Astonishing Legends

We wrap up most of our interview with Professor Derek Abbott in Part 2B of The Somerton Man series, where we learn that when you engage a mystery, the mystery can engage you...

As with any great mystery, it can turn some individuals into steadfast researchers and citizen detectives, dedicating years to a quest for answers.  We were lucky enough to interview one such person, Professor Derek Abbott of the University of Adelaide in Australia...

Of the six questions — who, what, when, where, how and why — we only know three when it comes to the mystery of "The Somerton Man." What and where: a middle-aged man found dead on Somerton Beach, which borders the Adelaide, Australia, suburb of Glenelg. When: he was found by passersby at 6:30 a.m. on December 1, 1948. As for the remaining questions, authorities, academics, authors, Australians and curious citizens the world over have been seeking answers ever since...

New Episode Friday 3.18.16! Audio of a quick promo of our pending episodes on The Tamam Shud: Somerton Man Mystery. Associated Video of Promo here - http://bit.do/somertonpromo2

What's down there? Lost treasure? Legend has it. 20% of the world's unfrozen freshwater sitting on 4.3 miles of sediment? Science confirms it. What about humanoid creatures almost 10 feet tall, wearing silvery suits with helmets out for a deepwater swim, who don't care to be messed with? Well... yes — if you believe a report from the Soviet military. Unbelievable as this sounds, this story is only one of many frequently occurring reports of supernatural events at this magnificent body of water...

Our ancient ancestors spoke of a legendary place -- where the young and young at heart could test their skills against a magical, electronic device, using strategy, and their reflexes at 25¢ a pop. These wondrous havens were called "Video Arcades" and these hulking machines were called "Video Games...

On March 12, 1909, The Arizona Gazette published an article titled, "G. E. Kincaid Reaches Yuma." It was a short, mildly interesting announcement that Mr. "Kincaid" was only the second person to make the perilous boat trip down the entire course of the Colorado River, starting from Green River, Wyoming and eventually reaching Yuma, Arizona...

They had lawyers, guns and money, as well as cartographers and engineers, tradesmen, politicians and professionals of all station, all embedded in American society and the money in the earth itself. One day these would all be needed by the Knights of the Golden Circle and if the people, their skills and their ideals would not survive the generations then their amassed fortune would. And here is where one legend intersects with another: The Lost Dutchman Mine and the Knights of the Golden Circle...

The Confederate Army’s losses at the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg in July 1863 marked a turning point in America’s Civil War, one that was not favorable for furthering the cause of “Southern Independence.” With the hopes of an overall military victory for the Confederacy now beginning to fade, the clandestine leaders of the KGC took the movement fully underground, secreting not only their commands and communications, but also their amassed wealth and weapons...

America in the mid-nineteenth century was still a very young nation in the process of finding its own identity, its states not yet fully or harmoniously united. Differing ideas on what methods of production and government its inhabitants should employ were fomenting into a house divided and would lead to one of the bloodiest and devastating civil wars any country could experience...