Mystery investigations
Famous mysteries, hoaxes and conspiracy claims set against the evidence: what was reported at the time, what investigators found and what is still unexplained, with the documented kept apart from the claimed.
17 articles on Your Daily Science
Famous Hoax Photos: The Fakes That Fooled the World
Famous hoax photos explained: the Cottingley fairies, the Surgeon's Photo, the Reichstag flag and Baby Adolf, and how each fake was exposed.
The Loch Ness Monster and the Surgeon's Photograph
A 1933 newspaper story, a famous 1934 photo of a toy submarine, and a 2018 DNA survey full of eels: how the Loch Ness legend was made, and tested.
Roswell 1947: What Actually Happened
A rancher, a scatter of foil and tape, a press release retracted within a day, and the secret balloon project behind the most famous UFO story.
Spirit Photography: William Mumler and the 1869 Trial
In the 1860s William Mumler sold photos of the living posed with ghosts. How he did it, why P. T. Barnum testified against him and why he walked free.
What Causes Radar Ghosts in UFO Sightings?
Radar ghosts in UFO sightings are often false echoes from temperature inversions, birds, insects, auroras or equipment faults.
Famous UFO Cases Explained: What Investigators Found
Were famous UFO cases explained? Mostly yes. Official studies traced most reports to planes, balloons, stars and weather, and a small share stayed unknown.
Why Redacted Files Fuel Conspiracy Theories
Why blacked-out government pages invite cover-up theories, how redaction works, and what the 2025 JFK release does and does not prove.
Shag Harbour 1967: What Happened, and What Is Still Unknown
A lit object reportedly fell into Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia, in October 1967. What the records show, and why the case remains officially unidentified.
Lunch atop a Skyscraper: A Real Photo, a Staged Moment
The ironworkers and the building were real, but the lunch was staged. Here is what historians have confirmed and what is still unknown.
The Cottingley Fairies: How Two Cousins Fooled Conan Doyle
In 1917 two cousins photographed cut-out fairy drawings. Arthur Conan Doyle championed the pictures. Here is how the hoax worked and how it ended.
How to Evaluate a Claim: A Practical Checklist
Carl Sagan's baloney detection kit, updated for a feed full of claims: nine questions to ask before you believe or share something.
What Scientific Consensus Means, and When It Was Wrong
How scientific agreement forms, why it deserves weight, and two famous cases where the consensus was wrong and changed: continental drift and ulcers.
Crop Circles: The Hoax That Fooled the World
Two men, a plank and a baseball cap: how crop circles began in 1978, why experts were fooled, and how a prank turned into an art form.
Area 51: What the Government Admits
Spy planes, Soviet MiGs and stealth jets: the declassified history of the Nevada base, and why its secrecy grew into the world's biggest UFO legend.
The Warren Commission: What It Found and What It Missed
What the 1964 inquiry into Kennedy's assassination concluded, the doubts it left out, and what every later review confirmed or overturned.
The Bermuda Triangle: Separating Fact from Myth
A legend built by magazine articles and a 1974 bestseller. What really happened to Flight 19 and USS Cyclops, and why insurers charge no extra.
Why People Believe the Earth Is Flat
Flat Earth belief is newer than you think, and medieval people never held it. Where the idea came from, why it spreads, and evidence you can check.