We’ve all made some surprising discoveries. Maybe you found $20 in an old coat pocket, or you discovered a family relic in your basement while cleaning. The discoveries on this list, like yours, were all unexpected. They range from strange to useful and everything in between. Many of these findings remain unexplained and are the subject of Netflix documentaries and films. While some of these discoveries were the product of pure chance, others were the result of hard labor and determination. Hopefully, this list has inspired you to keep your eyes open and your curiosity alive. Who can say? Maybe you’ll find something encouraging as well.
30+ Surprising Valuable Discoveries Found In The Most Unexpected Places
Bolivians Discover an Underground Pyramid
Location: Tiahuanaco, Bolivia
Year Discovered: 2015
Est. Value: Unknown
Tiahuanaco, Bolivia, and its historical remains have resulted in numerous discoveries, and excavations have been ongoing for years by both private businesses and the government. One of the most stunning discoveries at Tiahuanaco in 2015 was an underground pyramid. It was discovered by archaeologists using ground-penetrating radar. They discovered monoliths within the pyramid as well. Excavation of this underground pyramid is still occurring. Tiahuanaco was once the most prominent metropolis in ancient South America. The metropolis covered 231,000 square miles, and discoveries have included stone monuments, palace ruins, sculptures, and more. Tiahuanaco has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.
Bolivians Discover an Underground Pyramid
‘Witch Bottle’ Discovered in English Chimney
Location: Watford, England
Year Discovered: 2019
Est. Value: $40*
Contractors demolish a former bar in Watford, England, and make an interesting discovery in the building’s chimney portion. This spooky folklore surprise was a witch bottle filled with an unknown liquid, teeth, and glass fragments. The bottle was assumed to be from the 1800s. It was most likely placed in the tavern to keep witches away. That makes reasonable given that same Watford property was the birthplace of the Witch of Saratoga. Angeline Tubbs was the Witch’s real name, and she moved to Saratoga, New York in 1761, where she earned a business reading fortunes and creating witch bottles to frighten off rivals.
Witch Bottle’ Discovered In English Chimney
Giant Lego Men Wash up on Beaches Around the World
Location: Yuigahama Beach, Japan
Year Discovered: 2014
Est. Value: Unknown
Humans are concerned about dead wildlife washing up on the coasts, as this could indicate an issue with water quality. Who knows what an eight-foot-tall, frightening Lego man means? A Japanese surfer uncovered this possible foreboding sign. The Lego man was dressed forebodingly in a t-shirt with the words “No Real Than You Are” on the front. Rather than blaming aliens, the individual behind this massive Lego appears to be a mysterious Dutch artist named Ego Leonard. According to his website, this artist is from the “virtual world.” Believe it or not, this is far from the first time such a massive Lego has washed up on the beach. These colossal creatures were also discovered on beaches in Siesta Key, Florida, and Topanga Beach, California.
Giant Lego Men Wash Up On Beaches Around The World
The World’s Largest Flower Was Discovered in the Jungle
Location: West Sumatra, Indonesia
Year Discovered: 2020
Est. Value: Unknown
Conservationists spotted the world’s largest flower bloom while trekking through a remote jungle in Indonesia’s West Sumatra province. Rafflesia tuan-mudae is the flower species, and it is notable for its huge, elusive blossoms that bloom for only one week near the conclusion of the plant’s life. This massive flower measured 3.6 feet in diameter, making it the largest Rafflesia ever recorded. The flower is easily identified by its flesh-colored petals with white dots. This unpleasant term accurately describes the flower, as it belongs to the “corpse flower” flora, which means it smells like a dead body.
The World’s Largest Flower Was Discovered in the Jungle
Shark Found In Middle of Golf Course
Location: San Juan Capistrano, California
Year Discovered: 2012
Est. Value: $850*
We all laughed at Sharknado when it came out in 2013, but it appears that Thunder Levin had the last laugh in the end, since perhaps his films weren’t so fictitious after all. A shark did, in fact, descend from the sky (a year before those films were released), landing near the twelfth tee of a golf course in California. When the two-pound leopard shark landed on the San Juan Capistrano Golf Course, the personnel were taken aback. The leopard shark, which was discovered alive, was transported from the ocean by a bird that had dropped it. Cart attendants placed the befuddled fish in a bucket of salt water and transported it to Baby Beach, where it was returned to its natural home.
