Go Tokyo Your Experience
Amelia Earhart, a pioneer in breaking gender barriers in aviation
In an era where female pilots were still considered rare, the legendary American pilot Amelia Earhart broke through societal barriers. She not only became one of the few women with a flight license at the time, but also the first female pilot to fly alone across the Atlantic. Her story demonstrated extraordinary courage, inspiring countless people to challenge traditional societal norms, and to this day, it still holds profound inspiration for many.
However, Amelia’s life did not end perfectly like her flying feat. In 1937, she mysteriously disappeared while attempting to complete a global flight, and her remains have not been found to this day. What’s even more chilling is that the search and rescue team once discovered a suspected skeleton of her on an isolated island, speculating that she may have been eaten by a huge coconut crab.
Early Growth: Brave Women Who Break Gender Expectations
Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas, USA in 1897 and grew up in an open-minded family. Her mother has always encouraged her to bravely try things that are not suitable for women in society, and has cultivated her courage to break traditional gender roles since childhood. In 1920, she took her first flight during a flying performance, which completely changed her life. Just a few minutes of flying experience made her determined to learn how to fly an airplane. In the second year, she began to receive flight training and obtained a pilot’s license in 1923, becoming one of the few women at the time to hold a pilot’s license.
In an era when women had relatively low social status, many professions and achievements were seen as exclusive to men, especially adventurous professions such as flying. However, Amelia aspires to break these stereotypes through her flying achievements and encourage more women to pursue their dreams. Her flying career quickly achieved great success, including becoming the first woman to fly over the Atlantic as a passenger in 1928, and then flying alone again in 1932, this time piloting a plane herself. Her feat not only made her a globally renowned aviation pioneer, but also a symbol of women’s independence and strength.
Mysterious Disappearance: Tragedy in Global Flight
However, a circumnavigation mission in 1937 became the end of her life. On July 2nd, Amelia and her navigator Fred Noonan were flying towards Howland Island in the Pacific Ocean. This flight has been going on for 6 weeks, covering a distance of over 20000 miles. However, just as they were about to arrive at Howland Island, the two suddenly went missing. Experts speculate that their plane may have lost its direction due to overweight and insufficient fuel, and ultimately crashed in an unknown location.
Although the general view is that Amelia’s plane may have crashed and sunk deep into the Pacific Ocean, there is also another possibility that she and Fred made an emergency landing on the coral reef of Nikumaro Island (then known as Gardner Island) near Howland Island. There are also rumors that several nights after the plane crash, there were radio signals calling for help coming from the island.
Coconut Crab Mystery: Mysterious Bones Discovered
In 1940, British colonizers discovered some human bones on the island of Nikumaro, only 13 of which were suspected to belong to Amelia Earhart. In order to further confirm the identity of these bones, they were sent to Fiji for analysis. There are different opinions on the analysis results. Some people believe that these bones belong to a short male, while others believe that they belong to an adult female.
A more terrifying speculation is that Amelia may have lived for a period of time after the accident and was eventually eaten by the giant coconut crabs that inhabit the island.
This huge invertebrate has legs that can reach up to one meter, often feeds on coconuts, and even preys on large animals. It is said that coconut crabs can gnaw on corpses in a short period of time and scatter their bones on the island.
The International Historic Aircraft Recycling Organization (TIGHAR) has conducted multiple experiments on the island and found that these coconut crabs can indeed decompose animal remains and bring them back to their nests in a short period of time.
Amelia Earhart’s Legacy: Courage and feat endure forever
Although Amelia Earhart’s disappearance remains an unsolved mystery to this day, her courage and heroic deeds have left a profound mark on history. She fearlessly faces difficulties and challenges traditional societal norms, becoming a symbol of women’s pursuit of independence and freedom.
Even more than 80 years after her mysterious disappearance, Amelia’s story still inspires countless people to bravely pursue their dreams and break the shackles of gender. Although her ending may not be as brilliant as her flying career, her spirit and influence will forever exist in the sky of history.