Bermuda Triangle: Encyclopedia - Bermuda Triangle

Bermuda Triangle

The Bermuda Triangle (sometimes known as Devil's Triangle) is a 1.5-million-square-mile (4,000,000 km²) area of ocean roughly defined by Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and the southern tip of Florida. Some believe it is a paranormal site in which the laws of physics are violated or altered.

It is said that within this area a number of ships and airplanes have disappeared under highly unusual circumstances. The United States Coast Guard and others disagree with the assessment of paranormal activity, arguing that the number of incidents involving lost ships and airplanes is no larger than that of any other heavily traveled region of the world.

Another area that is classified by many as having the same paranormal effects is the Devil's Sea, located near Japan.

Bermuda Triangle - History of the Bermuda Triangle

Bermuda Triangle - First citations

The first mention of any disappearances in the area was made in 1950 by E.V.W. Jones as a sidebar on the Associated Press wire service regarding recent ship losses in the area. Jones' article notes the "mysterious disappearances" of ships, airplanes and small boats in the region and ascribes it the name "The Devil's Sea". It was mentioned again in 1952 in a Fate magazine article by George X. Sand, who outlined several "strange marine disappearances". The term "Bermuda Triangle" was popularized by Vincent Gaddis in a 1964 Argosy feature.

Bermuda Triangle - Popularized by Berlitz

The area achieved its fame largely through the efforts of Charles Berlitz in his 1974 book The Bermuda Triangle (right) and its subsequent film adaptation. The book consists of a series of recountings of mysterious disappearances of ships and aircraft, in particular the December 1945 loss of five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo bombers known as Flight 19.

The book was a bestseller and included the various suggestions that had been made to account for the disappearances. Among these were high accident rates due to high traffic volumes; natural storms; "temporal holes"; the lost empire of Atlantis; transportation by extraterrestrial technology; and other natural or supernatural causes.

Bermuda Triangle - Scientific explanations

Bermuda Triangle - Skeptical responses

Critics have charged that Berlitz and others have exaggerated the "mysterious" aspects of some cases (Berlitz himself did not advocate any paranormal explanation), and argue that the Bermuda Triangle sees no more "disappearances" than any comparable area of the oceans. Of note, Lloyd's of London has determined the "triangle" to be no more dangerous than any other piece of the ocean, and does not charge unusual rates of insurance for passage through the area. Coast Guard records confirm this.

Skeptics comment that the disappearance of a train between two stops would be more convincing evidence of paranormal activity, and the fact that such things do not occur suggests that paranormal explanations are not needed for the disappearance of ships and airplanes in the far less predictable open ocean.

Bermuda Triangle - Kusche's research

Intrigued by the number of students coming to him looking for information about the Bermuda Triangle, Lawrence Kusche, a reference librarian with Arizona State University at the time of the Flight 19 incident, began an exhaustive follow-up investigation of the original reports. His findings were eventually published in 1975 as The Bermuda Triangle Mystery: Solved.

Kusche's research revealed a number of inaccuracies and inconsistencies between Berlitz's accounts and statements from eyewitnesses, participants and others involved in the initial incidents. He noted cases where pertinent information went unreported, such as the disappearance of round-the-world yachtsman Donald Crowhurst which Berlitz had presented as a mystery, despite clear evidence that Crowhurst had fabricated the accounts of his voyage and had probably committed suicide. Another example was the ore-carrier Berlitz recounted as lost without trace three days out of an Atlantic port when it had been lost three days out of a port with the same name in the Pacific Ocean. Kusche also argued that a large percentage of the incidents attributed to the Bermuda Triangle's mysterious influence actually occurred well outside it.

Kusche came to several conclusions:

• The proportion of those ships and airplanes reported missing to those travelling through the Bermuda Triangle area was not significantly greater than any other ocean area.
• In an area frequented by tropical storms, the total disappearance of some ships was neither unlikely nor mysterious.
• The number of disappearances had been exaggerated by sloppy research. A boat listed as missing would be reported, but not necessarily its eventual if belated return to port.
• The circumstances of confirmed disappearances were frequently misreported in Berlitz's accounts. The numbers of ships disappearing in supposedly calm weather, for instance, did not tally with weather reports published at the time.

Bermuda Triangle - Methane hydrates

An explanation for some of the disappearances focuses on the presence of vast fields of methane hydrates on the continental shelves. A paper was published in 1981 by the United States Geological Survey about the appearance of hydrates in the Blake Ridge area, off the southeastern United States coast. Periodic methane eruptions may produce regions of frothy water that are no longer capable of providing adequate buoyancy for ships. If this were the case, such an area forming around a ship could cause it to sink very rapidly and without warning. Laboratory experiments have proven that bubbles can, indeed, sink a scale model ship by decreasing the density of the water.

