Unexplained phenomena are the supernatural and strange mysteries of the modern world. Mysterious cases that defy scientific explanation

Scientists have been trying to solve many mysteries of the natural world for many centuries, but some phenomena still baffle even the best minds of mankind.
These phenomena, ranging from strange flashes in the sky after earthquakes to rocks that spontaneously move across the ground, seem to have no definite meaning or purpose.
Here are 10 of the strangest, most mysterious and incredible phenomena found in nature. 1. Reports of bright flashes during earthquakes
Light flares that appear in the sky before and after an earthquake

One of the most mysterious phenomena is the inexplicable flashes in the sky that accompany earthquakes. What causes them? Why do they exist?
The Italian physicist Cristiano Feruga collected all observations of flashes during earthquakes dating back to 2000 BC. For a long time, scientists were skeptical about this strange phenomenon. But everything changed in 1966, when the first evidence appeared - photographs of the Matsushiro earthquake in Japan.
Now there are a great many such photographs, and the flashes on them are so different colors and shapes that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish a fake.


Among the theories to explain this phenomenon are heat caused by friction, radon gas, and the piezoelectric effect, an electrical charge that builds up in quartz rocks when tectonic plates move.
In 2003, NASA physicist Dr. Friedemann Freund conducted a laboratory experiment and showed that flashes may be caused by electrical activity in rocks.
The shock wave from an earthquake can change the electrical properties of silicon and oxygen-containing minerals, allowing them to conduct current and emit light. However, some believe that the theory may be only one possible explanation.

2. Nazca drawings
Huge figures painted in the sand in Peru by ancient people, but no one knows why


The Nazca lines stretching over 450 sq. km of coastal desert, are huge works of art left on the Peruvian plains. Among them are geometric figures, as well as drawings of animals, plants and, rarely, figures of people that can be seen from the air in the form of huge drawings.
They are believed to have been created by the Nazca people during a 1000 year period between 500 B.C. and 500 AD, but no one knows why.
Despite its World Heritage status, Peruvian authorities have a hard time defending the Nazca Lines from settlers. Meanwhile, archaeologists are trying to study the lines before they are destroyed.


At first it was assumed that these geoglyphs were part of the astronomical calendar, but later this version was refuted. Then the researchers focused their attention on the history and culture of the people who created them. Whether the Nazca lines are a message to aliens or represent some kind of encrypted message, no one can say.
In 2012, Yamagata University in Japan announced that it would open an on-site research center and aim to study more than 1,000 drawings over 15 years.

3 Monarch Butterfly Migration
Monarch butterflies find their way through thousands of kilometers to certain places


Each year, millions of North American monarch butterflies migrate more than 3,000 km south to overwinter. For many years no one knew where they were flying.
In the 1950s, zoologists started tagging and tracking the butterflies and found that they were in the mountain forest of Mexico. However, even knowing that the monarchs choose 12 of the 15 mountainous places in Mexico, scientists still cannot understand how they navigate.


According to some studies, they use the position of the Sun to fly south, adjusting to the time of day on the circadian clock of their antennae. But the Sun gives only a general direction. How they set up is still a mystery.
According to one theory, geomagnetic forces attract them, but this has not been confirmed. Only recently, scientists began to study the features of the navigation system of these butterflies.

4. Ball lightning
Fireballs that appear during or after a thunderstorm


Nikola Tesla allegedly created ball lightning in his laboratory. In 1904, he wrote that he "never saw fireballs, but he was able to determine their formation and reproduce artificially."
Modern scientists have not been able to reproduce these results.
Moreover, many are still skeptical about the existence of ball lightning. However, many witnesses, dating back to the era of Ancient Greece, claim to have observed this phenomenon.

Ball lightning is described as a luminous sphere that appears during or after a thunderstorm. Some claim to have seen ball lightning pass through windowpanes and down a chimney.
According to one theory, ball lightning is a plasma, according to another, it is a chemiluminescent process - that is, light appears as a result of a chemical reaction.

5. Moving rocks in Death Valley
Stones that slide on the ground under the influence of a mysterious force


In the Racetrack Playa area of ​​Death Valley, California, mysterious forces push heavy rocks across the flat surface of a dry lake when no one is watching.
Scientists have puzzled over this phenomenon since the beginning of the 20th century. Geologists tracked 30 stones weighing up to 25 kg, 28 of which moved more than 200 meters over a 7-year period.
Analysis of stone tracks shows that they moved at a speed of 1 m per second and in most cases the stones slid in winter.
There were suggestions that wind and ice were to blame, as well as algae slime and seismic vibrations.


