In March 1918, the USS Cyclops disappeared in the area of the triangle, and so too did aircraft Flight 19 in December 1945. Both losses provided fuel to the belief in the mystery, and elevated qualities of supernatural boundaries related to the “Bermuda Triangle.”

The Gulf Stream consists of strong ocean currents, and is said to be a significant factor in the disappearing of the vessels associated with the Bermuda Triangle.

It is claimed that within the Bermuda Triangle, a magnetic compass points in the direction of true north. However, such a claim has since been deemed as inaccurate. In past years, the area was affected by compass variation due to fluctuations in the Earth’s magnetic field. Still by the time the nineteenth century came around, this case had been dismissed.

Up to this moment, there is no evidence of any US Government issued maps that identifies the boundaries dedicated to the Bermuda Triangle.

The infamous legend of the Bermuda Triangle is one that has generated much scepticism, interest and controversy. Situated in the Western North Atlantic Ocean, the Bermuda triangle is bound by three locations – San Juan, Puerto Rico and Bermuda – and since its emergence in the 1940’s, continues to plague the modern American society. Having earned a rather sinister reputation through the plethora of “unexplainable” and mysterious disappearances of both aerial and sea vessels, this iconic legend also continues to be of importance to historians studying the American society in which the legend originated from. In particular, the influence of the media and their wish to profit from the Bermuda Triangle, sceptics and pseudo-scientific reports, the willingness of the American society to believe in superstitious and somewhat absurd theories, the scientific research that has been promoted to try and prove the various theories of the Bermuda Triangle spurred by the American media and public and the impact that the disappearance of Flight 19 had on the American military are some of the American society’s issues which historians consider important when studying Bermuda Triangle.

For historians studying the emergence of the Bermuda Triangle, it is clear that the legend originated and developed from exaggerated and speculative stories published by the media and conspiracy theorists. The abnormal activities of the Bermuda Triangle were recorded by Christopher Columbus on October 11, 1942: “…standing on the quarter-deck saw a light, but so small a body that he could not affirm it to be land…moving up and down” (Bermuda Triangle, 2005). However, it was not until the disappearance of Flight 19 on December 5, 1945 – “disappearance of…five aircraft…and one of the rescue planes” (Quasar 1971) – that the current mystery of this legend stems from. Immediately after the disappearance, newspaper and magazine articles were published which distorted fact from fiction. The influential role of the media has not only cultured a highly controversial legend of the Bermuda Triangle and its “paranormal” qualities but has also woven fear in the American society. For example, unique names were assigned to different areas of the region including “’Sea of Doom’, “’Graveyard of the Atlantic’ and “Sargasso Graveyard”” (Quasar 2004). Another example is Sands’ article, “Sea Mystery at our Back Door”, which first appeared in Fate magazine. These forbidding names serve to highlight the extent to which the media has manipulated the American society.

The American media has also sought to gain profit from “stories” in relation to the Bermuda Triangle. The appearance of the Bermuda Triangle in films, books, documentaries and television programs has accumulated over the years. Most of the sources have exaggerated and fabricated stories of the legend, generating a trail of false and ludicrous theories. It is clear to a historian studying the Bermuda Triangle that the American media has a tendency to focus on the “bad” and emotionally-evocative aspects of the Bermuda Triangle. For instance, Charles Berlitz published two books on the Bermuda Triangle (“The Bermuda Triangle”) which sold “20 million copies in 30 languages and made Berlitz a rich man” (Oxlade 2007). This led to television programs, interviews, fame and created substantial publicity of what may not be a mystery at all. Moreover, documentaries by the National Geographic (2008) also seem to hyperbolise the Bermuda Triangle, “To say quite a few ships and airplanes have gone down there is like saying there are an awful lot of car accidents”.

By only pinpointing on “negative” evidence of the disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle, a false image is portrayed. This problem of the media in society has been exacerbated by films such as “Lost in the Bermuda Triangle” which has portrayed the legend for the purposes of entertainment rather than telling the truth. Mostly true to the qualities of a movie, it lacked accurate historical sources and featured fictional aspects of the Bermuda Triangle. Much like the media, these movies have profited and toyed with society’s emotions, by inaccurately exaggerating the Bermuda Triangle. Not surprisingly, the movies have been produced in America and this reflects the willingness of the American society to theorise explanations of the Bermuda Triangle.

