You might’ve been joking about it being legally required to go by a nickname in Australia, but it’s actually a really infuriating thing I find about trying to do genealogy here (at least in my family). My grandfather’s name is Benjamin, but he goes by Tag. His sister is Jennifer, but goes by Rusty. His uncle’s name was Warren Kevin, but he went by Jack. His dad Conrad, went by Benny. Benny’s dad was Mark Thomas, but he went by Mick. Benny’s brothers Harewood Granville and Maxwell, went by Bill and Tiggy Touchwood, respectively. And the only one of all of the part of my family to not use a completely unrelated nickname was Rex, which feels a bit ironic to me. Often the nickname is the only name that gets passed down in family stories and these people become extraordinarily difficult to trace.
@@VirginiaGreco_Scrapbooking dunno, just how it is. In my experience this is pretty common in Australia, especially in more regional areas. Often it’s also a way to give people who have honour names their own identities.
The most surprisingly thing to me was that Robin was not related to the Sommerton man after all. Yet he shared his ears and teeth. Lived extremely close to where the body was found and was the son of a woman who claims to know the Summerton man. What are the chances?
Maybe Rachel Eagan isn't actually Robin's daughter and that's the real reason her mom gave her up for adoption. Maybe she couldn't take care of her without a father taking responsibility. They would need DNA from Robin himself in that case. 🤔
Yeah that’s something that drives me absolutely crazy lol I also can’t help but see photos of Robin and think I see the Sommerton man in him….but that could be my mind playing tricks on me….
It would be fairly low, however, Australia is the land of generic fuckery. Edit: I just remembered about Genetic Chimeras, people who have multiple sets of DNA, it could be our Mystery man was one.
Maybe I heard wrong, but didn’t the Sommerton Man/Webb disappear in 1945, but the Summerton Man was found dead in 1947? And Robin was 18 months old in 1947? So… Webb left his wife (or his wife left him) around the time Robin was born?
@@MsAncele There'd been a war, causing shortages of everything. Also clothes back then were well made and would last long enough that if you get bored with them, or whatever reason, they'd be in a good enough state to pass on to someone. Waste not, want not!
I am 63 and I have been removing the tags from my clothing, even risking a spanking, since I was 6/7. The buttons will come off on first wearing and the seams hold for a couple more, but those indestructible tags remain after the garment itself is long gone 😡
My grandfather left his family when he was in his early 20's and didn't contact them until he was in his 80's. He always told us that he was disowned by his family but at his funeral we met his sisters and they told us he just left (for reasons they never explained) and never contacted them until about 2 years before he died. My point is that it isn't unbelievable for his family to not know where he is or have a picture of him. I don't think my grandfather's family had a single picture of him at all, and he and this guy lived around the same time period. Could be a similar situation with this guy.
If your Grandfather just up and left for all intents and purposes never to return, _something happened_ . I know from personal experience that Folks just don't walk away from their Families wholesale if things are ok and members are close with each other and relatively happy. I suspect his Sisters are either unaware of what happened (they may have been too young) or they know and are not telling. Believe me, something happened - Folks just don't walk away from their Families like that for no reason. Edit to add: You are also correct that it would have not been unusual for there not to be Photos of a Family Member (especially back then) because Folks didn't take pics back then like they do now - there might be a Family Photo or Pictures taking when someone Married, Graduated from School, went into the Military, also Baby pics. The only pic that I know of my Father were his Navy pic and 1 Family photo just after I was born.
@@aheimdahl5201 Yeah, something happened there and we will never know (his sisters are also now dead). My point was about them not having a single photo of him from the majority of his life.
@@aheimdahl5201 I don't think there necessarily needed to be something dramatic behind it. Might have just been one of those restless souls who felt trapped in a stifling milieu and upped and left as soon as he was able. In the modern world today it's relatively easy to still stay in contact with almost zero effort but in older times it must have been really easy to just fall out of contact and then never re-connect again for decades.
The "Rubiayat of Omar Khayyam" became really popular in the late 19th century after it was translated into English by Edward Fitzgerald (translated to the point of being rewritten, arguably). If you knew anything about poetry at all in the 1940s, you would have heard of it. The theme is kind of "life is short, so enjoy it while it lasts", so you can see the appeal in wartime.
I remember my mom's shrink in Sacramento in the 70s was working on a translation of the Rubaiyat. I wish I could remember his name, but I believe he was middle-eastern. It stuck with me because it was one of the only times she ever talked about her therapist.
@@ronjones-6977 idk where your mom’s psychiatrist is from, but I have a feeling he’d make a more accurate translation, due to well him probably being a native speaker and not Fitzgerald 😅
I think it's hard for us to imagine now, but once upon a time, before around the 1950s, people were anonymous and less documented and did often just disappear, and random dead bodies would be burried unidentified.
Truth. About in the late 30s/early 40s, my paternal grandfather divorced his first wife, left his children, and the family that he emigrated to the US with as child (in 1920s at about 6(8 years old) and just changed his last name. we had found no paper trail to figure out when the change happened or if it was done officially,, it just… happened. he signed up for the army with the new last name, and that was it. then our grandmother appears with his new last name. its a relatively common last night, and we are related to absolutely none of them unless they are directly in our family. his last name was a very obvious Slavic sounding name. i think he really wanted to separate himself from his immigrant status.
I don't have a single photo of the brothers of my grandparents or grandmothers and they were like 8 each lol I don't think a dusty old photo can survive generations that well if there is none alive to keep them, also some of the times when someone dies their belongings just get closed off in a box somewhere for 30-40 years until everyone forgets about it or just decays over time.
TH-cam really needs to get their s--t together. I'm sorry to hear that the first video got demonetized. It was/is a great video and well crafted around a story that, yet again, proposes more questions. I didn't mind watching all the way through because you, sir, are a damn good storyteller. Hope this one gets more than enough views to make up for the loss on the first one.
@@AshLilburne Yeah, TH-cam is great, aside from their abserd and unnecessary demonetizations, randomly unsubscribing people from channels after years of being subscribed, their jacked-up algorithms for suggested viedos and pushed notifications, the ridiculous Copywrite strike claims that unnecessarily absolutely ruin revenue and/or views for creators because of often unsubstantiated or outright false claims (including claims against artists own original published works), the growing and persistent onslaught of bot accounts hocking porn and using creator identities and images to scam users, and the fact that TH-cam depends primarily on AI to monitor and/or moderate the site (which is the main reason those "extreme posts", false claims, and bot accounts so regularily get by and are able to stay up and active for longer than they ever should. And, all because TH-cam doesn't want to pay actual people to do the jobs, or provide the mental health support and counseling they'd need to do their jobs; primarily so that the company doesn't have to actually pay anybody what they would obviously be worth, enabling the company, its upper management, and investors to make the maximum amount of profit at the cost of quality control and solidarity with the creators who made it successful, to begin with. And, that's just the tip of the iceberg. But, Hey... aside from all of that... Yeah, sure, they're great.🙄
It's so interesting how many of us seek a fantastic background to this story. These kind of stories appear as mystery movie plots to us and they are so compelling. However, in the end these stories very often just a simple human stories with average human problems. Very compelling in their own right, but we do often seek the mystery behind things. Thanks for the update :)
That's actually a point I meant to make at the end of the video - that most of these mysteries have a more mundane explanation than we usually assume. And then I just kinda forgot to make that point. 😄
Anyone else find it a huge coincidence and can't get over the fact that Carl "Charles" Web went missing for the exact time in which Jo's son Robin happened to be 18 months old which is the exact same time period in which Carl was missing for. Even though it seems he is not the Somerton man's son at this point it's still odd how he has the same genetic rarities as him and was literally the same age as the time he was missing for.
some people have more than 1 dna. they are called chimera. no one really knows how rare that is. may be more common than we think or not. several known cases , a rapist who's sperm had different dna than his saliva. a woman who gave birth to children that didn't have her main dna.that case opened scientists eyes. it's basically an absorbed twin . you may be made up of 2 people. some parts from each.
Yeah I am not buying it. The fact the son has the same rare ear and teeth genetics and calves and does ballet. The timing you just mentioned, Jo Thomsons number on the book (I think she might have also given him the book), Jo living near the beach he was found, Jo's reaction to the cast mold of his face ten telling her daughter that she knew him but couldn't explain how. That boy is for sure the result of an affair between Jo and Carl Webb. Only evidence against this is some shady DNA test giving inconclusive results
@@numbnuts375 exactly!! I agree that she gave him the book aswell since she gave another guy the same book. I think that was her way of telling them that she liked them.
The name thing was just that generation. My grandmother was Margaret Mary MacLeod but she went by Molly her entire life. My grandfather was Andrew Alexander Robinson, but he went by “Sandy” his whole life. Both of them used their middle names in official contexts. Even my mother and father go by their middle names.
I go by my middle name. I’m Robert Martin - first name is grandfather, middle name is the man who took care of my grandmother after grandfather died. I never got to meet my grandfather but I knew Martin and he was a wonderful man to my grandmother. Never left her side until she died and then eventually he got remarried even at his old age. He was loyal to her and I have never met another Martin in my life. I wanted to go by Martin even at a young age but as I got older I found uniqueness in that name as well as the man who it came from, so that’s what I chose. On official stuff I have to use my full name but I always put quotation marks around Martin so that people know that’s the one I go by.
No, my American father went by a shortening of his middle name. He didn't care for his grandfather Henry and hated the nickname Hank, so went by Al instead.
There has been a photo of him found. The original third cousin Abbott found was on the fathers side and to be sure it was Carl Webb they found relatives on the Mothers side who had the photo of him taken in his twenties. And he had a football career which explains his physique.
