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Psst, hey smarty pants, have you ever experienced an unexplained mystery?
Like, has one of your books or toys or board game pieces ever just...disappeared?
Never to be found again.
What about socks? One day you got a pair and then suddenly one is just...gone!
Do you think it's possible for things to just vanish into thin air?
What about a person?
Or a ship full of people?
Aye, it can happen.
Ah, it's my long lost friend Herman Mickshaw.
I'm never quite sure if you're a pirate or a ship captain or just a guy who talks funny.
I like to be mysterious.
Speaking of trusty narrator, did you know there's a mysterious place where boats, planes and people have vanished without a trace?
Uh, spoiler alert, there is no evidence that solid objects can just vanish.
In fact, a rule of nature called the Law of Conservation of Matter states that matter, like objects, modes of transportation and people cannot just magically appear or disappear.
And when something appears to disappear, like when a snowball melts, the matter is actually just taking a different form.
Ahhh. While I appreciate your fancy science talk, trusty.
When it comes to the Bermuda Triangle, all bets are off.
Ah, yes, the Bermuda Triangle.
I should have known that's where this was going.
After all, it is the name of the episode.
Smarty Pants, have you ever heard of the Bermuda Triangle?
In case you haven't, the Bermuda Triangle is a triangular -shaped area in the Atlantic Ocean defined by three points of land.
There is the US city of Miami, Florida, the US island territory of Puerto Rico, and the British island of Bermuda.
If you have a map or a computer handy, you can search for those three locations.
But you know what you won't find on any official map?
The Bermuda Triangle.
Spooky! Well yes, the US sport of geographic names won't put something on an official map that's not actually there.
What is there is simply ocean.
Then how do you explain all their missing vessels, planes, and people?
I've got questions.
As do I. Like, why is the Bermuda Triangle the site of so many mysterious disappearances?
What strange phenomena have been reported there?
And could there actually be something about this part of the earth that does cause matter to vanish into thin air?
It's time for another whiff of science and history on...
...the morning! Lots of fun on who's smarted!
Believe it or not, the Bermuda Triangle has mystified people for centuries.
After all, we humans just love a good mystery.
And this particular patch of ocean has seen its fair share of disappearances and strange occurrences.
Even old Christopher Columbus noted in his log that in this very stretch of the Atlantic, his compass malfunctioned and he saw a strange, eerie light floating in the night sky.
Which could have been a meteor or a distant campfire on a nearby mountain.
The compass reading we'll get to in a minute, but keep in mind, it's common for people to speculate or concoct explanations for things they don't understand.
What about the 50 or so ships estimated to have disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle?
One minute there, sailing along!
The next? Gone! Well, that's a lot of ships to disappear in one area, right, smarty -pants?
But before you get totally spooked, let's put it into context.
And by context, I mean let's investigate all the surrounding information.
In the case of the 50 -plus ships that went missing near the Bermuda Triangle, you have to understand that these disappearances occurred over a span of 40 years, not all at once.
Another thing to consider is the Bermuda Triangle is located just off the coast of the USA, a nation that engages in a lot of trade, meaning these waters get a lot of sea traffic.
More boats means more mishaps.
And when you consider the average number of sailing vessels that go missing in other well -trafficked parts of the ocean, the Bermuda Triangle averages about the same.
Oh yeah? What about the missing airplanes?
Oh, that's right, McShaw.
Twenty planes have also gone missing above the Triangle, most notably the infamous Flight 19.
If you don't mind, I'll tell the tale.
It was 1945. Five US Navy planes carrying a crew of fourteen souls took off from Fort Lauderdale, Florida in a routine training exercise.
They never returned.
They may have gotten lost and ran out of fuel, but no one knows for sure since no physical evidence was ever found.
No wreckage, no bodies, no nothing.
Whoa! What makes it even weirder and more tragic is a rescue plane went out looking for him and that plane and its crew went missing too.
Yikes! It wasn't long after that that the legend of the Bermuda Triangle was born.
And by legend, I mean a story that's been passed down over time, but has never been fully authenticated.
I, like lost treasures, unicorns, and UFOs.
Greetings, Earthlings.
Allow me to offer a theory on the Bermuda Triangle.
Shiver me timbers, it's an alien.
Oh, hello there. The smarty pants and I would love to hear your theory.
Some Earthlings believe aliens, like me.
Visit your planet and borrow humans to study.
So when things mysteriously disappear from Earth, we aliens get the blame.
Oh, so basically using a legend to explain a legend.
Of course, a more grounded scientific theory involves magnetic disturbances.
Sounds... disturbing.
A magnetic disturbance would be very disturbing if you're using a compass to find your way.
Smarty pants, do you know how a compass works?
The needle in a compass always points north thanks to the magnetic force of the Earth which runs from the north to the south pole.
However, in certain places there can be magnetic interference or a disturbance causing a compass to malfunction.
It's possible the Bermuda Triangle is one of those places.
And if so, a ship captain or airplane pilot would be unable to rely on their most important navigational tool.
