These mysteries may never be solved. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the greatest unsolved mysteries and strangest secrets from ancient times through today.
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00:00 "There's no Area 51. There's no recovered spaceship."
00:04 "Oh, excuse me, Mr. President. That's not entirely accurate."
00:10 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the greatest
00:14 unsolved mysteries and strangest secrets from ancient times through today.
00:18 "Freemasonry brings together people of diverse background."
00:22 Number 20. Metro 2
00:26 You may have heard about the British "Shadow Cabinet," but have you heard of a Russian
00:30 shadow subway? Rumors have swirled for almost a century about Metro 2,
00:35 a secret subway running parallel to the Moscow Metro. Codenamed D-6 by the KGB,
00:40 this clandestine network was allegedly built during the rule of Joseph Stalin.
00:44 It lacks public entrances, but could be used as a shelter in the event of an aerial assault on
00:49 Moscow. In times of crisis, while panicked civilians crowd onto the public metro,
00:54 government officials could easily escape the city using the trains in Metro 2,
00:58 which are supposedly battery-powered. Despite widespread speculation, the Russian government
01:03 has never acknowledged the system's existence, nor officially released any details of its function.
01:08 Number 19. The Lost Recipe for Greek Fire
01:12 Centuries before Oppenheimer created a superweapon by splitting the atom,
01:16 the Byzantine Empire ruled the Mediterranean with a superweapon of their own.
01:20 "A mysterious substance that when ignited, burns bright and hot."
01:25 Known as Greek fire, this formidable tool has somehow eluded a concrete definition,
01:30 with some simply referring to it as liquid fire that could never be extinguished by water.
01:35 The recipe for this weapon was held as a closely guarded secret, and with it,
01:39 the Byzantium resisted Muslim conquests for centuries.
01:42 "Streams of flame shoot out from Byzantine vessels,
01:46 lighting the water on fire and incinerating the Arab ships."
01:50 Unfortunately, the danger of tightly held secrets is that they can easily be forgotten.
01:55 By the Fourth Crusade, the Eastern Roman Empire lost the recipe,
01:59 and was ultimately annihilated in the subsequent centuries.
02:02 Though historians and chemists have tried to recreate the recipe, they have never been successful.
02:07 "There is certainly speculation as to the different recipes for Greek fire,
02:12 but it would be very difficult to say what the classic Greek fire actually is."
02:18 Tesla's Missing Papers
02:21 "It's just amazing from a history standpoint,
02:24 Tesla helped create the foundation of our electrical grid."
02:28 History buffs may know about the rivalry between Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison
02:33 in the nascent days of electrical power, but did you know that after his death in 1943,
02:38 some of Tesla's research mysteriously disappeared?
02:41 Tesla was allegedly working on particle beam weapons that, if successful,
02:44 could have altered the outcome of World War II.
02:47 The day after his death, his nephew, the Yugoslavian ambassador to the US,
02:52 discovered that his notebook and many crucial documents were missing.
02:55 As the FBI didn't trust Tesla's nephew with his sensitive research,
02:59 they later confiscated all of the scientist's items.
03:02 "The US government sat on Tesla's entire estate for 10 years."
03:07 Although some of Tesla's work was returned to his family years later,
03:10 a significant portion of it has never been found.
03:13 Oliver Cromwell's Head
03:16 "Of all the bizarre and bloody ways in which English rulers have met their destiny,
03:21 the strangest concerns the only British sovereign, who was not a monarch."
03:25 Oliver Cromwell was a leading parliamentarian during the British Civil Wars of the 17th century,
03:30 seizing control of the nation through a military coup.
03:32 Cromwell ruled as Lord Protector for five years before dying of natural causes.
03:37 Shortly after his death, the monarchy regained authority.
03:41 King Charles II then ordered the exhumation of Cromwell's body
03:44 so he could be posthumously executed.
03:46 Cromwell's head was removed afterwards and put on display in London for at least two decades.
03:51 Over the next three centuries, it passed between private collectors of creepy historical objects,
03:57 occasionally giving rise to fake replicas.
03:59 "The authorities were certainly aware that people's heads,
04:04 traitors' heads, could become objects of veneration.
04:07 In fact, Cromwell himself had authorized
04:10 Charles I's head to be re-sewn and reattached to his body."
04:14 The final owner decided to secretly bury the head on the campus of Sydney Sussex College,
04:19 which Cromwell attended.
04:21 Its exact location there remains unknown.
04:24 Number 16. Copper Scroll Treasure
04:27 "When scholars finally revealed the contents of the Copper Scroll in June 1956,
04:32 it caused excitement around the globe."
