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On this episode
of "Expedition Files,"

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in 1937,

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the Hindenburg disaster
shocked the world...
-[explosion blasts]

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...when a fiery explosion ended
the age of airships.

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[reporter] Oh, there's smoke
and there's flames now.

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Oh, the humanity.

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[Josh]
Was it a tragic accident...

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or a deadly act of sabotage?

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Then, in 1967,
the Patterson-Gimlin film

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captures this iconic footage,
which some believe proves

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the existence of Bigfoot.

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Now, 21st-century technology
may determine the truth.

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And in 525 BC, an army
of 50,000 Persians is said to be

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swallowed by the desert sands,

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vanishing off the face
of the Earth.

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Now, we uncover a shocking
theory that may reveal

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the truth behind
this epic myth.

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In the corridors of time...

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are mysteries
that defy explanation.

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Now, I'm traveling
through history itself

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on a search for the truth.

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New evidence.

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Shocking answers.

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I'm Josh Gates,

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and these...

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are my "Expedition Files."

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There's nothing simpler
than true or false, right?

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My name is Josh, true.

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I've got a thing for safari
shirts, also clearly true.

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I've been to outer space,
false, but come on, NASA,

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hook a guy up.

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In short, something's a fact
or it's not.

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It's simple.

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Except, of course,
when it isn't.

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The cause of certain events,
or even whether they happened

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at all, have been debated
for years, centuries,

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even millennia.

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And tonight, we examine three
such mysteries that live

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in the blurry margins
of history.

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But when new evidence brings
these stories into focus,

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what will be revealed?
Fact or fiction?

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We begin on May 3, 1937,

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in Frankfurt, Germany.

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The massive Zeppelin behind me
has just completed

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its final test flight
and is preparing to dock.

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In a few hours, it will begin
its transatlantic journey

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to the United States, carrying
61 crew and 36 passengers.

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What they don't know is that
in just three days,

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35 of those aboard
will perish

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in one of the most infamous
air disasters in history,

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because this
is the Hindenburg.

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And for nearly a century,
one critical question

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will remain unanswered.

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What is the cause of
her catastrophic explosion?

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But thanks to cutting-edge
science and an ingenious

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experiment, we may finally have
an explanation for the disaster

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that shook the skies.

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The story of the Hindenburg
begins in late 1800s Germany,

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where retired military officer
Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin

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envisions a future
where the skies are filled

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with massive flying machines.

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Blimps were already
on the scene, balloons made

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of rubberized fabric,
which were largely

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at the whims
of the weather.

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But Von Zeppelin intends
to change the status quo

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by constructing rigid-framed
vessels known as "airships."

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In 1900, three years before
the Wright brothers famously

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take flight, Von Zeppelin's
first ship,

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the 420-foot-long LZ 1,
takes to the skies.

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With a lightweight metal frame,
the propeller-powered craft

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uses two state-of-the-art
internal combustion engines

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mounted on the hull.

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And he oh-so-humbly
calls it the "Zeppelin."

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It's the dawn of the golden age
of airships.

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By the 1910s, Zeppelin's idea
has taken off, literally.

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Hundreds of airships are being
used for exploration

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and military operations,

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and plans are underway
to use them

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for commercial travel.

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Then, in 1928, a Zeppelin makes
history with the first regular

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transatlantic route
to New York.

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Cheap, it is not.

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Round-trip tickets go
for about $3,000,

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or more than 50 grand today.

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On board, passengers wear
formal attire and dine on fine

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cuisine while gliding thousands
of feet above the Earth

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in passenger cabins
the size of train carriages.

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The only place near Manhattan
with enough space to dock

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the ship is a field
at the U.S. Naval Air Station

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in Lakehurst, New Jersey.

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At one point, it was proposed
that Zeppelins could dock

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atop the mast
at the Empire State Building,

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something that's tested
only once.

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It turns out disembarking
on a windswept gangplank

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a thousand feet off the ground

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is a bit too sporty
for elite travelers.

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In the 1930s,
the Zeppelin Company constructs

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two monumental airships,
the Graf Zeppelin II

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and her sister ship,
the Hindenburg.

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Each the length of two
and a half football fields,

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the twin airships are 17 times
larger than the first Zeppelin,

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making them the biggest ever
to fly by far.

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On March 4th, 1936,
the Hindenburg embarks

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on her maiden flight,

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a three-hour trip from
Friedrichshafen, Germany.

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Though the Hindenburg is
originally designed to use

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nonflammable helium as
its lifting gas, the supply is

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limited in Germany,
due to American sanctions.

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German engineers instead
decide to fill the airship

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with highly flammable hydrogen.

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It's a decision
that will prove fateful.

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And there's another last-minute
change to the Hindenburg.

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Germany's ruling Nazi Party
insists the airship be

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decorated with large swastikas,

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showcasing the Third Reich's
power to the world.

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Over the next year,
the Hindenburg makes

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63 commercial flights,

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transporting more than 1,000
passengers across the Atlantic.

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On May 3, 1937,
the Hindenburg departs

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from Frankfurt, Germany,
to New Jersey.

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Among the 36 passengers
on board are prestigious figures

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like German writer,
Leonhard Adelt,

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American perfume executive,
Burtis Dolan,

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and possibly the best
airship pilot in the world,

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Ernst A. Lehmann,

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who joins this journey
as an observer.

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Also on board is Joseph Späh,
a vaudeville acrobat

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and comedian returning
to the U.S.

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after a European tour.

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He plans to surprise
his children

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with a new family pet,
a German shepherd named Ulla,

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currently housed
in the airship's freight area.

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But on the main part
of the ship, passengers step

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into a five-star hotel
in the sky.

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Inside the Hindenburg's massive
hull are two decks with about

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6,000 square feet of living
space, an airborne mansion

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with 25 sleeping cabins,
elegant dining rooms

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and plush salons.

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May 6, 1937.

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The Hindenburg has nearly
completed her transatlantic

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flight and passengers are
preparing for their arrival

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in the United States.

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-[waiter] Welcome home, sir.
-Thank you.

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The turbulence is due
to stormy weather,

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as we approach
the Naval Air Station

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in Lakehurst, New Jersey,

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now just moments away.

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At 7:21 p.m.,
the Hindenburg begins its final

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descent, ready to connect
to a mooring mast,

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a towering steel structure
built to tether the ship

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securely in place.

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It drops two mooring ropes,
starboard and port,

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to the ground.

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Below, 90-plus crew wait,
quickly working to attach

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those ropes to
the tall metal mast

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and other anchors
on the ground.

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Exactly four minutes later,

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at 7:25,

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disaster strikes.

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[heavy thud]

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The ship is rocked
by a massive jolt.

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Alarmed, Joseph Späh
and the other passengers feel

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sudden intense heat
and the airship

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rapidly descending.

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As flames begin
to engulf the Hindenburg,

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the passengers panic.

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Fearing he'll never see
his family again,

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Späh, the vaudeville actor,
uses his training and reflexes

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to execute his most daring
performance by blindly jumping

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out the window and praying
he can survive the fall.

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[reporter]
It burst into flames.

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It's fire,
and it's blazing.

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It's blazing terrible!
Oh, my...

