We all must have heard about the term “Bermuda Triangle” before. Known by various names like the Hoodoo Sea, The Limbo of the Lost or even the Devil’s Triangle, this region has become the centre of unsolved mysteries.
Where is this cryptic section of the ocean located? It is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda, Miami and Puerto Rico forming a triangle whose exact boundaries are vaguely agreed upon. This region encompasses an area close to 500,000 square miles.
The triangle is known for witnessing several paranormal activities that have occurred over the years. Some of them include, aircrafts mysteriously disappearing, people losing lives and ships travelling through the region, never to be found again. The enigma of the Bermuda Triangle is that more aircrafts and ships will vanish than any other place in the world, in circumstances that would seem impossible to disappear. In total 75+ aircrafts, 100+ ships, and 1000+ human lives have been engulfed by the ocean in this particular place over the past years.
Though the US government does not recognise the Bermuda Triangle as an actual geographic location or threat, its legends have painted a picture of death, mystery, and fear which entices its readers to deviate from scientific theories to rather imagine much more exciting myths and fables.
This arcane portion of the ocean has been discussed elaborately in movies, documentaries and books over the past century. The term Bermuda triangle was first mentioned by Vincent Gaddis in 1964 in an article he published in The Argosy magazine. The stories of the Bermuda Triangle began in the 15th Century during the time of Christopher Columbus who reportedly saw a flame of fire striking the sea along with strange light in the triangle on his first voyage to the new world.
In 1918, the US Navy’s largest and fastest fuel ship, the USS Cyclops, vanished without a trace en route from the Caribbean to Baltimore with 309 crew members on board.
Then, in 1945, the legend of the Bermuda triangle began to grow when five TBM Avenger torpedo bombers took off from a naval base in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean before completing their mission.
There have been several similar cases regarding the mysterious disappearance of various ships and aircrafts never to be found again, with the most recent one taking place on 28th December 2020. A boat with 20 passengers was supposed to reach Lakewood, Florida from the Bahamas but never made it to its destination after going missing in the Bermuda triangle.
So what are the possible theories that have emerged over the years which explain these mysteries? More importantly, which ones are likely to be true and which ones are myths to be debunked?
Many theories suggest the classic “alien explanation”. People have shared accounts of seeing strange lights appearing the sky and suddenly going off accompanied with chilling noises or “chants”. While there’s no particular reason to believe aliens are behind any of the Bermuda Triangle accidents, aliens are always a convenient scapegoat whenever there are unexplained disappearances.
As we know this region is also called the Devil’s Triangle. It is believed that all the lives lost (which are in thousands) have been an offering to Satan. These people have been “sucked in by Satan” and dragged into the “fiery pits of hell” which certainly doesn’t leave any chance of survivors.
Some more stories give explanations like the Bermuda Triangle being the location under which the city of Atlantis submerged. It is said that the power and charge of Atlantis is what causes these mysterious disappearances. Legends say that the battered souls and demons of Atlantis attack the ships and aircrafts in spiteful revenge.
Another popular theory is “time travelling”. People claim to have experienced time-lapse while travelling through the triangle which may result in loss of track during the tunnelling. Mr Bruce Gernon reports that he lost 28 minutes while flying over the Devil’s Triangle and found himself on Miami beach which was 100 miles farther than his source. All this travelling according to him hardly took a few seconds. Even the plane went off the radar during that time, only to re-emerge in Miami within seconds.
Of course, this mythical theories are rather far-fetched and moreover emerge from people’s imaginations when scientific ideas are just not satisfactory.
Coming to the more rational explanations of these incidents, theories related to magnetic fields, water sprouts, human errors offer some more possibilities which try to explain the reason behind these strange events.
The most popular one is the magnetic field lines theory. It talks about electromagnetic interference that causes compass and other sophisticated devices to redirect multiple times in the Triangle. It is said that here the earth’s magnetic pull is extremely large and that earth’s geographic north and magnetic north line up preventing the compass to point to true north, resulting in the vehicles being thrown off course.
Another explanation suggests that the Bermuda triangle is prone to ghastly tornados, hurricanes, strong moving winds and high waves which would easily capsize boats and prove to spell disaster for pilots and captains. These waves hit with no warning and have the capability to knock out planes flying closer to the water as well.
While these are some really intriguing and interesting theories, others believe there is nothing wrong with the Bermuda Triangle. Since no single theory could offer a concrete explanation, many assume that these accidents are simply human errors. For those looking for a compelling mystery, you might be disappointed by this explanation. But there are numerous mistakes that cause multiple accidents every year, both in the air and on the sea. Slight confusion by the pilot or caption can unravel deadly consequences. The Bermuda Triangle has multiple islands that can be hard to distinguish from one another, which can add to the confusion.
All in all, The Bermuda Triangle is certainly a riveting legend to read and learn more about. Looking at the various accidents, mythical and scientific theories, one can assume that almost anything can happen in this strange region where the line between fact and fiction is rather blurred. The secrets of this triangle are claimed to have been unearthed, but we yet do not have definitive explanations about the same. Don’t forget to comment your opinions about possible theories and secrets related to these abstract incidents in the Devil’s triangle.
Nicely done!