Sunday 8 May 2011

gejala meroko dalam kalangan remaja

Contoh Karangan : Gejala Merokok Dalam Kalangan Remaja

Gejala merokok kian meningkat kini walaupun pelbagai kempen dijalankan untuk mengurangkan perokok. Banyak remaja, lelaki mahupun perempuan yang terjebak dalam tabiat buruk ini. Tabiat merokok bukan sahaja membazirkan wang malah membawa pelbagai penyakit yang boleh membawa maut seperti kanser paru-paru. Menurut Menteri Kesihatan, Dato’ Dr. Chua Soi Lek, peningkatan merokok dalam kalangan remaja kian meningkat mengikut statistik pada tahun 2006.
Kempen antimerokok yang sedang dijalankan oleh kerajaan baru-baru ini sememangnya satu langkah yang baik. Kerajaan patut dipuji kerana berusaha untuk membanteras tabiat merokok. Kempen ini memberi penumpuan kepada rupa paras negatif orang yang merokok untuk menakutkan remaja yang terjebak dalam tabiat ini. Kempen ini juga menunjukkan keadaan paru-paru orang yang merokok. Paru-paru tersebut hitam, kering, dan sungguh menakutkan.
Kempen antimerokok ini disebarkan secara meluas dalam pelbagai media. Televisyen, surat khabar, dan juga radio kini dipenuhi dengan iklan-iklan antimerokok. Para remaja yang majoritinya menonton televisyen serta mendengar radio diberi kesedaran mengenai tabiat merokok dan kesan-kesan melalui iklan-iklan ini. Melalui pengiklanan golongan sasaran kempen ini, iaitu perokok seharusnya dapat dicapai dan kadar perokok dapat dikurangkan.
Kempen antimerokok yang dilancarkan oleh kerajaan kira-kira setahun yang lalu di seluruh negara berlandaskan slogan “Tak Nak!” Slogan ini sangat sesuai untuk membuang tabiat buruk merokok dan mengatakan “tak nak kepada rokok.” Kesan-kesan buruk tabiat merokok yang dipaparkan dapat menanam rasa takut dalam jiwa perokok. Pihak kerajaan berharap kempen-kempen ini dapat menyedarkan perokok untuk berhenti merokok dan mengamalkan gaya hidup sihat.
Kempen antimerokok ini merupakan antara langkah kerajaan yang amat dipuji. Harapan kerajaan melalui kempen ini adalah untuk menyedarkan perokok dan mengurangkan jumlah perokok khususnya remaja.
Kesimpulannya, semua pihak berkenaan perlulah bekerjasama untuk menghapuskan tabiat yang membunuh ini. Dengan usaha kerajaan yang berterusan dan intensif ditambah dengan kerjasama masyarakat diharapkan kempen ini akan berjaya.

terberanak

Seorang pompuan tu… TERberanak dalam lif. Punyalah dia malu… melalak dan tak mahu keluar lif. Datang doktor cuba pujuklah pompuan ni, nak bawa ke hospital.

Marilah keluar amoi, saya bawak pegi hospital”.
“Tak maulah doktor, saya malu”
Kemudian kata doktor tu, “Apa nak dimalukan, tahun lepas saya ada kes lagi teruk
punya malu. TERberanak dalam longkang lagi!!!”

Tetiba, lagi kuat amoi tu lalak. Doktor tercegang dan tanya kenapa menangis lagi kuat.
Kata amoi tu, “Orang tu sayalah jugak!!!!”…..
Moral: anak itu anugerah Tuhan. jagalah mereka sebaik-baiknya. Wakaka!

lawak bodoh

3 Orang Kawan
Pada suatu hari,adalah tiga kawan yang karib.nama mereka ialah Gaduh,Otak dan Gila.Tiba-tiba Gaduh telah hilang,lalu Otak dan Gila pun laporkan kepada polis yang bertugas.

Gila:polis saya nak cari Gaduh
Polis:awak ni gilakah?
Gila:ya
Polis:mana otak awak?
Gila:Otak saya diluar. 
 
