The fact that many secrets are taken with them to the grave is nothing new, for sure each of us will also take several of them with him to the next world, perhaps to protect someone, or maybe in order to protect our own reputation or inheritance. Some secrets, due to historical consequences or due to attention to them over the years, turn into a kind of mystery. The list below consists of the following riddles:
Axel Erlandson (1884 - 1964)
Axel started out as an ordinary farmer who had the hobby of shaping tree trunks himself. Later, for decades, he "taught" trees to grow in the shapes of his own designs. He experimented with birches, ash trees, elms, weeping willows, creating loops, hearts, spiral staircases, zigzags, rings, birdcages, towers, photo frames, etc. from their trunks.
He soon realized that his trees were popular and decided to create Tree Circus. Erlandson did not disclose the secret of his technology to anyone, carefully defending from spies the "recipe" of grafting he gave to trees. Axel died in 1964 along with his unique procedure.
Fun Fact: In 1985, after Tree Circus ceased to exist, the trees were bought by millionaire Michael Bonfante. He planted them at his Gilroy Gardens amusement park in Gilroy, California.
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Jerome (1840 - 1912)
On September 8, 1863, a fair-skinned stranger in his 20s was found by two fishermen in Canada. Both of the man's legs were amputated, and next to him was a jug of water and a piece of bread. The man was unable to speak and, according to stories, he spoke no more than 2-3 words after being found. One of the words he said was Jerome, which is why they named him that. Jerome was filled with anger when certain words were spoken, which led many to believe that Jerome knew a secret that he was forbidden to voice.
Jerome behaved very dignified, and when offered money, he looked humiliated. There are many theories about who this person really was, but none of them have been proven. Jerome died on April 19, 1912.
Fun fact: Jerome continues to be part of the collective psyche of the society in which he was found. A residence permit for people with disabilities was named after him, songs were written about him, he appeared in films and in paintings.
Stranger (1793 - 1816)
In the fall of 1816 in Alexandria, Virginia, two men, husband and wife, entered the tavern of the Gadsby Hotel. The woman was ill and was believed to be suffering from typhoid fever. The woman's condition continued to deteriorate, despite the presence of a doctor nearby. The husband then called the doctor, the hotel staff, and even the wife of the hotel owner for the sole purpose of asking everyone present to take an oath never to reveal their identity.
All agreed, and each took the secret to the grave. A few days after the "oath", the woman died, and to this day no one knows who these people were. Before disappearing, her husband buried her in St. Paul's Cemetery, creating an extravagant headstone.
Leather Man (circa 1839 - 1889)
The Leather Man was a wandering vagabond who traveled in an endless 584 km circle between the Connecticut and Hudson rivers. He spoke French fluently, but communicated mainly with the help of gestures, while wearing a hat and boots made of rough leather. Along the way, he smoked cigarette butts and gratefully accepted fresh tobacco or cigars from people who lived in the villages he met on the way.
He was so accurate in his circular journey that people were already preparing to meet him every 34 days, they fed and watered him. It is not known where he got the money, but one store even recorded the goods he bought: one loaf of bread, a can of sardines, a kilogram of crackers, two pies, two liters of coffee, one bottle of brandy and a bottle of beer.
After a blizzard that raged in March 1889, the body of a leather man was found in Sing Sing Cave in New York City. He died of oral cancer, most likely due to tobacco use. Next to him was his bag, which contained working equipment for processing leather (scissors, an awl, wedges, a small ax and a small prayer book in French).
Interesting fact: the tombstone of the leather man reads the following: "the final resting place of Jules Bourglay from Lyon, France, the leather man." However, later a story was published in the newspaper that this was not his real name. According to researchers, his identity is still unknown.
Arne Berling (1905 - 1986)
Arne was a Swedish professor of mathematics. In 1940, a mathematician broke the German code used for military strategic communications. This achievement is considered by many to be one of the greatest in the history of cryptography. Using only teletype tape and ciphertext, he deciphered what the Germans considered to be as secure as possible from hacking in just two weeks.
Burling created a device that allowed Sweden to decrypt German traffic of information passing through Sweden to Norway. When asked how he broke the code, Beurling replied: "The magician does not reveal his secrets."
Interesting fact: With the help of a Beurling code-cracking system, the Swedish authorities were able to find out about Barbarossa's plan before its implementation.
