Some call it the “Devil’s Triangle”. Some call it the Triangle. Some call it the Bermuda triangle. In any way, the area from Bermuda Island to Miami that looks oddly like a triangle, is one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the modern age. According to estimates, more than 1,000 people have lost their lives to the Bermuda triangle, with four airplanes and 20 ships losing their way each and every year. There have been several conspiracy theories why the ships disappear, but we will leave it that behind, and focus on some of the weird facts about the Bermuda triangle.
The term was first used in 1964 by Vincent Gaddis, a writer for the Argosy magazine. He was the first one to come up with the phrase, but someone else was responsible for popularizing the term. Some 10 years later, Charles Berlitz discussed that the lost city of Atlantis was real, and is in some way linked with the triangle. He published his theory in “The Bermuda Triangle”, a bestselling book in 1974. Since then, the mystery of the Bermuda triangle has reached international popularity. Now, to the weird facts.
– Some people think the Bermuda triangle is a small area, which cannot be further from the truth. In reality, the area covers 440,000 miles of sea, which is more than the combined area of Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, three very large provinces in India.
– There are three main conspiracy theories that have been popular answers to the question “why ships, boats and planes disappear”. Alien activity, UFOs, and the lost city of Atlantis all make the headlines. There have also been technical, geographical and natural reasons used to explain the disappearances, but people like the aliens more.
– Some people claim they’ve experienced electronic fog in the Triangle, claiming the fog is actually a portal for traveling through time. The main supporter of the claim is pilot Bruce Gernon, the only person in the world who has witnessed the fog. There have been others who have seen parts of the phenomenon, but Gernon claims he lost 28 minutes flying through the electronic fog. The plane was gone from the radar, but then showed up in Miami.
– No remains of a ship, plane or boat have been found in the triangle. When ships disappear, their remains are nowhere to be found. Some claim this only adds to the mystery, while geologists explain that the Gulf is too fast and cleans the remains.
– Inside the triangle, the government of the United States has installed AUTEC, short from Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center. It is where the US navy tests their submarines, sonar weapons and other weapons. However, many believe that the Center located on the island Andros on the Bahamas is more than just a research facility.
– Christopher Colombo wrote about the Bermuda triangle in his journal. He wrote that while he was in the triangle, his compass stopped working and he saw fireball on the sky. Of course, Colombo had no idea he was inside the triangle, but he was writing for the exact same area.
– One of the biggest and most tragic losses came in 1945, when five US navy bombers left for Fort Lauderdale in Florida. They were flying for the small island of Bimini. Fourteen people were part of the mission. Some 90 minutes in the mission, the pilots lost communication with the radio operators, as their compass stopped working. Three other planes went searching for the bombers, but they were also lost and never found.
– Bermuda Triangle is one of the rare places in the world where the compass does not show towards North. Geologists claim this is the main reason why so many ships, boats and planes lose their course in the triangle.
– Famous incidents happened in the Bermuda triangle include the following: 309 people from the USS Cyclops went missing after leaving Barbados in 1918; a yacht was found in 1955, but the crew was missing. The yacht had survived three hurricanes; In 1958, a Douglas DC-3 aircraft went missing. 32 people were part of the crew on the plane; Last, but not least, the US navy bombers mentioned earlier.
