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Transcript
00:00:00 You're in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, one of the driest places on Earth.
00:00:06 But this desert has a beautiful secret.
00:00:09 Every 3 to 5 years, flowers pop up out of nowhere.
00:00:12 It's so famous, it's also called the flowering desert.
00:00:16 Seeds lie around in the ground just waiting for some rain.
00:00:20 When the desert gets enough water, about 200 types of flowers sprout up.
00:00:25 The yellow sands of the Atacama turn purple, white, green, and even pink.
00:00:30 Another mystical phenomenon that can be seen in the desert is called a sand waterfall.
00:00:36 When the wind brings a lot of sand to the edge of the canyon, it begins to fall down.
00:00:41 Now amplify this effect 100 times, and you get a sand waterfall in Saudi Arabia.
00:00:47 It really is like Niagara Falls, only there's not a drop of water.
00:00:51 The locals say this phenomenon warns of an impending sandstorm.
00:00:56 Fairy rings, also known as elf rings or pixie rings, are mysterious circles of mushrooms
00:01:02 that appear in grasslands and forested areas.
00:01:05 There's a lot of debate about why these fairy rings form a nearly perfect circle.
00:01:10 Some superstitions claim that fairy dances would burn the ground, causing mushrooms to
00:01:15 rapidly grow.
00:01:17 In southern India, between July and September 2001, people witnessed one of the strangest
00:01:23 weather phenomena in recorded history.
00:01:26 The rain was red.
00:01:28 What many would've thought to be a typical rainstorm left them shocked.
00:01:33 The color was bright enough to stain clothes.
00:01:35 There were other colors too, such as green, yellow, brown, and even black.
00:01:40 In the middle of a monsoon, red rain started to fall, and so did periodically for several
00:01:45 weeks.
00:01:46 Many researchers have found this unusual rain is stained either by dust or algae, so don't
00:01:52 try to catch any on your tongue.
00:01:54 Scientists aren't entirely sure how the algae got all the way up there.
00:01:58 This does make events like this a little unsettling.
00:02:03 People who live in rural central Norway, over the Hestalen Valley, can often witness floating
00:02:08 lights of white, yellow, and red cross the sky.
00:02:12 The lights appear both at day and night, and once back in the 80s, they were spotted 15-20
00:02:20 times in a single week.
00:02:21 The Hestalen lights can last just a few seconds, but sometimes they can last more than an hour.
00:02:28 The lights move, seeming to float or even sway around.
00:02:32 Some scientists believe that the reason for these lights is due to ionized iron dust.
00:02:37 Others say it's a combination that includes sodium, oxygen, and hydrogen.
00:02:41 Many people claim they're just misidentified aircrafts.
00:02:46 Norway!
00:02:47 Snow doughnuts are one of the rarest meteorological sights to see, with perfect weather conditions
00:02:52 needed just to create them.
00:02:54 Found in any snow-covered mountain area, like the Rocky Mountains, the wind, temperature,
00:02:59 snow, ice, and moisture all have to work together for us to see these phenomenal rings.
00:03:05 A thin layer of wet snow on the ground.
00:03:08 Under that layer, ice or powdered snow.
00:03:11 And a strong enough breeze to roll the doughnut down a hill, just like a snowball.
00:03:17 Once it stops rolling, it can be the size of a baseball or as large as a car tire.
00:03:22 It all depends on how strong the wind is.
00:03:24 A newly formed snow doughnut won't stay around for very long, so hurry up with that
00:03:29 camera and watch your head!
00:03:32 Can you believe there's another place on Earth with its own ecosystem and atmosphere,
00:03:36 similar to another planet?
00:03:38 Well, start believing!
00:03:40 Smovul Cave, located in southeastern Romania, remained closed in complete darkness for a
00:03:46 whopping 5.5 million years.
00:03:48 It wasn't until workers discovered the cave, when they were looking for a place to build,
00:03:53 that anyone learned about it.
00:03:55 Scientists carved out an opening to the cave and found that a completely sustained ecosystem
00:04:00 was thriving inside.
00:04:02 As a pathway was carved through the rock past numerous tunnels, scientists found a lake
00:04:07 of sulfuric water that stank like rotten eggs.
00:04:11 The air was filled with hydrogen sulfide and had 100 times more carbon dioxide than Earth's
00:04:16 atmosphere contains.
00:04:18 Needless to say, this air is completely toxic.
00:04:21 What's even crazier is that a whole ecosystem has been existing in this cave, with 33 species
00:04:27 that can't be found anywhere else on Earth.
00:04:30 This cave gives us a glimpse of what could possibly exist on other planets with completely
00:04:35 different atmospheres.
00:04:37 How it managed to exist on Earth all this time without anyone knowing is rather unbelievable,
00:04:43 isn't it?
00:04:44 Now, check these trees out.
00:04:46 They're called Indian rubber trees.
00:04:48 Their strong roots grow not underground, but on the surface.
00:04:52 With the help of special frames and fasteners, people have learned to control how these roots
00:04:57 grow.
00:04:58 Let's say a tree is next to a small pit.
00:05:00 You need to make a bridge from one end of this pit to the other.
00:05:04 You direct the growing tree roots in the needed direction.
00:05:08 Over time, the roots penetrate the ground and strengthen under endless downpours.
00:05:13 It takes about 15 years to create one bridge.
00:05:17 Here's another amazing tree called the Tree of Life.
00:05:20 It grows in Bahrain's desert.
00:05:22 The tree has been standing on top of this sandy hill for more than 400 years, surrounded
00:05:26 by miles of sand.
00:05:28 It's extremely hot here, and there's no moisture.
00:05:32 Despite this, the tree has green leaves, and it continues to grow.
00:05:36 So far, scientists haven't figured out yet how the tree gets moisture and nutrients.
00:05:41 There are only places with oil deposits around.
00:05:45 Locals think the tree is sacred.
00:05:47 After all, it demonstrates the magic of life and the power of nature.
00:05:51 Some experts are sure it's all about the roots.
00:05:54 They go so deep that they can reach underground sources of water.
00:05:59 So there you are, you've been driving for hours through the night.
00:06:03 You didn't have any chance to sleep, so your mind is hanging by a thread.
00:06:08 You stop the car and go out to stretch your limbs.
00:06:11 And then you look up into the sky and see a beautiful sunrise.
00:06:15 Well, wait, there are three suns in the sky.
00:06:19 You rub your eyes, but nope, there are still three bright stars in the sky.
00:06:24 No, our home star hasn't been torn into three pieces, nor has it been visited by two
00:06:29 other stars.
00:06:31 This is called a sun-dawn.
00:06:33 It occurs mostly during severe frosts.
00:06:36 Small ice crystals in the sky bend the light.
00:06:39 As a result, you may see three bright spots in the sky instead of just one.
00:06:43 This phenomenon is officially called a halo.
00:06:46 Usually it's just a circle around the sun.
00:06:49 You can even see a halo at night, too.
00:06:51 Just look at a street lamp, and you'll see a bright circle around it.
00:06:55 Sometimes, a halo can take on a fancier shape.
00:06:58 If there's a lot of ice in the air, the light is warped even more.
00:07:02 Just like in a room with a dozen mirrors.
00:07:05 Then the halo can take on the shape of a human eye.
00:07:09 Because of this phenomenon, a false dawn can also occur.
00:07:13 While you're looking at the horizon, the dawn begins, and the edge of the sun appears.
00:07:18 A little bit more, and wait, the sun starts to just dissolve in the sky.
00:07:24 After a few moments, it's dark again.
00:07:27 And only a minute later, the real sun shows its face.
00:07:31 It was the same light curvature effect you saw before with the three suns.
00:07:35 Only now, the light is curved vertically, not horizontally.
00:07:39 And instead of the real sun, its reflection in ice crystals in the sky appeared.
00:07:44 But the sunrise with three stars on the horizon is actually real.
00:07:49 Not on Earth, though, but 340 light-years away.
00:07:52 There's a star system at the center of which lurks a star almost twice the size of the
00:07:58 sun.
00:07:59 And there are two smaller stars orbiting around this giant.
00:08:02 The strange world has a planet too.
00:08:05 Sunsets and dawns there really happen with three stars.
00:08:09 If you brought your significant other to a park bench to watch a sunset here, your date
00:08:14 would go just fine.
00:08:16 Whatever that means.
00:08:18 Perhaps since we're talking about the most baffling natural phenomena, it would be a
00:08:22 crime not to mention snow in a desert.
00:08:25 Yep, in the winter of 2018, the inhabitants of the Sahara Desert, one of the driest and
00:08:31 hottest places on this planet, woke up to discover a thick blanket of snow covering
00:08:36 the sand.
00:08:37 In some places, the layer of snow enveloping the dunes reached a staggering 15 inches.
00:08:43 Meteorologists, however, had an explanation for this exciting phenomenon.
00:08:48 They stated that cold pools of air, combined with the precipitation from the most recent
00:08:53 storm resulted in a snowfall instead of rain.
00:08:57 So what do you do in that case?
00:08:58 Build snow camels?
00:09:00 Hmm, one hump or two.
00:09:03 This is John.
00:09:05 John seems to attract all kinds of bad weather and natural disasters wherever he goes.
00:09:10 See for yourself.
00:09:12 One day, John notices his dog is restless.
00:09:15 The pooch keeps scratching the entrance door and wandering around the house.
00:09:18 He even tries to hide in the corner, howling and barking.
00:09:23 When some mugs start to clink in your cupboard, John realizes what it means.
00:09:27 The noise is produced by foreshocks.
00:09:30 Mini earthquakes leading up to the main event.
00:09:33 Earthquakes often happen in clusters.
00:09:36 After a few weak quakes, a much bigger one is likely to be on the way.
00:09:41 Sometime before the disaster strikes, people might notice bizarre blue lights.
00:09:46 Some of them seem to be coming out of the ground.
00:09:48 Others are hovering in the air.
00:09:50 These are earthquake lights.
00:09:52 They may appear days or mere seconds before the ground starts shaking.
00:09:58 Now John is walking along the ocean shore.
00:10:01 Suddenly, he sees the water retreat from the beach.
00:10:04 Really, really fast.
00:10:05 Uh oh.
00:10:07 John, run away as quickly as you can and find some high ground!
00:10:10 A tsunami is coming!
00:10:11 And your life might depend on how fast you react.
00:10:15 If John spots a bizarre and unexpected rise in sea level, it can be another sign of an
00:10:20 approaching tsunami.
00:10:21 This happens in 40% of cases.
00:10:25 The incoming water is the first tsunami wave.
00:10:27 The second one, way, way larger, will come in in about 10 minutes.
00:10:32 John can also notice seawater bubbling, swirling, and creating bizarre patterns.
00:10:38 It's another sure sign a tsunami is near.
00:10:41 Hmm.
00:10:43 John feels there's something strange about the sun.
00:10:46 Through his special super dark sunglasses, he sees that there's some uneven flares around
00:10:50 the star's contour.
00:10:52 If these bizarre rays are accompanied by auroras all over the world, they're a sign of a solar
00:10:57 storm.
00:10:59 Such storms are usually caused by disturbances in the sun's magnetic field.
00:11:03 In this case, the bursts of gas and radiation on the surface of the sun get so massive and
00:11:09 powerful that they can even reach our planet!
00:11:12 Luckily, solar storms aren't really dangerous for people, but they can mess with electricity
00:11:17 and even cause blackouts.
00:11:20 The sky over John's head is darkening and turning ominously green.
00:11:25 Something hits him on the forehead.
00:11:26 Ouch!
00:11:27 He picks up the offending object.
