10 largest objects that mysteriously disappeared (6 photos + 5 videos)

Everyone understands how you can lose your keys, wallet or phone. But how can you lose a huge plane, an entire army or a star in the sky without a trace? They're big! Well, history suggests that some large objects can disappear from under the noses of even the smartest people.





1. Wrecks

At the bottom of the seas around Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are the remains of hundreds of ships that sank during the battles of World War II. One of these battles took place in the Java Sea on February 27, 1942, off the coast of Indonesia, where the Dutch fought the Japanese. A total of 14 ships took part, with two remaining in the end. In 2002, divers found sunken ships, but in 2016 it suddenly became clear that two Dutch ships were missing - only their prints remained on the seabed. Experts say that due to the great depth, moving ships was almost impossible, and such an attempt could not go unnoticed. However, it happened. The Indonesian Navy has agreed to continue its investigation into the matter.

2. Underwater observatory for collecting scientific data



The German underwater observatory, costing €300,000, was installed in 2016 at a depth of 22 meters in a no-shipping zone near the Danish border. Three years later, scientists were extremely surprised when they stopped receiving data from a valuable device. When divers went to check it, they found only a broken power cable. The disappearance is strange because no one is allowed into the area, not even local fishermen, and the weight of the station is so large (two blocks weighing 520 kg and 220 kg) that it could not have been carried away by currents or sea animals.

3. Ninth Legion





If you delve into the history of the ancient world, you can remember the disappearance without a trace of the Ninth Legion of the Roman army. It was stationed in Britain and consisted of about 5,000 of the most combat-ready fighters. Their task was to control the Britons and suppress rebellions. During the reign of Emperor Hadrian in the first half of the second century, the Romans were so shaken by revolts that the emperor even visited this remote region. He designed the famous wall between Scotland and England, which now bears his name - Hadrian's Wall. As for the Ninth Legion, the popular legend is that all of its warriors were defeated by a ragtag army of rebels, and this story has been the basis of many works of fiction and films. But not all historians agree with this interpretation - some believe that the rebels could not defeat such a force and, perhaps, the legion was transferred to the Middle East. One thing is certain - he disappeared, and without additional archaeological evidence this mystery cannot be solved.

4. Birmingham Boulders



Victorian society in Britain was known for its eccentricities, and one of them was to dress up and take pictures in front of huge boulders. Strewn boulders - relics of the Ice Age dating back 450,000 years - could be seen throughout Birmingham. In the 1800s, a lot was said and written about them, there was some scientific intrigue about where these stones came from. In 1890, explorers mapped the location of the stones, but a century later, more than half of the 200 boulders had disappeared. One particularly large one is known as the Rowheath Boulder, measuring 2.4 x 1.5 x 0.9 metres. The last time he was photographed was in 1923, and then he disappeared and his whereabouts have since been unknown.

5. Massive Star



By far the largest object ever "lost" was a star in the Kinman Dwarf Galaxy in 2019. It was so big that scientists called it a “monster star,” and it was about 2.5 million times brighter than our Sun. Between 2001 and 2011, astronomers watched it a lot because it was unstable: it was thought to be in a late stage of its evolution, ejecting mass through eruptions, and impending its explosion. In 2019, a research team from Ireland decided to study this star again to learn more about how large stars behave at the end of their cycle. But when they turned on their telescopes, the star was nowhere to be seen. Two explanations have been offered for the unexpected development. First, the star could become a less luminous star and be obscured by dust. The second and more scientifically significant explanation is that the star collapsed into a black hole without a supernova explosion. If so, it would be the first known case of a star dying in this manner.

6. Mango monument 10 meters high



In 2002, a massive statue of a mango was erected in Bowen, Australia - 10 meters high and weighing 7 tons. The city is considered the mango capital of Australia. And imagine the surprise of the townspeople when, 12 years later, they woke up in the morning and did not find their favorite monument in place. Everyone was discussing who stole it and why! Maybe thieves will now steal pineapple and banana statues from other cities along the coast to assemble a giant fruit salad? But there were also skeptics who felt something was wrong because no police report was filed. The latter's suspicions were confirmed the next day. It turned out that this was a publicity stunt for the Nando's restaurant chain.

7. Dinosaur skeleton



In October 2020, an incredibly rare, nearly complete skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex named "Stan" was sold at auction to an anonymous buyer for $31.8 million. Stan was dug up in South Dakota in the early 1990s and was sold as a result of a legal dispute. However, the unknown bidder has caused concern among dinosaur enthusiasts because he did not immediately return the fossil to public display. Paleontologists feared that Stan would be locked up and no one would see him again, and in general now all dinosaur fossils would begin to be sold to private collectors for big money. However, two years later Stan appeared again in the spotlight - it turned out that his new home would be the Abu Dhabi Natural History Museum in the United Arab Emirates.

8. 11 million in silver bullion



You might think that companies transporting such valuable cargo should be more careful and not leave it in some run-down warehouse. But the transportation was handled by large companies; the bullion was being transported from South Korea to New York via Canada when it disappeared. Even three years after the 2019 robbery, these companies continued to blame each other without any closure. The problem is the access code, which was necessary in order to steal a container weighing 18 tons. At some point, the code was intercepted by attackers, who then sent false delivery instructions to the courier company, and the silver was sent to another address. Subsequently, some of this silver surfaced in British Columbia and Massachusetts, but the case was never fully solved.

9. Boeing 727



In May 2003, an American plane disappeared in Angola and almost two decades later, the FBI, CIA, US State Department and Department of Homeland Security are still at an impasse. There was a flight engineer and his newly hired assistant on board, and suddenly the plane took off, refusing to communicate with air traffic controllers. The flight engineer only had a private pilot's license and it is unknown who was flying the plane, him or someone else. Initially there were fears that the Boeing could be used as a bomb because it was carrying fuel for diamond mines. But the plane simply disappeared, and no traces of the crash were found, although they searched persistently, carefully and wherever possible.

10. Atomic bombs

 

Yes, bombs, in the plural. The United States lost at least three atomic bombs, and the Soviet Union is believed to have lost several during the Cold War. Although their locations are said to be known, they are all found deep in the ocean. The bombs were lost due to human error or failure of the vehicles carrying them, rather than being stolen by criminals. This is due to the inefficiency of searching in the ocean.