As an Australian, yes. We all go by nicknames. If someone doesn't introduce themselves with a nickname, we make one. I tried avoiding the nickname thing for years, but I kept getting assigned one. Tegan would become Teegs, Teggers, Tegie, and literally any other noise that started with TE. So eventually I caved and earned myself the nickname Gidget at the ripe old age of 20. And I just go by that now. At least with friends. Work calls me by my name, but all my mates call me Gidget, and my parents have this own private nickname for me. It's like in those fantasy stories where you have a culture of multiple names. I remember something like that, where some character in a book had a common name, and family name, and a true name. Or someting. It's like that. An Australian can have about half a dozen names going, depending on who they're talking to. It's good fun.
At my boarding school, everyone had at least 3 nicknames 1. based on real name, 2. dumb action they did we find funny (later known as a “fail”) 3. their work/ambitions/hobby/talent. All the nuns, priests, lay personnel were also given nicknames by us that they were not aware, unless you accidentally addressed them that way 🙋🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️luckily it was “Jo Jo” our guidance counselor, not rat face, sybil, drip, boogie, Darth Vader…
my name is carol...... someone once tried to shorten it to "cow". that luckily did not stick. I don't have a nickname, we are a rare breed, no nickname aussies (several people during my childhood did assume my name was actually caroline, though)
The most amazing thing about this story is the fact that 141,958 people saw this video in its first 13 hours. Joe, you're the story teller AND the story. Bravo!
27:15 My grandma has/had 3 siblings and my family has no photos of her days during post-WW2 occupied Poland. The earliest photos we have are of when she had children (my mother and aunt). What I am saying is that it's not odd in the least for there to be no photos at all of someone living in that era.
People tend to forget how little things used to be recorded. Even when the technology was there, it was usually for important people like kings and presidents. It really is only in the last, what? 30 years or so that everyone has had access to affordable recording equipment. And the last 15 that everyone had recording equipment at all times. Even me growing up in the 90s, there’s not a ton of photos of me from that time.
@@dstinnettmusic I was a kid of the 80s and we’d forget to buy film or flash cubes so not a lot of pictures and what pictures we did have weren’t the best. Our really only good pictures were school pictures! LoL my grandma, we have no pictures of her as a child or teen, only when she got married.
@@joescott we don’t have very many pictures of my grandparents either; especially not in their younger years. I’m 30 now so that should give you context for the generation they came from. Unfortunately I never got to meet any of my grandfathers. They all died either before I was born or while I was extremely young. I need to make sure to get copies of all the pictures my mom and dad have so I can have a record of it.
Joy L in Poland that's understandable but that was Australia?? people were not fleeing Australia at that time. my mum who was born in 1939 in NZ to what I suppose was a middle class family they had land on which they farmed but they didn't even have electricity until 1950 and they had an outhouse, and even she has photos of her and her siblings growing up
Man, thank you for actually reading that poem. Poetry is one of the most beautiful forms of expression and I love when someone understands how rhythms and beats can form emotions. By just reading the text and not adding any weird syllabus or meter to it, or rather adding the natural meter of the text constructed by the poet.
It's great this man now has his name back. Let's hope those still investigating this death will find the answers to the questions that remain unanswered. RIP Carl Webb.
It seems he died of a heart attack due to broken heart syndrome after he got a divorce, he tracked her to south Australia and was on the beach when he died of heart attack
"The Rubayiates of Omar Khayyam" is a very interesting read that stuck with me since college. All that interest came from a novel called "Samarcande" which in part depicts Omar Khayyam's time in Samarkand, the intrigues, the love affairs, science and Sufi imagery combine to make such a captivating book. A few weeks ago I fulfilled one of my oldest dreams, I visited "Samarkand" which is now in modern day Uzbekistan. Such beauty in those old madrassas and mausoleums, the vibe of this antique city really lives up to the saying :"Samarkand, the most beautiful face the Earth has ever turned towards the Sun". Tamam Shud.
Yes indeed! I don't recall reading Samarcande specifically, but a lot of the books I read when I was a kid carried the feeling of... how romantic the culture of those areas could be. :)
Yeah, I saw the article about this and I'm really interested to see how the rest of the investigative and scientific community respond. It seems their work is indeed solid. Of course, we have seen reports that they found JonBenet Ramsey's killer, Amelia Earhart, Jesus's tomb, DB Cooper, etc, and as things went on those conclusions were widely rejected, so we'll see! From the article it did sound as though their methods were solid
@@melodi996 A few weeks ago, the family have applied for a new DNA testing of evidence. In an interview on Australian tv show "60 Minutes", CeCe Moore, chief genetic genealogist of Parabon NanoLabs, said that the case could be solved "within an hour" if the DNA test yields a result (and if the state of Colorado grants it).
The reason a doctor has to issue a separate Cremation Certificate on top of the Death Certificate in the case of a cremation is for exactly this reason - it’s in effect ‘destroying the evidence’.
Well, to be precise, we still don't know. At this point it's just a theory that has yet to be corroborated. As he says at the end, there are still a lot of questions to be answered here.
Thank you Joe, for the constantly fascinating and concise content. Also the intermittent comedy. I always enjoy the way you dig into stuff but don't convolute anything and I cant wait for more!!! This case is pretty ambiguous and I've been thinking about it a lot, so I'm glad people haven't stopped the search.
If Jo gave a copy of the book to the soldier, she may have given a copy to the Somerton Man when they were having their affair. Maybe he brought it with to make one last appeal to her, and when he was rejected that's when he tore out the last page and threw it in the car as he walked by
Cheers for the update Joe! You said it was weird that no one recognised him even though he was only a state away, but our state sizes are more comparable to European countries than US states, so it honestly isn't too hard to believe.
For perspective, what the mainland U.S. divides into 48 states, Australia divides into 6 states and two territories. The total land area is very similar. Some of our states are BIG.
Does noone else in this world think that removing the clothes tags is the way to go? Do all crime investigators think that it is despicable and hideous to remove clothes tag? What is happening?
with cases like this people always seem to equal missing tags to being a spy or stuff like that like no sometimes people just dont like the feeling of the tags
As tragic as this story is, it is truly amazing how far science has come. Recently the tragic boy in the box was identified, and the closures and identifications keep on pouring in thanks to proper DNA system. Glad that these people finally can be laid to rest with a name and their loved ones get closures.
Definitely not an open & shud case. I live in South Australia and I’ve been to the beach near where he was found. It’s always been one of those dark stains on our state, and an enduring mystery. I’m genuinely surprised that there’s such an international following. If it had happened during the time of social media, I’m sure he would’ve been identified within days. Heck, Reddit would’ve had 6 people in custody before morning tea 😅
@@rfichokeofdestiny Nobody that I know. But there have been a few serial killings here in the last 50 years. Adelaide is known as the “City of Churches”, other states like to change that to “City of Corpses”
I grew up in Somerton AZ and now live in Delaware, 43 miles from Somerton PA. The only other Somerton places I've seen are a small town in Somerset UK and this beach in Australia. Probably not all that interesting but that's how I came across the original video on this person.
I'm glad we finally found out who he was. Sad thing about these John and Jane Does is that due to their dead state, they can't tell us who they were in life, thus they end up as anonymous corpses robbed of the only remaining right that is their own identity.
Sadly Rachel Egans relationship with her biological mother broke down due to her (Rachels) relationship with Derek Abbott. Rachels mum said Derek is only using you for your DNA, and so now they don't speak anymore, but if someone is using your for your DNA they don't marry you, stay with you for over 11 years, and have 3 kids with you, all after they already had access to your DNA sample
Well done Joe! It's not often that a program goes back or revisits an older story when new evidence or information comes out. This felt like a classic early video from your archive.
That code at the end of the book - and I'm only halfway through here - but it immediately strikes me not as someone intentionally writing a code, but someone trying to work something out. If you looked at my notes when I'm thinking about a problem (while programming), it looks very similar, just with numbers and whole words in addition to letters. It makes absolutely zero sense though. It's because each piece is just me using the paper as extra space to keep track of a thought when I'm thinking about the next one, and that will mean there are some really odd things (there might be "a b" if I'm thinking about two concepts that link to each other, for example). So yeah, my initial reaction is that it's not a code that you can crack (though you may be able to decipher its meaning), because it isn't a code. It's something using the paper as extra space for their thoughts. Same with the numbers written down.
It’s so crazy that this information came out this week, because I’ve been binging the true crime show “Bloodline Detectives” and it’s premise is how genealogy based testing is a new tool that is solving cases once believed to be unsolvable, such as the Golden State Killer case that was solved back in 2018. I wondered if they would ever attempt some form of genetic testing on the Somerton Man, and now I have my answer.
i knew about the Somerton Man long before seeing your (original) video a few years ago, but a couple days ago when i found out they finally identified him you were the 1st TH-camr i thought of, & i think it's fitting of all the channels i've seen videos devoted to him you're the 1st to post an updated "NOW IDENTIFIED!" video for it.
beyond amazing job Joe! really appreciate your calm and deep approach into any of the topics you choose to make a video on. as a person who hasn't been around for that long(born in 2004!) ive been unfortunate enough to miss out on these really intriguing mysteries but your way of explanation just makes it so much better for me to actually feel like a part of these mysteries. I would support your patreon if I could but right now im a broke student :/
I loved the first Somerton Man episode before it got demonetized, and that was before I realized my brother was the main writer for it. So cool that this absolutely frigid cold case is finally starting to get some answers.
