10 More Enigmas That Defy Explanation
- Published January 14, 2010 by xsilverwingzx and Spacespacecow - 241 Comments
What is it about the bizarre and mysterious that piques our curiosity? It entertains our sense of wonder and excites our imagination, for sure. Luckily for us, history is marked with strange, logic-defying occurrences to amuse us. Here is a list comprised of 10 more unexplainable and interesting phenomenon and incidents that we crave so much. This list is made up of a mixture of two submissions to the Christmas competition which shared some items, so it seemed a good idea to combine the two to give us ten things never before shown on the site. Also note, this list is in the newly created category “Mystery” and all of our lists involving mysteries can now be found under that category in the archives or on the mystery category page.
Nature performs many astonishing feats, yet it is a different matter altogether when we human beings push past the boundaries of normal. It was a viciously cold morning in Lengby, Minnesota, when a man discovered his 19-year old neighbor, Jean Hilliard, lying in the snow. Her whole body was frozen solid from the night before, when temperatures dropped twenty-five degrees below zero. Apparently, Jean was trying desperately to reach her neighbor for help when her car skidded off the road. When her body was discovered she was immediately sent to the local hospital, where her condition stunned the doctors. One of the nurses said that Jean was “so cold, it was like reaching into a freezer” and that “her face was absolutely white, just this ashen, death look.” Jean was also seriously frostbitten, and none of her limbs would bend or move.
The hospital staff did everything possible, yet the situation was dire. Even if Jean were to regain consciousness, she would more than likely have severe brain damage, and she was frostbitten to the degree that both her legs would have to be amputated. Her family gathered in prayer, hoping for a miracle. 2 hours later, Jean went into violent convulsions, and regained consciousness. She was perfectly fine, mentally and physically, although a bit confused. Even the frostbite was slowly disappearing from her legs to the doctors’ amazement. She was released 49 days later without losing a single finger, and sporting only minor scars.
Iron, the king of metal, is used for just about everything from the skeleton of your house to the chains on your bike. Unfortunately, iron can never escape its destiny to slowly transform into rust – with the exception of this phenomenal structure: meet the Iron Pillar of Delhi! Standing in at 7 meters tall and weighing more than six tons, this iron giant has managed to defeat corrosion for over 1600 years! But how can something that is 98 percent iron withstand decaying for over a millennia? Scientists have found the answer to that question, but how ancient ironsmiths discovered the fact so long before us still amazes archeologists today.
Approximately 50 years after the mysterious disappearance of the crew of the Mary Celeste, a similar event occurred when the schooner Carroll A. Deering was spotted around the coast of North Carolina on January 31, 1921. When rescue ships finally reached her, they discovered, to their shock that the Deering’s entire crew was missing. Though evidence in the galley suggested that food was being prepared for the following day, nothing else was found of the crew. Eerily enough, no personal effects, no ship logs, no traces were left behind, much like the case of the Mary Celeste. Theories have pointed to paranormal activity, due to the fact that the Carroll A. Deering was in the region that is today known as the Bermuda Triangle. Others have concluded it was the work of pirates, or of Russians attempting to steal their cargo.
The Hutchison Effect refers to the number of eerie phenomena that occurred when inventor John Hutchison attempted to replicate a few of inventor Nickola Tesla’s experiments. Some of the strange events witnessed include levitation, fusion of objects completely different in matter (such as wood and metal), and disappearances of some smaller objects. Even stranger is that after his experiment, Hutchison was unable to repeat the project again with the same results. This experiment was so popular it even sparked the interest of NASA and the Military, both whom have failed to produce the Hutchison Effect.
Is it just me or doest that stain on the wall look like a person staring at you? Yup, its one of the many faces of Belmez that the Pereira family home is used to having. For over twenty years, the faces that appear can resemble males or females. They also arrive with different expressions every time. Strangely, the faces only stop at the house for a quick visit before disappearing. Investigations have been preformed upon the house to discover what was causing the faces to spontaneously pop up. One investigation exhumed and removed a human body from under the house, but that still didn’t stop the faces from making round trips. Several hypotheses have been formed to help explain this strange reoccurring phenomenon, but overall, no conclusions have been come to.
On May 2007, a lake in Patagonia, Chile, literally disappeared, leaving behind a 30 meter deep pit, icebergs and dry soil. However, this wasn’t a small lake or pond – it was an astonishing 5 miles long! The last time geologists saw the lake in March 2007, they detected nothing strange about it. However, something happened during the 2 month span that not only caused the lake to vanish, but reduced a river that flowed from the lake to a tiny stream. Geologists were puzzled as to why a lake of that size would simply cease to exist. Perhaps, they suggested, an earthquake drained the lake, yet there were no reports of any quakes in that particular area during spring. Meanwhile, UFO enthusiasts concluded that a spaceship drained the lake. The mystery is unsolved to this day.
The townspeople of Oakville, Washington, were in for a surprise on August 7, 1994. Instead of their usual downpour of rain, the inhabitants of the small town witnessed countless gelatinous blobs falling from the sky. Once the globs fell, almost everyone in Oakville started to develop severe, flu-like symptoms that lasted anywhere from 7 weeks to 3 months. Finally, after exposure to the goo caused his mother to fall ill, one resident sent a sample of the blobs for testing. What the technicians discovered was shocking – the globs contained human white blood cells. The substance was then brought to the State Department of Health of Washington for further analysis. With another startling reveal, they discovered that the gelatinous blobs had two types of bacteria, one of which is found in the human digestive system. However, no one could successfully identify the blob, and how they were connected to the mysterious sickness that plagued the town.
In May 7, 1994, a black helicopter chased a teenage boy for forty-five minutes in Harrahan, Louisiana. Unable to run any further, the terrified boy explained that the occupants descended from the vehicle and pointed weapons at him. To this day, the boy has no idea why he was targeted by the helicopter, or why, mysteriously, they let him go. One week later, people traveling in a car near Washington had a similar experience when they too were pursued by the helicopter. Unable to escape, they witnessed men in black uniforms coming down from a rope ladder bearing weapons. However, the drivers were let off free, much to their confusion. Black helicopters feature much in UFO-lore and while there are simple explanations for some appearances, others (such as the two above) remain unsolved.
There are several documented cases where frogs, toads, and other small animals are found concealed within solid stone – alive. There are other instances too, where workers would cut down trees, and find hoards of frogs within the interior. Weirder still, people have found creatures within not just natural formations such as rocks and trees, but manmade establishments. In 1976, a Texas construction crew was breaking up concrete they set over a year ago. To their disbelief, the crew found a live green turtle within the concrete, in an air pocket that matched the shape of the small reptile. If, somehow, it got in when the concrete was poured a year earlier, how did it manage to survive during that time? After all, there were no signs of holes or cracks in the concrete through which the turtle could have entered.
Dubbed the Rain Boy in 1983, Donnie Decker was visiting his friend’s house when he abruptly went into a trance-like state. Immediately after, the ceiling began to drip water and a mist filled the room. His friends immediately called on the landlord who was alarmed by what he was seeing. Some time later, Donnie was at a restaurant with other companions when rain started pouring down their heads. The restaurant owner immediately forced him out. Years later, due to a petty crime, Donnie was put into jail where he caused chaos when rain started to pour down in his cell. After angry inmates complained, Donnie explained that he could make it rain when he wanted to, and proved his point by dumping rain on the jailor on duty. Eventually, he was released from jail and found a job as a cook at a local restaurant. His present whereabouts is unknown – as is the cause of the mysterious rain.
![]() Top 10 Unsolved Mysteries | ![]() 11 Alternative JFK Assassins | ![]() 10 Terrible Courthouse Murders |
![]() 10 More Unsolved Murders | ![]() 10 Convicts Presumed Innocent After Execution | ![]() Top 10 Modern Prison Programs |


























1 Tony
January 14th, 2010 at 1:33 am
Whoa! Freaky list for a late night.
Raining blobs is gross.
But now I want my own Iron Pillar!
2 Tony
January 14th, 2010 at 1:35 am
Iron blobs…
3 Jediknight
January 14th, 2010 at 1:39 am
Donnie decker is a mutant! I can control fire and wind, join me and we will take over the world!
*laughs evilly
4 Santi
January 14th, 2010 at 1:39 am
[deleted]
5 Tony
January 14th, 2010 at 1:43 am
Oh, and #6 should start out “Is it” rather than “It is”
6 BravehisTickle
January 14th, 2010 at 1:44 am
Wow! Cool list
Great piece of work.
7 Kibey
January 14th, 2010 at 1:50 am
Who makes this shit up?
8 S
January 14th, 2010 at 1:52 am
Donnie Decker’s weirdest… and that raining blobs too.
9 capt funtime
January 14th, 2010 at 1:54 am
black helicopter sounds like a bored millionaire, buy a heli, chase some unknown persons, scare the crap out of them and then dissapear.
