Curious About The Bermuda Triangle

PODCAST 209: CURIOUS ABOUT THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE

RELEASE DATE: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2ND, 2022

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST, SEASON NINE.  OCTOBER JUST STARTED YESTERDAY, SO THAT MEANS THAT IT’S THE BEGINNING OF SPOOKY SEASON.  IN THE SPOOKY SPIRIT, WE ARE GOING TO COVER A TOPIC THIS WEEK THAT IS STRANGE AND MYSTERIOUS.

O:  DOUBLE-MAILBAG!

D:  DOUBLE MAILBAG!

“WE LOVE YOUR PODCAST AND LISTEN ON THE WAY TO AND FROM SCHOOL.  WE HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS LIKE WHY LEOPARDS HAVE SPOTS, WHAT WAS THE EARTH LIKE BEFORE DINOSAURS, THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE, AND WHAT IS THE FOURTH DIMENSION?  THANK YOU AND KEEP UP THE FANTASTIC EPISODES.”

• FROM ANA (AHNA), EMMA, AND AUDEN OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

“HELLO!  MY NAME IS CHARLIE AND I AM 7.  MY BROTHER, BEN, AND SISTER, CLAIRE, AND I LOVE YOUR PODCAST.  WE ARE HOMESCHOOLING THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC AND YOUR PODCAST HAS BEEN A GREAT TOOL TO USE FOR OUR SCHOOL DAYS.  THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING SUCH INTERESTING INFORMATION ABOUT SUCH FUN TOPICS!  I AM VERY INTERESTED IN THE WEATHER AND HAVE ENJOYED LISTENING TO THE PODCASTS YOU HAVE MADE ABOUT IT.  WE WERE WONDERING IF YOU COULD GET CURIOUS ABOUT THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.  WE HEARD IT MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE WEATHER.  KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!!”

• FROM CHARLIE, BEN, AND CLAIRE OF CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA. 

O:  HOLY SMOKES.  THOSE WERE SOME FANTASTIC MESSAGES WE RECEIVED ON FACEBOOK.  WE ARE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE THIS WEEK FOR ANA (AHNA), EMMA, AUDEN, CHARLIE, BEN, CLAIRE, AND LAM, FROM VIETNAM, WHO ALSO SENT US A MESSAGE ON FACEBOOK. 

D:  ALL OF THE LISTENERS OLIVIA JUST NAMED HAVE BEEN WAITING A LONG TIME FOR US TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE, SO WE CAN’T WAIT TO FINALLY LEARN MORE ABOUT IT THIS WEEK.  

O:  BEFORE WE DO, WE WANT TO GIVE A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO LAM AND ALL OF OUR LISTENERS FROM VIETNAM.  LAST SEPTEMBER, OUR AMAZING LISTENERS IN VIETNAM MADE CURIOUS KID PODCAST THE NUMBER ONE EDUCATIONAL PODCAST FOR KIDS IN VIETNAM.    

D:  ISN’T THAT AMAZING?  WE ARE SO LUCKY TO HAVE PEOPLE TUNING INTO THE PODCAST FROM VIETNAM, A BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY THAT ALSO HAPPENS TO BE FAR, FAR AWAY FROM THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.  OLIVIA, WHAT’S THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK?

O:  THERE IS A MYTHICAL LOST CITY THAT WAS FIRST DESCRIBED BY THE GREEK PHILOSOPHER PLATO IN THE YEAR 360 BC.  SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT THE CITY WAS SWALLOWED UP BY THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.  CAN YOU GUESS THE NAME OF THE LOST CITY?  

D:  THAT’S A HARD ONE, SO I’LL GIVE YOU A CLUE.  IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE LOCATION WHERE LEGEND SUGGESTS THE LOST CITY IS LOCATED.  PAY CLOSE ATTENTION, BECAUSE OLIVIA IS ABOUT TO REVEAL WHERE THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE IS LOCATED.  

O:  THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE DOESN’T HAVE AN EXACT LOCATION, BUT IT IS CONSIDERED TO BE THE AREA IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN THAT WOULD BE INSIDE AN IMAGINARY TRIANGLE DRAWN BETWEEN FLORIDA, PUERTO RICO, AND OF COURSE, BERMUDA.  THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE IS VERY BIG, COVERING ABOUT 500,000 SQUARE MILES.  

D:  NOTHING SEEMS SO UNUSUAL ABOUT THAT, UNTIL YOU CONSIDER THE STRANGE THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED INSIDE THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.

O:  MANY AIRPLANES AND SHIPS HAVE DISAPPEARED IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE, AND THERE DOESN’T SEEM TO BE A GOOD EXPLANATION FOR IT.  

D:  FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, PEOPLE HAVE REPORTED STRANGE THINGS HAPPENING IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.

O:  CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS EVEN CLAIMED THAT HE SAW A HUGE FLAME CRASH INTO THE OCEAN WHILE HE WAS TRAVELING THROUGH THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.  A POSSIBLE EXPLANATION FOR THE FLAME IS THAT IT COULD HAVE BEEN A METEOR.

