Bermuda Triangle

[ElectricitySwift]

Hi all, bit of curiosity, what is the bermuda triangle, is it a vortex?...a rip in the earth, a magnetic field?...what exactly makes those planes dissapear I'm baffled!!

[Torgo]

Its nothing. Literally. There is nothing special about the "Bermuda triangle." There are no more disappearances of planes and ships there than in any other similarly trafficked area of the sea. I dont know how many millions of flight and boat rides have gone through that high traffic area, but you would expect a few to encounter problems. What has happened there is no different than what has happened elsewhere, however few other areas of the ocean are as well trafficked as there so there are more stories from there because more boats and planes GO there.

[aquatus1]

Absolutely true. The Bermuda Triangle Mystery is a non-mystery, created almost whole cloth by a certain man known for the creative use, and outright manufacture, of the truth.

I personally worked in the triangle region for three years on an ocean-going tugboat. Not a single anomaly, in all that time.

[Marby]

I have to throw in my two cents here.

There is nothing unusual, supernatural, or otherwise strange about The Bermuda Triangle. I grew up on it, fishing, snorkeling, flying over it, sailing on it, and my grandfather made his living fishinig on it. Storms brew up fast due to the fact that you have the warm Gulfstream cutting through cold water, but if you catch the patterns and watch the marine forecasts, you can avoid disaster.

Lloyd's of London has stated, having insured many a merchant vessel that use this high traffic area, that there are no more disappearances/unexplained events there than there are on any other patch of ocean.

Most of the more "famous" cases of vanishings have been embellished, sensationalized, and delivered with very little fact attached to them. Usually a bit of digging will show that there was bad weather involved, the people in question were found dead or alive, and other circumstances, such as inexperience, contributed to the problem. Even Flight 19 is pretty well explained, as they were student pilots saved for one, and that one was not familiar with the area. No wreckage? No problem. The Gulfstream is funny that way, and something that wrecks in one spot can end up broken up and far away rather fast.

Nothing to see here.

Edited February 1, 2009 by Marby

[Corthos]

I think a lot of the feelings towards the Bermuda Triangle stem from the old sailing vessel days, during which it WAS a particularly dangerous area of ocean, due to unpredictable wind currents in the area. Many ships were 'lost' in the triangle due to becoming becalmed for months & simply being stuck at sea with no way to move. Or the reverse would happen & they would get caught in a sudden tropical storm & sink with no way to send messages. Oncebetter technology came about, these dangers went away, but still it was considered to be a 'cursed' area where ships and sailors would myseriously vanish, so any sort of unusual disappearance there gets more publicity.