# What was the largest physical thing ever lost, forgotten about, misplaced? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 5, 2013, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185 "2013-01-05T19:23:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/1 "2013-01-05T19:23:15Z")
Ie not something like a galaxy, which we never knew of once, or that we “forgot” that there was a mountain in front of our airplane, or that airplanes can be used as missiles. “The Lost Continent”: ok. This once. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/2 "2013-01-05T19:32:23Z")
I’ll start out with those planes buried in the Burma jungle. I’ve heard it listed as 30, 60, 200. All different numbers. Either way, it’s a lot of planes to forget about. > **[Buried squadron of spitfires discovered in the Burmese jungle after being...](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2239771/Dozens-WWII-spitfires-buried-jungle-Burma-flying-years.html)** > > David Cundall (pictured), who tracked down the planes in the jungle in Burma, said he hopes they will be flying at air shows within three years. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/3 "2013-01-05T19:36:41Z")
The Amber Room. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/4 "2013-01-05T19:41:18Z")
Vinland. The Vikings lost a whole damn continent. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/5 "2013-01-05T19:52:21Z")
Some pretty huge ships have been lost at sea. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/6 "2013-01-05T19:54:03Z")
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon - If they ever existed… ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/7 "2013-01-05T20:01:51Z")
Macchu Pichu or maybe Tikal. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/8 "2013-01-05T20:02:20Z")
the Lost Generation ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/9 "2013-01-05T20:05:03Z")
For nearly 200 years, it was forgotten that this statue of the Buddha was made of 6 tons of solid gold: [Golden Buddha (statue) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Buddha_(statue)) ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/10 "2013-01-05T20:27:31Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > For nearly 200 years, it was forgotten that this statue of the Buddha was made of 6 tons of solid gold: [Golden Buddha (statue) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Buddha_(statue)) Even Wiki lost that one. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/11 "2013-01-05T21:47:38Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I’ll start out with those planes buried in the Burma jungle. I’ve heard it listed as 30, 60, 200. All different numbers. Either way, it’s a lot of planes to forget about. > > [Dozens of WWII spitfires found buried in the jungle in Burma could be flying again within three years | Daily Mail Online](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2239771/Dozens-WWII-spitfires-buried-jungle-Burma-flying-years.html) Wonderful story. Nice video with vets. And you can pay to fly a Spitfire! Who knew? I was also thinking also there might be some ships they forgot about–sort of Twilight Zone stuff. Isn’t the Macchu Pichu example sort of like the Coliseum, etc., at Rome, the Pyramids, Sphinx, etc.? Just saying. I like the Amber Room. But that was stolen, and I presume broken down, although it would be nice to think some Dr. Evil is playing with his cat in it somewhere. ETA: The Lost Chord ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/12 "2013-01-05T22:07:56Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > For nearly 200 years, it was forgotten that this statue of the Buddha was made of 6 tons of solid gold: [Golden Buddha (statue) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Buddha_(statue)) Botched coding fixed. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/13 "2013-01-05T22:29:32Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Isn’t the Macchu Pichu example sort of like the Coliseum, etc., at Rome, the Pyramids, Sphinx, etc.? Just saying. Machu Picchu was lost to the outside world from the fall of the Inca Empire in the early 1500s, until it was visited by Hiram Bingham in 1911. The locals of course knew there were ruins there, but no one outside the immediate area knew of it for almost 400 years. Tikal was abandoned about 950 AD. While again local people were aware of the ruins, it was not visited by outsiders or made known to the outside world until 1848. Of course, since the Coliseum, Pyramids, Sphinx, etc were in or near major cities they continued to be well known even though ruined or abandoned. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/14 "2013-01-05T22:36:46Z")
[Adama] The 13th Colony: Earth [/Adama] ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/15 "2013-01-06T00:03:50Z")
There are several examples of cities that were lost. Babylon was buried and “rediscovered” (though apparently the locals continued to use the name Babil for the mount it was buried under so it might be something like Machu Picchu). Troy might be an even better example as it appears even the locals were ignorant of it. Even for cities that we have always known about, there are incredible amounts of forgotten stuff buried underneath them. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/16 "2013-01-06T00:18:37Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > There are several examples of cities that were lost. > > Babylon was buried and “rediscovered” (though apparently the locals continued to use the name Babil for the mount it was buried under so it might be something like Machu Picchu). > > Troy might be an even better example as it appears even the locals were ignorant of it. > > Even for cities that we have always known about, there are incredible amounts of forgotten stuff buried underneath them. And there’s a distinction between things that were lost by or forgotten about by the entire human race and things that were lost or forgotten generally but remembered or retained by a small group of people/tribe/monastery/etc. For example, the Book of Enoch (Enoch 1) was thought by most of the world to be lost until a copy was found in Ethiopia. Codex Sinaiticus was never really “lost”, it was just forgotten about by everyone outside this one monastery in Egypt where it was “found” by Tichendorf. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/17 "2013-01-06T00:59:14Z")
Well, the US Government cannot figure out where $2 billion (handed out after the New Orleans hurricane (Katrina)) went. Almost $20 billion disappeared in Iraq. The US Government probably cannot account for all kinds of stuff-mostly military equipment (most of it was misappropriated or stolen). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/18 "2013-01-06T01:06:37Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Well, the US Government cannot figure out where $2 billion (handed out after the New Orleans hurricane (Katrina)) went. Almost $20 billion disappeared in Iraq. The US Government probably cannot account for all kinds of stuff-mostly military equipment (most of it was misappropriated or stolen). **Moderator Note** **ralph124c** , this is obviously not the kind of thing called for by the OP. Let’s stick to the subject. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/19 "2013-01-06T02:46:49Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Of course, since the Coliseum, Pyramids, Sphinx, etc were in or near major cities they continued to be well known even though ruined or abandoned. Was Akhetaten/Amarna completely lost before the modern excavations started? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/20 "2013-01-06T03:41:31Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > The Amber Room. This was my first answer. My second would be Angkor Wat. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185.md?page=2)