Shark Found In Middle Of Golf Course
An Underwater River Found in the Ocean
Location: Cenote Angelita, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
Year Discovered: 2016
Est. Value: N/A
Finding a river in the ocean may appear to be an oxymoron. After all, isn’t the ocean made up entirely of water? Prepare to be astonished, when divers off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula uncovered an underwater river concealed beneath a cloud of noxious gas. The Cenote Angelita, a large sinkhole, is the river’s source. This river appears to flow out to the ocean ninety feet beneath the surface. It is surrounded by a blanket of hydrogen sulfide, which would instantaneously kill anyone who inhaled it. To add to the eerie atmosphere, petrified trees and even a little skeleton can be found in the poisonous fog. The ancient Mayans believed the Cenote Angelita was a portal to Hell, and they may have been correct.
An Underwater River Found In The Ocean
Long-lost Ship Found in Namibian Desert — with Gold Aboard
Location: Oranjemund, Namibia
Year Discovered: 2008
Est. Value: $13 million*
The Namibian Desert is arguably the last place you’d expect to find a ship. But, believe it or not, it is where the remains of the Bom Jesus were discovered. This Portuguese ship vanished five hundred years ago when it sank off the coast of Namibia. The Bom Jesus reappeared after the coastal waters receded. It was on its way to India when it was sunk in a strong storm, carrying riches such as gold and copper ingots. Diamond miners spotted the ship and notified the Namibian government, which dispatched a team to recover the wreckage. Two thousand pure gold pieces and tens of thousands of pounds of copper ingots were unearthed almost entirely undamaged on the Bom Jesus.
Long Lost Ship Found In Namibian Desert — With Gold Aboard
Soviet-Built T34/76A Found In Lake Kurtna Matasjarv
Location: Estonia
Year Discovered: 2000
Est. Value: $6 million*
A magnificent piece of history sat concealed for decades in the depths of Lake Kurtna Matasjärv until Kasper, an Estonian young man, unearthed its mysteries in 2000. Kasper fetched his parents after seeing a peculiar marking and a nearby rope. An major dig followed, and the entire town was soon involved. At the other end of the rope, emerging from the depths, was a Soviet-built T34/76A tank, a chilling reminder of the past. Kasper’s finding happened by chance. However, the rationale for the tank’s location, or how it got there, remains unknown.
Soviet Built T34 76A Found In Lake Kurtna Matasjarv
The Catacombs of Paris Have a Secret Underground Theater
Location: Paris, France
Year Discovered: 2004
Est. Value: $5,000-$10,000* (Cost To Build)
The Paris Catacombs are a maze in the center of France. When the city required a better place to house the dead, the Catacombs were erected. So, beginning in the late 1700s, Paris picked tunnels five floors beneath into which they unloaded bodies. This discovery is even more creepy because of the context. In August 2004, Parisian police officers conducting a training exercise uncovered a fully-equipped movie theater in one of the Catacombs’ previously unknown caves. Terraces were dug into the rock to create an amphitheater, which housed projection equipment, a full-sized movie screen, and a selection of thriller and noir films. The films were neither inappropriate nor prohibited; it appears that someone simply desired to set up their own eerie, private theater.
The Catacombs of Paris Have a Secret Underground Theater
A family discovers an ancient chapel hidden beneath their home
Location: Shropshire, England
Year Discovered: 2010
Est. Value: $10,000-$50,000* (Cost To Build, Adj. For Inflation)
This intriguing discovery appears to be the beginning of a horror film. Pat and Diane Farla were hosting a Good Friday party in Shropshire, England, when one of them decided to finally look behind the six-foot-long rectangular plate on their wall. They hadn’t glanced behind there in the three years they’d owned the house. After removing the plate, they discovered a hole that led to a little underground chapel. The cellar-like structure included pews and a cross, indicating that it was religious in nature. Authorities suspect that congregations fleeing religious persecution during one of England’s many religious wars may have used this underground chapel centuries ago.
