http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flannan_Isles#Mystery_of_1900

Also, I have a theory for The Bloop-it’s obviously Cthuhlu!

To all those interested in this runaway kitty cat, (:p) heres a recent video of another “large black feline” caught.
Well, not caught, but recorded.

http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-gb&vid=8d3c09f5-64f6-48c2-b501-1844126fdca7&playlist=videoByTag:tag:week_in_video:ns:Gallery:mk:en-gb:vs:1&tab=m1227865921532&from=today&ocid=today&inline=false

Although the spy theory has a lot of support going for it, I think that when all is said and done, I’m leaning towards a love-related suicide explanation. Facts undermining the spy theory:

1. The Somerton Man tossed his copy of The Rubayat into someone’s car. The book contained the phone number which led the police to the nurse in Glenelg. Wouldn’t a responsible spy destroy the book? Or at least toss it into a dumpster? The fact that he put it in someone’s car indicates that either (1) he actually wanted the police to find this nurse or (2) he didn’t feel comfortable destroying a book, particularly a rare one, without a compelling reason to do so. Number (1) doesn’t really work, since if he wanted to blow the lid off an espionage ring, why not write down more clues in that same book, including, perhaps, his own name? So it has to be number (2) — he didn’t want to destroy the book itself and had no compelling reason to do so.

2. One of the strongest factors in support of the spy theory is that the police purged the identity of the nurse from its records (presumably because she was involved in intelligence or law enforcement), and concealed it even decades after the events in question. However, the police did not suppress the identity of Alf Boxall, her former boyfriend, who could easily have led to her if someone really wanted to find her. Therefore, it would seem that the nurse’s identity was suppressed indeed to protect her reputation, not the integrity of an intelligence or law enforcement operation.

3. Another factor often cited in support of the spy theory is that the Somerton Man died from a mysterious and undetectable poison. However, toxicology is an extremely complicated field, and many commonly encountered poisons won’t show up on the tox screen unless you specifically test for them. The victim’s stomach contents were examined, but it doesn’t seem that a comprehensive toxicology study was done. Years later, someone suggested that he had been poisoned with digitalis, which would link him to a Soviet spy in Australia who WE KNOW was poisoned with digitalis some weeks before the death of the Somerton Man. However, this is pure speculation not backed by actual analysis. And, moreover, digitalis occurs naturally in the foxglove plant, which is commonly used suicides.

4. The Somerton Man carried a bit of paper with the words “taman shud”, which seems like something a suicide would do.

5. Yet another factor in support of the suicide theory is that there are no clues to the true identity of the Somerton Man, and that he apparently tried to assume the identity of a missing old man. However, in the chaos in the wake of World War II, this was not unusual. Lots of men — deserters, Nazis fugitives, people who just wanted to start over — did things like that.

6. Other than the removal of tags from his clothing and the “code” on the back page of the book (which may not be a code at all), nothing among the Somerton Man’s possessions would indicate his connection to intelligence — no encryption equipment, no ID’s, no camera, no microphone, no hidden compartments in his briefcase, nothing.

7. Shortly before the Somerton Man’s death, a couple saw him lying on the beach “slumped” as if sick, but apparently still alive (he was smoking). So he was probably feeling the effects of the poison, yet did not attempt to vomit or seek help. His behavior is more consistent with suicide than murder.

8. Giving one’s boyfriend a copy of The Rubayiat is a romantic gesture. It’s possible the nurse “Jestin” did that with more than one man over the years. The Somerton Man’s book was a limited-edition published in the 1930’s, so Jestin probably gave it to him much earlier than she did the other copy to Boxall, before the war, when she was in her late teens, and the Somerton Man was in his twenties. He was also probably a foreigner, or in any event not a local (which would lend support to my suspicion that he was a former Nazi on the run). This is why, when asked about the book, the nurse named Boxall — her gift to him was much more recent, and Boxall was a local Aussie.

I think the nurse knew the Somerton Man, but was afraid to reveal his identity because it would hurt her reputation to admit to multiple premarital relationships (this being the 1940’s), and also because, as I said, I suspect he was a Nazi fugitive. I think he was on the run from something after World War II, but he was not a spy. If he was German, this would explain also why he would cut off the tags on his clothing. I think he and Jestin knew each other from before the war. I think he came to Adelaide with the intention of contacting Jestin, and probably did so. (Did the police check her phone records? I think not.) He apparently debated with himself over this, but eventually, he made his way down to Glenelg and attempted to get in touch with Jestin. I think this was the end of a very long road for him, and he had nowhere else to go after this. It would not be surprising why, after a long separation, he was carrying her gift with him, a symbol of their love. I also think that when he called Jestin, she told him, in so many words, to get lost. This is when he tore “taman shud” out of the book, and left the book in someone’s car (both very romantic gestures, by the way). Then he injested foxglove or some other poisonous plant, went down to the beach, reclined on the sand with a cigarette and waited to die.

thanks again for your great work!