D:  IT WASN’T UNTIL JUST OVER 100 YEARS AGO THAT MORE STRANGE ACTIVITY STARTED TAKING PLACE IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.  A NAVY CARGO SHIP BY THE NAME OF THE USS CYCLOPS SANK IN IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE IN MARCH OF 1918.  EVEN THOUGH THE CYCLOPS WAS ABLE TO SEND A DISTRESS CALL TO OTHER SHIPS TO LET THE OTHER SHIPS KNOW THAT IT WAS IN TROUBLE, A DISTRESS CALL WAS NEVER SENT.  

O:  THEN, IN 1941, TWO OTHER SHIPS THAT WERE DESIGNED JUST LIKE THE USS CYCLOPS DISAPPEARED IN ABOUT THE SAME SPOT.  

D:  IN 1945, FIVE NAVY BOMBERS LEFT FORT LAUDERDALE ON A PRACTICE MISSION.  THEIR COMPASSES STOPPED WORKING, SO THEY COULDN’T NAVIGATE THROUGH THE AIR.  THEY EVENTUALLY RAN OUT OF FUEL AND DISAPPEARED.

O:  TO MAKE THINGS EVEN CRAZIER, A RESCUE PLANE WAS SENT SEARCHING FOR THE NAVY BOMBERS, AND IT VANISHED AS WELL.  

D:  ALTOGETHER, AROUND 20 AIRPLANES AND 50 SHIPS HAVE GONE MISSING IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.  

O:  BUT, HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN?  HOW DO AIRPLANES AND SHIPS SIMPLY DISAPPEAR?  IT’S IMPOSSIBLE, ISN’T IT?

D:  IT IS, BECAUSE PLANES AND SHIPS DON’T SIMPLY DISAPPEAR, SO THAT’S WHY THERE ARE MANY THEORIES THAT TRY TO EXPLAIN ALL OF THE STRANGE ACTIVITY IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.  LET’S DISCUSS A FEW OF THE MOST POPULAR, AND MOST INTERESTING, THEORIES OUT THERE.  

O:  ONE THEORY IS THAT METHANE GAS MIGHT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR SINKING SHIPS IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.

D:  METHANE HYDRATES, WHICH ARE GASSES THAT ARE FORMED NATURALLY, CAN CAUSE BUBBLES TO FORM.  IF ENOUGH BUBBLES FORM, THAT LOWERS THE DENSITY OF THE WATER, PREVENTING THE WATER FROM SUPPORTING THE WEIGHT OF HEAVY SHIPS.  

O:  IF YOU LISTENED TO OUR EPISODE ON BOATS, YOU LEARNED THAT THE DENSITY OF THE WATER SUPPORTING A BOAT HAS TO BE GREATER THAN THE DENSITY OF THE BOAT ITSELF IN ORDER TO KEEP THE BOAT FLOATING.    

D:  AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, IT WOULD TAKE AN INSANE AMOUNT OF BUBBLES TO LOWER THE WATER DENSITY ENOUGH TO SINK A BOAT.  SCIENTISTS SUGGEST THAT THIS THEORY IS UNLIKELY THE CAUSE OF THE DISAPPEARING BOATS IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.

O:  IN ANOTHER THEORY THAT MIGHT BE MORE LIKELY, THE CAUSE OF THE STRANGE ACTIVITY IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE MIGHT BE BECAUSE OF THE WAY COMPASSES WORK IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.  

D:  LIKE WE DISCUSSED IN OUR EPISODE ON COMPASSES, A COMPASS IS ATTRACTED TO THE MAGNETISM OF EARTH.  THAT’S RIGHT.  THE EARTH IS A GIANT MAGNET.  IN THAT EPISODE, WE ALSO MENTIONED THAT, WHEN A COMPASS POINTS NORTH, IT DOESN’T POINT STRAIGHT TO THE NORTH POLE.  SO THERE IS A MAGNETIC NORTH, WHERE A COMPASS POINTS, AND THERE IS TRUE NORTH, OR THE NORTH POLE, WHICH IS THE ACTUAL NORTHERNMOST POINT ON EARTH.  MAGNETIC NORTH AND TRUE NORTH ARE TWO DIFFERENT LOCATIONS, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE VERY CLOSE TO EACH OTHER.  

O:  BUT THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE IS ONE OF TWO SPOTS ON EARTH WHERE A COMPASS WILL POINT TOWARDS TRUE NORTH INSTEAD OF MAGNETIC NORTH.  

D:  BECAUSE OF THAT, PEOPLE HAVE SAID THAT COMPASSES DON’T WORK QUITE RIGHT IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.  THAT’S A PROBLEM, BECAUSE ANYONE TRYING TO NAVIGATE A SHIP OR PLANE THROUGH THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE USING A COMPASS MIGHT BECOME CONFUSED AND GET LOST.  THAT DEFINITELY SEEMS LIKE A MORE REASONABLE EXPLANATION FOR THE DISAPPEARANCES.

