The Miniature Coffins...!

Many untold mysteries over time have gone completely unanswered, and remain so to this day. Here from Listverse is yet another.

Miniature coffins

In 1836 a group of boys set off for Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh, Scotland to hunt rabbits. Intrigued by a concealed cave, the boys decided to peek inside. After pulling away the stones covering the entrance, they stumbled upon 17 miniature coffins, each with a wooden doll inside. The dolls had big eyes and were dressed in cotton clothing.

When the discovery was reported in the Scotsman newspaper, the article mentioned that the coffins were decorated with funeral trappings and it seemed that they had been placed inside the cave recently.

As is always the case with unexplained discoveries, multiple theories were presented to try and explain the coffins. Some people thought it might be children playing a trick, while others mused that witches might have used the coffins for rituals. Yet another theory said that the coffins may have been part of an ancient custom to give sailors who died at sea a Christian burial. A dark theory suggested that the coffins may have been set up in tribute of killers William Burke and William Hare who murdered 17 people.

The true purpose of the coffins and who placed them in the cave remains a mystery.

You would think after all this time, someone would have discovered the reason for the miniature coffins. One more unanswered tale of mystery, I reckon.

Coffee out on the patio this morning.Temps are supposed to be in the 70s.

Canvey Island Monster For Monday...!

Here is a mystery well worth looking at, in my opinion. Why do I feel this way, you ask? Mainly because it turns out that there was a second one that washed up as well.

Canvey Island Monster

‘Canvey Island Monster’ is the name given to an unusual creature, whose carcass washed up on the shores of Canvey Island, England, in November 1954. A second, more intact carcass was discovered in August, 1955. The 1954 specimen was described as being 76cm (2.4ft) long with thick reddish brown skin, bulging eyes and gills. It lacked forelimbs, and its hind legs were described as having five-toed horseshoe-shaped feet with concave arches – apparently well-suited for bipedal locomotion. Its remains were cremated after a cursory inspection by zoologists who said that it posed no danger to the public. The 1955 specimen was described as being similar to the first – it was much larger, however, at 120cm (3.9 ft) long weighing approximately 11.3kg (25lb). It was sufficiently fresh for its eyes, nostrils and teeth to be studied, though no official explanation was given at the time as to what it was or what happened to the carcass.

Call it whatever you want...it's still ugly as sin to me. One more reason I don't swim in the ocean.

Coffee out on the patio this morning.

James Boyd Mystery...!

Far too often it seems that people just disappear without a trace. In this case from Listverse, it seems that this case was different than most because of the history surrounding the man himself, James W. Boyd.

James William Boyd

Photo credit: Wikipedia

In 1865, Captain James William Boyd, an officer of the Confederacy, was released after having been captured by the Union. He was due to meet his son and travel to Mexico when he vanished without trace. Boyd’s disappearance is the subject of a conspiracy theory that he was killed after being mistaken for John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln. Boyd was said to somewhat resemble Booth and shared the same initials, none of which seems to be hard evidence, and the theory has been proposed, discounted, ridiculed, and fictionalized by a whole host of historians and writers, most of whom relegate Captain Boyd to a subplot in someone else’s drama.

What is known is that Boyd was held as a prisoner of war by the Union until February 1865, when he was released so that he could return home to take care of his seven children, his wife having died while he was incarcerated. His son is said to have received a letter telling him to meet Boyd in Brownsville, Texas, but Boyd never showed up for the rendezvous, and no further word was ever received from him.

No matter what the reason, Boyd seems to have made good on the disappearing act. I'm fairly certain that the truth of his disappearance will never be known to us.

Coffee out on the sunny patio this morning. Did ya miss me?

King Tut's Death On Monday Mystery...!

One mystery that has been going on for a very long time, is the cause of the death of King Tut. Scholars are still unsure of what caused his demise, even after all these years. From Listverse here is the article.

The Mysterious Death Of King Tut

King Tutankhamun was only 19 years old when he died, and nobody knows for sure what happened. His death is a complete mystery—but not because he was in the prime of his life. The reason that Tut’s death is such a mystery is that there were so many things wrong with him that it’s hard to tell which one finished him off.