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Oh, the humanity...

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[overlapping screams]

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[Josh] In less than a minute,
flames consume

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the colossal airship.

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Of the 97 people on board,
35 perish, as well as one

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member of the ground crew.

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Given the scale
of the explosion,

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it's a miracle anyone survives.

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And yet, 62 people stagger
from the wreckage.

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Among them is Joseph Späh,
whose acrobatic leap of faith

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sent him plunging 20 feet.

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By executing a barrel roll,
he escapes with only a broken

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ankle and is reunited
with his family.

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Tragically,

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his dog Ulla is not among
the survivors,

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nor are many others,

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including perfume
executive Burtis Dolan

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and world-class Zeppelin pilot
Ernst A. Lehmann.

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The Hindenburg disaster becomes
worldwide news,

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shattering public confidence
in Zeppelins and effectively

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ending the age of the airship.

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German and American authorities
immediately launch

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investigations into what
or who sparked the blaze.

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One of the first
theories, sabotage.

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Because the Hindenburg
displayed swastikas,

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the Zeppelin company has
received threatening anti-Nazi

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letters in recent months.

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And among the early suspects,
Hindenburg crew member

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Eric Spehl, based on his alleged
anti-Nazi views and access

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to Gas Cell 4,
the area of the Zeppelin

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where the fire began.

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But when investigators find
no physical evidence of a bomb

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in the wreckage,
Spehl is exonerated.

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Investigators then move on
to our acrobat, Joseph Späh,

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not for his politics,
but for his repeated trips

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to the cargo hold
near the airship's stern.

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His movements looked
suspicious, until it's revealed

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that he'd only been visiting
his beloved dog.

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Another theory points
to flammable paint

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00:11:02,275 --> 00:11:05,379
on the Zeppelin's exterior
as a potential culprit.

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00:11:05,551 --> 00:11:08,724
But that too is debunked when
it's revealed the ignited paint

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00:11:08,896 --> 00:11:10,275
burns too slowly to match

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00:11:10,448 --> 00:11:12,586
the Hindenburg's
rapid incineration.

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00:11:13,586 --> 00:11:15,275
Ultimately, it's one
of the architects

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00:11:15,448 --> 00:11:18,310
of the Hindenburg,
Dr. Hugo Eckener, who comes up

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00:11:18,482 --> 00:11:20,793
with a credible theory
about what started

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00:11:20,793 --> 00:11:22,793
the tragic chain of events.

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00:11:22,793 --> 00:11:25,620
It's his belief that a sharp
turn during the airship's

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approach caused one
of its bracing wires to snap,

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puncturing a gas cell that led
to a hydrogen leak.

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One small leak,

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00:11:34,586 --> 00:11:37,275
and it's like a fuse
to a powder keg.

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The leaking hydrogen gas is
a disaster waiting to happen,

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00:11:41,103 --> 00:11:44,000
but there is still
one critical question.

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What ignites it?

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After nearly a century,
a groundbreaking scientific

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experiment may finally prove
the shocking cause

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00:11:51,862 --> 00:11:53,413
of the fiery explosion.

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00:12:01,689 --> 00:12:03,689
[Josh] The explosive fate
of the Hindenburg is one

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00:12:03,689 --> 00:12:06,379
of history's most
infamous mysteries.

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00:12:06,379 --> 00:12:08,482
For decades, though,
no one could prove

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00:12:08,482 --> 00:12:10,275
what ignited the explosion.

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00:12:11,586 --> 00:12:13,586
Almost immediately
after the accident,

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one theory gained popularity.

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With the ship descending
through stormy and electrically

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00:12:19,275 --> 00:12:22,172
charged skies,
many believed the culprit

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00:12:22,344 --> 00:12:23,689
was static electricity.

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00:12:24,896 --> 00:12:28,275
When static charges build up
on one surface and come close

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00:12:28,275 --> 00:12:30,827
to another surface
with a different charge,

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00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:33,517
they naturally try
to balance out.

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00:12:33,689 --> 00:12:36,379
The excess electrons
jump across the gap

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to neutralize the difference.

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00:12:38,586 --> 00:12:42,275
That sudden flow of electrons
is what creates a spark,

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00:12:42,275 --> 00:12:44,689
just like the shock you feel
when you shuffle across

248
00:12:44,689 --> 00:12:46,379
a carpet and touch a doorknob.

249
00:12:47,275 --> 00:12:49,896
The theory is that when
the mooring lines completed

250
00:12:49,896 --> 00:12:52,379
the circuit between
the ship and the ground,

251
00:12:52,379 --> 00:12:54,103
an instant static spark

252
00:12:54,275 --> 00:12:57,482
mixed with the leaking
hydrogen, and boom.

253
00:12:57,482 --> 00:12:59,896
But the problem is,
it wasn't instant.

254
00:12:59,896 --> 00:13:02,413
The explosion didn't happen
for several minutes

255
00:13:02,586 --> 00:13:04,586
after the mooring lines
were connected.

256
00:13:04,758 --> 00:13:07,931
And so, for three-quarters
of a century, nobody could prove

257
00:13:08,068 --> 00:13:10,172
static electricity was to blame.

258
00:13:10,344 --> 00:13:14,517
But in 2021, Caltech professor
Konstantinos Giapis took

259
00:13:14,689 --> 00:13:17,689
matters into his own hands
and conducted a bold

260
00:13:17,862 --> 00:13:20,482
new experiment,
recreating the disaster.

261
00:13:21,896 --> 00:13:24,827
[Dr. Giapis] The Hindenburg
was an engineering marvel

262
00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:26,275
unmatched in the world.

263
00:13:26,275 --> 00:13:28,482
And then it explodes
right during the landing.

264
00:13:28,482 --> 00:13:30,068
It never made sense.

265
00:13:30,241 --> 00:13:33,896
For my experiments,
I built this scaffold

266
00:13:33,896 --> 00:13:36,620
made of duralumin, the same
material that was used

267
00:13:36,793 --> 00:13:38,137
on the Hindenburg.

268
00:13:38,137 --> 00:13:43,275
And then I recreated the skin
as best as I could using modern

269
00:13:43,275 --> 00:13:45,275
chemical analysis techniques.

270
00:13:45,275 --> 00:13:48,379
I found a rope that is similar
to what was used

271
00:13:48,551 --> 00:13:50,172
at the Hindenburg.

272
00:13:50,172 --> 00:13:53,000
It's this thick rope
that is braided.

273
00:13:53,137 --> 00:13:56,310
[Josh] Professor Giapis added
an electric charge to the model

274
00:13:56,482 --> 00:13:59,689
to mimic stormy atmospheric
conditions that existed that

275
00:13:59,689 --> 00:14:02,931
night and connected the frame
of his model to the ground with

276
00:14:03,068 --> 00:14:04,310
a rope,
just as the crew

277
00:14:04,482 --> 00:14:06,586
had done when the Hindenburg
was landing.

278
00:14:07,620 --> 00:14:10,310
[Dr. Giapis]
When the mooring lines
hit the ground,

279
00:14:10,482 --> 00:14:14,275
then they connect the interior
part of the airship

280
00:14:14,275 --> 00:14:15,413
to the ground.

