02 · The Mysteries

The other cabinet

Same rules as the files: what is documented first, then what is truly open. Checkable claims get a label. Faith never does.

9 FILES · 9 DRAWERS

Drawer 01
DRAWER 01 · Ancient sites

Stones that were cut, moved and stacked before anyone wrote down how.
- The Pyramids of Giza: who built them, and what is still hidden
OPEN THE DRAWER →
Photo: Francis Frith, The Pyramids of El Geezeh (1856-1860), Rijksmuseum · CC0 · source
Drawer 02
DRAWER 02 · Ancient texts

What the oldest documents actually say, next to what people say they say.
- The Dead Sea Scrolls: found, dated, published, and forged
OPEN THE DRAWER →
Photo: Willem van de Poll, Dead Sea Scrolls (1948), Nationaal Archief / Anefo · CC0 · source
Drawer 03
DRAWER 03 · The universe

Signals, silences and visitors from outside the solar system.
- ‘Oumuamua: the first visitor from another star
OPEN THE DRAWER →
Photo: NASA, ESA, H. Teplitz and M. Rafelski (IPAC/Caltech), A. Koekemoer (STScI), R. Windhorst (ASU), Z. Levay (STScI), Hubble Ultra Deep Field 2014 · Public domain · source
Drawer 04
DRAWER 04 · Sky & belief

Things seen in the sky and filed under faith. Believers, scientists and sceptics side by side. Faith is never stamped.
- The Vatican Observatory: the Pope's telescopes and the question of aliens
OPEN THE DRAWER →
Photo: Judah Bento Ruah, Ilustração Portugueza, Fátima 1917-10-13 · Public domain · source
Drawer 05
DRAWER 05 · The mind

The one file nobody can close.
- Consciousness: humans, animals, machines
OPEN THE DRAWER →
Photo: Descartes: The Nervous System, Wellcome Collection L0006584 · CC BY 4.0 · source
Drawer 06
DRAWER 06 · Big Questions

Both sides, fairly, and an open question at the end.
- A fine-tuned universe?
OPEN THE DRAWER →
Photo: Camille Flammarion, The Flammarion Engraving (1888) · Public domain · source
Drawer 07
DRAWER 07 · Myth vs. Record

Famous stories held up against the documents.
- MKULTRA: the CIA's behaviour-modification programme
OPEN THE DRAWER →
Photo: NASA, Apollo 11 bootprint AS11-40-5878 (1969-07-20) · Public domain · source
Drawer 08
DRAWER 08 · People & claims

What they claimed, what the records show.
- Nikola Tesla: the myths and the record
OPEN THE DRAWER →
Photo: Napoleon Sarony, Nikola Tesla (c. 1890), Marc Seifer Archives · Public domain · source
Drawer 09
DRAWER 09 · The Presidents’ File

What they said, with the source, and what actually happened.
- The Presidents’ File
OPEN THE DRAWER →
Photo: Official White House photo, Jimmy Carter (1977) · Public domain (PD-USGov) · source