Travel Channel’s Mysteries of the Unknown isn’t your average history lesson. It’s more like a late-night gab session with a particularly enthusiastic, slightly eccentric professor who also happens to have access to a vast collection of peculiar artifacts. In its newest outing, “Bull Moose and the Piranha, Death of Alexander the Great and Lee’s Lost Order,” the show sets its sights on three historical head-scratchers, promising a blend of intrigue and “what ifs?”
First up: presidential shenanigans. The episode unveils a frankly bizarre tale involving Theodore Roosevelt, a piranha, and a plot so outlandish it almost defies belief. While the specifics remain tantalizingly vague (tune in to find out!), the mere mention of a “ferociously fishy plot” connected to a US president is enough to pique one’s curiosity.
Next, Mysteries of the Unknown grapples with the death of Alexander the Great. Was it poison? Illness? Some elaborate conspiracy? The show weighs the various theories, attempting to decipher the facts surrounding the demise of one of history’s most famous figures.
Finally, the episode turns its focus to the American Civil War, examining how a seemingly minor mishap—the loss of Robert E. Lee’s Special Orders 191—had a potentially pivotal impact on the conflict’s course. The episode aims to illustrate how this blunder reveals the often chaotic nature of warfare and the unpredictable consequences of human error.
Through it all, Don Wildman, our artifact-wielding guide, connects the dots, using tangible pieces of history to illuminate these stories. It’s a formula that’s both educational and entertaining, offering a fresh perspective on events we might think we already know. While the show may not definitively solve these historical mysteries, it certainly brings them back to life in an engaging, slightly offbeat fashion.
Mysteries of the Unknown airs Mondays at 8:00 PM on Travel Channel.
