The Disappearance of Amelia Earhart: A Cultural Phenomenon

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Due to how influential Amelia Earhart was, the world wanted to know what happened to and how. Even though the government had given up and declared her lost at sea, the people still had hope that she could be found. Locals and foreigners reported to each other on things that could be related to Earhart and could lead to more clues on her whereabouts. Right after the official search ended, Putnam funded a private search by local authorities around Gilbert Islands. Well into July, he continued the search remotely on the other surrounding islands in hopes of finding his wife Amelia. 

A piece of shrapnel washed ashore Nikumaroro island. It was believed to be part of the Electra that Earhart had crashed and deserted in the ocean. The reasoning behind this was that the Electra had a custom-made covering that was improvised during repairs on the airplane and upon thorough investigation this piece had matched that custom-made part installed on the Electra. More parts were believed to have been on the island so people began to go out and search. 

Another discovery was made around Nikumaroro which consisted of a beauty case that was believed to belong to Earhart during her time on the island. In the case were products contained in glass bottles and upon examination one of the bottles had traces of Campana Italian Balm which was a popular American hand lotion in the 1930s. Another bottle had the word “Mennen” imprinted on it which was the brand name for an American company. 

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