Thursday, November 18, 2010

Mysteries at the Museum

The Travel Channel has an ongoing program on Tuesdays that takes the viewer to different museums to witness the strange and unexplained. For those of you who are fond of mysteries, or museums, like I am, here are the upcoming museum spotlights for next Tuesday's show, the 4th in this very interesting series. 

Mysteries at the Museum: Volume 4

The History Museum at the Castle: In the History Museum at the Castle in Appleton, Wisconsin, a plaster bust is modeled after Harry Houdini, who has long passed on but whose mysterious talents still baffle the mind. Is it possible that this bust is actually possessed by the spirit of this famous magician? The answer lies in the suspicious circumstances that surround Houdini’s death.

The Henry Ford Museum: In Michigan, the Henry Ford Museum showcases an artifact that soared high above the roadways in 1926- a unique airplane named “The Josephine Ford”. At the time, the intrepid pilot of this airplane set out on a death defying flight to the end of the earth with one goal in mind. What was this pilot’s goal and why is his journey still shrouded in mystery?

Coos Historical and Maritime Museum: Located on Oregon’s rugged Coast at the Coos Historical and Maritime Museum, there is a peculiar object that looks like a piece of faming equipment, but in fact, it’s actually a piece from a diabolical weapon of mass destruction sent here by America’s former enemy. How did this artifact cause the only deaths resulting from enemy action to occur on mainland America during World War II?

The Chicago History Museum: A plain scrap of fabric, emblazoned with a striking design located at the Chicago History Museum was one of the banners designed for protests at the infamous 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Who made this flag and how did it play such a large role in changing the direction of our country?

Fall River Historical Society: The Fall River Historical Society in Fall River, Massachusettes houses an artifact that may have been the murder weapon in one of the most notorious unsolved murders in American history. This hatchet head was the key piece of evidence used against Lizzie Borden in the murders of her parents; but did she really commit the heinous crime?

National Museum of American History: Among the many thousands of objects at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution, is a worn and weathered eighty year old briefcase. This attache once belonged to a lifelong politician and diplomat and held countless, top secret and sensitive government documents. Why do curators at the Smithsonian believe this briefcase was party to one watershed event that changed the history of the planet?

I'll be posting the next volume later, so you can see what's coming after this.

13 comments:

Beth Trissel said...

Fascinating stuff! Thanks for posting this, Joyce.

Jacqueline Seewald said...

I love history mysteries. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Kathy Otten said...

I wonder if the axe still has DNA from Lizzie's parents?

Samantha Gentry said...

I've been watching this series. I love this kind of stuff.

Joyce Elson Moore said...

Beth: Thanks for stopping by. I know, it feeds the soul of a writer, no?

Joyce Elson Moore said...

Jacqueline: Glad to spread the word, Jackie, and I'm glad you stopped by.

Joyce Elson Moore said...

Kathy: Hmm, you've posed a sleuthing good question. Maybe they'll tell us. Thanks for coming by my blog.

Joyce Elson Moore said...

Samantha: I think any writer would love this series--lots of good plots here to write about. Glad you joined us today.

Sandra Koehler said...

This is the kind of stuff of love; unsolved mysteries...great idea..thanks for posting it and I look forward to more. Alison Chambers www.alisonchambersromance.com

Joyce Elson Moore said...

Sandra: I'll put up the next series when I find it out. Glad it's helpful. There's so much on TV not worth watching, it's nice when we can see something so interesting (and useful to authors). Thanks for dropping by.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Joyce .. great list of museums .. for someone like me who lives across the pond - interesting read .. and love the questions you pose. Thanks - Hilary

Joyce Elson Moore said...

Hi Hilary: Do you get Travel Channel over there? Maybe it's on a different day. If not, at least the episode blurbs gives you a place to begin research if you're interested in any particular mystery. Thanks for dropping by.

Patricia Stoltey said...

These look very interesting, Joyce. I'll check it out.

See you Tuesday!