The Bermuda Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil’s triangle, is a section of the North Atlantic Ocean, next to North America, that draws a triangular shape among Florida, Bermuda and the Greater Antilles. The term “Bermuda Triangle” was used for the first time in an article by Vincent H. Gaddis, written for Argosy magazine in 1964. In the article, Gaddis described this strange portion of the sea in which many ships and planes had disappeared with no reasonable explanation. And he wasn’t the first one to get to this realization: in 1952, George X. Sands, in a report in Fate magazine, started to notice the pattern of that region.
So, in this cursed and mysterious area, more than fifty ships and twenty aeroplanes are said to have been disappeared for one reason or another. The first reports of the unexplained occurrences happening in the region belong to the half of the 19th century, when several ships were discovered completely abandoned in the area, for no apparent or logical reason. This is probably the most unusual and disturbing thing about the Devil’s triangle: no distress signal has ever been sent from any of those ships. Aircraft have sent “all is good” messages and then mysteriously disappeared when flying in the area, and the same goes for rescue missions. Furthermore, wreckage is said to have been found in just a small amount of cases! All of these factors come together into one of the most famous mysteries even known to man, on which many amusing and different hypothesis have been theorized by scholars and fans.
Theories
Among those, we surely find many geophysical and environmental theories and factors that could contribute to this area’s supposed dangerousness. One of the most accredited in this field is that of the agonic line: which, easily put, means that pilots have apparently failed to account for magnetic compass variation, which resulted in navigational errors and fatalities. It is even said that Columbus himself noticed this abnormality when travelling to the American Continent. In fact, on his route to the New World, he said to have seen a “great flame of fire” – which historians have almost surely identified as a meteor- which crashed into the sea, and a strange light which appeared a few weeks later. Furthermore, he signalled that compass readings were completely erratic, because in the Bermuda Triangle the real north meets the magnetic one.
And that is not all. Some other famous individual was connected to the Bermuda Triangle, and not in the best way possible: Joshua Slocum, the first person to sail solo around the world, disappeared in 1909 on a trip from Martha’s Vineyard to South America. No one knows exactly where, but many blame the Triangle for his premature death.
Another popular theory is that rogue waves are responsible for the disappearance of vessels and ships. Rogue waves are, in fact, 100 feet – or 30.5 meters- tall waves, which have, theoretically, the power to completely destroy all evidence of a ship or a plane. The Bermuda triangle is, as one might imagine at this point, in an area of the Atlantic Ocean where storms from several directions converge, making this phenomenon more common than in many other spots.
Others instead theorize that methane eruptions from the floor of the ocean might be suddenly turning sea into a froth, which does not encapsulate the ability to support the weight of ships, making them sink. To be fair, though, there is no proof of this happening in the Bermuda Triangle in the last 15.000 years.
But what about the freaky creepy stuff?
One of the paranormal explanations is based on Atlantis, the mythical lost city and its mesmerizing technologies. Apparently, the story of this city refers to under water rock formations known as Bimini Road, so neatly displaced that they represent the walls and floors of Atlantis. So, how does this even remotely relate to the Bermuda Triangle?
That’s how: the legend of Atlantis says that this city heavily relied on energy deriving from magic and powerful crystals, which radiated grand amounts of energy, also known as death rays. The latter apparently brought navigational instruments of passing ships to malfunction; the ships would then either get completely lost or destroyed by the power of the rays.
Another interesting explanation, even if slightly less original, involves UFOs, as depicted in Steven Spielberg’s science fiction movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, in which Flight 19, one of the most famous cases of planes disappearing from the area, was abducted by aliens.
Several books have even hypothesized that the disappearances might be happening because of a technologically advanced race living under water. Yes, like mermaids, but much more intelligent and dangerous.
Other relevant mentions in literature and art are the “Limbo of the Lost”, a book about the triangle, and a feature documentary on the subject “The Devil’s Triangle”, which came out a couple of years later.
We shan’t forget Shakespeare, which with his play “The Tempest” enhanced the aura of mystery and attractiveness of the mythical spot. This wonderful play was in fact, according to scholars, based on a real-life Bermuda shipwreck.
Famous Cases
Among the most relevant cases of mysterious disappearance of vessels and planes in the Bermuda Triangle, is the USS Cyclops sinking, one of the first actually registered. In 1918, the 542-foot-long Cyclops, which transported coal, made an unscheduled stop at Barbados to take some additional supplies, and then completely vanished. The ship was expected in Baltimore, Maryland, and coming from Bahia, Salvador. Trademark of the Bermuda Triangle is that no wreckage from the ship was ever found nor there was any distress signal. This is, as of today, the biggest lost in Naval History from the U.S that does not involve combat. The loss due to this accident were in fact very significant: 306 people between crew and passengers lost their lives.
Some, though, claim that the sinking could have happened anywhere between Barbados and Baltimore, and that there is no proof that this took place precisely in the Bermuda Triangle.
On the matter, President Woodrow Wilson later said: “Only God and the sea know what happened to the great ship”.
In 1941, then, two of the Cyclops’ sister ships followed the first ship’s destiny, disappearing without a trace almost on the same route.
Another famous cause is that of the SS Marine Sulphur Queen, a tanker ship carrying molten sulphur, which disappeared from the southern coast of Florida in the year 1963. The crew of the ship was never found and the same goes for any wreckage or possible remain. Weird, right?
Skeptics remind us, though, that some reports indicate that the ship was damaged to start with, and should have never been allowed to travel at all. Conversions consequences and the compromised structure of the ship made it a sure disaster just waiting to happen.
The last and unforgettable case is the aforementioned flight 19, in which 14 men took off with their 5 Navy bombers from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in December 1945. The purpose of their mission was to conduct practice bombing runs over some nearby shoals. Apparently, though, the leader of the mission, flight 19, had a compass malfunction and got lost, which resulted in the five planes flying aimlessly around, until forced to ditch at sea because finally out of fuel. Needless to say, they weren’t left alone to die: a rescue plane was sent out, with 13 men on board. They also disappeared. After weeks of endless searches and no evidence whatsoever, the official Navy report claimed that it was “as if they had flown to Mars.”
Even though we all love Atlantis’ theory, as much as the other very interesting ones, some say that trying to find a unique reason to all of these accidents would be as trying to find a sole reason for all the car crashes in Colorado. Even though it is true, as previously mentioned, that storms, reefs and the Gulf Stream can make that area a tiny wee tricky to sail, there is no proof that it is actually more dangerous than others. On the topic, the U.S. Coast Guard has declared: “In a review of many aircraft and vessel losses in the area over the years, there has been nothing discovered that would indicate that casualties were the result of anything other than physical causes. No extraordinary factors have ever been identified.”
Even if you won’t find proof of the existence of this place anywhere, nor you will see its name on any maps, the Triangle, legend or not, has inspired an increasing number of books, series, films and music, and for a good reason! The place is surely filled with mystery and fascination.
And with no means to discredit those of you who actually believe that the Bermuda Triangle is nothing but a well thought legend, we are still not going to go there for a swim or take a cruise anywhere around it. Just to be safe.
Author Letizia
References
http://www.unmuseum.org/triangle.htm
https://www.britannica.com/place/Bermuda-Triangle
https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/bermuda-triangle
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