00:11:29 It's a hailstone.
00:11:30 But it's not that cold outside, and it's not raining.
00:11:33 Soon, he hears some noise.
00:11:36 It's approaching rapidly and turns into a loud roar.
00:11:39 It sounds as if a freight train is moving towards him, but it's not a train.
00:11:43 It's a tornado!
00:11:45 The funnel isn't visible behind a cloud of debris, but John can't mistake this rotating
00:11:50 column of air for anything else.
00:11:53 Are you on the road, John?
00:11:55 Then get as far away from your car as you can.
00:11:57 Fast!
00:11:58 If you're in a ditch, lie down in it and cover your head!
00:12:00 Oh, you're inside?
00:12:02 Then get away from the windows and hide underground if possible!
00:12:06 And please, John, be very careful if you spot some conically shaped clouds.
00:12:11 Those mean severe storms, and if you notice that such a cloud starts spinning around,
00:12:15 immediately search for shelter.
00:12:18 The cloud is transitioning into a tornado right in front of your eyes!
00:12:22 On the bright side, John should only worry about warm conical clouds.
00:12:26 Cold ones are totally harmless.
00:12:28 The only problem is to figure out the temperature of the cloud he sees.
00:12:33 Duh!
00:12:34 Ah, look!
00:12:35 John just spotted some weirdly shaped trees.
00:12:38 They look like the letter J and grow on a slope.
00:12:41 It means the ground under John's feet is likely to be unstable.
00:12:45 If he keeps wandering around, it can cause a bad landslide!
00:12:50 Square waves appear when two different wave patterns crash into each other.
00:12:54 This phenomenon does look kinda awesome!
00:12:56 No, don't go into the water, John!
00:12:58 Keep watching it from the shore.
00:13:00 Cross currents in that spot can easily pull even a skilled swimmer under the surface.
00:13:05 John keeps walking along the shore.
00:13:08 At one point, he sees wild, choppy waves carrying ocean debris and seaweed.
00:13:13 This time, he stays out of the water.
00:13:15 He knows it can be a sign of a strong rip current.
00:13:17 It can carry a swimmer far away into the ocean.
00:13:23 How about a walk in the park?
00:13:25 John likes this idea.
00:13:26 The sun is shining and the sky is so blue and beautiful.
00:13:30 Suddenly, he spots a rapidly growing vertical cloud.
00:13:34 At first, it looks bright white.
00:13:36 But as it approaches, alarmingly fast, it becomes dense and inky.
00:13:41 The sky is darkening.
00:13:43 It's getting windy.
00:13:45 That's when the guy notices that his hair stands on end.
00:13:47 It's his cue that he's about to get hit by lightning.
00:13:50 At this very moment, positive charges are rising through his body.
00:13:54 They're reaching towards the negatively charged part of the storm.
00:13:57 If he doesn't react fast, these charges will meet.
00:14:01 There's nowhere to hide, so John should crouch down and try to make himself smaller than
00:14:05 the objects around him.
00:14:07 Oh no, John, don't lie down on the ground.
00:14:11 It may be damp and thus a great conductor of electricity.
00:14:15 There are other signs that scream danger during a lightning storm.
00:14:19 John's palms may begin to sweat.
00:14:21 He might hear bizarre crackling and buzzing sounds coming from metal objects nearby.
00:14:26 His skin can start tingling.
00:14:29 There might be a strange metallic taste in his mouth.
00:14:31 Plus, John is likely to smell chlorine.
00:14:35 That's how ozone smells.
00:14:38 Electrical charges split the molecules of nitrogen and oxygen, which are the main gases
00:14:42 making up the atmosphere, into separate atoms.
00:14:45 When these atoms come together again, some of them produce molecules made up of three
00:14:49 oxygen atoms.
00:14:51 That's ozone.
00:14:52 We can smell it during a thunderstorm because down drafts bring this gas from high altitudes
00:14:57 to your level.
00:14:59 Some bugs can feel a storm coming.
00:15:02 They get ready for a natural disaster by freezing.
00:15:05 So when John notices that insects around him look drowsy, he knows to get ready.
00:15:10 Oh, and bees can predict heavy rainstorms.
00:15:14 These critters begin to work much harder the day before it starts raining.
00:15:19 While walking next to the river during a period of heavy rains, John hears a roaring sound.
00:15:24 He feels paralyzed with fear.
00:15:26 It's likely to be a flash flood moving in his direction.
00:15:29 Indeed, he soon sees debris coming down with the flow.
00:15:33 The water is rapidly changing its color, becoming muddier and darker.
00:15:38 Flash floods are very, very dangerous.
00:15:41 Take care of your safety immediately, John!
00:15:44 Another day, John sees a spectacular wall cloud.
00:15:48 It seems to be stretching for up to five miles.
00:15:50 In the best case scenario, it's just a severe storm coming.
00:15:54 But if the wall cloud begins to move in a circle, it's a sure sign of a tornado.
00:16:00 John is walking across a snowfield in the mountains, listening to the sounds the ice
00:16:04 under his feet makes.
00:16:06 The noise is kind of hollow.
00:16:07 Hmm.
00:16:08 Quickly check whether there are cracks around your footprints, John.
00:16:12 If so, the chances are an avalanche is about to happen.
00:16:16 If John sees an avalanche moving in his direction, he does his best to get off the slope.
00:16:22 In most cases, he could probably outrun it by heading downhill and then veering sideways.
00:16:26 But not this time.
00:16:28 He realizes he doesn't have enough time and heads for the nearest tree.
00:16:32 If John keeps holding onto it really tightly, the avalanche might not follow him along.
00:16:37 But if this doesn't work, he should try to swim up to the snow's surface while the
00:16:42 avalanche is still moving.
00:16:45 On a pretty nice summer evening, John notices leaves with soft stems droop all of a sudden.
00:16:51 Ah, it might be because of an upcoming storm.
00:16:53 Right before extreme weather arrives, the air usually becomes more humid.
00:16:58 Leaves also get damp and heavy, and the wind easily flips them over.
00:17:04 John lives in a pretty old house and is used to having cracks in the interior walls.
00:17:08 But one day, he notices that some of them have widened.
00:17:11 And look, there are a few new ones!
00:17:14 It's an alarm bell!
00:17:15 He lives in an area with loads of limestone, so new cracks can mean a sinkhole is about
00:17:19 to open next to his house!
00:17:22 John is hurrying home, trying not to waste time admiring shelf clouds.
00:17:27 They look like something from a sci-fi movie.
00:17:29 They form when warm and moist air gets caught in a thunderstorm updraft.
00:17:34 And these ominous clouds most often mean a storm is coming.
00:17:41 Have you ever wondered about the longest time it rained non-stop?
00:17:46 Even an hour of rain could be a big deal if you're hanging out in a dry spot like the
00:17:50 Atacama Desert in South America.
00:17:52 It can set a record for that place.
00:17:55 But in super rainy spots like the Amazon rainforest, having 40 days of rain in a row might not
00:18:01 even turn heads.
00:18:02 Interestingly, we only have rainfall records where people live and keep track.
00:18:07 Many towns and cities skip the whole rain data collection thing.
00:18:11 Plus, there are so many places on Earth where nobody lives, like rainforests or the open
00:18:16 ocean, so our rainfall knowledge is a bit patchy.
00:18:20 Now, if we were to talk about records, Hawaii has a couple.
00:18:24 People there have some seriously long rainy days, especially on islands where winds come
00:18:29 from the mountains.
00:18:30 From 1939 to 40, they recorded 331 days in a row with measurable rainfall.
00:18:37 If you're a person who likes to watch the rain at home with a cup of tea, this might
00:18:41 sound ideal to you.
00:18:43 But we need to see the sun at least occasionally.
00:18:47 Getting some sun is good for your body and soul.
00:18:50 Obviously, you get vitamin D. Just 5 to 15 minutes of sunlight a few times a week can
00:18:55 make a real difference.
00:18:57 And have you ever heard the phrase "sunny disposition"?
00:19:01 Researchers found that people feel down when there's not much sun around.
00:19:05 Sunny days make us happier.
00:19:07 Sunshine boosts your serotonin, which fights off bad moods.
00:19:11 That sunny serotonin isn't just for your mood, it also helps you sleep.
00:19:15 And it's also a heart assistant.
00:19:18 When the sun hits your skin, your body releases something called nitric oxide, which chills
00:19:23 out your blood pressure.
00:19:24 Healthy blood pressure means a healthier heart.
00:19:27 Now, go tell that to the people who had to go through 881 consecutive days of rain.
00:19:33 Yep, the record was set almost 3 full years of rain.
00:19:37 This happened from 1913 to 1916 in Hananumomaki, Hawaii.
00:19:42 It rained like there was no tomorrow, because the region is a tropical rainforest.
00:19:48 How do clouds make rain?
00:19:50 Well, rain happens when damp air goes up into the sky and gets a bit chilly.
00:19:55 As this air cools down, tiny water vapor molecules huddle up, forming super small droplets that
00:20:01 look like a fluffy cloud team.
00:20:03 Inside these clouds, things get playful.
00:20:06 The air moving around can sometimes make these droplets bump into one another and get bigger.
00:20:12 Then they can turn into ice crystals high up in the clouds where it's chilly.
00:20:16 These little ice buddies get heavy enough to take a tumble down, melting in the rain
00:20:20 on the way to the ground.
00:20:23 There isn't just one type of rain.
00:20:26 Raindrops can come from all kinds of storms.
00:20:28 Thunderstorms show up, make a splash, and then they're out.
00:20:32 They can dump a ton of rain in no time.
00:20:35 Other storms, like winter storms, are more laid back.
00:20:38 They stick around for days and dish out gentle rain or even snow if it's cold enough.
00:20:43 Usually, the weather switches between moods.
00:20:45 It's nature's way of balancing things out.
00:20:49 After stormy weather, the sun comes out, the air dries up, and we get to enjoy some clear
00:20:53 skies.
00:20:55 But things can get interesting if you're in a place with mountains near the ocean.
00:20:59 When moist air hits the mountains, it's forced to climb over them, creating rainfall
00:21:04 lasting sometimes for weeks.
00:21:06 What if I told you there was a time on Earth when rain fell continuously for 2 million
00:21:12 years and completely reshaped the planet's destiny?
00:21:15 At the end of the Permian era, around 234 million years ago (I wasn't around then,
00:21:21 but I read about it), the Triassic period began.
00:21:24 Marked by the onset of an extended period of rainfall.
00:21:28 This phenomenon is now called the Carnian-Pluvial event.
00:21:31 Well, that's what they decided to call it.
00:21:35 Recent studies supported by evidence suggest that it didn't reshape the planet in that
00:21:39 sense and that it was triggered by coal combustion.
00:21:42 The rain wasn't continuous either.
00:21:45 So we just debunked a myth here!
00:21:47 Woo-hoo!
00:21:48 Next, we have columnar jointing.
00:21:51 This is the fancy term for groove patterns that form in lava flows, sills, dikes, and
00:21:57 other rocky stuff.
00:21:59 These lava creations come in all shapes and sizes.
00:22:02 Most are seen as straight parallel columns.
00:22:05 Some have curves and varying widths.
00:22:07 They can be as high as 1,181 inches.
00:22:11 I'll save you the math, it's roughly 98 feet.
00:22:17 The columns are formed by pressure and the cooling process.
00:22:20 As lava becomes cooler, it shrinks and forms cracks.
00:22:24 Once a crack starts, the lava moves around.
00:22:27 These cracks expand to the surface of the flow.
00:22:30 Water sneaks into the cooling lava, making it chill down fast starting from the surface,
00:22:35 leaving its mark in those patterns.
