Nessie no longer top mystery monster.

Nessie mystery overtaken!

By Laurence Ford

Published: 03 September, 2009

WHEN it comes to the greatest unsolved mysteries in the last 100 years, Nessie has been left floundering in the murky depths by an unlikely competitor – much to the annoyance of a Loch Ness stalwart. For the true identity of The Stig, the anonymous racing driver who appears in the BBC's Top Gear show, has taken the top spot in a poll of the biggest mysteries of the last century. Nearly a quarter of those surveyed voted the celebrity enigma into first place above long-standing folklore, urban legends and unsolved crimes.

In the findings, the legendary Loch Ness monster took 16 per cent of the vote, with The Stig out in front scoring 24 per cent. But this week, Loch Ness ambassador Willie Cameron, of Loch Ness Marketing, poured cold Highland water over the findings.

He said: "Undoubtedly, the greatest unsolved mystery as far as the world is concerned is 'Is there a man in the moon' or 'what is the Loch Ness monster?'. I do not think The Stig comes into it one bit, at all." All you have got to do is go to any country in the world – China, Thailand, the deepest Congo – and the greatest mystery is 'What is in Loch Ness?'." Nessie wasn't the only mysterious creature to infiltrate the UK poll, with both Cornwall's infamous Beast of Bodmin and America's Bigfoot resting in sixth and ninth place respectively. US conspiracies also littered the top 10, with voters naming the death of Marilyn Monroe, the Roswell alien autopsy and the more sinister question of who really killed JFK as more of this century's biggest mysteries.

The top 10 UK mysteries of the century were:

1 – The true identity of The Stig (24 per cent)

2 – The Loch Ness Monster (16)

3 – Who killed JFK? (12)

4 – The disappearance of world-famous racehorse Shergar (11)

5 – The death of Marilyn Monroe (10)

6 – The Beast of Bodmin (8)

7 – The disappearance of Lord Lucan (7)

8 – The Roswell alien autopsy (6)

9 – Bigfoot (4)

10 – Bermuda Triangle (2)

And Albert Jack, author of Ten Minute Mysteries, said: "People have an innate thirst for the truth and seek out answers to the unknown. With all the attention The Stig has been getting, it's no wonder that the mystery of his true identity is number one in this UK survey." The research was commissioned to celebrate the launch of Doritos iD3, the first snack launched with a mystery flavour, inviting consumers to work it out and win £20,000.

l.ford@spp-group.com

http://www.highland-news.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/6189/Nessie_mystery_overtaken!.html