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00:00:00 The Baltic Sea Anomaly In 2011, a diving team came down to the bottom
00:00:05 of the northern part of the Baltic Sea. They went on a treasure hunt, but what they came upon was a
00:00:11 pretty weird object. When they took photos and showed them to others, many believed it was a
00:00:17 sunken spaceship of another civilization. Other people thought that some natural causes formed
00:00:24 the object, but the metals inside the structure definitely couldn't have been formed naturally.
00:00:30 Now, some scientists even believe it was something that appeared way back in the Ice Age.
00:00:36 Maybe it was even a meteorite that ended up trapped under ice back then.
00:00:40 A maelstrom is a whirlpool, some sort of a powerful rotational current that forms when
00:00:48 two currents collide and create a circular vortex. Even fearless Vikings were afraid of maelstroms
00:00:54 because those were forces so powerful that they could sink large ships. These whirlpools remain
00:01:00 dangerous even today, but luckily not for big modern ships that are large enough to withstand
00:01:06 the power of maelstroms. But a cruise ship that gets into a maelstrom usually faces massive waves
00:01:14 that can rock even big vessels from side to side pretty intensely. A maelstrom can be so strong,
00:01:22 it can turn into some sort of an underwater black hole. Yep, black holes are not only present in
00:01:28 the cold expanse of space, you can find them here on our home planet too, swirling in the oceans.
00:01:34 They're similar to those in space since they're compacted so tightly that nothing they trap can
00:01:40 escape. Underwater black holes often span up to 93 miles in diameter, and if you got into one of
00:01:49 those, you probably wouldn't even know it. These black holes act like vortices, but because of
00:01:55 their size, even professionals can hardly see their boundaries. Here's something relaxing.
00:02:02 Next time you go to the beach, pay attention, and maybe you'll see an optical phenomenon called the
00:02:08 green flash. You can see it shortly after sunset or right before sunrise. It occurs when the sun
00:02:15 is almost completely below the horizon, while its rim, the upper one, is still visible.
00:02:20 For just a second or two, that upper edge of the sun will appear green. It's because you're looking
00:02:28 at the sun through thicker parts of the atmosphere as it's moving down in the sky. As it's dipping
00:02:34 below the horizon, light refracts, or bends, in the atmosphere and gets dispersed. Wait for a
00:02:42 clear day with no clouds or haze on the horizon to see this phenomenon better. You've been looking
00:02:49 forward to a nice swim, only to realize that the water in the ocean is red? Better avoid going in.
00:02:57 Florida is known for its red tides. It occurs when the concentration of specific microscopic algae
00:03:04 is higher than normal. Thousands of species of algae in marine and fresh waters are mostly
00:03:11 harmless to animals and humans. They even help us, since they're an important source of oxygen.
00:03:17 But some, like the algae that makes the ocean red, can be extremely dangerous for marine animals,
00:03:24 like sea turtles, fish, and seabirds. This kind can grow out of control and produce neurotoxins
00:03:32 harmful to humans, especially those who have some respiratory issues. Such people should avoid red
00:03:38 tide areas, especially when winds are strong enough to push the algae toward the shore.
00:03:43 Volcanoes can spew poisonous gas, ash, and red-hot lava. Those are the most obvious dangers most of
00:03:52 us already know about. But submarine volcanoes can be very tricky in their own way. Sometimes,
00:03:58 when they're located in shallow waters, they reveal their presence by blasting debris of
00:04:03 rock and steam high above the surface. Since submarine volcanoes are surrounded by an
00:04:10 unlimited supply of water, they can behave differently from those on land.
00:04:14 When they erupt, seawater gets into active submarine vents. Lava can be spreading across
00:04:22 a shallow seafloor, or sometimes even flowing into the sea from land volcanoes. When in water,
00:04:28 it may cool down so quickly that it shatters into rubble and sand. So, there are large amounts of
00:04:35 volcanic debris left there. You know those popular black sand beaches in Hawaii? That's how they
00:04:41 formed. Hot lava and powerful eruptions certainly don't sound safe, but submarine volcanoes in
00:04:49 deeper waters are equally dangerous. Even though they're not necessarily erupting, they produce
00:04:55 pockets of bubbles. These bubbles reduce the density of the surrounding waters, which can even
00:05:01 sink ships. The worst thing is that when you look at the surface of the ocean, you can't understand
00:05:08 something's wrong. But at the same time, tiny bubbles are there, causing ships to lose buoyancy
00:05:14 and with very little warning. A cross-sea is a rare phenomenon, beautiful to observe,
00:05:22 but also very dangerous. It's when you see square waves, which are more common in shallow parts of
00:05:28 the ocean. That's something you can often see in France or on certain beaches of Tel Aviv,
00:05:34 but it can also happen in many coastal areas across the world. A cross-sea occurs when two
00:05:42 wave patterns travel at oblique angles. They form this checkerboard-like pattern. It mostly happens
00:05:48 when two swells meet, or when a swell pushes waves in one direction while a strong wind pushes them
00:05:54 in another. These square waves can be dangerous for swimmers and boaters. The waves produced by
00:06:02 strong ocean currents can be pretty unpredictable and tall, sometimes up to almost 10 feet. This
00:06:08 phenomenon is sometimes called white walls. These waves can be so powerful that they can turn over
00:06:14 even big boats. If you fill a clear glass with some ocean water and take a closer look, you'll
00:06:22 see it's full of very small particles. Seawater contains dissolved salts, fats, algae, proteins,
00:06:29 detergents, and other bits of artificial and organic matter. If you shake that glass, you'll
00:06:37 see tiny bubbles forming on its surface. That's how sea foam forms when waves and winds agitate
00:06:43 the ocean. When you see thick sea foam, algal blooms might have caused it. When big blooms
00:06:49 of algae fall apart in the sea, large amounts of that matter move in the direction of dry land.
00:06:54 Most kinds of sea foam aren't dangerous to humans, but when blooms of algae fall apart,
00:07:02 it can have a negative impact on both the environment and people. For example,
00:07:07 when sea foam bubbles pop, the toxins they contain get released into the air,
00:07:12 and they can irritate your eyes or cause some other health issues.
00:07:16 You can see a tidal bore in the areas where a river empties into a sea or an ocean. It's a
00:07:24 powerful tide that goes against the current and pushes up the river. A tidal bore falls into a
00:07:30 category of something called the surge, which is a sudden change in depth. A tidal bore is a positive
00:07:37 surge, which means it pushes up a river, making it much deeper. A negative surge is when the river
00:07:44 suddenly becomes very shallow. You won't see tidal bores everywhere. The river must be fairly shallow
00:07:51 with a narrow outlet to the sea. The place where the sea and the river meet must be flat and wide.
00:07:57 Also, the area between low and high tide must be at least 20 feet across.
00:08:04 Of course, there are some exceptions, like the Amazon River, the world's largest one.
00:08:09 The mouth of the Amazon is not narrow, but the river experiences tidal bores. That's because
00:08:16 its mouth is shallow and has many sandbars and low-lying islands. The tidal bore is so strong
00:08:22 there that the river doesn't even have a delta. Its sediment goes directly into the Atlantic Ocean,
00:08:28 where fast-moving currents take it away. A tidal bore is often unpredictable and can be
00:08:35 extremely rough. In many cases, it changes the color of the river from greenish or blue to brown.
00:08:41 It can damage vegetation or even tear trees out of the ground.
00:08:46 So, recreation sports like kayaking and river surfing can be hazardous in these areas.
00:08:54 Even if you just want to take a look at a tidal bore, be careful. Tidal waves can sweep over
00:08:59 lookout points and drag whatever or whoever is there into the churning river.
00:09:04 In December 2014, an entire district in Budapest got covered with ice crystals. The trees in the
00:09:11 area couldn't handle the pressure from the ice and they started toppling over. It was a spooky
00:09:16 occurrence called ice fog. When it happens, the temperature drops significantly, freezing
00:09:22 everything around, like Dementors did in the Harry Potter movies. All thanks to a temperature flip
00:09:28 flop. It not only messes with what you can see but also creates ghostly pillars and halos that
00:09:34 glow in the dark. Ice fog is made up of tiny ice crystals. When it's below 14 degrees Fahrenheit,
00:09:42 water droplets in the air freeze and turn into ice crystals. Until then, they stay liquid unless
00:09:48 they find something to freeze onto. Ice fog usually forms in chilly parts of the world,
00:09:53 like the Arctic or Antarctic. Budapest was a plot twist. Hot, moist gases from vehicles and planes
00:10:00 can also create ice fog. One plane takes off on a cold day and boom! There's so much ice fog that
00:10:07 the next plane can't see a thing. That sometimes happens. It's not the same as diamond dust,
00:10:13 which is when sparse ice crystals fall from a clear sky. It forms when the humidity is super
00:10:19 high, nearly 100%, and the air temperature drops way below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. This creates ice
00:10:27 crystals in the air and they end up settling on different surfaces. Interestingly, early settlers
00:10:33 thought these ice crystals could get into their lungs and cause some trouble. There are many other
00:10:38 interesting ice formations, such as rabbit ice. It occurs when the air is chilly but the ground
00:10:44 is yet to embrace the frosty vibes. The sap inside plant stems expands as it freezes, making the
00:10:50 stems crack open. Once it happens, liquid slips out, meets the frosty air, and turns into thin
00:10:57 layers of ice, creating beautiful petal or ribbon-like formations. Earthquake lights are
00:11:06 another weird and unique phenomenon. When a powerful magnitude 8.1 earthquake hit Mexico in
00:11:12 2017, images of strange green and blue lights in the sky flooded social media. These so-called
00:11:20 Mexico earthquake lights added another layer of mystery. Similar to ball lightning, earthquake
00:11:26 lights are pretty rare. Fascinating, but tough for scientists to figure out. What makes it tricky
00:11:32 is that the instances of luminosity around earthquakes don't all look the same. There are
00:11:38 both theories and myths about this thing. The lights can appear in many different shapes, forms,
00:11:44 and colors. Digging into history, researchers examined 65 accounts of these lights dating back
00:11:50 to 1600 CE. For instance, on November 12, 1988, people reported a bright purple-pink globe of
00:11:59 light along the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, just 11 days before a powerful quake. In Pisco,
00:12:06 Peru, the lights took the form of bright flashes captured on security cameras before an 8.0
00:12:12 magnitude earthquake in 2007. And before a 2009 earthquake in La Chila, Italy, folks saw 4-inch
00:12:20 flames of light flickering above a stone street. Yet there are still debates about whether earthquake
00:12:26 lights are real or not. The U.S. Geological Survey is a bit cautious, not sure whether
00:12:32 individual reports of unusual lighting around the time and place of an earthquake truly represent
00:12:38 earthquake lights. In one study, scientists theorized that these lights were caused by
00:12:46 electric charges activated in specific types of rocks during seismic activity, like turning on
00:12:52 a battery in Earth's crust. Some rocks, such as basalt and gabbro, have tiny crystal defects.
00:12:59 They might release electrical charges into the air. Researchers estimated that the conditions
00:13:04 needed for the creation of these lights existed in less than 0.5% of earthquakes worldwide.
00:13:10 It could explain their rarity. They also noted that the lights tend to show up more often before
00:13:18 or during quakes than afterward. An earlier study suggested that tectonic stress could create a
00:13:25 piezoelectric effect where quartz-bearing rocks produce strong electric fields when compressed.
00:13:31 Yet studying earthquake lights is tough because they're unpredictable and short-lived.
00:13:36 Time to talk about a sudden ring around the moon or sun. You're walking with a friend and
00:13:46 suddenly see this sun halo. It's nature's warning. A snow or rainstorm is coming.
00:13:52 These halos form when bazillions of tiny ice crystals and clouds refract sunlight.
00:13:57 Resist the temptation to stare at this wonder directly. It can damage your eyes.
00:14:03 Grab sunglasses and then admire it for about 40 minutes.
00:14:07 Nature sends other early warnings too. If the sea mysteriously recedes, showing coral and fish,
00:14:15 a tsunami might be on the way. Watch out for rip currents on the beach.
00:14:19 Sharks might be fleeing a storm if they come unusually close. Feeling your hair stand on
00:14:25 end and jewelry buzzing? Lightning might strike nearby. Seek shelter. Avalanches,
00:14:31 green storms, and lakes near volcanoes are all potential dangers. Cross seas are extremely
00:14:38 dangerous. Cave exploration during a full moon might cost you your life. If the ocean turns
00:14:43 reddish-brown, avoid swimming. There might be toxic algae in the water. Animals sense disasters
00:14:49 too. If they act strangely, pay attention. There's a fascinating blue glow around Matsu
00:14:58 Islands on summer nights. It's caused by tiny glowing creatures. Tourists love watching this
00:15:05 beautiful spectacle, but there's a downside. It's toxic and getting bigger each year,
00:15:11 as revealed by a study. Despite its romantic appearance, this phenomenon is harmful.
00:15:17 A team of oceanographers used satellite data to track its growth over 19 years. After analyzing
00:15:24 almost a thousand satellite images, they concluded that it was expanding into deeper waters.
00:15:30 Unfortunately, this expansion poses a threat to marine life. The bloom of blue tears can poison
00:15:37 fish and sea turtles and even affect human health. While dinoflagellates themselves aren't toxic,
00:15:44 their food, toxic algae, releases harmful chemicals into the water. This process depletes oxygen,
00:15:51 endangering marine animals. The main cause is unclear, but pollution from agriculture down
00:15:58 the Yangtze River seems to play a crucial role. Agricultural runoff introduces nutrients that
00:16:04 fuel the bloom. During the construction of the Three Gorges Dam project, the bloom's size reduced
00:16:10 when the river's flow decreased. After the dam was finished and the river started flowing strongly
00:16:16 again, the bloom resumed its growth. The team predicts that blue tears will keep expanding,
00:16:22 posing an ongoing threat to marine life and creating more vividly glowing waters.