Some writers have suggested that methane hydrate is suddenly released in the form of giant gas bubbles, with diameters comparable to that of the ships purportedly sunk by them. (See Bermuda Triangle mystery solved? It's a load of gas.) This is physically impossible. Even if it were possible to create a sudden, massive release of methane gas from the sea floor as described, the giant bubble would collapse under the pressure of sea water and break into myriad smaller bubbles before it reached the surface. On the surface it would appear as a violent frothing, but this would still reduce buoyancy to a dangerously low level. Although bubbles can be formed in a laboratory tank that are "large" compared to a small-scale model of a ship, the effect does not scale up in nature due to the relationship between the forces of surface tension and gravity.

Methane gas might also crash airplanes. The less dense air causes airplanes to lose lift. Also, an airplane's altimeter functions on the density of air. Because methane is less dense, the altimeter indicates that the airplane is climbing. Pilots at night or in the clouds, where they can't see the ground, assume that they are climbing and dive, causing them to crash. Also, methane in the engine throws off the mix of fuel and air. Aircraft engines burn hydrocarbons (gasoline or jet fuel) with oxygen provided by the air. When the ambient oxygen levels drop, combustion can stop, and the engine stalls. All of these effects of methane gas have been shown experimentally.

Bermuda Triangle - Freak waves

Research has shown that freak, or rogue waves can reach up to up to 30 m (100 feet) in height and are capable of sinking the largest ships within moments. Although these are very rare, in some areas ocean currents mean they happen more often than the norm. Such waves have now been hypothesized as a cause for many unexplained shipping losses over the years.

Bermuda Triangle - Famous incidents

Bermuda Triangle - Flight 19

One of the best known Bermuda Triangle incidents concerns the loss of Flight 19, a squadron of five U.S. Navy TBM Avenger torpedo bombers on a training flight out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on December 5, 1945. According to Berlitz, the flight consisted of expert Marine Corps aviators who, after reporting a number of odd visual effects, simply disappeared, an account which isn't entirely true. Furthermore, Berlitz claims that because the TBM Avenger bombers were built to float for long periods, they should have been found the next day considering what were reported as calm seas and a clear sky. However, not only were they never found, a Navy search and rescue seaplane that went after them was also lost. Adding to the intrigue is that the Navy's report of the accident was ascribed to "causes or reasons unknown".

While the basic facts of Berlitz's version of the story are essentially accurate, some important details are missing. The image of a squadron of seasoned combat aviators disappearing on a sunny afternoon is inaccurate. Rather, it was a squadron of lost, inexperienced flight trainees forced to ditch their out-of-fuel airplanes into unknown stormy waters in the dark of night. As for the Navy's report, it is claimed that the original report blamed the accident on the commander's confusion (Lt. Taylor abandoned his airplanes twice in the Pacific after getting lost returning to his carrier), but the wording was changed in deference to the wishes of his family.

Bermuda Triangle - Depictions on Television

• An episode of Disney's DuckTales (Episode #28: Bermuda Triangle Tangle) left Scrooge a prisoner in the mysterious Sargasso Sea after a search for his missing ships.

• One episode of Rocko's Modern Life featured the main characters going on a cruise which ended up in the Bermuda Triangle. Chaos ensues as the young become old, old become young, and a strange airplane-esque alien appears.

• In Season 6, The X-Files released an episode that featured the Bermuda Triangle. It featured a 1939 story line on a luxury liner from the past that appeared in the present day.

• On December 5, 2005 the Sci-Fi channel began broadcasting its three part series called The Triangle. This series features a theory on electromagnetic disruptions and space-time holes.

• In an episode of Nickolodeon's The Fairly Odd Parents, Timmy's most dangerous wishes are transported to an island in the Bermuda Triangle. Jorgan Von Strangle gives the reasoning that it is so dangerous there, nobody would be crazy enough to go there.

• In an episode of Scooby Doo, they entered the Triangle with the evil captain with many mysterious incidents.

Bermuda Triangle - Cultural references

Barry Manilow sang a UK no. 15 hit in 1981 entitled Bermuda Triangle. It tells the story of a fictional holiday to the area where the singer's girlfriend elopes with a local, but he finds a more than adequate replacement, leading to the uplifting final refrain:

DC Comics’ Paradise Island city-state, controlled by Amazons and the home of Wonder Woman, is located there.

The Marvel Comics series Skul the Slayer was set in a world inhabited by people who had been swallowed by the Triangle, which was actually a trap created by aliens.

Milton Bradley released a board game named Bermuda Triangle in 1975.

Buckethead released an album named Bermuda Triangle in 2002.

See also

• List of Bermuda Triangle incidents
• Chuck Wakely Incident

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Bermuda Triangle", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki