Wander Lord

Interesting on art, nature, people, history

Category Archive: Mystery

Dangerous and mysterious alchemy

Dangerous and mysterious alchemy

Dangerous and mysterious alchemy

Alchemist and swindler have long been synonymous. In fact, there were many crooks among them. But the most famous of them believed that the philosopher’s stone could help to create an elixir of youth and precious metals. And their experiences enriched human knowledge. They say that the Egyptian queen Cleopatra even dabbled in alchemy and wrote a treatise.
Alchemy was the first science in human history which combined theory and experiment.
In ancient times people practiced various forms of alchemy in China, India, Greece, and the Middle East.
In Europe, alchemy spread in the XII century. At the beginning of the XIV century English King Edward promised Ramon Llull to send a fleet to the holy war against the infidels, if he provided expedition with gold. And Llull produced 60 thousand pounds of gold from mercury. It was used to mint coins with the image of the king and the inscription: “Edward, King of England and France.”
More »

How people saw the future in the past

How people saw the future in the past

How people saw the future in the past

In 1900, American engineer John Elfreth Watkins wrote an article in Ladies’ Home Journal on what would happen in 100 years. Now it turned out that the author had made some interesting predictions. In particular, he was able to describe mobile phones, TV, digital photo, aircraft, tanks and even more. Nevertheless, in his article, which was entitled “What can happen in the next century,” Watkins made several predictions that had not come true.
John Watkins worked for the magazine Saturday Evening Post, which was published by the same publisher as the Ladies’ Home Journal. The editor of the historical department of Saturday Evening Post Jeff Nilsson saw an old article and decided to publish it after 112 years.
More »

The mystery of the tomb of Tutankhamun

The mystery of the tomb of Tutankhamun

The mystery of the tomb of Tutankhamun

Pharaoh Tutankhamun, his throne name was Nebkheperure, died at the age of eighteen. According to other sources, he was killed. He ruled the country as a child for nine years. Nevertheless, he was buried with royal honors. Only in 1922, the British explorer Howard Carter was able to find a tomb in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor.
Egyptologists knew that the young pharaoh was buried in the Valley of the Kings. But where?
Since 1900 there were excavations on the west bank of the Nile in the same Valley of the Kings, which was considered to be the burial place of many great pharaohs (1567-1320 BC).
American scientist-Egyptologist and millionaire Theodore Davis managed to find a number of tombs of famous pharaohs of the New Kingdom, including the tomb of Queen Hatshepsut, Thutmose IV of, Horemheb, Ramesses. In 1914 he declared that there were no more tombs in the valley. The First World War began and works were stopped.
More »

Plague – Black Death

Plague – Black Death

Plague – Black Death

For hundreds of years people have called plague the Black Death. But in enlightened and civilized age when medicine is developing rapidly people gradually began to forget about this disease. And almost no one knows that the plague is not just a severe infection. In the Middle Ages its epidemics and pandemics took as many lives as all the wars, and natural disasters put together over the last century. But now mankind has not won plague. We just got a temporary advantage with the help of antibiotics.
So what is the plague, how it influenced our civilization and why we cannot finally win it?
According to recent research, the plague appeared on the Earth about 2-3 thousand years ago as a result of mutations of the yersinia pseudotuberculosis. However, some scholars, including Russian and Soviet biologist and epidemiologist M.V. Supotnitsky believe that the plague raged on the planet in 1200 BC. This is evidenced by the so-called plague of the Philistines, as described in the Bible, the First Book of Kings, which tells about the war between the Philistines and the Israelites followed the epidemic. The experts came to the conclusion that it was the bubonic plague. The Fourth Book of Kings tells the story of Assyrian king Sennacherib who wanted to conquer Jerusalem. The Assyrian army laid siege to the city, but an epidemic killed 185 thousand attackers overnight.
More »

Holy Fire in Jerusalem

Holy Fire in Jerusalem

Holy Fire in Jerusalem


The Miracle of the Holy Fire is known as “The greatest of all Christian miracles”. It takes place every year, on the same time, in the same manner. It occurs every year on the Orthodox Easter Saturday. The miracle happens at 2:00 PM. No other miracle is known to occur so regularly. The miracle happens in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Scientists consider the church to contain both Golgotha, the little hill on which Jesus Christ was crucified, as well as the “new tomb” close to Golgotha that received his dead body.
Pilgrims come from all over the world. The Holy Fire spreads to all people present in the Church. The ceremony may be the oldest unbroken Christian ceremony in the world.
Every year many believers claim that this miraculous light ignites candles, which they hold in their hands, of its own initiative.
More »

Unidentified Flying Object – UFO

Unidentified Flying Object - UFO

Unidentified Flying Object – UFO

Unidentified Flying Object is a light or object in the air. People think that UFOs come from space, from more developed civilizations.
People have reported aircraft, satellites, birds, insects and weather balloons as UFOs. Some UFOs are called flying saucers.
Some scientists say that UFOs are creations of the human mind.
Since primitive humans first went out of their caves and looked at the star-filled night, humankind has been intrigued by the unexplained mysteries of the universe. Early myths and legends tell of mysterious objects in the heavens. Every religion relates visitations from angels, demons, devils, and gods who descended to Earth in ancient times.
Some UFOlogists believed humankind’s gods, angels, devils, and demons were nothing more than alien visitors from some superior civilization on some far planet.
More »

Mirror, mirror on the wall

Mirror, mirror on the wall

Mirror, mirror on the wall

A mirror is a smooth surface that shows images of the objects near it. Most mirrors are a sheet of glass with a shiny metallic coating on the back.
The appearance of an image in a mirror is called a reflection. Reflection happens when light hits a surface. If the light cannot pass through the surface, it bounces off, or reflects. Most surfaces absorb some light and reflect some light, Mirrors, however, reflect almost all the light that hits them. The metallic coating on the back causes the reflection.
Most mirrors are flat. They are called plane mirrors. Images in a plane mirror are reversed. People use plane mirrors to check their appearance.
Mirrors are made in factories with special machinery. First, a sheet of glass is polished smooth and cleaned. Next, the back of the glass is covered with a thin layer of silver, aluminum, or another metal. Then the metal is covered with copper, varnish, or paint to protect it from scratches.
More »