The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a loosely defined region in the North Atlantic Ocean, roughly bounded by Florida, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. Since the mid-20th century, it has been the focus of an urban legend suggesting that many aircraft and ships have disappeared there under mysterious circumstances. However, extensive investigations by reputable sources, including the U.S. government and scientific organizations, have found no evidence of unusual activity, attributing reported incidents to natural phenomena, human error, and misinterpretation.
ORIGINS
The earliest suggestion of unusual disappearances in the Bermuda area appeared in an article written by Edward Van Winkle Jones of the Miami Herald that was distributed by the Associated Press and appeared in various American newspapers on 17 September 1950.
Two years later, Fate magazine published "Sea Mystery at Our Back Door", a short article by George X. Sand that was the first to lay out the now-familiar triangular area where the losses took place. Sand recounted the loss of several planes and ships since World War II: the disappearance of Sandra, a tramp steamer, the December 1945 loss of Flight 19, a group of five US Navy torpedo bombers on a training mission; the January 1948 disappearance of Star Tiger, a British South American Airways (BSAA) passenger airplane; the March 1948 disappearance of a fishing skiff with three men, including jockey Albert Snider, the December 1948 disappearance of an Airborne Transport DC-3 charter flight en route from Puerto Rico to Miami; and the January 1949 disappearance of Star Ariel another BSAA passenger airplane.
Flight 19 was covered again in the April 1962 issue of The American Legion Magazine In it, author Allan W. Eckert wrote that the flight leader had been heard saying, "We cannot be sure of any direction ... everything is wrong ... strange ... the ocean doesn't look as it should. In February 1964, Vincent Gaddis wrote an article called "The Deadly Bermuda Triangle" in Argosy saying Flight 19 and other disappearances were part of a pattern of strange events in the region, dating back to at least 1840. The next year, Gaddis expanded this article into a book, Invisible Horizons.
Other writers elaborated on Gaddis' ideas, including John Wallace Spencer (Limbo of the Lost 1969, represent.1973), Charles Berlitz (The Bermuda Triangle, 1974) and Richard Winer (The Devils Triangle, 1974). Various of these authors incorporated supernatural elements.
TRIANGLE AREA
Larry Kusche
Larry Kusche, author of The Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved (1975), argued that many claims of Gaddis and subsequent writers were exaggerated, dubious or unverifiable. Kusche's research revealed a number of inaccuracies and inconsistencies between Berlitz's accounts and statements from eyewitnesses, participants, and others involved in the initial incidents. Kusche noted cases where pertinent information went unreported, such as the disappearance of round-the-world yachtsman Donald Crowhurst, which Berlitz had presented as a mystery, despite clear evidence to the contrary. Another example was the ore-carrier recounted by Berlitz as lost without trace three days out of an Atlantic port when in fact it had been lost three days out of a port with the same name in the Pacific Ocean. Kusche also argued that a large percentage of the incidents that sparked allegations of the Triangle's mysterious influence actually occurred well outside it. Often his research was simple: he would review period newspapers of the dates of reported incidents and find reports on possibly relevant events, like unusual weather, that were never mentioned in the disappearance stories.
Kusche concluded:
· The number of ships and aircraft reported missing in the area was not significantly greater, proportionally speaking, than in any other part of the ocean.
In an area frequented by tropical cyclones, the number
of disappearances that did occur were, for the most part, neither disproportionate, unlikely, nor mysterious
· Furthermore, Berlitz and other writers often failed to mention such storms and sometimes even represented the disappearance as having happened in calm conditions when meteorological records clearly contradict this.
The numbers themselves had been exaggerated by sloppy research. A boat's disappearance, for example, would be reported, but its eventual (if belated) return to port may not have been.
· Some alleged disappearances were, in reality, not mysterious. Berlitz found that one plane believed to have disappeared in 1937 had, in fact, crashed off Daytona Beach, Florida, in front of hundreds of witnesses.
The legend of the Bermuda Triangle is a manufactured mystery, perpetuated by writers who either purposely or unknowingly made use of misconceptions, faulty reasoning, and sensationalism.
FURTHER RESPONSES
When the British Channel 4 television program The Bermuda Triangle (1992) was being produced by John Simmons of Geo films for the Equinox series, the marine insurance market Lloyds of London was asked if an unusually large number of ships had sunk in the Bermuda Triangle area. Lloyds determined that large numbers of ships had not sunk there. Lloyd's does not charge higher rates for passing through this area. United State Coast Guard records confirm their conclusion. In fact, the number of supposed disappearances is relatively insignificant considering the number of ships and aircraft that pass through on a regular basis.
The Coast Guard is also officially skeptical of the Triangle, noting that they collect and publish, through their inquiries, much documentation contradicting many of the incidents written about by the Triangle authors. In one such incident involving the 1972 explosion and sinking of the tanker V. A. Fogg, the Coast Guard photographed the wreck and recovered several bodies, in contrast with one Triangle author's claim that all the bodies had vanished, with the exception of the captain, who was found sitting in his cabin at his desk, clutching a coffee cup. In addition, V. A. Fogg sank off the coast of Texas, nowhere near the commonly accepted boundaries of the Triangle.
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The “Nova Horizon” episode” The Case of the Bermuda Triangle, aired on 27 June 1976, was highly critical, stating that "When we've gone back to the original sources or the people involved, the mystery evaporates. Science does not have to answer questions about the Triangle because those questions are not valid in the first place ... Ships and planes behave in the Triangle the same way they behave everywhere else in the world.
Skeptical researchers, such as Ernest Taves and Barry Singer, have noted how mysteries and the paranormal are very popular and profitable. This has led to the production of vast amounts of material on topics such as the Bermuda Triangle. They were able to show that some of the pro-paranormal material is often misleading or inaccurate, but its producers continue to market it. Accordingly, they have claimed that the market is biased in favor of books, TV specials, and other media that support the Triangle mystery, and against well-researched material if it espouses a skeptical viewpoint.
In a 2013 study, the World-Wide Fund for Nature identified the world's 10 most dangerous waters for shipping, but the Bermuda Triangle was not among them.
Benjamin Radford, an author and scientific paranormal investigator, noted in an interview on the Bermuda Triangle that it could be very difficult to locate an aircraft lost at sea due to the vast search area, and although the disappearance might be mysterious, that did not make it paranormal or unexplainable. Radford further noted the importance of double-checking information as the mystery surrounding the Bermuda Triangle had been created by people who had neglected to do so.
NOAA attributes most Bermuda Triangle disappearances to environmental factors such as hurricanes, sudden weather shifts from the Gulf Stream, and hazardous shallow waters. The U.S. Navy dismisses supernatural claims, emphasizing natural causes and human error. Additionally, the U. S. Board on Geographic Names does not list the Bermuda Triangle as an official location, given the lack of evidence distinguishing it from other ocean regions.
CONCLUSION
The Bermuda Triangle remains one of the most fascinating regions in maritime history, blending myth with reality. While scientific explanations provide logical reasons for most disappearances, the allure of the unknown continues to captivate the public. Whether due to natural phenomena, human error, or speculative theories, the Bermuda Triangle's reputation as a mysterious and perilous zone persists in popular culture.
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