Interesting Facts

Bermuda Triangle, region of the western Atlantic Ocean that has become associated in the popular imagination with mysterious maritime disasters. Also known as the Devil's Triangle, the triangle-shaped area covers about 1,140,000 sq km (about 440,000 sq mi) between the island of Bermuda, the coast of southern Florida, and Puerto Rico. In the past, extensive, but futile Coast Guard searches prompted by search and rescue cases such as the disappearances of an entire squadron of TBM Avengers shortly after take off from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., or the traceless sinking of USS Cyclops and Marine Sulphur Queen have lent credence to the popular belief in the mystery and the supernatural qualities of the "Bermuda Triangle." An area called the "Devil's Sea" by Japanese and Filipino seamen, located off the east coast of Japan, also exhibits the same magnetic characteristics. It is also known for its mysterious disappearances.

Where does Bermuda Triangle lies?

Digital Challenge - Bermuda Triangle by oddsock.

The Bermuda Triangle is a stretch of the Atlantic Ocean bordered by a line from Florida to the islands of Bermuda, to Puerto Rico and then back to Florida. It is one of the biggest mysteries of our time - that isn't really a mystery. The term "Bermuda Triangle" was first used in an article written by Vincent H. Gaddis for Argosy magazine in 1964. In the article Gaddis claimed that in this strange sea a number of ships and planes had disappeared without explanation. Gaddis wasn't the first one to come to this conclusion, either. As early as 1952 George X. Sands, in a report in Fate magazine, noted what seemed like an unusually large number of strange accidents in that region. In 1969 John Wallace Spencer wrote a book called Limbo of the Lost specifically about the triangle and, two years later, a feature documentary on the subject, The Devil's Triangle, was released. These, along with the bestseller The Bermuda Triangle, published in 1974, permanently registered the legend of the "Hoodoo Sea" within popular culture. Several books suggested that the disappearances were due to an intelligent, technologically advanced race living in space or under the sea. The only problem was that the mystery was more hype than reality. In 1975 a librarian at Arizona State University, named Larry Kusche, decided to investigate the claims made by these articles and books. What he found he published in his own book entitled The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved. Kusche had carefully dug into records other writers had neglected. He found that many of the strange accidents were not so strange after all. Often a triangle writer had noted a ship or plane had disappeared in "calms seas" when the record showed a raging storm had been in progress. Others said ships had "mysteriously vanished" when their remains had actually been found and the cause of their sinking explained.

Unravel the Mystery

Countless theories attempting to explain the many disappearances have been offered throughout the history of the area. The most practical seem to be environmental and those citing human error. The majority of disappearances can be attributed to the area's unique environmental features. First, the "Devil's Triangle" is one of the two places on earth that a magnetic compass does point towards true north. Normally it points toward magnetic north. The difference between the two is known as compass variation. The amount of variation changes by as much as 20 degrees as one circumnavigates the earth. If this compass variation or error is not compensated for, a navigator could find himself far off course and in deep trouble. Another environmental factor is the character of the Gulf Stream. It is extremely swift and turbulent and can quickly erase any evidence of a disaster. The unpredictable Caribbean-Atlantic weather pattern also plays its role. Sudden local thunder storms and water spouts often spell disaster for pilots and mariners. Finally, the topography of the ocean floor varies from extensive shoals around the islands to some of the deepest marine trenches in the world. With the interaction of the strong currents over the many reefs the topography is in a state of constant flux and development of new navigational hazards is swift. Not to be under estimated is the human error factor. A large number of pleasure boats travel the waters between Florida's Gold Coast and the Bahamas. All too often, crossings are attempted with too small a boat, insufficient knowledge of the area's hazards, and a lack of good seamanship.

Victims

Variously labelled the Devil's Triangle, the Triangle of Death, the Hoodoo Sea and the Graveyard of the Atlantic, the Bermuda Triangle has claimed several hundred vessels and more than 1,000 people since 1945. Perhaps the most famous of them was the disappearance of Flight 19 in 1945. Here are some of the other disappearances.