10 david l
January 14th, 2010 at 2:02 am
This is the definition of garbage. Is it possible for even a single credible source to be cited here? It’s probably the “Man” that keeps the sources under wraps now, right?
11 muzli
January 14th, 2010 at 2:02 am
Two friends of mine were walking together one night. All of a sudden a multi-colored spining disc was hovering above them. They were startled and they stood still for about five minutes while this thing was hovering above them. It then shone a beam of light onto them before disappearing into the night. It was never seen again in our neighborhood. This really was an unexplained phenomena.
12 mickeymousepants
January 14th, 2010 at 2:05 am
donnie decker is awesome!!!!
13 Gregory
January 14th, 2010 at 2:06 am
All these stories sound like the products of amusing imaginations.
14 Simuun
January 14th, 2010 at 2:13 am
i always find that i have to search each one of these to see the explanations…good way to get my brain going while at work!
15 Pyderz
January 14th, 2010 at 2:19 am
That last one is complete bullshit.
16 Pyderz
January 14th, 2010 at 2:20 am
Actually most of them are, but i’d like the lake disapearing one.
17 katary
January 14th, 2010 at 2:28 am
#4 – my sentiments exactly.
18 atomed
January 14th, 2010 at 2:29 am
I once saw Donnie Decker throw stones with animals inside from the top of a black helicopter with his blob friends. One of them hit the ice woman and broke her into pieces.
19 faisal
January 14th, 2010 at 2:34 am
great list…iron piller is cool…i live in delhi and i see the piller…
20 esa
January 14th, 2010 at 2:41 am
The real mystery is why there are still so many gullible, misinformed and ignorant people in 2010. Jesus Christ.
Hutchinson effect it’s just plain crap.
The faces of Belmez are a hoax too, already debunked and admitted form ages.
Get at least some reading around, before posting articles, at least to separate plain bullsh*t from the rest.
21 Lyndall Johnson
January 14th, 2010 at 2:43 am
9 in a row!!!
22 thomas
January 14th, 2010 at 3:00 am
stupid americans with your stupid pseudoscience
23 Jaryuki
January 14th, 2010 at 3:01 am
There really should be the sources quoted – it would help with background research.
Start putting your sources somewhere. Not just for convenience but also because it’s the right thing to do.
24 Romanov Konstantine
January 14th, 2010 at 3:02 am
@esa (20): Stop whining. Moan moan moan. You probably think this is important!
25 Roshy
January 14th, 2010 at 3:04 am
Did anyone proof read number 6…
26 get a clue
January 14th, 2010 at 3:07 am
A list easily debunked by any skeptic…in fact, every item has already been show to be pure BS, at least with respect to the “paranormal” claims attached to it.
27 Wilkeh
January 14th, 2010 at 3:07 am
How on earth can you get inside a stone? That’s crazy.
28 archangel
January 14th, 2010 at 3:08 am
Someone tell me the reality of what is going on! I honestly think the military should spill its secrets to me harharharhar!
29 Si Si
January 14th, 2010 at 3:09 am
Dang. Very good list. Number 10 just blew my mind. I had to read it several times to make sure I was reading it right. How do people find out about this stuff?
30 Olé
January 14th, 2010 at 3:16 am
@ esa. Saying something is not true based on the fact that you think it’s bullshit is not very smart. That’s like me saying ufo’s doesn’t exist because I think it’s bs. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe in it either, but what you say sound ignorant. Also, good list.
31 Julius
January 14th, 2010 at 3:24 am
Seriously, where is JFrater?
32 Mimz
January 14th, 2010 at 3:25 am
FANTASTIC LIST! I probably shouldn’t have read it before bed, though. Now I’m scared to turn off the light!
33 Miss_Info
January 14th, 2010 at 3:46 am
How can you survive being FROZEN overnight in below zero temperatures and.. oh wait, they “prayed” for her.. that explains everything..but it doesnt explain the rest of this bullshit list!! donnie decker???
34 James Smith João Pessoa, Brazil
January 14th, 2010 at 3:53 am
As usual, whenever people encounter something they don’t understand and cannot explain, it’s supernatural, UFOs, or “god”. Just two hundred years ago, the sight of an airplane, even a glider, would have been regarded as a “miracle, or “the work of the devil”.
Yes, there are natural forces and events we don’t yet understand, just as the Victorians didn’t know about the laws of aerodynamics. That doesn’t make any of them “magic”. Unfortunately, believing in UFOs and magic is easier than thinking.
35 lala
January 14th, 2010 at 4:09 am
Awesome list… loved it.
36 mikerodz
January 14th, 2010 at 4:09 am
Hmmmmmm, quite interesting!!!!
37 ldux
January 14th, 2010 at 4:31 am
#9 “how ancient ironsmiths discovered the fact so long before us still amazes archeologists today”
Accidentally?
#8 “no personal effects, no ship logs, no traces were left behind”
People left the ship with all their possessions?
#7
“man you look tired, did you drank all night again?”
“no, I swear. If you don’t believe me – there’s lots of bottles in the corner and they all are still full”
“Actually They are empty”
“It disapeared! ZOMG, Hutchinson Effect!”
#5 “not only caused the lake to vanish, but reduced a river that flowed from the lake to a tiny stream”
lake was empty but stream was still flowing? Now that’s the mystery!
#3 “black helicopter chased a teenage boy for forty-five minutes”
very fit boy
#1
And how can this be? For he is the Kwisatz Haderach!
38 Cosmo312
January 14th, 2010 at 4:40 am
The Hutchison Effect is complete bollocks. The inventor claims to have all these wierd effects, levitating objects, crystal batteries, e.t.c. but refuses to demonstrate them to anyone, only releasing rubbish grainy videos, on some of which you can actually see the wires. He is a total fraud, nothing more.
39 Skrillah
January 14th, 2010 at 4:45 am
This list itself is an enigma, because I don’t have a clue about how it ended up on LV. Truly defies my reasoning.
40 shadydeathrow
January 14th, 2010 at 4:54 am
And of course donie decker’s whereabouts are conveniently unknown…..
41 stevo41
January 14th, 2010 at 4:56 am
Donnie Decker was supposedly a victim of demonic possession, for those who believe in that kind of thing. i wouldn’t doubt that assertion
42 kevin_Spencer
January 14th, 2010 at 5:02 am
About number 1: it’s sounds awesome, but I thing is just a tale from someone, or a viral for a movie. If it’s the second I’d pay for see this movie of a real life Storm.
43 lerker
January 14th, 2010 at 5:03 am
I’ve been coming to this site for a long time but seldom comment since I don’t like to lower myself to the level of some of the mouth breathing knuckle draggers who sometimes post comments here. These are people who undoubtedly couldn’t be arsed to post a list themselves but feel good about sitting in their parent’s basement trashing the efforts of others. I’ve seen everything from people who point out grammar and spelling mistakes (and most laughably make similar mistakes in their comment), to people who call list posters names that would get them a punch in the face if they weren’t cowardly hiding behind the safety of an anonymous comment post. This site is supposed to be about interesting lists, I personally couldn’t give a shit what others think is true or false, I’ll make up my own mind about what I choose to believe. I’d like to see some of you do better.
44 majava
January 14th, 2010 at 5:04 am
I have liked the mystery lists very much so far, but this is just plain bullshit.
45 Arsnl
January 14th, 2010 at 5:13 am
@shadydeathrow (40): didnt anybody hear of FACEBOOK:-)
46 amy
January 14th, 2010 at 5:18 am
Enjoyable list. The Donnie Decker one is weird
47 Pyderz
January 14th, 2010 at 5:19 am
The list is full of bullshitting people. But i still find it interesting.
Somebody explanied the Helicopter one up there was a rich bored Millionaire. Was thinking that would actually be a quality way to pass the time, chasing random people in a helicopter and then pulling guns on them.
48 jeslynn6
January 14th, 2010 at 5:22 am
Kudos lerker! I have only commented a couple of times but am an avid Listverser. The comments today have just been seriously ridiculous – and actually have been for days. Since when did you people on here start believing that you are better than everyone else? This was a very entertaining list and just because you don’t believe in something, it doesn’t make it any less interesting. I am going to do more research into most of these items just so that I can form my own opinion on them. I think that is the purpose of these lists – for you to truly think about things and inform yourself. Stop being such snobs!
49 BravehisTickle
January 14th, 2010 at 5:24 am
I don’t understand people asking for sources and logic behind each and every phenomena in the world. Can’t you enjoy a good story? Boooo…
50 missmozell
January 14th, 2010 at 5:25 am
I don’t have too much trouble believing the frozen woman one. I’ve read of other similar cases, though not as extreme. Usually they occure after someone is plunged into freezing water. The body kind of goes into ‘hibernation’, like the fakirs of old who were supposed to be able to stop their hearts and breathing. It still happens bud almost imperceptibly. And recovery is by no means common.
51 Olé
January 14th, 2010 at 5:32 am
Man I love this site. Kudos to (49).