00:22:37 Devil's Host Pile in California is a must-visit place if you want to see columnar jointing.
00:22:44 But hey, they're found all around the world!
00:22:47 Let's raise our heads to the sky to see something magical.
00:22:51 Fire rainbows, also known as circumhorizontal arcs, look like flames dancing above the clouds.
00:22:57 To see these eye-catching arcs, you need a special cloud type called cirrus clouds and
00:23:03 the sun at least 58 degrees high in the sky.
00:23:05 It's a VIP collaboration between sunlight and clouds.
00:23:09 Let's break it down further.
00:23:11 Take London, for instance.
00:23:12 It's around 51 degrees north.
00:23:15 Now, sorry, Londoners, no fire rainbows for you!
00:23:21 Now we move to deep waters to see underwater crop circles.
00:23:25 These are giant circular patterns found in 1995 near the shores of southern Japan.
00:23:31 Locals were baffled.
00:23:32 They dubbed them "mystery circles," as if the ocean had a secret talent for sand art.
00:23:37 The mystery was solved in 2011.
00:23:40 The unlikely artist turned out to be a tiny pufferfish, just 5 inches long.
00:23:45 The researchers found out that males were on a mission, spending a solid 7-9 days building
00:23:51 their circles by swimming in and out and using their fins to carve valleys into the sandy
00:23:56 floor.
00:23:57 They decorate the peaks of their creations with bits of shells and corals, turning their
00:24:01 sandy canvases into masterpieces.
00:24:04 Okay, they don't do it for the sake of art.
00:24:07 The curious circles have a purpose.
00:24:09 The sandy center of the circle serves as a nest.
00:24:12 Males' swimming moves mix things up, getting sand particles just where they need to be.
00:24:18 When a lady pufferfish swims by, the male twirls and dances, swirling sand around.
00:24:24 If she is impressed and thinks he is the one, she lays her eggs in the sandy heart of the
00:24:29 circle.
00:24:30 There you go, another happy ending!
00:24:34 Now let's look at frost flowers.
00:24:36 You might've seen thin sheets of ice that look like delicate petals and sometimes pop
00:24:41 up from the stems of plants.
00:24:43 The ice is about as thick as a credit card.
00:24:45 It forms when the weather is cold outside.
00:24:48 The soil is damp but not frozen, as well as plant stems.
00:24:52 Not all plants produce these frost flowers, and the conditions must be just right.
00:24:57 Here's how it happens.
00:24:59 The water inside a plant stem gets pulled up from the ground.
00:25:03 When it freezes, it expands and cracks the stem vertically.
00:25:07 As it hits the chilly air, it turns into ice.
00:25:10 As more water gets pulled up through the crack, it keeps pushing out super thin layers of
00:25:15 ice.
00:25:16 Whether a frost flower looks like a narrow ribbon or a wider one depends on the length
00:25:20 of the crack.
00:25:22 And the way it curls and shapes itself into these petals is random, or the reason might
00:25:26 lie in the difference in friction along the sides of the crack.
00:25:30 These frost flowers are unique and delicate, and they don't last long.
00:25:34 They melt or just disappear quickly.
00:25:37 To spot them, keep an eye out for tall grass, especially in places that don't get mowed
00:25:42 much.
00:25:43 Pay attention to purple ironweed, blackberries, and wing stems.
00:25:49 Ah, you're on the grass, looking up at the blue sky, enjoying some singing birds, and
00:25:57 catching some rays.
00:25:58 You watch different shaped clouds soaring slowly, high up in the air.
00:26:03 Suddenly, you hear a powerful loud rumble coming from far away.
00:26:07 You get up and notice a gigantic thick cloud ahead.
00:26:11 But it's not the size that scares you, it's the shape.
00:26:14 The cloud looks like a skull.
00:26:16 Don't worry, it doesn't mean anything bad's gonna happen.
00:26:20 Anyway, it's not even a cloud.
00:26:22 A few years ago, a skull formed out of thick smoke over Mount Vesuvius in Italy.
00:26:28 That's the same volcano that erased the ancient city of Pompeii from the face of the Earth.
00:26:33 Of course, back then, many people were afraid that the volcano would erupt again.
00:26:39 Luckily for everyone, the volcano's still in a deep sleep.
00:26:43 It was just a nearby forest fire that caused the famous skull cloud.
00:26:47 But the locals weren't so sure.
00:26:49 Some thought that the fire and the skull were set on purpose.
00:26:53 Wouldn't be the first time.
00:26:56 Centralia, Pennsylvania.
00:26:58 Population, well, just look around.
00:27:01 Looks a little scary.
00:27:02 Bare trees, no animals, no people.
00:27:05 All the buildings are empty.
00:27:07 Roads are all cracked and strewn with gravel.
00:27:09 No cars, obviously.
00:27:11 Thick smoke everywhere.
00:27:13 This town's been burning for more than 50 years.
00:27:16 Centralia used to be a mining town.
00:27:19 One of its coal mines was abandoned, and locals used it as a dump for their trash.
00:27:24 Then, according to most people, the city decided to get rid of the trash in the usual way – by
00:27:29 burning it.
00:27:30 The plan was a major failure.
00:27:32 Hmm, let's see what could have possibly gone wrong here.
00:27:36 The trash fire got deep into the mine's tunnels, ignited the coal that's still down
00:27:41 there, and has been burning steadily ever since.
00:27:44 The level of carbon dioxide shot up, and they had to shut down the other mines nearby for
00:27:49 safety.
00:27:50 No one could stop the fire, and the underground flames spread beneath the city.
00:27:56 Roads began to warm up, the soil went sour, and the streets slowly filled with smoke and
00:28:01 smog.
00:28:02 In 2017, there were only 5 people living there.
00:28:08 Welcome to Abraham Lake in Canada.
00:28:10 It's completely frozen.
00:28:12 You step onto the transparent ice and look down at what lies beneath.
00:28:16 No fish, just some mysterious frozen bubbles.
00:28:20 They look like small clouds frozen in ice, or jellyfish who forgot to pack a winter jacket.
00:28:26 There are thousands of these little bubbles made up of methane.
00:28:30 But don't try to dig a hole in the ice to touch it.
00:28:33 Methane is highly flammable.
00:28:34 It's created by methane-producing bacteria that eats leaves, grass, insects, and any
00:28:40 other organic stuff that gets into the lake.
00:28:43 When the methane touches the frozen water, it turns into tens of thousands of frozen
00:28:48 little balls.
00:28:49 When the ice melts, they burst open and sizzle.
00:28:52 If you lit a match over them at just the right moment, the lake would look kind of like an
00:28:57 erupting volcano.
00:28:59 Similar lakes can be found near some shores of the Arctic Ocean.
00:29:02 There, the size of the bubbles can reach several times the size of hot air balloons.
00:29:08 Terrible for sure, but not exactly safe.
00:29:12 The next shocking lake is in Indonesia, on the island of Java.
00:29:16 You come to a majestic volcano overgrown with grass and trees.
00:29:21 The volcano seems to be asleep, but smoke is pouring out of it.
00:29:25 You of course climb to the summit.
00:29:27 Exhausted, tired, sweaty, you're ready to cool off.
00:29:31 Nice work, you made it to the top!
00:29:32 You look into the mouth of the volcano.
00:29:36 No boiling lava, just a beautiful bright turquoise lake down there.
00:29:40 It looks like an oasis.
00:29:42 Perfect time for a refreshing dip.
00:29:44 You run down and get ready to jump in.
00:29:46 But that's not water, that's acid!
00:29:51 Sulfurous gases get into the lake from under the volcano.
00:29:54 The lake itself is full of metals.
00:29:56 When the gases touch them, they form that beautiful turquoise water, I mean acid.
00:30:02 Better head back to the nearest village, rest and come back at night when it's cooling.
00:30:07 In the dark, the lake seems to grow.
00:30:10 Right above it, you see light-filled exploding little clouds.
00:30:14 The sulfurous gases rise out of the lake, combine with the air, and flash bright blue.
00:30:20 Still, don't get too close!
00:30:23 Up in the sky, underground, volcanoes, lakes?
00:30:28 Time to head out to sea.
00:30:30 You get on a yacht and sail off.
00:30:32 It doesn't matter where, this next one happens all over the world.
00:30:36 So the sea is crystal clear and calm, there's no wind in your sails.
00:30:41 Everything is so peaceful… wait, what's that?
00:30:45 You hear a loud, loud noise.
00:30:48 Two seconds later, a huge wave, way taller than your mast, rises from the calm sea and
00:30:54 hits your yacht.
00:30:55 The ship manages to stay upright, and the huge wave disappears.
00:30:59 You just survived the attack of a rogue wave!
00:31:03 Some scientists think it happens when the surface sea current smashes into a strong
00:31:07 headwind.
00:31:08 Others say it happens when warm and cold currents come up against each other.
00:31:13 Another popular theory is wave interference, where small waves team up to form one monster
00:31:19 one.
00:31:20 Under certain conditions, waves get a sort of superpower.
00:31:23 Out of all the waves in the area, there'll be one which sucks the energy out of all the
00:31:28 others.
00:31:29 When it's full, the wave spits it all out.
00:31:32 Maybe that's why the wave's so strong, but only lasts an instant.
00:31:37 What about clouds?
00:31:38 Scary?
00:31:39 Well, they can be, if they're huge thunderclouds, walls of gray and black blocking out the sun,
00:31:46 the moon, and the stars.
00:31:48 First you're relaxing in your backyard, then you see thunderclouds.
00:31:51 Then you get thunderstorms, hail, floods, and even tornadoes.
00:31:56 They're easy to spot thanks to their epic appearance – thick, heavy, and dark.
00:32:02 They can even sparkle inside because of lightning.
00:32:05 That's one scary-looking cloud!
00:32:07 But before you run away, let's see how it forms.
00:32:11 Clouds are like roller coasters.
00:32:13 Imagine you're a small drop of water, hanging out with your friends in the ocean, waiting
00:32:17 in line for the brand-new ride that just opened up.
00:32:20 It's time!
00:32:21 You strap in.
00:32:23 Nothing happens.
00:32:24 Then you feel it.
00:32:26 The roller coaster starts to go up, up, up!
00:32:29 You can see all your droplet friends down there.
00:32:31 They're so small!
00:32:33 You keep rising, just waiting for the big whoosh.
00:32:36 But nothing happens.
00:32:38 Then you're so high up that you're in the clouds.
00:32:41 It's not so scary up here, and there are loads of your friends.
00:32:45 Nice!
00:32:46 It's starting to get cold.
00:32:48 You look around.
00:32:49 It's happening to everyone.
00:32:50 You're being turned into beautiful ice crystals, so shiny and pretty.
00:32:55 The clouds filling up, getting kind of cramped with all those other water droplets.
00:33:00 Still, what a peaceful, enjoyable…
00:33:03 Wow!
00:33:04 The ride kicks back in, and you start to free-fall.
00:33:07 Slowly at first, then faster and faster, thousands of your fellow drops falling back to Earth,
00:33:13 some holding on tight to the handrail, some laughing and waving their hands in the air.
00:33:18 Woo-hoo!
00:33:19 And… splash!
00:33:20 Still, I like the lightning ride better.
00:33:22 That's one where they strap you in, you ride up, and then you play bumper cars way
00:33:27 up in the clouds.
00:33:29 The more times you bump into another water droplet, the more lightning you create.
00:33:35 Not all lightning happens inside clouds.
00:33:37 There's a rare phenomenon called a "dirty thunderstorm."
00:33:41 The lightning happens above a volcano, the most famous is in Japan.
