Category File
Polar Mysteries
2 documented theories filed under this subject.
- The Franklin Expedition "Cannibalism" Cover-upThis theory held that the British Admiralty and Franklin’s defenders suppressed, softened, or rejected evidence that the final survivors of the Franklin expedition resorted to cannibalism. In its strongest form, the theory says imperial authorities feared that admitting such behavior would permanently stain the honor of the Royal Navy and the moral prestige of the British Empire. The documented record clearly shows that John Rae reported Inuit testimony of cannibalism in 1854, that the news caused a public uproar, and that prominent defenders—especially Lady Franklin and Charles Dickens—pushed back fiercely against the claim. Modern forensic evidence from recovered remains has since strongly supported cannibalism among some of the final survivors. What remains more complex is the degree to which the Admiralty itself was trying to “cover up” rather than manage scandal and reputation.
- The "Hollow Earth"This theory argued that the Earth was hollow and open at the poles, and that an expedition to the far north or south would discover entry into a habitable interior world. John Cleves Symmes Jr. became the leading American advocate of the theory after 1818, circulating printed appeals, lecturing widely, and petitioning Congress for a government-backed expedition. In its strongest form, the theory treated the polar openings as gateways to new lands, resources, and perhaps new peoples. The historical record clearly shows that Symmes campaigned intensely for official support, that Congress considered his petitions, and that his ideas influenced later polar-expedition enthusiasm through followers such as Jeremiah N. Reynolds. What remained theory was the interior world itself.