52 oouchan
January 14th, 2010 at 5:39 am
I liked this list. Very entertaining.
The blob one in number 4 got me. That would seriously creep me out. As for number one, that sounds more like a fairy tale.
53 Alexxei
January 14th, 2010 at 5:40 am
It’s raining blobs, hallelujah.
Is it no. 9 a real one, at least?
54 lerker
January 14th, 2010 at 5:46 am
@jeslynn (48) Thanks
. The thing about the internet is that it might be making people smarter, but at the same time it’s bringing out the worst in people.
55 Vespoidea
January 14th, 2010 at 6:02 am
does it really matter if they have been disproved or not? all it should do is encourage you to research into the matter more because you find it interesting. i know i did.
56 calum
January 14th, 2010 at 6:02 am
The disappearing lake is very interesting, I find it hard to believe in the paranormal though.
57 lee
January 14th, 2010 at 6:13 am
most of these have been on Unsolved Mysteries :]
58 Cassia
January 14th, 2010 at 6:18 am
I knew as soon as I read the title that I would enjoy this list! Not very detailed; but that just leads me to search these situations on my own (not a bad thing). Thanks!
59 the best is yet to come
January 14th, 2010 at 6:19 am
You must have just finished watching an “Unsolved Mysteries” marathon, I’ve seen about half of these on re-runs of the show. I like these types of lists though, definitely makes for an interesting read.
60 sad muso
January 14th, 2010 at 6:21 am
Nice list, although I’d really like to see some links to some of these claims!
61 Trapper439
January 14th, 2010 at 6:27 am
I was having a hard time believing most of this stuff. Then I got to #2 and realised that the person who submitted this piss-poor list is gullible as all fuck.
Generally, I have a problem with people who say “shit list”, as I feel that if they don’t like the list they should put in the time and effort to submit a better list themselves.
But this list is indeed shit.
Pure, unadulterated BS. I’d be willing to bet good money that the person who submitted this list is either a 9/11 “Truther”, believes that the moon-landings were faked, or believes in ghosts. Most likely they are all three.
What an absolute load of tripe.
I’ve been visiting this site for a year now, and this is the worst list I’ve seen. Merely reading it has lowered my IQ by at least 50 points.
62 Arsnl
January 14th, 2010 at 6:36 am
@calum (56): actually ive googled disappearing lake chile and on bbc news and how stuff works they’ve explained it. I dont know why the authors used the ufo theory?
@lerker (43): I agree that a good story is great sometimes ( i enjoyed the goo rain and the rain boy thing- the rain theme got to me) but if something can and has been explained why put some crazy theory and say its magic or UFO’s? If we can do that lets rewrite science so we can say lightnings are a sign from zeus, the heart is the organ that hosts feelings and that earth is the center of the univers (cuz we are THAT important)
ps that would be funny- ufo’s running on steam power
63 YoungAnabaptistRadical
January 14th, 2010 at 6:36 am
http://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/03/us/dakota-teen-ager-recovers-after-being-frozen-stiff.html
They’re not dead ’til they’re warm and dead.
Furthermore, @James Smith João Pessoa, Brazil (34): And calling others stupid is much easier than opening one’s mind to the possibility of things existing beyond the grasp of “scientifically proven.”
64 Carole
January 14th, 2010 at 6:38 am
Once again you need to get a dictionary because you have no clue what enigma means. These are all myths, every single one. The pictures you use are fake or are taken from other sources, and have no relation to the events you describe.
65 PMotion
January 14th, 2010 at 6:50 am
Some people just need to calm down and have a laugh about it. Who cares if it’s real or not, it’s still interesting to read – made up or not!
66 Anonymous
January 14th, 2010 at 6:58 am
Am I the only one who thinks that Donnie Decker caused the blob rain?
67 lerker
January 14th, 2010 at 6:59 am
@Arsnl (62) I didn’t say I agree with the theories/posited explanations. I personally feel that there is a logical explanation for almost everything and that more than likely most, if not all, of the entries have a perfectly mundane explanation for them. I don’t believe in UFOs because I’ve never seen anything with my own eyes to convince me that they exist. I’ve also never seen a kangaroo with my own eyes but that doesn’t qualify me to say that they don’t exist. My complaint is people immediately posting comments such as “bullshit” or “bollocks” instead of considering what is being said and leaving a less juvenile response to what they don’t agree with. What I was basically trying to say is that if you have an opinion, that’s great, but I dislike people who call others liars or call into question their intelligence because they don’t agree with what was said (or written).
68 lerker
January 14th, 2010 at 7:00 am
@PMotion (64) I’ll second that.
69 scrumpy
January 14th, 2010 at 7:01 am
Nice to see so many skeptics on LV today. They outnumber the gullible for once!
70 nicoleredz3
January 14th, 2010 at 7:03 am
Incredible!
71 Soup
January 14th, 2010 at 7:12 am
@55 – Yes i researched them too… so far what I’ve looked into are explainable by rational reasons (although I’m not happy with the lake going one… I reckon it was those damned mole people!!!)
72 Freshies
January 14th, 2010 at 7:23 am
Funny stories, but where are the cited sources? I would like to think that these happened because that would be cool as hell, but have a hard time believing without any sources.
73 Ike
January 14th, 2010 at 7:38 am
As far as #3 goes… I used to be a Blackhawk crewchief in the US Army… and sometimes we just like to fuck with people. It’s not much of a mystery.
74 NiMur90
January 14th, 2010 at 7:47 am
Rain boy should be on heroes!
75 Firesong
January 14th, 2010 at 7:52 am
Raining goo. Every time God masturbates…a town gets sick.
A good list, though.
76 My 2 Cents
January 14th, 2010 at 7:54 am
Show me the sources. Almost anything can be explained rationally. If it can then it will one day. There’s nothing supernatural out there.
77 Moonbeam
January 14th, 2010 at 7:56 am
I was curious about the frozen woman so I did a search. Someone stole this entire list with the same photos and typos included and then published it on a web site called WorldofMysteries9. You’d think they’d at least cite listverse as the source. Nice.
78 SAW
January 14th, 2010 at 8:27 am
Fascinating list!! I enjoy them all, but I would love to see more like this one.
I also agree that some sources or links to further info would be a nice inclusion.
79 R_bob
January 14th, 2010 at 8:28 am
fun list
80 Rich
January 14th, 2010 at 8:45 am
@ Firesong- comment 74
I haven’t laughed that well in a long time. Thank you soooo much!
81 Rich
January 14th, 2010 at 8:45 am
oops i mean comment 75
82 undaunted warrior
January 14th, 2010 at 8:48 am
Enjoyed the list thanks.
@Trapper(61) Merely reading it has lowered my IQ by at least 50 points.
Your IQ was 50 points before reading the list now If Im correct 50 less 50 is nil, bye bye zombie !
83 Ny
January 14th, 2010 at 8:50 am
Nice list – extremely imaginative!
However, I do not believe.
84 IfYouCare
January 14th, 2010 at 8:57 am
Some points of interest:
10. Ice Woman
There is an article in The New York Times about Jean Hilliard dated January 3, 1981. A Google search revealed that.
9. Iron Pillar of Delhi
If modern science has discovered what it was that prevented the rust, then it’s not an enigma. Apparently, a layer of “misawite” has built up around the pillar. This was not planned by ancient smiths, but was result of their iron-making process. This is from the Expressindia website.
8. Carroll A. Deering
Sounds like a looted ship more than an enigma. If all the possessions and cargo were left behind, that would be a little more eyebrow-raising worthy. The Mary Celeste still contained personal belongings and the ship log, etc but navigational gear was missing, indicating a chosen departure. Two separate incidents with two separate causes.
7. Hutchinson Effect
Anytime someone is “unable to repeat the project again with the same results” tells me that it was either a fluke or a fraud. Drop the name Tesla, and you have an opening for some of the more inexplicable scientific trials (if they can be called such.)
6. Faces of Belmez
As someone already mentioned in an earlier post, these have been debunked by a couple sources (El Mundo, Javier Cavanilles, and Francisco Manez.) As much as I would not like to cite Wikipedia, this is where I gathered this information.
5. Disappearing Lake
While this did happen, the area in which this occurred has frequent earth tremors and a fissure was in the place of the lake. This is also a very transformative area, as the lake was not even present 30 or so years ago. Additionally, the lake was five acres, not five miles. Five acres comes out to about 217800sqft (20234sqm), or 467ft by 467ft (142m by 142m.) This is from the BBC news site.
4. Raining Blobs
Unfortunately, I was not able to find anything in terms of reliable evidence for or against this. Going to Wikipedia yielded some information indicative of events like this happening throughout history, but that it might not necessarily be from actual rainfall. Additionally, Unsolved Mysteries did a show about this without any concrete results. Tests on these “blobs” have come back with no DNA presence and as non-toxic. What they are is still a mystery.