This could easily cause them to get lost at sea until they ran out of fuel or food.
Makes more sense than aliens, which haven't been proven real either.
Q -U -F -O sound effect.
Bye. A -F -O sound effect.
So, trusty. Mystery solved?
Well, Mickshaw, as much as I'd love to be the one to solve the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle, the concept of magnetic disturbance can't account for all the disappearances that have taken place.
Why not? Because the zone of magnetic disturbance changes over time.
so while it's possible the Bermuda Triangle may have once been the site of a magnetic disturbance it wouldn't account for all the ships and planes that have gone missing over the years and since no wreckage has ever been found there's no evidence to prove it I've got a theory!
Shiver me goosebumps it's the ancient Greek god of the sea!
oh hey Poseidon welcome to who smarted what's your theory?
the secret behind the Bermuda Triangle is the lost city of Atlantis Atlantis?
Yep Atlantis an island continent once ruled by an advanced society until it sunk into the sea It's been said a mysterious power connected to Atlantis could be influencing the Bermuda Triangle oh boy another legend I'm not finished the two -eye stone a powerful firestone crystal that sank with Atlantis had
the power to operate as a source of energy reduce the gravity of certain objects and even reverse human aging perhaps this crystal is the cause for I'm gonna stop you right there no offense Poseidon but I need to give the smarty pants some context on the story of Atlantis first of all the legend of Atlantis was written
by Plato an ancient Greek writer philosopher around 360 BC his writings indicate the legend of Atlantis took place a good 9 ,000 years before he was born and was passed down through oral tradition most people today believe Plato's take on the lost continent was a purely fictional story I should also point
out in the story Plato included you Poseidon as the ruler of the sea why yes I named the island and surrounded waters for my son Atlas right which means your theory for the Bermuda Triangle is linked to another legend involving powerful crystals from Plato's fictional island of Atlantis which was protected
by you Poseidon a product of Greek mythology which is as far as anyone knows also fiction you see my problem I do back to the sea I go I'm hearing a lot of legends but something is seizing real ships with real crews what can it be well let's consider some other dangers at sea that could cause problems
for ships does anything come to mind smarty pants hang on to that thought we'll be right back now back to who smarted so what potential danger surrounds every boat in the ocean sharks no something that can actually harm a ship any thoughts smarty pants did you say waves most ships even ones built centuries
ago were built to withstand ocean waves however scientists who study the ocean known as oceanographers speak of extra large waves they call rogue waves shiver me pantaloons not a dreaded rogue wave a wave is determined to be a robe if it's at least twice the height of the waves rising before and after it
originally rogue waves were also considered a legend but in the past few decades there's been enough research to prove they exist I knew it but could a rogue wave knock over a ship maybe or picture a giant wave rising up from below a ship if the wave were high enough and powerful enough it could lift
the boat out of the water causing it to snap in half in the middle whoa of course rogue waves aren't the only danger at sea for instance take the Gulf Stream a warm rapidly moving current that passes through the waters of the Bermuda Triangle the Gulf Stream is known to cause abrupt weather changes
like tropical storms and then there's water spouts a water spout is basically a tornado over water some are harmless but the ones associated with tropical storms can be dangerous for swimmers boats and guess what else planes I trusty I think we've got enough scientific booty to explain the mysteries
of the Bermuda Triangle let's call it a day what more could there be well there is one more possible explanation it'll sound as weird as aliens or ancient crystals but I promise you this one is grounded in science smarty pants see if you can tell the real phenomena from the fake is it a giant poisonous
seaweed be fish mucus or sea ocean farts ocean farts why not fish farts or whale farts or octopus farts well smarty pants would it surprise you to learn ocean farts are real whoa now I've heard everything not only are ocean farts real some scientists believe they have the power to sink a ship what now
when I say ocean fart I'm referring to the gas methane commonly found on earth that lives below the seafloor if there's a buildup of methane in one particular spot under the sea it can be released in an eruption of bubbles that if large enough could capsize or overturn a passing ship not only that it's
suggested that the gas release could be great enough to affect an airplane passing over the wrong place at the wrong time the problem is as fast as the ocean is it would be nearly impossible to catch one in action it's tough to predict when a fart's gonna happen while it's a sound theory it's impossible
to prove ocean farts were responsible for any disappearances around the Bermuda Triangle which means we're right back to where we started and so the legend of the Bermuda Triangle lives on oops excuse me an extra special shout out to mom Stacy and her daughter Amelia in Wappinger's Falls New York we're
so proud and grateful that who smarted is part of your daily routine Amelia thanks so much for being part of our who smarter family this episode the Bermuda Triangle was written by Jenna Hoban and voiced by Brandon Bayless Sheffield Chastain Adam Tex Davis and Jerry Colbert technical direction and sound
design by Josh Hahn who started is recorded and mixed at the relic room studios our associate producer is Max Comaskey the theme song is by Brian Suarez with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex Davis who smarted was created and produced by Adam Tex Davis and Jerry Colbert this has been an atomic
entertainment production
