Article created by: Shelly Fourer

Without a little mystery, life would be pretty dull. So when we come across something strange or unexplainable, it’s only human to speculate, create wild theories, or even suspect something supernatural might be behind it.

But sometimes, all those mysteries really need is time. That’s what one Reddit thread proved, as users shared baffling cases that finally got their answers. From unexplained disappearances to supposed alien encounters and famous crimes, here are some of the most fascinating ones.

#1

Illustration of explorers discovering the Croatoan mystery clue, one of the strangest mysteries actually solved. The Roanoke colony wasn't destroyed by natives or kidnapped by aliens. They joined the local native tribe. We can tell because people in the tribe were born with blonde hair and blue eyes for decades after the colonials went "missing".

Sk8thunder , Internet Archive Book Images Report

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    #2

    Rocks moving across dry c*****d desert ground leaving trails, illustrating solved strangest mysteries of nature. The mysterious trails of rocks at Racetrack Playa" in Death Valley National Park, California.
    For many years, the cause of these mysterious rock movements was unknown. However, in recent years, scientists have discovered that the rocks move due to a combination of wind and ice. During periods of rain or melting snow, water freezes into thin sheets of ice on the surface of the lake bed. When the ice breaks apart, it can be moved by wind, and as the ice sheets move, they push the rocks along with them, leaving behind the distinctive trails.

    BrandyAid , Physics Girl Report

    #3

    Pilot wearing headphones in cockpit, focused on controls, related to strangest mysteries solved in aviation history. Ships and planes never mysteriously vanished in the bemuda triangle, sinks sank because of rough weather, and planes dropped because they hit airborne pockets of methane and the engines stalled.

    Thanks to modern navigation, not a single ship or planes sank there in over 20 years.

    El1teCokeSnorter , Svitlana Hulko Report

    #4

    Man with glasses and white shirt thoughtfully sitting at desk in modern office, pondering strangest mysteries solved. The "bloop" sound that was recorded in the Pacific Ocean that baffled scientists was finally found to be an icequake.

    KnownRate3096 , pressfoto Report

    #5

    Black and white photo of a large ocean liner with four smokestacks, related to strangest mysteries solved at sea. Whether the Titanic sank in one piece or not.

    Many discounted those survivors who said they saw her split in two because they had a hard time believing such a mighty ship could rip apart like that.

    It wasn’t until Ballard and his crew found her that the truth was revealed.

    GTOdriver04 , Francis Godolphin Osbourne Stuart Report

    #6

    Person heating a metal ring with tools in a workshop related to strangest mysteries actually solved. How to make gold from lead.

    Hundreds of years the alchemists tried it unsuccessfully. Today it is possible using a particle accelerator. However, it is far from cost efficient - mining gold is orders of magnitudes cheaper.

    lungben81 , freepik Report

    #7

    Young woman wearing glasses and a coat standing on a modern building balcony symbolizing solved mysteries. Elisa Lam, the woman found dead in the water tank on top of a hotel in Los Angeles. It wasn't a crime or ghost, she was mentally ill having a bipolar episode.

    happywhateverday , diana.grytsku Report

    #8

    Ancient ruins with stone columns and walls, illustrating strangest mysteries that were actually solved. The rediscoveries of lost cities such as:

    The rediscovery of the location of Pompei in 1748.

    The rediscovery of the location of Herculaneum in 1709.

    The discovery of the location of Macchu Picchu in 1911.

    TurbulentAir , DejaVu Designs Report

    #9

    Man in a green shirt thoughtfully looking up, symbolizing solving strange mysteries and deep contemplation indoors. Spontaneous generation. People used to think flies would spontaneously appear from rotten meat, as every time they had it, flies somehow would appear even though flies were no where close when the meat was okay. After observation and experiments, we understood flies landed in the meat, left their eggs, and then more flies would be born and then stay to eat the meat.

    secretmindofcisco , kues1 Report

    #10

    Two people sitting by a window at a cafe, having a deep conversation about strangest mysteries solved recently. A man in Florida fooled people for years into believing there was a giant penguin walking the beaches, the haox began in 1958 and was only revealed to be a hoax in 1988.

    geordiesteve520 , cookie_studio Report

    #11

    Two people wearing headlamps in the dark, exploring outdoors, evoking the theme of solved strangest mysteries. The mystery of how the far side of the Moon actually looks:

    "Until the late 1950s, little was known about the far side of the Moon. Librations periodically allowed limited glimpses of features near the lunar limb on the far side, but only up to 59% of the total surface of the Moon.[14]"

    "Before space exploration began, astronomers did not expect that the far side would be different from the side visible to Earth. On 7 October 1959, the Soviet probe Luna 3 took the first photographs of the lunar far side, eighteen of them resolvable, covering one-third of the surface invisible from the Earth."

    TurbulentAir , freepik Report

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    #12

    Man with glasses deep in thought against a dark background, reflecting on strangest mysteries that were solved. Just last year the identity of the Somerton Man was discovered.

    “The Somerton Man was an unidentified man whose body was found on 1 December 1948 on the beach at Somerton Park, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. The case is also known after the Persian phrase tamám shud (Persian: تمام شد),[note 1] meaning "is over" or "is finished", which was printed on a scrap of paper found months later in the fob pocket of the man's trousers. The scrap had been torn from the final page of a copy of Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyám, authored by 12th-century poet Omar Khayyám.”

    hiphiprenee , pvproductions Report

    #13

    Young child eating breakfast cereal at wooden table, capturing simple everyday moments and solved mysteries concept. Kids love Cinnamon Toast Crunch because it's all sugar.

    QuietlySmirking , EyeEm Report