3. The Black Helicopter
There are no names, and despite the fact that a specific date is listed, there is no way to verify this. This item looks as thought it was taken from a blog about unsolved mysteries. It is very “conspiracy theorist” and lacks any evidence of ever having happened. Again, as someone stated earlier, running from a helicopter for 45 minutes is quite the feat (even if it were not a constant 45 minutes.)
2. Animals within Stone
Again, this is a listing from a paranormal-based website. I was unable to find any newspaper or generally well received sources about this happening.
1. Donnie Decker
I would think something like this would have a world-wide renown at the time, but it does not seem as though much to-do was created over this instance, which illustrates the lack of proof and substance of this case.
85 LL
January 14th, 2010 at 8:59 am
I agree @Skrillah this list is ridiculous.
86 Scratch
January 14th, 2010 at 9:05 am
This list is not my cup of tea, but it’s interesting to peer into the world of conspiracy theories and pseudoscience every once in a while.
87 BeYeKind12
January 14th, 2010 at 9:14 am
All Englishmen have bad teeth, all Frenchmen smell and are rude, The Spanish are lazy, ALL Italians are in the Mafia, etc. Thomas and everyone that says Americans are stupid need to look at a textbook and a map. An “American” is someone from the continent of America, North or South and can be from 43 countries in the North and 13 in South (14 if you count the Falkland Island) So, Thomas what American country are you referring to? By the way, what country are you from so we can make generalized stereotypical comments about it?
88 qwerty
January 14th, 2010 at 9:16 am
this list is shit. all of them could be explained if those damned scientists actually put their mind to it.
89 kate
January 14th, 2010 at 9:17 am
Surely the blob is from an airplane????
90 Jakkson
January 14th, 2010 at 9:21 am
How in the hell did this list get on the site?
91 El the erf
January 14th, 2010 at 9:29 am
How dumb can people get… how do they not recognise that black chopper??
It’s none other than ‘Blackout’ the decepticon.
True believers unite!
God transformers sure can be dumb at times… it took him forty five minutes before realising that cry baby was not Sam Witwicky…disgraceful.
92 General Tits Von Chodehoffen
January 14th, 2010 at 9:33 am
@El the erf (91): You’re dumb as shit.
Anyone know why the iron thing didn’t rust?
93 CaptainSpaulding
January 14th, 2010 at 9:33 am
Sheesh, I feel sorry for so many of you commenters. That everything in life must be taken so seriously and be up to your level of snobbery, ya’ll must be a fun bunch. It’s an entertaining list, let it go at that.
94 scrumpy
January 14th, 2010 at 9:35 am
nice work IfYouCare #84
95 azrael28
January 14th, 2010 at 9:36 am
@lerker (66): Thank you. That needed to be said. Many of people here on the comment list should really rethink their hateful bashing and have a little more respect for those who put forth the effort to give LV a new list every day. And on that note, nice list and thank you for it.
96 Randall
January 14th, 2010 at 9:44 am
@General Tits Von Chodehoffen (92):
You ask why the pillar hasn’t rusted.
Well, the current studies I heard about—I can’t remember when they were done, but I think at least ten years ago, though I could be wrong—basically ascertained that the pillar had, over time, acquired a film or coating that protects it from rust. The coating, as I understand it, came about entirely due to luck; it’s a product of the purity of the metal used (as I recall, this thing is like, close to perfect wrought iron), certain key *impurities* that were present (in, of course, small quantities) and the unique atmospheric conditions.
So in essence, the pillar doesn’t rust because the makers of the pillar did a *really* damn good job on it, and then had the luck of certain precise quantities of… I think it was phosphorus… in the metal… and then the luck of particular amounts of moisture, rising and falling, in the Indian air. Bob’s your uncle, you’ve got a non-rusting mystery pillar.
97 Moonbeam
January 14th, 2010 at 9:44 am
@lerker (43): @jeslynn6 (48): and others who like this list; that’s fine, but I personally prefer a list of mysteries that are actually plausible. For example why do whales beach themselves? Or who was the Zodiac Killer? But to just drum up a list with nonsense mixed in like #3 with the black helicopter. Seriously? Apparently there are no telephone lines, electric poles, street lights or buildings in this unnamed boy’s neighborhood. Not only can he outrun a helicopter, but he can do so for 45 minutes?
I especially like this comment from @Ike (73): “I used to be a Blackhawk crewchief in the US Army… and sometimes we just like to fuck with people. It’s not much of a mystery.”
I’d say the reason there have been so many critics to this list is that when someone attempts to convince people of something this ridiculous they feel as though their intelligence is being insulted.
The sad part is that so many people will believe some of the obviously phony ones as being true.
98 guest
January 14th, 2010 at 9:51 am
it’s NIKOLA Tesla, not Nickola….
99 Bill
January 14th, 2010 at 9:56 am
#1 is an easy to explain. As noted: “Her family gathered in prayer, hoping for a miracle.”
“But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”
(Matt 19:26)
100 El the erf
January 14th, 2010 at 10:15 am
That the iron pillar at Delhi “didn’t rust” is not much of a mystery, as is the history behind it.
What was amazing about it was that it was standing in the middle of the courtyard of the first mosque built at Delhi after the Islamic conquest of India.
Now what was a pillar with an “animal ornate” on top of its capital doing in the courtyard of the mosque named “The Power of Islam”(Quwwat-ul-Islam) considering the fact that ‘any edifice having any sort of ornamentation with depiction of living things’ is not allowed according to their beliefs.
One theory of architects and historians believes that they did it so as to send out a strong message to the public, a message that said they were here to stay.
The pillar being surrounded on all sides by the mosque was a sign of the complete annihilation of the Hindu rulers by the Muslim invaders.
Ps: the invaders razed down ’22 jain temples’ for setting up that one mosque. So no point in believing that they wanted to “preserve heritage”.
101 sammysunset
January 14th, 2010 at 10:17 am
I gotta be honest, it feels like xsilverwingzx and Spacespacecow were far too “inspired” by the Profiling The Unexplained page on Donnie Decker. They only tweaked the text a little and then posted it here, on their list.
That could easily be construed as being too similar to the original material. In some cases, they only tweaked the wording by 2-3 words (in the intro, specifically). I know that you, technically, were not plagiarizing (since you didn’t just cut and paste), but come on, guys… you can be more creative than that! Type something original that uses information from the original website, don’t just copy-paste-tweak. Listverse could get into legal trouble because of your laziness.
If you want to see the original article I’m talking about, go to Google and type “Donnie Decker Rain” and then click on the Profiling the Unexplained website. I don’t know if you can copy and paste URL’s into this comment system.
102 Chicle
January 14th, 2010 at 10:18 am
I am from Chile…and I had no idea about number 5 O.o
number 4 is pretty scary
103 segues
January 14th, 2010 at 10:20 am
I’ve seen the black helicopters many times. Always during the day, and usually in formation. From where I was, and from the direction in which they were headed, my guess is that they are military helicopters.
No big whoop, there.
As to the “faces” appearing on walls or ceilings or concrete or whatever? It is inherent in the human brain to create order out of chaos, images out of nothing. In the house I grew up in there was a water stain on my bedroom ceiling. If I concentrated on it I could turn it into a very detailed human face, otherwise it was just a random bunch of lighter and darker lines.
The animals in “rocks” or whatnot, are no surprise either. Many amphibians are capable of long term hibernation, lasting years.
None of these items raise goose-flesh, because all are easily explained or obvious fakes.
Just my opinion.
104 thangbui
January 14th, 2010 at 10:25 am
ftw, you have two choices
1. need further reading before putting it up
2. put “For those who stupidly believe in psychic” into title
105 Winston
January 14th, 2010 at 10:35 am
Too American
106 nick
January 14th, 2010 at 10:36 am
@IfYouCare (84)
Very good points, this was pretty interesting list but its all just bullcrap or easily explained if you just think about it.
107 RedMan
January 14th, 2010 at 10:46 am
Not a terrible list but it should have had more info on each topic. It seems each and every item on the list is only half done.
108 snakester
January 14th, 2010 at 10:56 am
LOVE this type of list. Great job, it’s like having a little “Unsolved Mysteries” episode on my lunch hour. Now I’m off to further investigate this “Hutchinson Effect”!
109 Forsythia
January 14th, 2010 at 11:05 am
@Trapper439
Whether the list is bullshit or not it was interesting. When ya Mum read you scary ghost stories was she lowering your IQ? I don’t think so.
It’s simply a “fun” list. It’s not science, it doesn’t require “quoted sources”. So maybe they are urban legends, myths…or just flat out lies. So what, the author never claimed them as fact.
Oh, and I do think the moon landing was faked, I do think the government was behind 9/11, but I don’t believe in ghosts.