A 2013 study tried to explain what happens when the water on the surface of a dry lake freezes. According to this theory, the ice on the rocks stays frozen longer than the surrounding ice, as the rock removes heat faster. This reduces the friction force between the stones and the surface, and they are more easily pushed by the wind.
However, no one has yet seen the stones in action, and lately they have become immobile.

6. Earth rumble
An unknown hum that only some people can hear


The so-called "hum" is the name given to the annoying low-frequency noise that disturbs residents around the world. However, few people can hear it, namely only every 20th person.
Scientists attribute the "hum" to tinnitus, distant pounding waves, industrial noise, and singing sand dunes.

In 2006, a New Zealand researcher claimed to have recorded this anomalous sound.

7. The return of the cicada insects
Insects that suddenly woke up after 17 years to find a partner


In 2013, cicadas of the species Magicicada septendecim appeared from underground in the eastern United States, which had not been shown since 1996. Scientists don't know how the cicadas knew it was time to leave their underground habitat after 17 years of sleep.
Periodic cicadas are quiet and solitary insects that are buried underground most of the time. These are long-lived among insects, and they do not mature until they are 17 years old. However, this summer, they woke up en masse to breed.
After 2-3 weeks they die, leaving behind the fruits of their "love". The larvae burrow into the ground and a new life cycle begins.


How do they do it? How, after so many years, will they know it's time to appear?
Interestingly, 17-year-old cicadas appear in the northeastern states, and in the southeastern states, a cicada invasion occurs every 13 years. Scientists have suggested that such a life cycle of cicadas allows them to avoid encountering their predator enemies.

8 Animal Rain
When different animals like fish and frogs fall from the sky like rain


In January 1917, the biologist Waldo McAtee presented his paper entitled "Raining from Organic Matter", which reported falling salamander larvae, small fish, herring, ants, and toads.
Rains of animals have been reported in different parts of the world. So, for example, in Serbia it rained frogs, in Australia perches fell from the sky, and in Japan - toads.
Scientists are skeptical about the rain of their animals. One explanation was proposed by a French physicist back in the 19th century: winds lift animals up and throw them to the ground.
According to a more complex theory, waterspouts suck out aquatic life, carry them around and make them fall in certain places.
However, there has been no scientific research to support this theory.

9. Stone balls of Costa Rica
Giant stone spheres whose purpose is not clear


Why the ancient people of Costa Rica decided to create hundreds of large balls of stone is still a mystery.
The Costa Rican stone balls were discovered in the 1930s by the United Fruit Company when workers were clearing land for banana plantations. Some of these perfectly spherical balls were up to 2 meters in diameter.


The stones, which the locals call Las Bolas, date back to 600 - 1000 AD. Further complicating the mystery of this phenomenon is the fact that there is no written data about the culture of the people who created them. This happened because the Spanish settlers erased all traces of the cultural heritage of the indigenous population.
Scientists began to study stone balls in 1943, marking their distribution. Later anthropologist John Hoopes disproved many theories explaining the purpose of the stones, including lost cities and space aliens.

10 Impossible Fossils
The remains of long-dead creatures that appear in the wrong place


Ever since the theory of evolution was announced, scientists have come across discoveries that seemed to challenge it.
One of the most mysterious phenomena has become fossil remains, especially the remains of people who appeared in unexpected places.
Fossilized prints and footprints have been found in geographic areas and archaeological time zones to which they did not belong.
Some of these discoveries may provide new information about our origins. Others turned out to be errors or hoaxes.


One example is the 1911 find, when archaeologist Charles Dawson collected fragments of a supposedly unknown ancient man with a large brain dating back 500,000 years. Piltdown Man's large head led scientists to believe he was the "missing link" between humans and apes.

Supernatural and paranormal phenomena from time to time appear in the life of every person. Moreover, they disturbed the ancient minds, causing fear, misunderstanding. Previously, in such miracles, people saw pure mysticism and even witchcraft.

Modern science, on the other hand, lays out phenomena that are inexplicable at first glance on the shelves of ordinary physical laws and chemical reactions.