Teka-teki: Hitam dan berpeluh.. Ha.. Aper2??
Jawapan: semut hitam tengah berjogging.. huhuhu

Teka-teki: Ape benda bila masuk segitiga bila kuar bergulung-gulung?
Jawapan: Seluar dalam ler.. haha

Teka-teki: Antara kapal terbang dengan kuih lepat liat, mana satu yang paling tinggi?
Jawapan: Kuih lepat liat la sebab kapal terbang sampai langit je, tapi kuih lepat sampai lelangit!

Teka-teki: Banyak2 kotak, kotak apa yang takleh angkat?
Jawapan: Kotak penalti lah.. wawawa! 


Teka-teki: Kenapa Penggali Kubur Gali Kubur Tak Pakai Selipar???

Teka.. teka.. kalo terer!

Jawapan: Selipar mana boleh buat gali tanah, guna cangkul lar hue hue hue!!



Teka-teki: Bulu bertemu bulu kulit bertemu kulit makin tambah rapat makin nikmat rasanyer!

Jawablah kalau bijak sangat!

Jawapan: Haah.. mulalah otak kuning, MATA lah jawapan nyer..!



Teka-teki: 3 kepala, 6 mata, 8 kaki. Apakah bendanya tu?

Jawapan: Koboi naik kuda bawak ayam.



Teka-teki: Masa dia hidup kita menyanyi, masa dia mati kita tepuk tangan.

Jawapan: lilin masa sambut EPI BESDAY



Teka-teki: Scorpion kaler apa?

Jawapan: Kala jengking lah.. senang pun takleh nak jawab!



Teka-teki: Dalam banyak2 kera, kera ape yang pandai menaip???

Jawapan: Kerani



Teka-teki: Ada sorang imam, tengah semahyang pastu ada sekor anjing
lalu kat depan dia. Pastu dia jilat kaki dia, BATAL TAK AIR SEMAYANG
IMAM TU???

Jawapan: Mana batal sebab anjing tu jilat kaki dia sendiri!



Teka-teki: 4 orang awek cun berpayung dengan satu payung tapi nape tak basah langsung??

Jawapan: Sebab tak hujan aduhai! Dahlah malaslah nak tanya lagi soalan bebudak pun takleh nak jawab!!




Yg nih.. jangan pikir bukan2 plak ek...



1) Jilat-jilat bila dah basah baru cucuk, jilat-jilat bila dah basah baru cucuk.

Jawapan : Masukkan benang dlm lubang jarum



2) Banyak-banyak bas, bas apa yang pandai?

Bus skolah lah... The OnLY bus yng pergi skolah



3) Banyak-banyak mi, mi apa yang boleh makan ngan ais?

Jawapan : Milo AIS



4) Kenapa anjing kencing angkat sebelah kaki

Jawapan : Sbb kalau angkat dua kaki jatuh lah.. hahahahha



5) Apa binatang, badan kecik macam semut tapi mata besar "bulb" mentol

Jawapan: Semut bermate BENGKAK hahahahha



6) Mana lagi tua, motorsikal ke kereta?

Jawapan : Motosikal sbb dia pakai tongkat



7) Kangkang peluk, kangkag peluk, bila dah dekat climax pegang buah

Jawapan: Panjat pokok kelapa amek BUAH KELAPA



8-) Ahmad bin Abu, kambing bin apa?

Jawapan : Kambing binATANG



9) Bagaimana nak bezakan ikan betina ngan ikan jantan?

Jawapan : Betina ikan duyung jantang ikan BAKAR maner der betina name BAKAR ;D



Sebelum ini : Teka-teki lawak giler 1

Friday 6 May 2011

truth behind bermuda triangle

The Legend

In the past 100 years, the Bermuda Triangle has claimed over 1000 lives. In reality, that is only 10 a year. Though these lives lost are tragedies, this is not that incredible of a figure. It is how they died that have sparked many legends. These flames were given fuel by V. Gaddis article in "Argossy: Magazine of Masterpiece Fiction" where the term "Bermuda Triangle was first used.