00:16:30 A katabatic wind or drainage wind happens when dense cold air descends from a higher elevation
00:16:36 down a slope due to gravity. These winds can be powerful, sometimes reaching hurricane speeds,
00:16:43 but rarely. Unlike all downslope winds, katabatic winds like the Bora in the Adriatic or Santa Ana
00:16:50 in California originate from cooling air on elevated surfaces like plateaus or mountains.
00:16:56 As the air descends, it warms up. Its temperature depends on the source region.
00:17:01 In Antarctica, katabatic winds are crucial in shaping wind fields. In regions such as
00:17:08 Greenland and Antarctica, these winds can become extremely intense, reaching hurricane force.
00:17:13 They contribute to unique phenomena such as the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica and are
00:17:20 associated with such dangers as Willowaz in the Fugien Archipelago and Alaska.
00:17:28 St. Elmo's Fire is a natural phenomenon worth mentioning. It happens during thunderstorms
00:17:34 or volcanic eruptions when there's a strong electric field around the area. It creates a
00:17:40 bluish or violet glow around such things as ship masts, airplane edges, or sharp objects. This
00:17:46 glow is caused by ionized air molecules and is more noticeable in low-light conditions. The glow
00:17:53 is a form of plasma and it happens when the electric field around an object causes the
00:17:57 ionization of air molecules. This can occur during thunderstorms because there are high
00:18:02 voltage differences between clouds and the ground. Sharp points make it easier for St.
00:18:07 Elmo's Fire to occur because the electric field is more concentrated in those areas.
00:18:13 The colors you see, blue or violet, come from the fluorescence of nitrogen and oxygen in Earth's
00:18:19 atmosphere. Similar to how neon lights work, but with different gases. From ancient Greece
00:18:25 to 15th century China, this phenomenon has been seen throughout history.
00:18:29 Well, this happened in June 2009. People in certain areas in Japan left their homes after
00:18:38 a heavy downpour, only to find fish, frogs, and tadpoles everywhere. Fields, roads, lawns,
00:18:46 rooftops were littered with these aquatic creatures. One man was shocked to see 13 carp
00:18:52 on and around his truck. Apparently, he stopped to count them.
00:18:56 No one knows for sure where the bizarre rain came from, but the most popular theory claims that a
00:19:02 powerful water spout picked up all these creatures, then it carried them through the upper atmosphere
00:19:08 and dropped the animals on the unsuspecting people below.
00:19:11 Shelf clouds look like something from a sci-fi movie. They form when warm and moist air gets
00:19:18 caught in a thunderstorm updraft. These ominous clouds most often mean a storm is coming.
00:19:24 Breathtaking rainbow clouds appear on top of cotton-like puffy clouds after thunderstorms.
00:19:31 The puffy clouds are low-altitude ones. They usually hover at a height of around 6,000 feet.
00:19:38 When the water vapor they contain condenses, the resulting droplets act like prisms.
00:19:43 This forms multicolored caps over the clouds.
00:19:46 Morning glory clouds are extremely rare. They look like massive tubes stretching across the sky.
00:19:54 They can snake for more than 600 miles, sitting relatively low.
00:19:58 Most researchers agree that these clouds appear when an updraft squeezes through the cloud.
00:20:05 This creates the signature rolling appearance. The cool air at the back of the cloud makes it
00:20:10 sink downward. The best, but not the only place to see morning glory is Australia's Gulf of
00:20:16 Carpentaria. If you decide to travel there to see these clouds, choose a period from late September
00:20:23 to early November. It was 2012 when the sky turned first ominous dark, then yellow. After that,
00:20:32 blue gelatinous balls started to fall to the ground. A man from the UK found these balls
00:20:39 outside during a hailstorm. He was walking to his garage when he spotted something unusually
00:20:44 bright among the whitish hailstones. When researchers examined this jelly rain,
00:20:50 they found out the balls were made from the substance used in diapers or potting soil.
00:20:54 It's used to absorb liquid. It's still unclear whether the balls fell from the sky,
00:21:00 or maybe the melting ice made a few already existing crystals expand in the blink of an eye.
00:21:06 Huge white lumps over your head are called mammatus clouds. They can make you believe
00:21:13 the sky is falling. Most clouds form when the air rises into the atmosphere, but not mammatus ones.
00:21:20 They appear when moist and cool air goes down and mixes with dry air. The result? Unique puffed
00:21:27 rice clouds. By the way, if you spot this phenomenon, bad weather is just around the corner.
00:21:33 Colorful nacreous clouds occur extremely high in the atmosphere. I mean, twice as high as a
00:21:42 commercial airplane's cruising altitude. The air at such heights is extremely dry and cold.
00:21:48 Ice crystals and nacreous clouds are much smaller than those that form more common clouds.
00:21:54 They scatter light in a different way. And this gives the clouds their mother-of-pearl appearance.
00:21:59 Blood rain looks more terrifying than any horror movie. But in reality, there's nothing strange or
00:22:07 unnatural about this weather phenomenon. People have known about such scarlet-tinted rains since
00:22:13 the time of ancient Rome. Sometimes, powerful winds lift red dust into the atmosphere and carry
00:22:20 it far, far away. To another galaxy. In the end, this dust gets mixed with clouds, which colors
00:22:28 the rain. By the way, dust from coal mines can make the rain black. Pollen is responsible for
00:22:34 yellow rains. And some other kinds of dust can turn the rainwater white. In Australia,
00:22:42 it sometimes rains spiders. That's because these creatures can balloon. That's a highly unusual way
00:22:48 of traveling. A spider climbs to the very top of a tall tree or shrub. And then it spins several
00:22:55 strands of silk. These strands help the spider to be carried away by the wind. It's not easy to spot
00:23:02 ballooning. But sometimes, if the weather is especially damp and unpleasant, mass ballooning
00:23:08 happens. And then, you can't help but pay attention. Millions of spiders set off on a journey
00:23:14 to find another place with better conditions. It may seem like it's snowing outside. But no,
00:23:20 those are spiders drifting down to the ground. Ever see huge round disks in the sky? Most likely,
00:23:28 those were lenticular clouds. They usually form over large and high places, like mountains or
00:23:34 hills. When strong winds bump into some barrier, this creates an air wave. The air kinda wraps
00:23:41 around the obstacle. And the higher the barrier is, the colder the air that's rising over it becomes.
00:23:47 At some point, the moisture it contains turns into water droplets, and they form the unusual
00:23:53 clouds. Lenticular clouds can look like waves, a pizza, or even a stack of pancakes. How yummy!
00:24:00 Volcanic tornadoes are possibly one of the most terrifying natural phenomena.
00:24:06 When a volcano erupts, it spews red-hot rock and ash high into the air. As for solid lava pieces
00:24:13 and hot gases, they travel down the volcano's slope. When this flow moves down, some of the
00:24:19 trapped gases begin to rise and spin at the same time. They get squeezed by the surrounding air,
00:24:25 which makes them spin faster and faster. That's how a volcanic tornado gets born.
00:24:31 Luckily, this phenomenon has a very short lifespan. On March 19, 2018, the inhabitants of Alabama had
00:24:39 to run for their lives. Otherwise, they would've been hit by huge chunks of ice falling from the
00:24:45 sky. It was the infamous hailstorm that caused millions of dollars worth of damage. After the
00:24:51 hailstorm, the area looked gloomy. Broken shop windows, smashed car windshields, busted billboards,
00:24:58 holes in the roofs. At least, researchers got excited when they found a hailstone near the
00:25:03 town of Cullman. This softball-sized monster was more than 5 inches across. No wonder it's
00:25:10 set a new state record. Cylindrical snow donuts occur when a wind gust decides to make a snowball.
00:25:18 It starts to roll some snow across a snowy area. If it were a real snowball, it would eventually
00:25:23 become too heavy for the wind to move. But the snow donut's center is hollowed out. This happens
00:25:29 because its inner layer is too thin and is blown away when the donut is formed. This makes it
00:25:35 lighter than a snowball, and that's why it also rolls farther. Unfortunately, you just can't go
00:25:41 and find snow donuts. They're rare because they need very precise conditions to appear.
00:25:48 Moonbows are a much rarer phenomenon than rainbows. They're caused by moonlight rather
00:25:53 than direct sunlight and occur only when the moon is near full. Moonbows are dim and often seem to
00:26:00 be white. But it's just an illusion. The human eye is just not sensitive enough to catch all the
00:26:06 colors. Lightning balls are small floating spheres of light. They can be orange, yellow, or even red.
00:26:13 Sometimes, lightning balls descend from the sky. In other cases, they appear out of nowhere,
00:26:19 hovering several feet above the ground. They don't emit any heat or produce very little sound.
00:26:25 Lightning balls can bounce off objects. If they come across something electrical, like a TV,
00:26:30 they usually disappear with a quiet pop, leaving behind the smell of sulfur. But lightning balls
00:26:36 can also start fires or explode. Scientists believe lightning balls might be connected
00:26:42 with thunderstorms, but there's no solid proof yet. Fogbows are almost white, pale blue on the
00:26:50 inside, and faint red on the outside. You have higher chances of seeing a fogbow over the cold
00:26:56 sea or ocean when warm air comes into contact with much colder air. This phenomenon also occurs when
00:27:03 the sun is bright, and the fog is thin enough for the light to get through. Pele's hair is thin lava
00:27:10 threads. They look golden and pretty, but don't even think about picking them up. Yeah, they can
00:27:16 harm you. The wind sometimes catches small droplets of lava coming from active volcanoes.
00:27:21 These droplets get carried miles away from the vent. They get stretched into super-thin glass
00:27:28 wires, also called hair lava. Some strands can be as long as 6 feet.
00:27:34 In March 2018, those who looked up in the sky in northern Nevada saw one of the rarest and most
00:27:41 bizarre clouds ever. It was a horseshoe cloud. Such a vortex happens when a flat cloud travels
00:27:48 over a column of warm, rising air. This air not only gives the cloud its impressive shape,
00:27:54 but also adds some spin to its movement. But you've gotta be quick! Horseshoe clouds are
00:28:00 very fleeting and usually last for only several minutes. Frost flowers bloom on young sea ice in
00:28:07 the Arctic Ocean or on thin lake ice. They're fragile and delicate ice crystals. These
00:28:13 structures grow during temperature changes. They draw moisture from the ice surface and rise,
00:28:19 capturing bacteria and salt. You can find frost flowers in Antarctica too. But wherever these
00:28:25 crystals grow, people know, disappointingly, very little about them. Still, they're awfully pretty.
00:28:31 Floods, tornadoes, tsunamis, hurricanes, yikes! All these natural disasters can get extremely
00:28:40 dangerous, but we're kinda familiar with them. But how about a natural disaster that has never
00:28:46 happened before, but could occur any moment now? It might be a super-eruption. That's what happens
00:28:54 when a supervolcano erupts. You might know that Yellowstone Park is located on top of a
00:29:00 supervolcano. The last massive eruption there happened about 664,000 years ago, and the one
00:29:07 before that, approximately 1.3 million years ago. If we do the math, we'll understand that the next
00:29:14 eruption might be due any time soon. There's no strong evidence that the supervolcano is waking up
00:29:21 or preparing for an eruption, but what would it be like if it did happen?
00:29:26 Months before the eruption, small-scale earthquakes would become more frequent and
00:29:31 more powerful in the area. Not long before the eruption, the growing pressure would push up the
00:29:36 ground over the volcano, creating a dome. Narrow cracks would open along the edges of this dome.
00:29:43 The magma would then start rising toward the surface, and then the eruption would kick off.
00:29:49 A massive column of lava and ash would shoot up into the air to a height of over 16 miles.
00:29:56 The volcano would keep pumping ash for days on end. The air in that area would heat up to 570
00:30:02 degrees Fahrenheit. For all living creatures, ash fallout would be one of the most dangerous
00:30:08 consequences of the eruption. Buildings and trees would start collapsing under the weight of this
00:30:13 dense substance. It would only take a couple of days for a 10-foot layer of ash to cover
00:30:18 the territory of about 50 miles around the center of the eruption. After the ash got into the
00:30:25 stratosphere, the temperatures all over the world would start to drop. The eruption would also be
00:30:30 rich in sulfur, and this element is an effective sun-blocker. That's why it would soon get so cold
00:30:37 that there would be no summer in the whole world for the next several years. The monsoon seasons
00:30:43 would change. It would be hard for animals to find food and clean water. Well now, how about
00:30:50 a gamma-ray burst? You don't stumble across this kind of radiation in your everyday life.
00:30:55 A gamma-ray burst occurs when two neutron stars collide. The collapse of a massive star can
00:31:02 produce it too. Gamma rays could present a serious danger to Earth. If a gamma-ray burst happened
00:31:08 close to our home planet, it could rip our ozone layer away. After that, we would be left unprotected
00:31:15 from the sun's ultraviolet radiation. Plus, gamma rays could also produce ground ozone.
00:31:21 This kind of ozone could seep into the ocean since it's water-soluble, and that would lead
00:31:26 to a mass extinction of marine life. Plants wouldn't survive this disaster either.
00:31:33 Now come to think of it, giant sinkholes could swallow entire communities. One of such sinkholes
00:31:39 opened up in the city of New York. It pulled a parked van into the Earth. That happened in the
00:31:45 summer of 2022. And it wasn't the only sinkhole to appear in that area. Local inhabitants reported
00:31:52 about 4,000 sinkholes all over the city. This kind of problem is also very common in Florida,
00:31:59 and it's much more serious than it may sound. Sinkholes open all of a sudden, pulling down
00:32:05 everything and everyone that happens to be nearby. Sinkholes appear all over the world,
00:32:10 which makes them a global problem. They're totally unpredictable and form without warning.
00:32:16 Luckily, experts know what causes them. In some areas, there are vast areas of groundwater.
00:32:23 But during droughts, this water dries up. This creates large empty caverns. And after heavy
00:32:29 rains, the surface over such a cavern can collapse, creating a sinkhole within minutes.
