# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/41 "2013-01-06T23:59:07Z")
> [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](#): > > Plenty of ships have _gone missing_ at sea, but as for being _misplaced_ the first example that springs to mind is the infamous USS Indianapolis, which was forgotten about for three days. Quoth Wikipedia: > > \>\>\> “But this man says that he spent three days in the water with his friends being eaten by sharks.” \<\<\< [Quint explains](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9S41Kplsbs) ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/42 "2013-01-07T04:47:54Z")
The [Terracotta Warriors](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_Army)? Or the tomb itself, really. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/43 "2013-01-07T05:08:42Z")
The planet Pluto. ---
**Author:** ![sansan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@sansan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sansan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/44 "2013-01-07T06:10:09Z")
> [@K364](#): > > This made me think of [Commandments 11-15](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I48hr8HhDv0) > > Carry on. In my world, “thou shalt not make a small lasagne” is #11. The cave that housed the dead sea scrolls was rather large. Its location was lost for a thousand years or so. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/45 "2013-01-07T06:21:32Z")
Wasn’t the Titanic lost for a while? ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/46 "2013-01-07T06:29:42Z")
Missed Window: From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic#Aftermath_of_sinking): A number of expeditions were mounted to find Titanic but it was not until 1 September 1985 that a Franco-American expedition succeeded. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/47 "2013-01-07T06:51:31Z")
The [Explorer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub_Marine_Explorer), possibly the first successful submarine, was lost for over 130 years. Certainly not the largest thing ever lost though. ---
**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 7, 2013, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/48 "2013-01-07T09:29:59Z")
My feet are pretty large; I sometimes lose them, only to find them in my mouth. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![nion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nion)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/49 "2013-01-08T06:04:51Z")
> [@Gleena](#): > > The [Terracotta Warriors](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_Army)? Or the tomb itself, really. Maybe I’m thinking of a different tomb, but wasn’t this the one that further in was supposed to have a scale village with mercury for the waterways? Experts supposedly have a good idea where it can be found, but the government refuses to let them excavate, is what I heard. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/50 "2013-01-08T06:20:35Z")
> [@nion](#): > > Maybe I’m thinking of a different tomb, but wasn’t this the one that further in was supposed to have a scale village with mercury for the waterways? Experts supposedly have a good idea where it can be found, but the government refuses to let them excavate, is what I heard. Well, yes. But the entire complex was lost for over 2000 years. > **[Terracotta Army](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_Army)** > > The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting him in his afterlife. > The figures, dating from approximately the late 200s BCE, were discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Lintong County, outside Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. The figures vary in height according to their rank, the tallest being the generals. The figures inc... ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/51 "2013-01-08T08:17:14Z")
How about the Western/Wailing Wall in Jerusalem? It was (supposedly) buried under an accumulation of garbage until the Ottoman Sultan Sulemain located it and gave it to Jerusalem’s Jews as a place for prayer. ---
**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 8, 2013, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/52 "2013-01-08T09:01:02Z")
Huh? Unless they were cutting off a lot of their own right hands without anyone noticing, Jews hadn’t forgotten Jerusalem. ---
**Author:** ![midnight-dreary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@midnight-dreary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/midnight-dreary)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/53 "2013-01-08T09:13:20Z")
They didn’t say Jerusalem was lost. They said the wailing wall was lost… ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/54 "2013-01-08T12:07:24Z")
King Tut’s tomb? It’s bigger than my kitchen! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/55 "2013-01-08T12:41:15Z")
Losing ships to sinking is one thing. How about the [Baychimo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Baychimo), which was spotted on and off for over 30 years after it was abandoned. ---
**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 8, 2013, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/56 "2013-01-08T13:09:58Z")
> [@midnight-dreary](#): > > They didn’t say Jerusalem was lost. They said the wailing wall was lost… I’d be willing to bet any good Talmud student could tell you how many _feet_ the distance is from any major landmark in Jerusalem to the Wester Wall. There are a ton of commandments/mitzvot to preserve just such information. ---
**Author:** ![midnight-dreary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@midnight-dreary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/midnight-dreary)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/57 "2013-01-08T14:30:50Z")
Many sites ell of that story, and I’ve heard it before. [http://mosaic.lk.net/g-wall.html](http://mosaic.lk.net/g-wall.html) > **[Sultan Salim Uncovering the Western Wall by Rabbi Mendel Weinbach zt'l](https://ohr.edu/604)** > **[Sensitivity training: An interview with Rabbi Ruth Langer](https://uscatholic.org/articles/200908/sensitivity-training-an-interview-with-rabbi-ruth-langer/)** > > Catholics need to learn more about their Jewish brothers and sisters, Rabbi Ruth Langer says, so they don't make the same mistakes all over again. Whether it’s actually true, well I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/58 "2013-01-08T16:40:54Z")
The Amber Room wasn’t really all that big; I mean it would be difficult to lose tons of amber (or to steal it), but it was about 22x22, nothing like losing a ship. ---
**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 8, 2013, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/59 "2013-01-08T18:17:16Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Missed Window: > > From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic#Aftermath_of_sinking): A number of expeditions were mounted to find Titanic but it was not until 1 September 1985 that a Franco-American expedition succeeded. I’m pretty sure everyone knew it was down there _somewhere_, it was just a question of what the Titanic’s exact position was when it went down. Is “inaccessible” the same as “lost”? ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185/60 "2013-01-08T19:28:39Z")
Not exactly a big item, but the body of Eva Peron disappeared for years. To make sure some devotee doesn’t try to abscond with it, the present day tomb in Argentina is a quite elaborate affair, with different subterranean levels and trapdoors. The Argentines had originally planned some grand monument for her grave after her passing, and an enormous block of white jade was imported from Asia. I don’t know what ever happened to the jade. ~VOW [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-physical-thing-ever-lost-forgotten-about-misplaced/646185.md?page=4)