The first legends of the Bermuda Triangle begin already with Cristopher Columbus. As a captain, he was greatly respected, and his brave sailing efforts helped revolutionize the world. Much of the information we have about Columbus is picked up directly from his journal, so we are able to trace his footsteps to the New World. His first problem occured as he ran into the Sargasso Sea. The crew was greatly disappointed when seaweed and land birds were sighted, but after a few days no land was to be seen. Soon after, Columbus reported his compass acting strangly. He did not report this to his crew due to their deep superstitions. Days later, Columbus saw a large meteor fall from the sky. He described it as "a large ball of light fallen from the sky." It is unsure whether he mentions this occurences in awe, because of its great size, or in fright. Later in their trip, Columbus and a few crew members sighted a few dancing lights on the horizon. They wandered about in the Carribbean for over a week yet before sighting land.

Since Columbus, as many as 100 ships and planes have been reported missing, taking over 1000 lives. A select few of them are reported here...


1872: The Mary Celeste
1945: The disappearance of 5 Navy avengers - Flight 19
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), sinks without a 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, dessappears with crew of ten
1962: US Air Force KB-50 tanker plane lost
1963: Marine Sulpher Queen vanishes without a trace
1967: Military YC-122, converted to cargo plane, lost
1970: French freighter Milton latrides disappears
1972: German freighter Anita (20,000 tons), lost with crew of 32
1997: Passengers dissappear from German yacht


Other people believe that the Triangle houses the famous lost city of Atlantis. No evidence has been brought forth to prove this theory, but many claim to have seem or "felt the powers" of the lost city. Other people look at the lack of information and mystery involved and turn to the only other possible solution--Aliens! Again, there is little evidence to show any sign of UFOs in the area. Several people have claimed to have made UFO sightings, but even popular UFO experts and enthusiasts do not support the photographs involved.


Perhaps the ocean is to remain a secret to man, a mystery, to keep us away from the power nature truly has over man. This mystery can serve as a warning and to inspire awe into men's heart, looking at the greatness and power this great Creation. 


The Possible Truth

I don't claim to have discovered the truth as many other researchers do, but would rather lay evidence before and let you judge for yourself. I find that so many legends are purely fictitious myths. However, cynics often go too far in their criticisms, making their claims less credible. The area is undoubtedly an area of great tragedy and even mystery. Many good points have been pointed out by scholars, historians, and scientists alike.

1. Tropical Weather. Many short and intense storms build up quickly and dissipate quickly, undetected by satellite surveillance. These even hold such dangerous elements as waterspouts that could easily destroy any passing plane or ship.

2. Amateur Sailors. This area is a boon for the inexperienced or unknoweledged boater. The Coast guard gets over 8000 distress calls a year (more than 20 a day!). However, most are sailors who have run out of gas or encountered some other foolish problem. The beautiful area is highly deceptive in its calmness, so sailors are often not prepared for what the sea can throw at them.

3. Underwater Earthquakes. Though none have been officially recorded, scientists have found a great deal of seismic activity in this area. In shallow areas, underwater earthquakes have the power to cause such disturbances such as the tsunamis of the far east.

4. The Gulf Stream. This ocean current is extremely strong. It has been reported to move faster than 5 mph in some areas. This is enough to throw many boaters hundreds of miles off coarse because they did not know how to compensate for the current. This, combined with the unusual effects of magnetism on the area, is the cause of many confused sailors.

5. The Gas Bubble Theory. A theory also exists among serious scientists that a high concentration of gas hydrates that exists in the area causing the water to become less dense within small patches. This would cause ships to sink quickly and without a trace.

6. Pirates. A common way to get into the drug smuggling business in the '70s and '80s was to pirate a boat for your business. Suspicion also arises at the coincidence of the World Wars and the greatest count of mysterious acts in the Triangle.