1947: Army C-45 Superfort vanishes 100 miles off Bermuda.
1948: Four-engined Tudor IV lost with 31 lives.
1948: DC-3 lost with 32 passengers and crew.
1949: Second Tudor IV vanishes.
1950: Giant US Air Force Globemaster lost.
1950: American freighter, SS Sandra, 350 ft long, sinks without trace.
1952: British York transport plane lost with 33 aboard.
1954: US Navy Lockheed Constellation vanishes with 42 aboard.
1956: US Navy seaplane, Martin P5M, disappears with crew of ten.
1962: US Air Force KB-50 tanker plane lost.
1963: Marine Sulphur Queen, 425-ft-long American freighter, vanishes with entire crew. No Mayday signals and no wreckage ever found. Two US Air Force giant stratotankers disappear on simple exercise. C-132 Cargomaster also vanishes.
1967: Military YC-122, converted to cargo plane, lost.
1970: French freighter Milton Iatrides disappears.
1972: German freighter Anita, 20,000 tons, lost with crew of 32.

Incidents

Columbus

As the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria sailed through the area in 1492, it is reported that Columbus's compass went haywire and that he and his crew saw weird lights in the sky, but these events have mundane explanations. From the account in Columbus's journal, it is thought that his compasses slight inaccuracy stemmed from nothing more than the discrepancy between true north and magnetic north. As for the lights, Columbus wrote of seeing "a great flame of fire" that crashed into the ocean -- probably a meteor. He saw lights in the sky again on October 11, which, of course, was the day before his famous landing. The lights, brief flashes near the horizon, were spotted in the area where dry land turned out to be. Luckily, his three ships were spared from the Bermuda Triangle.

Mary Celese

Another historical event retroactively attributed to the Bermuda Triangle is the discovery of the Mary Celeste. The vessel was found abandoned on the high seas in 1892, about 400 miles off its intended course from New York to Genoa. There was no sign of its crew of ten or what had happened to them. Since the lifeboat was also missing, it is quite possible that they abandoned the Mary Celeste during a storm that they wrongly guessed the ship could not weather. But what makes it even harder to call this a Bermuda Triangle mystery is that it the ship was nowhere near the Triangle -- it was found off the coast of Portugal. But of course this means it might have sailed that far alone (even, though it's not likely). On November 5, 1872 the Marie Celeste left New York Harbor with a cargo of industrial alcohol. On board were Captain Benjamin Spooner Briggs, his wife, his two year old daughter, and eight crew members. On December 5, 1872 the Ship Dei Gratia found the Marie Celeste floating in the Atlantic Ocean. The Captain, his family and the crew were all missing, as was the one lifeboat. The cargo, supplies, and personal belongings were all safely on the Marie Celeste. Evidence aboard showed that the Marie Celeste had clearly been abandoned quickly. Sufficient supplies could not have been on the lifeboat, with many basic supplies left behind. Why was it abandoned? This remains a great nautical mysteries. Some other factors that almost nobody knows is that the ship had a different name before the Marie Celeste, and it had been said to be cursed, until Captain Briggs bought it and renamed and painted it. Coincidence?

Flight 19

The Bermuda Triangle legend really began in earnest on December 5, 1945, with the famed disappearance of Flight 19. Five Navy Avenger bombers mysteriously vanished while on a routine training mission, as did a rescue plane sent to search for them -- six aircraft and 27 men, gone without a trace. Or so the story goes. When all the facts are laid out, the tale of Flight 19 becomes far less puzzling. All of the crewmen of the five Avengers were inexperienced trainees, with the exception of their patrol leader, Lt. Charles Taylor. Taylor was perhaps not at the height of his abilities that day, as some reports indicate that he had a hangover and failed in his attempts to pass off this flight duty to someone else. With the four rookie pilots entirely dependent on his guidance, Taylor found that his compass malfunctioned soon into the flight. Taylor chose to continue the run on dead reckoning, navigating by sighting landmarks below. Being familiar with the islands of the Florida Keys where he lived, Taylor had reason to feel confident in flying by sight. But visibility became poor due to a brewing storm, and he quickly became disoriented. Flight 19 was still in radio contact with the Fort Lauderdale air base, although the weather and a bad receiver in one of the Avengers made communication very spotty. They may have been guided safely home if Taylor had switched to an emergency frequency with less radio traffic, but he refused for fear they would be unable to reestablish contact under these conditions. Taylor ended up thinking they were over the Gulf of Mexico, and ordered the patrol east in search of land. But in reality, they had been heading up the Atlantic coastline, and Taylor was mistakenly leading his hapless trainees much further out to sea. Radio recordings indicate that some of them suggested to Taylor that Florida was actually to the west. A search party was dispatched, which included the Martin Mariner that many claim disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle along with Flight 19. While it is true that it never returned, the Mariner did not vanish; it blew up 23 seconds after takeoff, in an explosion that was witnessed by several at the base. This was unfortunately not an uncommon occurrence, because Mariners were known for their faulty gas tanks. No known wreckage from Flight 19 has ever been recovered.

