The Earth is a mysterious place. There is much going on around us every day that goes unexplained. For all our advanced technology and scientific understanding, there are events that occur, more or less, on a regular basis for which (as yet) we have no answers. Here is a list, in no particular order, of 10 of the most perplexing, documented phenomena that have baffled us for years - in some cases, decades and much longer.

10. Rods

"Rods" are one of the most fascinating and intriguing Earth mysteries of recent times. Discovered accidentally by filmmaker Jose Escamilla in March of 1994, what he calls "rods" are strange flying things that can only be seen on slowed-down film and videotape, and sometimes captured in still photographs. Apparently, these things - whatever they are - move too quickly to be seen with the naked eye. Escamilla first noticed them in film footage he had taken in Midway, New Mexico, and he (along with others) have since filmed and taped them in several other locations.

According to Escamilla's own definition, rods are "cigar or cylindrical shaped objects that travel at high velocities barely visible with the naked eye. They appear to be alive as they move through the air like fish swim in the sea. They appear to have fins or appendages along the torso and the torsos bend as they travel." Escamilla has several film clips and stills of the creatures on his website.

The rods measure from just a few inches to several feet in length and there seem to be a few varieties with different kinds of appendages. They have been spotted and recorded in Mexico, Arizona, Indiana, California, South Dakota, Connecticut and even Sweden. Some have even been seen underwater. Are they some unknown species of animal? If so, why has no one ever seen these creatures at rest?

9. The Tunguska Event

After 90 years, the explosive event at Tunguska, Siberia in 1908 remains one of the most puzzling natural disasters in recent history. On June 30 of that year, a blazing fireball descended from the sky and devastated an area about half the size of Rhode Island. Trees were felled for miles in a radial pattern, fires burned for weeks and the sound of its thunder could be heard at great distances. It's been estimated that its explosive force was equal to more than 2,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs.

What it was that fell on Tunguska that fateful day is still a mystery. Although for many years scientists thought it was probably a meteor that exploded over the Siberian wilderness, today's best guess is that it was probably a comet. The change in theory came about because no meteor fragments could be found at the scene. In fact, there was very little evidence of any kind to explain precisely what occurred that day. This lack of hard evidence led, as if often does, to wild speculations: a UFO with a nuclear reactor had crashed; a powerful electric weapon created by Nikola Tesla was intentionally or accidentally aimed at the area from somewhere across the globe.

In recent years, the Tunguska event has received renewed attention as we realize more clearly that the Earth is at risk at almost any time from a strike from outer space.

8. Crop Circles

I hesitate to include crop circles because I'm nearly convinced that they are all probably manmade. Yet, even though many groups of people have come forward to admit that they have designed and created the sometimes elaborate - and quite often beautiful - crop formations, there remains a diehard faction of believers that insists that at least some crop circles are caused by some unexplained phenomenon.

Crop circles have been reported in nearly every country on Earth. In fact, according to Crop Circle Central, the only major countries that have never reported formations are China and South Africa. Plain round crop circles as we know them began to appear in abundance in the 1970s. But then in 1990, we began to see far more intricate and complex pictograms. Believers suggested they might be a form of communication from extraterrestrials - or from the Earth itself. Those who say they are not manmade point to several peculiarities found in the affected crops: woven stalks, cellular changes in the grain stalks, and strange phenomena experienced by researchers examining the circles, such as unexplained equipment failures, sounds and other physical effects.

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