00:32:35 Now, what if we came across a wandering black hole? You might know that a black hole is a region
00:32:43 in space where gravity is so powerful that not even light can escape its clutches. Luckily,
00:32:50 the nearest one to us is 1,500 light-years away. Nothing to worry about, right?
00:32:55 Until you find out about wandering black holes. Now, things get definitely way creepier.
00:33:02 If such a black hole entered the Solar System, Earth would be doomed. We wouldn't stand a chance
00:33:09 against this space monster. In 2012, 13 wandering black holes were spotted not so far away from our
00:33:16 planet. But worry not, not far away in space terms means around 1 billion light-years away.
00:33:23 So we've got some time left. Plus, the possibility of such a disaster is very, very low.
00:33:29 Another natural disaster we haven't experienced yet is a mega-flood. It's never happened before,
00:33:37 but the changes in climate do make for a risky potential. It could start, let's say, in
00:33:43 California. This state experienced some really bad flooding in the past. One of such floods stretched
00:33:49 up to 60 miles across and 300 miles long. If a similar disaster happened these days,
00:33:56 it would cause $1 trillion worth of damage. It would also uproot millions of people.
00:34:02 Now let's talk about a hypercane. Judging from the name, this natural disaster might get extreme.
00:34:11 A hypercane is a theoretical hurricane of unsurpassed power. It would occur if the
00:34:17 ocean became overheated as a result of climate change, or because of a massive volcanic eruption.
00:34:24 In any case, these conditions could create a hurricane that would stretch way beyond the
00:34:29 lower stratosphere. And as you may guess, regular hurricanes don't do that. The hypercane speed would
00:34:36 reach 500 mph. The pressure inside would be low enough not to let the hypercane to wear out as
00:34:43 quickly as other hurricanes. The hypercane could last for weeks on end. But the worst thing? It
00:34:49 could damage or even destroy part of Earth's ozone layer. And the hole could be the size of the
00:34:55 entire North American continent. Now this disaster did happen before.
00:35:01 About 66 million years ago, I bet you know what I'm hinting at. Yep, that very meteor that
00:35:09 supposedly wiped out dinosaurs off the face of the Earth. This 7-mile-wide space visitor was
00:35:15 traveling at 67,000 mph. As a result of the collision, 75% of all life on the planet disappeared,
00:35:24 and winter rained on Earth for 18 months. Want to know a secret? Meteors strike Earth
00:35:31 all the time. Even more of them barely miss our planet. But it's also very hard to predict
00:35:36 meteor strikes. Scientists miss a lot of them until they just nearly miss us. That's why
00:35:42 experts are working on an early warning system that could prevent disasters. It could make
00:35:48 meteor impacts less catastrophic or at least allow people time to evacuate.
00:35:55 It could also be our very own Sun that would be responsible for another natural disaster.
00:36:00 I'm talking about a massive solar flare. On the scale of damage to society,
00:36:06 few catastrophes can compare to this event. It wouldn't destroy buildings like a tsunami or
00:36:12 an earthquake. Neither would it end lives in the same way a supervolcano or meteor would.
00:36:18 But it would cripple our entire way of life by destroying the whole electronic infrastructure
00:36:24 of Earth. The cost of this disaster would reach trillions of dollars. It'd cause other infrastructures
00:36:31 to fail. Communication, medicine, transportation, banking systems… those would tumble like dominoes.
00:36:38 And it would be incredibly hard to recover them. Earth would be left without electricity for years.
00:36:44 There would be no electric light, no computers, no phones. Water supply systems would be out
00:36:51 of order. There would be no food in supermarkets. There would be no electricity. And people wouldn't
00:36:56 be able to reboot the already broken power grids. In 1859, people all over the world woke up in the
00:37:04 middle of the night. It was as light as during the day. The skies were illuminated with auroras – red,
00:37:11 green, purple. They appeared even in the regions where no one had seen them before, like the
00:37:17 Bahamas, Jamaica, or Hawaii. Telegraphs got electrically charged even though they were
00:37:23 disconnected. In many areas, fires started. That was when technology barely existed.
00:37:30 But imagine the avalanche of problems a solar flare could cause today!
00:37:34 Hey, ever heard of a fire rainbow? Yeah, me neither. How about a circumhorizontal arc?
00:37:44 Didn't think so, but just so you know, they're one and the same thing. At first glance,
00:37:50 it looks like a painting, or like a rainbow-colored splash in the sky. Despite the name,
00:37:55 they have nothing in common with either fire or rain. This phenomenon happens on rare occasions
00:38:02 when the sun shines through a particular type of ice cloud formation.
00:38:05 The rainbow halos are just as unique. Again, a specific type of ice crystals and clouds
00:38:12 needs to be present for the surface of the Earth to bend light from the sun into a perfect ring.
00:38:18 The same thing can happen with moonlight. The only difference will be that moon halos are usually
00:38:24 white, and sun halos can be rainbow-colored. When visiting regions with high altitudes,
00:38:30 you may be one of the lucky people to stumble upon penitentes. They're basically naturally-formed
00:38:36 ice spikes. For them to be formed, they need a really cold and elevated environment where the
00:38:42 air is dry. The sunlight turns ice directly into vapor, rather than melting it into water.
00:38:48 And that's why these blades of snow and ice start to pop up on the surface of the Earth.
00:38:53 As cute as they may be, they can end up as tall as 15 feet!
00:38:58 Now, what happens when small, individual droplets of lava meet the wind? Pele's hair, basically.
00:39:06 Let me explain. The word "pele" comes from an ancient Hawaiian symbol for volcanoes.
00:39:11 Whenever the wind picks up little drops of lava, it stretches them into hair-like strands,
00:39:17 similar to the process of glass wire creation. These delicate strands can stretch as far as 6 feet.
00:39:24 On rare occasions, it can rain without any clouds. But does it really? Let's look at the science
00:39:31 behind this rare phenomenon. It's sometimes called a "sun shower" just because it looks like the rain
00:39:38 is falling straight from the sun. Let's be clear, though. There is no way rain can ever come down
00:39:44 directly from a star. Rain clouds are at a bit of a distance from that specific location. With sun
00:39:50 rays being angled, the clouds become out of sight. Add a little wind to blow the rain in your
00:39:56 direction, and ta-da! You get sun showers! Located in Bolivia is a place called Salar de
00:40:04 Uyuni. It's the largest salt flat in the world. It's also the home of half of the world's lithium,
00:40:10 which is a crucial component for making batteries. But what else is so special about this place?
00:40:16 Well, whenever the rain season comes, it turns this piece of flat land into a perfectly reflective
00:40:22 mirror lake. What comes to your mind when you hear about the Blood Falls? A horror movie?
00:40:29 Well, they are merely a series of waterfalls located in one of the driest regions of Antarctica.
00:40:35 They emerge from an underground lake filled with a special kind of bacteria.
00:40:39 These little organisms use sulfates as fuel instead of sugars, which makes them very intriguing for
00:40:45 scientists. The water contained in this lake is so full of iron that it basically just rusts when
00:40:52 it meets the air. Hence the reddish color of the waterfall, which also gives it its trademark name.
00:40:58 Okay, we all know the song, but it's not really made up. There is actually such a thing called
00:41:04 a desert rose. It's not a plant, though, but a unique form of the mineral gypsum.
00:41:10 It develops in dry sandy places that can occasionally flood. This constant switching
00:41:15 between a wet and dry environment lets the gypsum crystals emerge between grains of sand,
00:41:21 trapping them and forming a rose-like shape. Ever heard of the Eye of Sahara? Scientists are
00:41:27 still trying to figure out how it was formed. You can only see it if you fly above it, but it's
00:41:33 basically a naturally formed dome that dates back to approximately 100 million years ago.
00:41:39 And no, I wasn't around then. It has a rough diameter of 25 miles and consists of a bunch of
00:41:46 concentric rings. The biggest one, or the central area, measures about 19 miles in diameter.
00:41:53 Astronauts were some of the first people to notice it, and it's been studied ever since. In fact,
00:41:59 even to this day, when landing in Florida, they know they're almost home when they see the Eye
00:42:04 of Sahara. One of the most beautifully colored trees in the world is located in the Philippines
00:42:11 and Indonesia. It's called the Rainbow Eucalyptus. It got its name because of its bark that switches
00:42:17 colors and peels away as the tree ages. The bright green bark is the youngest, as it contains a
00:42:24 substance called chlorophyll, usually found in leaves. It then switches to purple and then to
00:42:29 the color red. And finally, it turns brown as it grows and loses the chlorophyll.
00:42:35 Now don't be tricked into thinking that's a whole forest. It's one single tree. And no,
00:42:42 it's not some sort of optical illusion either. Let me explain. Underneath that soil, there is a
00:42:48 complex network of roots that connects around 47,000 tree-like shapes you see above the ground.
00:42:55 It's called the Quaking Aspen. Some of these trees are among the oldest and largest organisms
00:43:01 in the world. Now here's a good destination for all travelers. Or maybe not so good, after all.
00:43:08 The most lightning-stricken area in the world, according to recent data released by NASA,
00:43:14 is Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela. Out of all the days in a year, 300 of them feature thunderstorms
00:43:21 in this location. What makes this area so unique, though, that storms happen so often? Well,
00:43:27 it's because where cool mountain air meets the warm moist breeze and generates electricity over
00:43:33 the lake. The Eternal Flame Falls are located in upstate New York, near the Canadian border.
00:43:40 In this region, there is a tiny waterfall with a big secret – a spark about 8 inches tall.
00:43:46 Turns out there's a natural gas seep that provides fuel to the flame behind the waterfall.
00:43:52 The waterfall provides enough coverage so that it stays lit pretty much every time.
00:43:57 Hikers do enjoy to relight it if they see that it's been blown out. This phenomenon is actually
00:44:03 quite common, but this one gained more popularity because it is younger than most. And it looks very
00:44:09 good in pictures, let's be honest. I've heard of yellow sand, white sand, and even black sand
00:44:16 here or there. But I've never heard of green beaches until now. Papacolia, also known as Green
00:44:22 Sand Beach, is located in Hawaii and is one of the few beaches in the world that features green sand.
00:44:29 The unique coloring comes from olivine rock that was formed when a nearby volcano erupted.
00:44:35 Actually, in Hawaii, all the volcanoes are nearby. Move over, green sands, because some of the other
00:44:42 beaches around the world can even glow at night. And it's completely natural. The culprit? A little
00:44:49 thing called photoplankton, or microalgae as they're sometimes called. They're basically
00:44:54 little plants that contain chlorophyll and need sunlight in order to live and grow.
00:44:59 Most photoplankton kinds are able to float in the upper part of the ocean,
00:45:04 where the sunlight can still reach them beneath the water. When the photoplankton gets agitated
00:45:09 by the movement of waves and currents, they emit light, which looks like some glow during the
00:45:15 night. These special microorganisms are found on beaches in a lot of places around the world,
00:45:21 such as the Maldives, Puerto Rico, and the Everglades.
00:45:24 At the base of a mountain located just outside of Afton, Wyoming, is a little river called the
00:45:31 Intermittent Spring. There are only 3 of this kind in the whole world, but what makes this
00:45:37 little string of water so mysterious? Well, the fact that it starts and stops every few minutes.
00:45:43 Scientists have yet to pinpoint precisely why this happens. They speculate that it's basically
00:45:48 just a siphon effect that happens deep within the ground that causes the river to just start and
00:45:54 stop so often. Should you ever be interested in checking it out, be sure to do so in the late
00:45:59 summer, as that's when the intermittent spring is most active. Do you see the irony here? You
00:46:06 can only see the spring in the summer? Okay, I'm done.
00:46:11 You're in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, one of the driest places on Earth. But this
00:46:16 desert has a beautiful secret. Every 3 to 5 years, flowers pop up out of nowhere. It's so famous,
00:46:24 it's also called the flowering desert. Seeds lie around in the ground just waiting for some rain.
00:46:30 When the desert gets enough water, about 200 types of flowers sprout up.
00:46:35 The yellow sands of the Atacama turn purple, white, green, and even pink.
00:46:41 Another mystical phenomenon that can be seen in the desert is called a sand waterfall. When the
00:46:46 wind brings a lot of sand to the edge of the canyon, it begins to fall down. Now amplify
00:46:52 this effect 100 times, and you get a sand waterfall in Saudi Arabia. It really is like Niagara Falls,
00:46:59 only there's not a drop of water. The locals say this phenomenon warns of an impending sandstorm.
00:47:06 Fairy rings, also known as elf rings or pixie rings, are mysterious circles of mushrooms that
00:47:12 appear in grasslands and forested areas. There's a lot of debate about why these fairy rings form
00:47:18 a nearly perfect circle. Some superstitions claim that fairy dances would burn the ground,
00:47:24 causing mushrooms to rapidly grow. In southern India, between July and September 2001,
00:47:31 people witnessed one of the strangest weather phenomena in recorded history.
00:47:36 The rain was red. What many would've thought to be a typical rainstorm left them shocked. The
00:47:43 color was bright enough to stain clothes. There were other colors too, such as green, yellow,
00:47:48 brown, and even black. In the middle of a monsoon, red rain started to fall, and so did periodically
00:47:55 for several weeks. Researchers have found this unusual rain is stained either by dust or algae,
00:48:01 so don't try to catch any on your tongue. Scientists aren't entirely sure how the algae
00:48:07 got all the way up there. This does make events like this a little unsettling.
00:48:12 Now, people who live in rural central Norway, over the Hestalen Valley, can often witness
00:48:18 floating lights of white, yellow, and red cross the sky. The lights appear both at day and night,
00:48:25 and once back in the 80s, they were spotted 15 to 20 times in a single week. The Hestalen lights
00:48:33 can last just a few seconds, but sometimes they can last more than an hour. The lights move,
00:48:39 seeming to float or even sway around. Some scientists believe that the reason for these
00:48:44 lights is due to ionized iron dust. Others say it's a combination that includes sodium, oxygen,
00:48:50 and hydrogen. Many people claim they're just misidentified aircrafts. Norway!
