There’s no doubt that even though human beings are all so different and enjoy different things, we have one thing in common – we really love mysteries.
Whether they’re fiction, based on reality, or totally true, we all love the idea of solving them (or maybe that they’ll never be solved just as much).
Here are a few big ones that just keep people guessing – and probably will for a long time.
The Indus Valley Script
There was a huge civilization in northern India and Pakistan around 3300-1300 BC. It spanned more area than any other civilization at the time.
They invented writing independently, something only done 5-6 times in history. But to this day, with all the thousands of inscriptions we have and all the documented contact with other civilizations, we haven’t deciphered their writing.
There’s no known Rosetta Stone, no known descendant scripts, no known documentation of the language other than what is written in the Indus Valley script.
But the biggest mystery isn’t how to read the script or what it says, but the question of whether we’ll ever be able to know.
Is it even possible to decipher a language we know absolutely nothing about?
Linear A and Linear B
In 1893, British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans purchased some ancient stones with mysterious inscriptions on them at a flea market in Athens.
On a later trip to the excavations at Knossos on the island of Crete, he recognized one of the symbols from his stones and began a study of the engraved tablets being uncovered at various sites on the island.
He discovered two different systems, which he called Linear A and Linear B. While Linear B was deciphered in the early 1950s (it turned out to represent an early form of Greek), Linear A, above, has still not been deciphered.
There is an entire culture of information that predates much of our history, a window into ancient humanity that is simply locked away from us because we don’t know how to read it.
Monarch Butterfly Migration
So the Monarch Butterfly migrates to Mexico and back every year. During the year there are a full 4 generations of butterflies that live and die during the journey.
Upon returning back from Mexico, the butterfly manages to find the same trees it’s relative started out at despite never having been there.
What’s even more amazing is that every fourth generation of monarchs live considerably longer so they can make the migration.
The Last Words of Titus Vespasian
The final words of the emperor Titus were ‘I have but one regret’.
We don’t know and never will what that regret was.
The Gardner Museum Heist
Who was behind the Gardner Museum heist?
Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of art was taken, and we have little to no clue who was behind it, and none of the paintings have surfaced.
Until next time, friends.
I’m sure there are a hundred more good ones to find.