O:  AS OUR LISTENERS FROM WISCONSIN SUGGESTED, THE WEATHER COULD DEFINITELY BE TO BLAME FOR THE STUFF THAT HAPPENED IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.  LOTS OF TROPICAL STORMS AND HURRICANES MOVE THROUGH THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.  WATERSPOUTS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE IN THE AREA.  WATERSPOUTS ARE LIKE TORNADOES IN THE OCEAN.  THEY PULL WATER FROM THE OCEAN, AND STRONG WATERSPOUTS CAN DO DAMAGE TO ANYTHING IN IT’S PATH.  

D:  ANOTHER WEATHER PHENOMENON THAT COULD EXPLAIN THE EVENTS IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE IS SOMETHING CALLED A GULF STREAM.  THE GULF STREAM GOES ALONG THE WESTERN EDGE OF THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE, AND THE CURRENTS IN THAT AREA COULD BE STRONG AND DANGEROUS.  IN SOME SPOTS, THE GULF STREAM IN PARTS OF THE TRIANGLE ARE ABOUT 300 TIMES FASTER THAN THE AMAZON RIVER.  THOSE COULD BE VERY DIFFICULT CONDITIONS TO SAIL THROUGH.

O:  IN ADDITION TO THE POSSIBLE CAUSES FOR THE DISAPPEARANCES IN THE TRIANGLE, THERE ARE SOME SUPER STRANGE THEORIES THAT HAVE BEEN SUGGESTED.  SOME PEOPLE HAVE BLAMED ALIENS, PIRATES, AND SEA MONSTERS.  

D:  SOME HAVE EVEN SUGGESTED THAT THERE IS SOME HOLE IN THE SKY THAT ALLOWS AIRPLANES TO ENTER, BUT NOT LEAVE.  ANOTHER STRANGE THEORY IS THE ANSWER TO OUR QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  OLIVIA, WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE LOST UNDERWATER CITY THAT PEOPLE BELIEVE COULD BE LOCATED IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.

O:  THE NAME OF THE LOST UNDERWATER CITY IS ATLANTIS, AND SOME BELIEVE THAT IT CAN BE FOUND IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.  ATLANTIS IS BELIEVED TO HAVE SPECIAL CRYSTALS THAT CREATED SO MUCH ENERGY THAT THEY COULD MESS WITH NAVIGATIONAL EQUIPMENT, LIKE COMPASSES, MAKING SHIPS AND AIRPLANES HARD TO CONTROL.  

D:  WHATEVER THE CAUSES WERE FOR THE STRANGE EVENTS THAT TOOK PLACE IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE A LONG TIME AGO, IT TURNS OUT THAT THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE IS NOT SUCH A DANGEROUS AREA AFTER ALL.  

O:  I WAS STARTING TO GET NERVOUS, BECAUSE WE ARE GOING ON A CRUISE IN JUST A FEW WEEKS, AND OUR SHIP IS GOING TO GO THROUGH PARTS OF THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.  

D:  THAT’S TRUE, BUT THE LEGEND OF THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE HAS LOST A BIT OF STEAM IN RECENT YEARS BECAUSE THE REPORTS OF STRANGE ACTIVITY IN THAT AREA HAVE DECREASED A LOT.  THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE IS ONE OF THE BUSIEST AREAS WORLDWIDE FOR AMATEUR PILOTS AND SAILORS.  IT ALSO HAS ONE OF THE MOST FREQUENTLY TRAVELED SHIPPING LANES IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.  THAT MEANS THAT THERE IS LOTS OF TRAFFIC IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.  MORE TRAFFIC MEANS MORE ACCIDENTS.

O:  THAT’S RIGHT.  WE LIVE ON A QUIET STREET.  ABOUT A QUARTER MILE FROM OUR HOUSE IS A MUCH BUSIER STREET THAT HAS LOTS OF TRAFFIC.  I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THE BUSY STREET CLOSE TO OUR HOUSE HAS MORE CAR ACCIDENTS THAN THE QUIET STREET WE LIVE ON.  

D:  AND, THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT SOMETHING MYSTERIOUS OR STRANGE IS HAPPENING ON THE BUSY STREET.  IT JUST MEANS THAT MORE CARS WOULD PROBABLY RESULT IN MORE ACCIDENTS.  THE SAME CAN BE SAID FOR THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.  MORE BOATS AND PLANES MEANS MORE ACCIDENTS.  AND, SINCE THE NAVIGATIONAL EQUIPMENT ON BOATS AND PLANES HAS IMPROVED IN THE LAST 50 OR 60 YEARS, THERE HAVE BEEN MUCH FEWER REPORTS OF ACCIDENTS IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.  

WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  209 - THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB ANA (AHNA), EMMA, AUDEN, CHARLIE, BEN, CLAIRE, AND LAM FOR THE MYSTERIOUS EPISODE TOPIC SUGGESTION.  BEFORE WE SAY GOODBYE, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF SUPER AWESOME PEOPLE TO THANK.

O:  THANK YOU TO OUR NEWEST PATREON SUPPORTERS, ANNIE C. AND ARDEN S.  

D:  A BIG THANKS TO ANNIE AND ARDEN FOR THE SUPPORT.  JOIN US NEXT WEEK, WHEN WE LEARN ABOUT FRECKLES, MOLES, AND BIRTHMARKS FOR LISTENERS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE AND TEXAS.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.