00:48:56 Snow doughnuts are one of the rarest meteorological sights to see, with perfect weather
00:49:02 conditions needed just to create them. Found in any snow-covered mountain area, like the Rocky
00:49:07 Mountains, the wind, temperature, snow, ice, and moisture all have to work together for us to see
00:49:14 these phenomenal rings. A thin layer of wet snow on the ground. Under that layer, ice or powdered
00:49:20 snow. Then, a strong enough breeze to roll the doughnut down a hill, just like a snowball. Once
00:49:27 it stops rolling, it can be the size of a baseball or as large as a car tire. It all depends on how
00:49:33 strong the wind is. A newly formed snow doughnut won't stay around for very long, so hurry up with
00:49:39 that camera and watch your head! Can you believe there's another place on Earth with its own
00:49:45 ecosystem and atmosphere, similar to another planet? Well, start believing! Muvil Cave,
00:49:51 located in southeastern Romania, remained closed in complete darkness for a whopping
00:49:57 5.5 million years. It wasn't until workers discovered the cave, when they were looking
00:50:02 for a place to build, that anyone learned about it. Scientists carved out an opening to the cave
00:50:07 and found that a completely sustained ecosystem was thriving inside. As a pathway was carved
00:50:13 through the rock past numerous tunnels, scientists found a lake of sulfuric water that stank like
00:50:20 rotten eggs. The air was filled with hydrogen sulfide and had 100 times more carbon dioxide
00:50:26 than Earth's atmosphere contains. Needless to say, this air is completely toxic. What's even
00:50:32 crazier is that a whole ecosystem has been existing in this cave, with 33 species that
00:50:38 can't be found anywhere else on Earth. This cave gives us a glimpse of what could possibly exist
00:50:44 on other planets with completely different atmospheres. How it managed to exist on Earth
00:50:49 all this time without anyone knowing is rather unbelievable, isn't it?
00:50:54 Now check these trees out. They're called Indian rubber trees. Their strong roots grow not
00:51:00 underground but on the surface. With the help of special frames and fasteners, people have learned
00:51:06 to control how these roots grow. Let's say a tree is next to a small pit. You need to make a bridge
00:51:12 from one end of this pit to the other. You direct the growing tree roots in the needed direction.
00:51:18 Over time, the roots penetrate the ground and strengthen under endless downpours. It takes
00:51:23 about 15 years to create one bridge. Here's another amazing tree called the
00:51:29 Tree of Life. It grows in Bahrain's desert. The tree has been standing on top of this
00:51:34 sandy hill for more than 400 years, surrounded by miles of sand. It's extremely hot here,
00:51:40 and there's no moisture. But despite this, the tree has green leaves, and it continues to grow.
00:51:46 So far, scientists haven't figured out yet how the tree gets moisture and nutrients.
00:51:51 There are only places with oil deposits around. Locals think the tree is sacred. After all,
00:51:57 it demonstrates the magic of life and the power of nature. Some experts are sure it's all about
00:52:03 the roots. They go so deep that they can reach underground sources of water.
00:52:08 So, there you are. You've been driving for hours through the night. You didn't have any
00:52:14 chance to sleep, so your mind is hanging by a thread. You stop the car and go out to stretch
00:52:20 your limbs. And then you look up into the sky and see a beautiful sunrise. Well, wait. There are
00:52:27 three suns in the sky. You rub your eyes, but nope, there are still three bright stars in the sky.
00:52:33 No, our home star hasn't been torn into three pieces, nor has it been visited by two other
00:52:40 stars. This is called a sun-dawn. It occurs mostly during severe frosts. Small ice crystals in the
00:52:47 sky bend the light. As a result, you may see three bright spots in the sky instead of just one.
00:52:53 This phenomenon is officially called a halo. Usually, it's just a circle around the sun.
00:52:59 You can even see a halo at night, too. Just look at a street lamp, and you'll see a bright circle
00:53:04 around it. Sometimes, a halo can take on a fancier shape. If there's a lot of ice in the air,
00:53:10 the light is warped even more. Just like in a room with a dozen mirrors,
00:53:15 then the halo can take on the shape of a human eye.
00:53:19 Because of this phenomenon, a false dawn can also occur. While you're looking at the horizon,
00:53:25 the dawn begins, and the edge of the sun appears. A little bit more, and wait,
00:53:31 the sun starts to just dissolve in the sky. After a few moments, it's dark again. And only a minute
00:53:38 later, the real sun shows its face. It was the same light curvature effect you saw before with
00:53:44 the three suns. Only now, the light is curved vertically, not horizontally. And instead of
00:53:50 the real sun, its reflection in ice crystals in the sky appeared. But the sunrise with three
00:53:56 stars on the horizon is actually real. Not on Earth, though, but 340 light-years away.
00:54:02 There's a star system at the center of which lurks a star almost twice the size of the sun.
00:54:09 And there are two smaller stars orbiting around this giant. The strange world has a planet too.
00:54:14 Sunsets and dawns there really happen with three stars. If you brought your significant other to
00:54:21 a park bench to watch a sunset here, your date would go just fine. Whatever that means.
00:54:27 And since we're talking about the most baffling natural phenomena,
00:54:31 it would be a crime not to mention snow in a desert. Yep, in the winter of 2018,
00:54:38 the inhabitants of the Sahara Desert, one of the driest and hottest places on this planet,
00:54:43 woke up to discover a thick blanket of snow covering the sand. In some places,
00:54:48 the layer of snow enveloping the dunes reached a staggering 15 inches. Meteorologists, however,
00:54:55 had an explanation for this exciting phenomenon. They stated that cold pools of air, combined with
00:55:01 the precipitation from the most recent storm, resulted in a snowfall instead of rain.
00:55:07 So what do you do in that case? Build snow camels? Hmm, one hump or two.
00:55:12 You're dozing off in your window seat on a plane. It's getting dark since it's almost 11 pm.
00:55:22 Suddenly, something wakes you up. You glance out of the window and see a really strange phenomenon.
00:55:28 Something that creeps you out. There are bright red huge flashes illuminating the sky at a distance.
00:55:35 They resemble some nightmarish jellyfish. Those are sprites, also called red sprites due to their
00:55:41 color. They're also known as cloud-to-space lightning. These varied visual shapes flickering
00:55:48 in the night sky are large-scale electric discharges, which is a clever word for a
00:55:53 lightning strike. They occur high above thunderstorm clouds at altitudes of 30 to 56 miles.
00:55:59 That's why you can see them so well from your plane window. The coolest thing about sprites
00:56:05 is that they're positively charged lightning. This is a very rare type that makes up a mere 5%
00:56:10 of all lightning strikes. People first spotted this phenomenon in 1886, and it was first
00:56:17 photographed in 1989. In 2018, the legendary Niagara Falls located at the border between
00:56:24 New York State and Ontario, Canada, managed to surprise everyone. Tourists who came to admire
00:56:30 the roaring waters found the falls frozen. Well, the waterfalls weren't frozen per se.
00:56:37 This is impossible for a mass of flowing water that huge, but microscopic water droplets,
00:56:42 as well as the mist, formed a crust of ice over the rushing water. It created an illusion that
00:56:48 Niagara Falls was frozen all over. In reality, the water kept flowing beneath the ice.
00:56:55 Imagine ponds filled with ice-cold water and covered with ice. Easy, huh? And now picture
00:57:02 dozens of alligator snouts that are poking out of the ponds, still and frozen in ice.
00:57:07 That's what you'd seen if you had visited the swamps of North Carolina at the beginning of 2018.
00:57:13 Despite this terrifying picture, the animals were very much alive.
00:57:17 That was a very special crocodile way to survive abnormally cold weather.
00:57:23 Since their nostrils were above water, the animals could breathe. Meanwhile,
00:57:27 their bodies were in a hibernation-like state. It allowed the animals to conserve energy and stay
00:57:33 warm. In the winter of 2018, the inhabitants of the Sahara Desert, one of the driest and hottest
00:57:40 places on the planet, woke up to discover a thick layer of snow covering the sand.
00:57:45 In some places, its depth reached a staggering 15 inches. Meteorologists had an explanation for
00:57:52 this exciting phenomenon. They said that cold pools of air combined with the precipitation
00:57:57 of the most recent storm resulted in snowfall instead of rain. It happened in June 2009.
00:58:04 People in some areas in Japan left their homes after a heavy downpour, only to find fish,
00:58:10 frogs, and tadpoles everywhere. Fields, roads, lawns, and house roofs were littered with these
00:58:18 creatures. One man even found 13 carp on and around his truck. No one knows for sure where
00:58:24 this bizarre rain came from, but the most popular theory is that a powerful water spout picked up
00:58:29 the animals. Then it carried them through the upper atmosphere and dropped them on the unsuspecting
00:58:35 people below. In Australia, it sometimes rains spiders. That's because these creatures can
00:58:43 balloon. It's a highly unusual way of traveling. A spider climbs to the very top of a tall tree
00:58:49 or shrub, and then it spins several strands of silk which then help the spider to be carried
00:58:55 away by the wind. It's not easy to spot ballooning spiders, but sometimes when the weather is
00:59:01 especially damp and unpleasant, mass ballooning occurs. Millions of spiders set off on a journey
00:59:08 to find another place with better conditions. It may look as if it's snowing outside, but no,
00:59:14 those are spiders drifting down to the ground. The world's longest lightning storms happen in
00:59:21 Venezuela and can last for nine hours per day. The heart of the storm is over Lake Maracaibo,
00:59:28 and the clouds tower way higher than your regular thunderstorm clouds. This natural phenomenon,
00:59:34 also known as Catatumbo lightning, occurs during 140 to 160 nights a year and can produce up to
00:59:41 28 lightning strikes per minute. You've probably heard how they say that lightning doesn't strike
00:59:47 twice in the same place. Well, Catatumbo lightning seems not to know about this rule.
00:59:52 At least it doesn't prevent storm clouds from gathering in the very same place year after year.
00:59:59 Volcanic tornadoes are possibly one of the most terrifying natural phenomenon.
01:00:04 When a volcano erupts, it spews red hot rock and ash high into the atmosphere,
01:00:09 and solid lava pieces and hot gases travel down the volcano's slope. When this flow is moving down,
01:00:17 some of the trapped gases begin to rise and spin at the same time. They get squeezed by the
01:00:23 surrounding air, which makes them spin faster and faster. That's how a volcanic tornado gets born.
01:00:30 Luckily, this phenomenon has a very short lifespan.
01:00:33 Even though the island of Newfoundland in Canada can't be called the warmest place on earth,
01:00:40 it's still not that cold. But imagine having to shovel snow in front of your house just several
01:00:46 days before your summer vacation. Well, that's exactly what happened on the island in June 2018.
01:00:52 A cold storm that came from the coast of Newfoundland covered several regions of the
01:00:56 islands with a two-inch layer of snow. On top of that, the temperature broke all the records as
01:01:02 well. During a Newfoundland summer, it's about 66 degrees on average and 90 degrees on a very hot
01:01:09 day. But that infamous June impressed people with only 37 degrees Fahrenheit in the morning. Brr!
01:01:18 Morning glory clouds are extremely rare. They look like massive tubes stretching across the sky.
01:01:24 They can snake for more than 600 miles, sitting relatively low. Most researchers agree that these
01:01:31 clouds appear when an updraft squeezes through the cloud. This creates the signature rolling
01:01:36 appearance. The cool air at the back of the cloud makes it sink downward. The best but not the only
01:01:44 place to see the morning glory is Australia's Gulf of Carpentaria. If you decide to travel
01:01:50 there to see these clouds, choose a period from late September to early November.
01:01:54 On March 19, 2018, the inhabitants of Alabama saw huge chunks of ice falling from the sky.
01:02:04 It was the infamous hailstorm of Alabama which caused millions of dollars worth of damage.
01:02:09 After the hailstorm, the place looked ruined. Broken shop windows, smashed car windshields,
01:02:15 broken billboards, and holes in the roofs. But what made researchers really excited was a
01:02:21 hailstone found near the town of Cullman, Alabama. This softball-sized monster was more than 5 inches
01:02:28 across, setting a new state record. In 2012, the sky over Dorset, England turned first ominously
01:02:36 dark, then yellow. After that, blue gelatinous balls started to fall to the ground. A local man
01:02:43 was walking to his garage when he spotted something unusually bright among whitish hailstones.
01:02:48 When researchers examined this jelly rain, they found out that the balls were made of the substance
01:02:54 used in diapers or potting soil. It's used to absorb liquid. It's still unclear whether the
01:03:00 balls fell from the sky or maybe the melting ice made a few already existing crystals expand in
01:03:06 the blink of an eye. In March 2018, people in northern Nevada could see the rarest and most
01:03:13 bizarre cloud ever, a horseshoe cloud. It sure looks bizarre and kinda scary, but meteorologists
01:03:21 know that this interestingly shaped vortex happens when a flat cloud travels over a column of warm,
01:03:27 rising air. This air creates this shape and adds some spin to the cloud's movements. Such clouds
01:03:34 are very fleeting and usually last for only several minutes. Cylindrical snow donuts occur
01:03:40 when a wind gust decides to play snowballs. It starts to roll some snow across a snowy area.
01:03:46 If it was a real snowball, it would eventually become too heavy for the wind to move.
01:03:51 But the center of a snow donut is hollowed out. This happens because its inner layer is too thin
01:03:58 and gets blown away when the donut is formed. This makes it lighter than a regular snowball.
01:04:04 That's why it also rolls further. Unfortunately, you can't just go and find snow donuts.
01:04:09 They're rare because they appear in very precise conditions.