But the share of unsolved mysteries remains more than significant. The most interesting facts about the supernatural and the paranormal are in this article.

1. A mysterious phenomenon systematically occurs on the coast of Crete. Near the ancient castle of Franco-Castello, the events of the battle between the Turks and the Greeks are played out in front of the tourists. And they appear in the form of ... a mirage. A cloud of smoke or millions of droplets of moisture with a barely perceptible ringing of weapons and the cries of warriors moves from the embankment, and disappears near the walls of the castle. No one can explain the nature of such a phenomenon from a scientific point of view.

2. An unusual picture of Mount Ararat was taken in 1949 by American pilots. In addition to picturesque rocky ledges and a snow cap, they captured a strange object over the abyss. According to numerous studies conducted from satellites and aircraft, some scientists suggest that this is the mythical Noah's Ark. There is no single reliable opinion about the mysterious object on Mount Ararat.

3. Deja vu is familiar to everyone. But in most cases we cannot explain the nature of this feeling. The phenomenon was studied in more detail by psychologist K. G. Jung. At the age of 12, he saw an old statuette of a doctor of the 18th century, and the boy was impressed by the buckles on the doctor's shoes. C. G. Jung was sure that at some time (possibly in a past life) he wore shoes with the same buckles. He could not logically explain his deja vu.

4. Did you know that Abraham Lincoln had a vision of his own death? This happened 10 days before the tragic incident. At night, the president heard sobbing from the lower floor of the house. He went down and found a body there. When asked who died, the answer was: “President. He fell at the hands of a hired killer."

5. In the Atlantic Ocean between the Falkland Islands and about. South Georgia is theoretically home to the Aurora Islands. Theoretically, because the captain of the ship "Atrevida" saw them and accurately mapped them in the 18th century. Half a century later, the islands disappeared without a trace.

6. Interesting facts about the supernatural also apply to natural phenomena. Many of them defy scientific explanation. You just need to believe in such miracles. For example, in the Shaanxi province of China, there is a waterfall whose waters do not freeze even in harsh winters. But in the summer, the stream can completely freeze in the air for a while.

7. In the valley of Jatinga (in Assam, India) every year in August there is an anomalous phenomenon. Here every night a huge number of birds fall to the ground. What is happening and what affects the birds is not known. This place has already been dubbed the “Valley of Falling Birds”.

8. Not so long ago, scientists discovered similarities between the size and contours of Antarctica and the Arctic Ocean. The explanation for this anomaly is no less supernatural. It is believed that a large meteorite squeezed out part of the mainland (Antarctica) from the opposite side of the Earth.

9. There are plants on our planet that are over 150 million years old. We are talking about vulemi pines, the existence of which until recently remained a secret.

10. Do you know that the place on earth where lightning struck is called "thunder baldness"? In addition, for some time (a couple of minutes) it remains dangerous for all living creatures that have set foot on the territory of the bald patch. It turns out that lightning did not touch, for example, a person at all, but he can still suffer. Scientists cannot explain this phenomenon.

"Taos noise"

Have you heard how an engine or a drilling rig works? It is such an unpleasant noise that disturbs the peace of the inhabitants of the American city of Taos. An incomprehensible buzz coming from the direction of the desert first appeared almost 18 years ago, and since then it has regularly reappeared. When residents of the city asked the authorities to investigate, it turned out that the noise seemed to come from the bowels of the earth, it could not be registered by location devices, and only 2% of the city's population heard it. A similar phenomenon is observed in other regions of the planet. It occurs especially often in Europe. As in the case of the Taoist rumble, its causes and source have not yet been discovered.

Ghost doppelgangers

Cases where people meet their doppelgangers are not uncommon. Stories about doppelgangers (this is so as not to write “doubles” twice in a row) are present both in medical practice, which is just not at all surprising, and in historical documents and literary works. Guy de Maupassant told his friends about meeting his double. The mathematician Descartes, the French writer George Sand, the English poets and writers Shelley, Byron, Walter Scott also encountered their copies. We will not even mention Dostoevsky's story "The Double".

However, doppelgangers also visit people of prosaic professions. Here are the stories compiled by Dr. Edward Podolsky. One woman saw her doppelgänger while putting on makeup in front of a mirror. A man working in the garden noticed his exact copy next to him, repeating all his movements.