04:36 In the 1940s and 50s, archaeologists found a treasure trove of ancient Jewish manuscripts
04:42 in the Qumran caves of the West Bank.
04:44 Collectively, they became known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.
04:47 One of these manuscripts was different from the others,
04:50 inscribed on copper plates instead of parchment and papyrus.
04:53 This unique document, referred to as the Copper Scroll,
04:56 not only differed in its material but also in its content.
05:00 It's an ancient treasure map, listing 64 locations of buried jewels and gold.
05:05 "Written out in 12 columns. It's a verbal treasure map.
05:08 12 columns, over 60 plus locations."
05:11 Unfortunately, the map is outdated by about 2,000 years.
05:15 Treasure hunters and archaeologists have tried to find the modern locations of these ancient sites.
05:20 To this day, no treasure has ever been discovered.
05:23 Number 15. Letters of Last Resort
05:27 This is the stuff that spy movies are made of.
05:30 Belonging to the United Kingdom, the Letters of Last Resort are exclusively
05:33 written by the newly appointed Prime Minister.
05:36 Four different letters are penned, which are then given to four submarines
05:40 equipped with destructive Trident missiles.
05:42 Within the letters are instructions telling the commanding officers
05:45 what to do in the event of a nuclear strike on Britain.
05:49 No one but the Prime Minister knows the exact contents of the letters,
05:52 as they're kept sealed until nuclear war breaks out.
05:56 In the event that nuclear war doesn't break out, which thankfully it hasn't,
06:00 the letters are destroyed upon the inauguration of a new PM.
06:03 Number 14. Taj Mahal or Tejomahalia
06:07 In 1989, historian P.N. Oak stirred controversy with his book,
06:12 Taj Mahal, The True Story.
06:14 In it, Oak opposed the majority of historians and scientists
06:17 who believed the structure was built in the 17th century,
06:20 instead contending that it was actually constructed in 1155.
06:24 Also, contrary to its designation as a tomb,
06:27 Oak claimed that the building was originally a Hindu temple.
06:30 According to him, Shiva worshippers had constructed it and called it Tejomahalia.
06:34 Oak even filed a petition demanding that the Taj Mahal be declared a Hindu monument,
06:39 but it was dismissed by India's Supreme Court in 2000.
06:42 In recent years, with the rise of online conspiracies,
06:45 the theory has become a rallying cry for Hindu nationalists.
06:48 "Organizations are now claiming that once you open the doors,
06:51 you will see, you will find a Lord Shiva temple.
06:55 In fact, most of the people have gone ahead and said that what you see behind me
06:58 is not Taj Mahal, has always been Tejomahalia."
07:02 Number 13. The Coca-Cola Recipe
07:05 Coca-Cola has been around since 1886, and try as desperately as they might,
07:11 no one has been able to replicate its distinct taste.
07:14 That's how you know you have a good beverage on your hands.
07:17 "The people who handle the concentrate are as in the dark about the secret formula as anyone."
07:23 Inventor John S. Pemberton kept his recipe a secret,
07:32 and even refused to write it down for fear of people copying his success.
07:36 It was finally jotted down when Ernest Woodruff purchased the company in 1919.
07:41 "The first recipe called for cocaine, but over time,
07:43 the narcotic ingredient was removed, but not the secrecy."
07:47 The physical recipe then made the rounds between New York's Guarantee Bank,
07:50 Atlanta's Trust Company Bank, and finally the world of Coca-Cola,
07:54 which is where it resides today.
07:56 It is currently housed in the so-called Vault of the Secret Formula,
08:00 and it remains a very closely guarded trade secret.
08:04 "At least once a year, somebody show up and say,
08:06 'I have the original formula for Coca-Cola, how much will you pay me for it?'
08:09 Well, we don't need to pay him anything for it, because we have the only real one."
08:12 Number 12. The World's Greatest Card Trick
08:15 David Berglos was a mentalist and magician who gained notoriety in the 1950s,
08:19 particularly for his iconic trick known as the Berglos Effect.
08:23 "This particular card effect is a version of a classic plot in magic
08:27 called 'Any Card, At Any Number'."
08:29 For this deceptively simple feat, Berglos would produce a seemingly ordinary deck
08:34 and ask a spectator to name any playing card.
08:36 Another person would then pick a random number from 1 to 52.
08:40 By the time the cards were dealt one by one,
08:42 the specified card would be found at the specified position.
08:46 It's a trick that stumped and astounded other magicians for years.
08:49 "Which made him a legend amongst magicians and a career that spanned over six decades."
08:55 However, Berglos maintained that it was unteachable,
08:58 and he took the secret to his grave in 2023.
09:01 This covert technique is now widely considered the holy grail of card magic.