01:04:14 You feel some rumbling from below. No, it's not your tummy. It's low and ominous. You look up and
01:04:21 see strange lights hanging above the ground. They look like shimmering balls of light hovering high
01:04:26 up in the sky. Your throat goes dry and you gulp. That's what they call the earthquake lights. This
01:04:33 phenomenon is poorly understood, but witnesses say they've seen it in different shapes and sizes.
01:04:39 It could be in the form of light balls, sheet lightning, streamers, and a steady glow in the sky.
01:04:45 Soon after, a strong earthquake follows. Scientists can't explain why those lights appear,
01:04:51 and they don't always do either. Some believe that's a reaction of underground gases
01:04:56 released into the atmosphere. Sure enough, an earthquake begins. But lucky you, it's not as
01:05:03 strong as you expected. The ground is shaking, but you even manage to keep your balance. It stops as
01:05:09 abruptly as it began, and you walk home. On the way home, you see a flash and hear a whip crack.
01:05:16 Lightning has struck a lone tree near where you just stood. It's caught on fire, and there's a
01:05:22 column of flames rising to the sky. Still no rain, and the pillar becomes taller and taller. Have you
01:05:29 heard of such a thing as a fire tornado? These phenomena occur when the wind is caught in a
01:05:34 circle close to the ground because of the difference in air pressure. Such mini tornadoes
01:05:39 are usually easy to notice. Small rubble, dust, sand, and leaves rise into the air and start flying
01:05:46 in rapid circles. But then, if there's a source of fire nearby, the funnel can catch it and blow it
01:05:52 stronger like bellows. The flames go round and round, reaching ever higher and eventually creating
01:05:59 a swirling, blazing tower. Luckily, fire tornadoes are short-lived and don't normally cause much
01:06:05 damage. But don't try to hide from the storm under that tree. You can find this unusual plant in
01:06:11 Florida and in some parts of the Caribbean coast. Externally, it doesn't look special at all. A
01:06:17 gray trunk, green leaves, and fruit similar to small apples. What you must remember is never to
01:06:23 pluck these apples and never stand next to the tree, especially if it's raining. This is the
01:06:29 Manchineel tree, which is considered the most dangerous in the world. Its trunk, bark, branches,
01:06:36 and fruit contain poisonous juice. One drop of this corrosive acidic liquid can harm your skin.
01:06:43 A lot. The tree can secrete this juice, and if you accidentally touch it, you risk burning your hand.
01:06:49 When it rains, water droplets fall on the tree and mix with the poison. Water can also bounce
01:06:56 off the bark and get on your skin. That's why you shouldn't stand nearby either. There are almost
01:07:02 no other shrubs or mushrooms growing around. Animals avoid these trees, and people don't chop
01:07:08 them and don't pluck the fruit. You can't make a bonfire from their branches. Burning wood emits
01:07:14 poisonous smoke that can damage your eyes. Locals know this tree well, but tourists and travelers
01:07:20 might accidentally get harmed. That's why most Manchineel trees are marked with paint or have
01:07:26 a warning sign. In western Venezuela, locals living close to the Catatumbo River aren't afraid of
01:07:33 lightning because they see it almost every single night. It starts at around 7 o'clock and doesn't
01:07:39 stop until dawn. The everlasting Catatumbo lightning did once stop for a few months,
01:07:45 from January to March 2010. It was probably due to drought, or maybe the charge ran out. In 1991,
01:07:53 a scientist suggested that the phenomenon happens because of cold and warm air currents meeting in
01:07:58 the area. Another theory is that the lightning could be due to the presence of uranium in the
01:08:04 bedrock. Not all lightning happens inside clouds. There's a rare phenomenon called a dirty
01:08:10 thunderstorm. The lightning happens above a volcano. The most famous is in Japan. It erupts
01:08:17 almost every day and spits black clouds high into the air. So it's super scary volcano clouds,
01:08:24 plus lightning. Whoa! Regular lightning happens during a storm when ice crystals bump into each
01:08:30 other. In a dirty thunderstorm, bits of volcanic ash collide, create friction, and spark up the
01:08:36 sky. In the hottest and one of the driest places on Earth, Africa's Donuquil Desert, temperatures
01:08:44 often rise above 120 degrees Fahrenheit. The out-of-this-world landscape has many aspects
01:08:50 of volcanic activity, like volcanic eruptions, and geysers that spit out toxic gases like chlorine
01:08:55 and sulfur. The vibrantly green, electric blue, and yellow waters are all rain and seawater warmed
01:09:02 up by magma. One wrong step here, and you'd be gone for good. This happened in June 2009. People
01:09:10 in certain areas in Japan left their homes after a heavy downpour, only to find fish, frogs, and
01:09:17 tadpoles everywhere. Fields, roads, lawns, and rooftops were littered with these aquatic creatures.
01:09:24 One man was shocked to see 13 carp on and around his truck. Apparently, he stopped to count them.
01:09:31 No one knows for sure where the bizarre rain came from, but the most popular theory claims that a
01:09:36 powerful water spout picked up all these creatures. Then it carried them through the upper atmosphere
01:09:41 and dropped the animals on the unsuspecting people below. And now, welcome to Abraham Lake in Canada.
01:09:48 It's completely frozen. You step onto the transparent ice and look down at what lies beneath.
01:09:54 No fish, just some mysterious frozen bubbles. They look like small clouds frozen in ice,
01:10:00 or jellyfish who forgot to pack a winter jacket. There are thousands of these little bubbles,
01:10:05 made up of methane. But don't try to dig a hole in the ice to touch it. Methane is highly flammable.
01:10:11 It's created by methane-producing bacteria that eats leaves, grass, insects, or any other organic
01:10:18 stuff that gets into the lake. When the methane touches the frozen water, it turns into tens of
01:10:23 thousands of frozen little balls. When the ice melts, they burst open and sizzle. Similar lakes
01:10:30 can be found near some shores of the Arctic Ocean. There, the size of the bubbles can reach several
01:10:35 times the size of hot air balloons. Beautiful for sure, but not exactly safe. The next shocking lake
01:10:42 is in Indonesia, the island of Java. You come to a majestic volcano, overgrown with grass and trees.
01:10:50 The volcano seems to be asleep, but smoke is pouring out of it. You can't see the ice,
01:10:57 but you can see the lava. You climb to the summit. Exhausted, tired, sweaty, you're ready to cool
01:11:04 off. Nice work, you made it to the top. You look into the mouth of the volcano. Hmm, no boiling
01:11:11 lava, just a beautiful, bright, turquoise lake down there. It looks like an oasis. Perfect time
01:11:17 for a refreshing dip. You run down and get ready to jump in, but that's not water, that's acid!
01:11:23 Sulfurous gases get into the lake from under the volcano. The lake itself is full of metals.
01:11:29 When the gases touch them, they form that beautiful turquoise water, I mean acid. Better head back
01:11:36 to the nearest village, rest, and come back at night when it's cooler. In the dark, the lake
01:11:41 seems to glow. Right above it, you see light-filled, exploding little clouds. The sulfurous gases rise
01:11:49 out of the lake, combine with the air, and flash bright blue. Still, don't get too close.
01:11:55 The sea turns sinister red, and no living being can survive in it. Must be some dark magic. In
01:12:03 fact, it's tiny algae that spread uncontrollably, giving the water this specific tint called the
01:12:09 red tide. They have toxins that destroy sea mammals, birds, and turtles, as well as creatures
01:12:15 that feed on them. For humans, contact with it ends in breathing problems or seafood poisoning.
01:12:21 Sometimes even huge ships sink in the open seas for no visible reason. That reason is often the
01:12:29 pockets of bubbles that underwater volcanoes produce even while they're sleeping. Those
01:12:34 productive magma factories are hidden under 8,500 feet of water. When they wake up, they act just
01:12:40 like land volcanoes, and they can cause destructive tsunamis. This tree looks like a bottle. No wonder
01:12:47 it's called the bottle tree. It grows in Namibia and attracts many tourists. But don't get too
01:12:54 close to the tree because it's one of the most dangerous on Earth. Milky juice flows inside the
01:12:59 trunk. It's highly toxic to the human body. On the bright side, though, the trees have beautiful pink
01:13:05 white leaves with a red core. There's a tree growing in Western Australia that was once used
01:13:11 as a prison. A cell for criminals existed inside the Boab Prison Tree for a long time. People were
01:13:18 usually kept there temporarily just for one night. After that, they were taken to their final
01:13:23 destination. The prison was built more than 1,500 years ago and has been perfectly preserved to this
01:13:29 day. Tourists visiting this place can sneak a peek inside. The Moon, our little companion, our only
01:13:38 friend in the big dark cold space. It's not surprising that any events related to it, like
01:13:44 solar or lunar eclipses, excites us. But how about the Black Moon, the Blue Moon, a Supermoon? Have
01:13:53 you ever heard of them? Well, let me tell you about it and how you can observe them. Let's get your
01:13:58 calendars ready. The distance between the Earth and the Moon is 238,900 miles. I've measured.
01:14:05 Feels not so far, doesn't it? But trust me, most people greatly underestimate this difference.
01:14:11 Did you know that every planet in the Solar System, including Jupiter and Saturn, would fit
01:14:16 between the Moon and us? I couldn't believe it myself. The Moon is tidally locked to the Earth.
01:14:22 That's why it's always turned to us with only one side. There are a few phases in a lunar cycle.
01:14:28 The New Moon is the first phase. The Sun illuminates the unseen side of our satellite,
01:14:33 so we can't see the Moon. It's almost invisible in the sky. The Rising Moon is the gradual growth
01:14:39 of the light part. The Full Moon is the phase during which the Sun completely illuminates the
01:14:44 visible side. The Descending Moon is a gradual waning of the light part. And finally, another
01:14:51 New Moon. And the whole cycle starts again. There are 29 and a half days in a lunar cycle,
01:14:57 so it takes around a month if we're not talking about February. But why am I telling you all this?
01:15:03 So you can better understand Black Moon, a rare astronomical event that happens once every 29
01:15:09 months or 2 and a half years. This term doesn't exist in astronomy, as it was made up by
01:15:15 astrologers. It's unofficial and has several meanings. Black Moon may mean the second New
01:15:21 Moon in a month. Usually, there's only one New Moon per month, so having two is a rare phenomenon.
01:15:27 It's caused by a slight discrepancy between the lunar cycle and the Earth's annual one,
01:15:32 something like leap years. Black Moon can also mean something else. For example, usually,
01:15:38 there are only three New Moons per one season. Basically, one New Moon every 30 days. However,
01:15:44 if there are four, the Black Moon means the third one. There are also some less popular meanings.
01:15:51 For example, that's what people call February without a New or Full Moon. This happens about
01:15:56 once every 19 years. But what's so special about it? The satellite is wholly hidden in the sky
01:16:03 during a regular New Moon. But during a Black Moon, you'll be able to see its dark silhouette.
01:16:09 You'll have to choose a good place without city lights. If you live in a big city,
01:16:13 you'll hardly be able to see it without a telescope. Also, since the sky turns black
01:16:18 during this phenomenon, you'll be able to see different constellations that were hidden before,
01:16:24 as well as Jupiter and Venus. The last time this happened was on April 30, 2022. You could observe
01:16:30 it in most parts of the United States, except for areas in the Pacific, Alaska, or Hawaiian Tide.
01:16:36 Aloha! Unfortunately, if this is the first time you hear about the Black Moon,
01:16:42 you've already missed it. Now, you'll have to wait another 2 and a half years. The next Black Moon
01:16:47 will happen in September 2024 by standard definition, and May 19, 2023 by seasonal
01:16:54 definition. But hey, don't worry! You can always see another astronomical event once upon a Blue
01:17:01 Moon. Now, I'm not mocking you, I'm being serious. You can still see the Blue Moon. Well, not
01:17:07 literally, of course. The Moon won't turn blue. That's just what astrologers call the second full
01:17:12 moon in a month. The Black and Blue Moons are similar by definition, but they're actually the
01:17:18 opposites. If the Black Moon is a rare second new moon in a month, the Blue Moon is a rare second
01:17:24 full moon. They also both happen every 29 months. Not so rare, right? Kind of ironic that this event
01:17:31 was called the Blue Moon. Folklorist Philip Hitchcock assumed that the calendrical meaning
01:17:36 of the term "Blue Moon" was first invented by the Maine Farmers' Almanac in 1937. Now,
01:17:43 another interesting astronomical event is called the Supermoon. Stock up on telescopes and look
01:17:48 for some hills, because you'll see an exceptionally bright and large moon like the one we only see in
01:17:54 movies. What exactly does a supermoon mean? You see, the Moon doesn't revolve around the Earth
01:18:00 in a circular orbit. Its orbit is elliptical, and the place where it's closest to the Earth
01:18:06 is called perigee. A supermoon is a phenomenon that occurs when the full moon coincides with
01:18:12 the perigee. Because of this, it seems to us especially large and bright. It looks 14% larger
01:18:19 in diameter and 30% brighter than usual. By the way, this phenomenon is often confused with the
01:18:25 so-called "moon illusion." During the moon illusion, the moon is low above the horizon
01:18:31 and visually appears larger in size. Of the 12 or 13 full moons in a year, 3 or 4 are supermoons,
01:18:38 but most of them are not very significant. You probably won't see a difference at all.
01:18:43 The most interesting ones are the rare large supermoons. During them, the moon actually
01:18:49 becomes big. The last major supermoon occurred in 2016. Unfortunately, large-scale supermoons
01:18:56 are rare and occur about once every 18 years. The next one will happen only in 2034. But we can
01:19:03 observe smaller supermoons quite often. In 2022, they'll take place on June 14 and July 16.
01:19:10 There is also an opposite phenomenon called the micromoon. You've probably already guessed what
01:19:16 that means. It happens when the full moon is at its farthest point from the Earth. This point is
01:19:22 called apogee. The next micromoon in 2022 will take place on June 29. In 2023, we'll be able to
01:19:30 observe it on January 7, February 5, and August 16. Of course, you don't have to follow each of
01:19:36 these events. Most people are more interested in lunar and solar eclipses. By the way, are you one
01:19:42 of the people who confuses these two events with each other? Test yourself. Pause this video,
01:19:48 describe what these two eclipses mean, and let's compare your answer with the correct definition.