Scientists suggest that the secret of doppelgangers may be hidden in our brains. Processing information, our nervous system creates the so-called spatial scheme of the body, which, due to reasons unknown to science, is divided into real and astral images. Alas, this is just a hypothesis.

Life after death

The light at the end of a dark tunnel, an unusual luminous creature, a calling voice, the ghosts of deceased loved ones - this is what awaits a person in the next world, according to the "resurrected". In other words, those who have undergone clinical death.

One of the proofs of the reality of the afterlife was the study of William James, which he conducted with the participation of the medium Leonora Piper. For about ten years, the doctor organized séances, during which Leonora spoke either on behalf of the Indian girl Chlorin, or Commander Vanderbilt, or Longfellow, or Johann Sebastian Bach, or the actress Siddons. The doctor invited viewers to his sessions: journalists, scientists, and other mediums, so that they could confirm that communication with the world of the dead was really happening.

Unfortunately, there are no scientific facts on this subject yet. However, maybe it's for the best?

noisy spirit

The poltergeist is an inexplicable phenomenon and at the same time a constant hero of the yellow press. “The barabashka stole the salary of the family from Kapotnya and wrote a swear word on the wall”, “Poltergeist became the father of three children”, - these and similar headings are still regularly followed by the audience.

For the first time, the poltergeist was mentioned almost two thousand years ago by the historian Titus Livy, who described how someone invisible threw stones at Roman soldiers. After that, cases of the appearance of a poltergeist were described many more times. Mentions of this phenomenon are present even in the annals of a French monastery. According to the chronicler, on September 16, 1612, something incredible happened in the house of the Huguenot priest Francois Perrault. It all started with the fact that at midnight the curtains began to draw by themselves, and someone pulled the bed linen from the beds. Loud noises were heard in various parts of the house, and in the kitchen someone was throwing dishes. The poltergeist not only methodically demolished the house, but also cursed desperately. The church decided that the devil had taken up residence in the house of the sinner Huguenot, and Martin Luther later proposed calling the "obscene spirit" a poltergeist. After 375 years in the USSR it will be called a barabashka.

heavenly signs

According to history, clouds are not only white-maned horses. From time immemorial, eyewitness accounts have been preserved, telling about whole pictures, meaningful signs and numbers that suddenly appeared in the sky. According to legend, one of these heavenly visions predicted the victory of Julius Caesar, and another - a blood-red flag with a white cross - gave strength to the retreating Danish troops and helped them defeat the pagan Estonians.

Scientists are skeptical about such pictures in the sky and name several reasons for their appearance. Today, various figures in the sky can form aircraft exhausts. After the aircraft fuel burns out, water vapor enters the atmosphere, immediately turning into ice crystals. Picked up by air whirlwinds, they behave very unpredictably and can create various shapes. Aerosols based on carbon dioxide and barium salts sprayed during weather experiments can also be the cause of such phenomena. In addition, air, due to its specific properties, sometimes acquires the ability to reflect what is happening on Earth.

The phenomenon of wandering graves

In 1928, all the Scottish newspapers were full of news about the grave that had disappeared from the cemetery of the small town of Glenysville. Relatives who came to visit the deceased found an empty place instead of a stone gravestone. The grave was never found.

In 1989, on one of the farms in Kansas, right in the middle of the barnyard, a grave mound grew overnight with a rickety and cracked tombstone. Due to the poor condition of the plate, it was not possible to read the name on it. But when the grave was dug up, a coffin with human remains was found in it.

All this devilry is considered commonplace in some African and Polynesian tribes. There is a tradition to douse a fresh grave with tree sap and cover it with shells. This is done, according to the priests, so that the grave "does not leave."

pyrokinesis

Cases when people engulfed in flames of unknown origin turned into a handful of ashes in just a few minutes have been known for a very long time. Although this phenomenon occurs infrequently: over the entire last century, only 19 cases of pyrokinesis have been recorded in the world. Why this happens, and most importantly, why the flame often does not spread to surrounding objects, scientists cannot explain.

In 1969, a dead man was found in his car. His face and hands were burned, but for some reason the fire did not touch his hair and eyebrows. Quite a fantastic incident occurred in the Canadian province of Alberta. Two sisters flared up at the same moment, being in different parts of the city, a kilometer apart.