281
00:14:15,586 --> 00:14:21,000
In doing so, now you create
a device that is called

282
00:14:21,172 --> 00:14:24,172
a "capacitor," which can
accumulate electricity.

283
00:14:25,517 --> 00:14:28,379
[Josh]
Electrons from the ground
rushed across the ropes

284
00:14:28,551 --> 00:14:33,000
into the frame while the skin
remained positively charged.

285
00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:37,000
Then increased charges built up
on the surface of the airship,

286
00:14:37,172 --> 00:14:39,275
creating an
electrostatic imbalance

287
00:14:39,448 --> 00:14:41,482
between the skin
and the inner frame.

288
00:14:43,172 --> 00:14:45,586
According to Giapis,
when the imbalance became

289
00:14:45,758 --> 00:14:49,310
too great, the electrons tried
to neutralize, leaping from

290
00:14:49,482 --> 00:14:52,068
the framework to the skin
of the ship.

291
00:14:52,241 --> 00:14:54,758
That sudden leap of energy
is the spark.

292
00:14:56,103 --> 00:14:59,586
But there was also an issue
of how does the spark

293
00:14:59,586 --> 00:15:01,103
find the leak?

294
00:15:01,103 --> 00:15:03,103
Because the spark has
to happen there where

295
00:15:03,103 --> 00:15:04,413
there is something to burn.

296
00:15:04,586 --> 00:15:07,379
If the spark happened
in the front of the airship

297
00:15:07,551 --> 00:15:10,310
and the leak was in its tail,
then there would be no fire.

298
00:15:10,482 --> 00:15:11,517
The two have to connect.

299
00:15:11,517 --> 00:15:13,206
The two have to happen
at the same position.

300
00:15:14,379 --> 00:15:17,172
Then, Giapis uncovered
something critical,

301
00:15:17,344 --> 00:15:21,275
a design flaw that made
the entire airship a tinderbox.

302
00:15:21,275 --> 00:15:24,793
The Hindenburg's outer skin was
separated from its metal frame

303
00:15:24,965 --> 00:15:28,586
with wooden pins, which created
tiny gaps where electric

304
00:15:28,586 --> 00:15:30,000
charges could accumulate.

305
00:15:31,689 --> 00:15:34,689
Those gaps became traps
for electricity.

306
00:15:34,689 --> 00:15:37,896
At every pin, pockets of high
voltage built up,

307
00:15:38,034 --> 00:15:42,068
hundreds of potential sparks
scattered across the ship.

308
00:15:42,241 --> 00:15:44,689
Giapis believes it wasn't just
one spark that

309
00:15:44,862 --> 00:15:48,586
doomed the Hindenburg,
but many, leaping wherever skin

310
00:15:48,758 --> 00:15:50,310
and frame came close.

311
00:15:50,482 --> 00:15:53,000
And one of them, at the worst
possible place,

312
00:15:53,172 --> 00:15:54,689
ignited the leaking hydrogen.

313
00:15:56,103 --> 00:15:57,310
Every few feet,

314
00:15:57,482 --> 00:15:58,896
you get another spark,
another spark.

315
00:15:59,034 --> 00:16:01,517
So, you know, so there were
multiple sparks happening

316
00:16:01,689 --> 00:16:03,379
all over the place.

317
00:16:03,551 --> 00:16:06,103
So one of them happened to be
right there where the hydrogen,

318
00:16:06,275 --> 00:16:09,379
you know, was mixed with air
and enough to ignite it.

319
00:16:09,379 --> 00:16:12,896
So that explains how the spark
found the leak

320
00:16:12,896 --> 00:16:14,379
in such an enormous airship.

321
00:16:15,310 --> 00:16:17,068
So it was like a eureka moment.

322
00:16:18,586 --> 00:16:22,482
On the actual Hindenburg,
it took exactly four minutes

323
00:16:22,482 --> 00:16:24,689
between the mooring ropes
hitting the ground

324
00:16:24,862 --> 00:16:26,586
and the moment it exploded.

325
00:16:26,758 --> 00:16:29,103
In Giapis' experiment,
the time it took for

326
00:16:29,275 --> 00:16:33,517
the electrical tension to build
up and ignite was, wait for it,

327
00:16:33,689 --> 00:16:35,103
exactly four minutes.

328
00:16:36,758 --> 00:16:40,103
This was a mystery that
puzzled the world for 84 years,

329
00:16:40,103 --> 00:16:42,758
and I think I solved it.

330
00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:47,206
In the end,
the Hindenburg's downfall was

331
00:16:47,379 --> 00:16:51,517
a perfect storm of atmospheric
conditions, design flaws,

332
00:16:51,689 --> 00:16:53,172
and leaking hydrogen.

333
00:16:53,172 --> 00:16:57,172
And while its fiery end marked
the death of the airship era,

334
00:16:57,172 --> 00:17:01,275
its legacy still looms large,
a searing reminder of how

335
00:17:01,448 --> 00:17:04,586
one spark can change
the course of history.

336
00:17:11,103 --> 00:17:13,103
[mysterious music plays]

337
00:17:15,378 --> 00:17:18,275
Welcome to Bluff Creek,
in Northern California.

338
00:17:18,275 --> 00:17:21,482
The date is
October 20th, 1967,

339
00:17:21,655 --> 00:17:23,275
and it's a picture-perfect day

340
00:17:23,448 --> 00:17:25,619
here amidst
the towering redwoods.

341
00:17:25,792 --> 00:17:27,896
Which brings us
to these two cowboys,

342
00:17:27,896 --> 00:17:30,482
Roger Patterson
and Bob Gimlin.

343
00:17:30,482 --> 00:17:33,103
And just over there, movement.

344
00:17:33,275 --> 00:17:36,827
Not a deer, not a bird,
something much bigger.

345
00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:41,482
Patterson rolls on his 16mm
camera and films 59 seconds of

346
00:17:41,482 --> 00:17:46,310
shaky, grainy footage that will
make Bigfoot a household name.

347
00:17:46,482 --> 00:17:49,586
So, is it irrefutable proof
of a Sasquatch

348
00:17:49,586 --> 00:17:52,758
or the most convincing hoax
ever staged?

349
00:17:52,931 --> 00:17:56,482
Nearly 60 years later,
cutting-edge AI may finally

350
00:17:56,655 --> 00:17:58,758
bring this mystery into focus.

351
00:18:08,275 --> 00:18:11,379
According to Roger Patterson
and Bob Gimlin,

352
00:18:11,551 --> 00:18:14,689
after they filmed the creature,
it vanishes into the trees,

353
00:18:14,689 --> 00:18:18,689
leaving behind trail of massive
footprints, each pressed deep

354
00:18:18,862 --> 00:18:20,482
into the soft creek bed soil.

355
00:18:22,827 --> 00:18:25,689
They say they race back to town
to develop the film,

356
00:18:25,862 --> 00:18:28,793
and when the images finally
flicker to life, what they've

357
00:18:28,965 --> 00:18:30,689
captured is beyond belief.

358
00:18:31,689 --> 00:18:33,379
Roll it.

