20 Unexplained Discoveries That Scientists Still Can’t Figure Out
Mysterious discoveries continue to baffle scientists, leaving more questions than answers.
- Daisy Montero
- 5 min read
Some discoveries make scientists scratch their heads because nothing about them makes sense. They do not fit into history, go against what experts know, or seem way too advanced for their time. No one can figure out why they exist, how they work, or what they mean. These mysteries refuse to be solved, leaving more questions than answers.
1. The Antikythera Mechanism
Tilemahos Efthimiadis on Wikimedia Commons
Found in a 2,000-year-old shipwreck, this complex device resembles a modern clockwork mechanism. Scientists believe it was used to track celestial movements, but its advanced engineering seems centuries ahead of its time. How did the ancient Greeks develop such intricate technology?
2. The Wow! Signal
Philip Terry Graham on Wikimedia Commons
In 1977, a powerful radio signal was detected from deep space, lasting 72 seconds. It was so unusual that an astronomer marked “Wow!” next to the reading. No one knows where it came from or if it was an alien message.
3. The Voynich Manuscript
Unknown author on Wikimedia Commons
This centuries-old book is filled with unknown symbols, strange plants, and diagrams of unidentifiable objects. Linguists, historians, and codebreakers have tried deciphering it, but no one knows what it says or who wrote it.
4. The Baghdad Battery
Chatsam on Wikimedia Commons
Discovered in Iraq, this clay jar contains metal rods that could have functioned as a primitive battery. If it truly generated electricity, what was it used for in ancient times?
5. The Tunguska Event
ChatGPT 3 and 4o AI on Wikimedia Commons
In 1908, a massive explosion leveled 800 square miles of forest in Siberia. No impact crater was found, leaving scientists puzzled over what caused the blast. Was it a meteor, a comet, or something even stranger?
6. The Piri Reis Map
Piri Reis on Wikimedia Common
This 16th-century map shows Antarctica’s coastline centuries before it was officially discovered. Some parts even match modern satellite images of the continent without ice. How did an old-world mapmaker know what Antarctica looked like?
7. The Siberian Cauldrons
https://openclipart.org/artist/naoshika on Wikimedia Commons
Hidden deep in Siberia’s Valley of Death, massive metal cauldrons have been spotted sinking into the swamp. Some say they were built by an ancient civilization, while others believe they are remnants of alien technology. No one knows what they are or why they are there.
8. The Shroud of Turin
TravelingOtter on Wikimedia Commons
This centuries-old linen cloth bears the faint imprint of a man, and some believe it is the burial shroud of Jesus. Carbon dating suggests it might not be that old, but the image remains unexplained. No one can figure out how it was made or why it has never faded.
9. The Devil’s Kettle
August Schwerdfeger on Wikimedia Commons
A Minnesota waterfall splits into two streams, but one side vanishes into a hole without a trace. Scientists have tried dye tests and other experiments, but the water never reappears. Where does it go? No one knows.
10. The Atacama Skeleton
Luca Galuzzi (Lucag) on Wikimedia Commons
This tiny, six-inch skeleton was found in Chile’s Atacama Desert. Its unusual shape made people think it was an alien, but DNA tests say it was human. Scientists still cannot explain its extreme bone deformities.
11. The Dancing Plague of 1518
Unknown author on Wikimedia Commons
Hundreds of people in France started dancing uncontrollably for weeks, unable to stop. Some collapsed from exhaustion, while others danced until they died. No one knows what caused this bizarre event.
12. The Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp
João Pedro Federal on Wikimedia Commons
A seven-foot-tall creature with scaly skin and glowing red eyes was spotted in South Carolina’s swamps. Witnesses claim it attacked cars and left deep claw marks. No evidence has ever been found, but the legend refuses to die.
13. The Yonaguni Monument
Melkov on Wikimedia Commons
Off the coast of Japan, massive stone structures sit beneath the ocean. Some believe they are ancient ruins, while others think they formed naturally. If people built them, that would mean a lost civilization existed thousands of years ago.
14. The Taos Hum
BiHVolim on Wikimedia Commons
For decades, a low, droning sound has been heard in Taos, New Mexico. Some describe it as a distant engine running, but no one has ever found the source. Not everyone can hear it, making it even more mysterious.
15. The Nazca Lines
Diego Delso on Wikimedia Commons
Massive drawings of animals, plants, and geometric shapes stretch across Peru’s desert. They can only be seen from the sky, yet they were made thousands of years ago. How the ancient Nazca people created them and why are they still unknown?
16. The Hessdalen Lights
Unknown author on Wikimedia Commons
Strange, glowing lights appear in Norway’s Hessdalen Valley, hovering and zipping through the sky. Scientists have studied them for decades, but no one knows what causes them. Some think it is plasma, while others believe something unexplainable is at play.
17. The Moving Stones of Death
Giuseppe Milo on Wikimedia Commons
Massive rocks in Death Valley’s Racetrack Playa move across the dry lake bed, leaving long trails behind them. No one has ever seen them move, and for years, scientists could not figure out how. Some say ice sheets push them, but the mystery is not fully solved.
18. The Patomskiy Crater
Emre Koşak on Pexels
A giant crater in Siberia looks like something crashed into it, but there is no impact debris. Some believe it was caused by underground explosions, while others think it is linked to meteor activity. Whatever created it left no clear evidence behind.
19. The Screaming Mummy
Ester Oras / Mait Metspalu on Wikimedia Commons
One of Egypt’s strangest mummies has a mouth twisted in an eternal scream. Scientists believe it may have been poisoned or buried alive, but there is no solid proof. The identity of the person and the cause of death remain a mystery.
20. The Baltic Sea Anomaly
European Union , Copernicus Sentinel-3 imagery on Wikimedia Commons
A strange, circular object was found at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, resembling a crashed spaceship. Some say it is just a natural rock formation, while others believe it is something more. Whatever it is, no one has been able to fully explain it.