Editing 1501: Mysteries

{{comic
| number    = 1501
| date      = March 20, 2015
| title     = Mysteries
| image     = mysteries.png
| titletext = At the bottom left: The mystery of why, when I know I needed to be asleep an hour ago, I decide it's a good time to read through every Wikipedia article in the categories 'Out-of-place artifacts', 'Earth mysteries', 'Anomalous weather', and 'List of people who disappeared mysteriously'.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic shows a graph in which several "mysteries" are mentioned and placed on the graph according to how weird they are on the x-axis and the y-axis indicates whether [[Randall]] has an explanation or not for the mystery. Each item is listed in the [[#Table|table below]].

Items near the top-right corner (such as the {{w|Malaysia Airlines Flight 370|MH 370}} disappearance) are both mysterious and strange. Items near the bottom-left corner (such as Randall's absent-mindedness regarding ice cream) have a clear explanation and are not really strange either. Items near the top-left corner (such as the meaning of ''{{w|You're So Vain}}'') are mysterious but not really strange. Items near the bottom-right corner (such as the {{w|Dyatlov Pass incident}}) have a clear explanation but are quite strange. 

The title text refers to the mystery of Randall staying up late to read Wikipedia articles, when he was already supposed to be asleep an hour ago. This is apparently not very unusual for him (see for instance [[214: The Problem with Wikipedia]]). And this mystery actually has an obvious explanation: Following up on an idea that eventually led to today's cartoon.

Some of these mysteries have already been explored in xkcd. See [[950: Mystery Solved]] where Randall "solves" Amelia Earhart, Lost Roanoke Colony, Jimmy Hoffa; [[593: Voynich Manuscript]]; and [[1400: D.B. Cooper]].

Note that Randall uses similar diagrams in both [[388: Fuck Grapefruit]], [[1242: Scary Names]] and [[2466: In Your Classroom]], which also contain different items. The first two also have an extra point, and the last two extra points mentioned in the title text. But all these points are in the title text because they are far off the chart, whereas in this comic it's the description of the point that is too long to fit on the chart. Extra info outside the chart is also used in the title text of [[1785: Wifi]], but this is a line graph.

==Table==
The X axis in the graph indicates weirdness. The table assumes that the item to the far left is 0% (not that weird) and the item to the far right is 100% (weird as hell). The Y axis indicates if Randall has an explanation. The table assumes that the item at the bottom is 100% (Randall has a clear explanation) and the item at the top is 0% (Randall has no explanation).

