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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2014 15:23:55 GMT
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taman_Shud_CaseThe Taman Shud Case,[notes 1] also known as the Mystery of the Somerton Man, is an unsolved case of an unidentified man found dead at 6:30 a.m., 1 December 1948, on Somerton beach in Adelaide, South Australia. It is named after a phrase, tamam shud, meaning "ended" or "finished" in Persian, on a scrap of the final page of The Rubaiyat, found in the hidden pocket of the man's trousers.
Considered "one of Australia's most profound mysteries" at the time,[1] the case has been the subject of intense speculation over the years regarding the identity of the victim, the events leading up to his death, and the cause of death. Public interest in the case remains significant because of a number of factors: the death occurring at a time of heightened tensions during the Cold War, what appeared to be a secret code on a scrap of paper found in his pocket, the use of an undetectable poison, his lack of identification, and the possibility of unrequited love.
While the case has received the most scrutiny in Australia, it also gained international coverage, as the police widely distributed materials in an effort to identify the body, and consulted with other governments in tracking down leads.[2]
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Post by sydneypush101 on Jan 22, 2014 17:47:08 GMT
Taman Shud fascinates for a couple reasons: as a mirror held up to nature to show us ourselves at a particular point in time; and as tabula rasa -- a blank slate on which we can write our own versions.
That a decently dressed and clean man died means little; after all, the tramps in Dealey Plaza were clean and relatively well-attired. And they were indeed tramps. And chances are so was this interesting man.
Sometimes jottings are just that; in our eternal bid for mysteries they become codes. The page of Khyyam's 'Rubiyat'? It was a popular work at the time. I imagine dry cleaners were always finding scraps.
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