On August 8, 1963, a crew of 17 men hijacked the Royal Mail train in Buckinghamshire, England. After taking the train to Bridego Bridge, they removed £2.6 million from it. Then they vanished into the night. Were they captured? And what happened to the money from the Great Train Robbery? The Chaos Book Club So,…
In 1941, the SS Gairsoppa was heading from India to Britain. Suddenly, a Nazi U-Boat appeared on the horizon. It fired on the Gairsoppa, sending the massive cargo ship to the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean. Now, that ship is on the verge of being recovered. But it’s no ordinary cargo ship. Its holds are…
On June 6, 1505, Leonardo da Vinci began to paint the Battle of Anghiari in the Palazzo Vecchio. The 12 by 15 foot mural depicted a Florentine victory over the Milanese. According to the famous Italian painter Giorgio Vasari, da Vinci never finished the project. New evidence suggests that not only was the painting completed…
In 1718, Blackbeard the pirate ran his ship Queen Anne’s Revenge aground at Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina. In 1996, a shipwreck was discovered in the area. Is this Blackbeard’s fabled frigate? Blackbeard & Queen Anne’s Revenge? Blackbeard, whose real name was probably Edward Thatch, is perhaps the most famous pirate of all time. After the…
In May 1933, the U.S. Mint printed the very last Saint-Gaudens double eagle. These $20 gold coins were never officially released to the public. A few managed to avoid destruction and the U.S. government has spent more than 60 years and untold millions of dollars tracking them down. Why is the 1933 double eagle the…
Oak Island is a small island located four miles off the coast of Novia Scotia. It is the home of the infamous “money pit.” For more than two centuries, treasure hunters have attempted to unearth its treasure. Even Franklin Delano Roosevelt participated in one expedition decades before he became President of the United States. Does…
On September 3, 1857, the SS Central America left the port of Colón, Panama, en route to New York City. It never arrived. What happened to it? And how did this ship’s failure to reach its destination nearly ruin the United States of America? The Lost Treasure of the SS Central America? The SS Central America…
The Colossus of Rhodes was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. At over 100 feet tall, it stood far higher than any other statue of its time. Mysteriously, this behemoth disappeared over a thousand years ago and has been missing ever since. So, what happened to it? The Colossus of Rhodes? Rhodes…