01:19:53 Are you back? Ok. So, a solar eclipse is a phenomenon where the moon entirely or partially
01:20:00 covers the Sun. A solar eclipse is possible only during the new moon when the moon itself is not
01:20:06 visible. Many people believe that this event is incredibly rare, but this is not quite true.
01:20:11 A lunar eclipse is a phenomenon in which the moon is entirely or partially in the shadow
01:20:17 cast by the Earth. The lunar eclipse can only happen during the full moon when the proximity
01:20:22 of the moon is on the node of its orbit. If you guessed right, well done! If not, hey, don't worry,
01:20:28 many people confuse them. In 2022, a partial solar eclipse will occur on October 25. It'll be
01:20:35 visible in Europe, South and West Asia, North and East Africa, and the Atlantic. As I mentioned,
01:20:41 a total solar eclipse is not as rare as many people think, but the problem is that it's not
01:20:46 always visible from any part of the planet. So, if you want to see this event, be sure to look
01:20:52 for their calendar and see from which parts of the Earth you'll be able to see it. And don't
01:20:56 forget the special glasses! Lunar eclipses occur much more often, though. Partial lunar eclipses
01:21:02 happen almost every month. But the total lunar eclipse in 2022 will take place on the night of
01:21:08 November 7 to 8. You'll be able to see it in almost all parts of the world except Africa.
01:21:14 I hear that the zebras are not happy about this. The moon is a genuinely fascinating satellite.
01:21:20 You think whatever, it's just a small rock ball. But in reality, there are so many interesting
01:21:26 things connected to it. What rare lunar events have you seen or want to see in your life?
01:21:31 Have you observed any rare and interesting astronomical events? Be sure to share in the
01:21:36 comments! You're hiking in the wilderness, looking for a safe spot to set up camp. All you can hear
01:21:43 are leaves and branches crackling under your footsteps. Some squirrels are running up a tree
01:21:48 over there. But suddenly, something unexpected happens. You notice something weird in the
01:21:54 distance in between the trees. It kinda looks like a concrete structure of some kind. Weird.
01:22:00 At this point, you're at least 20 miles deep into the woods, and there are no nearby towns or
01:22:05 villages, as far as you know. So, you decide to go off the trail with your friends to get a closer
01:22:12 look. But as you get nearer, you realize that it's leading to… nowhere. Hmm, what's it doing here,
01:22:20 in the middle of literally nowhere? And it doesn't even lead to anything! You put on your
01:22:25 Sherlock Holmes cap and investigate. So, maybe there used to be an old house or mansion here
01:22:32 that collapsed over the years, and the only thing left is a staircase? But, weirdly enough,
01:22:38 after circling the bizarre structure, you realize there's no trace of any ruins or even foundations.
01:22:45 It's like someone just sliced a staircase off their house, cake-style, and plopped it here,
01:22:51 for no reason. Okay… You and your friends aren't really into getting a whole lot closer.
01:22:57 Something feels wrong. The longer you look at this weird structure, the more you feel a super
01:23:04 creepy presence. Something tells you you should probably leave the area as fast as possible.
01:23:09 As weird as this sounds, discoveries of random staircases, illogically found in the woods,
01:23:16 are surprisingly common. Some are made of wood, others of brick or stone. Some look ancient,
01:23:22 while others look like they were finished yesterday. The one thing they all have in common,
01:23:27 they all lead to absolutely nowhere, and they're all found in super mysterious locations.
01:23:34 One of the most famous ones is in Chesterfield, New Hampshire.
01:23:37 A long, medieval-looking staircase, made of stones with Roman arches in the middle of the woods.
01:23:44 It's believed to have been part of Madame Antoinette Chéry's castle. She was a big singer
01:23:49 back in Paris. The castle dates back about 100 years, and it was later discovered again in 1962.
01:23:56 This time, there was nothing but a staircase.
01:24:01 Another mysterious ancient staircase dates back to 9,000 years ago. It's in a forest in Italy.
01:24:07 It looks like a series of stairs that lead to a tiny platform at the top.
01:24:12 Now, why go through all the trouble of building the thing if it leads to… nowhere? Well,
01:24:18 some scientists think it could've been some sort of ritual tower, but your guess is as good as
01:24:24 theirs. There's an anomaly in the Indian Ocean known as the Indian Ocean Geoid Low, or IOGL.
01:24:32 It produces the largest distorting natural gravitational force in the world. Heavy
01:24:38 mineral deposits, many deep-sea trenches, and magma reservoirs disturb the magnetic field in
01:24:44 this area. Earth's gravity changes in different places around the planet. It allows researchers
01:24:50 to look for patterns and figure out what's happening beneath the surface. Higher gravity
01:24:55 fields usually mean denser materials below, and vice versa. Some scientists believe that the
01:25:01 anomaly might be a dent in the planet's mantle that is working its way up to the crust.
01:25:06 The Niihau Island actually rejects the fruits of today's advancements.
01:25:12 There are no cars in sight since the locals get around on foot or by bicycles. No wonder
01:25:19 their legs have great definition. They thrive without running water, internet, or shops.
01:25:24 The only school on the entire island is powered by solar energy with a backup generator.
01:25:31 And what's awesome is that it's the only school in the state that's powered by the sun.
01:25:36 Being a resident of the island, the local explains some ground rules
01:25:40 the permanent residents must abide by. If they do break these rules, they can be evicted.
01:25:47 Not far from Bangkok, in northeastern Thailand, there's a 75-million-year-old rock formation.
01:25:54 These rocks look like three whales swimming together. The beautiful design, created by
01:26:00 nature, became known as "Three Whales Rock." Millions of years ago, this area was just a
01:26:06 desert. But the land was changing. Gradually, sandstone got pulled apart by the movements
01:26:12 of tectonic plates and erosion. That's how these spectacular formations were created.
01:26:18 If you decide to explore the system of trails around Three Whales Rock,
01:26:22 you'll find waterfalls and an abundance of fauna and flora there.
01:26:26 Located on Gamal and Gaiden peninsulas, these expansive pit holes were discovered in 2014.
01:26:33 They seem to be still changing and evolving. The pits grow wider, and people find them more often.
01:26:40 Of course, there's no shortage of theories about how they appeared.
01:26:44 Suggestions range from meteorite impacts to the activity of other civilizations.
01:26:49 But the most common explanation is that methane gas reacted to water molecules after the planet's
01:26:55 permafrost started to melt. This resulted in bubbles of methane bursting through the ice.
01:27:01 The craters could be thousands of years old, but nobody knows for sure.
01:27:06 You're driving to the state of New Mexico, to the small town of Taos.
01:27:12 2% of the locals hear a strange buzzing in the air every day. Some residents believe the sound
01:27:19 is somehow connected with technologies used by guests from other galaxies.
01:27:24 Also, there is a theory that something sinister lives in the town. They say Taos is cursed.
01:27:31 An evil spirit or a phantom punishes people for something their ancestors did in the past.
01:27:37 Scientists still can't explain the nature of this sound. Another theory says it's caused by
01:27:42 unusual acoustics of the location, while others think the buzzing is a hallucination. Some can
01:27:48 hear it because everybody talks about something, and our minds create an illusion of the sound
01:27:54 that doesn't really exist. The sound isn't the same for everyone either. For some, it's a low hum.
01:28:00 For others, it's more of a buzzing sound. But this is not the only place where you can hear
01:28:05 the strange noises. It's called the hum, and people worldwide claim to have heard it.
01:28:12 Some dwellers of a small village in Scotland describe it as a low, thick hum, while some
01:28:18 residents of Florida heard a similar sound too. It's not exactly known where this phenomenon
01:28:24 appeared, but the first time the media started talking about it was in the 1970s in England.
01:28:30 Also, there are written records of a mysterious buzzing dating back almost 200 years. According
01:28:37 to some estimates, only about 2% of people on the planet can hear the hum. Perhaps their ears
01:28:43 pick up some low-frequency waves, or the reason is something else entirely. Maybe, just maybe,
01:28:50 they hear humming because the person doing it doesn't know the words to the song.
01:28:54 Yeah, that joke is also 200 years old.
01:28:59 A volcano in Indonesia spews bright blue lava and produces electric blue and purple flames.
01:29:06 This phenomenon occurs because the volcano has some of the highest levels of sulfur in the world.
01:29:12 You can also know you're near it by its foul stench. But I digress.
01:29:17 And when sulfuric gases interact with scorching hot air and get lit by the molten lava,
01:29:24 they turn blue. You can also find the world's largest acid lake inside this crater. Yep,
01:29:30 it's a real stinker. Underwater rivers and lakes are called brine pools for a reason.
01:29:37 High salinity makes the water in them denser than the seawater around. That's why it sinks to the
01:29:43 bottom, forming rivers and lakes. Those have waves of their own, and these waves can sometimes lap up
01:29:50 against the shorelines. If you went down there in a submarine, it would easily float on the surface
01:29:55 of a brine pool. But without a submarine, swimming in such a lake would be too risky.
01:30:01 They contain too much toxic methane and hydrogen sulfide. Yeah, I'd pass on that too. But hey,
01:30:07 be my guest! Cave of crystals in Mexico is home to the
01:30:11 world's most unique crystal formations. Thanks to super-rare conditions in the cave, crystals there
01:30:17 grow to unbelievable sizes. The air inside is incredibly humid. The water contains tons of
01:30:24 minerals that boost the growth of the milky white giants. Some of them are longer than telephone
01:30:30 poles. Cylindrical snow doughnuts occur when a wind gust starts to roll some snow across a snowy
01:30:37 area, as if making a snowball. If it was a real thing, it would eventually become too heavy for
01:30:43 the wind to move. But a snow doughnut's center is hollowed out. This happens because its inner
01:30:49 layer is too thin and is blown away when the doughnut is formed. This makes the thing lighter
01:30:55 than a snowball. That's also why it rolls further. Unfortunately, snow doughnuts are rare because
01:31:01 they need very precise conditions to appear. The Danikil Depression in Ethiopia is probably
01:31:08 one of the most bizarre-looking places you'll ever see. It's dotted with neon-colored hot springs,
01:31:14 lava pools, and vast salt flats. You've got to be especially careful there. Toxic gases are
01:31:20 swirling over hydrothermal fields, and many pools are super-acidic. So, don't go swimming. Until at
01:31:27 least 30 minutes after lunch. Just kidding. And finally, there's nothing mysterious about
01:31:34 28,000 rubber ducks found in the sea in 1992. That's when a ship transporting bath toys got
01:31:42 lost in the ocean while traveling from Hong Kong to the US. Some of these ducks are still floating
01:31:47 in the ocean several decades later. They've been spotted in South America, Alaska, Hawaii,
01:31:53 and even Australia. And they make bath time lots of fun. Ooh, rubber ducky.
01:32:07 Are you a pro swimmer? Brave enough to take a dip in any ocean or sea?
01:32:11 Bad news. There are some places you should avoid no matter how well you swim or dive.
01:32:16 Some of these places have dangerous underwater rocks, strong currents, and tides.
01:32:22 Others are famous for legends about monsters and mysterious creatures.
01:32:26 So let's dive into this aquatic horror show.
01:32:28 Have you ever heard the word "The Strid"? It's a variation of the word "The Stride" that is used
01:32:34 in Yorkshire. And it refers to a narrow section of the river wharf that's so small you could jump
01:32:40 over it. But don't be fooled by its size. It's one of the most dangerous spots around. Even taking
01:32:46 a step into the water can have dire consequences. The river wharf has a forceful current, and since
01:32:52 the strid is so narrow, it's even stronger in that area. The intense water flow has eroded the
01:32:58 limestone around the strid, which created hollow spaces much deeper than the rest of the riverbed.
01:33:03 Here's the secret. The current has also weakened the banks of the strid from below. So, the ground
01:33:11 you're standing on, admiring the rapid flow, is probably just a fragile ledge hanging over
01:33:16 treacherous waters. There's no record of anyone who found themselves in the water of the strid,
01:33:22 and found their way out of it. And the worst part? You wouldn't even guess that this innocent
01:33:27 looking stream could be such a danger. So, my advice to you, my friend, is to stick to a safer
01:33:33 body of water for your aquatic adventures. If you're looking for a weekend getaway in California,
01:33:40 Horseshoe Lake is the spot for you. It's got everything. Sandy beaches, hiking trails,
01:33:45 and picnic areas. But wait, there's more to it than meets the eye. This lake has a dark side,
01:33:51 namely around 100 acres of dead trees that surround it. And it's not just the trees that
01:33:56 have been claimed by this lake. The earthquakes that hit in 1989 and 1990 unleashed carbon dioxide
01:34:02 from under the hot magma. The gas seeped out into the air, damaging all the life around the lake.
01:34:08 Even now, Horseshoe Lake is just as dangerous as it was 30 years ago.
01:34:14 What makes it so scary is that the levels of this toxic gas change randomly.
01:34:19 Warning signs that are posted everywhere certainly could give a horror film touch
01:34:23 to a fun hike in the woods. In Kauai, Hawaii, there's a group of stunning waterfalls that used
01:34:31 to be a popular destination for tourists. Kipu Falls, as they're called, were once the go-to spot
01:34:37 for swimming and diving. To get to them, you had to take a long walk along a dirt path until you
01:34:43 finally arrived at a breathtaking view of a 20-foot waterfall pouring into a pool of water.
01:34:48 But since 2011, this area has been off-limits to the public.
01:34:55 Why, you ask? Well, there have been a lot of accidents at Kipu Falls. Obviously,
01:35:03 jumping off the top of the waterfall would be an obvious reason for that.
01:35:06 But in addition, there were much more mysterious cases. Witnesses tell tales of swimmers peacefully
01:35:13 enjoying the pool at the bottom of the falls, only to be suddenly dragged under the surface.
