The Folly of Man

Presented by: Chelsea
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The Tamam Shud case refers to the the discovery of an unknown man sitting dead on the beach in Australia 1948. All attempts to identify the man have failed. He was reportedly scene walking on the beach, though forensics have determined that he must have died lying down. Almost of all of the tags in his clothing had been carefully removed and he had expensive cigarettes in his cheap cigarette box. He was eventually linked to a suitcase through analysis of the thread, but that also turned up no leads.

The case takes it's name from a piece of paper found int he sewed up watch pocket of his pants. It was torn from a copy of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam that was found thrown into the backset of a car belonging to a pair of brothers. Inside the book was what appeared to be a code that has also defied explanation, though recently people have claimed to discover micro code referring to plans for an airplane that the British were developing at the time. This, plus the fact that the edition of the book was never officially in print (and the whole case, really) have led people to believe the man was a Cold War era spy.

The closest he cam to ever being identified was by a nurse named Jessica Thompson, who reacted as if she knew him, but denied it. Her family, particularly her daughter, believes that shew knew the man and that he fathered her son, due to her name being written in his version his book and her son having the same rare earlobe features as the man. The daughter has requested for the body to be exhumed for DNA testing, but this has thus far been denied.

The Thamam Shud case will likely never be solved, because ever answer leads to more questions and the one aspect of the story that can be settled is not being pursued.

Presented by: Cristina
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Swift Runner was a Cree Native American living in modern-day Alberta. He worked s a trapper and guide until he was kicked out of his village for being a violent alcoholic just before winter, forcing him and his entire family to go live in the woods with him 25 miles away. This happened just before winter.

Winter is rarely mild in Canada and this was a particularly nasty one. In the spring, Swift Runner returned to the village alone, but acted suspicious when they asked after his family. The people of the village relayed their concerns to the local Mounties who agreed to investigate. Shortly thereafter, Swift Runner himself arrived at the Mounties to explain that his wife had committed suicide and his family had starve to death. He agreed to take the Mounties to his camp.

At the camp, they found human skulls in the remains of the fire and promptly arrested Swift Runner, who confessed to eating his family over the course of the winter, which he blamed on being possessed by a Wendigo. His trial was brief and hisi became the first legal hanging in the territory.