7. Traffic. There is undeniably a great deal of boat and airplane traffic over this area. It is not as great as some critics claim, but still a much visited area. Logic would have it that accidents will happen. In fact, it is reported that there are many other areas on earth where more "mysterious disappearances" have occured, such as the Devil's Sea near Japan. The ocean is a dangerous place. 

Geography 

The Bermuda Triangle lies vaguely east of Florida. Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and Miami are said to be the "points" of this legendary triangle. However, the U.S. government denies the existence of these borders. Many "phenomena" enthusiasts claim that the triangle is not truly a triangle but a general area of water found east and southeast of North America. In any event, the geography of the area is awe-inspiring and deeply misunderstood.The humid subtropical climate of the region brings with it heavy rainfall and high temperatures. An annual rainfall in excess of 60 inches (152 cm) can be expected. Though much this rainfall is mostly spread evenly through the year, hurricanes and harsh thunderstorms occasionally drop 10 inches of rain within hours. This area is well known by geographers for the sudden nature of its storms. There have been many reports of complete whiteouts being formed in seconds. Waterspouts and extremely strong winds are dangerous elements that often accompany these storms.

The topography of the ocean floor bottom is surprising to many that sail the area. It is commonly believed that this whole area is very shallow. This is true near to the Florida coastline, but as the North Atlantic Continental Shelf breaks off only miles away, depths quickly reach as low as 12,000 feet. About 100 miles north of Puerto Rico is the deepest part of the Atlantic, the Puerto Rico Trench, estimated at 30,000 feet deep!
The Florida Straits within this area are approximately 5000 feet deep. While people snorkel in the water only a few hundred feet deep near the coasts of the islands and Florida and ships can be seen sunk in the clear blue waters, this area is incredibly deceptive. To this day, the ocean floor of this area has not been systematically mapped out. It is known that the ocean floor is littered with caves and varies greatly in depth. For more information on ocean topography visit The Geology World Data Center.

The ocean floor, being highly unexplored, is host to many strange phenomena. The area of "The Bermuda Triangle" is not an exception. Recently, scientists have found an anti-current matching the Gulf Stream hundreds of feet below the famous gulf current. Studies are just beginning this hidden current. However, it undoubtedly has a profound effect upon these waters. Unexplainable white "masses" are said to reside in these waters, seen only by satellite photography. This region is also one of only two places on earth that true north lines up with physical (compass) north. The other is another place of legend and tragedy on the opposite side of the earth, the Devil's Sea. A worldwide scientific project was created to study the earth's magnetism by the U.S. government. Results found no odd magnetism as claimed by many airplane pilots and ship captains. Scientists agree, however, there is much to be learned about magnetism, its properties being greatly unknown...
alien.jpg
alien.jpg
... Finally, a fascinating area called the Sargasso Sea resides to the east of the Triangle. Sitting in the middle of the Atlantic, it houses a few small islands and masses of clumped floating seaweed. A warm water current within it swirls clockwise, affecting the weather of the area, keeping it calm and steamy. Having little wind, this area greatly affects unpowered ships. Christopher Columbus wrote in his diary of this sea. In fact, it so fooled his crew that it almost led them to mutiny. The possibility exists of never leaving this legendary sea. Another fascinating feature of this sea is its ability to draw things in from all over the Atlantic. Some even claim it to be the "catch-basin" of the Atlantic.

bermuda triangle

The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and surface vessels allegedly disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Popular culture has attributed these disappearances to theparanormal or activity by extraterrestrial beings.[1] Documented evidence indicates that a significant percentage of the incidents were inaccurately reported or embellished by later authors, and numerous official agencies have stated that the number and nature of disappearances in the region is similar to that in any other area of ocean.