Thank you for finishing this saga joe, love your uploads. you choose good topics to cover and you keep it both interesting and entertaining, keep up the good work.
Thanks for making an update for the video, as a local who lives in Adelaide it's honestly emotional to hear that they've got some closure thus far. Really excited to hear more about it going forward as the investigation continues ^^
I saw the original video but im gonna watch this whole video just cause 😌 TH-cam truly hates True Crime videos lol Thank you so much for covering this! I love how everyone thought he was a spy or something If he was a local I wonder why he didn't get recognized Also makes me think of the Isdal woman since everyone thinks she's a spy Forensic genealogy and stuff like that is truly so amazing. I hope one day the boy in the box, isdal woman, and all the other cold cases get solved as well The families deserve answers
Wait a second.... I dated an Australian woman who also had a nickname... When I moved in, she insisted that I took a nickname too [our online avatars worked perfectly]. So, I guess the legal requirement to have a nickname in Australia bears out.
As an Aussie I can confirm we are legally required to go by a nickname, Lillian to Lily (also confusing to others because Lillian has 2 ‘L’s so others spell it as ‘Lilly’)
so they can finally make a movie of his story. Seriously, I admire that this riddle could be solved after so many years and there might be a name on his grave after all. And next the Isdal woman, she also deserves a name.
I swear… I was listening to lofi radio/ chill step radio when this started. The poetry was PERFECTLY on beat. I was jaw dropped. And I have no way of sharing this experience with anyone else. 🤷🏾♂️
Can confirm as an Aussie that everyone goes by their nickname. Mia is not my full name, but it's how I introduced myself to many people and they were very surprised to learn what my legal name actually is. Some didn't learn it for months, even years.
Thanks for the update to this! I saw your pervious video when it came out, and also saw the news reveal, so I was wondering which of who I was subscribed to would first cover it. This was a great idea for covering the topic- to re-upload your previous video, and tack on the extra information to the end. I also appreciate the fact that you gave us prior watchers a time stamp to jump to. Also quite enjoyed your poetry-slam style reading at the beginning.
I was literally just telling my sisters about this story on Sunday night and ended it with, "and it's still unsolved to this very day." Technically, I was right about that since the news didn't come out until Tuesday! Maybe they'll crack the Isdahl Woman's identity next.
As always, extremely fascinating content presented in a completely original and entailing way. Great storytelling that keeps us on the edge of our seats. Well done Joe ! And certainly, more questions than answers, but that's the name of the game !
Figured either my memory or TH-cam app was more broken than usual, cause I could've sworn I watched this just the other day but no red bar at the bottom... Thanks for the explanation, sorry to hear there was trouble, and I'm beyond happy to get a refresher before the new info while giving you the benefit of another Premium view. ❤️🍍
The plaster bust would have been made from a plaster mold of the face. A release agent would have been used as well. It seems hair from the body transfered to the mold than transfered to the bust after the mold was cleaned seems a reach. I wonder if DNA tests were done on the taxidermist? He could have transferred some of his or someone can by to look at the cast, tried it on while screwing around (it happens all the time) and lost some hair. The DNA chain of custody or provenance seems full of holes. JMO
I think they used the hair from the clay death mask for the Haplogroup test - MtDNA - but I heard from Colleen this week they had a bag of hair. She says police. My guess is the taxidermist cutting his hair.
Great, great job, mate. The best I've seen so far on the Somerton man. It's a mystery that has baffled me for decades, since I first read about it, like 20 years ago.
Rest in peace, Mr. Webb I'm so glad you have your name and your family restored. I read about you first about 22 years ago. I know many have wondered about you much longer. I'm glad you have the dignity of your own name and story. I'm sorry for the loss of your parents and brother and your marriage before your passing. I wish you'd had happier last years. Rest in peace
A medieval Catholic Monk William of Occam created the postulation that the simplest explanation is most often the right one, philosophically called Occam's Razor. This proves he was on the right track.
As soon as I saw the headline I thought of your video. Glad for many reasons I'm not the only one, and happy to revisit the re-upload. Great work, Joe.
I am fine with Egan not being related/descended from the Somerton Man. I still find the genetics of the ears and teeth to be compelling. Could it be these genetic traits are more common in this area, hense two non-related males have the same traites? This could be an interesting population study that just happens to include the Somerton Man/Carl Webb.
Except Webb was from Melbourne and the Thompsons were from Adelaide. The idea that the two are not genetically related seems extremely unlikely given they are born in different cities, the phone number in the Somerton Man's book and the common physical abnormalities. Yet the DNA doesn't line up. Even more bizarre is that the DNA links the living family members in NZ to Jo Thomson's defacto partner NOT the Somerton Man.
@@marcdigiambattista751 makes me wonder if Somerton man knew she had a son with his special features and looked her up but still it's just really weird and if that was the case why wouldn't she have spilled that info?.. maybe she was afraid of being accused of being unfaithful
Maybe I'm just a weirdo but I love the Rubaiyat, Omar Khayyam was much more than a great poet. He was an astronomer, mathematician and philosopher. An atheist in a time and place where this could be deadly. I have three interpretations of his poetry, the Fitzgerald, from which you quoted, the Richard Le Gallienne and Hazhir Teimourian. This last version is an appendix to the author's biography of the great man. Anyway, it's better than Wordsworth lol.
@@erzsebetkovacs2527 I require no more justification for who I am other than my ability for critical thinking. "Men talk of heaven, there is no heaven but here; Men talk of hell, there is no hell but here; Men of hereafters talk, and future lives, O love, there is no other life but here. Look not above, there is no answer there; Pray not, for no one listens to your prayer; Near is as near to god as any far, And Here is just the same deceit as There. I could go on but I don't see any point, are these the words of a theist?
Awwww, I'm a little disappointed Carl Webb unties the link with Robin Thomson and Rachel Egan; the rare genetic features in common seemed so convincing and it was a ripping WWII and cold war story. I feel a bit bonded with Somerton Man, and don't like to think he was a wife-beating sailor, but...that's life!
i figure he was a cross dresser and thats why he left because his wife couldn`t or wouldn`t have accepted it back then and there! he walked out on her she couldn`t explain why weither it was after an argument or a disagreement just that he left, so how come she wasn`t worried enough to report him missing? and she divorced fast as she could!
@@jessgunn6639 I was thinking along the same lines. I've heard trans people say (after transitioning) that being forced to live as their previously-assigned gender any longer would have caused them to unalive themselves. Well, a trans person in 1948 probably would have had it 1000 times worse. Maybe Carl Webb was a patient that Jo had met while she was working as a nurse. It is weird about Jo's son having some of the same physical traits as Carl, but truth can be stranger than fiction, I guess.
(12:10) The people who are most likely to go by a nickname? The neighbors of Australia, the Filipinos! Not only is everyone known by a nickname, each individual will be called a different nickname by each friend or family member. For example, someone named "Joseph" might be called "Jo-jo" by one friend, "José" by another, "Joey" by an uncle and "Kuya" (older brother) by his younger siblings. When meeting a Filipino family for the first time, it's very helpful to have two things: 1. A family tree diagram (you may learn that some aunts/uncles/cousins aren't even related to the family). 2. A spreadsheet listing each family member and their respective nicknames for each other. You might be surprised to learn that the five names you've heard said in conversation all referred to one person. (Sorry about the tangent. And now we return back to our program, already in progress.)
As a genealogist, I wouldn't hold my breath on a photo. Cameras in every household was still somewhat rare up until the post-war period and many families may only have one or two photos of a relative. Cameras and photo processing were more financially accessible starting in the mid '50s and taking off in the '60s. Many families only have either a wedding photo, immigration photo or a death photo (yep, photographing dead people was a huge market) before the '20s. You might have major anniversary photos (20 years, 25 years of 50 years), family portraits or military photos (during the war years) during the '20s-'40s. But you also have to remember that someone has to keep hold of it for that length of time and not lose it in moves or fires or other life events but that the photo is also either marked with the names of persons in the photos or that the final holder KNOWS who is featured in the photo. So many photos from that period exist but no one has a clue anymore who it is so unless it's been digitally scanned and publicly available on the internet, the likelihood of finding a photo is slim. And if it was indeed a domestic situation, she may not have kept any photos with him in it anyway.
With the removed incisors - my mom (born in the '50s) had hers removed as a kid, since her family couldn't afford braces. From how she said it, it seems to have possibly been a common occurrence at that time? It wasn't even something I had noticed until she told me.
THANK YOU for pronouncing 'again' correctly in the introductory poem. It drive me crazy when people say the itsy bitsy spider and don't pronounce 'again' to rhyme with 'rain'
That was a cool ass update. You covered it so well you had me on the edge of my seat with the drum roll and then it hit me …true it is a body. 🤣 Also I died when you started theorizing he was killed by Jefferson. Lol
You were the first person I thought if Joe when this news broke. I really enjoyed your original video on the subject Joe. I know you where disappointed with the number of views the video got, but I thought it was one of your best videos. Let's hope we get more answers.
How about a video on Mars moons, especially Phoebes? It's destined to reach the Roche limit and form rings around Mars, which is pretty nuts, and apparently this has happened before. Mars with rings while colonized, whaaaat, we need answers Joe!
your videos has been a great way for me to calm down because of severe depression and anxiety, i cant always focus but i try because you speak in a great way... greetings from norway
I do think that Jo Thompson knew him, based on her reaction to the bust. But it could have been something as simple as she'd seen him down at the beach, or he was some creeper who'd been wandering around and was freaking her out. Or like you said, Dorothy could have known Jo and told her about him or shown a photo.