With the increasing number of mysterious disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle, society’s proposal of theories – by pseudo-scientists and conspiracy theorists – to explain the Bermuda Triangle pseudo-scientists and conspiracy theorists have only gained momentum. These theories have shown how the American public are susceptible to the historically inaccurate stories of the Bermuda Triangle as posted by the media. There have been simple theories such as human factor as explained by Chris Oxlade (2007), “Mistakes by ships’ crew and aircraft pilots can cause accidents…navigational errors…mechanical failures”. But society has also postulated weird theories such as the UFOs. According to Quasar (2004), John Spencer “proposed, “aliens”, used the…Bermuda Triangle as a “catching ground” for “specimens” for Earth”. Others include Ivan Sanderson’s claims “that there could be advanced civilisation [Atlantis]…below the Bermuda Triangle and that ships…are taken there”, black holes, giant squids and a third dimension. The sheer number and the foolishness of some of these theories reflect a society marred by stupidity, gullibility and the superstitious nature of society. National Geographic (2008) claims these theories “have all been suggested by culprits”. It portrays a society that is willing to hypothesise and use these to explain the Bermuda Triangle. Historians will discover that the majority of the American society only takes note of the strongly distorted media and not the real factual evidence that is supported by reputable scientists. It is evident, that the Americans have relatively poor judgement skills and do not tend to “think outside the box”, in this case between fact as well as fiction.

However, the theories and Americans vulnerability to believing such things also represent a society that is vigilant in finding the answers to the “mysterious” disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle. Although some of the theories may be naïve, they epitomise the yearnings of mankind and society. Society has always endeavoured to think of the weird and the wonderful to explain somewhat paranormal activities. With the atomic age, society “has long wondered about the possibilities of travelling through time…speed of light…black holes” (Quasar 2004). It is in society’s blood to interpret events such as the Bermuda Triangle, improvise them and then extrapolate them to fit into our current frame of mind and technology. For example, the ancient Roman society believed that there were foreign objects in the sky – naves in aerae uisse sunt (“ships in the sky are seen”) (Quasar 2004). With the exponential growth in technology, this train of thought as a manifestation of society’s ideas has transformed into the ideas of UFOs, flying saucers and extraterrestrial life which have been used to explain the disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle.

The disappearance of Flight 19, as aforementioned, and the subsequent emergence of the Bermuda Triangle, has also been important for historians studying the American military society. Historians learn how the American army responds to the disappearances involving any military vehicle over the Bermuda Triangle and how the overall status of the American military has been diminished. Flight 19 disappeared only months after the end of WWII, which had already claimed 418, 500 American lives. Having already lost so many lives, the last thing America wanted was to add to the casualty count. As a result, the family and friends of Flight 19 and the global media constantly pressured the American military society for answers as to the sudden disappearance of Flight 19 in the Bermuda Triangle. Under intense pressure, the American army provided that answers of following “The cause of the disappearance was originally “pilot error,” but family members of the pilot leading the mission couldn’t accept that he had made such a mistake. Eventually they convinced the Navy to change it to “causes or reasons unknown,” (HowStuffWorks, 2008). In addition to large demands from families and the media, the once mighty American army that had prevailed in WW2 had lost its reputation in the disappearance of Flight 19 during a simple, training exercise. The first line of defense in war could not even protect itself as it vanished, forever tarnishing the status of the American army. Analysing the American military on how it responds to issues regarding sudden vanishes and the number of vessels that have met their doom at the hands of the Bermuda Triangle and the diminishing of the American army’s reputation is a major factor for why historians should study the society in which the legend of the Bermuda Triangle arose.

It is essential, if not vital, for historians to analyse the American society from which the legend of the Bermuda Triangle was born. Historians may be able to understand how the American media profits from all the events that have arose from the Bermuda Triangle, the many sceptic and pseudo-scientific reports that have been created, the eagerness of the American society to believe in paranormal events and bizarre theories generated by the American media and the damage that has been caused on the American military by the disappearance of Flight 19. Examining these myths will enable historians to gain another perception towards the American society after the disappearance of Flight 19 and the birth of what would become one of the world’s most controversial legends of all time, the Bermuda Triangle.

What makes the Legend of the Bermuda Triangle unique from other waters around the globe is that no other area “…challenges mankind with so many extraordinary and incredible events, for this is where far more aircraft and ships have been in fair weather, sending out no distress messages and leaving no wreckage or bodies” (Quasar 1971). In the last twenty – five years alone, a disturbing number of seventy-five aircraft and hundreds of pleasure yachts have mysteriously vanished.

Be careful while traveling this route.

The most famous disappearance in the Bermuda triangle is the one of Flight 19 that occurred on 5th December 1945th. It was about five U.S. Navy aircrafts that disappeared without trace in that area while having a routine training. Six other spacecrafts, sent to find Flight 19, also vanished without a trace, with a total of 27 missing Marines.