James Black (1800 - 1872)
James Black was a blacksmith from Arkansas and also the creator of the original Bowie knife, designed by Jim Bowie. Bowie was already famous for his knife duel in 1827. His murder of three people in Texas, as well as his death at the Battle of the Alamo, made him and his knife a legend. Black's knives were known to be extremely tough but flexible.
Black kept all methods of creating his knives under the greatest secret, and all the work was done behind a leather curtain. Many argue that Black has rediscovered the secret of the production of damask steel, which was used in the manufacture of Middle Eastern swords (1100-1700) and which could easily cut a poor quality European knife. Thus, James Black's knives cannot be duplicated even today. Black died on June 22, 1872 in Washington, Arkansas.
Interesting fact: in 1839, shortly after the death of Black's wife, his father-in-law and ex-partner rushed into his house, practically blinding him. That being said, he didn't mind when his daughter married Black a few years ago. After the attack, Black was no longer able to create new masterpieces.
Edward Leedskalnin (1887 - 1951)
Edward was a Latvian émigré to the United States and also an amateur sculptor. Lindskalnin single-handedly built a monument known as the Florida Coral Castle, and is also famous for his unusual theory of magnetism. Edward was only 150 cm tall and weighs less than 50 kg.
All the stones that he used in his work, and which he astronomically integrated into his grandiose architectural plan, took their place not by chance, because he carefully calculated everything using mathematical data. He used only simple tools to cut, trim and collect over 1.5 million kilograms of dense coral blocks to build his castle.
When asked about how he manages to build something like this, he replied that in fact there is nothing difficult about it for a person who knows the secret. When Lindskalnin was transporting his coral castle, he asked the truck driver to look the other way while loading and unloading the coral stones. Edward died of malnutrition due to stomach cancer in 1951 at the age of 64 without revealing his secret to anyone.
Interesting fact: Billy Idol wrote the song "Sweet Sixteen", inspired by the story of Lindskalnin's great love, and also shot a video there. It is believed that the main reason for the construction of the castle is also his love for Agnes.
Johan Bessler (1680 - 1745)
Johan was born in Sittau, Germany and built a car that he says is self-propelled. In 1717, he convinced thousands of people, from the common to the most significant, that he had indeed discovered the secret of a self-sustaining mechanism. The machine has passed numerous tests and thorough checks. It took a lot of time, since in official tests it worked continuously for 54 days.
The internal structure of the machine has always been closely guarded by the inventor. Exhausted by paranoia, and also lacking any patent that could protect his brainchild, Bessler destroyed the machine in a fit of anger and took the secret of its creation with him to the grave.
Until now, we have not found out what was the source of energy. Obviously, the machine violated the law of conservation of energy, which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, however, another question arises here, how did Bessler manage to deceive such a number of people for such a long period of time?
Interesting fact: Recently, a number of coded features have been discovered in various articles published by Bessler. He built codes from very simple to very complex, which must be put together to uncover his secret. Some of these codes have been deciphered, but others are still a mystery.
Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)
Benjamin Franklin is one of the most famous Founding Fathers of the United States. He was also a writer, satirist, political theorist, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat.
In 1730, Franklin recognized the illegitimate and only son, William, who was raised by him and his common-law wife, Deborah Rea. Some theories believed that the reason William's mother was not disclosed was because at the time of William's birth, the couple was not enrolled, and Franklin wanted to take all the blame to prevent Deborah's dishonor.
Other evidence suggests that his mother was a prostitute. Until now, the identity of William's mother has not been officially established.
Interesting fact: in 1752, when William was 21, he helped his father in the famous experiment with snakes. Later, William became a firm loyalist throughout the revolutionary war, despite his father's role as one of the most prominent patriots during the conflict, which separated them from each other.
Antonio Stradivari (1644 - 1737)
Stradivari was a renowned Italian master of stringed instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars and harps. For centuries, scientists and historians have tried to figure out the secret of Stradivari.
Recent modern laser scanning studies of his tools and gadgets have led scientists to assume that it is all about carefully shaped plates that "tune" the resonant frequencies. The adhesives and varnishes used by Stradivari have also been carefully analyzed, and have also contributed to the improvement of the quality of his instruments.
Experts admit that there is still no consensus on the most likely reasons for the superior quality of the musical instruments he produces, most likely a combination of many factors that have not yet been clarified.
Fun fact: Stradivari is believed to have created about 1,100 instruments. 650 have survived to this day, including about 500 violins.