00:33:45 It erupts almost every day and spits black clouds high into the air.
00:33:50 So it's super scary volcano clouds, plus lightning!
00:33:55 Regular lightning happens during a storm when ice crystals bump into each other.
00:34:00 In a dirty thunderstorm, bits of volcanic ash collide, create friction, and spark up
00:34:06 the sky.
00:34:07 Okay, better finish the journey with something safe and beautiful.
00:34:11 No more cloud roller coasters, please!
00:34:14 You're in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, one of the driest places on Earth.
00:34:19 But this desert has a beautiful secret.
00:34:22 Every 3 to 5 years, flowers pop up out of nowhere.
00:34:26 It's so famous, it's also called the "flowering desert."
00:34:31 Seeds lie around in the ground, just waiting for some rain.
00:34:34 When the desert gets enough water, about 200 types of flowers sprout up.
00:34:39 The yellow sands of the Atacama turn purple, white, green, and pink.
00:34:46 This happened in June 2009.
00:34:49 People in certain areas in Japan left their homes after a heavy downpour, only to find
00:34:55 fish, frogs, and tadpoles everywhere.
00:34:58 Fields, roads, lawns, rooftops were littered with these aquatic creatures.
00:35:04 One man was shocked to see 13 carp on and around his truck.
00:35:08 Apparently, he stopped to count them.
00:35:11 No one knows for sure where the bizarre rain came from, but the most popular theory claims
00:35:16 that a powerful water spout picked up all these creatures, then it carried them through
00:35:20 the upper atmosphere and dropped the animals on the unsuspecting people below.
00:35:27 Shelf clouds look like something from a sci-fi movie.
00:35:30 They form when warm and moist air gets caught in a thunderstorm updraft.
00:35:35 These ominous clouds most often mean a storm is coming.
00:35:39 Breathtaking rainbow clouds appear on top of cotton-like puffy clouds after thunderstorms.
00:35:46 The puffy clouds are low-altitude ones.
00:35:48 They usually hover at a height of around 6,000 ft.
00:35:52 When the water vapor they contain condenses, the resulting droplets act like prisms.
00:35:58 This forms multicolored caps over the clouds.
00:36:02 Morning glory clouds are extremely rare.
00:36:05 They look like massive tubes stretching across the sky.
00:36:08 They can snake for more than 600 miles, sitting relatively low.
00:36:13 Most researchers agree that these clouds appear when an updraft squeezes through the cloud.
00:36:19 This creates the signature rolling appearance.
00:36:22 The cool air at the back of the cloud makes it sink downward.
00:36:26 The best, but not the only place to see morning glory is Australia's Gulf of Carpentaria.
00:36:32 If you decide to travel there to see these clouds, choose a period from late September
00:36:37 to early November.
00:36:40 It was 2012 when the sky turned first ominous dark, then yellow.
00:36:46 After that, blue gelatinous balls started to fall to the ground.
00:36:51 A man from the UK found these balls outside during a hailstorm.
00:36:55 He was walking to his garage when he spotted something unusually bright among the whitish
00:36:59 hailstones.
00:37:01 When researchers examined this "jelly rain," they found out the balls were made from the
00:37:05 substance used in diapers or potting soil.
00:37:09 It's used to absorb liquid.
00:37:11 It's still unclear whether the balls fell from the sky, or maybe the melting ice made
00:37:16 a few already existing crystals expand in the blink of an eye.
00:37:22 Huge white lumps over your head are called mammatus clouds.
00:37:26 They can make you believe the sky is falling.
00:37:29 Most clouds form when the air rises into the atmosphere, but not mammatus ones.
00:37:35 They appear when moist and cool air goes down and mixes with dry air.
00:37:39 The result?
00:37:40 Unique puffed rice clouds.
00:37:43 By the way, if you spot this phenomenon, bad weather is just around the corner.
00:37:48 Whoa, mama!
00:37:50 Colorful nacreous clouds occur extremely high in the atmosphere.
00:37:54 I mean, twice as high as a commercial airplane's cruising altitude.
00:37:59 The air at such heights is extremely dry and cold.
00:38:03 Ice crystals in nacreous clouds are much smaller than those that form more common clouds.
00:38:08 They scatter light in a different way.
00:38:11 And this gives the clouds their Mother of Pearl appearance.
00:38:15 Blood rain looks more terrifying than any horror movie.
00:38:19 But in reality, there's nothing strange or unnatural about this weather phenomenon.
00:38:24 People have known about such scarlet-tinted rains since the time of ancient Rome.
00:38:30 Those powerful winds lift red dust into the atmosphere and carry it far, far away.
00:38:36 To another galaxy!
00:38:38 In the end, this dust gets mixed with clouds, which colors the rain.
00:38:43 By the way, dust from coal mines can make the rain black.
00:38:47 Pollen is responsible for yellow rains.
00:38:50 And some other kinds of dust can turn the rainwater white.
00:38:55 In Australia, it sometimes rains spiders.
00:38:58 That's because these creatures can balloon.
00:39:01 That's a highly unusual way of traveling.
00:39:04 A spider climbs to the very top of a tall tree or shrub.
00:39:08 And then it spins several strands of silk.
00:39:11 These strands help the spider to be carried away by the wind.
00:39:15 It's not easy to spot ballooning.
00:39:17 But sometimes, if the weather is especially damp and unpleasant, mass ballooning happens.
00:39:23 And then you can't help but pay attention.
00:39:27 Thousands of spiders set off on a journey to find another place with better conditions.
00:39:31 It may seem like it's snowing outside, but no, those are spiders drifting down to the
00:39:37 ground.
00:39:38 Ever see huge round disks in the sky?
00:39:42 Most likely, those were lenticular clouds.
00:39:45 They usually form over large and high places, like mountains or hills.
00:39:49 When strong winds bump into some barrier, this creates an air wave.
00:39:54 The air kind of wraps around the obstacle.
00:39:57 And the higher the barrier is, the colder the air that's rising over it becomes.
00:40:01 At some point, the moisture it contains turns into water droplets, and they form the unusual
00:40:07 clouds.
00:40:08 Lenticular clouds can look like waves, a pizza, or even a stack of pancakes.
00:40:13 How yummy!
00:40:15 Volcanic tornadoes are possibly one of the most terrifying natural phenomena.
00:40:20 When a volcano erupts, it spews red-hot rock and ash high into the air.
00:40:25 As for solid lava pieces and hot gases, they travel down the volcano's slope.
00:40:31 When this flow moves down, some of the trapped gases begin to rise and spin at the same time.
00:40:37 They get squeezed by the surrounding air, which makes them spin faster and faster.
00:40:42 That's how a volcanic tornado gets born.
00:40:45 Luckily, this phenomenon has a very short lifespan.
00:40:49 On March 19, 2018, the inhabitants of Alabama had to run for their lives.
00:40:55 Otherwise they would've been hit by huge chunks of ice falling from the sky.
00:41:00 It was the infamous hailstorm that caused millions of dollars worth of damage.
00:41:05 After the hailstorm, the area looked gloomy.
00:41:08 Broken shop windows, smashed car windshields, busted billboards, holes in the roofs.
00:41:14 At least researchers got excited when they found a hailstone near the town of Cullman.
00:41:19 This softball-sized monster was more than 5 inches across.
00:41:23 No wonder it set a new state record.
00:41:26 Cylindrical snow donuts occur when a wind gust decides to make a snowball.
00:41:32 It starts to roll some snow across a snowy area.
00:41:35 If it were a real snowball, it would eventually become too heavy for the wind to move.
00:41:40 But the snow donut's center is hollowed out.
00:41:43 This happens because its inner layer is too thin and is blown away when the donut is formed.
00:41:49 This makes it lighter than a snowball, and that's why it also rolls farther.
00:41:53 Unfortunately, you just can't go and find snow donuts.
00:41:57 They're rare because they need very precise conditions to appear.
00:42:02 Moonbows are a much rarer phenomenon than rainbows.
00:42:05 They're caused by moonlight rather than direct sunlight and occur only when the moon
00:42:10 is near full.
00:42:12 Moonbows are dim and often seem to be white.
00:42:15 But it's just an illusion.
00:42:17 The human eye is just not sensitive enough to catch all the colors.
00:42:21 Lightning balls are small floating spheres of light.
00:42:25 They can be orange, yellow, or even red.
00:42:28 Sometimes lightning balls descend from the sky.
00:42:30 In other cases, they appear out of nowhere, hovering several feet above the ground.
00:42:36 They don't emit any heat or produce very little sound.
00:42:39 Lightning balls can bounce off objects.
00:42:41 If they come across something electrical, like a TV, they usually disappear with a quiet
00:42:46 pop, leaving behind the smell of sulfur.
00:42:50 But lightning balls can also start fires or explode.
00:42:54 Scientists believe lightning balls might be connected with thunderstorms, but there's
00:42:58 no solid proof yet.
00:43:01 Fogbows are almost white, pale blue on the inside, and faint red on the outside.
00:43:07 You have higher chances of seeing a fogbow over the cold sea or ocean when warm air comes
00:43:13 into contact with much colder air.
00:43:16 This phenomenon also occurs when the sun is bright, and the fog is thin enough for the
00:43:20 light to get through.
00:43:22 Pele's hair is thin lava threads.
00:43:25 They look golden and pretty, but don't even think about picking them up.
00:43:29 Yeah, they can harm you.
00:43:31 The wind sometimes catches small droplets of lava coming from active volcanoes.
00:43:36 These droplets get carried miles away from the vent.
00:43:40 They get stretched into super-thin glass wires, also called hair lava.
00:43:45 Some strands can be as long as 6 feet!
00:43:49 In March 2018, those who looked up in the sky in northern Nevada saw one of the rarest
00:43:54 and most bizarre clouds ever.
00:43:57 It was a horseshoe cloud.
00:43:59 Such a vortex happens when a flat cloud travels over a column of warm, rising air.
00:44:05 This air not only gives the cloud its impressive shape, but also adds some spin to its movement.
00:44:11 But you've gotta be quick – horseshoe clouds are very fleeting and usually last
00:44:16 for only several minutes.
00:44:18 Frost flowers bloom on young sea ice in the Arctic Ocean or on thin lake ice.
00:44:23 They're fragile and delicate ice crystals.
00:44:27 These structures grow during temperature changes.
00:44:29 They draw moisture from the ice surface and rise, capturing bacteria and salt.
00:44:35 You can find frost flowers in Antarctica too.
00:44:38 But wherever these crystals grow, people know, disappointingly, very little about them.
00:44:44 Still, they're awfully pretty!
00:44:52 The Baxindae Tsunami, Indonesia An undersea earthquake starts in the morning.
00:44:57 Its tremors cause a series of tsunami waves.
00:45:01 The largest reaches the height of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
00:45:05 Unzen Volcano Mega Tsunami A powerful volcanic eruption triggers a landslide
00:45:11 from a 4,000-year-old lava dome.
00:45:13 It sweeps through the city of Shimabara and reaches the sea, setting off a mega tsunami.
00:45:19 The Vagent Dam Mega Tsunami, Italy A landslide drags 9 billion cubic feet of
00:45:25 forest, soil, and rock into the lake.
00:45:28 A dark wall of water covers the sky over a tiny village at the bottom of the Vagent Dam.
00:45:35 Then with a deafening roar, the wave overtops the edge of the dam, taking out everything
00:45:40 in its path.
00:45:42 Mount St. Helens Mega Tsunami, USA As the volcano erupts, the upper 1,500 feet
00:45:49 of Mount St. Helens collapses into a massive landslide.