A family discovers an ancient chapel hidden beneath their home
A 1,000-Year-Old Viking Ship Found Buried on Farm
Location: Edoy, Norway
Year Discovered: 2019
Est. Value: $545,000*
Using ground penetrating radar, a team of archaeologists uncovered something peculiar buried on a farm in Norway. They discovered a ship dating back to the Merovingian or Viking periods beneath the freezing earth’s surface. The ship was barely two feet beneath the ground. The archeological crew was there on a completely other trip, and they almost accidentally discovered this ship. It was a burial mound from over a thousand years ago. Their deep-radar technology was used to identify the GJellestad Ship, which was also located in Norway.
A 1,000 Year Old Viking Ship Found Buried On Farm
Couple Finds 50-year-old Safe Hidden in Kitchen Wall
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Year Discovered: 2015
Est. Value: $52,000*
A couple in Phoenix, Arizona was renovating their kitchen when they discovered an unusual safe hidden behind the kitchen wall. When they opened the box, they discovered not just $50,000 and wine, but also instructions for a treasure hunt. The $100 bills were joined by a bottle of 1960s bourbon. The last book in the safe was E.F. Schumacher’s 1977 novel A Guide for the Perplexed. The book contained defined passages as well as a map of Arizona and a Bingo card with numbers outlined. So far, the couple has been unable to decipher the convoluted series of hints.
Couple Finds 50 Year Old Safe Hidden In Kitchen Wall
One-Of-A-Kind Qing Dynasty Vase Discovered in Attic
Location: Paris, France
Year Discovered: 2018
Est. Value: $19 million*
When homeowners in France were cleaning up their attic, they discovered an ornately decorated, lovely porcelain vase. The vase had gone undiscovered for years, but when the couple discovered it, they had it appraised at Sotheby’s in Paris. Sotheby’s discovered that the vase was an actual Qing Dynasty work of art and valued it between $590,000 and $825,000. This hidden gem, however, would go on to sell for far more than its worth, with an auction buyer scooping it up for a winning offer of $19 million. To command that price, this artwork had to be genuinely one-of-a-kind.
One Of A Kind Qing Dynasty Vase Discovered In Attic
Two Brothers Find $15m Painting in Wall
Location: Arlington, Vermont
Year Discovered: 2006
Est. Value: $15.4 million*
Two brothers were conducting a postmortem excavation in their father’s home when they discovered something unexpected buried within the walls. It was a genuine Norman Rockwell piece. But this Rockwell matched the one only a few inches away on the wall. The brothers’ father, it turned out, was hiding the costly original from his ex-wife during a divorce. He hid the actual Rockwell in the wall, replacing it with a convincing replica. It hung there for years until the father died. This painting, titled “Breaking Home Ties,” later sold for $15.4 million at a Sotheby’s auction.
Two Brothers Find $15m Painting In Wall
Missing Original Mark Twain Script Found in a Trunk
Location: Hollywood, California
Year Discovered: 1991
Est. Value: $1.5 million*
This priceless literary relic had been missing for nearly a century until being recovered in an attic trunk in 1991. Famous author Mark Twain handwrote the 665-page document. This version of Huckleberry Finn strayed significantly from the original source text, upending our assumptions about modern literature. The Mark Twain Project at USC stated that they “believed” the book would never be discovered because Twain had sent it to Buffalo, New York, where it vanished. The trunk’s owner was the granddaughter of one of Mark Twain’s close friends, and she promptly sent it to Sotheby’s for certification.
Missing Original Mark Twain Script Found In A Trunk
Terracotta Warriors Found in Pit Near Secret Tomb
Location: Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
Year Discovered: 1974
Est. Value: $4.5 million per warrior*
In 1974, Chinese laborers digging a well uncovered thousands ancient terracotta clay war figures. The Terracotta Army, as it is now known, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. The Army was discovered near the mausoleum built for Qin Shi Huang, China’s first emperor. The figures are very realistic and are exact replicas of the king’s warriors. There are 8,000 terracotta soldiers in total, with just 2,000 of them excavated. The warriors were created to guard the emperor on his trip to the afterlife in 210 B.C.
