Unsolved Mysteries: From Dancing Plagues and Ancient Computers to Casino Games

Everyone loves a good mystery, and despite massive advances in technology, there are still mind-boggling events, artefacts and discoveries that have left scientists scratching their heads.  

Most of us are familiar with the big mind benders like whether the yeti or Loch Ness monster actually exists… or are there aliens walking in our midst?  To date no-one has come up with plausible answers to these age-old conundrums. 

What we do know for sure is Springbok Casino games are not manipulated to provide predictable results.  That means you can load a few RTG slots onto your PC or phone in the knowledge the outcomes are always random and fair… and there is no ambiguity to that!

If you are into solving the unfathomable or get a kick out of the arcane, however, it is time to pause the casino games and focus intently on a few unsolved mysteries that will challenge the brain:

Who Developed the World’s First Computer 2,000 Years Ago? 

You’d be forgiven for thinking the computer was a twentieth century phenomenon but in actual fact, computing devices have been around for quite some time.

You have probably heard about Charles Babbage, a really smart mathematician who reached fame and fortune in the 1830s as the so-called ‘father of the computer’? 

Well according to a device that was plucked out of the wreckage of an ancient Roman galleon, some-one sometime in the age of antiquity pipped him to the post by a few thousand years!

Introducing the Antikythera Mechanism

The Antikythera Mechanism – so called because of the shipwreck’s proximity to the Greek island of Antikythera – is a highly complex mechanism that was used to predict the passage of the sun, moon and five planets through the zodiac.

It could forecast planetary movements with pinpoint precision up to a decade before the time - but here’s the real kicker, the world’s first computer was developed in around 100 BC!

What is even more astounding is the knowledge of this technology disappeared in the mists of time until the fourteenth century when the first rudimentary clock mechanisms were produced in Europe. 

Who Invented the Precursor to the PC? 

The big question is who developed the precursor to the PC?  Also… why did it take another thousand years for something as sophisticated as the Antikythera Mechanism to appear again?

As you may have guessed, no-one definitively knows the answer to either question.  What we do know is there are inscriptions on the artefact’s gears in both Egyptian and Greek.

Another possible clue is that the mechanism uses the irregular orbit of the moon first postulated by the Greek astronomer and mathematician, Hipparchus – a man who was at the height of his influence in around 100 BC to 110 BC!

Could the genius who gave us the astrolabe, armillary sphere and the first detailed catalogue of the stars be the inventor of the world’s first computer? 

Did he develop the bronze mechanism that could accurately predict planetary movements and solar and lunar eclipses up to ten years in advance?   Probably… but we will never know for sure!

Using Strategy to Predict Results

If you fancy yourself a bit of a mathematician, you can put your prowess to great effect by playing skilled-based casino games right here and right now.  Whoever says that mathematics won’t come in handy later in life is wrong.  There are countless maths-based strategies that can amplify your win-rate – and make you look super smart at the same time.

By adopting an optimal strategy, you can lower the house edge and bank plenty of money betting on the outcome of casino games like video poker and blackjack.

Why Did the Residents of Strasbourg Dance Continuously for Months? 

Another interesting phenomenon that has piqued the interest of scientists, psychoanalysts and historians is the Dancing Plague of 1518.  In July of that year, one of the residents of Strasbourg in France started to dance in the streets and continued to do so for six days non-stop.

Within one week, there were 40 people obsessively dancing with her and by the end of the month, 400 people were bopping and jiving without a break.  It was only when the dancers began to collapse from exhaustion that the city fathers decided to step in… not to stop the dancing but to hire musicians and erect a stage!

A Hip Hop to Hot Bloodedness? 

The rationale behind their move was that the dancing was a natural response to hot bloodedness.  In their view the only way to stop the shenanigans was to encourage the dancing in the hopes it would fizzle out.

It didn’t and around 15 people dropped dead from strokes and heart attacks… every day!  Three months later and the dancing stopped as suddenly as it had started. 

What caused the obsessive-compulsive dancing disorder?  To this day, nobody knows…

Mass Poisoning or the Worst Case of FOMO? 

Some theorise it was a type of poisoning caused by mould growing on rye, others believe it was mass hysteria triggered by the extreme poverty and stress the residents were experiencing at the time. 

Whatever prompted the protracted three-month party, one thing is for sure.  In the times of the Covid-19 pandemic, mass anything is strictly prohibited… so it is best to stay at home and play casino games instead!

What Lies Beneath the Ancient Stonehenge Site?

We all know the massive blue stones of Stonehenge were transported 270 km to the current site and erected more than 5,000 years ago.  We also know the stones weigh up to eight tons apiece. 

What we don’t know is who built the monument, how the stones were transported from Wales to Salisbury Plain and why the site was constructed in the first place. 

A Subterranean Site Four Times Larger Than Stonehenge 

That’s a mystery in itself but a more recent discovery is a massive burial and ritual ground, four times the size of Stonehenge, that lies buried beneath the soil on the same UNESCO World Heritage site.

By using remote sensing technology scientists have detected a massive subterranean site consisting of more than 200 stones, some of which are four metres tall.

What is this enormous complex of monuments, buildings and barrows?  According to archaeologists, it probably had ancient ritualistic or religious uses and could be thousands of years older than Stonehenge… but that is more conjecture than fact! 

Are Casino Games Fair? 

Our final mystery question refers to the fairness of casino games.  As luck would have it, this question is much easier to answer with absolute conviction.  

Tested and Verified by GLI 

Just so you are aware, all the RTG developed casino games you can play right here at Springbok Casino are independently tested and verified fair.  It's not a half-bit testing agency that does the job.

Rather, the randomness testing of the casino games software and random number generators is left in the capable hands of Global Laboratories International (GLI), a reputable company with offices located right across the world!