Yeah but why did he have her number written on a book, a book which she is known to give out to people? Why couldn't she explain why or how she knew who he was to the police or explain to her daughter? Probably because they had an affair and she could never ever admit that she had a child with someone else as. That child who shares the same rare genetics as Carl Webb. If they knew each other briefly or he was stalking her then why didn't she tell anyone? No reason to keep it a secret if it is something other than an affair.
@@numbnuts375 DNA testing has linked her son with her husband's family, and Abbott is now satisfied that his wife is not related to the SM/Webb. It seems too unlikely to be a coincidence, but it appears that that is indeed all it is.
It is just so strange no one identified him. How do you work as an electrical engineer and instrument maker and not have anyone recognise you for decades and decades? Did everyone just simultaneously decide “let’s not tell them it’s Carl.”
I've got to say that I really appreciate and love your work Mr Joe Scott. Out of all of this I'm truly convinced that Jo Thompson had some sort of relationship with this guy, somehow.
? random dead guy decades ago with absolutely nothing at all but the clothes he was wearing...this wasn't way too long it's actually a bit of a miracle that they figured it out from basically nothing.
Those unsolved murders usually have an identifiable victim which makes them less mysterious and people still obsses over them. Cold case shows are very popular.
Since I know youtube hasn't been the best with recommendations lately, I've been trying to make sure to watch your videos all the way as soon as I see them, and check your channel regularly
So he was alive when he was seen and he tried to signal for help, but the guy just assumed he was being friendly and drunk. He was intoxicated but not by voluntary alcohol ingestion. He had been poisoned and left to die. And he did die because no one helped him.
This has been a very busy few weeks in the "unidenfitied decedent" world. We even know who "Christmas Tree Lady" is now. Which blew my mind. "Carl Webb" though, huh? Well it's nice that he's got his name back. Him and Joyce, as well.
omg the christmas lady was identified? i think it’s honestly just a matter of time before ones like the boy in the box and baby opelika are also identified at this point, considering septic tank sam (i’m so sorry i forgot his real name and hate to use that somewhat disgraceful moniker) was also identified and that one and christmas lady both seemed like a long shot.
@@juliao1255 Yeah, I'm happy to turn someone on to her story. I believe it's important for these peoples' stories to be heard. "Christmas Tree Lady" kind of haunted me. I'm assuming you've looked her up since making your comment. When she was identified, her story ended up being actually sadder than I expected. It makes a little more sense now why she chose to do what she did in the infants section of a cemetery. Apparently her own youth was pretty rough. It's amazing how, at the end, they're who she chose to spend her final moments with. She put an usual amount of thoughtfulness into every aspect of the whole thing. She was clearly a lady with a lot of depth. Again, sad. So much time had passed I didn't think we'd ever know who she was. And then suddenly last week I saw they found out. It's a revolution happening right now in genetic genealogy. Cases are getting solved constantly. It's a pretty cool thing to witness in real time.
@@laer.393 Yeah they really didn't grant that poor guy much dignity when they named him "Septic Tank Sam". Another case I also never thought would get solved. Although to be fair, they identified him, and that's good news, but his murder remains unsolved. And yeah, I forget her last name, but "Christmas Tree Lady's" first name was revealed to he Joyce. Life was hard on her. If you go to the "Unidentifed"-wiki they've got a page detailing her general story. The New York Times did a story about her a few weeks ago as well. I live in Philadelphia and so The Boy in the Box is a case I've definitely followed. It's astonishing how that poor kid is still unknown. My personal theory is that the kid was not local. Whoever killed him, I believe, did it elsewhere, far away. That person, I think, was somehow familiar with the Fox Chase area here in Philly. I'm just not convinced the kid was local because of how much press the case got here back in the day. Central PA maybe? Western PA? Hoping to see that kid get his name back sooner than later.
@@laer.393 I just looked up "septic tank sam" and I feel so sad for him. His name was Gordon Sanderson and he was one of many victims of the Sixties Scoop, where indigenous children in Canada were taken from their families and forced into foster care. Unfortunately, unsolved missing person cases involving the indigenous is all too common. I hope they can solve his murder case. it's just sickening
This was the first “unsolved mystery” I was ever interested in and that led to a deep personal interest over the years in criminology and unsolved phenomena including a degree in psychology and a law degree. Thank you Somerton man and I’m so glad you finally have your name back ❤
If the clothes belonging to the Somerton Man were from a thrift store, who's to say that tiny note was his? What if it was there unbeknownst to him when he got the pants from the 2nd hand store? That would suck, a huge clue that ends up being completely random
And he ends up dying under mysterious circumstances 100 metres from the house of a woman whose number was written in the same book the small piece of paper hidden in his trousers was torn out of? CRAZY RANDOM.
Does it feel good to leave snide replies to random comments? Do you think ppl will read your reply and think 'yea that guy is so right, he's so smart'? I'm genuinely curious why some random nobody thinks it's ok to leave shitty replies to totally insignificant comments; have you not seen Bambi? If you can't say something nice, don't bother saying anything at all. You can reply if you want but I won't bother reading it, I'm moving on w/ my day
It turns out that the name "T Keane" on some of the clothes was the name of Somerton Man's brother-in-law! Carl "Charles" Webb's sister Freida Webb was married to Thomas Keane. So that's where Charles Webb got his clothes. It is possible that the "Tamam Shud" message was placed in the pants by Mr. Keane, but it just doesn't seem likely.
Firstly, I'm not sure 'thrift' or 'op-shops' existed back then, but stores would obviously buy & sell secondhand clothes. The important thing to understand is that wartime rationing of clothes didn't cease until June 1948, a couple of months before the body was found, so clothing (particularly quality imported items, the body was considered to be very well dressed) was in short supply & highly valued. He may have removed the tags himself or they may've been absent when he acquired them. IMO, all signs point to a suicide, the note being a 'farewell' to himself, he's well-dressed as he can be, smoking a ciggie & looking at the sea as he fades out.
You might’ve been joking about it being legally required to go by a nickname in Australia, but it’s actually a really infuriating thing I find about trying to do genealogy here (at least in my family). My grandfather’s name is Benjamin, but he goes by Tag. His sister is Jennifer, but goes by Rusty. His uncle’s name was Warren Kevin, but he went by Jack. His dad Conrad, went by Benny. Benny’s dad was Mark Thomas, but he went by Mick. Benny’s brothers Harewood Granville and Maxwell, went by Bill and Tiggy Touchwood, respectively. And the only one of all of the part of my family to not use a completely unrelated nickname was Rex, which feels a bit ironic to me. Often the nickname is the only name that gets passed down in family stories and these people become extraordinarily difficult to trace.
I loved reading your comment! ♥️ 😂
Is your name Lilyann? :P
But... why?
@@VirginiaGreco_Scrapbooking dunno, just how it is. In my experience this is pretty common in Australia, especially in more regional areas. Often it’s also a way to give people who have honour names their own identities.
It is "legally required"? Why?
The most surprisingly thing to me was that Robin was not related to the Sommerton man after all. Yet he shared his ears and teeth. Lived extremely close to where the body was found and was the son of a woman who claims to know the Summerton man. What are the chances?
Maybe Rachel Eagan isn't actually Robin's daughter and that's the real reason her mom gave her up for adoption. Maybe she couldn't take care of her without a father taking responsibility. They would need DNA from Robin himself in that case. 🤔
Yeah that’s something that drives me absolutely crazy lol I also can’t help but see photos of Robin and think I see the Sommerton man in him….but that could be my mind playing tricks on me….
It would be fairly low, however, Australia is the land of generic fuckery.
Edit: I just remembered about Genetic Chimeras, people who have multiple sets of DNA, it could be our Mystery man was one.
@@cecemepls0 It's not just you: to me Robin and Somerton man look very much alike.
Maybe I heard wrong, but didn’t the Sommerton Man/Webb disappear in 1945, but the Summerton Man was found dead in 1947? And Robin was 18 months old in 1947? So… Webb left his wife (or his wife left him) around the time Robin was born?
Tags being removed from clothes just makes sense lol. I dont have any tags on my clothes because tags are itchy
Also factories remove them from seconds to protect the brand. He was into hand-me-downs; doesn't seem to have been doing too well.
I’m the same.
@@MsAncele There'd been a war, causing shortages of everything. Also clothes back then were well made and would last long enough that if you get bored with them, or whatever reason, they'd be in a good enough state to pass on to someone. Waste not, want not!
True my mother always remove the tags on our clothes because it was really itchy and now that I'm an adult I do the same thing.
I am 63 and I have been removing the tags from my clothing, even risking a spanking, since I was 6/7.
The buttons will come off on first wearing and the seams hold for a couple more, but those indestructible tags remain after the garment itself is long gone 😡
My grandfather left his family when he was in his early 20's and didn't contact them until he was in his 80's. He always told us that he was disowned by his family but at his funeral we met his sisters and they told us he just left (for reasons they never explained) and never contacted them until about 2 years before he died. My point is that it isn't unbelievable for his family to not know where he is or have a picture of him. I don't think my grandfather's family had a single picture of him at all, and he and this guy lived around the same time period. Could be a similar situation with this guy.
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If your Grandfather just up and left for all intents and purposes never to return, _something happened_ .
I know from personal experience that Folks just don't walk away from their Families wholesale if things are ok and members are close with each other and relatively happy.
I suspect his Sisters are either unaware of what happened (they may have been too young) or they know and are not telling.
Believe me, something happened - Folks just don't walk away from their Families like that for no reason.
Edit to add: You are also correct that it would have not been unusual for there not to be Photos of a Family Member (especially back then) because Folks didn't take pics back then like they do now - there might be a Family Photo or Pictures taking when someone Married, Graduated from School, went into the Military, also Baby pics.
