frenzy surrounding Sherlock Holmes isn’t strictly a Benedict Cumberbatch-related phenomenon. The master of Baker Street has always inspired fanatical devotion and feverish anticipation.

9 Strange Sounds No One Can Explain

Was that mysterious "bloop" in the ocean made by a whale? Or by something much more mysterious? Investigators still don't know.

Kryptos: The CIA Cipher Hiding in Plain Sight

Kryptos, a set of huge copper plates with enciphered text carved into them, is an encrypted sculpture installed at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Although the sculpture was installed in 1990, it took until 1999 for someone to actually decrypt part

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Did Dr. Watson Really Write Sherlock Holmes?

There’s actually a whole group of people who enjoy the theory that Sherlock Holmes – or at least sidekick John Watson -- was real. The truth? Well that's elementary, my dear Watson.

Is Any All-Female House Really Considered a Brothel?

In just a few weeks, most college kids will head back to school. Inevitably, some roommate/lab partner/friend/professor/tour guide/lacrosse team mascot is going to tell one of those kids about how, according to “an old law still on the books,” any house w

Why We Have Different Types of Screws

If you've ever mistakenly grabbed the Phillips head screwdriver when you needed a flat head, you've probably asked yourself why there are different types of screws.

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Are You Afraid of the Park? Ghosts, Conspiracies and Other Weird Happenings in Central Park

For a while, Central Park, the 770-acre green oasis in the middle of Manhattan, wasn’t considered a place you really wanted to go.

10 Facts about Subliminal Messages

Subliminal messages affect the subconscious mind. Here's some pleasant (and not so pleasant) messages hiding in plain sight.

Sperm Warfare (Or: Why it Takes 1 Billion Sperm to Make One Zygote)

The average man produces roughly 525 billion sperm cells over his lifetime and releases, in one way or another, more than one billion of them per month and anywhere from 40 million to 1.2 billion in a single ejaculation.

Balancing on a Bicycle: The Phenomena

Reader Brian writes in to ask "Why can you stay on a bicycle when moving, but not when it's standing still?"

6 Theories on the Origin of the Bullpen

No one really knows where the term bullpen comes from, and no one theory has enough compelling evidence to support or refute the origin. Here are six popular bullpen origin theories that have been going around for some time.

The Quick 10: 10 Pirate Myths and Surprises

I was in Chicago for Lollapalooza two weekends ago "“ Armchair Fieldtrip coming soon "“ and, being the nerd that I am, would have been excited about making time to visit the Field Museum no matter what.

Is it true that no two snowflakes are alike?

Up in the winter sky, water vapor in a cloud condenses into a droplet and freezes into a tiny bit of ice, with the water molecules bonding together as a hexagonal crystalline lattice with a six-fold symmetry.