Curious Events Day

Phoebe Simcock, 9th Oct 2021
Tags: Life Blog

Curious Events Day is the 9th October, and what better way to celebrate that than to explore some of the most curious events in history?

We’ve got a short description of eight events in history that will leave you confused and eager to investigate.

Lord Lucan

Richard John Bingham, the 7th Earl of Lucan was a fine member of high society. He was suspected of murder and disappeared leaving only a couple of letters. The most curious part of it all is that he’s still missing.  

Mary Celeste

The Mary Celeste was a merchant ship that set sail from New York in 1872. There were ten passengers on board, but when the ship was found it was deserted with no signs of a struggle and just one lifeboat missing. None of the crew were ever seen again.  

Bobby Dunbar 

Four year old Bobby Dunbar went missing whilst on holiday with his family. After an eight month search a young boy was found and the Dunbar parents were convinced it was Bobby. They had a court battle and gained custody of the boy they believed to be their son. Advances in technology and DNA samples from both families found that the boy that the Dunbars took in wasn’t actually Bobby, so who did they take in as their son and where is the real Bobby? 

The Sodder Family fire

On Christmas Morning 1945, a fire broke out in the home of Jennie and George Sodder and their nine children. The parents and four children made it out safely, but the other five were never seen again.  It was deemed as faulty wiring but the Christmas lights were still in full working order. The Sodder parents reported hearing noises in the house days before the event and believed that the children were taken prior to the fire as they received a photograph anonymously of a young man they believed to be their son as an adult.  

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Hanging Gardens are well known for being a botanical paradise and ancient wonder of the world. But did you know we actually have no evidence that they ever existed? Ancient writers have written about the amazing wonders of the garden but archaeologists have excavated Babylon and have been unable to find any remains of that description at all.  

Amelia Earhart

On an attempt to fly around the world in 1937, female aviator Amelia Earhart vanished along with her navigator. Years of research and speculation has got us no closer to an answer of where they ended up, some believe it was Government involvement that took down the plane and others think she took on a new identity abroad.   

Roanoke Colony

In 1587, a group of English colonists arrived in North America and established a colony on Roanoke island. The leader John White left the island, but when he returned three years later the colony had completely vanished and left no trace behind only the word ‘CROATOAN’ on a tree. Maybe they just attempted to sail back, but why would they make effort to hide ever being there apart from one word?  

Louis Le Prince

Le Prince was the inventor of the early motion picture camera. In 1890 he was preparing for a trip to the US and decided to visit his brother in France before his trip. He boarded a later train than planned and although reportedly on his way to Paris, was never seen leaving the train and has never been seen since.

Happy investigating!