When the USS Maine blew up in sank in Havana Harbor in 1898, it plunged the United States

in Spain into a costly and bloody war.

And almost immediately, fingers began pointing in all directions over who blew it up.

Was it a false flag attack by the Americans?

Was it done by the Cubans to force the U.S. into a war against the Spanish occupiers?

More than a century later, we have better forensic and other data than ever.

And maybe even the answer to this long-standing riddle.

The USS Maine is coming up next on Skeptoid.

You're listening to Skeptoid.

I'm Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.com.

Who sunk the Maine?

It was just before 10 pm on February 15, 1898, when a blazing orange reflection turned

the waters of Havana Harbor to fire.

The double thuds of massive explosions thundered throughout the city and voices all along

the shoreline screamed as a yellow fireball dotted with countless shards of debris billowed

skyward.

Below it, the dazzle camouflaged USS Maine fatally sundered, slid into the black water.

Even as the first bodies slapped into the bay, people began debating what had happened.

And for more than a century since, few can agree on what sunk the Maine, plunging two great

superpowers into the Spanish-American War.

We'll begin with a quick summary for those of you, either not from Spain or the United

States, or who simply need a refresher on the Spanish-American War.

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