Versions of the origin of pyrokinesis are increasingly fantastic. Some doctors are trying to connect spontaneous combustion of people with their internal state, since most of the victims are known to have been depressed for a long time. Others believe that mainly alcoholics fall under the influence of pyrokinesis. Their body is so saturated with alcohol that it can flare up from the slightest spark, especially if the dead smoked. There is a version that the flame arises under the influence of either ball lightning, which happened to be nearby, or energy beams unknown to science. Recently, a completely unbelievable theory has been put forward. Allegedly, a thermonuclear reaction serves as a source of energy in a living cell, that is, under the influence of an unknown force, inexplicable energy processes begin to occur in the cell, similar to those that occur during the explosion of an atomic bomb.

Despite the rapid development of science, humanity has not been able to unravel the numerous anomalies and other mystical phenomena. The discovery of the laws of chemistry, physics and biology, by and large, did not move man forward. Man still remains a child for nature, for whom it is too early to know something serious. There are many stories that have not been solved by scientists, despite all efforts.

In 1922, Germany was shocked by the brutal murder mystery that took place on the farm of Hinterkaifeck. As a result, six people died. The killings were carried out with great cruelty. But the main thing is not even that. The fact is that all the circumstances that were associated with this case were not even strange, but mystical. This crime remains unsolved to this day. More than a hundred people were interrogated during the investigation, but no one was ever arrested. Also, no motive has been established that could shed even a little light and somehow explain what happened. The maid who worked in the house ran away six months before the tragedy, claiming that the house was haunted. And a new girl, who was hired to replace the previous servant, appeared in the house just a few hours before the tragedy. Investigators suggested that the perpetrator was on the farm for at least a few days, as someone ate in the kitchen and fed the cows. In addition, the neighbors noticed that smoke was coming from the chimney during the weekend.


A lot of questions are raised by the so-called "Phoenix Lights" - several unusual flying objects that were seen by more than a hundred people on the night of March 13, 1997 in the sky over the US states of Nevada and Arizona, as well as over the Mexican state of Sonora. By the way, that night there were several unusual phenomena at once: several motionless lights that hovered over the city of Phoenix and a triangle of luminous objects moving across the sky. However, some time later, the US military recognized the lights from the A-10 Warthog aircraft in strange lights - as it turned out, military exercises were being held in the southwestern part of Arizona at that time.

A strange story happened in 1964 near the Solway Firth. Jim Templeton's family went for a walk, and the head of the family decided to take some photos of his five-year-old daughter. Later, family members said that there was no one in those swampy places at that time. But when the pictures were developed, an unfamiliar strange figure appeared on one of the photographs, which peered out from behind the girl's back. After the analysis, it was found that the images were not subjected to any changes.

A mysterious story happened to the Cooper family. They just moved into their new home in Texas. They celebrated housewarming, and in honor of this they laid a festive table. At the same time, it was decided to take a few photos. After development, a strange figure appeared in the photographs, which either hung or fell from the ceiling. Of course, during the shooting, the family members did not see anything like this.


Something similar happened to four guys who were fooling around in the yard, taking pictures. After developing the film, the pictures showed an extra hand, which was peeking out from behind the back of one of the young people.


At the end of February 1942, a strange picture was published on the pages of the Los Angeles Times. Until now, ufologists and many supporters of conspiracy theories refer to it, trying to prove the fact of visits to our planet by extraterrestrial civilizations. Scientists say that the image clearly shows how the beams from the searchlights fall on a flying alien ship. However, as it turned out later, before publication, the picture was slightly retouched - this was a standard procedure that almost all black and white photographs were subjected to. What was captured in the photo, the authorities were quick to call a "misunderstanding." At that time, the tension in American society was very strong, since the country had just survived the Japanese attack. For this reason, the US military opened fire on the object, which most likely was just a weather balloon.


In 1907, a group of scientists, students, and educators set up a scientific camp in Norway to study a mysterious phenomenon called the "Hessdalen Lights". Once on a clear night, Bjorn Hauge, using a 30-second shutter speed, took an interesting picture. After spectral analysis, it was found that the object depicted in the photograph probably consisted of iron, silicon and scandium. This image is the most informative, but far from the only one in which the "Lights of Hessdalen" appeared. However, scientists still have not been able to determine what kind of object is depicted on them.


