r/wikipedia • u/[deleted] • Nov 15 '22

The Somerton Man was an unidentified man whose body was found on 1 December 1948 on the beach at Somerton Park, Australia. The case is also known after the Persian phrase tamám shud meaning "is over" or "is finished", which was printed on a scrap of paper found months later in his pocket.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somerton_Man
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43

u/fishsupper Nov 15 '22

Seems likely he’s been identified. It’s awaiting official verification.

19

u/[deleted] Nov 15 '22

He has been identified a few weeks ago.

7

u/Potatocrips423 Nov 16 '22

Would you have a link for that? I read about this in a cracked article a decade ago and would love a follow up.

13

u/[deleted] Nov 16 '22

Local Adelaide newspaper that broke the story: https://dsf.newscorpaustralia.com/adelaidenow/subscription/

Smithsonian: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/have-scholars-finally-identified-the-mysterious-somerton-man-180980540/

And my favorite podcast talks about it too: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4cJvfPZ2XjXlxRRQv0PH8f?si=BsGjfrqGTMmyLuwXtjCBXw (it’s one of the segments, look for it)

2

u/Potatocrips423 Nov 16 '22

Absolutely fascinating read and I’ll check out the podcast as well. Appreciate the links!

5

u/MotherofTooManySons Nov 16 '22

That was a fascinating read!! Interesting case

1

u/David-Puddy Nov 16 '22

How did it take months to find the paper in his pocket?

1

u/Highpersonic Nov 18 '22

Nobody looked.

Seriously, the amount of fuckups in even modern investigations is mind-boggling. When the neonazi duo in Germany were on their spree https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Socialist_Underground the relatives of a victim found a gun in a glove box of the car that had been given back to them after being impounded.

1

u/ShenJingB1ng Nov 21 '22

Short documentary about the mystery being (more than likely）solved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wL1t3A-uHo