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Entry
!Weirdness
!Explainability
!Further details
|-
|MH370
|100%
|0% <!-- explainable minus weirdness = -100% -->
|On 8 March 2014, {{w|Malaysia Airlines Flight 370}} cut off radio contact and diverted from its flight path with 227 passengers aboard, eventually heading over open ocean, eventually crashing in a remote part of the Indian Ocean. The disappearance remains without explanation, although parts were found on Reunion Island in July 2015. Since the publication of this comic, [https://www.vice.com/en/article/zm8vy8/experts-now-believe-mh370s-pilot-was-on-a-suicide-murder-mission evidence] has emerged to support a mass murder-suicide explanation, which posits that the pilot intentionally depressurized the cabin after locking his copilot out of the cockpit, and then continued to fly the plane after everyone else on board had died from hypoxia by using the cockpit oxygen supply, which lasts much longer than the oxygen masks in the cabin. Under this theory, either the pilot continued flying until the aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean, or intentionally crashed the airplane where the wreckage would sink into a deep ocean trench. However, the mystery is [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/06/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-missing-flight-mh370.html far from settled].
|-
|Lead masks case
|99%
|12% <!-- explainable minus weirdness = -87% -->
|In 1966 two Brazilian electronic technicians were found dead on a hill top. No injuries. {{w|Lead Masks Case|Both were wearing lead masks}}. Circumstantial evidence suggests that the men may have died of drug overdoses, believing that they were able to communicate with aliens.
|-
|Salish Sea feet
|96%
|31% <!-- explainable minus weirdness = -65% -->
|Over a dozen dismembered human feet {{w|Salish Sea human foot discoveries|were found}} between 2007 and 2016 on the coasts of the Salish Sea in British Columbia (Canada) and Washington (United States).
|-
|DB Cooper
|76%
|20% <!-- explainable minus weirdness = -56% -->
|{{w|D. B. Cooper}} was an airplane hijacker who jumped from a plane after successfully extorting a large ransom in 1971. The man's whereabouts remain unknown to this day, though [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2401312/Parachute-used-hijacker-DB-Cooper-escape-stealing-200-000-goes-display.html some of the ransom money has been recovered]. Previously referenced in [[1400: D.B. Cooper]], which compares Cooper to film director {{w|Tommy Wiseau}}, and later referenced in [[2452: Aviation Firsts]]. Note that this "Mysteries" comic was published shortly after [http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2zdzik/tommy_wiseau_creator_of_the_room_and_the_new_tv/ Tommy Wiseau did a Reddit AMA.]
|-
|The WOW signal
|55%
|20% <!-- explainable minus weirdness = -35% -->
|The {{w|Wow! signal}} was a strong and clean radio transmission near 1420&nbsp;MHz received by the Big Ear Radio Observatory at Ohio State University in 1977 that [http://www.universetoday.com/93754/35-years-later-the-wow-signal-still-tantalizes/ appears to have originated from interstellar space.] This is the strongest evidence to date of radio signals transmitted by extraterrestrial intelligent beings.
|-
|Mary Celeste
|70%
|43% <!-- explainable minus weirdness = -27% -->
|The ''{{w|Mary Celeste}}'' was a sailing ship found adrift off the {{w|Azores Islands}}, mysteriously abandoned yet otherwise undisturbed, in 1872. Most likely the crew abandoned ship, wrongly believing it was in danger. Its name has become a watchword for mysteriously abandoned ships. Previously referenced in [[516: Wood Chips]], where Cueball attempts to involve the shipwreck in his elaborate hoax.
|-
|UVB-76
|40%
|23% <!-- explainable minus weirdness = -17% -->
|{{w|UVB-76}} is a mysterious shortwave radio station, Possibly serving as a {{w|numbers station}}, apparently originating from Russia, that has broadcast a monotonous buzz tone since 1982 with occasional other content.
|-
|Who Carly Simon is singing about in ''You're So Vain''
|9%
|4% <!-- explainable minus weirdness = -05% -->
|The ironically self-referential lyrics of the 1972 song include "You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you." There has been {{w|You%27re_So_Vain#Subject_of_the_song|much speculation}} regarding the person or persons to whom Simon was referring. Quoting Wikipedia: Simon [has stated] that the song refers to three men, only one of whom she has named publicly, actor Warren Beatty.
|-
|Zodiac letters
|62%
|62% <!-- explainable minus weirdness = +00% -->
|A set of letters were written by the so-called {{w|Zodiac Killer}}, a serial killer who was active in California in the 1960s and 1970s. The letters are publicly available from multiple places, [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Author:Zodiac_Killer#Letters including Wikisource]. Some of the letters are encoded, only some of which have been deciphered. The killings remain unsolved.
|-
|Dyatlov Pass incident
|93%
|96% <!-- explainable minus weirdness = +03% -->
|On 2 February 1959, nine skiers in the northern Ural Mountains apparently {{w|Dyatlov Pass Incident|fled their tents naked}}. They were found dead, some with physical injuries. Considering his skepticism towards paranormal, conspiracies, or UFO-related phenomena, it is likely that Randall subscribes to the theory that the unusual physical injuries are the natural result of decomposition, and that the nudity of the hikers was due to 'paradoxical undressing' - which occurs in some cases with hypothermia.
|-
|Kentucky meat shower
|85%
|93% <!-- explainable minus weirdness = +08% -->
|In 1876, a number of chunks of meat {{w|Kentucky meat shower|fell from the sky}} in Kentucky; this was possibly [http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/running-ponies/2014/12/01/the-great-kentucky-meat-shower-mystery-unwound-by-projectile-vulture-vomit/ projectile vomit from vultures.]
|-
|Lindbergh baby
|17%
|25% <!-- explainable minus weirdness = +08% -->
|The {{w|Lindbergh kidnapping}} was the kidnapping and murder of 20-month old Charles Lindbergh Jr. in 1932. Various {{w|Lindbergh kidnapping#Controversy|conspiracy theories}} surround the event.
|-
|Lost colony
|74%
|83% <!-- explainable minus weirdness = +09% -->
|The {{w|Roanoke Colony}} was the first English attempt to establish a permanent settlement in the New World. The colony of over a hundred settlers disappeared some time in the late 1580s, with no signs of violence and no definitive evidence as to what happened. However, given the hardships faced by the colonists when they were left and that the buildings in the colony were dismantled, indicating departure was not hurried, it is likely they moved and/or integrated with the local tribes. Which probably accounts for Randall's high "explainable" rating. (See title text of [[950: Mystery Solved]])
|-
|Toynbee tiles
|25%
|34% <!-- explainable minus weirdness = +09% -->
|{{w|Toynbee tiles}} are colorful tiles with cryptic messages that have been found embedded in asphalt in the streets of various midwestern-to-eastern cities in the United States and four South American cities. Analysis has shown that they are linoleum and tarpaper, laid on hot days and pressed into the soft road surface by passing cars.
|-
|Amelia Earhart
|56%
|74% <!-- explainable minus weirdness = +18% -->
|{{w|Amelia Earhart}} and her navigator tried to circumnavigate the earth along the equator in a small airplane in 1937, but {{w|Amelia Earhart#Speculation on disappearance|disappeared}} over the Pacific Ocean without any trace. See also [[950: Mystery Solved]].
|-
|Jimmy Hoffa
|10%
|42% <!-- explainable minus weirdness = +32% -->
|{{w|Jimmy Hoffa}} was an American labor union leader who disappeared in 1975. He is widely believed to have been murdered. (See title text of [[950: Mystery Solved]]). Randall marks this as very much not weird, because Hoffa was heavily involved in organized crime - however he was killed, the motive seems clear.
|-
|Voynich manuscript
|35%
|68% <!-- explainable minus weirdness = +33% -->
|The {{w|Voynich manuscript}} is an illustrated codex hand-written in an unknown writing system. It came to public attention in the early 20th century and probably was written in Italy in the early 15th century. See also [[593: Voynich Manuscript]].
|-
|Loch Ness monster
|64%
|100% <!-- explainable minus weirdness = +36% -->
|The {{w|Loch Ness Monster}} is a supposed animal that reputedly inhabits Loch Ness, a lake in Scotland. Multiple complete scans of the lake using sonar show no evidence of the monster, and the lake ecosystem is far too small to support even a single creature as large as the monster is alleged to be.
|-
|Bigfoot
|60%
|98% <!-- explainable minus weirdness = +38% -->
|{{w|Bigfoot}} is a supposed animal or hominid that reputedly inhabits the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The best piece of evidence for Bigfoot, the {{w|Patterson–Gimlin film}}, retains some mystery - scientists are divided as to whether it's possible for a person in a suit to mimic the walk of the creature in the film - but contains so many features not seen on any real ape (for instance, dark palms and hairy breasts) that few scientists take it seriously. More generally, no corpses or skeletons have ever been found, despite the presence of logging crews in many places where Bigfoots have been seen, and fur and droppings always turns out to be human or from another animal.
|-
|JFK
|38%
|86% <!-- explainable minus weirdness = +48% -->
|The 1963 {{w|Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassination of President John F. Kennedy}} has inspired many conspiracy theories, beginning almost immediately after the event. The subsequent murder of assassin Lee Harvey Oswald added fuel to the fire by encouraging speculation that he was silenced to cover up the true story. Many of the details that were initially considered weird - for instance, {{w|Single-bullet theory|the path of the bullet}}, which early analysis showed had flown in a strange curve, audio recordings of multiple shots, and discrepancies in Lee Harvey Oswald's life story - have been found to be erroneous. In particular, careful analysis of the positions of Kennedy and Governor John Connally, who was riding in the car with Kennedy and was also struck by the bullet, show that a single bullet could have caused all the wounds suffered by the two men. 
|-
|Oak Island money pit
|32%
|98% <!-- explainable minus weirdness = +66% -->
|An indentation in the ground on {{w|Oak Island}} (off the east coast of Nova Scotia, Canada), led to over 200 years of treasure hunting, with the excavations repeatedly hampered by flooding pit collapses. A few flagstones, and periodic layers of logs are all that have been found. Rumours abound as to what it conceals: Marie Antoinnette's jewels, pirate treasure and Shakespeare's manuscripts have all been suggested. It is called The Money Pit, because of all the money that has been wasted in trying to solve the mystery.
|-
|Why I keep putting ice cream back in the fridge instead of the freezer
|0%
|96% <!-- explainable minus weirdness = +96% -->
|Apparently, Randall absent-mindedly puts his ice cream container into the refrigerator rather than into the freezer.
|}