Terracotta Warriors Found in Pit Near Secret Tomb
Swedish Scientists Reveal Findings of Deep-Sea ‘Alien’ Hunt
Location: Baltic Sea
Year Discovered: 2015
Est. Value: Unknown
In terms of finding something spooky and strange, a deep-sea alien quest already seems promising. When Swedish scientists conducting such an expedition uncovered what many suspected was a spaceship concealed in the depths of the Baltic Sea, they did not disappoint. Though the explorers denied it was a spaceship, they are unsure of what this anomaly is. Peter Lindberg, the Ocean Explorer team’s leader, described it as a “natural geological formation.” Lindberg claimed that this weird shape was not an alien spaceship because it was “not made of metal,” to which many people responded, “Who said alien spaceships have to be made of metal?”
Swedish Scientists Reveal Findings Of Deep Sea ‘Alien’ Hunt
WWII plane discovered in the jungle with coffee still in the thermos
Location: Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
Year Discovered: 1972
Est. Value: $9 million*
The “Swamp Ghost” was a Boeing B-17E bomber that undoubtedly caused havoc during WWII. That is, until the plane crashed in the jungles of Papua New Guinea in 1942 after being damaged by enemy fire. The Swamp Ghost was shot down during a raid against Japanese soldiers in Rabaul, New Britain. The plane had been abandoned for decades. The kunai grass and mire had maintained it well when it was discovered in 1972. When the Swamp Ghost was discovered, there was still coffee in thermoses in the cockpit. According to some accounts, such a well-preserved WWII plane is worth around $9 million.
WWII plane discovered in the jungle with coffee still in the thermos
A Shocking Discovery from 2000-year-old Shipwreck: The Antikythera Mechanism
Location: Antikythera, Greece
Year Discovered: 1900
Est. Value: Priceless
The Antikythera Mechanism is a 2,000-year-old astronomical calculator made up of thirty hand-cut, accurate bronze gears. The complex technique was created by the ancient Greeks, and experts have spent years unraveling the riddle of this technology, which Cardiff University’s Mike Edmunds characterized as more expensive “than the Mona Lisa.” Sponge divers searching in an ancient wreckage at Antikythera, a small Greek island, uncovered the machine in 1900. Scientists were able to date this clock to 65 B.C. using radiocarbon data. In terms of total value, its historical significance makes it nearly priceless. Who can put a price on understanding how ancient civilizations read the skies?
A Shocking Discovery From 2000 Year Old Shipwreck The Antikythera Mechanism
Strange Figures Found Along The Alaskan Shore
Location: Alaska, America
Year Discovered: 2015
Est. Value: Priceless
Some Alaskans were taken aback a few years ago when they discovered a group of frightening figures lingering in the ice and snow on the desolate shoreline of Point Woronzof, near Anchorage. From a distance, they appeared to be genuine individuals in distress. The ominous patterns, however, turned out to be an art piece by Sarah Davies. Inspired by her own undetected sickness, Davies created more than 85 humanoid sculptures that symbolized the “physical encapsulation of hundreds of unique experiences of vulnerability,” according to Buzzfeed News.
Strange Figures Found Along The Alaskan Shore
A Secret Mummy Found in a Statue
Location: China
Year Discovered: 1990
Est. Value: $80,000*
This ancient, thousand-year-old Buddha statue was precious enough on its own, but what experts discovered inside it in 1990 astounded them. These historians were conducting experiments on the Buddha idol in order to restore it to its former, gleaming beauty. The results of the testing would indicate the optimum course of action for the restoration. Scientists were astounded to discover a human skeleton while taking an X-ray to identify what the statue was composed of. The statue was actually a sarcophagus for a mummy, not a statue. As a result, the scientists opted to keep the burial site as the planned ultimate resting place.
A Secret Mummy Found In A Statue
An abandoned Burger King from the 1980s was discovered hidden behind a wall
Location: Wilmington, Delaware
Year Discovered: 2022
Est. Value: $50,000* (Franchise Fee)
The Concord Mall is Delaware’s oldest mall, and it has seen many restaurants, attractions, and shops come and depart throughout the years. Concord opened a Burger King in the mall in the late 1980s, and that Burger King’s reign as a premier mall diner ended in 2009. However, the Burger King was not demolished; it was simply walled over. A photo of the hidden BK behind the wall went viral in the summer of 2022, and people were surprised at how its retro style, in all its 1980s-fast-food grandeur, was still fully preserved.