The only pic that I know of my Father were his Navy pic and 1 Family photo just after I was born.
@@aheimdahl5201 Yeah, something happened there and we will never know (his sisters are also now dead). My point was about them not having a single photo of him from the majority of his life.
@@thesonofdormammu5475 Yes, I Edited to Add my Comment after I wrote all of that to reflect the point you were making, and you are correct.
@@aheimdahl5201 I don't think there necessarily needed to be something dramatic behind it. Might have just been one of those restless souls who felt trapped in a stifling milieu and upped and left as soon as he was able. In the modern world today it's relatively easy to still stay in contact with almost zero effort but in older times it must have been really easy to just fall out of contact and then never re-connect again for decades.
The "Rubiayat of Omar Khayyam" became really popular in the late 19th century after it was translated into English by Edward Fitzgerald (translated to the point of being rewritten, arguably). If you knew anything about poetry at all in the 1940s, you would have heard of it. The theme is kind of "life is short, so enjoy it while it lasts", so you can see the appeal in wartime.
Fitzgerald's translation, ugh. A bad translation into "rhyming couplets" destroys the original breath of the poem.
sure... almost everybody has stumbled across "a loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou..."
I remember my mom's shrink in Sacramento in the 70s was working on a translation of the Rubaiyat. I wish I could remember his name, but I believe he was middle-eastern. It stuck with me because it was one of the only times she ever talked about her therapist.
I really believe that a translation can actually transcend the original. But that's just a theory. A FILM theory. And CUT.
@@ronjones-6977 idk where your mom’s psychiatrist is from, but I have a feeling he’d make a more accurate translation, due to well him probably being a native speaker and not Fitzgerald 😅
I think it's hard for us to imagine now, but once upon a time, before around the 1950s, people were anonymous and less documented and did often just disappear, and random dead bodies would be burried unidentified.
Truth. About in the late 30s/early 40s, my paternal grandfather divorced his first wife, left his children, and the family that he emigrated to the US with as child (in 1920s at about 6(8 years old) and just changed his last name. we had found no paper trail to figure out when the change happened or if it was done officially,, it just… happened. he signed up for the army with the new last name, and that was it. then our grandmother appears with his new last name. its a relatively common last night, and we are related to absolutely none of them unless they are directly in our family.
his last name was a very obvious Slavic sounding name. i think he really wanted to separate himself from his immigrant status.
I don't have a single photo of the brothers of my grandparents or grandmothers and they were like 8 each lol
I don't think a dusty old photo can survive generations that well if there is none alive to keep them, also some of the times when someone dies their belongings just get closed off in a box somewhere for 30-40 years until everyone forgets about it or just decays over time.
As an Australian, I can in fact confirm that you are legally required to go by a nickname
That seems unlikely. ... *Why* would there be such a requirement?
Good one, Jase.
@@EchoBravo370 My legal nickname is Jazza
@@jasonlast7091 Noice
@@wallykramer7566 There isn't. 😉
TH-cam really needs to get their s--t together. I'm sorry to hear that the first video got demonetized. It was/is a great video and well crafted around a story that, yet again, proposes more questions. I didn't mind watching all the way through because you, sir, are a damn good storyteller. Hope this one gets more than enough views to make up for the loss on the first one.
telling people to skip a large part will make this video probably not do well either.
Susan needs to get fired and replaced by someome who actually cares about fixing youtube
I feel youtube have their shit together. Its the fringes of society that post extreme content that ruins it for regular creators and viewers like us
@@AshLilburne Yeah, TH-cam is great, aside from their abserd and unnecessary demonetizations, randomly unsubscribing people from channels after years of being subscribed, their jacked-up algorithms for suggested viedos and pushed notifications, the ridiculous Copywrite strike claims that unnecessarily absolutely ruin revenue and/or views for creators because of often unsubstantiated or outright false claims (including claims against artists own original published works), the growing and persistent onslaught of bot accounts hocking porn and using creator identities and images to scam users, and the fact that TH-cam depends primarily on AI to monitor and/or moderate the site (which is the main reason those "extreme posts", false claims, and bot accounts so regularily get by and are able to stay up and active for longer than they ever should.
And, all because TH-cam doesn't want to pay actual people to do the jobs, or provide the mental health support and counseling they'd need to do their jobs; primarily so that the company doesn't have to actually pay anybody what they would obviously be worth, enabling the company, its upper management, and investors to make the maximum amount of profit at the cost of quality control and solidarity with the creators who made it successful, to begin with. And, that's just the tip of the iceberg.
But, Hey... aside from all of that... Yeah, sure, they're great.🙄
@@wirelesmike73/videos 🤷♂
It's so interesting how many of us seek a fantastic background to this story. These kind of stories appear as mystery movie plots to us and they are so compelling. However, in the end these stories very often just a simple human stories with average human problems. Very compelling in their own right, but we do often seek the mystery behind things. Thanks for the update :)
That's actually a point I meant to make at the end of the video - that most of these mysteries have a more mundane explanation than we usually assume.
And then I just kinda forgot to make that point. 😄
@@joescott don't worry, throughout the presentation it came across anyways, that's why I had the thought in the first place :)
@@joescott good day.
I wonder if anyone has ever made that point to David Paulides 😉
Occam's razor comes to mind when I see this, but using that razor isn't helping perfectly in this case.
Anyone else find it a huge coincidence and can't get over the fact that Carl "Charles" Web went missing for the exact time in which Jo's son Robin happened to be 18 months old which is the exact same time period in which Carl was missing for. Even though it seems he is not the Somerton man's son at this point it's still odd how he has the same genetic rarities as him and was literally the same age as the time he was missing for.
some people have more than 1 dna. they are called chimera. no one really knows how rare that is. may be more common than we think or not. several known cases , a rapist who's sperm had different dna than his saliva. a woman who gave birth to children that didn't have her main dna.that case opened scientists eyes. it's basically an absorbed twin . you may be made up of 2 people. some parts from each.
Yes, I learned about the other guy with the same teeth and I really thought he was his son it's a weird coincidence as you said.
Yes, that is still bugging me. Same ears. Same missing teeth? I mean....something doesn't add up.
Yeah I am not buying it. The fact the son has the same rare ear and teeth genetics and calves and does ballet. The timing you just mentioned, Jo Thomsons number on the book (I think she might have also given him the book), Jo living near the beach he was found, Jo's reaction to the cast mold of his face ten telling her daughter that she knew him but couldn't explain how. That boy is for sure the result of an affair between Jo and Carl Webb. Only evidence against this is some shady DNA test giving inconclusive results
@@numbnuts375 exactly!! I agree that she gave him the book aswell since she gave another guy the same book. I think that was her way of telling them that she liked them.
The name thing was just that generation. My grandmother was Margaret Mary MacLeod but she went by Molly her entire life. My grandfather was Andrew Alexander Robinson, but he went by “Sandy” his whole life. Both of them used their middle names in official contexts. Even my mother and father go by their middle names.
Why do you think that was?
I go by my middle name. I’m Robert Martin - first name is grandfather, middle name is the man who took care of my grandmother after grandfather died. I never got to meet my grandfather but I knew Martin and he was a wonderful man to my grandmother. Never left her side until she died and then eventually he got remarried even at his old age. He was loyal to her and I have never met another Martin in my life. I wanted to go by Martin even at a young age but as I got older I found uniqueness in that name as well as the man who it came from, so that’s what I chose. On official stuff I have to use my full name but I always put quotation marks around Martin so that people know that’s the one I go by.
Both my grandfathers go by their middles names, is this exclusively an Australian thing?
@@Poseedons I’m American haha
No, my American father went by a shortening of his middle name. He didn't care for his grandfather Henry and hated the nickname Hank, so went by Al instead.
There has been a photo of him found. The original third cousin Abbott found was on the fathers side and to be sure it was Carl Webb they found relatives on the Mothers side who had the photo of him taken in his twenties. And he had a football career which explains his physique.
Where is the photo?
@@jehouse61 I saw it in one of the documentaries.
th-cam.com/video/9wL1t3A-uHo/w-d-xo.html
The photos are shown in this video.
@@jehouse61 You’re Welcome
As an Australian, yes. We all go by nicknames. If someone doesn't introduce themselves with a nickname, we make one.
I tried avoiding the nickname thing for years, but I kept getting assigned one. Tegan would become Teegs, Teggers, Tegie, and literally any other noise that started with TE.
So eventually I caved and earned myself the nickname Gidget at the ripe old age of 20. And I just go by that now. At least with friends. Work calls me by my name, but all my mates call me Gidget, and my parents have this own private nickname for me.
It's like in those fantasy stories where you have a culture of multiple names. I remember something like that, where some character in a book had a common name, and family name, and a true name. Or someting.
It's like that. An Australian can have about half a dozen names going, depending on who they're talking to.
It's good fun.
Noise? I call them 'terms of endearment' . I'm very guilty of doing it to friends and fam I like. 😊😊
At my boarding school, everyone had at least 3 nicknames 1. based on real name, 2. dumb action they did we find funny (later known as a “fail”) 3. their work/ambitions/hobby/talent.
All the nuns, priests, lay personnel were also given nicknames by us that they were not aware, unless you accidentally addressed them that way 🙋🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️luckily it was “Jo Jo” our guidance counselor, not rat face, sybil, drip, boogie, Darth Vader…
Hi Teggers Gidget xD
my name is carol...... someone once tried to shorten it to "cow". that luckily did not stick. I don't have a nickname, we are a rare breed, no nickname aussies
(several people during my childhood did assume my name was actually caroline, though)
Mine was "Rubes" cuz of my last name Rubinstein and the stein was very Jewish and, according to my teammates, too long, so Rubes for short stuck
The most amazing thing about this story is the fact that 141,958 people saw this video in its first 13 hours. Joe, you're the story teller AND the story. Bravo!