Case Closed?

'The US Board of Geographic Names does not recognize the Bermuda Triangle as an official name and does not maintain an official file on the area' states the pompous Internet message board of the US Coast Guard HQ and the Naval Historical Center. Seems a little too close to 'Deny Every- thing' for this writer. This government representative argues that in the past that extensive yet futile Coast Guard searches prompted by search-and-rescue cases such as Flight 19 or the trace- less sinking of the Marine Sulphur Queen in the Florida Straits have lent credence to the popular belief in the mystery and the supernatural qualities of the Bermuda Triangle. Paranormal phenomena are dismissed and 'practical' solutions to the mysteries are those that focus on environmental conditions and those that cite human error. The Bermuda Triangle is one of the few places on Earth that a magnetic compass does point towards true north. Normally, it should point towards magnetic north. The amount of variation changes - and sometimes as much as 20 degrees as a ship or aircraft circumnavigates around the globe. Without compensating, a navigator could find himself far off course and in serious trouble. The Bermuda Triangle has at least two counterparts in other areas of the world. An area called 'The Devil's Sea' by Japanese and Filipino seamen, which is located off the east coast of Japan, also exhibits the same magnetic characteristics and is also known for its mysterious disappearances. Also, in China in 1995, some 50 scientists surveyed southwest Sichuan Province's notorious high-elevation Black Bamboo Ravine, or Heizugou, where people and livestock have vanished. The Beijing-based Xinhua News Agency reported that scientists believe rotting plants found in the cold, humid region give off a poisonous gas, "suffocating people and making them fall into the abyss". The experts also explained that the magnetic field at Heizhugou "is so strong that it is likely to disable com- passes and cause plane crashes". Sound familiar? Except for the magnetic field part, the Black Bamboo Ravine is similar geologically with Yellowstone's Death Gulch and Java's Poisoned Valley.

Source : http://www.100megsfree.com/medionland/bermuda.htm

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It is easy to attract women when you know the dating secrets--no matter how unsuccessful you feel. As a coach, many of my clients felt they could not attract women and found it painful to go to social events. But once they paid attention to these dating secrets, they learned how easy it was.

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Here are the seven dating secrets to help you attract who you want:

1. Show up!
Someone once said, ninety percent of success is showing up. You've got to get out of the house. You've got to make a plan and then take the actions needed to execute the plan. Take out your calendar, call your friends, and commit to going places. When you make an agreement to go somewhere with people, the odds are that you will do it.

2. Be friendly
If you feel shy or socially awkward, you need to practice talking to strangers. Go to the mall and find an agreeable looking guy you don't know. Ask him a question. Repeat this process over and over. This technique works! Then, when you get to a social setting, scan the room for an interesting woman, get near her, and ask her a question. If you like her, keep talking. Success means you have to be friendly. Practice friendliness. It works!

3. Grooming Counts
Women like men who are clean, well groomed, and who smell good. Your aftershave should not shout when you enter a room, but a faint masculine scent is appealing. Clean nails, hands, hair, and clothes are necessary. Go through your wardrobe and ask a woman friend what looks good on you. Don't leave the house looking dirty or sloppy. You never know when the right woman will
cross your path.

4. There's magic in your eyes!
Women are drawn to men who look them in the eyes when they talk. But here is a major secret few people know, told to me by an expert colorist: wear something the color of your eyes and notice how people are attracted to you. Actually, the eyes have many shades of colors. Identify what they are exactly and then choose clothing that matches one of those colors. One of my clients who once had trouble attracting women wore a shirt the color of green in his eyes and he became irresistible!

5. Polish your communication skills
Wit and humor can be endearing, but don't let it slip the bounds of putting yourself or other people down. Women like men who listen, and then reflect back to them what they heard. Listening to a woman talk makes you very appealing in her eyes.

6. Have a promising future
Women are attracted to a man with a great career or a great career plan. It doesn't matter how successful she is--she wants to know that a guy can take care of her if she needs him to.

7. Attitude affects everything
Avoid blaming and complaining, as well as talking about your Ex, your boss, or anyone you feel victimized by. If you have some past relationships that haunt you, get some counseling. Enthusiasm, confidence, and an upbeat outlook on life are very sexy.

You have everything you need to attract who you want. Polish your best qualities, focus on your strengths instead of your
limitations, and enjoy
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