Thinking Sideways Podcast

A family on the Isle of Man, in 1931, found that they had a rather strange house guest who called himself Gef. You guessed it, he was a talking mongoose who got up to all kinds of hijinks. Happy April fools. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While on holiday with her parents, British 3 year old Madeline McCann disappeared from her bedroom on the night of may 3rd, 2007. The search that ensued has been noted as one of the largest ever, and 8 years later, answers are still as illusive as ever. Was Madeline abducted? Was there an accident? Was her body found in 2013? Is she still alive? These questions have plagued every empathetic soul for years, and will likely continue to do so for years to come. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1982 someone laced bottles of Tylenol capsules with potassium cyanide and put the tampered bottles back on the shelf killing 7 people. While there have been a few suspects no one knows for sure who actually did it. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

B. Traven was an author who wrote, among other things, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Thing is, nobody really knows for sure who he really was... Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Edinburgh in 1836, a group of boys who were hunting rabbits came across a small alcove and found something very peculiar- 17 small caskets containing 17 small dolls. Immediately thought to be connected to witchcraft, these dolls have been a mystery for the ages- with new theories cropping up as recently as the 1990's and suggestions of a possible connection to some very notorious serial killers. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Mima mounds, located in southwestern Washington state, have been baffling scientists for decades. These strange domes of earth rise up out of the landscape covering large areas in a loosely regular pattern. To date no one can seem to figure out what made them or why they are there. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On New Years day 1963 the bodies of Dr. Bogle and Mrs. Chandler were found on the bank of the Lane Cove River in Sydney. There were no outward signs of trauma and their cause of death has been speculated on for years. With so many questions about what they were doing there, why were they there, what happened to them, and who knew about it it's no wonder that this case has held peoples attention for so long. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For nearly 80 years, someone (or someones) was seen toasting Poe with a glass of cognac, leaving the bottle and three roses on Poe's original grave. The identity of this someone is still a mystery. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The mysterious Count of St Germain traveled Europe in the 18th century, hob-knobbing with royalty, conducting diplomacy, fomenting revolutions--shaping Europe to his, or someone's, liking. It's even rumored that he had a hand in the American Revolution. And along the way, he never aged a day. And after his death in 1784, he kept showing up.... Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

October 7,1849, is a date many people are well acquainted with. Five days prior, renowned poet Edgar Allan Poe was found delirious and in need of "immediate assistance". On the 7th, he died. The events leading up to his October 3rd discovery are widely disputed, and Poe himself was never able to explain what had happened to him. His death remains a mystery to this day. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On November 22, 1987 someone overpowered two different TV stations transmissions broadcasting a nearly unintelligible message using the guise of Max Headroom. Who it was, what it meant, and why they did it no one knows for sure. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A plane crash. A dead body. But.... they're in different places. On Christmas Eve 1975, Peter Gibbs, a former RAF pilot, took off from Glenforsa Airfield on the Isle of Mull, and never returned. 4 months later, his body was found on a hillside about a mile from the airfield. 11 years later, the plane was found in the ocean. Causing people to say, WHAT? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On April 1 of 2014, Lisanne Froon and Kris Kremers, young women from the Netherlands took off on an easy day hike in Panama near the town of Boquete. When they missed an appointment on the 2nd with a local guide, he checked with their host family, who had not seen them since the day prior. The girls were never found, save for some bones and a boot, however their backpack was found containing more questions than answers. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mysterious things are washing up on shore. Tjipetir Tiles are washing up all over Europe. Two mysterious crates found floating off the coast of Florida--one filled with balloons. This one is still unexplained, but I've got an idea.... Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The wife of the head of the Church of Scientology disappeared from public in 2007. Since then lots of people have wondered where she was and what happened to her. She could be dead or locked away somewhere. Anyone who knows isn't telling. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Crowhurst, a 35-year-old British inventor and businessman, set out in October 1968 to sail around the world alone as part of a contest. In July 1969 his sailboat was discovered adrift and without its skipper. Then things got even stranger. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Possibly one of the most famous cryptids, Mothman is often dismissed as a bird, while others agree he is an alien. Do herons really get that big (and hairy)? Is it possible that Mothman is a real harbinger of disasters? And what is with the glowing red eyes? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a holiday tradition the Thinking Sideways crew takes a look at Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in an effort to try and figure out what actually makes him glow. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In December 1980 at RAF airbase Woodbridge an unidentified craft was spotted, on two different nights, by the US Airmen stationed there. The official reports indicate that nothing our of the ordinary actually happened while the witnesses advocate that something otherworldly was there. As the stories evolves it gets harder and harder to tell if aliens visited the UK in 1980 or if a bunch of green Airmen misinterpreted what they saw. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In October 1949, Jean Spangler, a 26-year-old aspiring actress, left her home and never returned. Her purse turned up 2 days later, with a cryptic note in it; 2 days after that, a very famous movie star called the LAPD out of the blue to deny that he knew anything about it, or her. Jean was never found, where did she go and what happened to her? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.