110 Pedro
January 14th, 2010 at 11:22 am
(43) – first off we criticize because some info here on listverse is WRONG. i don’t care if i never wrote a list for this site or not, but if i did i would put sources and obviously try not to make stuff up. second by criticising people who read this actually get better info than the list itself sometimes which is a good thing. third – its real good and all that you criticise people who call each other names here, just makes me wonder why you called us knuckle draggers while cowardly hiding behind the safety of an anonymous comment post. oh well i guess somethings we’ll never know =)
111 Blogball
January 14th, 2010 at 11:41 am
@segues (103):
segues, I agree about the brain creating images out of nothing. But after reading the info in Wikipedia, it looks like there was some funny business going on to manipulate the faces.
But getting back to the stain stain on your bedroom ceiling. It sounds like classic case of Pareidolia which was mentioned in Nikki’s list about Faults in Human Thought. I came across a great example of this here.
http://richardwiseman.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/unexplainedface.jpg
Most will see a profile of a bearded man between the couple. I had to concentrate to see the real image. It’s actually a couple with a small child wearing a white hat sitting on the man’s knee.
If you have trouble seeing the true picture, the bearded guy’s eye is the babies face and his forehead is the babies hat or bonnet.
112 namowal
January 14th, 2010 at 11:43 am
The Faces of Belmez-
Whether supernatural or bogus, the spirts/prankster needs to learn how to draw…
113 djgazza
January 14th, 2010 at 11:45 am
How is that Donnie Decker story true , its unbelievable ? anyone have any good links to read about him ??
114 jfrater
January 14th, 2010 at 11:56 am
Okay – for your denialists: New York Times Article on the frozen girl. Almost all the other entries can be found on Wikipedia and around the net
115 Emily
January 14th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
This was quite the fun read.
116 Tomo
January 14th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Donnie Decker?? Don’t mean to judge, but that sounds awfully like a fictitious name from any of the various popular superheoes. Like Bruce Banner, Peter Parker, Clark Kent etc.
The only one that seems authentic is the iron pillar.
117 Kasandra
January 14th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
I have seen #1 and #10 on unsolved mysteries. I was a kid when I saw those episodes.
118 Cernunnos
January 14th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
the frozen girl isnt an enigma, just like everything else in the list. people have been looking into “cryo-sleep” for quite a while, and several people have been frozen to be thawed out later on.
the title of the list should be changed, as it seems to make it sound more legit. its an interesting read, but should never be viewed upon as anything other than light, entertaining bogus. and yes, anyone who believes in the paranormal is intelectually challenged.
as for the 9/11 and moon comment, its hard to believe that a government that knows what you had for breakfast was entirely clueless to the plans, and as another list on this very site says: certain parts of the u.s. government have previously planned (but not carried out) to kill u.s. citizens to justify war. thinking it was “an inside job” is a little too much, but believing the government coulnt possibly have stopped it, is a little naive.
the moonlanding wasnt faked, but attempts to do just that have surfaced. so its not that they wouldnt have done it, if they thought they were losing the space only they thought existed they would have. they just didnt have to.
119 lo
January 14th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
so, some are taking issue with this list, and then a whole bunch more people are criticizing those criticisms, saying things like “STFU and enjoy a fun mystery!”
well, here’s the problem with the second group: once something has been explained it ceases to be an enigmatic mystery!
therefore, a list of “mysteries” that have all been explained already doesn’t really give us much to enjoy now does it?
what is the entertainment value of a “mystery list” of non-mysteries people?
at least one of the authors’ seems to have been aware of this, but chose to ignore it, saying in the “how can the delhi pillar not rust?!?” “mystery” entry:
“Scientists have found the answer to that question,” and then not bothering to share the answer, as if this would somehow mean it was still a mystery or something…… that’s lame.
120 Gergeth
January 14th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Don’t you see? They are all related. It’s like this.
“What do you want to do tonight Brain?”
“Same thing we do everynight Pinky. You gather the crew, I’ll fuel the black helicopter, Donnie will syphon the water from the lake in Chile and will rain it down on people, we’ll freeze a random girl to ensure she gets a virus then we abduct and gel the crew from a ship to get their white blood cells before before we throw them at people. So the crew isn’t forgotten we will sketch drawings of them in a random house. We also need to encase animals in rocks to prevent their extinction. The materials that get fused together during the rock creation process we will place in a scientists house. We will finish up or night by busting rust in Delhi.
121 deeeziner
January 14th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Crap to all the naysayers of this list. I enjoy a little entertainment of the x-files nature. I did as a kid, and I do now.
Many is the time that a weird, unexplained story has sent me off to do a little research of my own, and I have gained some extra scientific info and found out where we stand in the state of the art.
Not only that, I have also been able to pepper a few conversations in my life with these kind of “what do YOU think” stories and so have reaped many an opinion with others.
I think people who instantly shrug off these kind of stories just have a lack of imagination and are put a bit off balance when they have to confront the unknown. And so in that uncomfortable state, they quickly reject the opportunity to explore…and just cry “bullshit!”.
To each his own.
122 XIII
January 14th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
weird shit. questionable authenticity.
123 deeeziner
January 14th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
@lo (120): “at least one of the authors’ seems to have been aware of this, but chose to ignore it, saying in the “how can the delhi pillar not rust?!?” “mystery” entry:
“Scientists have found the answer to that question,” and then not bothering to share the answer, as if this would somehow mean it was still a mystery or something…… that’s lame.”
Did you go to the Wiki to see the explanation? I did. It’s long, it’s very technical, and it’s rather hard to hone down to 100-150 words, which still would make the entry here VEERY long.
Yes, Randall was able to give a summary of the info here in comments… But it still begs to question whether the metallurgists of ancient India had a noncorrosive formula by plan or by accident. Do you know the answer to that part of the story? Hence the unexplained nature of that entry.
124 lo
January 14th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
@deeeziner (122): again, yeah “unexplained mysteries” are fun and interesting. and i love such things, but this list features very few things that fit into that category.
it seems everything on this list either can be readily explained, or can’t even be confirmed to have happened at all…. IfYouCare (84) did a pretty good point-by-point run down of them above, read it.
125 lo
January 14th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
@deeeziner (124):
in the case of the pillar, if the explanation itself was too long, an embedded link would have been totally sufficient, and seemed more, well, honest…..
126 deeeziner
January 14th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
@Gergeth (121): Hehehehehe!
127 Steelman
January 14th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
@thomas (22):
You’re just jealous we have it all. Ha Ha!
128 Mrs. Antichrist
January 14th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
Most of these have been solved, save for the ones based on people’s word… all of which cannot be proven.
9: I wish you had included the reasons for why it still stands. From wiki: “The presence of second phase particles (slag and unreduced iron oxides) in the microstructure of the iron, that of high amounts of phosphorus in the metal, and the alternate wetting and drying existing under atmospheric conditions, are the three main factors in the three-stages formation of that protective passive film.”
6: Been debunked through and through. Complete hoax.
5: This was solved several months later. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/04/1969549.htm
129 allie80
January 14th, 2010 at 2:11 pm
Love these kinds of lists!!
130 General Tits Von Chodehoffen
January 14th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
@Randall (96): Thanks. I guess it’s similar to why cars don’t rust out in California.
131 Bill
January 14th, 2010 at 2:20 pm
132 Moonbeam
January 14th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
@deeeziner (122): Actually I love the mysterious weird, creepy stuff – which is exactly why this list disappointed me. It started out well with the frozen woman story and the iron pillar and so on. But take #6, the faces of Belmez. Pah-leeze. Some of the faces have obviously been drawn. Apparently they were made by someone named Diego Pereira the son of some “psychic.”
133 Dill
January 14th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
I don’t have issue with the idea of this list, but with it’s lack of sourcing and incomplete manner in which is was written.
134 Bill
January 14th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
135 yeah
January 14th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
Very good, very weird list.
136 Lee06
January 14th, 2010 at 3:21 pm
Wow…..
The whole Donnie Decker story is obviously made up. How can you guys be so gullible?
137 deeeziner
January 14th, 2010 at 3:39 pm
@lo (125): Embedded link!?!
What is this devilry of which you speak!? JK
Yeah, you do make a good point. It would have made the entry a bit more honest.
But I also wouldn’t have gotten to wear my “Big Online Researcher” hat that I keep around for just such occasions.
That poor hat doesn’t get nearly enough wearing.
138 deeeziner
January 14th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
@Moonbeam (132): But until I put on my special “Big Online Researcher” hat they aren’t solved. To meeEEEeeeee. (Notice my rolling eyes and long whine.
)
139 superbloop
January 14th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
“Even stranger is that after his experiment, Hutchison was unable to repeat the project again with the same results”
Gee, I wonder why? (sarcasm)
140 Bill
January 14th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
141 Bill
January 14th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
142 Bill
January 14th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
143 Bill
January 14th, 2010 at 4:02 pm
144 Incitatus
January 14th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
I could come up with a reasonable explanation for some of these.
Blobs = Airplane with test specimens dropped them
Animals in rocks = they got there at early stages
Missing Crew = Mass suicide
Rainboy = see comment #136
Ice woman = that one is freaky
Lake = Tectonic movements
Or…
You could explain all of these by believing in aliens..