An abandoned Burger King from the 1980s was discovered hidden behind a wall.
Man Builds Hidden Studio Suspended Under Bridge
Location: Valencia, Spain
Year Discovered: N/A
Est. Value: $1,000-$5,000*
Many of us used to build secret forts and hideaways in our backyards or houses when we were youngsters. These cherished childhood memories led Spaniard Fernando Abellanas to build a tiny studio apartment beneath a bridge in Valencia, Spain. Abellanas, a self-taught designer, built his “fort” using some clever engineering. It features shelving, a chair, a desk, and a sleeping area. He can even fold the walls up and down to create a more open or closed environment. One of the most unusual things you’d expect to discover under a bridge is a mobile studio apartment.
Man Builds Hidden Studio Suspended Under Bridge
Mysterious Metal Monoliths Appear Everywhere in 2020
Location: Utah, California, Romania, and New Mexico
Year Discovered: 2020
Est. Value: Unknown
2020 was a crazy year, with one news article in particular sparking a slew of extraterrestrial conspiracy ideas. Identical monoliths kept sprouting up in Utah, California, Romania, and New Mexico (all potential alien destinations). These large, vertical metal slabs were ten to twelve feet long and appeared out of nowhere in these areas. People were reminded of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and, like the totems in that film, little is known about these, which is probably the intention. They are mysterious and gorgeous, and no one knows whether this was an art piece, a government mind control attempt, a strange prank, an alien invasion, or anything else.
Mysterious Metal Monoliths Appear Everywhere In 2020
Lavish Third-Century Home Found Under the Streets of Rome
Location: Rome, Italy
Year Discovered: 2017
Est. Value: Unknown
Excavators were digging beneath Rome in 2017 to build a new metro line. Because Rome is one of the oldest important cities, many intriguing objects were discovered. During the digging, for example, builders discovered the foundations of an opulent third-century mansion that had been burned in a fire. They also discovered a 1,800-year-old skeleton of a hunched dog that died in the fire. The fire halted the ruins, and the house, albeit burnt, was exceptionally well-preserved due to the ash. Experts claimed that this house belonged to a Celian Hill aristocrat.
Lavish Third Century Home Found Under The Streets Of Rome
In their backyard, a couple discovers a perfectly preserved 1961 fallout shelter
Location: Woodland Hills, California
Year Discovered: 2013
Est. Value: $5,400*
The world was in turmoil during the 1960s. America and Russia were at odds, and the threat of nuclear war was on everyone’s mind. Some people even built backyard fallout shelters and bunkers. A couple from Woodland Hills, California, discovered such a shelter in their new home in 2013. Though they were aware of the bunker when they purchased the house, they assumed it was only a hole in the ground at the time. They uncovered a subterranean time capsule loaded with flawlessly preserved vintage supplies such as food, water, beds, and more when they examined the fallout shelter.
In their backyard, a couple discovers a perfectly preserved 1961 fallout shelter
Farmer Finds 4,500-year-old Statuette of Ancient Goddess
Location: Gaza Strip, Palestine
Year Discovered: 2022
Est. Value: Unknown
A farmer in the Gaza Strip came across a limestone sculpture of Anat, an ancient Canaanite deity, while working on his land. According to Canaanite mythology, the 4,500-year-old deity was the goddess of beauty, love, and war. Nidal Abu Eid, the farmer, told NBC News that he immediately recognized the statue as significant since it bore a “inscription of a snake” on its head. According to tradition, the goddess wore the snake as a crown of invisibility and might. Some historians believe Anat inspired Athena, the Grecian goddess of war, because Athena is frequently accompanied by snake iconography.
Farmer Finds 4,500 Year Old Statuette Of Ancient Goddess
Ancient Roman Coins Found in Japanese Castle Ruins
Location: Okinawa, Japan
Year Discovered: 2016
Est. Value: $10,000-$100,000*
Katsuren Castle, an old royal building on the Japanese island of Okinawa, was the site of an unusual discovery: ancient Ottoman and Roman coins. Ten of these old coins were discovered in Japan’s southern prefecture, and they were discovered among the ruins by Toshio Tsukamoto, a Ganoji researcher. The coins were discovered in 2016, despite the fact that the excavation of Kasturen began in 2013. Other relics discovered were Chinese ceramics and money obtained through trade with China. Archeologists are baffled as to how the Roman and Ottoman coins ended up in a southern Japanese castle-like Kasturen.