In 1941, another interesting photo was taken during the opening of the South Forks Bridge. The public drew attention to the young man, whom most mistook for a time traveler. And all because of a sweater with a zipper, a modern hairstyle, fashionable glasses, a printed T-shirt and a soap camera. All these things were clearly not typical for the 40s of the last century.


In 1960, one of the Earth's satellites took a picture of an unknown object, which later became known as the Black Knight. The unidentified object stood out clearly in polar orbit. It could not be either a Soviet or an American satellite. Since that time, this object has been seen many times - it periodically appears and disappears at certain intervals of time. Scientists conducted a thorough analysis of the images, after which they made the assumption that the unknown object is most likely a piece of artificial origin.

An equally interesting picture was taken after the September 11 tragedy. In the hole that was created in the South Tower after the building was rammed by a plane, a woman is clearly visible standing on the edge. This woman's name is Edna Clinton and, most amazingly, she managed to survive. How - is unknown, moreover, it is simply incomprehensible to the mind, especially considering what happened in that part of the building.

Anomalies can also be found in works of art. We are talking about the painting "Madonna with Saint Giovannino" by Domenico Ghirlandai, which is now part of the Palazzo Vecchio collection in Florence. Above the right shoulder of the Madonna, you can see a certain flying mysterious object, as well as a man watching him.

And finally, another interesting and at the same time mysterious story happened on February 11, 1988 in the Russian city of Vsevolozhsk. There lived a woman who was addicted to spiritism with her teenage daughter. One day there was a light knock on the window of their house. The woman looked out the window, but saw no one. Then she went out onto the porch, but there was no one there either. Moreover, under the windows, she also did not notice any traces. The woman was surprised, but did not attach much importance to what had happened. And after a short time, there was a pop in the house, and a part of the glass in the window on which they knocked formed an almost perfectly even hole. The woman asked her friend, Candidate of Technical Sciences S.P. Kuzionov, to come. The scientist carefully examined everything, taking several pictures at the same time. After developing the photographs, a woman's face appeared on them, peering into the lens. Neither the mistress of the house nor the scientist knew this woman.

It should be noted that the belief in ghosts is quite widespread. Many religions contain special burial traditions and rituals that are performed in order to put the souls of the dead to rest. Despite the fact that most of these unusual cases are associated with the souls of dead people, there are many legends and stories about the ghosts of ships, animals, aircraft, and even entire cities and armies. The most interesting thing is that many have heard about them, but few have seen. And ghosts really can exist, as evidenced by many photographs.

No related links found

There is one manifestation of the so-called "witchcraft" that has found practical application. - Dowser - This is both a miracle and a job. The phenomenon was widely known at the beginning of the last century as a prediction of the presence of groundwater. Here you can’t say that in the presence of underground waters, the twig in a person’s hand turns only due to some unknown chemical or biochemical ...

Throwing stones is one of the most common manifestations of a poltergeist. In his book, I. Vinokurov gave a detailed description of one of the first known cases of poltergeist in Russia, which occurred in a shelter for beggars and vagabonds at the church on Kulichki in Moscow in 1666. The study of archival documents allowed the author to establish how this...

The inexplicable from real life, which took place at the beginning of the last century, has not yet found its declaration. On August 12, 1931, Angelo Faticoni, who was called the “cork man,” managed to stay afloat for fifteen hours, although twenty pounds of lead was tied to his ankles. Faticoni could sleep in the water, curled up, ...

In 1906, in several New York houses where Mary (Typhoid Mary) worked as a cook, diseases were observed that were reported as cases of typhoid fever. The case was investigated, in full accordance with what in 1906 was considered scientific knowledge. The theory of the microbiological origin of diseases prevailed. Nothing was said...

Spontaneous human combustion. At the beginning of the 20th century, several more mysterious cases occurred (and these are only those that have become public knowledge). And how many such incidents went unnoticed by the "general public", history is silent. Spontaneous human combustion in Blyth England At the end of March 1908, an incident was reported in London newspapers, which from the very...

The end of the century before last and the beginning of the last century were very rich in inexplicable cases. There are many reports of poltergeist phenomena that remain so obscure due to eyewitness bias that it is impossible to tell if they are stories of girls with supernatural powers, or some invisible beings who reveal themselves in the presence of female mediums. But history...