359
00:18:33,551 --> 00:18:35,586
[camera roll whirring]

360
00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:41,827
For a few fleeting moments,
a large, hairy biped strides

361
00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:44,896
away from the camera,
glancing back as if it knows

362
00:18:44,896 --> 00:18:46,068
it's being watched.

363
00:18:48,482 --> 00:18:52,000
Its gait is unusual,
arms swinging wide.

364
00:18:56,517 --> 00:18:59,103
Sightings of a large mystery
primate in the woods

365
00:18:59,103 --> 00:19:00,620
are nothing new.

366
00:19:00,793 --> 00:19:04,620
This is just the latest chapter
in a story told for centuries.

367
00:19:06,517 --> 00:19:09,413
Indigenous people have shared
tales of towering,

368
00:19:09,586 --> 00:19:12,896
hairy creatures,
Sasquatch haunting the forests.

369
00:19:14,586 --> 00:19:18,000
Later, your European settlers
in America also told tales

370
00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:22,551
of encounters with mysterious
giants lurking in the wild.

371
00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:29,103
Then, in 1958, came the first
major modern evidence.

372
00:19:29,275 --> 00:19:32,275
A road crew uncovered massive
human-like footprints

373
00:19:32,275 --> 00:19:34,172
in the mud near Bluff Creek.

374
00:19:35,689 --> 00:19:39,793
One worker, bulldozer operator
Jerry Crew, made a plaster cast

375
00:19:39,793 --> 00:19:42,586
of one of the prints and took
it to the local newspaper.

376
00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:47,172
The story grabbed national
headlines, and with it,

377
00:19:47,344 --> 00:19:49,206
the name "Bigfoot" was born.

378
00:19:51,689 --> 00:19:54,172
Which brings us back to 1967,

379
00:19:54,172 --> 00:19:56,586
when Bluff Creek returns
to the spotlight.

380
00:19:57,517 --> 00:20:00,793
Patterson and Gimlin say
they capture their now-iconic

381
00:20:00,793 --> 00:20:03,896
footage right near where
the huge footprints were found

382
00:20:03,896 --> 00:20:07,172
10 years earlier in the middle
of Northern California's

383
00:20:07,172 --> 00:20:09,000
Six Rivers National Forest.

384
00:20:11,103 --> 00:20:14,379
Bigfoot explodes
into the public's imagination.

385
00:20:14,551 --> 00:20:16,172
Pop culture
embraces the creature

386
00:20:16,172 --> 00:20:19,000
with
merchandise, exhibits,

387
00:20:20,068 --> 00:20:22,275
and starring roles
in monster movies.

388
00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:30,827
And all across the country,
people are hooked.

389
00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:34,172
True believers pack up cameras
and courage and head

390
00:20:34,344 --> 00:20:37,103
for the woods, hoping
to capture their own proof.

391
00:20:38,586 --> 00:20:41,482
But anthropologists
and biologists at the time

392
00:20:41,655 --> 00:20:43,689
dismissed the film as a hoax.

393
00:20:43,862 --> 00:20:47,068
Many claim Bigfoot is just
a man in a gorilla suit filmed

394
00:20:47,241 --> 00:20:50,310
at a distance with
intentionally shaky camerawork.

395
00:20:52,793 --> 00:20:55,103
In particular,
skeptics doubt the credibility

396
00:20:55,275 --> 00:20:56,586
of Roger Patterson,

397
00:20:56,586 --> 00:20:59,310
a rodeo cowboy
and Bigfoot enthusiast

398
00:20:59,482 --> 00:21:02,758
who, coincidentally,
published a book on the subject

399
00:21:02,931 --> 00:21:06,172
just a year before filming
his famous encounter.

400
00:21:06,344 --> 00:21:09,275
They suggest Patterson staged
the footage to make money

401
00:21:09,448 --> 00:21:11,275
and drum up publicity
for his book.

402
00:21:13,413 --> 00:21:16,482
But while fame certainly
finds Roger Patterson,

403
00:21:16,482 --> 00:21:17,620
fortune never does.

404
00:21:18,586 --> 00:21:23,103
Five years later in 1972,
he dies of cancer, broke,

405
00:21:23,103 --> 00:21:26,103
but still defiantly clinging
to his Bigfoot story

406
00:21:26,275 --> 00:21:28,275
to his last breath.

407
00:21:30,758 --> 00:21:34,103
Flash-forward to a decade later
and a bombshell claim.

408
00:21:35,068 --> 00:21:38,931
Hollywood costume maker Philip
Morris says he sold Patterson

409
00:21:39,068 --> 00:21:42,758
a gorilla suit in 1967.

410
00:21:42,931 --> 00:21:44,931
Then in the 2000s,
there's another

411
00:21:45,068 --> 00:21:46,689
apparent revelation.

412
00:21:46,689 --> 00:21:49,586
Gimlin's neighbor,
Bob Hieronimus, actually says

413
00:21:49,758 --> 00:21:53,896
he was the one inside the suit,
lumbering through Bluff Creek

414
00:21:54,034 --> 00:21:56,448
in football pads
to bulk up the shoulders.

415
00:21:58,931 --> 00:22:03,275
While all of this seems pretty
damning, not so fast,

416
00:22:03,275 --> 00:22:05,482
because the two confessions
don't match.

417
00:22:06,689 --> 00:22:09,275
Philip and Bob describe
different materials,

418
00:22:09,448 --> 00:22:11,827
colors, even suit designs.

419
00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:15,896
With decades between the event
and these so-called tell-alls.

420
00:22:16,034 --> 00:22:18,482
Some suspect the two men
are just separately trying

421
00:22:18,482 --> 00:22:20,965
to cash in
on the famous footage.

422
00:22:23,413 --> 00:22:26,172
Some expert analysis
also seems to support

423
00:22:26,344 --> 00:22:28,172
the film's authenticity.

424
00:22:28,344 --> 00:22:31,172
Hollywood creature effects
and film restoration expert

425
00:22:31,172 --> 00:22:33,896
Bill Munns conducts
a forensic analysis

426
00:22:34,034 --> 00:22:36,172
of the Patterson-Gimlin film.

427
00:22:36,172 --> 00:22:39,172
No costume from that era,
he concludes, could move

428
00:22:39,172 --> 00:22:42,379
as naturally as the figure
in the film.

429
00:22:42,379 --> 00:22:45,827
After all, the most advanced
ape costumes in 1960s

430
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:49,896
were in "Planet of the Apes,"
and those required nearly 100

431
00:22:49,896 --> 00:22:53,172
skilled artists, not something
amateur filmmakers like

432
00:22:53,172 --> 00:22:56,206
Patterson and Gimlin
could replicate.

433
00:22:56,379 --> 00:22:59,931
If Munns is right, then this
isn't just a man in a suit.

434
00:23:00,137 --> 00:23:03,000
It would be the most compelling
evidence of an undiscovered

435
00:23:03,137 --> 00:23:04,931
creature ever caught on film.

436
00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:08,482
And to this day,
Patterson's partner,

437
00:23:08,482 --> 00:23:11,620
Bob Gimlin, also remains
steadfast that what

438
00:23:11,793 --> 00:23:15,413
they captured on film
in Bluff Creek is the real deal.

439
00:23:15,586 --> 00:23:19,896
That particular day
on October 20th, 1967...

