An Expedition into Astonishing Global Mysteries

The Moai of Easter Island: Ancient objects holding a series of carved symbols were unearthed on the world-renowned Easter Island, a small remote island located a few thousand miles west of South America and notable for the hundreds of gigantic monolithic humanoid statues known as Moai. The elaborate designs appear to be glyphs or a type of writing, but their meaning has never been determined. Some believe that deciphering the cryptic inscription could provide insight into what led the ancient Easter Island society to collapse. The Rongorongo script was found by Eugene Eyraud, a Roman Catholic lay friar who arrived on Easter Island as a missionary on January 2nd, 1864. The age of the tablets is unknown due to a lack of accurate dating; however, they are thought to have originated during the 13th century, around the time of forest clearings. This is purely theoretical, as the Easter Islanders may have felled a few trees specifically for the purpose of manufacturing the wooden tablets. One glyph resembles a palm tree and is likely to represent the Easter Island palm, which vanished from the island's pollen record around 1650, implying the script is at least that old. While it is uncertain what the Rongorongo is meant to represent, the discovery and examination of the tablets remain a crucial element in understanding Easter Island's former civilizations.

The Cochno Stone: Archaeologists in Glasgow, Scotland, briefly dug and then reburied a 5,000-year-old stone slab with etched swirling geometric designs. The Cochno Stone, which spans 43 ft x 26 ft, features whirling designs known as cup and ring marks. The stone and its decorations have been known to locals since at least the 19th century. Decorations similar to these swirls have been discovered at other prehistoric sites around the world; however, the examples inscribed in the Cochno Stone are regarded as one of the best examples of such art in Europe. Reverend James Harvey excavated the entire stone slab in West Dunbartonshire in 1887. By 1965, the stone had been attacked with graffiti and ruined by the environment, so archaeologists buried it beneath the ground to preserve the artwork.

Saksaywaman Giant Stone Wall: Saksaywaman, an archaeological site on a steep hill above Cusco, is known for its massive stone artifacts weighing hundreds of tons. These massive stones were carved and polished by Inca builders into hundreds of feet-long terraces with zigzagged walls. Although just a small section of the original site remains, Saksaywaman's cyclopean dimensions continue to inspire admiration for the majesty and audacity of Inca stone masonry. Over many centuries, the site has stood silent witness to a millenarian history of pre-Columbian state creation, European colonialism, independence fights, and the formation of modern Peru.

The Antikythera Mechanism: 115 years ago, an archaeologist was sifting through objects found in the wreck of a 2,000-year-old vessel off the Greek island of Antikythera. Among the treasure was a series of brass gears and dials mounted in a case the size of a mantle clock. Archaeologists dubbed the instrument the Antikythera Mechanism. The genius and mystery of this piece of ancient Greek technology, arguably the world's first computer, was a marvel to behold. At first glance, the piece of brass found near the wreck looks like something you might find in a junkyard or hanging on the wall of a maritime-themed dive bar. What remains of the mechanism is a set of rusted brass gears sandwiched into a rotting wooden box. But if you investigate the machine, you see evidence of at least two dozen gears laid neatly on top of one another, calibrated with the precision of a mastercrafted Swiss watch. This was a level of technology that archaeologists would usually date to the 16th century. It was immediately apparent that the mechanism was some sort of clock, calendar, or calculating device, but they did not understand what it was for. After a careful study of the gears, experts deduced that the mechanism was used to predict the position of the planets and stars in the sky depending on the calendar month. How the ancient Greeks accomplished this feat is unknown to this day.

Göbekli Tepe: Archaeologists made one of the most startling archaeological discoveries of our time 6 miles from Urfa, an ancient city in Southeastern Turkey. Massive carved stones about 11,000 years old, crafted and arranged by prehistoric people who had not yet developed metal tools or even pottery. Stonehenge was built 6,000 years before the megaliths. The site is known as Göbekli Tepe, and archaeologists who have been working there for more than a decade believe it is the location of the world's oldest temple.

SS Ourang Medan: In the 1940s, a strange story started circulating in newspapers all around the world. The SS Ourang Medan purportedly detonated near Indonesia, killing its entire crew under unknown circumstances. Different versions of the story differed slightly, with one even suggesting that a single survivor washed up on the shores of the Marshall Islands. With each iteration of the story, fresh speculations emerged about what happened to the ship. Some said pirates assaulted the vessel, while others claimed it was smuggling hazardous chemicals that smothered the crew and caused the ship to explode. Today, there are still many questions that remain unanswered about the mystery of the SS Ourang Medan, so many, in fact, that the ship's tale has been relegated almost completely to the realm of legend.

The Wow! Signal: Fifty years after a mysterious radio signal was received by an Earth-based radio telescope, astronomers believe they may have discovered its source. A radio telescope picked up an unusual signal that lasted only 1 minute and 12 seconds on August 15th, 1977, at 11:16 p.m. The Big Ear radio telescope detected the radio signal, which is still the most likely candidate for an alien origin. Forty-five years later, when astronomer Jerry Ehman saw the printout of the signal, he dubbed it "Wow!" He circled it and wrote "Wow!" next to it, giving it the mysterious name. According to a recent study, the 40-year-old signal originated from a sun-like star 1,800 light-years away. The Gaia archive contains data on 66 G and K type stars, but only one has been identified as a potential sun-like star. The hydrogen clouds from comets 266P/Christensen and P/2008 Y2 are thought to be the cause of the signal. As of 2023, the Wow! Signal remains the most powerful potential search for extraterrestrial intelligence signal. According to the study, this potential source becomes an excellent target for conducting observations in search of technosignatures. Another two candidate stars have a luminosity error interval that includes the sun's luminosity, and 14 more candidates have been identified as potential sun-like stars, though their luminosity estimates are uncertain. After 1977, the signal was never repeated. Many observatories conducted follow-up studies in the area over several years and never discovered another one. The Wow! Signal remains one of the most intriguing and mysterious events in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Detected by the Big Ear radio telescope on August 15th, 1977, this radio signal lasted only 1 minute and 12 seconds. It captured the attention of the scientific community and inspired wonder and speculation.

When astronomer Jerry Ehman saw the printout of the signal, he was so amazed that he circled it and wrote "Wow!" next to it, giving it its iconic name. But despite its captivating nature, the source of this signal has remained a mystery for decades.

Recently, however, astronomers may have found a potential answer. According to a recent study, the Wow! Signal is believed to have originated from a sun-like star located 1,800 light-years away. The Gaia archive, which contains data on 66 G and K type stars, identified only one potential source that closely matches the characteristics of a sun-like star.

The study suggests that the signal could have been caused by hydrogen clouds from comets, specifically comets 266P/Christensen and P/2008 Y2. These hydrogen clouds could have emitted radio emissions that were picked up by the Big Ear telescope.

Interestingly,