Five Longtime Mysteries That Now Have Perfectly Reasonable Explanations

Just because something has been a mystery for hundreds of years doesn't necessarily mean that it's supernatural or extraterrestrial. It usually means that we just don't have the know-how to figure it out ...yet. The science of data detection, measurement, and analysis has grown by leaps and bounds in the last couple of decades. With new and powerful microscopes, telescopes, chemical analysis, geolocation, and DNA sequencing, we are busting mysteries left and right. For example, in 1997, scientists detected a low-frequency noise in the ocean they call the Bloop. It sounds like an animal, but is louder than any on earth can produce. Is there a sea monster in the depths we've never found? No, in 2012, it was determined that the sound is meteorological, not biological. It's the normal sound of glaciers breaking.

It's just one of five mysteries that you've read about on the 'net that seemed really intriguing at the time, but the logical explanation that has been discovered isn't as exciting and doesn't draw as many clicks. Four of these mysteries have been solved only since 2012, and the fifth has been determined to be no mystery at all. If you missed the news, you can catch up in a list at Cracked. 

(Image credit: Eros Films)