The Triangle area

he boundaries of the triangle cover the Straits of Florida, the Bahamas and the entire Caribbeanisland area and the Atlantic east to the Azores. The more familiar triangular boundary in most written works has as its points somewhere on the Atlantic coast of MiamiSan JuanPuerto Rico; and the mid-Atlantic island of Bermuda, with most of the accidents concentrated along the southern boundary around the Bahamas and the Florida Straits.
The area is one of the most heavily traveled shipping lanes in the world, with ships crossing through it daily for ports in the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean Islands. Cruise ships are also plentiful, and pleasure craft regularly go back and forth between Florida and the islands. It is also a heavily flown route for commercial and private aircraft heading towards Florida, the Caribbean, andSouth America from points north.

History

Origins

The earliest allegation of unusual disappearances in the Bermuda area appeared in a September 16, 1950 Associated Press article by Edward Van Winkle Jones.[5] Two years later, Fate magazine published "Sea Mystery At Our Back Door",[6] a short article by George X. Sand covering the loss of several planes and ships, including the loss of Flight 19, a group of five U.S. Navy TBM Avenger bombers on a training mission. Sand's article was the first to lay out the now-familiar triangular area where the losses took place. Flight 19 alone would be covered in the April 1962 issue of American Legion Magazine.[7] It was claimed that the flight leader had been heard saying "We are entering white water, nothing seems right. We don't know where we are, the water is green, no white." It was also claimed that officials at the Navy board of inquiry stated that the planes "flew off to Mars." Sand's article was the first to suggest a supernatural element to the Flight 19 incident. In the February 1964 issue of ArgosyVincent Gaddis's article "The Deadly Bermuda Triangle" argued that Flight 19 and other disappearances were part of a pattern of strange events in the region.[8] The next year, Gaddis expanded this article into a book, Invisible Horizons.[9]
Others would follow with their own works, elaborating on Gaddis's ideas: John Wallace Spencer (Limbo of the Lost, 1969, repr. 1973);[10]Charles Berlitz (The Bermuda Triangle, 1974);[11] Richard Winer (The Devil's Triangle, 1974),[12] and many others, all keeping to some of the same supernatural elements outlined by Eckert.[13]

Larry Kusche

Lawrence David Kusche, a research librarian from Arizona State University and author of The Bermuda Triangle Mystery: Solved (1975)[14]argued that many claims of Gaddis and subsequent writers were often 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 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 that:
  • 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 storms, the number of disappearances that did occur were, for the most part, neither disproportionate, unlikely, nor mysterious; furthermore, Berlitz and other writers would often fail to mention such storms.
  • 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 disappearances had, in fact, never happened. One plane crash was said to have taken place in 1937 off Daytona Beach, Florida, in front of hundreds of witnesses; a check of the local papers revealed nothing.
  • 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.[14]

Further responses

When the UK Channel 4 television program "The Bermuda Triangle" (c. 1992) was being produced by John Simmons of Geofilms for theEquinox series, the marine insurer Lloyd's of London was asked if an unusually large number of ships had sunk in the Bermuda Triangle area. Lloyd's of London determined that large numbers of ships had not sunk there.[15]
United States 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.[14]
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 SS V. A. Fogg in the Gulf of Mexico, the Coast Guard photographed the wreck and recovered several bodies,[16] 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.[10]
The NOVA/Horizon episode The Case of the Bermuda Triangle, aired on June 27, 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."[17]
David Kusche pointed out a common problem with many of the Bermuda Triangle stories and theories: "Say I claim that a parrot has been kidnapped to teach aliens human language and I challenge you to prove that is not true. You can even use Einstein's Theory of Relativity if you like. There is simply no way to prove such a claim untrue. The burden of proof should be on the people who make these statements, to show where they got their information from, to see if their conclusions and interpretations are valid, and if they have left anything out."[17]
Skeptical researchers, such as Ernest Taves[18] and Barry Singer,[19] 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.
Finally, if the Triangle is assumed to cross land, such as parts of Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, or Bermuda itself, there is no evidence for the disappearance of any land-based vehicles or persons.[citation needed] The city of Freeport, located inside the Triangle, operates a major shipyard and an airport that handles 50,000 flights annually and is visited by over a million tourists a year.[20]