09:05 Number 11. The Origins of HIV/AIDS
09:09 "Some nurses feared this unknown, unnamed disease so much
09:13 they wouldn't even go near someone with AIDS. The fear was pervasive."
09:17 While HIV is largely linked to the 1980s, it remains a global public health issue.
09:23 In 2020 alone, it was estimated that nearly 40 million people were living with the disease.
09:28 "70% live in sub-Saharan Africa."
09:32 But anti-retroviral drugs offer hope.
09:35 New infections are down by over a third.
09:38 Mother-to-child transmission has more than halved,
09:40 and globally, there's been a 35% decrease in deaths.
09:44 But regardless of its prevalence and very public history,
09:47 there is still a lot about the retrovirus we don't know.
09:50 "Even those of us who were in it from day one were shocked by the enormity of the problem."
09:58 For example, humanity is still mostly unsure of where it came from.
10:02 The leading theory is that African hunters in the early 20th century
10:06 killed and ate chimpanzees infected with SIV, the S standing for simian,
10:11 which then mutated into HIV in the human body.
10:14 However, this information is typically populated with words like "probably" and "likely,"
10:19 indicating that the origins of HIV are not definitively known, even to this day.
10:25 Number 10. The Farmer's Almanac Formula
10:28 "Wow, listen to this, we are in for a brutal winner."
10:31 "That's according to the Farmer's Almanac."
10:33 Farmer's Almanac has been annually published since 1818,
10:37 so it's obviously doing something right.
10:39 The Almanac makes long-term weather predictions in North America,
10:43 and various scientific studies have proven a roughly 50% rate of accuracy.
10:48 "So basically take this with a grain of salt."
10:50 Not bad, considering the predictions come up to two years in advance,
10:54 and it seems like the local weather station doesn't even know if it'll rain tomorrow.
10:58 "And according to their website, they use an exclusive mathematical and astronomical formula
11:03 that relies on sunspot activity, tidal action, planetary position, and many other factors."
11:09 Weirdly, almost nothing is known about the making of the Almanac.
11:13 The forecaster is kept secret,
11:14 and the Almanac itself has never revealed how it makes its predictions.
11:19 The formula is reportedly kept inside an impenetrable box,
11:22 and the world is left wondering just how the heck these gods can so accurately predict the weather.
11:28 Number 9. The Roanoke Colony
11:33 The first English attempt to colonize the New World took place on the island of Roanoke in 1585.
11:39 It failed due to a lack of food and clashes with indigenous peoples.
11:43 Two years later, John White made another effort, establishing a larger settlement.
11:48 White left his settlers there, hoping to come back with supplies the following year,
11:52 but his return was delayed until 1590.
12:01 Upon arriving on the supply ship, White found the settlement completely deserted.
12:05 The only clue as to the whereabouts of his people was a strange carving on a post that read "Croatoan."
12:11 Over a hundred men, women, and children had disappeared without a trace.
12:15 "There's no evidence that there was any kind of battle. There's no evidence
12:19 of bones or bodies that might indicate an altercation between the colonists
12:24 and the indigenous people."
12:25 While theories of their fate abound, none has ever been proven.
12:30 Number 8. Bohemian Grove
12:32 Bohemian Grove is a compound sitting on a massive 2,700-acre slice of California redwood country.
12:38 It's a gentleman's club of sorts, catering to the conservative elites of American society.
12:43 Its membership includes almost every Republican president since Calvin Coolidge,
12:47 other politicians, as well as some of the wealthiest business leaders in modern history.
12:52 For over 150 years, elites have flocked to Bohemian Grove on semi-secret retreats,
12:58 which typically take place in mid-July every year, for about two weeks.
13:02 Few know what they do there, though rumors of their Bacchanalia-esque revelries abound.
13:07 What we do know is that there is a reasonable likelihood that many of the world's historical
13:12 events may have been shaped within the confines of the Bohemian Grove.
13:15 Number 7. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
13:18 "A garden known throughout the world for its beauty,
13:22 a name now synonymous with the disappeared riches of an ancient kingdom."
13:27 Today, all but one of the seven wonders of the ancient world have been lost to time.
13:32 Among those that no longer exist, one has continued to spark controversy.
13:36 Historians and archaeologists have long endeavored to find proof that the Hanging
13:40 Gardens of Babylon actually existed. A number of contemporary accounts described a massive
13:45 collection of lush plants in the center of the city. It appeared, they said, as if there were
13:50 a green mountain in the center of Sennacherib's palace. No physical evidence has ever been found.
13:55 Whether swallowed by the Euphrates or a myth meant to spread Babylonian glory,
13:59 the truth of the Hanging Gardens is still a mystery.