27:15 My grandma has/had 3 siblings and my family has no photos of her days during post-WW2 occupied Poland. The earliest photos we have are of when she had children (my mother and aunt).
What I am saying is that it's not odd in the least for there to be no photos at all of someone living in that era.
People tend to forget how little things used to be recorded. Even when the technology was there, it was usually for important people like kings and presidents.
It really is only in the last, what? 30 years or so that everyone has had access to affordable recording equipment.
And the last 15 that everyone had recording equipment at all times.
Even me growing up in the 90s, there’s not a ton of photos of me from that time.
Fair point.
@@dstinnettmusic I was a kid of the 80s and we’d forget to buy film or flash cubes so not a lot of pictures and what pictures we did have weren’t the best. Our really only good pictures were school pictures! LoL my grandma, we have no pictures of her as a child or teen, only when she got married.
@@joescott we don’t have very many pictures of my grandparents either; especially not in their younger years. I’m 30 now so that should give you context for the generation they came from. Unfortunately I never got to meet any of my grandfathers. They all died either before I was born or while I was extremely young. I need to make sure to get copies of all the pictures my mom and dad have so I can have a record of it.
Joy L in Poland that's understandable but that was Australia?? people were not fleeing Australia at that time. my mum who was born in 1939 in NZ to what I suppose was a middle class family they had land on which they farmed but they didn't even have electricity until 1950 and they had an outhouse, and even she has photos of her and her siblings growing up
Man, thank you for actually reading that poem. Poetry is one of the most beautiful forms of expression and I love when someone understands how rhythms and beats can form emotions. By just reading the text and not adding any weird syllabus or meter to it, or rather adding the natural meter of the text constructed by the poet.
Yes, he read it wonderfully!
It's great this man now has his name back. Let's hope those still investigating this death will find the answers to the questions that remain unanswered. RIP Carl Webb.
Gun officially jumped.
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It seems he died of a heart attack due to broken heart syndrome after he got a divorce, he tracked her to south Australia and was on the beach when he died of heart attack
"The Rubayiates of Omar Khayyam" is a very interesting read that stuck with me since college. All that interest came from a novel called "Samarcande" which in part depicts Omar Khayyam's time in Samarkand, the intrigues, the love affairs, science and Sufi imagery combine to make such a captivating book. A few weeks ago I fulfilled one of my oldest dreams, I visited "Samarkand" which is now in modern day Uzbekistan. Such beauty in those old madrassas and mausoleums, the vibe of this antique city really lives up to the saying :"Samarkand, the most beautiful face the Earth has ever turned towards the Sun". Tamam Shud.
Yes indeed! I don't recall reading Samarcande specifically, but a lot of the books I read when I was a kid carried the feeling of... how romantic the culture of those areas could be. :)
khayam lived and died in neyshabur
Yeah, I saw the article about this and I'm really interested to see how the rest of the investigative and scientific community respond. It seems their work is indeed solid. Of course, we have seen reports that they found JonBenet Ramsey's killer, Amelia Earhart, Jesus's tomb, DB Cooper, etc, and as things went on those conclusions were widely rejected, so we'll see! From the article it did sound as though their methods were solid
I'm still watching for an update on JonBenet Ramsey. The developments in that case over the past couple of weeks are interesting.
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@@renerpho I must be living under a rock. New developments?
@@renerpho which developments?
@@melodi996 A few weeks ago, the family have applied for a new DNA testing of evidence. In an interview on Australian tv show "60 Minutes", CeCe Moore, chief genetic genealogist of Parabon NanoLabs, said that the case could be solved "within an hour" if the DNA test yields a result (and if the state of Colorado grants it).
The reason a doctor has to issue a separate Cremation Certificate on top of the Death Certificate in the case of a cremation is for exactly this reason - it’s in effect ‘destroying the evidence’.
I’ve been following this story in many different forms of media for YEARS. It’s awesome that he’s been identified.
It's wild to me how cases like this can be solved after so long. The Sommerton man died the year my grandmother was born, and now we finally know.
Well, to be precise, we still don't know. At this point it's just a theory that has yet to be corroborated. As he says at the end, there are still a lot of questions to be answered here.
Thank you Joe, for the constantly fascinating and concise content. Also the intermittent comedy. I always enjoy the way you dig into stuff but don't convolute anything and I cant wait for more!!!
This case is pretty ambiguous and I've been thinking about it a lot, so I'm glad people haven't stopped the search.
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I'd just to point out that we are not related. But feel free to use the "Bluch" henceforth. They'll never work it out. Maybe I'll start using "Jake".
If Jo gave a copy of the book to the soldier, she may have given a copy to the Somerton Man when they were having their affair. Maybe he brought it with to make one last appeal to her, and when he was rejected that's when he tore out the last page and threw it in the car as he walked by
Cheers for the update Joe! You said it was weird that no one recognised him even though he was only a state away, but our state sizes are more comparable to European countries than US states, so it honestly isn't too hard to believe.
Every single European country could fit inside of Alaska :P
Alaska and Texas beg to differ.
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As everyone mentioned, European countries are often smaller than US States.
For perspective, what the mainland U.S. divides into 48 states, Australia divides into 6 states and two territories. The total land area is very similar. Some of our states are BIG.
Does noone else in this world think that removing the clothes tags is the way to go? Do all crime investigators think that it is despicable and hideous to remove clothes tag? What is happening?
with cases like this people always seem to equal missing tags to being a spy or stuff like that like no sometimes people just dont like the feeling of the tags
As tragic as this story is, it is truly amazing how far science has come. Recently the tragic boy in the box was identified, and the closures and identifications keep on pouring in thanks to proper DNA system. Glad that these people finally can be laid to rest with a name and their loved ones get closures.
Wait when did they identify the boy in the box? Was it who they suspected?
Definitely not an open & shud case.
I live in South Australia and I’ve been to the beach near where he was found. It’s always been one of those dark stains on our state, and an enduring mystery. I’m genuinely surprised that there’s such an international following.
If it had happened during the time of social media, I’m sure he would’ve been identified within days. Heck, Reddit would’ve had 6 people in custody before morning tea 😅
You'd think after all this time the stain wouldn't be there. Did you try baking soda and vinegar?
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I mean, a guy died there and nobody knew who he was. How many people turn their noses up at South Australia for that reason?
@Eugene Blackman you shud go to prison over that joke
@@rfichokeofdestiny Nobody that I know. But there have been a few serial killings here in the last 50 years. Adelaide is known as the “City of Churches”, other states like to change that to “City of Corpses”
NO WAY DUDE. I have to watch this whole thing rn. Thank you so much, I hope his family and us can get closure.
I grew up in Somerton AZ and now live in Delaware, 43 miles from Somerton PA. The only other Somerton places I've seen are a small town in Somerset UK and this beach in Australia. Probably not all that interesting but that's how I came across the original video on this person.
I'm glad we finally found out who he was. Sad thing about these John and Jane Does is that due to their dead state, they can't tell us who they were in life, thus they end up as anonymous corpses robbed of the only remaining right that is their own identity.
Sadly Rachel Egans relationship with her biological mother broke down due to her (Rachels) relationship with Derek Abbott. Rachels mum said Derek is only using you for your DNA, and so now they don't speak anymore, but if someone is using your for your DNA they don't marry you, stay with you for over 11 years, and have 3 kids with you, all after they already had access to your DNA sample
I mean technically having a kid with someone is kinda using them for their DNA
Will Rachel divorce Derek now that Derek will treat her as useless and irrelevant ???
Im one of the 3 kids and im the only boy. some articles don’t think i exist because i didn’t want to be in 1 photo.
Well done Joe! It's not often that a program goes back or revisits an older story when new evidence or information comes out. This felt like a classic early video from your archive.
That code at the end of the book - and I'm only halfway through here - but it immediately strikes me not as someone intentionally writing a code, but someone trying to work something out. If you looked at my notes when I'm thinking about a problem (while programming), it looks very similar, just with numbers and whole words in addition to letters. It makes absolutely zero sense though. It's because each piece is just me using the paper as extra space to keep track of a thought when I'm thinking about the next one, and that will mean there are some really odd things (there might be "a b" if I'm thinking about two concepts that link to each other, for example).
So yeah, my initial reaction is that it's not a code that you can crack (though you may be able to decipher its meaning), because it isn't a code. It's something using the paper as extra space for their thoughts. Same with the numbers written down.
It’s so crazy that this information came out this week, because I’ve been binging the true crime show “Bloodline Detectives” and it’s premise is how genealogy based testing is a new tool that is solving cases once believed to be unsolvable, such as the Golden State Killer case that was solved back in 2018. I wondered if they would ever attempt some form of genetic testing on the Somerton Man, and now I have my answer.
i knew about the Somerton Man long before seeing your (original) video a few years ago, but a couple days ago when i found out they finally identified him you were the 1st TH-camr i thought of, & i think it's fitting of all the channels i've seen videos devoted to him you're the 1st to post an updated "NOW IDENTIFIED!" video for it.
beyond amazing job Joe! really appreciate your calm and deep approach into any of the topics you choose to make a video on. as a person who hasn't been around for that long(born in 2004!) ive been unfortunate enough to miss out on these really intriguing mysteries but your way of explanation just makes it so much better for me to actually feel like a part of these mysteries. I would support your patreon if I could but right now im a broke student :/
I loved the first Somerton Man episode before it got demonetized, and that was before I realized my brother was the main writer for it. So cool that this absolutely frigid cold case is finally starting to get some answers.
