How we work
How findings are checked before they're published, how mistakes are corrected, and how AI is used.
Who publishes this site
Mysteries Department is run by apollo, its founder and editor, who approves everything published here. It has no owner behind it, takes no advertising and is paid for by donations.
How a finding gets published
- Every finding comes from a test anyone can rerun: the method, the data and the code are on the site with their keys.
- Each test is set up before it's run, and checked on pages held back from it.
- A finding is published only after review. Its page says what it rests on and what would change it.
- News articles report findings and releases. They link the records they describe.
How we use AI
Much of the research here is done with Claude, an AI model made by Anthropic, working with apollo: running analyses, drafting text and checking sources. Everything it produces is reviewed by a person before it's published, and pages it helped write say so.
Corrections
When we get something wrong we fix it, say what changed on the page itself, and list it here.
25 Oct 2026
What is the object, and who made it?The page said "Most likely: a later forgery" because of a display error. It now reads "Partly answered", which is what the evidence supports.
22 Oct 2026
Davis 2020An earlier draft gave this paper the wrong title and page range. The record now matches the published article.
Contact
Press[email protected]Press kits for each mystery are on its page.
Corrections[email protected]Say which page, and what's wrong.
Everything else[email protected]Questions, ideas, partnerships.
Last updated 25 October 2026.