14:17 Number 6. The Man in the Iron Mask
14:23 The story of the Man in the Iron Mask has been a staple of French culture since Dumas published
14:27 his novel in 1850. While he theorized that the mysterious prisoner was in fact the identical
14:33 twin of Louis XIV, the truth remains a mystery. What we do know is that at the turn of the 17th
14:39 century, there was a masked political prisoner. Contrary to fiction, his mask wasn't iron,
14:44 but rather made of black velvet. Rumors swirled about his identity. Voltaire believed that he
14:49 was a secret royal relative, held captive to keep Louis' crown safe. Others claimed that he was the
14:55 son of Oliver Cromwell. Whomever he was, the masked French prisoner's true identity is likely
15:00 to remain a secret forever. Number 5. Genghis Khan's Tomb
15:14 Living in the mid-12th century to the early 13th, Genghis Khan is the infamous instigator of the
15:20 Mongol Empire, which was the largest connective empire in history. After taking over much of the
15:39 known world, Khan died under unknown circumstances and was returned to his home country of Mongolia.
15:45 Legend has it that the funeral procession killed anyone who witnessed it in order to keep his final
15:51 resting place a secret. If that's true, it certainly worked, because no one today has any
15:56 idea of where Genghis Khan is buried. Modern scholars believe his tomb
16:09 is somewhere around the Burkhan Khaldun mountain, but research in the area is difficult,
16:14 owing to restrictions imposed by the Mongolian government.
16:18 Number 4. The Lost Years of Jesus Christ
16:43 Many scholars and historians agree that Jesus Christ was a real person and that he was born
16:48 sometime around 4 BC. However, a large chunk of his historical life remains unaccounted for,
16:54 as no one knows what he was doing between the ages of 12 and 29.
17:11 These are referred to by a variety of names, including his silent years. Of course,
17:16 there are many theories. Some believe he was in Britain, others, India.
17:39 But the leading theory is that he was in Galilee, a region of both Israel and Lebanon,
17:44 working as a carpenter under the tutelage of his father Joseph.
17:47 Following Jesus' unknown excursions, he was baptized in Al-Maktas around 28 AD,
18:05 and it is here that his world-changing ministry began.
18:08 Number 3. The USA's Missile Submarines
18:11 There's something about submarines and secrecy. The United States owns various missile submarines
18:17 that are guided by nuclear power, including the USS Ohio, Michigan, Florida, and Georgia.
18:38 These are known as SSGNs. The missiles on board these subs have the potential to cause
18:43 great destruction, but their whereabouts and activities are generally unknown.
18:48 However, they literally surface from time to time. For example, Michigan appeared in South Korea in
19:01 2017, and Florida took part in Operation Odyssey Dawn in Libya. On June 28, 2010, a rare event
19:18 occurred which saw three of four surfacing at once in response to Chinese missile tests.
19:23 These four subs have been SSGNs since the 2000s, but most of their actions and locations have
19:29 remained a secret. Number 2. Freemasons
19:38 For 300 years, conspiracy theories have swirled around the Freemasons,
19:53 officially founded in 1717. Many believe to this day that the not-so-secret secret society has been
19:59 operating behind the scenes for centuries. The truth is likely far less sinister. Publicly,
20:05 they advertise themselves as a group of civic-minded men, looking to propagate charity,
20:10 kindness, and stability throughout the world.
20:12 Women are not allowed, and members must have some kind of belief in a supreme being.
20:17 They are famous for secret rituals, handshakes, and lodges. Regular civilians,
20:22 driven by curiosity, have long sought to uncover their secrets, fueled by rumors that have linked
20:27 them to everything from the New World Order to the 19th century. The Freemasons are known for
20:32 their secretive nature, and their secretive nature is often the reason why they are so popular.
20:37 They are known for their secrets, fueled by rumors that have linked them to everything from the New
20:41 World Order to aliens. Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to
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20:57 Number 1. Area 51
21:01 When it comes to highly classified areas, it doesn't get more famous than Area 51.
21:19 Found in the Nevada desert, Area 51 is a top-secret military facility with ties to cutting-edge
21:25 technology. The place is so secretive that it wasn't officially unveiled by the CIA until 2013,
21:44 even though it was very obvious that something was in the desert. Area 51 is officially known
21:49 as a military training facility and supposedly a testing ground for both experimental aircraft
21:54 and high-tech weaponry. Owing to its secretive nature, both trespassing and flying over the
22:16 site are grossly prohibited and dangerously enforced. Naturally, this has given rise to
22:22 a swath of conspiracy theories. Are aliens inside Area 51? Perhaps we'll never know.
22:28 Are you a super sleuth with knowledge of some of the world's greatest untold secrets?
22:44 Spill the beans in the comments below.
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