Looks like you’ve found yourself at that part of the internet again. If the thrill of rainy seasons or flight delays just don’t excite you, how about this – unsolved mysteries from around the world. For every far-fetched travel story you hear about – don’t we all have that one friend that swears they partied with a celebrity – strangers things have happened, some even in our backyard.
#1 On a Boeing Flight
In 1971, a man who called himself Dan Cooper boarded a flight from Seattle from Oregon. “Cooper” handed a flight attendant a note saying he had a bomb in his briefcase, even showing her a mess of red sticks and wires. He was given USD 200,000 and four parachutes in exchange for the safety of the passengers. When the plane landed he ordered the pilot to fly to Mexico and mid-way through, jumped out the plane and disappeared for good. In July of this year, the FBI finally gave up. “We have arrived at our conclusion today that it was just time to close the case because there isn’t anything new out there,” said Special Agent in Charge Frank Montoya, Jr. D.B Cooper remains the only unsolved case in the US aviation history.
#2 In Malaysia
According to newspapers, two American vessels along the Straits of Malacca picked up distress signals from the Dutch merchant ship Orang Medan. The message went on to read “All officers including the Captain, dead in the chartroom and on the bridge. Probably whole of crew dead”. Later on, they received a final message, “I’m dying”. Rescue missions found an undamaged Orang Medan but with corpses in a strange state – sprawled on their backs, with their mouths gaping open and eyes staring. No one survived, not even the dog on board. There are theories that suggest carbon monoxide poisoning, but Malaysia being Malaysia, steers in the direction of the paranormal.
#3 In New Mexico
Dating back to the early 1900’s, many residents claimed they would hear a strange humming or buzzing sound. The University of New Mexico conducted a study on the bizarre noise and discovered that 2% of the population could hear it, but they still couldn’t figure out what it was. Even after setting up sound-detecting equipment throughout the town, nothing related was ever recorded. The ‘Hum’ as it’s now called, can also be heard in Bristol, England and Largs, Scotland. What’s similar in every case is that only some people can hear it, giving them the name “hearers” or “hummers”.
#4 In Kazakhstan
Nicknamed “sleepy Hollow”, people who lived in Kalachi were constantly tired and had uncontrollable sex cravings (insert your “same” joke here). A walk around Kalachi would see villagers asleep in random places in broad daylight, sometimes even for days. Some of them have reported waking up with memory loss and having hallucinations. This was of course, horrible for the economy and drove many villages away. But consider this one solved! Only recently did was it discovered that the residents were being poisoned by disused uranium as the town was built on a mine. Since then, residents are being evacuated and given new homes.
#5 In Singapore
Numerous Japanese soldiers stationed in Singapore during World War reported seeing Bigfoot. The sightings, they say, occurred in Bukit Timah, where they glimpsed an almost 7-foot-tall primate-like creature covered in grey hair. Some people from time to time still claim to see Bigfoot, but well away from the CBD don’t worry. The last known sighting was just in 2007 when a few people claimed to see an ape-like creature run over by a taxi and another (or the same one) bustling about trash cans. Whatever it is they saw, Bukit Timah is home to plenty of wildlife.
Anything but ordinary.
Photo credits: Main, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5,.