145 nuriko
January 14th, 2010 at 4:37 pm
I love this list especially the Donnie! I wish I were him…
146 tasmanian devil
January 14th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
I think it is strange that just because we do not currently have a scientific explanation for an occurance then it must be the work of ghosts, god or aliens. People need to learn to say “I don’t know” and stop making things up to satisfy their fear of the unknown. Also poeple have a tendency to lie and exaggerate and to interpret experiences differently.
147 ianz09
January 14th, 2010 at 4:56 pm
Fucking people bitch about everything. Just because it isn’t paranormal doesn’t make it less entertaining. Quit being so critical, it’s Listverse, not a damn science journal.
148 elisa
January 14th, 2010 at 4:57 pm
I find it funny that people are complaining about the content not being sourced, being incorrect, and poorly editted. I read lists all the time that have ‘facts’ that are completely incorrect and there’s never a source. You don’t even have to include sources to submit a list. As far as grammer goes I doubt that many of the list writers or editors even read all the way through the sometimes entirely uninteligent items.
149 Tryclyde
January 14th, 2010 at 4:59 pm
@lerker (43): Well said, Listverse is simply a fun place to pass the time and be entertained. It’s not National Geographic or the New York Times and doesn’t have to cite everything or be held to the highest possible journalistic integrity.
150 wondersquid
January 14th, 2010 at 5:42 pm
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. And extraordinary proof definitely requires sources.
151 CQSteve
January 14th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
Love these types of lists; even though I think that most of these mysteries can be explained away, it’s still fun to read them. Those of you who can’t take enjoyment out of things like this, don’t suck the fun out of it for the rest of us. Keep going JFrater, I’ll only get pissed off when you stop Listverse. Cheers…..
152 Alison
January 14th, 2010 at 5:59 pm
Aw, I liked this list. I love the “mystery” lists even if some of the items are fakes. I’m surprised so many people disliked it. I too remember seeing some of these on “Unsolved Mysteries”. Man, do I miss that show. The newer version isn’t a total fail, but it’s not as good as the old stuff.
153 Catoptrophobia
January 14th, 2010 at 9:30 pm
Believe what you want, but I thought this list was pretty cool, it broke my day of boredom with wonders and head scratchers..
154 likelyguy
January 14th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
Good entertainment, which is exactly what I expected when I clicked on this list. Just the same (what I expected) when I clicked on “Interesting Facts About the Scythians”. I figured that I’d learn something interesting.
Do some people actually believe that if a list is posted here, that the author believes the items contained therin are true?
If that were true, then jfrater would be a wacko nutjob for posting all his lists of conspiracy theories.
I rest my case.
155 hunter
January 14th, 2010 at 10:51 pm
I just watched the youtube videos of Rain boy posted by Bill. It is perplexing that a lot of police officers (even a warden) absolutely swearing that what they’ve seen and experienced is paranormal. I mean some of the other folks seemed easy to fool but aren’t police officers trained to spot cons or hoaxes? Are all of those eye witnesses just making it up to be on TV or are they grossly exaggerating what they ‘saw’?
156 BravehisTickle
January 14th, 2010 at 11:08 pm
I dunno- What happened to Cogitz? It’s seems all fine to me at first glance..
157 Joanne
January 14th, 2010 at 11:45 pm
Cool, #1 is like the opposite of spontaneous combustion; how do they call it, spontaneous wetting? My baby niece makes yellow rain and greenish-brown blobs all the time XD
158 segues
January 15th, 2010 at 12:49 am
@Blogball (111): I tried, really, really hard, to see that baby in a bonnet, but all I could see was the head of a bearded man quite out of proportion to the couple in the photo. That seems real and very odd.
Which way is the baby facing? Maybe that is the clue I need.
I remember reading, years and years ago, an explanation for the falling goo…but it escapes me now. It turned out to have a very natural source, and I wish I could remember what it was!
Like I said, more than a few of the “enigmas” have perfectly naturally explanations, but it’s always fun to drag your brain through the muck once in a while. I just object to the utter lack of proofing before publishing. I don’t expect Jamie to do it, but I know he has other admins. Maybe they could trade off the duty.
Just a suggestion. I have my own battles to fight.
159 John Dudey
January 15th, 2010 at 12:57 am
4 reminds me of semen
160 Blogball
January 15th, 2010 at 1:01 am
@segues (160):
maybe this will help
http://forgetomori.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/jesussimpsonized.jpg
161 porkido
January 15th, 2010 at 1:08 am
#5:The mystery is unsolved to this day.
“Santiago, Chile-Scientists on Tuesday blamed global warming for the disappearance of a glacial lake in remote southern Chile that faded away in just two months, leaving just a crater behind. The disappearance of the lake in Bernardo O’Higgins National Park was discovered in late May by park rangers, who were stunned to find a 130-foot deep crater where a large lake had been. After flying over the lake Monday, scientists said they were able to draw preliminary conclusions that point to climate change as the leading culprit for the lake’s disappearance. They suggested the melting of nearby glaciers raised the lake’s level to the point where the increased water pressure caused part of a glacier acting as a dam to give way. Water in the lake flowed out of the breach, into a nearby fjord and then to the sea, said Andres Rivera, a glaciologist with Chile’s Center of Scientific Studies. The advance and retreat of glaciers are part of the normal dynamics of the Patagonia, but climate change was distorting the process, Rivera said. “This would not be happening if the temperature had not increased,” Rivera said. Source: Associated Press/printed in the Star Tribune”
It took me about 30 seconds to find this on Google.
162 playuppompey
January 15th, 2010 at 1:53 am
to beyekind12@87 lol stupid yank! North America is made up of 23 countries not 43, turns out you’re the one who needs to look at a map or textbook!
163 I’mMuchMoreIntelligentThanYou
January 15th, 2010 at 2:56 am
Ha. Oh dear.
1 – Donnie Decker didn’t even exist.
2 – The Hutchinson effect is rubbish as you can make objects levitate through SUPERCONDUCTIVITY and you can fuse materials together but requires ALOT of energy.
3 – The black helicopter is quite clearly some pointless endeavor devised by someone who happens to own a helicopter. Why else would they let their captives go?
As for the rest, its just crap.
164 archangel
January 15th, 2010 at 3:31 am
Geez… in Cartesian terms, we can only be doubtful of almost anything. That is, doubtful that these are ‘paranormal’ or doubtful that these aren’t ‘paranormal’. Doubtful that there aren’t aliens, and doubtful that there are aliens. Doubtful of a god/dess, doubtful of no god/dess. So shut your yaps complainers. If science still can’t explain it, then don’t assume anything impossible out of it just yet simply because science doesn’t have a conclusive explanation for it either.
165 natalia
January 15th, 2010 at 6:06 am
Great list! Fun to read. Haters to the left.
Re: Chile’s lake. It’s been explained, as other people have posted, and it’s filled in and out again since 2007.
166 cvs268
January 15th, 2010 at 6:09 am
|| SECRET OF THE IRON-PILLAR ||
1. IRON Pillar exists.
2. PROOF lies in the electric properties of metals.
When U pair two metals,(each having a different electrostatic potential) one becomes the cathode and the other anode.
The electrons released from the cathode are accepted by the anode.
Rusting of IRON i.e. Corrosion ( OR Oxidation ) is cathodic action. Thus, in a metal-pair the cathode rusts.
To prevent the IRON-PILLAR from rusting one would have to setup a electrode-pair with another metal with higher electrostatic potential.(thus making the IRON-PILLAR the ANODE) As long as the contact-circuit is intact, the pillar would be immune to oxidation and hence would NOT rust.
( Forgive me for any inaccuracies. 4yrs since i last touched a chemistry book
)
167 Nikhil Daga
January 15th, 2010 at 6:18 am
dunno about the rest , but the thing about Pillar in Delhi is 100% true !Anyone visiting New Delhi in India can see it!
168 Eyeswideshut
January 15th, 2010 at 8:03 am
#100: The pillar wasn’t erected by Muslims. It was erected by a Gupta Hindu King.
169 comfortableinmyownheels
January 15th, 2010 at 8:26 am
This is crazy!
I love all your lists!
170 Carphit
January 15th, 2010 at 10:46 am
@114-Oh, yes, becuase Wikipedia is REALLY FUCKING RELIABLE.
Honestly, if your using that as a source, it’s no wonder this list is so full of crap.
171 kennypo65
January 15th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
Being able to say,”I don’t know” is the beginning of wisdom.
172 segues
January 15th, 2010 at 1:41 pm
@Blogball (160): That did it1 Thanks, Bloggy! I was going nuts with the other photo.
173 Redisca
January 15th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Although I am generally a fan of this site, I have to side with those who have criticized this list. I am willing to open my mind, but not so wide that my brain will fall out. Plus, call me a humorless sourpuss, but I don’t find ignorance, anti-scientism and superstition any more entertaining than a train wreck would be. I’d look, but I wouldn’t cheer. And so I believe it adds insult to the injury to disparage those of us who aren’t “entertained” or “intrigued” by the author’s attempt to pass wild conjecture (and that’s putting it charitably) for fact.