Nice. I’m in the actual show.
Thank you for finishing this saga joe, love your uploads.
you choose good topics to cover and you keep it both interesting and entertaining, keep up the good work.
Thanks for making an update for the video, as a local who lives in Adelaide it's honestly emotional to hear that they've got some closure thus far.
Really excited to hear more about it going forward as the investigation continues ^^
I saw the original video but im gonna watch this whole video just cause 😌
TH-cam truly hates True Crime videos lol
Thank you so much for covering this!
I love how everyone thought he was a spy or something
If he was a local I wonder why he didn't get recognized
Also makes me think of the Isdal woman since everyone thinks she's a spy
Forensic genealogy and stuff like that is truly so amazing.
I hope one day the boy in the box, isdal woman, and all the other cold cases get solved as well
The families deserve answers
Wait a second.... I dated an Australian woman who also had a nickname... When I moved in, she insisted that I took a nickname too [our online avatars worked perfectly]. So, I guess the legal requirement to have a nickname in Australia bears out.
It’s cool that they named a space telescope after The Somerton Man.
I have been following this channel for quite a long time... since Answers with Joe... The Somerton Man's intro is the best one from Joe!!! Nice Job!!!
Thanks for the follow-up video Joe. What a fascinating story, finally a conclusion.
As an Aussie I can confirm we are legally required to go by a nickname, Lillian to Lily (also confusing to others because Lillian has 2 ‘L’s so others spell it as ‘Lilly’)
so they can finally make a movie of his story.
Seriously, I admire that this riddle could be solved after so many years and there might be a name on his grave after all.
And next the Isdal woman, she also deserves a name.
I swear… I was listening to lofi radio/ chill step radio when this started. The poetry was PERFECTLY on beat. I was jaw dropped. And I have no way of sharing this experience with anyone else. 🤷🏾♂️
You made someone on the show reply (I’m talking about myself)
Can confirm as an Aussie that everyone goes by their nickname. Mia is not my full name, but it's how I introduced myself to many people and they were very surprised to learn what my legal name actually is. Some didn't learn it for months, even years.
Thanks for the update to this! I saw your pervious video when it came out, and also saw the news reveal, so I was wondering which of who I was subscribed to would first cover it. This was a great idea for covering the topic- to re-upload your previous video, and tack on the extra information to the end. I also appreciate the fact that you gave us prior watchers a time stamp to jump to. Also quite enjoyed your poetry-slam style reading at the beginning.
I was literally just telling my sisters about this story on Sunday night and ended it with, "and it's still unsolved to this very day." Technically, I was right about that since the news didn't come out until Tuesday! Maybe they'll crack the Isdahl Woman's identity next.
As always, extremely fascinating content presented in a completely original and entailing way. Great storytelling that keeps us on the edge of our seats. Well done Joe ! And certainly, more questions than answers, but that's the name of the game !
Figured either my memory or TH-cam app was more broken than usual, cause I could've sworn I watched this just the other day but no red bar at the bottom... Thanks for the explanation, sorry to hear there was trouble, and I'm beyond happy to get a refresher before the new info while giving you the benefit of another Premium view. ❤️🍍
The plaster bust would have been made from a plaster mold of the face. A release agent would have been used as well.
It seems hair from the body transfered to the mold than transfered to the bust after the mold was cleaned seems a reach. I wonder if DNA tests were done on the taxidermist? He could have transferred some of his or someone can by to look at the cast, tried it on while screwing around (it happens all the time) and lost some hair.
The DNA chain of custody or provenance seems full of holes. JMO
I think that if the DNA test came back with the same name/family as the taxidermist or anyone involved they'd have caught on.
That would me 18 months after disappearing, Carl Web was working under an assumed name as the taxidermist?
I think they used the hair from the clay death mask for the Haplogroup test - MtDNA - but I heard from Colleen this week they had a bag of hair. She says police. My guess is the taxidermist cutting his hair.
The person who made the plaster died. You can look at it in the museum of Adelaide.
Great, great job, mate. The best I've seen so far on the Somerton man. It's a mystery that has baffled me for decades, since I first read about it, like 20 years ago.
Rest in peace, Mr. Webb I'm so glad you have your name and your family restored. I read about you first about 22 years ago. I know many have wondered about you much longer. I'm glad you have the dignity of your own name and story. I'm sorry for the loss of your parents and brother and your marriage before your passing. I wish you'd had happier last years. Rest in peace
You have known about the mystery longer than Derek Abbott.
Nice to see some kind of resolution to this as the story's been floating around for quite some time. Thanks for this update
A medieval Catholic Monk William of Occam created the postulation that the simplest explanation is most often the right one, philosophically called Occam's Razor. This proves he was on the right track.
As soon as I saw the headline I thought of your video. Glad for many reasons I'm not the only one, and happy to revisit the re-upload. Great work, Joe.
I am fine with Egan not being related/descended from the Somerton Man. I still find the genetics of the ears and teeth to be compelling. Could it be these genetic traits are more common in this area, hense two non-related males have the same traites? This could be an interesting population study that just happens to include the Somerton Man/Carl Webb.
Yes it's otherwise such an unlikely coincidence
Except Webb was from Melbourne and the Thompsons were from Adelaide. The idea that the two are not genetically related seems extremely unlikely given they are born in different cities, the phone number in the Somerton Man's book and the common physical abnormalities. Yet the DNA doesn't line up. Even more bizarre is that the DNA links the living family members in NZ to Jo Thomson's defacto partner NOT the Somerton Man.
@@marcdigiambattista751 makes me wonder if Somerton man knew she had a son with his special features and looked her up but still it's just really weird and if that was the case why wouldn't she have spilled that info?.. maybe she was afraid of being accused of being unfaithful
This is the right way to reupload
Maybe I'm just a weirdo but I love the Rubaiyat, Omar Khayyam was much more than a great poet. He was an astronomer, mathematician and philosopher. An atheist in a time and place where this could be deadly. I have three interpretations of his poetry, the Fitzgerald, from which you quoted, the Richard Le Gallienne and Hazhir Teimourian. This last version is an appendix to the author's biography of the great man. Anyway, it's better than Wordsworth lol.
🌹🥰👍
If people use another person for purposes of self-justification, that does not mean that this another person had, in fact, the same view or faith.
@@erzsebetkovacs2527 What are you talking about?
@@erzsebetkovacs2527 I require no more justification for who I am other than my ability for critical thinking.
"Men talk of heaven, there is no heaven but here;
Men talk of hell, there is no hell but here;
Men of hereafters talk, and future lives,
O love, there is no other life but here.
Look not above, there is no answer there;
Pray not, for no one listens to your prayer;
Near is as near to god as any far,
And Here is just the same deceit as There.
I could go on but I don't see any point, are these the words of a theist?
no
The Somerton Man was one of my favorite videos of yours. I was hoping you'd do an update with all the new information that has just arisen.
Awwww, I'm a little disappointed Carl Webb unties the link with Robin Thomson and Rachel Egan; the rare genetic features in common seemed so convincing and it was a ripping WWII and cold war story. I feel a bit bonded with Somerton Man, and don't like to think he was a wife-beating sailor, but...that's life!
i figure he was a cross dresser and thats why he left because his wife couldn`t or wouldn`t have accepted it back then and there! he walked out on her she couldn`t explain why weither it was after an argument or a disagreement just that he left, so how come she wasn`t worried enough to report him missing? and she divorced fast as she could!
@@jessgunn6639 I was thinking along the same lines. I've heard trans people say (after transitioning) that being forced to live as their previously-assigned gender any longer would have caused them to unalive themselves. Well, a trans person in 1948 probably would have had it 1000 times worse. Maybe Carl Webb was a patient that Jo had met while she was working as a nurse.
It is weird about Jo's son having some of the same physical traits as Carl, but truth can be stranger than fiction, I guess.
I'm grateful that you went over the story again. It reminds me of things I've forgotten; I last checked his case out quite a while ago.
As someone without lateral incisors, no one notices.
(12:10) The people who are most likely to go by a nickname? The neighbors of Australia, the Filipinos! Not only is everyone known by a nickname, each individual will be called a different nickname by each friend or family member. For example, someone named "Joseph" might be called "Jo-jo" by one friend, "José" by another, "Joey" by an uncle and "Kuya" (older brother) by his younger siblings.
When meeting a Filipino family for the first time, it's very helpful to have two things:
1. A family tree diagram (you may learn that some aunts/uncles/cousins aren't even related to the family).
2. A spreadsheet listing each family member and their respective nicknames for each other. You might be surprised to learn that the five names you've heard said in conversation all referred to one person.
(Sorry about the tangent. And now we return back to our program, already in progress.)
That's incredible! It's been a mystery for so long!!!!! Love this kind go content from you :)
As a genealogist, I wouldn't hold my breath on a photo. Cameras in every household was still somewhat rare up until the post-war period and many families may only have one or two photos of a relative. Cameras and photo processing were more financially accessible starting in the mid '50s and taking off in the '60s. Many families only have either a wedding photo, immigration photo or a death photo (yep, photographing dead people was a huge market) before the '20s. You might have major anniversary photos (20 years, 25 years of 50 years), family portraits or military photos (during the war years) during the '20s-'40s.
