by Sophie (Dec 20, 2004)

The "Bermuda" or "Devil's Triangle" is an imaginary area located off the southeastern Atlantic coast of the United States. Legend has it that many people, ships and planes have mysteriously vanished in this area.

The Bermuda Triangle legend began on the 5th December 1945, with the famous disappearing of the Flight 19. Five Navy Avenger bombers mysteriously vanished on a routine training mission during a severe storm in 1945. The flight was composed of students except for the Commander, leutenant Charles Taylor. The mission called Taylor and his group of 13 men to conduct practice bombing runs. When they had completed their objective, the flight plan called them to fly a distance of 120 miles. This course took them into the triangular way over the sea.

An hour and half after the flight had left, Taylor gave a transmission to leutenant Robert Cox. Taylor indicated that his compasses were not working. He thought that they were somewhere over the Florida Keys (the Keys are a long chain of islands south of the Florida mainland). Cox urged him to fly north, toward Miami if Taylor was sure that the flight was over the Keys.

Apparently Taylor made a mistake. He was an experienced pilot, but he hadn’t spent a lot of time flying when he was going on that day. The headquarter didn’t have any news from them since the last transmission. So rescue planes were sent to search for them. There were six aircrafts and 27 men. They went looking for them, but they didn't know where they were exactly. No trace, no information. From that moment the story of the Bermuda triangle began.

The most logical theory is that Charles Taylor’s compass failed. The trainees' planes weren’t equiped with working navigation instruments. The group was disoriented and they thought that the fuel was running out. It was maybe the force of gravity on planes with no fuel. This plane has not been found yet.

Many theories have been given to explain the extraordinary mystery of these missing ships and planes. Some scientific and some fantastic theories: extraterrestrials, residue crystals from Atlantis, evil humans with anti-gravity devices or other weird technologies, and the fourth dimension are favorites among fantasy writers. Strange magnetic fields and oceanic flatulence (methane gas from the bottom of the ocean), the weather (thunderstorms, hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, high waves, currents, etc...) bad luck, pirates, explosives cargoes, incompetent navigators, and other natural and human causes are favorite among skeptical investigators.

There are some skeptics who argue that the facts do not support the legend, that there is no mystery to be solved, and that nothing needs to be explained. Many ships and planes which have been identified as having disappeared mysteriously in the Bermuda Triangle were not in the Bermuda Triangle at all.

I believe that so many legends are purely fictitious myths. Here are some of them:

The Weather in the Triangle:

It's not by accident that many ships, especially before the 1950s, sunk in this area. The reason can be found in the weather patterns that affect that area. A perfect example of the unpredictable weather in that area came in the form of Hurricane Andrew. 

This devastating hurricane passed through the heart of the Bermuda Triangle, and caused incredible amounts of damage in the northern Bahamas, and also in the south of Florida. 

It is extremely swift (fast) and turbulent and can quickly erase any evidence of a disaster

Many other devastating hurricanes passed through this area over the past 30 years, and caused several ships to sink, even in modern times. Storm systems exiting the United States usually strengthen in the Bermuda Triangle during the fall and winter because the very warm water in that area helps to develop these storms very quickly and sometimes without warning. Today, with weather satellites, advanced radar, reconnaissance planes, and other observation methods, hurricanes and other storms are much more detectable and predictable. Ships can return safely to the land.

Amateur Sailors:

This area is not very good for the inexperienced or unknowledged boater. The Coast guard gets over 8,000 distress calls per year (more than 20 a day). However, most are sailors who have run out of gas or got some other problem. The beautiful area is highly deceptive in its calmness, so sailors are often not prepared for what the sea can throw at them.

Underwater Earthquakes:

Though none have been officially recorded, scientists have found a great deal of seismic activity in this area. In shallow areas, underwater earthquakes have the power to cause such disturbances such as tsunamis in the far east.

This ocean current is extremely strong. It has been reported to move faster than 5 miles per hour in some areas.

The Gas Bubble Theory:

According to serious scientists, a high concentration of gas hydrates exists in this area. So because of this, ships sink quickly and without trace.

There is a lot of boat and airplane traffic over this area. The ocean is a dangerous place. It’s the large Atlantic Ocean traffic.

Methane would reduce the density of the water, and this would make any ship sink like a rock. The highly combustible gas could also ignite aircraft engines and make them fall to pieces.

Aliens:

These disappearances are accidental and not intentional. The victims were in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

It might be an area where the dimensions gate exist. It’s a point of no return. The Bermuda triangle is a portal that aliens use to travel from their planet to ours. It’s not the only triangle in the world. There is the "Pacific Triangle" as well. The "Bermuda and the Pacific Triangles" are linked to other triangles that exist throughout the universe.

And a lot of other theories have been found.... but there are too many. We don’t know yet what the true theory is. 

What do you think about that ??

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