440
00:23:19,896 --> 00:23:21,896
Oh, my God, they really
do exist!

441
00:23:23,896 --> 00:23:27,275
No one's ever been able
to prove them right or wrong.

442
00:23:27,275 --> 00:23:30,068
But now, cutting-edge
artificial intelligence

443
00:23:30,241 --> 00:23:32,793
dissects the footage
like never before.

444
00:23:32,793 --> 00:23:36,379
Will it finally confirm Bigfoot
or a big fraud?

445
00:23:44,068 --> 00:23:48,482
[Josh]
For over 50 years, footage that
some contend is the definitive

446
00:23:48,655 --> 00:23:51,448
proof of Bigfoot has been
analyzed, debated,

447
00:23:51,620 --> 00:23:53,655
debunked, and rebunked.

448
00:23:53,827 --> 00:23:55,793
Not a real word,
but you get the idea.

449
00:23:55,965 --> 00:23:58,862
Now, scientists armed
with cutting-edge technology

450
00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:01,689
are reexamining the film
once more.

451
00:24:01,689 --> 00:24:05,275
Leading the way is Dr. Jeff
Meldrum, professor of anatomy

452
00:24:05,448 --> 00:24:08,034
and anthropology
at Idaho State University.

453
00:24:09,586 --> 00:24:14,034
Now, in the age of artificial
intelligence, the prospect is

454
00:24:14,206 --> 00:24:18,655
very real that someone could
take the Patterson-Gimlin film

455
00:24:18,827 --> 00:24:24,379
and instruct AI to,
quote, "clean it up," to create

456
00:24:24,551 --> 00:24:28,379
the clearest version and make
a definitive statement

457
00:24:28,379 --> 00:24:31,275
of the credibility
of the Patterson-Gimlin film.

458
00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:35,655
[Josh] But there is one major
challenge to a definitive

459
00:24:35,827 --> 00:24:37,586
reexamination of the footage --

460
00:24:37,758 --> 00:24:40,862
the original film reel
is said to be missing.

461
00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:44,379
Sometime in the mid 1990s,
it apparently disappears

462
00:24:44,379 --> 00:24:46,137
from a film vault.

463
00:24:46,310 --> 00:24:49,275
The fact of the matter is,
the original film

464
00:24:49,448 --> 00:24:51,655
is no longer available.

465
00:24:51,827 --> 00:24:56,275
And so we are left with
the numerous copies that have

466
00:24:56,448 --> 00:24:59,172
been made over the years,
in many instances,

467
00:24:59,172 --> 00:25:01,482
copies of copies of copies.

468
00:25:01,655 --> 00:25:04,482
And of course,
with each copying process,

469
00:25:05,689 --> 00:25:10,000
the resulting images are rather
degraded and have lost a lot

470
00:25:10,137 --> 00:25:13,448
of clarity that was present
in the original.

471
00:25:13,620 --> 00:25:17,482
And that has historically
produced some very misleading

472
00:25:17,482 --> 00:25:20,896
conclusions and inferences
drawn from the film.

473
00:25:20,896 --> 00:25:25,172
Dr. Meldrum set out to rebuild
the Patterson-Gimlin film frame

474
00:25:25,344 --> 00:25:29,103
by frame, correcting errors
from decades of copying.

475
00:25:29,275 --> 00:25:32,896
And to do so, he returned to
Bill Munns, the special effects

476
00:25:33,034 --> 00:25:35,448
expert who had previously
analyzed the film

477
00:25:35,620 --> 00:25:37,448
and accumulated dozens of copies

478
00:25:37,620 --> 00:25:39,586
of it during the process.

479
00:25:39,586 --> 00:25:43,103
In undertaking this project,
Bill very carefully

480
00:25:43,275 --> 00:25:46,655
and precisely created
high-resolution photographic

481
00:25:46,827 --> 00:25:52,275
images of individual film
frames, creating an archive

482
00:25:52,275 --> 00:25:55,586
that we've been able to use
in this project.

483
00:25:56,965 --> 00:26:00,586
[Josh] Armed with
the highest resolution
images of each film frame,

484
00:26:00,586 --> 00:26:03,275
Meldrum worked with artificial
intelligence specialist,

485
00:26:03,275 --> 00:26:06,793
Isaac Tian, to enhance the film
as never before.

486
00:26:08,344 --> 00:26:14,241
With his talents, Isaac was
able to stabilize these images,

487
00:26:14,413 --> 00:26:20,000
removed much of the motion
jitter and optimized

488
00:26:20,137 --> 00:26:23,068
the information that was
in the existing copies

489
00:26:23,241 --> 00:26:28,896
of the film without adding any
extraneous information.

490
00:26:29,793 --> 00:26:33,793
This remarkably stable
and clear depiction

491
00:26:33,965 --> 00:26:36,241
allowed us to render

492
00:26:36,413 --> 00:26:42,000
a version that's as good,
certainly, if not better

493
00:26:42,137 --> 00:26:44,034
than the original film strip.

494
00:26:45,068 --> 00:26:46,206
The results?

495
00:26:46,206 --> 00:26:49,000
The clearest version
of the Patterson-Gimlin film

496
00:26:49,137 --> 00:26:50,344
ever seen.

497
00:26:50,517 --> 00:26:51,896
Take a look for yourself.

498
00:26:56,379 --> 00:26:58,965
To some experts,
this stabilized footage has

499
00:26:59,103 --> 00:27:02,689
the effect of demystifying
the Patterson-Gimlin film,

500
00:27:02,689 --> 00:27:06,482
revealing a very human-looking
figure crossing the creek.

501
00:27:06,482 --> 00:27:09,000
In other words,
a man in a suit.

502
00:27:09,172 --> 00:27:12,103
But the trained eyes
of Jeff Meldrum see something

503
00:27:12,275 --> 00:27:13,793
very different.

504
00:27:13,793 --> 00:27:18,275
We can observe not only
the muscle groups, but we can

505
00:27:18,448 --> 00:27:21,793
see the contraction
in the movements of the joints,

506
00:27:21,965 --> 00:27:24,482
whether it's the quadriceps
and the thigh,

507
00:27:24,482 --> 00:27:28,275
it's the tightening
of the hamstrings and the action

508
00:27:28,275 --> 00:27:30,379
of the tendon across
the knee joint.

509
00:27:30,379 --> 00:27:35,103
You can see the breast tissue
sitting upon the underlying

510
00:27:35,275 --> 00:27:37,172
muscle of the pectoralis major.

511
00:27:38,137 --> 00:27:39,655
These are not features
that are...

512
00:27:40,655 --> 00:27:46,896
easily, if at all possible,
incorporate into a costume.

513
00:27:47,034 --> 00:27:52,172
This is a real flesh-and-bones
organism that is making its way

514
00:27:52,344 --> 00:27:54,103
across the sandbar.

515
00:27:54,275 --> 00:27:58,689
In my mind, there is just no way
that this could be a hoax.

516
00:28:00,793 --> 00:28:04,172
Dr. Meldrum may be convinced
the Patterson-Gimlin film is

517
00:28:04,344 --> 00:28:06,586
proof of Bigfoot,
but many of his peers

518
00:28:06,758 --> 00:28:08,862
remain extremely skeptical.