King Tut was in terrible health. He had malaria, for one thing, and he was born with so many genetic disabilities that historians are convinced his parents must have been brother and sister. He had a club foot and genetic defects that, some believe, may have made his death nothing more than a matter of time.

He also had a fractured skull that, for a long time, was thought by archaeologists to be a sign that he’d been stabbed in the head. Today, it’s believed that his head just got damaged while his body was being embalmed, but the possibility that he was murdered hasn’t been ruled out.

He broke his knee shortly before he died, too, which has lead to a theory that he was killed in a chariot accident. If he was, though, getting on that chariot in the first place was a strange decision. Tut was so deformed that he couldn’t even stand without someone propping him up.

It could have been anything, or it could have been a whole slew of different things affecting him at once. The only thing we know for sure is that King Tut didn’t get a lot of good news in his last month alive.

I reckon the moral of this tale is...when it's your time, it's just your time! Sad to think he more than likely died a very unhappy man.

Coffee back in the kitchen this morning. Rainy and cold outside!

Admiral Byrd On Monday Mystery...!

Even though this took place a very long time ago, it seemed strange enough to me to post about it. I have to wonder why a man in the Admiral's position would make up such a story.

The Claims Of Admiral Byrd

Perhaps one of the most famous claims of a secret base is one of the first, that of the one reported in 1947 by Admiral Richard Byrd. While on a flight over the North Pole, he allegedly found an entrance to the Inner Earth, which led to lush, green vegetation and a base inhabited by beings who called the region home. Byrd was far from quiet about the encounter and even gave a press conference, telling all who would listen, even giving a warning that the beings residing there could cover the distance from the South Pole to the North Pole at incredible speeds.

Needless to say, Byrd was quickly “hospitalized” on the instructions of the US military and promptly banned from giving any such press conferences again.

One other thing of interest to mention is that Byrd claimed to have seen craft with swastikas on them. Were they proof that the Nazis had indeed established their Base 211 and, in turn, established communication with an inter-terrestrial race that could travel pole-to-pole at incredible speeds?

Was the Admiral just plain crazy...or did he actually see something worth reporting? Guess we will never know for sure.

Coffee back in the kitchen this morning.

Missing Tourists For Monday Mysteries...!

First of all, let me try and explain where I was over the last couple of days, and why I didn't post anything Sunday.

Actually I did a post late Saturday warning about not posting Sunday. We had about 5 or 6 instantences of power outages Saturday off and on all day. In between the power failures, I made an effort to tell everyone about not having any power, but my warning post never showed up. Go figure...

But enough about my personal mystery, let's look at the case of the missing tourists.

The Missing Germans

Photo credit; strangeoutdoors.com

Death Valley National Park is a vast area of barren land, sprawling over three million acres from California to Nevada. On a day that was 49 degrees Celsius (120 °F) in July 1996, four German tourists went missing without a trace. Their last known location was a small ghost town where they had written in a visitors’ book, “We are going through the pass.” Rangers assume that means the Mengel Pass.

When the family wasn’t on their flight home, Interpol was alerted. On August 14, they were officially reported missing. Their rental van was found abandoned on October 23 with three flat tires. No wallets or passports were ever found, leading many to believe that the group had been kidnapped.

However, in 2009, human bones were discovered in Death Valley. Authorities claimed that they were “fairly certain” that the bones belonged to the missing Germans. However, no one has heard any update on the case since.


Sorry again about missing all day Sunday. But when the power goes out, not a lot you can do.

Coffee out on the patio this morning, if it isn't raining!

Percy Fawcett For Monday Mystery...!

How about we do a real life mystery about someone who actually existed? Someone like Percy Fawcett?

The story of Fawcett has been a mystery lovers dream case for a very long time. His story is one of many that still linger around the Amazon even today!

Percy Fawcett

Percy Fawcett was a British archaeologist and the inspiration for Indiana Jones. In 1925 Fawcett, his eldest son Jack and Raleigh Rimell set off deep into the Amazon to find a mythical lost city Fawcett named “Z”. They never returned. They were last reported crossing the Upper Xingu River, a southeastern tributary of the Amazon. It is assumed the trio was either killed by natives or simply succumbed to the elements. Wilder theories have Fawcett going mad and living out his days as the crazed chieftain of a tribe of cannibals! In 1927, one of Fawcett’s nameplates was found by locals and in 1933 a compass, of the type used by Fawcett, was found by Colonel Aniceto Botelho.