Ancient Roman Coins Found In Japanese Castle Ruins
A man out walking his dog discovers $100,000 floating down the river
Location: Lincolnshire, England
Year Discovered: 2013
Est. Value: $100,000*
Every dog owner has taken their canine companion for a walk, but one dog dad’s walk delivered something completely unexpected. In November 2013, a man was wandering along the Spalding River in the United Kingdom when he noticed wads of cash floating in the river. He alerted officials, who took the money from the Spalding. Overall, the total amount discovered was $100,000. According to Lincolnshire Police, some of the currency had water damage, but the remainder of the notes were in fine shape. The money was then forensically examined to see whether it could be determined where it originated from (and to whom it truly belonged).
A man out walking his dog discovers $100,000 floating down the river
La Paz County Sheriff Find Underwater Skeleton Tea Party
Location: Colorado River, La Paz, Arizona
Year Discovered: 2015
Est. Value: $50*
When the La Paz County Sheriff’s Department received a call regarding possible human remains in the Colorado River, they partnered up with the Buckskin Fire Department in Arizona. A diver went down to inspect with a video camera and discovered two skeletons having a tea party. Thankfully, the skeletons were false, and they were both sitting upright in lawn chairs. One sported aviators and a bib. The other was holding a sign that read “Dream in the River” and had the date August 16, 2014. Was this some sort of art installation? Have you thrown away your Halloween decorations? Is it some kind of shrine? We may never find out.
La Paz County Sheriff Find Underwater Skeleton Tea Party
Atari’s “E.T.” Video Games Unearthed from New Mexico Landfill
Location: Alamogordo, New Mexico
Year Discovered: 2014
Est. Value: $5-$10 million*
This is a shocking narrative with many twists and turns. Atari learned in the fall of 1983 that its much-maligned E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial video game was a colossal flop. So Atari chose to deal with its excess inventory by covertly burying much of it in an Alamogordo, New Mexico landfill. The “Atari Dump” became the stuff of urban legends because no one believed the E.T. game had been such a flop. That is, until an exploratory dig in Alamogordo in 2014 showed that the Atari Dump had been there all along. Atari’s game was so reviled that burying millions of copies in the New Mexico desert was the only way to avoid selling them.
Atari’s “E.T.” Video Games Unearthed From New Mexico Landfill
Israel Finds New Dead Sea Scrolls – 75 Years Later
Location: Murabba’at Caves, Nahal Darga Reserve, Israel
Year Discovered: 2021
Est. Value: Priceless
Although Israel is a regular location for religiously significant, historical discovery, no one expected this. The Israeli Antiquities Authority reported that it discovered additional fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls after an exhaustive, intense examination of the Judean Desert, the first find of its kind in six decades. These new Scrolls contained fragments of the twelve minor prophets’ books, including Nahum and Zechariah. The new find was supposed to be part of the Minor Prophets scroll, which was discovered in the early 1950s and contains information about the End of Days. Because of the hot, arid environment in which the fragments were discovered, the Scrolls endured for thousands of years.
Israel Finds New Dead Sea Scrolls – 75 Years Later
WWI Soldier’s Love Letters Found Hidden in Wall
Location: U.S.
Year Discovered: 2014
Est. Value: N/A
World War I was a painful time for cultures all around the world, as the ferocity of the armaments and the death toll led many people to feel that the world as they knew it was coming to an end. All soldiers battling in the deadly war had to cling to their comrades as well as letters from loved ones back home. While digging his home, one man discovered WWI love letters from 1918 in his attic wall. A man named Clement wrote the letters to Mary, his love. Fortunately, the homeowner, Phil Mathies, was able to locate Clement’s relatives, who proved that he did, in fact, end up with Mary after the war.
WWI Soldier’s Love Letters Found Hidden In Wall
The New Home of a Couple Includes a Secret Hidden Room
Location: U.S.