519
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:11,482
They point out that in more
than half a century since

520
00:28:11,655 --> 00:28:13,965
the footage was filmed,
no physical remains,

521
00:28:14,103 --> 00:28:17,241
scat, or DNA
of a Bigfoot-like creature

522
00:28:17,413 --> 00:28:20,241
has ever been
scientifically validated.

523
00:28:20,413 --> 00:28:23,896
What is not in doubt is that
the iconic footage has left

524
00:28:24,034 --> 00:28:27,793
a Bigfoot-sized print
on our collective imagination.

525
00:28:27,965 --> 00:28:32,275
So much so that in 2025,
lawmakers in Sacramento even

526
00:28:32,275 --> 00:28:35,862
introduced a bill to declare
Bigfoot California's

527
00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:37,172
official cryptid.

528
00:28:37,344 --> 00:28:39,172
No word yet on whether
the creature

529
00:28:39,172 --> 00:28:41,137
will show up to accept
the honor.

530
00:28:49,275 --> 00:28:53,172
Welcome to Egypt, 525 BC.

531
00:28:53,344 --> 00:28:57,689
These soldiers are part
of a 50,000-strong Persian army.

532
00:28:57,689 --> 00:29:00,379
They're on a mission to cross
Egypt's punishing western

533
00:29:00,551 --> 00:29:03,241
desert to crush
the people of Siwa,

534
00:29:03,413 --> 00:29:05,034
but they'll never get there.

535
00:29:05,206 --> 00:29:09,000
Legend says a savage sandstorm
swallows them whole,

536
00:29:09,172 --> 00:29:12,758
an entire army vanishing
off the face of the earth.

537
00:29:12,931 --> 00:29:16,034
It's one of the ancient world's
most baffling disappearances,

538
00:29:16,206 --> 00:29:17,689
but a millennia later,

539
00:29:17,689 --> 00:29:20,103
a new discovery
in the shifting sands

540
00:29:20,275 --> 00:29:23,896
will blow that old story away,
like dust in the wind.

541
00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:32,827
[adventurous music plays]

542
00:29:35,275 --> 00:29:38,275
In the 6th century BC,
the Persian Empire

543
00:29:38,275 --> 00:29:40,379
has never been stronger.

544
00:29:40,551 --> 00:29:43,862
Under King Cambyses II,
the empire stretches from

545
00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:47,896
the Mediterranean to the edge
of India, a vast swath

546
00:29:48,034 --> 00:29:50,896
of the ancient world
all under Persian control.

547
00:29:55,241 --> 00:29:58,344
The king's next target is
Egypt, a land rich

548
00:29:58,517 --> 00:29:59,689
in grain and gold.

549
00:30:00,586 --> 00:30:03,344
Then fate hands him
an opportunity.

550
00:30:03,517 --> 00:30:07,241
A young and inexperienced
pharaoh named Psamtik III

551
00:30:07,413 --> 00:30:08,689
takes the Egyptian throne.

552
00:30:11,034 --> 00:30:12,758
Cambyses doesn't hesitate.

553
00:30:12,931 --> 00:30:15,551
He launches
a full-scale invasion.

554
00:30:15,724 --> 00:30:18,758
The result is
a brutal clash of empires.

555
00:30:18,931 --> 00:30:20,793
Thousands fall in battle.

556
00:30:20,965 --> 00:30:23,034
And when the blood
and dust settle,

557
00:30:23,206 --> 00:30:25,758
Persia stands victorious.

558
00:30:25,931 --> 00:30:28,896
The mighty kingdom of Egypt is
reduced to just another

559
00:30:29,034 --> 00:30:31,965
province in Cambyses'
ever-growing empire.

560
00:30:36,758 --> 00:30:40,068
Egypt is also now under
the thumb of a foreign king

561
00:30:40,241 --> 00:30:42,137
who doesn't speak
their language,

562
00:30:42,310 --> 00:30:43,758
doesn't honor their rituals,

563
00:30:44,689 --> 00:30:46,689
and doesn't respect
their religion.

564
00:30:48,758 --> 00:30:52,137
For the Egyptians,
things go from bad to worse.

565
00:30:52,310 --> 00:30:54,379
Persian governors
and tax collectors sweep

566
00:30:54,551 --> 00:30:56,689
through the country
like vultures,

567
00:30:56,689 --> 00:30:59,482
bleeding the land
and its people dry.

568
00:30:59,655 --> 00:31:02,172
But some in Egypt
won't go quietly.

569
00:31:03,172 --> 00:31:05,965
Way out west, tucked deep
in the harsh desert,

570
00:31:06,103 --> 00:31:07,655
lies the Siwa Oasis,

571
00:31:09,275 --> 00:31:13,551
a lush outpost famous for
its date palms, fresh water,

572
00:31:13,724 --> 00:31:16,827
and, most importantly,
the sacred temple of Amun.

573
00:31:19,275 --> 00:31:22,172
The people of Siwa,
fiercely independent and deeply

574
00:31:22,344 --> 00:31:25,172
religious, resist the king's
tax collectors,

575
00:31:25,172 --> 00:31:26,689
saying they won't pay.

576
00:31:29,137 --> 00:31:31,758
When Cambyses hears
about their defiance,

577
00:31:31,931 --> 00:31:33,275
it is said that he's furious.

578
00:31:33,448 --> 00:31:34,896
[indistinct speaking]

579
00:31:34,896 --> 00:31:38,586
[Josh]
He dispatches 50,000 soldiers
with a single mission --

580
00:31:38,586 --> 00:31:41,000
crush the rebels,
enslave the locals,

581
00:31:41,172 --> 00:31:44,379
and tear their beloved temple
to the ground.

582
00:31:44,379 --> 00:31:46,137
Because nothing says,
"I'm in charge,"

583
00:31:46,310 --> 00:31:47,896
like destroying a sacred site.

584
00:31:51,655 --> 00:31:54,275
The earliest account of what
happens next comes from

585
00:31:54,448 --> 00:31:58,896
the Greek historian Herodotus,
writing around 100 years later.

586
00:31:58,896 --> 00:32:04,172
Cambyses commands his 50,000
soldiers to march 550 miles

587
00:32:04,344 --> 00:32:06,965
across the western desert
to the Siwa Oasis.

588
00:32:08,793 --> 00:32:10,758
After seven days,
the army reaches

589
00:32:10,931 --> 00:32:14,000
their first waypoint,
the village of Kharga Oasis.

590
00:32:15,482 --> 00:32:18,862
It's apparently the last stop
the soldiers ever make.

591
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:21,655
As the army marches on,
Herodotus writes that

592
00:32:21,827 --> 00:32:24,965
the warriors are confronted
by a cataclysmic event.

593
00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:29,034
[Herodotus]
A wind arose from the south,
strong and deadly,

594
00:32:30,379 --> 00:32:33,448
bringing with it vast columns
of whirling sand,

595
00:32:33,620 --> 00:32:36,137
which entirely covered up
the troops and caused them

596
00:32:36,310 --> 00:32:37,379
wholly to disappear.

