Episode 004 - The Somerton Man (1948)

The mystery of Somerton Man continues to baffle investigators and armchair detectives alike. On December 1, 1948, a man’s body was discovered on Somerton Beach near Adelaide, South Australia. He was well-dressed but had no identification, and there were no signs of injury or foul play. Even more puzzling, a small scrap of paper was found in a hidden pocket of his pants, reading "Tamam Shud," meaning "ended" or "finished" in Persian. This led to the discovery of a copy of a book of Persian poetry, the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, which had a coded message written in it.Join Holly and Matthew as they examine the various leads and theories that have been explored over the years, from espionage to black market trading to a love affair gone wrong. ***Visit https://linktr.ee/weirdcrapinaustralia to purchase our books, listen to our podcast, or join us on social media.***Episodes mentioned within: Somerton Man (Episode 4) Case Update***Sources cited:Castello, Renato. 2013. "New twist in Somerton Man mystery as fresh claims emerge." Herald Sun, November 23. Accessed February 19, 2020. https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/new-twist-in-somerton-man-mystery-as-fresh-claims-emerge/news-story/18b3fe551a0b50d1adad4b42646a1748.The Evening Advocate. 1945. ""Sans Wine, Sans Song"." June 4: 1. Accessed February 19, 2020. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/214186187.The Adelaide Advertiser. 1949. "Curious Aspects of Unsolved Beach Mystery." June 22: 2. Accessed February 19, 2020. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36373373.Watkins, Emily. 2011. "Rau refuses to dig up body of unknown man found dead at Somerton Beach." The Adelaide Advertiser, October 15. Accessed February 19, 2020. https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/rau-refuses-to-dig-up-the-unknown-man-found-dead-at-somerton-beach/news-story/9c4bf81107db66ff441708b8Debelle, Penelope, and Gabriel Polychronis. 2019. "Somerton Man cold case: SA Attorney-General Vickie Chapman grants conditional approval to exhume body." The Adelaide Advertiser, October 14. Accessed February 19, 2020. https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/attorneygeneral-vickie-chapman-wants-to-solve-somerton-man-cold-case-conditional-funding-approved/news-story/6531247eee73fa0e227fe5fd518dc751.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/weird-crap-in-australia--2968350/support.