01:35:18 No definite explanation was found to these accidents.
01:35:22 The locals believe that the water spirit Mo'o is to blame because it doesn't appreciate being
01:35:28 disturbed by loud tourists. There's also a theory of a powerful whirlpool at the bottom of the pool.
01:35:34 In any case, guide publishers do not mention Kipu Falls anymore,
01:35:39 and trespassing is severely punished.
01:35:41 The Samisen Hole, located in the Gulf of Thailand, is the ultimate spot for thrill-seeking divers,
01:35:47 but it's also the most dangerous one. With a drop of 280 feet, it's the deepest diving site in the
01:35:53 region. But its depth is not the only reason it is considered a place to avoid. The area is a major
01:36:01 shipping zone for giant oil tankers. The strong currents around the hole make diving even more
01:36:06 treacherous. And if that's not enough, the Samisen Hole is also home to deadly barracudas that could
01:36:12 easily attack unsuspecting divers. The water is so murky that visibility is nearly zero,
01:36:18 making it challenging to spot these aggressive sea creatures. All in all, the Samisen Hole is a
01:36:24 breathtaking but extremely hazardous spot that should only be explored by experienced divers
01:36:29 with nerves of steel.
01:36:32 Let me tell you about New Smyrna Beach, the Shark Attack Capital of the World.
01:36:37 If you're looking for a relaxing vacation spot in Volusia County, Florida,
01:36:41 you may want to reconsider this beach. The waters around New Smyrna Beach are teeming with fish,
01:36:48 which attracts a lot of sharks. In fact, there have been so many shark attacks reported in this
01:36:54 area that it's earned the title of the "Shark Attack Capital of the World."
01:37:01 Even scientists have warned that if you go for a swim there, you're bound to get up close and
01:37:05 personal with at least one of these creatures. We are talking about a distance of 10 feet,
01:37:11 and in many cases you wouldn't even notice it. To make matters worse, the Bull Shark,
01:37:16 one of the most dangerous and aggressive types of sharks, has been spotted in these waters.
01:37:21 Once again, Kauai is on our list. The beach on Napali Coast is a must-see,
01:37:29 and it's called Hanakapiai Beach. It's a beautiful beach, but it's not the only one.
01:37:34 It's also the most dangerous beach on the planet.
01:37:36 It's the biggest beach on the planet, and it's the most dangerous.
01:37:40 The beach on Napali Coast, called Hanakapiai Beach, might look like heaven on earth, but don't be
01:37:45 fooled. To get there, you have to trek through a super steep, rocky, two-mile trail. There are no
01:37:54 currents. They are almost always present because there are no reefs to shield the shore. And if
01:37:59 someone gets caught in one, there's no safe place to swim to for miles. The nearest safe beach is
01:38:06 six miles away. Trust me, this beach doesn't have the best track record in terms of safety,
01:38:12 so it's highly advised that you stay out of the water if you end up at this beach.
01:38:15 Let me tell you about a place that looks like it's straight out of a horror movie.
01:38:23 We're talking about Berkeley Pit, which is an artificial lake situated in Butte, Montana.
01:38:28 The first thing you'll notice about this place is that it has an eerie,
01:38:33 blood-red color that can only be described as unsettling.
01:38:36 You might be tempted to take a dip, but that would be a grave mistake. Don't even touch it.
01:38:42 The water is extremely dangerous due to the heavy metals present in it, such as cadmium,
01:38:49 arsenic, zinc, lead, and copper. They come from the rocks that surround the lake and make the
01:38:55 water super acidic. In fact, this place used to be an open-pit copper mine, hence its color.
01:39:02 So if you want my advice, avoid this place like the plague.
01:39:07 There are three lakes in Africa that maybe are the most dangerous places of all that I have
01:39:13 mentioned so far. They are all located in Africa. Lake Monoun, Lake Nyos in Cameroon,
01:39:19 and Lake Kivu in Rwanda are all like ticking timers ready to go off.
01:39:23 They were formed over underground pools of molten rock, and sometimes this molten rock releases
01:39:30 toxic gases like methane and carbon dioxide right into the water. When this happens,
01:39:36 the gases can build up until they suddenly burst out of the water, creating massive waves that can
01:39:41 wipe out everything in their path. This type of outburst is called a limnic eruption, and it can
01:39:48 release a cloud of poisonous gas that can be harmful to everything in the vicinity.
01:39:52 The most terrifying part? These explosions can happen at any moment with no warning.
01:39:58 So if you ever find yourself near one of these lakes, you'd better be on high alert,
01:40:03 because you never know when the next accident might happen.
01:40:08 Maybe you know other places you wouldn't recommend for a fun swim?
01:40:10 Share your anti-recommendations in the comments below.
01:40:14 This is John. John seems to attract all kinds of bad weather and natural disasters wherever he goes.
01:40:23 See for yourself. One day, John notices his dog is restless. The pooch keeps scratching
01:40:29 the entrance door and wandering around the house. He even tries to hide in the corner,
01:40:34 howling and barking. When some mugs start to clink in your cupboard, John realizes what it means.
01:40:40 The noise is produced by foreshocks.
01:40:42 Mini earthquakes leading up to the main event. Earthquakes often happen in clusters.
01:40:49 After a few weak quakes, a much bigger one is likely to be on the way.
01:40:53 Sometime before the disaster strikes, people might notice bizarre blue lights.
01:40:58 Some of them seem to be coming out of the ground. Others are hovering in the air.
01:41:03 These are earthquake lights. They may appear days or mere seconds before the ground starts shaking.
01:41:10 Now, John is walking along the ocean shore. Suddenly,
01:41:15 he sees the water retreat from the beach. Really, really fast. Uh-oh.
01:41:19 John, run away as quickly as you can and find some high ground! A tsunami is coming!
01:41:24 And your life might depend on how fast you react.
01:41:28 If John spots a bizarre and unexpected rise in sea level,
01:41:32 it can be another sign of an approaching tsunami. This happens in 40% of cases.
01:41:37 The incoming water is the first tsunami wave. The second one, way, way larger,
01:41:43 will come in in about 10 minutes. John can also notice sea water bubbling,
01:41:48 swirling, and creating bizarre patterns. It's another sure sign a tsunami is near.
01:41:56 John feels there's something strange about the sun. Through his special super dark sunglasses,
01:42:01 he sees that there's some uneven flares around the star's contour.
01:42:05 If these bizarre rays are accompanied by auroras all over the world,
01:42:09 they're a sign of a solar storm. Such storms are usually caused by disturbances in the sun's
01:42:16 magnetic field. In this case, the bursts of gas and radiation on the surface of the sun
01:42:21 get so massive and powerful that they can even reach our planet! Luckily, solar storms aren't
01:42:27 really dangerous for people, but they can mess with electricity and even cause blackouts.
01:42:32 The sky over John's head is darkening and turning ominously green. Something hits him on the
01:42:39 forehead. Ouch! He picks up the offending object. It's a hailstone, but it's not that cold outside,
01:42:45 and it's not raining. Soon, he hears some noise. It's approaching rapidly and turns into a loud
01:42:52 roar. It sounds as if a freight train is moving towards him, but it's not a train. It's a tornado!
01:42:57 The funnel isn't visible behind a cloud of debris, but John can't mistake this rotating column of
01:43:04 air for anything else. Are you on the road, John? Then get as far away from your car as you can.
01:43:10 Fast! Find a ditch, lie down in it, and cover your head. Oh, you're inside? Then get away from
01:43:16 the windows and hide underground if possible. And please, John, be very careful if you spot
01:43:22 some conically shaped clouds. Those mean severe storms, and if you notice that such a cloud starts
01:43:28 spinning around, immediately search for shelter. The cloud is transitioning into a tornado right
01:43:33 in front of your eyes. On the bright side, John should only worry about warm conical clouds.
01:43:39 Cold ones are totally harmless. The only problem is to figure out the temperature of the cloud he
01:43:45 sees. Duh! Ah, look! John just spotted some weirdly shaped trees. They look like the letter
01:43:52 J and grow on a slope. It means the ground under John's feet is likely to be unstable.
01:43:57 If he keeps wandering around, it can cause a bad landslide.
01:44:01 Square waves appear when two different wave patterns crash into each other.
01:44:07 This phenomenon does look kinda awesome. No, don't go into the water, John. Keep watching it
01:44:12 from the shore. Cross currents in that spot can easily pull even a skilled swimmer under the
01:44:17 surface. John keeps walking along the shore. At one point, he sees wild, choppy waves carrying
01:44:24 ocean debris and seaweed. This time, he stays out of the water. He knows it can be a sign of a strong
01:44:30 rip current. It can carry a swimmer far away into the ocean. How about a walk in the park? John likes
01:44:38 this idea. The sun is shining and the sky is so blue and beautiful. Suddenly, he spots a rapidly
01:44:45 growing vertical cloud. At first, it looks bright white. But as it approaches, alarmingly fast,
01:44:52 it becomes dense and inky. The sky is darkening. It's getting windy. That's when the guy notices
01:44:59 that his hair stands on end. It's his cue that he's about to get hit by lightning. At this very
01:45:04 moment, positive charges are rising through his body. They're reaching towards the negatively
01:45:09 charged part of the storm. If he doesn't react fast, these charges will meet. There's nowhere
01:45:15 to hide, so John should crouch down and try to make himself smaller than the objects around him.
01:45:20 Oh no, John, don't lie down on the ground. It may be damp and thus a great conductor of electricity.
01:45:28 There are other signs that scream danger during a lightning storm. John's palms may begin to sweat.
01:45:34 He might hear bizarre crackling and buzzing sounds coming from metal objects nearby.
01:45:38 His skin can start tingling. There might be a strange metallic taste in his mouth.
01:45:44 Plus, John is likely to smell chlorine. That's how ozone smells. Electrical charges split the
01:45:52 molecules of nitrogen and oxygen, which are the main gases making up the atmosphere, into separate
01:45:57 atoms. When these atoms come together again, some of them produce molecules made up of three oxygen
01:46:03 atoms. That's ozone. We can smell it during a thunderstorm because down drafts bring this gas
01:46:09 from high altitudes to your level. Some bugs can feel a storm coming. They get ready for a natural
01:46:16 disaster by freezing. So when John notices that insects around him look drowsy, he knows to get
01:46:23 ready. Oh, and bees can predict heavy rainstorms. These critters begin to work much harder the day
01:46:29 before it starts raining. While walking next to the river during a period of heavy rains,
01:46:36 John hears a roaring sound. He feels paralyzed with fear. It's likely to be a flash flood moving
01:46:42 in his direction. Indeed, he soon sees debris coming down with the flow. The water is rapidly
01:46:47 changing its color, becoming muddier and darker. Flash floods are very, very dangerous. Take care
01:46:54 of your safety immediately, John. Another day, John sees a spectacular wall cloud. It seems to
01:47:01 be stretching for up to five miles. In the best case scenario, it's just a severe storm coming.
01:47:07 But if the wall cloud begins to move in a circle, it's a sure sign of a tornado.
01:47:13 John is walking across a snowfield in the mountains, listening to the sounds the ice
01:47:18 under his feet makes. The noise is kind of hollow. Hmm. Quickly check whether there are
01:47:23 cracks around your footprints, John. If so, the chances are an avalanche is about to happen.
01:47:28 Soon, John sees an avalanche moving in his direction. He does his best to get off the slope.
01:47:34 In most cases, he could probably outrun it by heading downhill and then veering sideways.
01:47:40 But not this time. He realizes he doesn't have enough time and heads for the nearest tree.
01:47:44 If John keeps holding onto it really tightly, the avalanche might not pull him along.
01:47:50 But if this doesn't work, he should try to swim up to the snow's surface while the avalanche
01:47:56 is still moving. On a pretty nice summer evening, John notices leaves with soft stems droop all of
01:48:03 a sudden. Ah, it might be because of an upcoming storm. Right before extreme weather arrives,
01:48:09 the air usually becomes more humid. Leaves also get damp and heavy, and the wind easily flips
01:48:15 them over. John lives in a pretty old house and is used to having cracks in the interior walls.
01:48:21 But one day, he notices that some of them have widened. And look, there are a few new ones.
01:48:27 It's an alarm bell. He lives in an area with loads of limestone, so new cracks can mean a sinkhole
01:48:32 is about to open next to his house. John is hurrying home, trying not to waste time admiring
01:48:39 shelf clouds. They look like something from a sci-fi movie. They form when warm and moist air
01:48:45 gets caught in a thunderstorm updraft. And these ominous clouds most often mean a storm is coming.
01:48:51 Something interesting has recently happened in South Dakota. It was all over the Internet,
01:49:00 so perhaps you already know about it. In July of 2022, the sky in this state suddenly turned
01:49:07 green. So what happened there? Was it caused by a human or by nature? Let's find out.
01:49:16 Tuesday, July 5, 2022. Shortly after a heavy storm, the sky over South Dakota in the U.S.
01:49:24 was still overcast. Locals finally went outside and saw that the sky had an intense dark green hue,
01:49:31 and they'd never seen anything like that before. People said that it looked like something
01:49:36 straight up from science fiction or even a horror movie. Unsurprisingly, South Dakotans immediately
01:49:44 started spreading the news all over social media. People shared their beautiful yet very eerie
01:49:50 pictures on Twitter. They showed the sky over the city of Sioux Falls and a few other towns.
01:49:55 Even though it may look like something supernatural, in reality, this is not a
01:50:02 terrifying phenomenon at all. It's a simple play of the light and the atmosphere. Something like
01:50:08 this happens quite rarely and usually means that really bad weather is approaching.
01:50:13 And that's also true to what happened in South Dakota. Just before people started sharing photos,
01:50:20 a thunderstorm swept through the town of Sioux Falls. This was confirmed by the U.S. Weather
01:50:25 Service. This hurricane was terrible. The wind speed was about 100 miles per hour.