But you also have to remember that someone has to keep hold of it for that length of time and not lose it in moves or fires or other life events but that the photo is also either marked with the names of persons in the photos or that the final holder KNOWS who is featured in the photo. So many photos from that period exist but no one has a clue anymore who it is so unless it's been digitally scanned and publicly available on the internet, the likelihood of finding a photo is slim. And if it was indeed a domestic situation, she may not have kept any photos with him in it anyway.
With the removed incisors - my mom (born in the '50s) had hers removed as a kid, since her family couldn't afford braces. From how she said it, it seems to have possibly been a common occurrence at that time? It wasn't even something I had noticed until she told me.
When I saw this, I got so excited because I *knew* you'd make a video. Hopefully now he can find peace in whatever world comes after.
How Joes son Robin was a ballet dancer had the ears and incisors the same as Carl is beyond coincidence
THANK YOU for pronouncing 'again' correctly in the introductory poem. It drive me crazy when people say the itsy bitsy spider and don't pronounce 'again' to rhyme with 'rain'
That was a cool ass update. You covered it so well you had me on the edge of my seat with the drum roll and then it hit me …true it is a body. 🤣
Also I died when you started theorizing he was killed by Jefferson. Lol
Joe you’re quality. And the quality has gotten better over the years. I watch you on nebula but had to Stan you publicly here 🤗
You were the first person I thought if Joe when this news broke. I really enjoyed your original video on the subject Joe. I know you where disappointed with the number of views the video got, but I thought it was one of your best videos. Let's hope we get more answers.
These videos that you made on the Sommerton man are seriously your best work and my favorite that you've done. Great job!
i was really not expecting this one to be solved! sometimes you get answers when you least expect it.
🥰👍🥰👍👍
An amazing presentation of a compelling mystery. You are the most varied TH-cam educator out there; Thank you.
How about a video on Mars moons, especially Phoebes? It's destined to reach the Roche limit and form rings around Mars, which is pretty nuts, and apparently this has happened before. Mars with rings while colonized, whaaaat, we need answers Joe!
your videos has been a great way for me to calm down because of severe depression and anxiety, i cant always focus but i try because you speak in a great way... greetings from norway
I do think that Jo Thompson knew him, based on her reaction to the bust. But it could have been something as simple as she'd seen him down at the beach, or he was some creeper who'd been wandering around and was freaking her out. Or like you said, Dorothy could have known Jo and told her about him or shown a photo.
Yeah but why did he have her number written on a book, a book which she is known to give out to people? Why couldn't she explain why or how she knew who he was to the police or explain to her daughter? Probably because they had an affair and she could never ever admit that she had a child with someone else as. That child who shares the same rare genetics as Carl Webb. If they knew each other briefly or he was stalking her then why didn't she tell anyone? No reason to keep it a secret if it is something other than an affair.
@@numbnuts375 DNA testing has linked her son with her husband's family, and Abbott is now satisfied that his wife is not related to the SM/Webb. It seems too unlikely to be a coincidence, but it appears that that is indeed all it is.
It is just so strange no one identified him. How do you work as an electrical engineer and instrument maker and not have anyone recognise you for decades and decades? Did everyone just simultaneously decide “let’s not tell them it’s Carl.”
I was waiting for the heavy riff after that beautiful poem...and ya didn't disappoint!
I live in Adelaide and after all this time we finally (most likely) know who the Somerton Man was.
Excellent update with great context. RIP, Charles. Hope that last sunset was spectacular.
I've got to say that I really appreciate and love your work Mr Joe Scott. Out of all of this I'm truly convinced that Jo Thompson had some sort of relationship with this guy, somehow.
'He died last month; he is the only surviving person involved in this case.'
It took way too long for them to find out who he was.
I'm just happy they got the name.
? random dead guy decades ago with absolutely nothing at all but the clothes he was wearing...this wasn't way too long it's actually a bit of a miracle that they figured it out from basically nothing.
We take our time here in Australia 🇦🇺
🥰❤🥰❤
I'm glad TH-cam didn't bury this one. Fascinating story -- well told. :)
I like how we are obsessed with decade old mysteries when nearly half of all murders today go unsolved.
Those unsolved murders usually have an identifiable victim which makes them less mysterious and people still obsses over them. Cold case shows are very popular.
Since I know youtube hasn't been the best with recommendations lately, I've been trying to make sure to watch your videos all the way as soon as I see them, and check your channel regularly
Thanks so much, Joe. Here you are in TX, solving our domestic mysterious for us 👍🏻🇦🇺
how did Joe solve it haha he just reported on the bloke who likely did solve it
@@TJfromEarth well seems I watch Joe Scott more than the daily rags here. I regret nothing
@@alice5515 nothing to regret haha I love Joe. watch every video. I just wouldn't say he "solved" it
@@TJfromEarth HE SOLVED IT!!!!
he didnt solve it
So he was alive when he was seen and he tried to signal for help, but the guy just assumed he was being friendly and drunk. He was intoxicated but not by voluntary alcohol ingestion. He had been poisoned and left to die. And he did die because no one helped him.
Joe Scott is awesome! Thank you for your content!
This has been a very busy few weeks in the "unidenfitied decedent" world. We even know who "Christmas Tree Lady" is now. Which blew my mind.
"Carl Webb" though, huh? Well it's nice that he's got his name back. Him and Joyce, as well.
Ok, now I have to go look up "Christmas Tree Lady". Thanks a lot! LOL 🤣
omg the christmas lady was identified? i think it’s honestly just a matter of time before ones like the boy in the box and baby opelika are also identified at this point, considering septic tank sam (i’m so sorry i forgot his real name and hate to use that somewhat disgraceful moniker) was also identified and that one and christmas lady both seemed like a long shot.
@@juliao1255 Yeah, I'm happy to turn someone on to her story. I believe it's important for these peoples' stories to be heard.
"Christmas Tree Lady" kind of haunted me. I'm assuming you've looked her up since making your comment.
When she was identified, her story ended up being actually sadder than I expected. It makes a little more sense now why she chose to do what she did in the infants section of a cemetery. Apparently her own youth was pretty rough. It's amazing how, at the end, they're who she chose to spend her final moments with. She put an usual amount of thoughtfulness into every aspect of the whole thing. She was clearly a lady with a lot of depth. Again, sad.
So much time had passed I didn't think we'd ever know who she was. And then suddenly last week I saw they found out.
It's a revolution happening right now in genetic genealogy. Cases are getting solved constantly. It's a pretty cool thing to witness in real time.
@@laer.393 Yeah they really didn't grant that poor guy much dignity when they named him "Septic Tank Sam". Another case I also never thought would get solved. Although to be fair, they identified him, and that's good news, but his murder remains unsolved.
And yeah, I forget her last name, but "Christmas Tree Lady's" first name was revealed to he Joyce. Life was hard on her. If you go to the "Unidentifed"-wiki they've got a page detailing her general story.
The New York Times did a story about her a few weeks ago as well.
I live in Philadelphia and so The Boy in the Box is a case I've definitely followed. It's astonishing how that poor kid is still unknown.
My personal theory is that the kid was not local. Whoever killed him, I believe, did it elsewhere, far away. That person, I think, was somehow familiar with the Fox Chase area here in Philly. I'm just not convinced the kid was local because of how much press the case got here back in the day. Central PA maybe? Western PA?
Hoping to see that kid get his name back sooner than later.
@@laer.393 I just looked up "septic tank sam" and I feel so sad for him. His name was Gordon Sanderson and he was one of many victims of the Sixties Scoop, where indigenous children in Canada were taken from their families and forced into foster care. Unfortunately, unsolved missing person cases involving the indigenous is all too common. I hope they can solve his murder case. it's just sickening
I’ve seen every episode you’ve made on TH-cam and you’ve taught us so much. Your videos have been life changing.
Please do a video on Colleen "Badass" Fitzpatrick and her work! That sounds amazing!
This was the first “unsolved mystery” I was ever interested in and that led to a deep personal interest over the years in criminology and unsolved phenomena including a degree in psychology and a law degree. Thank you Somerton man and I’m so glad you finally have your name back ❤
If the clothes belonging to the Somerton Man were from a thrift store, who's to say that tiny note was his? What if it was there unbeknownst to him when he got the pants from the 2nd hand store? That would suck, a huge clue that ends up being completely random
And he ends up dying under mysterious circumstances 100 metres from the house of a woman whose number was written in the same book the small piece of paper hidden in his trousers was torn out of? CRAZY RANDOM.
Does it feel good to leave snide replies to random comments? Do you think ppl will read your reply and think 'yea that guy is so right, he's so smart'?
I'm genuinely curious why some random nobody thinks it's ok to leave shitty replies to totally insignificant comments; have you not seen Bambi? If you can't say something nice, don't bother saying anything at all. You can reply if you want but I won't bother reading it, I'm moving on w/ my day
It turns out that the name "T Keane" on some of the clothes was the name of Somerton Man's brother-in-law! Carl "Charles" Webb's sister Freida Webb was married to Thomas Keane. So that's where Charles Webb got his clothes. It is possible that the "Tamam Shud" message was placed in the pants by Mr. Keane, but it just doesn't seem likely.
Firstly, I'm not sure 'thrift' or 'op-shops' existed back then, but stores would obviously buy & sell secondhand clothes. The important thing to understand is that wartime rationing of clothes didn't cease until June 1948, a couple of months before the body was found, so clothing (particularly quality imported items, the body was considered to be very well dressed) was in short supply & highly valued. He may have removed the tags himself or they may've been absent when he acquired them. IMO, all signs point to a suicide, the note being a 'farewell' to himself, he's well-dressed as he can be, smoking a ciggie & looking at the sea as he fades out.