Over 100 people have died on numerous expeditions to discover the fate of Fawcett and his companions. A set of bones, thought to be Fawcett’s, were discovered in 1951. However, DNA testing proved they were not. The ultimate fate of Fawcett, his son and Rimell, will probably never be known.

As you probably can guess, I got this article from the folks at Listverse.

Coffee inside again this morning. Still rainy and a bit chilly out on the patio.

Mother Nature Strikes Again...!

Just when we think that we have Her figured out a bit, Mother Nature throws us one more curve ball from Her arsenal.

This story , taken from Listverse, is about one of the most interesting puzzles presented to us by nature in quite a while. See if you don't agree.

Purple Slime In Lyngen Fjord

Photo credit: Roger B. Larsen/UIT

In August 2015, fishermen fishing off the coast of Northern Norway began reporting a strange phenomenon in the area. A thick, purple, mucoid slime had appeared almost overnight, covering millions of cubic meters around the Lyngen Fjord.

[2]Experts who investigated the phenomenon likened the texture of the slime to that of margarine and initially believed it to be the remains of dead jellyfish. The slime covered the fish that the fishermen were catching and even messed with their sonar equipment. A fisheries expert said that he had never seen anything like the purple substance in the fjords.

However, now almost three years later, no real confirmation has been given that the slime did indeed come from a type of jellyfish. Therefore, the reason for its existence remains a mystery.

One thing about Nature's mysteries...they can be quite colorful.

Coffee out on the patio again this morning. That's a good thing, right?

Monday Mysteries...!

Another group of mysteries from the folks over at Youtube. I hope you can see them OK.



Good or bad, this is an easy way to present more than one mystery to you at the same time. I do hope it is acceptable.

Coffee out on the patio again. Slightly cooler temps are on the way.

The Eye On Monday Mystery...!

Here's another little mystery given to us by Mother Nature, just maybe with a little outside help.

If this island didn't invoke some sense of mystery about how and why it was formed, I don't know what will. I've always heard that circles don't form naturally in nature. I don't know if that's true or not, but either way, this island is there and no one seems to have a good explanation as to how it was formed.

The Eye

In a swampy area of the Parana Delta near northeastern Argentina, lies an island with a difference. Named The Eye, the island is a near-perfect round circle of land surrounded by an equally round thin circle of water. The water is very clear and very cold in comparison to the other bodies of water in the area. The diameter of the island is said to be 130 yards (119 meters) across the outer circle. On top of all this strangeness, the island also seems to rotate (or float) slowly around its own axis. Comparing first images taken of it in 2003 and using the slider tool on Google Earth, clearly shows that the circle of land has moved around within the hole it is located in.

Most people share the opinion that the island is too perfectly shaped to be a natural formation, but if it was indeed man-made, what is the purpose of it? Conspiracy theories are rife, with the most popular of the lot being that the island is concealing an alien base below its surface.

A filmmaker is now working on a crowd-funding project to allow scientists and other experts to research the phenomenon and hopefully come up with an answer to the mystery.

This will be an interesting story to follow. You can read more about it right here!

Let's have coffee out on the patio. It's a little cool, but as they say "ain't no hill for a stepper", right?

Time For Monday Mystery...!

Today's mystery is something a little different. The reason is that it may not really be over!

This story has a little bit of a sad undertone to it for that very reason. We normally don't hear about mysteries like this, but thanks to the folks at Listverse (where else?) we now know about this one!

Atuk Curse

A small handful of productions have garnered a reputation for being cursed. Well-known examples include the Poltergeist franchise and Rosemary’s Baby, where people attached to both films succumbed to untimely deaths. A lesser-known example is a movie that has never escaped development hell, a screenplay adapted from the 1963 novel The Incomparable Atuk. Atuk is a fish-out-of-water comedy which features an Inuit moving to the big city.