00:45:53 Part of this avalanche plunges down into nearby Spirit Lake, which splashes the lake waters
00:45:59 into a series of waves almost as tall as the Eiffel Tower.
00:46:03 Alaska's Lituya Bay Tsunami A landslide caused by an earthquake creates
00:46:08 a mega wave.
00:46:09 It surges over the headland and washes away trees, plants, and soil down to bedrock.
00:46:15 Molokai, Hawaii A third of the East Molokai volcano caves
00:46:20 in and collapses into the Pacific Ocean.
00:46:23 This causes a tsunami the size of the second tallest building in the world, Shanghai Tower.
00:46:28 The waves reach Mexico and California.
00:46:32 The Yucatan Asteroid Tsunami The asteroid, which is rumored to have wiped
00:46:36 out dinosaurs, strikes the Yucatan Peninsula.
00:46:40 It creates a mega tsunami, the largest in Earth's history.
00:46:44 The first wave's almost twice bigger than the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.
00:46:52 Hurricane Mitch Mitch forms in the Western Caribbean Sea.
00:46:56 Soon it strengthens to become the 8th most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever.
00:47:01 The storm pours 4 inches of rain per hour for 2 days in Honduras.
00:47:05 It causes terrible mudslides and floods.
00:47:09 Hurricane Alan Rare and extremely powerful, the storm is
00:47:13 one of the few to reach Category 5, the highest possible.
00:47:17 It causes more than $2 billion in damage.
00:47:20 The Great Hurricane After tearing down Barbados, the storm moves
00:47:25 on.
00:47:26 It strips the bark off the trees growing on Martinique and St. Lucia and travels further.
00:47:31 This horrific natural disaster lasts for 6 days.
00:47:35 Hurricane Dorian It's the most powerful tropical cyclone
00:47:39 to hit the Bahamas.
00:47:40 The hurricane flattens most of the structures on the islands and sweeps them into the sea.
00:47:46 Hurricane Wilma The storm occurs in the Caribbean Sea near
00:47:49 Jamaica and heads to the west.
00:47:52 Two days later, it gathers enough power to turn into the most intense hurricane ever
00:47:57 recorded in the Atlantic Ocean.
00:48:00 Hurricane Patricia A regular storm develops a well-defined eye
00:48:04 and turns into a Category 5 hurricane within a mere 24 hours.
00:48:09 At one point, it travels faster than a Ferrari moving at its top speed.
00:48:14 It makes Patricia the world's most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded.
00:48:21 Kamchatka earthquake It happens in the early morning 80 miles
00:48:25 away from the shores of Kamchatka.
00:48:27 The earth tremors produce a tsunami.
00:48:30 The first two waves are catastrophic, up to 60 feet high.
00:48:34 The third one's much weaker.
00:48:36 Valparaiso earthquake, Chile It happens at about 5 am along the boundary
00:48:41 of two tectonic plates.
00:48:43 The tsunami, triggered by the earthquake, wipes out 620 miles of Chile's coastline.
00:48:50 Tohoku earthquake, Japan The first earth tremors start at a great underwater
00:48:55 depth.
00:48:56 The earthquake is so strong, it moves Japan's main island.
00:49:00 It shifts the planet on its axis by up to 10 inches and increases its rotation speed.
00:49:05 The disaster also triggers a tsunami with 133-foot-high waves that travel 6 miles inland.
00:49:13 Indian Ocean earthquake, Sumatra A rupture along two tectonic plates sets off
00:49:18 an undersea earthquake.
00:49:20 It begins at about 8 am near northern Sumatra, Indonesia.
00:49:24 It makes the planet vibrate nearly a half inch and sets off earthquakes all over the
00:49:29 world up to Alaska.
00:49:32 Good Friday earthquake, Alaska The most powerful earthquake recorded in North
00:49:37 America lasts for 4 minutes and 38 seconds.
00:49:40 A 600-mile-long crack causes terrible landslides and a 27-foot tsunami.
00:49:47 Earthquakes 200 miles away get raised by 30 feet.
00:49:50 Other places permanently drop 8 feet.
00:49:54 Valdiva, Chile The Great Chilean Earthquake starts in the
00:49:58 afternoon and lasts for no less than 10 minutes.
00:50:02 The disaster affects an area the size of California.
00:50:05 It triggers tsunamis that reach the shore of Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, Australia,
00:50:10 and New Zealand.
00:50:14 The average tornado usually lasts less than 10 minutes, but there are exceptions.
00:50:20 El Reno tornado It's considered the world's largest tornado
00:50:24 based on width.
00:50:25 At its peak, the twister reaches 2.5 miles across.
00:50:30 The Perryville tornado, US It occurs at about 2 am and starts with snapping
00:50:36 hardwood trees and breaking down stone constructions.
00:50:39 Then the whirlwind becomes stronger.
00:50:42 It levels two-story buildings, flips and tosses cars as if they were toys.
00:50:47 Bridge Creek Moor tornado When the twister gets into the town of Bridge
00:50:51 Creek, its width is at its peak – 1 to 1.5 miles.
00:50:56 The wind speed of the tornado reaches more than 300 mph.
00:51:00 This natural disaster causes $1 billion in damage.
00:51:05 Manitoba, Canada An outstanding tornado rages for nearly 3
00:51:09 hours.
00:51:10 It breaks tons of trees and utility poles, damages roads and farmhouses, but miraculously
00:51:16 misses every town on its path.
00:51:20 Tri-state tornado, US The world's longest-lasting single tornado
00:51:25 travels 220 miles through Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana.
00:51:30 The average tornado's path is usually no longer than 5 miles.
00:51:35 Tupelo, Gainesville, US An outbreak that consists of at least 12 single
00:51:40 tornadoes wipes out everything on its way.
00:51:44 The accompanying rainstorms also trigger severe flash floods that make matters even worse.
00:51:53 Val Giant landslide, Italy At 10 pm, a landslide with a volume of 100
00:51:59 Great Pyramids of Giza breaks off from the top of Monte Tocco.
00:52:03 It falls into the Val Giant Dam reservoir, producing a tsunami wave taller than the Golden
00:52:08 Gate Bridge.
00:52:10 Yunnan, China An avalanche of rocks, stones, and mud, so
00:52:14 big it could fill up Sydney Harbor, forms a dam on the Jincha River.
00:52:20 The Hida River, Japan Triggered by a rainstorm, 300,000 Olympic
00:52:25 swimming pools of debris flows down before getting stopped by another, earlier landslide.
00:52:31 Along the way, the landslide sweeps two buses off the road.
00:52:35 Peru A rock slide dams the Rio Montanero, a long
00:52:40 river running through the center of Peru.
00:52:43 The whole process takes no more than 3 minutes, which means the landslide moves at a speed
00:52:48 of up to 87 mph.
00:52:50 It also leaves a trail of debris 5 miles long.
00:52:54 The Usoy Dam, Tajikistan Set off by a magnitude 7.4 earthquake, the
00:53:01 rock slide falls into the Mergab River and blocks its flow.
00:53:04 That's how the Usoy Dam, one of the tallest in the world, appears.
00:53:10 Mount St. Helens, USA At 8.30 am, after much build-up, a volcanic
00:53:16 vent finally gives way and sets off a catastrophic eruption, which makes the entire north side
00:53:22 of Mount St. Helens fall away.
00:53:24 It's the world's largest recorded landslide.
00:53:28 North Bonneville, US In the middle of the 15th century, a great
00:53:33 earthquake occurs.
00:53:34 An incredible amount of debris rushes down from Table Mountain.
00:53:38 It covers more than 5 square miles and blocks the Columbia River with a dam 200 feet high
00:53:44 and 3.5 miles long.
00:53:48 Kyiv You've been dreaming of getting here for
00:53:52 years.
00:53:54 Taking out your trusty camera, you start taking pictures of the cathedrals, aviation
00:53:58 museum, and the Dnipro River, when without warning, there's an enormous boom behind
00:54:04 you.
00:54:05 Turning around, you see something towering in the distance.
00:54:08 It looks like a gigantic explosion.
00:54:11 Uh-oh, time to leave fast!
00:54:13 In June 2020, what the people of Kyiv were looking at was an anvil cloud, a rare storm
00:54:19 formation in the sky.
00:54:22 Storming when strong air currents carry water vapor upwards, the air expands and spreads
00:54:27 out as it hits the bottom of the stratosphere.
00:54:31 It pushes the dense cloud into the cool anvil shape you see, and sometimes it even gets
00:54:36 to be a mushroom.
00:54:39 Anvil clouds produce some of the most dangerous lightning of all storms, one that's called
00:54:44 a "bolt out of the blue."
00:54:46 This lightning strike seems to magically come out of the blue sky with the storm being many
00:54:51 miles away.
00:54:53 This type of bolt comes from the top of the anvil and can be 10 times more powerful than
00:54:59 a typical lightning strike.
00:55:02 People got so frightened after witnessing a giant cloud just 60 miles away, thinking
00:55:07 something terrible must've happened.
00:55:09 The locals had pictures of the large billow on social media before officials could explain
00:55:14 what was going on.
00:55:17 Authorities managed to calm everyone's fears by informing them it was nothing more than
00:55:21 a natural phenomenon, and a beautiful one at that.
00:55:26 Before dissipating, these clouds typically stay in one area, regardless of how strong
00:55:31 the wind is.
00:55:33 Touring around the northern tip of Queensland, Australia, way away from those creepy crawlies,
00:55:39 it's time to take a break and relax at the beach.
00:55:43 Feeling comfortable, you notice a great big shadow passes over you, then another, and
00:55:48 yet another.
00:55:50 Looking up, this weird weather is simply stunning.
00:55:54 The clouds are called "morning glory," a very rare type of cloud that almost seems
00:55:59 to roll across the sky, looking like a massive tube.
00:56:04 These clouds can measure up to 600 miles long, even appearing in large groups as well.
00:56:11 This phenomenon is the result of an updraft pushing through the cloud, creating a rolling
00:56:16 appearance, while moist cooler air at the back causes them to sink downward.
00:56:23 Southern India, between July and September 2001.
00:56:27 People witnessed one of the strangest weather phenomenon in recorded history.
00:56:32 The rain was red.
00:56:35 What many would've thought to be a typical rainstorm left them shocked.
00:56:39 The color was bright enough to stain clothes.
00:56:42 There were other colors too, such as green, yellow, brown, and even black.
00:56:48 In the middle of a monsoon, red rain started to fall, and did so periodically for several
00:56:54 weeks.
00:56:55 Researchers have found this unusual rain is stained either by dust or algae, so don't
00:57:01 try to catch any on your tongue.
00:57:05 Scientists aren't entirely sure how the algae got all the way up there.
00:57:09 This does make events like this a little unsettling.
00:57:13 Like to take a bubble bath to relax after an exhausting day, but taking too long to
00:57:18 fill the bathtub?
00:57:19 Problem solved – head to any coastline after a big storm and take a dip.
00:57:25 Foamy tides aren't native to any one place or location.
00:57:29 They can be formed anywhere in the world.
00:57:31 They're most likely to happen along rocky coastlines, like the coast of San Francisco,
00:57:37 Northern Ireland, or the Mooloolaba, Australia.
00:57:41 Each coast has differing conditions forming the sea foams.
00:57:45 If you scoop up seawater into a glass and look at it closely, you'll see it's full
00:57:50 of tiny particles.
00:57:52 Many things like plants, chemicals, and lots of salt and minerals create the perfect formula
00:57:58 for foam.
00:58:00 When powerful currents and wind mix it all together, we get something that resembles
00:58:04 a cappuccino top floating on top of the water.