597
00:32:38,448 --> 00:32:40,482
[dramatic music plays]

598
00:32:49,172 --> 00:32:51,655
[indistinct ethereal singing]

599
00:32:51,827 --> 00:32:54,758
[Josh] A massive tornado-like
sandstorm swallows

600
00:32:54,931 --> 00:32:57,862
these vast forces,
burying them alive.

601
00:32:59,379 --> 00:33:02,172
For 2,000 years,
this is the story.

602
00:33:02,172 --> 00:33:04,793
An entire Persian army
wiped from existence

603
00:33:04,965 --> 00:33:06,172
by Mother Nature.

604
00:33:06,344 --> 00:33:07,896
But did it really happen?

605
00:33:08,034 --> 00:33:11,241
Now, a surprising discovery
lets us peer through the sands

606
00:33:11,413 --> 00:33:13,275
of time to reveal the truth.

607
00:33:20,793 --> 00:33:24,068
According to the Greek
historian Herodotus, in 525 BC,

608
00:33:24,241 --> 00:33:26,172
an army vanishes
without a trace

609
00:33:26,172 --> 00:33:28,137
deep in the Egyptian desert.

610
00:33:28,310 --> 00:33:29,586
But in the centuries since,

611
00:33:29,586 --> 00:33:31,448
many have questioned
the account.

612
00:33:32,793 --> 00:33:35,586
Herodotus is considered
the world's first formal

613
00:33:35,586 --> 00:33:39,275
historian, but much of what
he records in his so-called

614
00:33:39,275 --> 00:33:42,275
"histories" is fantastical,
to say the least.

615
00:33:42,275 --> 00:33:46,551
He writes of gold-digging ants
in India, a tribe of headless

616
00:33:46,724 --> 00:33:50,482
people in Libya, not to mention
flying snakes in Arabia.

617
00:33:52,275 --> 00:33:55,793
So is this army-swallowing
sandstorm just another

618
00:33:55,793 --> 00:33:57,965
brazen fabrication?

619
00:34:00,482 --> 00:34:02,965
Well, in the last few decades,
there's been a flurry

620
00:34:03,103 --> 00:34:04,586
of digging to find out.

621
00:34:05,965 --> 00:34:10,379
In 1983, American journalist
Gary Chafetz spots piles of

622
00:34:10,551 --> 00:34:13,688
rocks marking an ancient trail
through the Egyptian desert

623
00:34:13,688 --> 00:34:16,482
70 miles south of Siwa Oasis,

624
00:34:16,482 --> 00:34:18,688
the army's
supposed destination.

625
00:34:20,103 --> 00:34:22,655
Chafetz launches
an archaeological search,

626
00:34:22,827 --> 00:34:26,862
but comes up empty, finding no
evidence of the lost soldiers.

627
00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:28,793
But then, in 2009,

628
00:34:28,793 --> 00:34:30,862
a potentially huge break
in the case.

629
00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:36,000
Italian filmmakers,
the Castiglione brothers,

630
00:34:36,137 --> 00:34:39,103
claim to uncover human
remains, weapons,

631
00:34:39,275 --> 00:34:43,000
and jewelry approximately
60 miles south of Siwa,

632
00:34:43,137 --> 00:34:45,896
proclaiming they have found
the missing army.

633
00:34:46,034 --> 00:34:47,896
It's an incredible revelation.

634
00:34:49,379 --> 00:34:51,688
It turns out maybe
too incredible.

635
00:34:53,103 --> 00:34:56,275
Many experts immediately cast
doubt on the significance

636
00:34:56,447 --> 00:34:59,793
of the brothers' findings,
noting that the fragmentary

637
00:34:59,793 --> 00:35:02,758
skeletal remains could not
be identified.

638
00:35:02,931 --> 00:35:05,655
Egyptian authorities agree,
noting the dig was

639
00:35:05,827 --> 00:35:08,172
completely unauthorized.

640
00:35:08,172 --> 00:35:12,275
But now, Egyptology professor
Olaf Kaper has uncovered

641
00:35:12,275 --> 00:35:15,379
groundbreaking evidence
that may finally provide answers

642
00:35:15,551 --> 00:35:17,344
to this ancient mystery.

643
00:35:18,689 --> 00:35:23,275
[Dr. Kaper]
So the story of The Lost Army
of the Persians

644
00:35:23,275 --> 00:35:24,689
is a fantastic story.

645
00:35:24,689 --> 00:35:27,275
It's a story that has really
triggered the imagination

646
00:35:27,275 --> 00:35:29,758
of so many people
for a long time.

647
00:35:29,931 --> 00:35:33,758
I work on excavations,
and while working in the south

648
00:35:33,931 --> 00:35:38,586
of Egypt in the Dakhla Oasis,
I found some information that

649
00:35:38,586 --> 00:35:42,689
sheds a completely new light
on the story of the Lost Army

650
00:35:42,862 --> 00:35:44,137
of Cambyses.

651
00:35:44,310 --> 00:35:47,000
While we excavated
in the Dakhla Oasis,

652
00:35:47,137 --> 00:35:50,448
we found the temple built
by Petubastis IV.

653
00:35:51,896 --> 00:35:53,586
We have his full name

654
00:35:53,586 --> 00:35:56,103
on the facade
of that gateway.

655
00:35:57,241 --> 00:36:00,655
[Josh]
During Persia's invasion of
the region in the 6th century,

656
00:36:00,827 --> 00:36:04,172
Petubastis was an obscure
Egyptian ruler with a kingdom

657
00:36:04,344 --> 00:36:08,000
deep in the western desert,
far from Persian control.

658
00:36:08,172 --> 00:36:11,275
He and his people were always
considered minor players,

659
00:36:11,448 --> 00:36:13,965
nowhere near as menacing
as the Siwa forces

660
00:36:14,103 --> 00:36:16,793
that the Persian army was,
according to Herodotus,

661
00:36:16,793 --> 00:36:18,379
sent to subjugate.

662
00:36:18,551 --> 00:36:21,896
But now, with the discovery of
an expansive temple dedicated

663
00:36:21,896 --> 00:36:26,000
to Petubastis, Professor Kaper
believes this "minor ruler"

664
00:36:26,172 --> 00:36:28,103
wasn't so minor after all.

665
00:36:28,275 --> 00:36:31,896
And, plot twist, all of this
may also finally explain

666
00:36:32,034 --> 00:36:35,137
what really happened
to those 50,000 Persians.

667
00:36:36,586 --> 00:36:40,586
We see that he built a temple
out in the Dakhla Oasis.

668
00:36:40,586 --> 00:36:43,103
So what could that
possibly mean?

669
00:36:43,275 --> 00:36:46,000
And this was, to me,
a kind of eureka moment that,

670
00:36:46,137 --> 00:36:50,172
my God, it has something to do
with the lost army story.

671
00:36:50,344 --> 00:36:53,344
I believe Petubastis
was leading an insurrection

672
00:36:53,517 --> 00:36:54,793
against Persian rule.

673
00:36:54,793 --> 00:36:57,000
The Persians were still
in Egypt.

674
00:36:57,137 --> 00:37:00,379
They were controlling towns
in the delta, whereas Petubastis

675
00:37:00,379 --> 00:37:03,241
was trying to control
part of the south of Egypt.

