When Jerry R. Ehman worked under the SETI Project of the Ohio Wesleyan University’s Perkins Observatory, he did not expect that he would be able to pick up a radio frequency supposedly coming from deep space. He was able to get a 72-second signal from the constellation Sagittarius and was never able to get it again. Up to this day no one is sure about the origin of the signal. It derived its name, however, from the “wow!” that Jerry wrote in the margin of the printout.
2. Voynich Manuscript
The Voynich manuscript was written in a language that men through the centuries have tried to decode to no avail. The only idea anyone has of its origin are the drawings found on various pages.
3. Jack the Ripper
The name Jack the Ripper has been heard in many shows and movies, pertaining to the serial killer who murdered 11 women in London’s east end in the late 1800′s but was never identified. Most of his victims were prostitutes, whose bodies were mutilated beyond recognition and their throats slashed.
4. Kryptos
Just outside the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, you will behold a statue that has coded encryptions on its surface. This very captivating sculpture was created by Jim Sanborn to show that everything can be resolved and decoded with the use of patterns and clues. Of the four inscription sections that were included, only the first three have been cracked. But the fourth? Not even the brilliant minds in the CIA were able to get to the bottom of it.
5. Stonehenge
What happened to SS Ourang Medan or “Man from Medan” in Malaysia is perhaps one of the most fascinating and mind-boggling mysteries that ever existed in seafaring history. Everything began with an SOS message in 1947 that mentioned the captain, along with the rest of the crew, was dead. What’s worse, even the telegrapher died during the transmission of the message. When the Silver Star was able to receive the distress call and went to inspect the ship, they confirmed the deaths of all aboard. Speculations of ghosts, hazardous chemicals, and even aliens have been raised, but there is still no conclusion as to what actually happened.
7. The Taos Hum
In the small town of Taos, New Mexico, there is a certain buzz often heard on the horizon that can be compared to the sound of a distant diesel engine. Although it can be heard by the naked ear, various sound detection devices are not able to pick it up. This is known as the Taos Hum and up to this day, no one still knows how this sound is being created.
8. The Moai statues of Easter Island
The mystery of Easter Island and the Moai statues that inhabit it is something that most of us are at least vaguely familiar with, but the fact that there are still so many legitimate unanswered questions surrounding the island is in itself quite remarkable.The Rapa Nui people who called the island home managed to carve and transport a mind-blowing 887 statues, some measuring 33 feet tall and weighing up to 82 tonnes, an average of 17 kilometres each. And this all happened roughly 700 years ago. The biggest remaining question mark concerning the statues themselves is definitely their transportation.
9. Georgia Guidestones
Also identified as the American version of Stonehenge, the Georgia Guidestones located in Elbert County are shrouded in mystery, although they were erected only in 1979. Written on the walls are 10 “new commandments” written in English, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, China, Russia, and Spanish although no one is sure why or for whom they were meant.
10. Shugborough Inscription
An 18th century Shepherd’s Monument located in Staffordshire, England, with a recreated sculpture of a famous painting known as Arcadian Shepherds. However, this painting contains the bizarre series of letters, DOUOSVAVVM, a code left by the Knights Templar apparently unbreakable which reveals the location of the Holy Grail. Some of the world’s greatest minds have attempted to reveal the secret, but all failed – including Dickens and Charles Darwin