00:58:09 When freezing temperatures hit orchards in Michigan, all kinds of unusual things happen.
00:58:15 Like ghost apples.
00:58:16 No, they're not going to scare you at all.
00:58:19 But if you plan on sneaking away one winter to find one, be warned!
00:58:24 Everything has to be perfect for this to occur, and it's going to be freezing cold.
00:58:30 This is actually a rare weather phenomenon caused by having the apples freeze where they
00:58:34 are with rain coating the fruit in a thin layer of ice.
00:58:39 The apples then thaw and leak out like applesauce, leaving just the beautiful ice shell behind.
00:58:47 The Catatumbo River in Venezuela might be the most electric place in the world, with
00:58:53 nearly 300 storm days per year.
00:58:56 The lightning storms are so consistent, they're predicted for 3 months in advance.
00:59:02 During the wet season in October, you might see 30 lightning flashes in a single minute,
00:59:07 a truly shocking experience.
00:59:11 With each bulb having the energy to power a single light bulb for 6 months, the impressive
00:59:16 display could power all of Venezuela forever.
00:59:20 At sunset, strong winds flow around the three surrounding mountains, forming storm clouds
00:59:26 over the water.
00:59:27 As the water droplets of humid air collide with ice crystals from the cold air, it produces
00:59:33 the static charges that cause the lightning storms nearly every night.
00:59:39 If that wasn't bad enough, some storms have lightning above them as well.
00:59:43 Try to take a picture of this one!
00:59:46 Jellyfish lightning sprites are electrical discharges high in Earth's atmosphere.
00:59:51 They're associated with powerful thunderstorms, but they have nothing to do with rain.
00:59:57 These sprites occur 30 to 50 miles up in the sky, in the mesosphere.
01:00:03 Artificial lights at night make it a lot harder to see this faint lightning.
01:00:08 If you spot one, it'll look tiny but can be well over 30 miles wide!
01:00:14 The red sprites are a type of cold plasma discharge above a thundercloud.
01:00:19 They're the balance of the lightning charges between the storm clouds and the ground below.
01:00:25 Don't try to find this type of donut at your favorite bakery – it won't be there!
01:00:30 Snow donuts are one of the rarest meteorological sights to see, with perfect weather conditions
01:00:36 needed just to create them.
01:00:39 Found in any snow-covered mountain area, like the Rocky Mountains, the wind, temperature,
01:00:44 snow, ice, and moisture have to all work together for us to see these phenomenal rings.
01:00:51 A thin layer of wet snow on the ground.
01:00:54 Under that layer, ice or powdered snow.
01:00:57 Then a strong enough breeze to roll the donut down a hill, just like a snowball.
01:01:03 Once it stops rolling, it can be the size of a baseball or as large as a car tire.
01:01:09 It all depends on how strong the wind is.
01:01:12 A newly formed snow donut won't stay around for very long, so hurry up with that camera!
01:01:19 Watching the sunset over the horizon, the beautiful purples and pink overhead are nothing
01:01:25 compared to the three suns you see in front of you.
01:01:28 Wow, since when did Earth get three suns?
01:01:32 These phantom stars sometimes appearing besides the sun are called sun dogs.
01:01:38 Maybe they're called that because they're kind of "dogging" the actual sun?
01:01:43 Sun dogs often appear as colored areas of light at the same height above the horizon
01:01:48 as the sun.
01:01:49 They're mostly observed on a ring or halo, where ice crystals best reflect the light.
01:01:55 There are also moon dogs that appear alongside the moon and are formed by lunar light passing
01:02:01 through ice crystals, though these aren't seen nearly as much as their daytime partners.
01:02:08 Taking photos in the wild, you've finally found the perfect spot to take that dream
01:02:13 shot.
01:02:14 The crystal clear water, the pines, the mountains, and the flying saucer!
01:02:19 Wait, a flying saucer?
01:02:22 Oh, aliens are here!
01:02:25 You might be thinking this if you saw a saucer-shaped cloud.
01:02:29 I'm not even going to try to pronounce their name, though.
01:02:32 Put that on the screen, please.
01:02:34 Wait, just kidding!
01:02:35 It's Autocumulus lenticularis.
01:02:38 Aren't you impressed?
01:02:40 These are really just unusual cloud formations over mountaintops.
01:02:45 When moist air flows over a mountain, a wave is created if the temperature difference is
01:02:50 perfect.
01:02:51 As the air passes through the wave, evaporation occurs, and a series of these clouds may form
01:02:57 into an oval shape.
01:03:00 Not aliens at all!
01:03:03 The sky is falling, the sky is falling!
01:03:06 Well, people who've experienced these clouds say they look like they're coming down from
01:03:11 the sky.
01:03:12 Mammatus clouds look like giant white lumpy marshmallows, but it might be hard to toast
01:03:18 these ones.
01:03:20 These weird fluffy clouds can extend hundreds of miles in any direction, remaining visible
01:03:25 for short periods at the bottom of anvil or other thunderstorm clouds.
01:03:31 The strange bubble shapes are formed from turbulence within the storm itself, creating
01:03:36 an uneven cloud base and appearing anywhere in the world.
01:03:40 Mammatus clouds form when moist air sinks into dry air.
01:03:45 The air must be cooler than its surroundings, cooled with ice, or be heavy with water.
01:03:53 If there were cataclysms on Earth every 5 minutes, living conditions on our planet would
01:03:58 be almost the same as 4.5 billion years ago.
01:04:02 Back then, seas and oceans boiled, lightning struck everywhere, tectonic plates changed
01:04:08 their shape, lava flowed from volcanoes, and worse, no Internet!
01:04:14 The Earth resembled a vast boiling cauldron where life was gradually being created.
01:04:19 If it starts to boil again, this cauldron could destroy almost all life on the planet.
01:04:26 Insecutive cataclysms won't hurt to pretend.
01:04:29 Let's imagine, shall we?
01:04:31 Good morning!
01:04:32 You wake up in a small underground bunker.
01:04:34 The seismic sensor indicates that a 7-point earthquake will start in a few minutes.
01:04:40 You pack a huge waterproof backpack and go upstairs.
01:04:43 The underground bunker is protected from seismic activity.
01:04:47 It moves with the ground, so you're safe here.
01:04:50 But you need to leave the shelter because supplies are low.
01:04:53 Also, yesterday, you picked up a radio signal telling all survivors to go south immediately.
01:04:59 The coordinates they gave aren't far from your location.
01:05:02 You have to hurry, though, before the landscape changes again.
01:05:06 You open the hatch and find yourself in the middle of the desert.
01:05:10 The sun is almost invisible beyond the gray sky.
01:05:13 The ground is shaking, but you're not afraid.
01:05:16 There are no houses or buildings, nothing to fall on you.
01:05:19 You keep your balance perfectly, and the earthquake doesn't knock you off your feet.
01:05:24 It's like jumping on a trampoline.
01:05:26 The only danger is the deep chasms in the ground, but you can easily jump over them.
01:05:31 After such an extreme morning warm-up, you decide to have breakfast.
01:05:36 You take a tin can out of your backpack.
01:05:38 You have a few minutes before the next disaster, so you eat and remember how your great-grandfather
01:05:44 told you how all this started.
01:05:46 Before all of this, the planet was divided into territories called countries.
01:05:51 Millions of people lived in them, and then something terrible happened.
01:05:55 The tectonic plates started to move, and the air temperature and atmospheric pressure began
01:06:00 to rapidly change.
01:06:02 In one day, earthquakes destroyed entire cities.
01:06:05 Tsunamis and floods washed away the remaining ruins.
01:06:09 Volcanic ash blocked the passage of sunlight.
01:06:12 Ice fires destroyed almost all vegetation, and eruptions poisoned the air.
01:06:17 Only a few people managed to adapt to such harsh conditions, and you are a lucky duck
01:06:22 to be one of them.
01:06:24 As you finish your breakfast, you're distracted by another ground tremor.
01:06:28 Time to move on!
01:06:30 Many people travel around the world alone, as they consider it a safer way of life.
01:06:35 Some people form small communes, but no one ever stays in one place for too long.
01:06:40 Your whole life is in motion, but you don't panic.
01:06:43 One of the main rules during natural disasters is to remain calm, so all survivors have steel
01:06:49 nerves and excellent physical training.
01:06:52 You run a few miles south and suddenly smell something strange.
01:06:56 You put on a gas mask.
01:06:58 The earthquake has created a limnic eruption.
01:07:02 Natural carbon dioxide is released from the ground to the surface.
01:07:05 You feel comfortable in a gas mask, but can't run fast while wearing it.
01:07:10 Far up ahead, you see a green forest, a rare place that was not affected by fires.
01:07:16 You take off the gas mask and go to the tree to take shelter in the shade from the scorching
01:07:21 sun.
01:07:22 This green area is rich in vegetation.
01:07:25 Colorful flowers, strawberries, and many other berries grow here.
01:07:29 But you're concerned.
01:07:30 Such fertile land comes from being near volcanoes.
01:07:34 It spews underground magma rich in vitamins and minerals, so vegetation grows.
01:07:39 You can see a high mountain in the distance.
01:07:42 This is the volcano.
01:07:44 An underground push occurs again and provokes an eruption.
01:07:47 You gather strawberries and run away from this place as far as possible.
01:07:52 Lava pours from the volcano's mouth and makes a fire in the forest.
01:07:57 You unhook a folding scooter with a motor from your backpack and drive away from the
01:08:01 fiery mountain as fast as you can.
01:08:04 The sky is covered with volcanic ash, but this is not for long.
01:08:08 A strong wind flows, grows with each passing second.
01:08:12 You realize a hurricane is moving in your direction.
01:08:15 You take out a small shovel and dig a hole in the ground.
01:08:19 The soil is dry, but you have enough strength to dig a small ravine in a couple of minutes.
01:08:24 You dive into the shelter and cover yourself with a protective tent.
01:08:28 The hurricane blows the volcanic ash in different directions, and the air becomes clear again.
01:08:34 But the fire doesn't stop.
01:08:36 The wind spreads through the forest, you get out of the ravine and put on the gas mask
01:08:40 again.
01:08:41 There's a lot of smoke around, and it's unbearably hot.
01:08:45 You know the hurricane couldn't just appear without any reason.
01:08:49 Hurricanes are formed when warm moist air collides with the sea surface and rises to
01:08:53 the sky, so there's water nearby.
01:08:56 Great, because you're thirsty and want to cool down.
01:08:59 A loud sound erupts behind you.
01:09:01 You turn around; a massive wave of water approaches the fire.
01:09:06 Without panic, you take your life jacket out of your backpack, remove your gas mask, and
01:09:11 put on a diving mask and fins.
01:09:14 The wave blows you off your feet, but you don't drown.
01:09:17 Over the years of survival, you have learned to swim very well.
01:09:21 You grab a passing tree and wait patiently for the flood to be replaced by another natural
01:09:27 disaster.
01:09:28 For 5 minutes, you sail under a black stormy sky that sparkles with lightning.
01:09:33 Despite the waves, you try to row south.
01:09:36 It's getting pretty cold.
01:09:38 You finally see the shore, but this is not land, but ice.
01:09:42 A strong wind brought a cold cyclone, which caused a fast temperature change.
01:09:48 It's like you're in Antarctica.
01:09:50 Snow and blizzards are all around.
01:09:52 It's freezing, but you take out a thin space blanket made from foil and walk slowly south.
01:09:59 Under your clothes, you put crumpled paper, bubble wrap, pieces of cotton.
01:10:03 All this also helps to warm your body.
01:10:06 Along the way, you collect several bottles of snow to melt later.
