Unexplained Phenomenon: Top 10 unexplained phenomena (part 1)

There are quite a number of “ten unexplained phenomena” listings posted online. With Google Doodle showing a UFO logo recently and linking it to the search keywords “unexplained phenomenon,” people are eager to know what these unexplained phenomena are.

I collected the list and presented them below. First part of this series is from MSNBC’s “Weird Science: Top unexplained mysteries.”

The body/mind connection - Medical science is only beginning to understand the ways in which the mind influences the body. The placebo effect, for example, demonstrates that people can at times cause a relief in medical symptoms or suffering by believing the cures to be effective — whether they actually are or not.


Psychic powers and ESP – Psychic powers and extra-sensory perception (ESP) rank among the top ten unexplained phenomena if for no other reason than that belief in them is so widespread. Many people believe that intuition is a form of psychic power, a way of accessing arcane or special knowledge about the world or the future.

Near-death experiences/life after death – People who were once near death have sometimes reported various mystical experiences (such as going into a tunnel and emerging in a light, being reunited with loved ones, a sense of peace, etc.) that may suggest an existence beyond the grave.

Unidentified Flying Object (UFO)- There is no doubt that UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) exist — many people see things in the skies that they cannot identify, ranging from aircraft to meteors. Whether or not any of those objects and lights are alien spacecraft is another matter entirely; given the fantastic distances and effort involved in just getting to Earth from across the universe, such a scenario seems unlikely.

Deja vu – Deja vu is a French phrase meaning “already seen,” referring to the distinct, puzzling, and mysterious feeling of having experienced a specific set of circumstances before.

Ghosts – From the Shakespeare play “MacBeth” to the NBC show “Medium,” spirits of the dead have long made an appearance in our culture and folklore. Many people have reported seeing apparitions of both shadowy strangers and departed loved ones.

Intuition - Whether we call it gut feelings, a “sixth sense,” or something else, we have all experienced intuition at one time or another. Of course, gut feelings are often wrong (how many times during aircraft turbulence have you been “sure” your plane was going down?), but they do seem to be right much of the time.

Bigfoot – For decades, large, hairy, manlike beasts called Bigfoot have occasionally been reported by eyewitnesses across America. Despite the thousands of Bigfoot that must exist for a breeding population, not a single body has been found.

The Taos hum – Some residents and visitors in the small city of Taos, New Mexico, have for years been annoyed and puzzled by a mysterious and faint low-frequency hum in the desert air. Oddly, only about 2 percent of Taos residents report hearing the sound. Some believe it is caused by unusual acoustics; others suspect mass hysteria or some secret, sinister purpose. Whether described as a whir, hum, or buzz — and whether psychological, natural, or supernatural — no one has yet been able to locate the sound’s origin.

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Tags: Science