The screenplay has been kicked around Hollywood for over 30 years. Numerous stars have been attached to the project, and each has been executed by fate. In the early 1980s, John Belushi was slated to play Atuk, but he died of a drug overdose in 1982 at the age of 33. Next, stand-up comic Sam Kinison was offered the role, but he was killed by a head-on collision with a drunk driver at the age of 38. Lovable lug John Candy was also considered, until he succumbed to a heart attack at the age of 43. Lunatic SNL star Chris Farley was next in line, until he too died of a drug overdose at just 33 years old, a grim mirror of the passing of his idol Belushi.

Atuk’s influence was so sinister that it appeared to have struck people who merely read the script, including Saturday Night Live writer Michael O’Donoghue, who died of a cerebral hemorrhage at 54, and actor Phil Hartman, who was killed at age 49 by his wife Brynn in a drug-fueled murder suicide. Does Atuk exert some kind of evil, deadly force? This is likely a mystery we will never know the answer to, as the movie is no closer to being made now than it was three decades ago.

I get the feeling that maybe this movie just shouldn't be made. After all, somethings are best left alone, ya know?

Coffee out on the patio this morning. I have to go to the V.A. later, so I need some extra coffee!

One More Monday Mystery...!

We all enjoy a good mystery once in a while, right? That's why I started having Monday as a day for mystery.

Some times these mysteries have an explanation and sometimes they don't. The unexplained are the ones we like the best!

Annette Sagers

On November 21, 1987, Korrina Lynne Sagers Malinoski, a 26-year old woman from Mount Holly, South Carolina, mysteriously disappeared when she did not show up for work and her car was found parked in front of the Mount Holly Plantation. But that’s not even the most bizarre aspect of this story. On October 4, 1988, Korrina’s 8-year old daughter, Annette Sagers, was on her way to school and went to the bus stop in front of the Mount Holly Plantation… and she mysteriously vanished as well!

To make things even stranger, a note was found at the bus stop which read: “Dad, momma come back. Give the boys a hug”. While it looked like it may have been written under duress, handwriting experts determined that Annette likely wrote the note. It’s been speculated that Annette’s mother may have returned to reclaim her daughter so they could disappear together, but she also left two sons behind and no one in their family has heard from either of them in 25 years. In 2000, an anonymous caller claimed that Annette’s body was buried in Sumter County, but that lead never panned out. Overall, this is a truly baffling mystery with no discernible solution.

In a case like this, I believe that the families are the ones that suffer the most. I just can't imagine not knowing what happened to a loved one. Bad news would probably be better than no news at all, I think!

Coffee out on the patio this morning. How about some snickerdoodles?

Another Monday Mystery...!

Nearly everyone that knows me, knows I love me a good mystery!

While searching for a good one to share, I ran across this one on Listverse. They are a great source of so many different topics, it's hard not to borrow from them!

This one will start you to thinking, that's for sure!

Sailing Stones

The sailing stones are a geological phenomenon found in the Racetrack Playa (a seasonally dry lake located in the northern part of the Panamint Mountains in Death Valley National Park, California, U.S.A.). The stones slowly move across the surface of the playa, leaving a track as they go, without human or animal intervention. They have never been seen or filmed in motion and are not unique to The Racetrack. Similar rock travel patterns have been recorded in several other playas in the region but the number and length of travel grooves on The Racetrack are notable. Racetrack stones only move once every two or three years and most tracks last for just three or four years. Stones with rough bottoms leave straight striated tracks while those with smooth bottoms wander. Stones sometimes turn over, exposing another edge to the ground and leaving a different-sized track in the stone’s wake.

Various and sometimes idiosyncratic possible explanations have been put forward over the years that have ranged from the supernatural to the very complex. Most hypotheses favored by interested geologists posit that strong winds when the mud is wet are at least in part responsible. Some stones weigh as much as a human, which some researchers such as geologist George M. Stanley who published a paper on the topic in 1955 feel is too heavy for the area’s wind to move.

Now this is a mystery that all the science loving folks out there can get their teeth into, don't you think?

We can have some fresh coffee out on the patio, but the heat is coming early these days!