01:50:30 According to the Buford Scale on wind speeds, this is the fastest and most destructive storm.
01:50:36 There are only 12 numbers on this scale, and the maximum wind strength starts at 73 miles per hour.
01:50:42 But why isn't this all over the news then? Well, because it's kind of a usual thing for the
01:50:50 residents. Thunderstorms occur very often in the United States, especially in the warmer months.
01:50:57 And one out of ten such thunderstorms can become something serious, like a tornado. This one wasn't
01:51:04 an exception. It was the so-called "Dorayco Storm." Dorayco is very widespread and long-lived.
01:51:13 It's actually a combination of a fast-moving group of severe thunderstorms and downpours.
01:51:18 People often say that a Dorayco is as strong as a tornado. Still, there's a difference between them.
01:51:26 A tornado is a vortex, a rotating column of air. It's usually about 500 feet in diameter.
01:51:32 Although sometimes its width can reach up to 2.5 miles. I don't envy those who would stumble upon
01:51:38 that. But the main point is that they rotate. The wind moves very fast in a circle near some
01:51:46 invisible center. A Dorayco is a strong thunderstorm, or a system of strong thunderstorms
01:51:53 with straight-line winds. In other words, it doesn't spin. Instead, the Dorayco chooses a
01:52:00 point somewhere and simply runs to it, like a very motivated marathon runner.
01:52:06 If we compare a Dorayco to an ordinary tornado, the latter has six levels of strength, from 40 to
01:52:14 380 miles per hour. So, a Dorayco is kind of like a small, average-level 1-2 tornado. Usually,
01:52:22 its speed is within the range of 73 to 113 miles per hour. And, in both cases,
01:52:30 they can be accompanied by severe thunderstorms, lightning, and rain. But still, these are
01:52:36 different things. A storm becomes a Dorayco if the damaged trail left by it exceeds 240 miles,
01:52:45 and if the wind speed is at least 58 miles per hour.
01:52:50 It's quite difficult to predict. It can form even on a clear day when meteorologists don't
01:52:56 even anticipate any storms. And then, the winds appear suddenly. It's so surprising
01:53:02 that they may even feel explosive. But the National Weather Service tries to warn people
01:53:07 at least half an hour or an hour before this happens so that residents have time to prepare
01:53:13 and hide. It wasn't any different this time. The storm swept through almost all of South
01:53:20 Dakota, as well as the states of Minnesota and Iowa. The consequences were quite serious.
01:53:26 More than 30,000 people were left without electricity. Fortunately, people were fine.
01:53:31 That's because the locals are pretty used to Doraycos.
01:53:36 However, the green sky is something different. It became a very unusual sight for the locals.
01:53:44 Everyone was wondering why it happened. Was it a bad sign or a normal weather phenomenon?
01:53:50 Well, to be honest, scientists don't have an exact explanation.
01:53:56 But although there are only assumptions, they sound pretty convincing.
01:54:00 A green sky is a very rare phenomenon. Most scientists think that this happens when a
01:54:08 powerful storm approaches the area before sunset or sunrise. Then, the sky will turn
01:54:14 green in this area. NBC meteorologist Bill Karens, who once faced a similar event himself,
01:54:22 suggests that the green sky appeared because of the huge hail before the storm.
01:54:26 First, let's talk about why the sky looks blue, or any other shade, depending on its mood.
01:54:34 In short, the sun simultaneously carries all the rays of the color spectrum. It may seem
01:54:40 white to us in total, but it actually has all the colors at the same time.
01:54:45 However, these color waves all have different lengths. For example, blue rays are shorter than
01:54:53 the other ones. They jump away from the air molecules better than the red waves,
01:54:59 so they reach us faster. Because of this, on a regular clear day, the sky seems blue.
01:55:07 At the same time, red and orange color waves are very long and move slower, so they're usually
01:55:14 left behind. But when the sun goes below the horizon or rises, the rays' directions change,
01:55:21 and these waves reach us better. It all means that even if the sunrises and sunsets seem red
01:55:28 and orange to us, in fact, there are still blue and green waves among them. But they have to
01:55:35 bounce off something to reach us faster and become stronger than the red rays.
01:55:39 Have you guessed what I'm getting at? This is where the water comes into play. Clouds are made
01:55:48 up of water droplets. When they become large enough, but don't fall yet, for example, due
01:55:54 to strong winds, they affect how the light behaves in the sky. Large heavy storms mostly consist of
01:56:02 water and hail, and water reflects blue and green rays best of all. That's exactly the reason why
01:56:09 the water in rivers and lakes seems bluish green to us, although in reality, it's transparent.
01:56:15 And yeah, algae matter too. So, there are a couple of key factors why the sky may turn green.
01:56:24 First off, the sun should be at the horizon level. Another factor is that while the storm clouds are
01:56:31 approaching, they shouldn't cover the sky completely. There still must be a little room
01:56:36 for the sun rays. Then, barely noticeable blue rays jump up to storm clouds. They're repelled
01:56:42 by water droplets and hail. Mixing with the red sunset, they turn into a bright green light.
01:56:49 And this green light is spreading all over the sky. That's why in most of these cases,
01:56:56 when the sky turns green, people can only see it in the evenings. Yeah, it can also happen in the
01:57:02 middle of the day. But since the conditions are already quite specific, seeing something like that
01:57:08 during the day is even rarer. Still, if you see a green sky, you don't need to panic. It doesn't
01:57:16 necessarily mean that a terrible storm is approaching. The chances are high though,
01:57:21 but still, it's not a rule. It can be just heavy rain or a heavy hail. In other words,
01:57:29 if you see a green sky, then you'd better hide and hide your car. However, if you were lucky
01:57:35 enough to see the stunning sky from the comfort of your own home, it's indeed very exciting. If
01:57:41 you get a glimpse of something like that, just know that you had a chance to experience something
01:57:46 very rare and special. Some people said it was the most incredible thing they had ever seen!
01:57:52 In Russia, on the shores of the Baltic Sea, there's an enigmatic national park. The Dancing
01:58:02 Forest is a place that no scientist has managed to explain so far. The pine trees of the forest
01:58:08 are all crooked and twisted into loops and spirals. The forest didn't appear until the early
01:58:13 60s when the pines were planted in order to make the sand dune in that area more stable.
01:58:18 One theory is that it's the unstable sand that made the trees twist in such a way.
01:58:24 Other theories for the crooked trees are strong winds or even supernatural powers.
01:58:29 Some people say the forest is a place where positive and negative energies meet,
01:58:33 twisting the trees. Local legend says that if a person climbs through one of the rings of a tree,
01:58:39 it'll add an extra year to this person's life or they'll be granted a wish. I like that one!
01:58:45 Speaking of bizarre trees, and I was, one grows in the region of Piedmont, Italy. There,
01:58:52 a cherry tree grows on the top of a mulberry tree. The strange thing is that both trees
01:58:58 are perfectly healthy. A continuous storm at Saturn's North Pole has an odd shape,
01:59:05 a hexagon. This is probably because of the gradient of the winds. The total length of
01:59:10 this cloud pattern is 9,000 miles, which is about 1,200 miles longer than the Earth's diameter.
01:59:17 The hexagon has been observed for many years, but it gets even more mysterious because it
01:59:22 changes color too. It used to be turquoise, but it has recently shifted to a golden color.
01:59:29 The reason for the color change is that the pole gets exposed to sunlight as the seasons change.
01:59:34 - Rain isn't unusual for Oakville, Washington. However, this one still doesn't have any solid
01:59:42 scientific explanation. Instead of common raindrops, people watched translucent jelly-like
01:59:48 blobs fall from the skies. These blobs covered about 20 square miles. Those who got really
01:59:55 close to the rain experienced flu-like symptoms. What were the blobs? Researchers claim that the
02:00:01 blobs contain human white blood cells. Later tests showed no presence of nuclei. Some people claim
02:00:08 the blobs might've been evaporated jellyfish resulting in rain, or maybe even waste from
02:00:13 a commercial plane. - Walking rocks, also known as sailing rocks,
02:00:20 move across the Death Valley National Park in California without any external intervention,
02:00:25 leaving long trails in the dirt and sand along their way. Various time-lapse footages of the
02:00:32 moving rocks have been taken. Scientists even installed GPS navigators on some of the rocks,
02:00:37 and it showed that the rocks move at a considerable speed. Some researchers believe
02:00:42 that the movement is due to thin sheets of ice that form overnight at freezing temperatures in
02:00:48 the valley, letting the rocks move until it melts during the day. Or there was a Rolling Stones
02:00:54 concert. Nah. - The Batageca Crater in Siberia looks like a doorway to the underworld.
02:01:02 It's about a half-mile long and over 280 feet deep, but it never stops growing. As it gets deeper,
02:01:09 it exposes more underground layers. The layers show what our planet looked like thousands of
02:01:15 years ago, as the slumps revealed the used-to-be climates. The crater appeared back in the 60s,
02:01:21 and it all started with rapid deforestation. Trees no longer cast shade on the ground,
02:01:26 and it got hotter. The permafrost melted, resulting in the crater formation.
02:01:31 The throbbing hum in Taos, New Mexico, has driven locals wild since the 1990s.
02:01:38 The low-frequency hum deprives people of sleep and depletes their energy. Even though scientists
02:01:50 have tried to find the source of the hum, they still haven't pinpointed its origin.
02:01:54 Different variations of the hum have also been heard in the UK, Australia, Canada,
02:02:00 and other areas of the US. Luckily, only about 2% of the world's population can hear it.
02:02:06 The hums have been blamed on mechanical devices, multiple disturbances of auditory systems,
02:02:11 and even animals. The West Seattle hum, for example, was blamed on toadfish.
02:02:19 Fairy rings, also known as elf rings or pixie rings, are mysterious rings of mushrooms that
02:02:25 appear in grasslands and forested areas. There's a lot of debate about why these fungi form a nearly
02:02:31 perfect circle. Some superstitions claim that fairy dances would burn the ground,
02:02:36 causing mushrooms to rapidly grow. In Costa Rica, there's an assortment of about 300 spherical
02:02:44 stone balls. Locals call them "las bolas," which is simply "the balls" in English. These stones have
02:02:51 an almost perfect round shape. Some of them are huge, weighing up to 16 tons each. They're also
02:02:57 made of different materials – gabbro, limestone, and sandstone. They're considered to have been
02:03:02 put in straight lines in front of the chief's houses, but there's no precise information
02:03:07 of their origin. Some myths claim that these stones originated in Atlantis.
02:03:13 - If you ever travel to the Mekong River in late October, you have a chance of seeing
02:03:20 glowing balls rising from the water and beelining up into the air. Locals call these glowing balls
02:03:27 the "Naga Fireballs." The size of the lights vary. The reddish balls can be as tiny as a spark
02:03:33 and as large as a basketball. There can be dozens to thousands of balls a night.
02:03:38 Scientists don't have any solid explanation for why it happens, but it could be due to flammable
02:03:44 gases released by the marshy environment. Some superstitious locals are sure it's all because
02:03:49 of a giant serpent living in the Mekong. Great balls of fire!
02:03:53 - In Minnesota, on the north shore of Lake Superior, there's a park known for the Devil's
02:04:02 Kettle. This is a waterfall that splits in two. One part of the river continues,
02:04:07 while the other part disappears into a hole in the ground. Whatever object you throw into the
02:04:12 Devil's Kettle won't reappear. Scientists still haven't fully explained where the water that drops
02:04:18 into the hole goes. Devil's Kettle is considered to be unsafe for people because it's nearly
02:04:23 impossible to trace the flow. Yeah, not a place to go tubing.
02:04:27 - Grunions are fish known for their bizarre mating ritual. The females climb out of the
02:04:34 water and onto the shore. They dig their tails into the sand in order to lay eggs.
02:04:39 The legs stay hidden in the sand, waiting. 10 days later, the high tide comes, washing the newly
02:04:46 hatched young to the sea. Scientists still can't give any solid explanation for this way of breeding.
02:04:52 - People who live in rural central Norway, over the Hestalen Valley, can often witness floating
02:05:00 lights of white, yellow, and red cross the sky. The lights appear both at day and night,
02:05:06 and once back in the 80s, they were spotted 15 to 20 times in a single week.
02:05:11 The Hestalen lights can last just a few seconds, but sometimes they can last more than an hour.
02:05:17 The lights move, seeming to float or even sway around. Some scientists believe that the reason
02:05:23 for these lights is due to ionized iron dust. Others say it's combustion that includes sodium,
02:05:29 oxygen, and hydrogen. Many people claim they're just misidentified aircrafts.
02:05:34 - Yellowstone Park has a famous boiling lake, but it's not the world's only place of boiling water.
02:05:42 Deep in the Amazon, there's the 4-mile Chanae-Tempishka River that's always hot.
02:05:48 The name means "boiled by the sun." Well, it's not exactly boiling, but it can reach 196°F
02:05:56 — enough to cook pasta! Ooh, let's try that! The lowest temperature in these waters is about
02:06:01 113°F. This river still can't be scientifically explained because it would require close
02:06:08 proximity to a volcano for the water to reach such temperatures. However, the closest volcano
02:06:14 is 400 miles away. But there could be a fault between the Earth that could explain this phenomenon.
02:06:22 - In western Venezuela, locals living close to the Catatumbo River aren't afraid of lightning
02:06:28 because they see it almost every single night. It starts at around 7 o'clock and doesn't stop
02:06:33 until dawn. The everlasting Catatumbo lightning did once stop for a few months, from January to
02:06:40 March 2010. It was probably due to drought, or maybe the charge ran out. In 1991, a scientist
02:06:48 suggested that the phenomenon happens because of cold and warm air currents meeting in the area.
02:06:54 Another theory is that the lightning could be due to the presence of uranium in the bedrock.
02:06:59 Speaking of lightning, I got a bolt! Bye!
02:07:01 That's it for today! So, hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and
02:07:07 share it with your friends. Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright

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