Supposedly, even Columbus on his voyage to the New World saw strange lights over this area, but probably what he saw could be a meteor falling.

There are several theories about the disappearance of ships and aircrafts in the Bermuda triangle, of which the most attractive is the one that is suggesting the possibility of encountering a “black hole” in which the passengers and objects have disappeared into, falling into another dimension.

However, the latest scientific studies have found that the loss in that area is actually possible because of the existence of negative gravity, which prevents the proper display direction of the compass. This is a large area with many islands that all resemble each other, so it is very easy loose orientation even when following the route.

This is exactly what happened to Flight 19 – because the Marines were no longer able to determine whether they are flying over Mexico or Florida and in which direction should they fly until they ran out of fuel. For such a large area it is difficult to find a crashed plane that can easily disappeared under the surface of the ocean.

After all, in the Bermuda Triangle is the deepest point of the Atlantic Ocean. As regarding ships, it was discovered that the area under the sea is generated by underground earthquakes of such strong power that they are able suck up the entire ship.

But, you are mistaken if you think people still avoid the Bermuda Triangle. Because of many disappearances of thousands of crew on the ships, including ships and aircrafts, tourism is Bermuda is in its full blossom, in this ‘twilight zone’!

Image via Wikipedia

The first instance of disappearance in the Bermuda Triangle was reported by  Edward Van Winkle Jones in the year 1950.  Disappearance of Flight 19, a group of five U S Navy TBM Avenger bombers on a training mission is considered to be most famous among all disappearances.  Main reason for this is the supposed availability of the flight leader’s recording which says “We are entering white water.  Nothing seems right.  We don’t know where we are.  The water is green, no white”.  This became fodder for people like George X Sand, who introduced supernatural element to these disappearances.  Vincent Gaddis also contributed to this through his articles.  Other famous disappearances are that of Mary Celeste (brigantine merchant ship), Ellen Austin (ship), USS Cyclops (crew of 309 disappeared), Spray (fishing boat), Carroll A. Deering (schooner), Douglas DC-3 (aircraft with 32 people disappeared), SS Marine Sulphur Queen (T2 Tanker), Connemara IV (Pleasure Yacht), Raifuku Maru (Japanese vessel), KC-135 Stratotankers (aircraft belonging to the US Air Force), Star Tiger (aircraft) and Star Ariel (aircraft).  

Larry Kusche, a research librarian from Arizona State University pointed out to the fact that the claims of disappearances were exaggerated and unverifiable.  Some were outright inaccurate.  For example, it was reported that an ore carrier was lost in the Bermuda Triangle.  But the fact was that it was lost in the Pacific Ocean.  The records with United States Coastguard proves that the number of disappearances are relatively insignificant considering the traffic in this region.  

Bermuda Triangle will remain to be the most prominent among the mysteries manufactured by the human mind.

Reference:

http://www.bermuda-triangle.org/

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In this book, author Bruce Gernon has suggested a never before theory—electromagnetic. Mr. Gernon himself has been experienced the time twisted incident twice. He researched into the phenomenon upon his experiences and with other pilots who had been undergone the almost same strange phenomenon such as Charles Linberg., he finally came out with the theory.

Usually, they noticed, a fog will form in no time and it sticks to the planes or ships and gradually blanketed them into a grayish, sometime lightning cloud. Following the incident, they noticed the electrical equipment will be dysfunctional. Compass will run erratically, people will feel uneasiness, dizzy and panic. The first time he experienced the incident was when he piloted with his father and a friend.

On December 4th 1970, they flew from Florida to Andros Island. It was an usual flight routine but he never forget about the happening in his life. They were trapped by a huge grayish cloud. It seemed like a tunnel where the flight was blanketed inside. Mr. Gernon was only able to peek through the tunnel of cloud. The situation onboard was getting more erratic. He knew he had to lose the cloud but wherever the flight goes, it followed.

Luckily for Mr. Gernon, he was able to control his plane and managing it carefully out of the cloud. After landing, he discovered that the usual journey of 75 minutes flight, he reached destination for only 47 minutes. After years of researching, he proposed a new theory – electromagnetic fog. In his opinion, the ever expanded cloud is the result of the electromagnetic of planes and boats. When surrounded by the cloud, either the pilot will experience what Mr. Gernon has experienced which is either travel longer or shorter, or worst, becomes another disappeared flights in the region. He also thought that Flight 19 had the same experience as he did.

And in 1996, he once again encountered with the mystery fog and managed to survive with his calm composure. After two times of narrow escapes, he finally has an explanation of the phenomenon.