Supernatural explanations

Triangle writers have used a number of supernatural concepts to explain the events. One explanation pins the blame on leftover technology from the mythical lost continent of Atlantis. Sometimes connected to the Atlantis story is the submerged rock formation known as the Bimini Road off the island of Bimini in the Bahamas, which is in the Triangle by some definitions. Followers of the purported psychic Edgar Caycetake his prediction that evidence of Atlantis would be found in 1968 as referring to the discovery of the Bimini Road. Believers describe the formation as a road, wall, or other structure, though geologists consider it to be of natural origin.[21]
Other writers attribute the events to UFOs.[22] This idea was used by Steven Spielberg for his science fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which features the lost Flight 19 aircrews as alien abductees.
Charles Berlitz, author of various books on anomalous phenomena, lists several theories attributing the losses in the Triangle to anomalous or unexplained forces.[11]

Natural explanations

Compass variations

Compass problems are one of the cited phrases in many Triangle incidents. While some have theorized that unusual local magnetic anomalies may exist in the area,[23] such anomalies have not been shown to exist. Compasses have natural magnetic variations in relation to the magnetic poles, a fact which navigators have known for centuries. Magnetic (compass) north and geographic (true) north are only exactly the same for a small number of places - for example, as of 2000 in the United States only those places on a line running from Wisconsin to the Gulf of Mexico.[24] But the public may not be as informed, and think there is something mysterious about a compass "changing" across an area as large as the Triangle, which it naturally will.[14]

Deliberate acts of destruction

Deliberate acts of destruction can fall into two categories: acts of war, and acts of piracy. Records in enemy files have been checked for numerous losses. While many sinkings have been attributed to surface raiders or submarines during the World Wars and documented in various command log books, many others suspected as falling in that category have not been proven. It is suspected that the loss of USSCyclops in 1918, as well as her sister ships Proteus and Nereus in World War II, were attributed to submarines, but no such link has been found in the German records.
Piracy—the illegal capture of a craft on the high seas—continues to this day. While piracy for cargo theft is more common in the western Pacific and Indian oceans, drug smugglers do steal pleasure boats for smuggling operations, and may have been involved in crew and yacht disappearances in the Caribbean. Piracy in the Caribbean was common from about 1560 to the 1760s, and famous pirates included Edward Teach (Blackbeard) and Jean Lafitte.[citation needed]

Gulf Stream

he Gulf Stream is an ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and then flows through the Straits of Florida into the North Atlantic. In essence, it is a river within an ocean, and, like a river, it can and does carry floating objects. It has a surface velocity of up to about 2.5 metres per second (5.6 mi/h).[25] A small plane making a water landing or a boat having engine trouble can be carried away from its reported position by the current.

Human error

One of the most cited explanations in official inquiries as to the loss of any aircraft or vessel is human error.[26] Whether deliberate or accidental, humans have been known to make mistakes resulting in catastrophe, and losses within the Bermuda Triangle are no exception. For example, the Coast Guard cited a lack of proper training for the cleaning of volatile benzene residue as a reason for the loss of the tanker SS V.A. Fogg in 1972[citation needed]. Human stubbornness may have caused businessman Harvey Conover to lose his sailing yacht, the Revonoc, as he sailed into the teeth of a storm south of Florida on January 1, 1958.[27]

Hurricanes

Hurricanes are powerful storms, which form in tropical waters and have historically cost thousands of lives lost and caused billions of dollars in damage. The sinking of Francisco de Bobadilla's Spanish fleet in 1502 was the first recorded instance of a destructive hurricane. These storms have in the past caused a number of incidents related to the Triangle

Methane hydratesAn explanation for some of the disappearances has focused on the presence of vast fields ofmethane hydrates (a form of natural gas) on the continental shelves.[28] Laboratory experiments carried out in Australia have proven that bubbles can, indeed, sink a scale model ship by decreasing the density of the water;[29] any wreckage consequently rising to the surface would be rapidly dispersed by the Gulf Stream. It has been hypothesized that periodic methane eruptions(sometimes called "mud volcanoes") may produce regions of frothy water that are no longer capable of providing adequate buoyancy for ships. If this were the case, such an area forming around a ship could cause it to sink very rapidly and without warning.