==Transcript==
:[In a frame at the top left of the panel:]
:'''Mysteries'''

:[A chart with two crossing lines with double arrows. Each arrow is labeled:]
:X-axis left: Not that weird
:X-axis right: Weird as Hell
:Y-axis top: I have no explanation
:Y-axis bottom: Explanation seems pretty clear

:[In the chart there are 22 bullets. Each bullet is labeled. Below the labels are given from top to bottom in each of the four quadrants of the chart:]

:[Top left quadrant:]
:Who Carly Simon is singing about in ''You're So Vain''
:UVB-76
:Lindbergh baby
:Toynbee tiles
:Jimmy Hoffa

:[Top right quadrant:]
:MH370
:Lead Masks Case
:DB Cooper
:The Wow signal
:Salish Sea feet
:Mary Celeste

:[Bottom left quadrant:]
:Voynich manuscript
:JFK
:Why I keep putting ice cream back in the fridge instead of the freezer
:Oak Island Money Pit

:[Bottom right quadrant:]
:Zodiac letters
:Amelia Earhart
:Lost Colony
:Kentucky meat shower
:Bigfoot
:Loch Ness Monster
:Dyatlov Pass incident

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Rankings]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Paranormal]]
[[Category:Comics featuring D. B. Cooper]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Amelia Earhart]]