Enigma: Bermuda Triangle

This was first published in press and brought in front of the general eye by Vincent Gaddis in 1994 in his article published in Argosy magazine. He named it “The deadly Bermuda Triangle”. Is it a solved mystery as most newspaper headlines and some credible YouTube thumbnails claim it to be or is it still very much a location shrouded in mystery? Pull up your socks as I am going to walk you through some intense and interesting ideas.

The Bermuda triangle, also known as the Devil’s Triangle is located off the Southeastern coast of the US in the Atlantic Ocean, between Bermuda, Florida and Puerto Rico, the region has become the center of unresolved mysteries. This is also referred to as “Dragon’s triangle” but why? For starters, the term ‘dragon’ in the Devil Sea’s name originates from the Chinese fable about dragons existing below the water surface who are believed to be attacking vessels passing by to satiate their hunger. These fables have originated well before the AD period – 1000 BC era. With their emphasis on the presence of mythical creatures like dragons, these fables have made a huge impact on the legends and mysterious stories created in the years to come. Similarly, the Japanese name “Ma-No Umi,” which means the Sea of the Devil, has also haunted the minds the breaths of Japanese which kept them away from stepping into or at least looking into that area of water. That’s a quite a mouthful of fables isn’t it? But maybe they contain elements of truth because will any opposition to these fables solve any confusion about Bermuda? Not really.

Wondering what a vile vortex is? Vile Vortices are areas on the earth’s surface which have naturally occurring anomalies. These occur due to the planet’s natural electromagnetic fields being stronger in these parts. Vile Vortices are spread equally in 12 parts across the Tropic of Cancer, the Tropic of Capricorn and include the North and the South Pole.

Back to Bermuda! It is said to have consumed by now 75 aircrafts 100+ ships and 1000+human lives. Has it been happening lately even after the mystery has not ceased to exist? Of course. The most recent event reported was on 28th of December 2020. A boat with 20 people left Bimini in Bahamas which was supposed to arrive in Lake worth in Florida on 29th December. The boat travelled through an area encompassing the Bermuda triangle and went missing. It’s not returned yet. US guards have searched at least 17,000 square miles and found nothing remaining a mystery to date.

Also tracing back to history, there are many such incidents related to all ships and airplanes that went missing without a trace. The story of the ship named “Mary Celeste” was discovered stranded on the sea days after commencing its journey from New York to Genoa, Italy, on December 4, 1872. Everything on board was in place except for the complete crew comprising of Captain Benjamin Briggs, his wife, and their two-year-old daughter. A passing British ship, the Dei Gratia, discovered Mary Celeste under partial sail in the Atlantic, with its cargo barrels found to be empty, and a sword on the deck. There was no trace of the people.

Also to bring to your focus another deadly mystery of a commercial schooner named Carroll A. Deering is one of the most written-about maritime enigmas of the 20th century due to the mystery surrounding the incident. A team of investigators however could reach the schooner days after to find a deserted ship with its all-crew members missing along with the crew’s personal belongings, ships navigational equipment, logbooks, and life rafts, among others. This was famously called “Ghost Ship of the Outer Banks”. Plus, along with Carroll A. Deering, few other ships went missing during the same time. This has been valuable information on the mysterious waters, but nothing could bring anyone any closer to solving this mystery. No concrete reasoning has not been put forth so far as what causes this disaster. But of course, meteorologists and scientists discuss reasons for this in detail in spite of the mystery Bermuda still doesn’t let us unravel.

Aliens and paranormal activities are considered as possible causes for this by those who believe something odd is happening. But scientific experiments reject it by offering both rational reason and phenomena. Among the few proposed scientific explanation, the more popular theory is of electromagnetic interference that causes compass problems. This theory claims that there is a very high pull of the earth’s natural magnet, which redirects the compass and other sophisticated equipment, and disallows them to take their intended route through the waters. However, as no single theory could offer a concrete explanation, many still believe there is nothing strange with the region as most of the incidents have been inaccurately reported or fictionalized versions of the accidents. In 2016 a team of scientists from the University of Colorado analyzed satellite images of this area and noticed a series of hexagonal clouds. They said that they might act like air bombs. These air bombs are believed to cause deadly blasts of air which exceeds a speed of 170 miles per hour. They are hurricane force winds and can blow up the air and trigger sea waves as high as 45 feet in the air.

In this “what’s known” situation, still a lot is to be solved, unraveled and dealt with. No one knows the exact number of ships and airplanes devoured by the devil’s triangle. Also, wreckage of many ships and airplanes reported missing in the region has not been recovered. It is not known whether this is a result of human activity or alien impetus. Will the dark mystery of this devil unravel with holy water of scientific reason? Yet to be seen.

– Rtr Udani Jayalath