The Year 881 is Unclear, Ba Ba Yi

For some reason I started thinking about the year 881. Why that year, you might ask? I can't really say -- only that it came to me as a question to ponder. We know a lot about the year 81 - Rome is flourishing under Titus and Domitian - and 1881 - Kansas prohibits the sale of alcohol. Even 81 BC seems to have more information.

See! We even know what Titus looked like!  (We all know guys like that! imperiumromanum.pl)

So, we know anything about the year 881? And why did this magical number just jump into my head? It seems the Vikings were quite the deal in 881 - wreaking havoc on Europe much like things we all witnessed in Lord of the Rings.

like this!

But, for 881, in my head I just saw castles, serfs, skirmishes, kingdoms, muck and religious zealots. There had to be something there - some event or famous person. Here's a map around that time for help

It's, of course, a myopic view of the West as being the most important part of the world in 881 (I'm sure the Chinese had sailed much of the Pacific and had gunpowder by then). This isn't a history lesson however - its more about 881. 

Digging deeper I found one direct reference to that year- "A.D. 881. Raghallach, abbot of Bangor died." in the book Monasticon Hibernicum: A History of the Abbeys, Priories, and other Religious Houses in Ireland. (Monasticon! The Comic-Con of the 800s??)

After searching around a bit more I found the gem I was looking for - Charles the Fat! What a name - crowned in 881 as emperor of the Carolingian Empire (basically the Frankish region on that map). Why that name?

I was initially excited about that name and what it might mean for something in 881 but discovered he probably wasn't fat and was only nicknamed that about 300 years later. This is the best I can do...

Charles the Fat

He seems pretty uneventful and doesn't match his nickname, so let's move on....but......one last historical note - check out this historical drawing of the vikings around that time - a bit of a image myth buster, eh?

marauding vikings

As usual I'm rambling - but, perhaps I mistook 881 as being a year (even though there were a few oddities there - I may PS this post in the future when 881 pops up somewhere....)

Interestingly, 881 is a prime number and also a "sacred angel number" according to this post. Look at what it means:

The message of the 1 and 8 combination is telling you that you are nearing the end of a significant phase of your life. Powerful changes and opportunities abound and you are in a position where you are able to command your desires. If there is some part of your life that is not flowing as you'd like, know that it will soon be healed or replaced with better things. 

Did I tune into something from the spiritual world?!? Strangely, my birthday month and day have the numbers 8 and 1 which could be a sign. Could Museum H be in for something bigger and better (preferably 881 posts)?

I will ponder this some more - but, in closing, I discovered that 881 is also used in Chinese text chatting - 8 in Mandarin is pronounced 'ba' and 1 is 'yi' - actually a bit more like 'eee'. So, saying 881 is 'ba ba yi' is a pun for 'bye-bye'! 

 So, 881 my friends, and time for me to go watch my favorite film:

Heuristic: Natural (number)

Where is Kirbey, Yessey?

I have an old framed map of the Soviet Union before its dissolution into sovereign states in 1991 that my Russian language teacher gave me years ago. Sometimes I stand in front of it and stare in a trance at various parts of the map for long stretches of time. While gazing recently during the covid pandemic I noticed that the central part of Siberia in the state, or, federal subject, or region called Krasnoyarsk Krai virtually has no cities or towns (there are some in the far north and south but the center is a void).

But, then I noticed one dot by a lake of a town phonetically called Yessey. Hmmm.....Yessey....what could possibly be there? It's remote with no roads to speak of anywhere within hundreds of miles.

 

Yes, that is Yessey circled in red! You can also see two other towns Cherunda and Ekonda within about 100 miles in this picture as well. 

Apparently Advisor.Travel (who??) seems to suggest Lake Yessey next to Yessey is very nice and has this photo of the lake. (You can see more here).

Thankfully, Fishbrain.com confirms Yessey is also a great place to fish! Look at this young lad with his catch (do I really believe Fishbrain got a shot of a young Russian on Lake Yessey with his catch???)!!

Well, that's not what this post is about even if you do like fishing. I really wanted to see just what the village of Yessey looks like in the middle of nowhere! Ah, Google Maps to the rescue - could I zoom in close enough??  Yessey drivers use Streetview??

  

Clearly, something is going on in Yessey, but alas, no Streetview! How do you get there - seaplane, boat, snowmobile, reindeer sled????  Whatever way you get there you must remain diligent!! Check out the Siberian Times - "Boy was mauled to death by a pack of wolves or wild dogs, say police...(A ten year old boy was ambushed by wild animals close to Lake Yessey in Krasnoyarsk region)"  Besides the wild animals, I just can't find any pictures of the town itself. 

Ok, I know you're completely bored now, but this is where the mystery starts. I thought it might be interesting to find a topo map of the region (don't ask why). Scanning through it I thought I might see some other small villages nearby. 

Much better! You can see Yessey and Lake Yessey and even some nice winter trails (I would guess they are not roads). But, but, but, scrolling eastward about 50-100 miles is a town called Kirbey!

Kirbey isn't on my old Soviet map!! Where did it come from?? Who is Kirbey and how did it get there? In fact, that winter trail (or red dotted line) you see going east out of Yessey in the previous map heads toward Kirbey but veers south! 

Ok, Google Maps, come to the rescue again! 

You can see Yessey on the left circled in red. I knew Kirbey had to be somewhere in that red ellipse on the right. So, using the topo maps and river contours I found where Kirbey should be! Ah.......what is that?

Apparently, something might be there - that white sandbar-looking thing on the river? Google maps was giving me no answers.

After some sleuthing I realized I had to search under the Russian spelling (Кирбей). Not much came up but some documents had this thanks to Google Translate:

State geological map of the USSR on a scale of 1: 200,000. Sheets R-48XXVII, XXVIII (trading post Kirbei) / Compiled by B.Ya. Ponomarev, A.T. Stulov, M.A.

Hmmmmm.....trading post Kirbei.... getting warmer!  Then, some odd Mapcarta site had this:

Kirbey - Also Known As English: Faktoriya Kirbey

Faktoriya Kirbey? A factory town?? Still seems nothing is there! What could it be? My searching really couldn't find much more. My last ditch effort was to try Russian topo maps to see if they had something.

It's there for sure - I see building and structures in that map - Kirbey exists (if you want to find it yourself here are the coordinates - 68.32931596907257, 110.07505534716967)! They are left of that river inlet - maybe something there on Google Maps but it is very blurry. Elon Musk needs to map it down to the inch! 

But, what happened to Kirbey? Who lived in Kirbey? Where are the pictures of Kirbey?  If you ever lived in Kirbey or Yessey - please reach out! I can ask in Russian - Где Кирбей, Ессей??  The mystery haunts me!

Heuristic: Unnatural (Missing man-made)