676
00:37:03,413 --> 00:37:06,344
The oasis provided
the inhabited area

677
00:37:06,517 --> 00:37:07,965
just outside Egypt.

678
00:37:08,103 --> 00:37:10,482
That allowed Petubastis
to organize his troops.

679
00:37:12,482 --> 00:37:15,482
Professor Kaper's theory is
that it's more likely that

680
00:37:15,482 --> 00:37:19,000
King Cambyses sent his army
of 50,000 soldiers

681
00:37:19,137 --> 00:37:21,793
to Dakhla Oasis,
and not to Siwa Oasis,

682
00:37:21,965 --> 00:37:24,482
the way the story was
originally told.

683
00:37:24,655 --> 00:37:26,586
But the same question remains.

684
00:37:26,758 --> 00:37:30,103
Was the Persian army really
wiped out by a sandstorm?

685
00:37:30,275 --> 00:37:32,448
Well, now, the dust
is about to clear.

686
00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:41,551
Do you ever remember something
from the past that never

687
00:37:41,724 --> 00:37:42,965
happened at all?

688
00:37:42,965 --> 00:37:45,379
Well, you might be suffering
from the "Mandela Effect,"

689
00:37:45,551 --> 00:37:48,689
a phenomenon where large groups
of people remember things very

690
00:37:48,689 --> 00:37:51,034
differently from how
they actually happened.

691
00:37:52,206 --> 00:37:54,172
It's named after
Nelson Mandela,

692
00:37:54,344 --> 00:37:59,000
coined in 2009 after researcher
Fiona Broome observed that many

693
00:37:59,172 --> 00:38:02,586
firmly believed Mandela died
in prison in the 1980s,

694
00:38:03,896 --> 00:38:05,793
when he was still
very much alive.

695
00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:08,896
Mandela's alleged death became

696
00:38:09,034 --> 00:38:11,655
just the first
of many other examples.

697
00:38:11,827 --> 00:38:14,586
They run the gamut from
the Monopoly Man's monocle --

698
00:38:16,034 --> 00:38:17,689
he didn't have one --

699
00:38:17,689 --> 00:38:20,655
to Darth Vader saying,
"Luke, I am your father."

700
00:38:22,586 --> 00:38:26,379
He actually says,
"No, I am your father."

701
00:38:26,551 --> 00:38:29,379
You can argue the Mandela
Effect shows us that history

702
00:38:29,551 --> 00:38:32,586
isn't written by the victors
as much as by your own,

703
00:38:32,586 --> 00:38:34,689
sometimes very
faulty, memories.

704
00:38:43,206 --> 00:38:47,517
The sixth century fate
of a 50,000-strong Persian army

705
00:38:47,689 --> 00:38:50,517
that was said to be swallowed
whole by a sandstorm

706
00:38:50,689 --> 00:38:52,344
has long been debated.

707
00:38:52,517 --> 00:38:55,965
Professor Olaf Kaper believes
he's finally found the truth.

708
00:38:58,000 --> 00:39:02,344
The story of the sandstorm is
just impossible to my mind.

709
00:39:02,517 --> 00:39:05,931
Sandstorms are a well-known
fact in the desert.

710
00:39:06,068 --> 00:39:08,413
It's a very nasty event.

711
00:39:08,586 --> 00:39:10,517
They make the air thick.

712
00:39:10,689 --> 00:39:11,965
Everything becomes brown.

713
00:39:12,103 --> 00:39:14,413
No light,
and you can't see.

714
00:39:14,586 --> 00:39:17,379
A heavy sandstorm
is something awful.

715
00:39:17,551 --> 00:39:20,413
It can disorient you,
but it doesn't kill you.

716
00:39:20,586 --> 00:39:21,862
It just doesn't happen.

717
00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:24,827
I've traveled in the desert,
and I've had many sandstorms

718
00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:27,758
myself in the western desert
of Egypt,

719
00:39:27,931 --> 00:39:30,482
where they can last
for days.

720
00:39:30,655 --> 00:39:33,896
They can be a major hazard for
any expedition, but it doesn't

721
00:39:34,034 --> 00:39:35,206
kill an expedition.

722
00:39:35,379 --> 00:39:39,034
It doesn't mean
that the expedition gets covered

723
00:39:39,206 --> 00:39:40,758
in a huge sand dune.

724
00:39:40,931 --> 00:39:44,620
It takes years for a sand dune
to cover, say,

725
00:39:44,793 --> 00:39:46,517
a building or a village.

726
00:39:46,689 --> 00:39:51,241
It doesn't happen to a marching
army or 50,000 men.

727
00:39:51,413 --> 00:39:52,965
That's simply impossible.

728
00:39:56,965 --> 00:40:00,103
Professor Kaper thinks
the Persian army wasn't crushed

729
00:40:00,275 --> 00:40:03,724
by a sandstorm, but it was
still crushed by the forces

730
00:40:03,896 --> 00:40:05,586
of the rebel Petubastis.

731
00:40:05,758 --> 00:40:09,068
Once underappreciated,
now not so much.

732
00:40:11,551 --> 00:40:16,172
[Dr. Kaper]
I believe the lost army went
out from Thebes towards Dakhla,

733
00:40:16,344 --> 00:40:18,379
and Petubastis is
there waiting.

734
00:40:20,482 --> 00:40:22,793
And there must have been
a battle somewhere

735
00:40:22,965 --> 00:40:26,000
in the desert, and that's why
the army never came back.

736
00:40:34,275 --> 00:40:37,827
The terrain is suitable
for a small army

737
00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:39,896
defeating a larger army.

738
00:40:40,034 --> 00:40:43,620
After the event,
the Persians tried to distort

739
00:40:43,793 --> 00:40:46,241
the actual course of events

740
00:40:46,413 --> 00:40:50,275
and change it into an act
of God, an act of nature,

741
00:40:50,448 --> 00:40:55,344
where a sandstorm
stopped the course of the army,

742
00:40:55,517 --> 00:40:58,000
because the humiliating defeat

743
00:40:58,137 --> 00:41:02,310
of the Persian army was not
something that, well,

744
00:41:02,482 --> 00:41:04,344
people wanted to be advertised.

745
00:41:06,275 --> 00:41:10,034
So, Professor Copper believes
history got it all wrong.

746
00:41:10,206 --> 00:41:12,931
The story of the killer
sandstorm is false --

747
00:41:13,068 --> 00:41:15,827
it was created as
a smoke screen, or I guess,

748
00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:18,344
sand screen, to protect
the reputation

749
00:41:18,517 --> 00:41:20,379
of the defeated
Persian army.

750
00:41:20,551 --> 00:41:23,586
It's a compelling explanation,
but currently it remains

751
00:41:23,758 --> 00:41:24,931
just a theory.

752
00:41:24,931 --> 00:41:27,896
No definitive Persian remains
have been unearthed,

753
00:41:28,034 --> 00:41:31,482
but Professor Kaper is hopeful
to find them, searching through

754
00:41:31,655 --> 00:41:35,172
the vast desert for that
single grain of truth.

755
00:41:35,344 --> 00:41:38,448
I'm Josh Gates, and I'll see
you on the next expedition.