01:10:10 Icicles form on your face, and you can't see because of the snowstorm.
01:10:15 Suddenly, the snow begins to squish under your feet.
01:10:18 The ice melts and turns into water.
01:10:21 A hot stream of air blows into your face.
01:10:24 You find yourself on hard, dry ground, looking up at the sky.
01:10:28 Then at your watch, 5 minutes pass, and the sky is again covered with black clouds.
01:10:34 You take a metal plate out of your backpack and cover your head with it.
01:10:38 A few seconds later, you are hit by heavy rain and hail.
01:10:43 Giant balls of ice knock on the metal shield, but you go calmly and even with a smile on
01:10:48 your face.
01:10:49 The ground becomes wet and loose from icy rocks.
01:10:52 When the hail ends, you pull out all the heat-insulating materials from under your clothes and hide
01:10:58 them in your backpack.
01:11:00 Then you lay out a few long spokes of steel.
01:11:03 The spokes are wrapped with copper wire.
01:11:06 You connect the spokes to each other, making one long antenna.
01:11:10 You stick it in the ground and run away.
01:11:13 After the hail from the rain clouds, lightning strikes the ground.
01:11:17 More precisely, it hits the lightning rod you've just built.
01:11:20 You wait for the storm to end, then take the lightning rod apart and return it to your
01:11:25 backpack.
01:11:26 An intense heat begins.
01:11:28 You drink some melted snow and break your way through the desert.
01:11:32 The Earth trembles, and your adventure begins again.
01:11:35 Earthquakes, carbon dioxide, fires, floods, snowfall, tsunamis, lightning, and again and
01:11:41 again and again.
01:11:43 With the help of a compass, you continue your journey and reach your goal a few months later.
01:11:49 You see a long antenna sticking out of the ground.
01:11:52 This is a placemark for entering an underground city.
01:11:56 The city is built from dozens of massive bunkers connected to each other by tunnels.
01:12:01 The city walls don't allow radiation to pass through, and they don't bend from daily
01:12:06 earthquakes.
01:12:07 People learn to extract energy from the ground.
01:12:10 The Earth's core gives heat.
01:12:12 This heat boils water, then steam is formed, and electricity is created at special stations.
01:12:18 People get water from underground lakes and rivers.
01:12:21 Instead of the sun, ultraviolet lamps are installed everywhere, which provide people
01:12:26 and plants with necessary light.
01:12:29 Natural disasters happen on Earth every 5 minutes.
01:12:32 But humanity still has a lot of space underground.
01:12:37 In Russia, on the shores of the Baltic Sea, there's an enigmatic national park.
01:12:43 The Dancing Forest is a place that no scientist has managed to explain so far.
01:12:48 The pine trees of the forest are all crooked and twisted into loops and spirals.
01:12:53 The forest didn't appear until the early 60s, when the pines were planted in order
01:12:57 to make the sand dune in that area more stable.
01:13:00 One theory is that it's the unstable sand that made the trees twist in such a way.
01:13:05 Other theories for the crooked trees are strong winds, or even supernatural powers.
01:13:11 Some people say the forest is a place where positive and negative energies meet, twisting
01:13:15 the trees.
01:13:17 Local legend says that if a person climbs through one of the rings of a tree, it'll
01:13:21 add an extra year to this person's life, or they'll be granted a wish.
01:13:26 I like that one.
01:13:27 Speaking of bizarre trees, and I was, one grows in the region of Piedmont, Italy.
01:13:33 There, a cherry tree grows on the top of a mulberry tree.
01:13:37 The strange thing is that both trees are perfectly healthy.
01:13:42 A continuous storm at Saturn's North Pole has an odd shape – a hexagon.
01:13:48 This is probably because of the gradient of the winds.
01:13:51 The total length of this cloud pattern is 9,000 miles, which is about 1,200 miles longer
01:13:57 than the Earth's diameter.
01:13:59 The hexagon has been observed for many years, but it gets even more mysterious because it
01:14:04 changes color too.
01:14:06 It used to be turquoise, but it has recently shifted to a golden color.
01:14:10 The reason for the color change is that the pole gets exposed to sunlight as the seasons
01:14:16 change.
01:14:18 Rain isn't unusual for Oakville, Washington.
01:14:21 However, this one still doesn't have any solid scientific explanation.
01:14:26 Instead of common raindrops, people watched translucent jelly-like blobs fall from the
01:14:31 skies.
01:14:32 These blobs covered about 20 square miles.
01:14:35 Those who got really close to the rain experienced flu-like symptoms.
01:14:40 What were the blobs?
01:14:42 Researchers claim that the blobs contain human white blood cells.
01:14:46 Later tests showed no presence of nuclei.
01:14:49 Some people claim the blobs might've been evaporated jellyfish resulting in rain.
01:14:54 Or maybe even waste from a commercial plane.
01:14:58 Walking rocks, also known as sailing rocks, move across the Death Valley National Park
01:15:03 in California without any external intervention, leaving long trails in the dirt and sand along
01:15:10 their way.
01:15:12 Various time-lapse footages of the moving rocks have been taken.
01:15:16 Scientists even installed GPS navigators on some of the rocks, and it showed that the
01:15:20 rocks move at a considerable speed.
01:15:23 Some researchers believe that the movement is due to thin sheets of ice that form overnight
01:15:28 at freezing temperatures in the valley, letting the rocks move until it melts during the day.
01:15:34 Or there was a Rolling Stones concert.
01:15:37 Nah.
01:15:39 The Batageka Crater in Siberia looks like a doorway to the underworld.
01:15:44 It's about a half-mile long and over 280 feet deep, but it never stops growing.
01:15:50 As it gets deeper, it exposes more underground layers.
01:15:54 The layers show what our planet looked like thousands of years ago, as the slumps reveal
01:15:58 the used-to-be climates.
01:16:01 The crater appeared back in the '60s, and it all started with rapid deforestation.
01:16:06 Trees no longer cast shade on the ground, and it got hotter.
01:16:09 The permafrost melted, resulting in the crater formation.
01:16:15 The throbbing hum in Taos, New Mexico, has driven locals wild since the 1990s.
01:16:26 The low-frequency hum deprives people of sleep and depletes their energy.
01:16:31 Even though scientists have tried to find the source of the hum, they still haven't
01:16:35 pinpointed its origin.
01:16:37 Different variations of the hum have also been heard in the UK, Australia, Canada, and
01:16:41 other areas of the US.
01:16:43 Luckily, only about 2% of the world's population can hear it.
01:16:48 The hums have been blamed on mechanical devices, multiple disturbances of auditory systems,
01:16:53 and even animals.
01:16:54 The West Seattle hum, for example, was blamed on toadfish.
01:17:01 Fairy rings, also known as elf rings or pixie rings, are mysterious rings of mushrooms that
01:17:06 appear in grasslands and forested areas.
01:17:09 There's a lot of debate about why these fungi form a nearly perfect circle.
01:17:14 Some superstitions claim that fairy dances would burn the ground, causing mushrooms to
01:17:19 rapidly grow.
01:17:22 In Costa Rica, there's an assortment of about 300 spherical stone balls.
01:17:27 Locals call them "las bolas", which is simply "the balls" in English.
01:17:32 These stones have an almost perfect round shape.
01:17:35 Some of them are huge, weighing up to 16 tons each.
01:17:38 They're also made of different materials – gabbro, limestone, and sandstone.
01:17:43 They're considered to have been put in straight lines in front of the chiefs' houses, but
01:17:47 there's no precise information of their origin.
01:17:50 Some myths claim that these stones originated in Atlantis.
01:17:57 If you ever travel to the Mekong River in late October, you have a chance of seeing
01:18:02 glowing balls rising from the water and beelining up into the air.
01:18:07 Locals call these glowing balls the "Naga Fireballs".
01:18:10 The size of the lights vary.
01:18:12 The reddish balls can be as tiny as a spark and as large as a basketball.
01:18:17 There can be dozens to thousands of balls a night.
01:18:20 Scientists don't have any solid explanation for why it happens, but it could be due to
01:18:24 flammable gases released by the marshy environment.
01:18:28 Some superstitious locals are sure it's all because of a giant serpent living in the
01:18:33 Mekong.
01:18:34 Night balls of fire!
01:18:38 In Minnesota, on the north shore of Lake Superior, there's a park known for the Devil's Kettle.
01:18:44 This is a waterfall that splits in two.
01:18:47 One part of the river continues, while the other part disappears into a hole in the ground.
01:18:52 Whatever object you throw into the Devil's Kettle won't reappear.
01:18:56 Scientists still haven't fully explained where the water that drops into the hole goes.
01:19:01 Devil's Kettle is considered to be unsafe for people because it's nearly impossible
01:19:05 to trace the flow.
01:19:07 Yeah, not a place to go tubing.
01:19:11 Grunions are fish known for their bizarre mating ritual.
01:19:14 The females climb out of the water and onto the shore.
01:19:18 They dig their tails into the sand in order to lay eggs.
01:19:21 The legs stay hidden in the sand, waiting.
01:19:24 Ten days later, the high tide comes, washing the newly hatched young to the sea.
01:19:30 Still can't give any solid explanation for this way of breeding.
01:19:35 People who live in rural central Norway, over the Hestalen Valley, can often witness floating
01:19:41 lights of white, yellow, and red cross the sky.
01:19:45 The lights appear both at day and night, and once back in the 80s, they were spotted 15-20
01:19:51 times in a single week.
01:19:52 The Hestalen lights can last just a few seconds, but sometimes they can last more than an hour.
01:19:58 The lights move, seeming to float or even sway around.
01:20:03 Some scientists believe that the reason for these lights is due to ionized iron dust.
01:20:08 Others say it's combustion that includes sodium, oxygen, and hydrogen.
01:20:12 Many people claim they're just misidentified aircrafts.
01:20:18 Yellowstone Park has a famous boiling lake, but it's not the world's only place of
01:20:22 boiling water.
01:20:24 Up in the Amazon, there's the 4-mile Chanae-Tempishka River that's always hot.
01:20:30 The name means "boiled by the sun."
01:20:32 Well, it's not exactly boiling, but it can reach 196°F – enough to cook pasta!
01:20:39 Ooh, let's try that!
01:20:41 The lowest temperature in these waters is about 113°F.
01:20:45 This river still can't be scientifically explained because it would require close proximity
01:20:50 to a volcano for the water to reach such temperatures.
01:20:53 However, the closest volcano is 400 miles away.
01:20:58 But there could be a fault between the Earth that could explain this phenomenon.
01:21:04 In western Venezuela, locals living close to the Catatumbo River aren't afraid of
01:21:08 lightning because they see it almost every single night.
01:21:12 It starts at around 7 o'clock and doesn't stop until dawn.
01:21:16 The everlasting Catatumbo lightning did once stop for a few months, from January to March
01:21:22 2010.
01:21:23 It was probably due to drought.
01:21:25 Or maybe the charge ran out.
01:21:27 In 1991, a scientist suggested that the phenomenon happens because of cold and warm air currents
01:21:34 meeting in the area.
01:21:35 Another theory is that the lightning could be due to the presence of uranium in the bedrock.
01:21:41 Speaking of lightning, I gotta bolt!
01:21:43 Bye!
01:21:44 Hey, ever heard of a fire rainbow?
01:21:47 Yeah, me neither.
01:21:49 How about a circumhorizontal arc?
01:21:51 Didn't think so, but just so you know, they're one and the same thing.
01:21:56 At first glance, it looks like a painting, or like a rainbow-colored splash in the sky.
01:22:02 Despite the name, they have nothing in common with either fire or rain.