Publications by the USGS describe large stores of undersea hydrates worldwide, including theBlake Ridge area, off the southeastern United States coast.[30] However, according to another of their papers, no large releases of gas hydrates are believed to have occurred in the Bermuda Triangle for the past 15,000 years.[15]

Rogue waves


Main article: Methane clathrate
In various oceans around the world, rogue waves have caused ships to sink[31] and oil platforms to topple.[32] These waves, until 1995, were considered to be a mystery and/or a myth.[33][34]

Notable incidents

Flight 19

US Navy TBF Grumman Avenger flight, similar to Flight 19. This photo had been used by various Triangle authors to illustrate Flight 19 itself. (US Navy)
Flight 19 was a training flight of TBM Avenger bombers that went missing on December 5, 1945, while over the Atlantic. The squadron's flight path was scheduled to take them due east for 120 miles, north for 73 miles, and then back over a final 120-mile leg that would return them to the naval base, but they never returned. The impression is given[citation needed] that the flight encountered unusual phenomena and anomalous compass readings, and that the flight took place on a calm day under the supervision of an experienced pilot, Lt. Charles Carroll Taylor. Adding to the intrigue is that the Navy's report of the accident ascribed it to "causes or reasons unknown."[citation needed]
Adding to the mystery, a search and rescue Mariner aircraft with a 13-man crew was dispatched to aid the missing squadron, but the Mariner itself was never heard from again. Later, there was a report from a tanker cruising off the coast of Florida of a visible explosion[35] at about the time the Mariner would have been on patrol.
While the basic facts of this version of the story are essentially accurate, some important details are missing. The weather was becoming stormy by the end of the incident, and naval reports and written recordings of the conversations between Taylor and the other pilots of Flight 19 do not indicate magnetic problems.[36]

Mary Celeste

The mysterious abandonment in 1872 of the 282-ton brigantine Mary Celeste is often but inaccurately connected to the Triangle, the ship having been abandoned off the coast of Portugal. The event is possibly confused with the loss of a ship with a similar name, the Mari Celeste,a 207-ton paddle steamer that hit a reef and quickly sank off the coast of Bermuda on September 13, 1864.[37][38] Kusche noted that many of the "facts" about this incident were actually about the Marie Celeste, the fictional ship from Arthur Conan Doyle's short story "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (based on the real Mary Celeste incident, but fictionalised).

Ellen Austin

The Ellen Austin supposedly came across a derelict ship, placed on board a prize crew, and attempted to sail with it to New York in 1881. According to the stories, the derelict disappeared; others elaborating further that the derelict reappeared minus the prize crew, then disappeared again with a second prize crew on board. A check from Lloyd's of London records proved the existence of the Meta, built in 1854 and that in 1880 the Meta was renamed Ellen Austin. There are no casualty listings for this vessel, or any vessel at that time, that would suggest a large number of missing men were placed on board a derelict that later disappeared.[39]

USS Cyclops

The incident resulting in the single largest loss of life in the history of the US Navy not related to combat occurred when USS Cyclops, under the command of Lt Cdr G.W. Worley, went missing without a trace with a crew of 309 sometime after March 4, 1918, after departing the island of Barbados. Although there is no strong evidence for any single theory, many independent theories exist, some blaming storms, some capsizing, and some suggesting that wartime enemy activity was to blame for the loss.[40][41]

Theodosia Burr Alston

Theodosia Burr Alston was the daughter of former United States Vice President Aaron Burr. Her disappearance has been cited at least once in relation to the Triangle.[42] She was a passenger on board the Patriot, which sailed from Charleston, South Carolina to New York City on December 30, 1812, and was never heard from again. The planned route is well outside all but the most extended versions of the Bermuda Triangle. Both piracy and the War of 1812 have been posited as explanations, as well as a theory placing her in Texas, well outside the Triangle.
Schooner Carroll A. Deering, as seen from the Cape Lookout lightvessel on January 29, 1921, two days before she was found deserted in North Carolina. (US Coast Guard)