I have to comment on the Ice Woman entry some more. I don’t dispute that it happened — I think what’s really in controversy is the interpretation. I think what the author is saying is that the girl’s family’s prayer magically circumvented the laws of the Universe. This is the kind of “Hail Mary” that’s used to wring money from taxpayers to subsidize “faith-based healing”, taking money away from scientific and clinically established medicine, while evidence-based treatments are routinely denied funding for being “experimental”. Never mind that there is a substantial number of similar cases suggesting the ability of the human body to survive prolonged exposure to cold under conditions that are JUST RIGHT with minimal residual damage — no, it was the prayer that did it! Right, religious folks? Well, fair enough — but then, I don’t see how you can consider this an “enigma”. If you are deeply religious and believe that prayer can make a terminal cancer patient magically grow new organs to replace those destroyed by tumors, then his recovery would not surprise you in the least. That’s not an “enigma” — person got really sick, his loved ones prayed, he got well, it’s as simple as that. What IS an enigma is why prayer almost always fails, except in these isolated, exceedingly rare cases (assuming you believe prayer has any effect at all). That’s right — for every case like that of the Ice Woman, there are tens of millions of people who die despite the most heartfelt and persistent prayer. Now THERE is a mystery for the ages! How come prayer never works even though it’s supposed to? Given the overall quality of the list, I think this should not only have been included, but put in the first place.
174 norkio
January 15th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
About #5, not only do the 10 second Google searches dispel the mystery of the disappearing lake, they also explain that it was not a “five mile long” lake, but less than 1 square mile – 10-12 acres – 5 hectares. It also didn’t even exist until 30 years ago, so it’s not actually surprising that it disappeared. If Lake Michigan disappeared, that would be a huge mystery!
175 That Guy From Pennsylvania
January 15th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
#2 — “Hello, my honey! Hello, my baby! Hello, my ragtime gal!!!”
176 billy
January 15th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
yeh, i don’t believe any of these.
177 photoimp
January 15th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
YOU should add Haiti to your lisT!!
178 Naomi
January 15th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
@175
i lol’d!
179 IFlewinBlackHelicopterz
January 15th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
Not sure if they were saying that the picture in #3 was of the mystery helicopter.
But I can assure everyone that the helo pictured was not chasing anyone when the pic was snapped. That U.S. Army OH-58 has its rotor blades tied down. Notice the lines that go fro
under the blades near the end toward the fuselage. Standard procedure for all units.
And altho not secret, it’s not widely known that Guard helicopter units have training routes that zigzag across your state. Some of these are low level routes. We would Fly certain routes at night with no lights on wearing night vision goggles. We were training and we had no interest in you or your neighbors.
180 CTbana
January 15th, 2010 at 7:16 pm
Next time, provide links to other sites that document these cases. “Donnie Decker” and “Rain Boy” both lead to Marvel X-Men sites, leading me to question the rest of your list.
181 cowboykirk
January 15th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
good list i agree with most of you it was good reading
if some of you want things explained do it your self give
you something to do. my mother always told me to mind my own buisness (its a full time job by the way)also it did rain little bitty fish in the 1950s in missouri witch has been explained. this is my first time here and ill be back
thank you …cowboy
182 ZibbyYamala
January 15th, 2010 at 8:13 pm
the one with the faces is creepy! i heard of that one. and i think it’l be so cute to find a little animal in a stone! i’d say, WTF, but it’l still be cute!! though 4 #1, i hate to be the person who ruins the fun and says “NO! THAT’S UNTRUE!”, but if something like that REALLY happened, u’d think that “Donnie Decker” would be more of a household name? (i sure as hell never heard it! )and they’rd be more evidence?
but then again, i don’t doubt anything! cept vampires, i don’t think vampires real.
nice list! ima look up #1 cuz it’s weirder than all the other ones,
(oh, forgive any type-os, i really don’t wanna proof read this, too long, too long)
183 ashley
January 15th, 2010 at 11:44 pm
you assholes ruined everything. I enjoyed this before your comments!
184 Sid
January 16th, 2010 at 2:27 am
WOW! Some of you people need to take that long stick out of your asshole and just laugh it up. Interesting list and entertaining. Listverse crowd has really degraded as the popularity has gone up. It’s like reading You Tube comments.
185 Jo Mama
January 16th, 2010 at 5:24 am
I want a frog in a rock!
186 mandy
January 16th, 2010 at 5:47 am
@ (181) CTbana BAHAHAHAAH best comment!
187 erickarthik
January 16th, 2010 at 8:30 am
Iron Pillar in India is true. I went there
Hutchinson effect – ? Big Question mark (if its possible then Tesla was right )
Frog inside a rock – r u guys serious ?
Frozen woman – Amazing story.
Disappearing lake – A similar type of phenomenon was witnessed in Iceland. Though not caused by the same thing, its similar in the sense that a huge lake vanished in a few hours
Carroll, disappearing ship – Hmm….. weird.
raining blob – hehe, i think its a prank
Donnie Decker , Black Helicopter – LAME. its better to believe in the ancient Indians rain dance, than this guys trance – rain effect. Helicopter thing was funny as it could be some guys wanted to play and guess fooled around with the chopper for some time.
188 smokie
January 16th, 2010 at 8:44 am
Man that is crazy stuff!!!! I’m ere smoking a j and i’m kinda freaked out after reading that.
189 The Guest
January 16th, 2010 at 11:35 am
Does anyone actually believe any of this?
190 Vera Lynn
January 16th, 2010 at 9:31 pm
Hmm. Im glad my life is quiet now. Quiet is good. Very good.
191 sddsa
January 16th, 2010 at 9:36 pm
hey, do they have a source for this or are they pulling it out of their ass.
192 Jessica Karli
January 17th, 2010 at 12:10 am
This list is very interesting, I’d like to hear more stuff like this.
193 Damos
January 17th, 2010 at 3:44 am
@Firesong (75):
If I had been drinking something when I read that, I would have spit it all over my computer. Thanks.
194 S13558
January 17th, 2010 at 2:11 pm
Stellar list. Definately one of my most recent favorites.
195 ladysmurf
January 17th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
HELLISH STELLAR~ O___O
I liked the blob one. XD
Great list~
196 ks
January 18th, 2010 at 9:34 am
its only weird until it happens with someone else.
197 Pomp
January 18th, 2010 at 4:17 pm
[citation needed]
198 lhonignacio
January 18th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
oh my gosh… i was really terrified by the ‘frozen girl’ that was unimaginably horrifying!! and that rain guy…. i wish i can hire him so we can remedy the scarcity of water..
199 Angier
January 18th, 2010 at 10:10 pm
“The world is simple, miserable, solid all the way through. But if you can fool them, even for a second… then you can make them wonder. And you get to see something very special. …”
200 BeYeKind12
January 19th, 2010 at 8:54 am
playuppompey:
Anguilla [2]
Antigua and Barbuda
Aruba [3][4]
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Bermuda [2]
British Virgin Islands [2]
Canada
Cayman Islands[2]
Clipperton Island [5]
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Greenland [6]
Grenada
Guadeloupe [7]
Guatemala
Haiti
Honduras
Isla Aves[8]
Jamaica
Martinique [7]
Mexico
Montserrat [2]
Navassa Island [9]
Netherlands Antilles [3][10]
Nicaragua
Panama
Puerto Rico [11]
Saint Barthélemy [5]
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Martin [5]
Saint Pierre and Miquelon [5]
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
San Andrés y Providencia[12]
Trinidad and Tobago [4]
Turks and Caicos Islands [2]
United States
United States Virgin Islands [11]
201 Horton
January 19th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
Wow, great list. One of the best I have read in a while.
202 mcswede
January 19th, 2010 at 2:11 pm
great list, true or not it was entertaining, why people are shitting on this list just boggles the mind, i mean do u watch a film and slam it for not being 100% factual, just enjoy it for what it is.
203 kindns
January 19th, 2010 at 9:18 pm
According to His Holiness The Dalai Lama, some times a sentient being takes rebirth becoming “solid matter” in an unfortunate location…like inside a rock.
Insects that are found inside of stones, are used as proof of reincarnation.
204 RTB_King
January 20th, 2010 at 12:30 am
The animals in stone thing is weird, but I’ve seen something similar, once when I was removing a lightbulb, there was a dead moth inside it, there was no crack or space in the bulb for anything to get in, and there was nothing in the bulb when I had screwed it in.
205 Laika
January 20th, 2010 at 2:00 am
I revel in the irony of wasting my magically inexplicable existence on such nonsense. I revel even more in knowing that others do this with oblivion.
