The Mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the strange disappearance of a group of United States naval airplanes just after World War Two in the vast expanse of ocean that is bounded by the Bahamas and the Straits of Florida, the Azores and the numerous islands of the Caribbean. The paper goes on to show how the popular version of events is at odds with official investigations into this occurrence; popular theories dismiss scientific explanations such as mechanical compass failures, fuel leaks, and human inexperience and instead look to extraterrestrials, and especially to the denizens of the lost ancient civilization of Atlantis. The paper concludes that there is little hard evidence to support the existence of any unusual phenomena in the area at all, let alone to attribute those phenomena to explanations that themselves depend on speculations.

From the Paper:

"One of the enduring mysteries of our times, the Bermuda Triangle has captured imaginations for nearly sixty years. Though vague stories of the phenomena associated with the area date back centuries, the region first attracted widespread attention with an article in 1950 concerning the disappearance of a group of United States naval airplanes just after World War Two. The account would be similar to the many that would follow: planes or ships mysteriously disappear in the vast roughly triangular expanse of ocean that is bounded by the Bahamas and the Straits of Florida, the Azores, and the numerous islands of the Caribbean. As with the five naval airplanes of Flight 19 that disappeared in 1945, the objects simply vanish with little or no warning, no remains ever being found, nor any clue as to why the craft should leave behind no trace of their existence."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Chamberlain, P. G. (2001). Topomystica: Investigation into the Concept of Mystic Place. Journal of Cultural Geography, 19(1), 97+.
• Hanson, G. M. (1998, November 23). Prophets of the Third Millennium. Insight on the News, 14, 16.
• Randi, J. (1982). Flim-Flam! Psychics, Esp, Unicorns, and Other Delusions. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.

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