Year Discovered: 2022
Est. Value: $3,000-$10,000* (Cost To Install)
Finding a hidden room in your new home is never a pleasant thing, and if scary movies teach us anything, such a discovery should be avoided. One couple was shocked to discover a peculiar secret room hidden in the lounge of their Logan, Utah house. The door was hidden behind a bookcase. The room was listed on the house’s designs when it was built in the late 1970s. Inside the concrete room, there was only one foldable chair. Theories varied from the area being a dungeon to a panic room, with one Redditor claiming the latter. Still, that doesn’t explain the lone folding chair.
The New Home of a Couple Includes a Secret Hidden Room
Largest Diamond in the World Found in Arkansas
Location: Murfreesboro, Arkansas
Year Discovered: 1924
Est. Value: $1 million*
When most people think of diamond mining, they think of Africa. However, there have been some rather rare finds of these magnificent, costly jewels in America. During an early mining operation in Murfreesboro, Arkansas in 1924, a minor unearthed the largest diamond ever discovered in America. This diamond, later dubbed Uncle Sam, weighed 40.23 carats. It was white with a pink cast and was sold to a private collector in 1971 for $150,000 by a dealer in Boston. This diamond is now worth $1 million in today’s money. According to Arkansas State Parks, Uncle Sam is a “one in a billion gem.”
Largest Diamond In The World Found In Arkansas
Family Finds Bags Stuffed with $1M Lying on Road
Location: Caroline County, Virginia
Year Discovered: 2020
Est. Value: $1 million*
Picking up trash on the side of the road may sound like an unappealing hobby, but it paid handsomely for one family. A family was driving through Virginia when they noticed two white sacks on the side of the road, which they mistook for garbage. They tossed the “trash” bags into the back of their car, determined to clean up what they thought was rubbish. When they opened them, they discovered that they had not unearthed the remains of a litterbug, but rather a million dollars. The family did the right thing by turning over the funds to the sheriff’s office. Unfortunately, the money does not appear to have originated from a flashy or blockbuster-movie-like source. It was supposedly post office property, and the bags tumbled out of the truck on the route to the bank.
Family Finds Bags Stuffed With $1M Lying On Road
Man Discovers Sprawling Tunnel System Filled With Bats in His Home
Location: Southern Italy
Year Discovered: 2020
Est. Value: Unknown
A homeowner in Southern Italy discovered a real-life Bat Cave in his home and shared his incredible discovery on Reddit. He bought the six-bedroom, two-bathroom mansion in 2020. He was aware of a few tunnels, but they were labeled as “storage.” The tunnels were indicated as dining rooms on the deed plan. When the purchaser had the opportunity to explore, he was astounded by how deep the tunnels ran. The three-level subterranean system covered thousands of square feet. Unfortunately, many of these underground caverns were filled with bats, so the homeowner had to proceed with caution when exploring this interesting, creepy discoveries.
Man Discovers Sprawling Tunnel System Filled With Bats In His Home
Man Finds Hidden Attic Full of Valuable Antiques
Location: Geneva, New York
Year Discovered: 2020
Est. Value: $5,000* (Susan B. Anthony Photograph Value)
What a wonderful gift that keeps on giving. David Whitcomb purchased a building in Geneva, New York in December 2020 with the intention of using it primarily as a legal office. It wasn’t until he and a friend started exploring his new home that they uncovered a hidden attic filled of precious, historical antique items. The attic was not listed in the home’s documents because it had not been used in decades. The attic turned out to be the former studio of James Hale, a historically noteworthy photographer. Whitcomb discovered authentic prints of photographs of historical figures such as Susan B. Anthony in the workstation.
Man Finds Hidden Attic Full Of Valuable Antiques
Mysterious Earthen Rings Found in the Amazon
Location: Amazon Rainforest
Year Discovered: 2014
Est. Value: N/A
The Amazon is the world’s largest jungle, and it is home to over 4,700 different animal species as well as a plethora of secrets. There have been discoveries in the Amazon that defy scientific explanation. One of these unique discoveries is the Amazon Rings. Aerial photography revealed circular circles pressed into the Amazonian environment. These rings, according to the researchers, predate the rainforest itself. Because it is doubtful that ancient peoples created these rings because it would harm the Amazon, the history behind these remarkable features remains unknown for the time being.
Mysterious Earthen Rings Found In The Amazon