Bermuda Triangle facts for kids
The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a mysterious area in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean. People say that many aircraft and boats have disappeared there. The weather in this area is often misty and cloudy, except for short times in summer.
Some people think these disappearances are caused by strange, unexplained forces or even aliens. However, many of these stories turned out to be false or exaggerated. It's also not true that insurance companies charge more money for ships traveling through this area.
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What is the Bermuda Triangle?
The idea of the Bermuda Triangle became popular after an article by Vincent Gaddis. He described its corners as Miami, San Juan in Puerto Rico, and Bermuda.
Later writers sometimes changed these boundaries. This means the total size of the Triangle can seem different depending on who is writing about it. Because of this, whether an accident happened "inside" the Triangle depends on which definition you use.
Is the Bermuda Triangle a real mystery?
What did Larry Kusche find?
Larry Kusche wrote a book called The Bermuda Triangle Mystery: Solved in 1975. He looked closely at many claims about the Triangle. Kusche found that many stories were made up, exaggerated, or couldn't be proven.
He noticed that important details were often left out. For example, some writers said a yacht disappeared mysteriously, but Kusche found clear evidence of what really happened. He also found cases where a ship was reported lost in the Atlantic, but it actually disappeared in the Pacific Ocean.
Kusche also discovered that many incidents said to be in the Triangle actually happened far outside its supposed borders. He checked old newspapers from the time of the disappearances. He often found reports of bad weather that were never mentioned in the mystery stories.
Kusche came to some important conclusions:
- The number of ships and planes missing in the Triangle was not higher than in other busy parts of the ocean.
- The area often has tropical cyclones (hurricanes). Most disappearances happened during these storms, which is not mysterious.
- Writers often didn't mention storms or even claimed the weather was calm when it wasn't.
- The numbers of disappearances were often made bigger by poor research. A boat reported missing might have returned later, but this was not mentioned.
- Some disappearances never happened at all. One plane crash was said to be seen by hundreds of people in 1937, but local newspapers had no record of it.
Kusche believed the Bermuda Triangle mystery was created by writers. They either purposely or accidentally used wrong information and made things sound more exciting than they were.
In 2013, the World Wide Fund for Nature studied the world's most dangerous waters for shipping. The Bermuda Triangle was not on their list.
What do experts say?
In 1992, a TV show asked Lloyd's of London, a big marine insurance company, about the Bermuda Triangle. Lloyd's found that no unusual number of ships had sunk there. They also confirmed they do not charge higher insurance rates for ships passing through the area.
The United States Coast Guard agrees with this. They have records that show many of the Triangle stories are not true. They say the number of disappearances is actually very small compared to how many ships and planes travel through the area every day.
For example, a tanker called V. A. Fogg sank in 1972. One Triangle author claimed all bodies vanished except the captain. But the Coast Guard found the wreck and several bodies. Also, this ship sank off the coast of Texas, far from the Triangle.
A TV show called Nova/Horizon also looked into the mystery in 1976. They said, "When we've gone back to the original sources or the people involved, the mystery evaporates." They concluded that ships and planes act the same way in the Triangle as they do everywhere else.
Researchers who are skeptical of paranormal claims, like Ernest Taves, point out that mysteries are very popular. This leads to many books and shows supporting the Triangle mystery, even if they are misleading. They say it's harder for well-researched, skeptical views to get published.
Benjamin Radford, a scientific investigator, explained that finding a lost aircraft at sea is very hard because the search area is huge. He said that even if a disappearance seems mysterious, it doesn't mean it's paranormal. He stressed the importance of checking facts, as the Bermuda Triangle mystery grew because people didn't do this.
Why do people think things disappear?
Even though many experts say the Bermuda Triangle is not a real mystery, some people still try to explain the supposed disappearances.
Supernatural ideas
Some writers use supernatural ideas to explain events in the Triangle. One idea blames leftover technology from the lost city of Atlantis. Sometimes, this is linked to the Bimini Road, a rock formation near Bimini island. Some believe it's a road from Atlantis, but scientists say it's a natural rock formation.
Other theories suggest a parallel universe exists in the Triangle. This could cause a time or space warp that pulls objects into another dimension. Some people even blame UFOs for the disappearances.
Natural explanations
Compass problems
Many Triangle stories mention compasses acting strangely. While some think there are unusual magnetic spots in the area, none have been found. Compasses naturally point to the magnetic north, which is different from true geographic north. Navigators have known this for centuries. The public might not know this, and think a compass "changing" across a large area like the Triangle is mysterious.
The Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream is a powerful ocean current. It starts in the Gulf of Mexico and flows into the North Atlantic. It's like a fast river within the ocean. This current can carry floating objects far away. A small plane landing on water or a boat with engine trouble could be moved a long distance from where it was last seen.
Human mistakes
Often, official investigations find that human error is the reason for a lost aircraft or ship. Sometimes, people make bad decisions. For example, in 1958, a businessman named Harvey Conover lost his yacht, Revonoc, when he sailed into a storm south of Florida.
Bad weather
Hurricanes are very strong storms that form in tropical waters. They have caused many deaths and a lot of damage throughout history. Many Atlantic hurricanes pass through the Bermuda Triangle area. Before weather satellites, ships often had no warning that a hurricane was coming.
A sudden, powerful downdraft of cold air, called a microburst, was thought to have sunk the Pride of Baltimore in 1986. The crew said the wind suddenly got much stronger. A weather expert said these cold air blasts can hit the surface like a bomb.
Methane gas bubbles
Source: United States Geological Survey
One idea suggests that large amounts of methane gas, trapped under the sea floor, could cause disappearances. Experiments show that bubbles can make water less dense. This could cause a ship to sink very quickly without warning. Any wreckage would then be carried away by the Gulf Stream.
The USGS says there are large stores of these methane hydrates worldwide. However, they also say that no big releases of this gas are believed to have happened in the Bermuda Triangle for the last 15,000 years.
Famous incidents
USS Cyclops
The USS Cyclops was a large US Navy ship carrying ore. It disappeared without a trace with 309 crew members after March 4, 1918. It was the largest loss of life in US Navy history not related to war. There are many ideas about what happened, including storms or the ship capsizing.
Two similar ships, USS Proteus and USS Nereus, also disappeared in the North Atlantic during World War II. They were also carrying heavy loads of metal ore. Experts think all three ships likely sank due to structural failure from being overloaded with very heavy cargo.
Carroll A. Deering
The Carroll A. Deering was a five-masted schooner. It was found stuck on a sandbar near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, on January 31, 1921. The ship was completely empty.
At the time, people thought it might have been attacked by pirates. This could have been linked to illegal rum-running during Prohibition. Another ship, the Hewitt, disappeared around the same time. Some think the Hewitt might have been involved in the Deering crew's disappearance.
Flight 19
Flight 19 was a training flight of five US Navy torpedo bombers. They disappeared on December 5, 1945, over the Atlantic. The planes were supposed to fly east, then north, and then back to Fort Lauderdale. They never returned.
Navy investigators believe the planes got lost and ran out of fuel. One of the search planes sent to look for them, a PBM Mariner, also disappeared with 13 crew members. A tanker reported seeing an explosion and an oil slick. The Mariner planes were known to sometimes explode due to fuel vapor leaks, especially when heavily loaded.
Star Tiger and Star Ariel
Two passenger planes, the Star Tiger and Star Ariel, disappeared in 1948 and 1949. Both were British South American Airways planes. The Star Tiger vanished on a flight from the Azores to Bermuda. The Star Ariel disappeared on a flight from Bermuda to Kingston, Jamaica.
Both planes were flying at the very edge of their fuel range. Even a small mistake or equipment problem could have prevented them from reaching their destination.
Douglas DC-3
On December 28, 1948, a Douglas DC-3 plane disappeared while flying from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Miami. No trace of the aircraft or the 32 people on board was ever found. Investigators said there wasn't enough information to figure out why it disappeared.
KC-135 Stratotankers
On August 28, 1963, two US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker planes crashed into the Atlantic after colliding. Some Bermuda Triangle stories claim there were two crash sites far apart. However, research showed that the second "crash site" was actually just a pile of seaweed and driftwood.
Connemara IV
The pleasure yacht Connemara IV was found floating empty in the Atlantic south of Bermuda on September 26, 1955. Stories often say the crew vanished, and the yacht survived three hurricanes.
However, records show that Hurricane Ione passed nearby. The yacht's owner had tried to secure it better because of the approaching hurricane. But the boat dragged its anchors and was carried out to sea by the strong waves after the storm.
Images for kids
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HMS Atalanta
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See also
In Spanish: Triángulo de las Bermudas para niños