206 DK
January 20th, 2010 at 3:21 am
What about the man who was a struggling writer and took a job as off-season caretaker of a remote hotel, while his psychic son is having visions of atrocities committed in the hotel by the various ghouls trapped within? The ghosts haunt the man and they drive the man to try and kill his whole family
207 josiej
January 20th, 2010 at 10:38 am
Lerker you summed my thoughts up perfectly. I’d like to add an enigma…trolls who take the time to read an article that they claim is “shit” and then complain about it vehemently in the comments. It is unknown why they feel the need to waste other peoples time with their negative stupidity.
208 pamsterkin
January 20th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Geez… Reading the comments is even more entertaining than the article itself!
209 penfold
January 21st, 2010 at 10:48 am
so best as i can work it out. some of these stories are true but explained and other are just bogus.
The iron pillar is real I went to see it and the preservation is remarkable. There are some complex chemical reasons for its preservation (I spent a good fifteen mins on wikipedia failing to understand), and it does show what skilled metalurgists lived back in the day.
I have really looked but cannot find a single contemporary record for the ‘raining blobs’.
As far as I can work out Donnie Decker was a ghost story found in a early 20th C book on Pennsylvanian ghosts. IT’S JUST A STORY!
There are real mysteries that defy explanation in the universe. What makes up 75% of the mass in the universe is still a mystery. Why electrons have the charge they do is a mystery. What we mean by good and evil is a mystery. The phenomena of the self is a mystery. In love there is mystery.
This is not a list of mysteries. It’s inane.
210 Trazzoli
January 21st, 2010 at 1:13 pm
silly name – isn’t an enigma by definition something that defies explanation ?? the title of this post is not only silly, but it is also redundant and repetitive –
211 Trazzoli
January 21st, 2010 at 1:15 pm
glorified urban legends in a different lens
212 lolkewl
January 21st, 2010 at 11:01 pm
lol cool list!
now i want to know if there’s truth behind it
213 segues
January 22nd, 2010 at 5:30 am
@lolkewl (212): The truth is NOT out there!
214 m.dixon
January 22nd, 2010 at 10:38 am
if people can make it rain…what else can we make happen?!
215 segues
January 23rd, 2010 at 5:06 am
@m.dixon (214): 214. if people can make it rain…what else can we make happen?!
****
Just an educated guess, but making them stupider springs to mind.
216 steve
January 23rd, 2010 at 2:30 pm
Don’t be so lazy – most are well documented that I am aware of. Here is the link to the New York Times story regarding the Minnesota woman.
http://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/03/us/dakota-teen-ager-recovers-after-being-frozen-stiff.html
217 Thor
January 23rd, 2010 at 3:20 pm
@thatguyfromPA 175
That was great!!
218 usmjam
January 26th, 2010 at 6:52 am
I’d be more impressed if Donnie Decker made it rain those blobs…..
219 dubito
January 26th, 2010 at 8:59 am
those blob are bio-weapons gone bad.
220 kory
January 26th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
the raining blobs really caught my attention.the same exact thing happened in covington, louisiana around the same time. everyone was sick with flu like symptoms. i think it was some expirimental testing done by our wonderful government.
221 ditto
January 26th, 2010 at 4:51 pm
Most of these are completely bogus…
222 MarcYale
January 29th, 2010 at 12:57 pm
Frozen girl is a true story. It happened on December 20th in 1981.
See Link below.
http://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/28/nyregion/follow-up-onthe-news-back-from-dead.html
There are many mysteries in life, many unexplainable scientifically, but many seen as true Miracles. Perhaps check out the Incorruptibles, that is the Saints whose bodies do not decay, corrupt or rot. Even Yogananda was incorrupt when checked too in the 1950′s.
RE: Yogananda and Bodily incorruptibility which can be read at this LINK below. -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramahansa_Yogananda
Please try not to doubt too much. Stay open and open the eyes, mind and heart.
Remember, just because a person hasn’t seen it, doesn’t mean it is not true.
223 Grey
February 12th, 2010 at 2:51 pm
If frozen quickly enough, ice crystals will not form as completely. Ice crystals are the main destructive factor for organic material being destroyed when frozen.
Thus, if frozen quickly enough, the body systems will go into stasis instead of failure, and actual frostbite damage will be considerably low.
These are the founding principles for cryogenic stasis. Though we are having trouble consistently controlling the formation of ice crystals in a body.
224 xochi
February 13th, 2010 at 7:12 am
Whoever wrote this needs to go back to school. You are an idiot. This is one of the dumbest things I’ve seen on the internet.
225 Bob
February 17th, 2010 at 4:30 pm
“What is it about the bizarre and mysterious that piques our curiosity?”
Might I suggest that the terms “bizarre” and “mysterious” are only used in reference to things we find curious? That is to say, it is not the bizarre and mysterious that pique our curiosity, but it is those things that we find curious that we call mysterious or bizarre.
226 commentsYaY
February 17th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
BeyeKind12@200:
Are you retarded? Where’s Argentina, where’s Colombia, where’s Brazil, Paraguay, Venezuela, Uruguay, etc??
Did you just choose not to add them in so they would add up to 43 like you said? I mean, how do you post a list like that without some basic fact checking. It’s one thing posting some dumb list of enigmas and another to post a list of the countries in the americas without bothering to check if your wrong. i mean, wow…
227 Alexa
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:35 pm
The title of this article is painfully redundant.
228 Easton
February 23rd, 2010 at 7:24 pm
All the people saying these are fake, where are your sources to back up that they’re fake?
Sure, there are no sources listed, but some of these were actually reported, and actually happened, but really have no explanation other than people guessing.
It’s funny how people who practice science are usually the most closed minded, and brush these things off. If you really like science, why don’t you prove that these are fake.
Do I know if these are all real? Nope, but weird shit like this happens, and some of these probably really did happen. The unknown always seems impossible, until you figure out why things happen the way they do.
So figure it out, Mr. Scientist.
229 Easton
February 23rd, 2010 at 7:27 pm
One more thing.
People who brush off the frozen woman incident because they said people prayed….what the fuck? It doesn’t mean that’s why she lived. Just because prayer was involved, you automatically throw the whole thing away and say it’s fake.
Anyone who does that is ignorant. Humans have survived some incredible and extreme conditions.
230 Easton
February 23rd, 2010 at 7:28 pm
BTW, raining blobs was the coolest.
I actually would like to see more sources that suggest these things happened, but can’t be explained.
231 Monika
February 25th, 2010 at 6:39 pm
Intersting article. Whether or not it’s all true is another matter entirely, but an awesome collection of urban legends to say the least.
The only one that really freaked me out was the Raining Blobs- after some research, turns out that actually did happen, and they still don’t really know what it was.
I also agree with Easton, in that thinking logically does not neccesarily mean throwing out every bit of “incredible” information and calling it bullshit, just because it can’t be scientifically explained.
Science only progresses through the systematic search for explination; debunking or shooting everything down that sounds vaguely impossible is putting a limit on scientific exploration itself.
232 WiP
April 14th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
The Alien Space Bats will eat your soul…
233 daniel
April 15th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
Sort of a great list, but as most other people pointed out, you should’ve posted some sources. And also, doesn’t anyone think it’s a bit “strange” that it just so happens to be that John Hutchinson couldn’t reproduce the Hutchinson effect? Also the faces sound a bit like a hoax for publicity to me. The family probably put the faces there themselves.
234 Jess
April 21st, 2010 at 12:32 pm
@david l [10]: And frost bite doesn’t just clear up…. Frostbite means that the tissue is damaged, meaning the blood supply can’t be reestablished which means recovery is not possible and amputation is a must… Plus no sources… which leads me to believe that all of these stories are total BS.
235 suzanne
April 22nd, 2010 at 7:43 pm
Why if anyone questions ‘lists’ they are obtuse, critical or negative. Maybe they are just not gullible. Anyone can make a list of whatever they want. Just because its in a list doesn’t make it true. Its garbage like this that keeps Bullshit alive and well. Maybe there should be an IQ test before anyone is allowed to post. It would cut down on websites that serve no purpose in the known universe.
236 eeden
April 24th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
We have many disappearing lakes in Ireland, called turloughs. They’re common in limestone areas. I don’t know if that’s applicable to the one on this list, but they do exist.
Obviously, some people like to find explanations for “enigmas”, and others would rather believe that there is no rational explanation. Like going to see a magician, some people don’t want to know how it’s done, others are more amused by trying to figure it out.
237 j dawg
April 26th, 2010 at 1:17 am
totally shopped. no way any of this is true…
238 terry
May 18th, 2010 at 4:51 pm
its not so much the story as why the need to tell them?
239 lolwut
June 28th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
#4 was shit from an airplane, btw
240 s.c
July 12th, 2010 at 4:52 pm
who thinks the 3rd face on number 6 looks a lot like robert burns
241 Megan
July 17th, 2010 at 2:02 am
I'm curious, where is the girl who froze in number 10, Jean Hilliard, now?
She must be in her forties, and I'm interested if she had any lasting medical problems from her freaky freezing experience. i tried to google it but there's really no follow up on her story anywhere