Carroll A. Deering

A five-masted schooner built in 1919, the Carroll A. Deering was found hard aground and abandoned at Diamond Shoals, near Cape HatterasNorth Carolina on January 31, 1921. Rumors and more at the time indicated the Deering was a victim of piracy, possibly connected with the illegal rum-running trade during Prohibition, and possibly involving another ship, S.S. Hewitt, which disappeared at roughly the same time. Just hours later, an unknown steamer sailed near the lightship along the track of the Deering, and ignored all signals from the lightship. It is speculated that the Hewitt may have been this mystery ship, and possibly involved in the Deering crew's disappearance.[43]

Douglas DC-3

On December 28, 1948, a Douglas DC-3 aircraft, number NC16002, disappeared while on a flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Miami. No trace of the aircraft or the 32 people onboard was ever found. From the documentation compiled by the Civil Aeronautics Board investigation, a possible key to the plane's disappearance was found, but barely touched upon by the Triangle writers: the plane's batteries were inspected and found to be low on charge, but ordered back into the plane without a recharge by the pilot while in San Juan. Whether or not this led to complete electrical failure will never be known. However, since piston-engined aircraft rely upon magnetos to provide spark to their cylinders rather than a battery powered ignition coil system, this theory is not strongly convincing.[44]

Star Tiger and Star Ariel

G-AHNP Star Tiger disappeared on January 30, 1948 on a flight from the Azores to Bermuda; G-AGRE Star Ariel disappeared on January 17, 1949, on a flight from Bermuda to Kingston, Jamaica. Both were Avro Tudor IV passenger aircraft operated by British South American Airways.[45] Both planes were operating at the very limits of their range and the slightest error or fault in the equipment could keep them from reaching the small island. One plane was not heard from long before it would have entered the Triangle.[14]

KC-135 Stratotankers

On August 28, 1963, a pair of US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft collided and crashed into the Atlantic. The Triangle version (Winer, Berlitz, Gaddis[8][11][12]) of this story specifies that they did collide and crash, but there were two distinct crash sites, separated by over 160 miles (260 km) of water. However, Kusche's research[14] showed that the unclassified version of the Air Force investigation report stated that the debris field defining the second "crash site" was examined by a search and rescue ship, and found to be a mass of seaweed anddriftwood tangled in an old buoy.

SS Marine Sulphur Queen

SS Marine Sulphur Queen, a T2 tanker converted from oil to sulfur carrier, was last heard from on February 4, 1963 with a crew of 39 near the Florida Keys. Marine Sulphur Queen was the first vessel mentioned in Vincent Gaddis' 1964 Argosy Magazine article,[8] but he left it as having "sailed into the unknown", despite the Coast Guard report, which not only documented the ship's badly-maintained history, but declared that it was an unseaworthy vessel that should never have gone to sea.[46][47]

Connemara IV

A pleasure yacht was found adrift in the Atlantic south of Bermuda on September 26, 1955; it is usually stated in the stories (Berlitz, Winer[11][12]) that the crew vanished while the yacht survived being at sea during three hurricanes. The 1955 Atlantic hurricane season showsHurricane Ione passing nearby between the 14th and 18th of that month, with Bermuda being affected by winds of almost gale force.[14] It was confirmed that the Connemara IV was empty and in port when Ione may have caused the yacht to slip her moorings and drift out to sea.[citation needed]

Influence on culture

Entertainment

Music

Movies

  • The Triangle, a 2001 thriller television movie, is set in the Bermuda Triangle.
  • The Triangle is also a three-part science fiction miniseries concerning the Bermuda Triangle.

Triangle authors

The incidents cited above, apart from the official documentation, come from the following works. Some incidents mentioned as having taken place within the Triangle are found only in these sources:

See also

References