Unsolved mysteries In this article Iβm going to talk about mysteries and crimes over the ages and across countries, as well as unsolved mysteries that intrigued me. Mysteries do not just come in the format of crimes. Many jobs are a form of detecting, even though they might not carry a magnifying glass. For example, many scientists who discover new theories or new species, such as Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution, where he uncovered the mystery of how species have adapted. Another type of job which solves mysteries is an archaeologist, who uncovers the history of species. Then there are the obvious detectives, police and possibly spies who uncover the truth of a case. This shows that many different jobs involve some form of detecting. Despite the common misconceptions, forensic investigation has been practised in one form or another for thousands of years. Before the discovery and impact of DNA in the early 1980s and the advent of fingerprinting in the early 1800s criminal investigators were using the science of forensics to solve crimes. For example, photographs were used in the late 1800s to capture images of killers or criminals on a victimβs eyeballs during the investigation of the worldβs first documented serial killer, Jack the Ripper. There are of course fictional detectives as well as real life ones today. The most famous, perhaps, being Sherlock Holmes. Holmes is a fictional character created by Arthur Conan Doyle. However, Conan Doyle did model Holmesβ methods and mannerisms on those of Dr. Joseph Bell, who had been his professor at his university. I find it interesting that such a successful detective who can solve anything, was based on a non-fictional person who isnβt even a detective. This leads back to the fact that detective work is in everyoneβs lives. He combines efficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science, and logical reasoning that borders which he employs when investigating cases for a wide variety of clients, including Scotland Yard. His popularity and fame are such that many have believed him not to be a fictional character but a real individual. I thought that this was quite interesting. Although Sherlock Holmes is fake, there are many real murder cases, that interestingly are still a mystery. If Holmes indeed was real, would he be able to solve them? A famous example is one I mentioned before, Jack the Ripper. Between August and November 1888 five poor women were brutally murdered in London. They were all killed in very similar ways, at night and in the notoriously dangerous Whitechapel area of the city. The police at the time did not know how to properly investigate the scene of a crime, and so couldnβt work out who the murderer was. So, the killer began to tease them. He wrote a letter telling him that they would never catch him, signed Jack the Ripper. Jack was right, as still to this day, he was never caught. However, there were some suspects. The police first thought it was a hairdresser who worked nearby called George Chapman. He was a Polish immigrant which made the police more suspicious of him. Although Chapman was probably not guilty of being Jack the Ripper, he did poison several of his wives. However, the methods were not the same so some believe he should be ruled out. Secondly, they thought it was a famous actor called Richard Mansfield. He was acting in a play where a villainous alter ego created by the main character goes rampaging through London murdering and causing chaos. The play was then closed due to the murders, and the actor had to convince everyone that he only played a murderer on stage, not in real life. There is one more explanation that is more probable. From the way that they were murdered, itβs likely that the murderer was a doctor or surgeon. The body of a doctor, Montague John Druitt was found floating in the Thames. Coincidence, or could he have been Jack?
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