Amelia Earhart poses at the door of a Lockheed Electra L-10E in May 1937, two months before she vanished during her attempt to cross the Pacific.
For Amelia Earhart's Birthday, Here Are Other Lost Mysteries
The aviation luminary is in good company. Here are six other lost legends that still have explorers scratching their heads.
As the 119th anniversary of Amelia Earhart’s birthday approaches on July 24, we’re celebrating by rounding up other famous lost mysteries. Hat tip to NPR’s 404 page, which inspired this article. Oh, and if you happen to find any of these, let us know.
Queen Nefertiti’s Tomb
The most recent development in the search for the famous Egyptian royal's final resting place came from Nicholas Reeves, a University of Arizona archaeologist. He has been working with Egyptian officials to scan the walls of King Tut’s tomb, off of which Nefertiti’s tomb may be hidden, with radar technology. Results have been inconclusive thus far.
The City of Z
In 1925, British explorer Percy Harrison Fawcett and his son vanished into the forests of the Amazon in Brazil while searching for a lost civilization that Fawcett called “City of Z.” In the decades since, many explorers trying to retrace Fawcett’s steps have failed to do so, and some have died in their attempts.
The Crew of the Mary Celeste
In 1872, the crew of another ship spotted the Mary Celeste in the seas near the Azores. When they boarded the ship, which was intact, they found a six-month supply of food and water and the intact industrial barrels of alcohol it was carrying as cargo —but none of the 10-person crew that was supposed to be sailing the ship.
Most of da Vinci's Texts
When Leonardo da Vinci died, a large chunk of his writings (which contained brilliant ideas for things like cars and the practice of geology) was given to Francesco Melzi, his student. But in 1570, when Melzi died, most of da Vinci’s works were stolen. They haven’t resurfaced.
Flying Tiger Line Flight 739
A U.S. military plane with over 90 people on board left Guam in 1962. It never arrived in the Philippines, its final destination. There was no distress call, and despite the best efforts of over 1,300 people searching for it, no one ever found a trace of it.
The City of the Jaguar
… Actually, this one has been found. While legends of fabled lost places have enticed generations of explorers into the most remote locations on Earth, they usually return empty-handed, if they return at all. But sometimes the pursuit of a myth leads to a real discovery, like the legend of a lost "Ciudad Blanca" (White City) in Honduras. The city was found with aerial technology and later confirmed during an expedition in February 2015 by archaeologist Chris Fisher and colleagues.
Follow Heather Brady on Twitter.