01:22:06 This phenomenon happens on rare occasions when the sun shines through a particular type
01:22:11 of ice cloud formation.
01:22:14 The rainbow halos are just as unique.
01:22:16 Again, a specific type of ice crystals and clouds needs to be present for the surface
01:22:21 of the Earth to bend light from the sun into a perfect ring.
01:22:26 The same thing can happen with moonlight.
01:22:28 The only difference will be that moon halos are usually white, and sun halos can be rainbow-colored.
01:22:35 When visiting regions with high altitudes, you may be one of the lucky people to stumble
01:22:40 upon penitentes.
01:22:42 They're basically naturally formed ice spikes.
01:22:45 For them to be formed, they need a really cold and elevated environment where the air
01:22:49 is dry.
01:22:50 The sunlight turns ice directly into vapor, rather than melting it into water.
01:22:56 And that's why these blades of snow and ice start to pop up on the surface of the
01:23:00 Earth.
01:23:01 As cute as they may be, they can end up as tall as 15 feet!
01:23:06 Now what happens when small individual droplets of lava meet the wind?
01:23:11 Peles hair, basically.
01:23:13 Let me explain.
01:23:14 The word "pele" comes from an ancient Hawaiian symbol for volcanoes.
01:23:19 Whenever the wind picks up little drops of lava, it stretches them into hair-like strands,
01:23:25 similar to the process of glass wire creation.
01:23:28 These delicate strands can stretch as far as 6 feet!
01:23:32 On rare occasions, it can rain without any clouds.
01:23:36 But does it really?
01:23:37 Let's look at the science behind this rare phenomenon.
01:23:41 It's sometimes called a "sun shower" just because it looks like the rain is falling
01:23:45 straight from the sun.
01:23:47 Let's be clear, though.
01:23:48 There is no way rain can ever come down directly from a star.
01:23:53 Rain clouds are at a bit of a distance from that specific location.
01:23:57 With sun rays being angled, the clouds become out of sight.
01:24:01 Add a little wind to blow the rain in your direction, and ta-da!
01:24:05 You get sun showers!
01:24:08 Located in Bolivia is a place called Salar de Uyuni.
01:24:12 It's the largest salt flat in the world.
01:24:14 It's also the home of half of the world's lithium, which is a crucial component for
01:24:19 making batteries.
01:24:20 But what else is so special about this place?
01:24:23 Well, whenever the rain season comes, it turns this piece of flat land into a perfectly reflective
01:24:29 mirror lake.
01:24:31 What comes to your mind when you hear about the Blood Falls?
01:24:34 A horror movie?
01:24:35 Well, they are merely a series of waterfalls located in one of the driest regions of Antarctica.
01:24:42 They emerge from an underground lake filled with a special kind of bacteria.
01:24:47 These little organisms use sulfates as fuel instead of sugars, which makes them very intriguing
01:24:52 for scientists.
01:24:54 The water contained in this lake is so full of iron that it basically just rusts when
01:24:59 it meets the air.
01:25:00 Hence, the reddish color of the waterfall, which also gives it its trademark name.
01:25:05 Ok, we all know the song, but it's not really made up.
01:25:10 There is actually such a thing called a desert rose.
01:25:13 It's not a plant, though, but a unique form of the mineral gypsum.
01:25:17 It develops in dry sandy places that can occasionally flood.
01:25:21 This constant switching between a wet and dry environment lets the gypsum crystals emerge
01:25:26 between grains of sand, trapping them and forming a rose-like shape.
01:25:32 Ever heard of the Eye of Sahara?
01:25:34 Scientists are still trying to figure out how it was formed.
01:25:38 You can only see it if you fly above it, but it's basically a naturally formed dome that
01:25:43 dates back to approximately 100 million years ago.
01:25:47 And no, I wasn't around then.
01:25:49 It has a rough diameter of 25 miles and consists of a bunch of concentric rings.
01:25:55 The biggest one, or the central area, measures about 19 miles in diameter.
01:26:01 Astronauts were some of the first people to notice it, and it's been studied ever since.
01:26:05 In fact, even to this day, when landing in Florida, they know they're almost home when
01:26:11 they see the Eye of Sahara.
01:26:14 One of the most beautifully colored trees in the world is located in the Philippines
01:26:18 and Indonesia.
01:26:19 It's called the Rainbow Eucalyptus.
01:26:22 It got its name because of its bark that switches colors and peels away as the tree ages.
01:26:28 The bright green bark is the youngest, as it contains a substance called chlorophyll,
01:26:33 usually found in leaves.
01:26:35 It then switches to purple, and then to the color red.
01:26:38 And finally, it turns brown as it grows and loses the chlorophyll.
01:26:43 Don't be tricked into thinking that's a whole forest.
01:26:47 It's one single tree.
01:26:48 And no, it's not some sort of optical illusion either.
01:26:52 Let me explain.
01:26:54 Underneath that soil, there is a complex network of roots that connects around 47,000 tree-like
01:27:00 shapes you see above the ground.
01:27:03 It's called the Quaking Aspen.
01:27:05 Some of these trees are among the oldest and largest organisms in the world.
01:27:10 Now here's a good destination for all travelers.
01:27:13 Or maybe not so good, after all.
01:27:15 The most lightning-stricken area in the world, according to recent data released by NASA,
01:27:21 is Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela.
01:27:24 Out of all the days in a year, 300 of them feature thunderstorms in this location.
01:27:29 What makes this area so unique, though, that storms happen so often?
01:27:33 Well, it's because where cool mountain air meets the warm moist breeze and generates
01:27:39 electricity over the lake.
01:27:42 The Eternal Flame Falls are located in upstate New York, near the Canadian border.
01:27:47 In this region, there is a tiny waterfall with a big secret – a spark about 8 inches
01:27:53 tall.
01:27:54 Turns out there's a natural gas seep that provides fuel to the flame behind the waterfall.
01:27:59 The waterfall provides enough coverage so that it stays lit pretty much every time.
01:28:05 Hikers do enjoy to relight it if they see that it's been blown out.
01:28:09 This phenomenon is actually quite common, but this one gained more popularity because
01:28:14 it is younger than most.
01:28:16 And it looks very good in pictures, let's be honest!
01:28:19 I've heard of yellow sand, white sand, and even black sand here or there.
01:28:24 But I've never heard of green beaches until now.
01:28:27 Papacolia, also known as Green Sand Beach, is located in Hawaii and is one of the few
01:28:33 beaches in the world that features green sand.
01:28:36 The unique coloring comes from olivine rock that was formed when a nearby volcano erupted.
01:28:43 Actually in Hawaii, all the volcanoes are nearby.
01:28:47 Move over green sands because some of the other beaches around the world can even glow
01:28:51 at night.
01:28:52 And it's completely natural.
01:28:54 The culprit?
01:28:55 A little thing called photoplankton, or microalgae as they're sometimes called.
01:29:01 They're basically little plants that contain chlorophyll and need sunlight in order to
01:29:05 live and grow.
01:29:08 Most photoplankton kinds are able to float in the upper part of the ocean, where the
01:29:12 sunlight can still reach them beneath the water.
01:29:15 When the photoplankton gets agitated by the movement of waves and currents, they emit
01:29:20 light, which looks like some glow during the night.
01:29:23 These special microorganisms are found on beaches in a lot of places around the world,
01:29:28 such as the Maldives, Puerto Rico, and the Everglades.
01:29:33 At the base of a mountain located just outside of Afton, Wyoming, is a little river called
01:29:38 the Intermittent Spring.
01:29:40 There are only 3 of this kind in the whole world, but what makes this little string of
01:29:45 water so mysterious?
01:29:46 Well, the fact that it starts and stops every few minutes.
01:29:51 Scientists have yet to pinpoint precisely why this happens.
01:29:54 They speculate that it's basically just a siphon effect that happens deep within the
01:29:58 ground that causes the river to just start and stop so often.
01:30:02 Should you ever be interested in checking it out, be sure to do so in the late summer,
01:30:08 as that's when the Intermittent Spring is most active.
01:30:11 Do you see the irony here?
01:30:13 You can only see the spring in the summer?
01:30:15 Ok, I'm done.
01:30:18 This is John.
01:30:19 John seems to attract all kinds of bad weather and natural disasters wherever he goes.
01:30:24 See for yourself.
01:30:26 One day, John notices his dog is restless.
01:30:29 The pooch keeps scratching the entrance door and wandering around the house.
01:30:32 He even tries to hide in the corner, howling and barking.
01:30:37 When some mugs start to clink in your cupboard, John realizes what it means.
01:30:41 The noise is produced by foreshocks.
01:30:44 Mini earthquakes leading up to the main event.
01:30:48 Earthquakes often happen in clusters.
01:30:50 After a few weak quakes, a much bigger one is likely to be on the way.
01:30:55 Sometime before the disaster strikes, people might notice bizarre blue lights.
01:31:00 Some of them seem to be coming out of the ground, others are hovering in the air.
01:31:04 These are earthquake lights.
01:31:07 They may appear days or mere seconds before the ground starts shaking.
01:31:12 Now John is walking along the ocean shore.
01:31:15 Suddenly, he sees the water retreat from the beach, really, really fast.
01:31:19 Uh oh!
01:31:20 John, run away as quickly as you can and find some high ground!
01:31:24 A tsunami is coming!
01:31:25 And your life might depend on how fast you react.
01:31:29 If John spots a bizarre and unexpected rise in sea level, it can be another sign of an
01:31:34 approaching tsunami.
01:31:36 This happens in 40% of cases.
01:31:39 The incoming water is the first tsunami wave.
01:31:42 The second one, way, way larger, will come in in about 10 minutes.
01:31:47 John can also notice seawater bubbling, swirling, and creating bizarre patterns.
01:31:52 It's another sure sign a tsunami is near.
01:31:56 Hmm, John feels there's something strange about the sun.
01:32:00 Through his special super dark sunglasses, he sees that there's some uneven flares around
01:32:05 the star's contour.
01:32:06 If these bizarre rays are accompanied by auroras all over the world, they're a sign of a solar
01:32:12 storm.
01:32:13 Such storms are usually caused by disturbances in the sun's magnetic field.
01:32:17 In this case, the bursts of gas and radiation on the surface of the sun get so massive and
01:32:23 powerful that they can even reach our planet!
01:32:26 Luckily, solar storms aren't really dangerous for people, but they can mess with electricity
01:32:31 and even cause blackouts.
01:32:34 The sky over John's head is darkening and turning ominously green.
01:32:39 Something hits him on the forehead.
01:32:41 Ouch!
01:32:42 He picks up the offending object.
01:32:43 It's a hailstone, but it's not that cold outside, and it's not raining.
01:32:48 Soon, he hears some noise.
01:32:50 It's approaching rapidly and turns into a loud roar.
01:32:53 It sounds as if a freight train is moving towards him, but it's not a train.
01:32:57 It's a tornado!
01:32:59 The funnel isn't visible behind a cloud of debris, but John can't mistake this rotating
01:33:04 column of air for anything else.
01:33:07 Are you on the road, John?
01:33:09 Then get as far away from your car as you can.
01:33:11 Fast!
01:33:12 If you get in a ditch, lie down in it and cover your head!
01:33:14 Oh, you're inside?
01:33:16 Then get away from the windows and hide underground if possible!
01:33:20 And please, John, be very careful if you spot some conically shaped clouds.
01:33:25 Those mean severe storms, and if you notice that such a cloud starts spinning around,
01:33:29 immediately search for shelter.
01:33:32 The cloud is transitioning into a tornado right in front of your eyes!
01:33:36 On the bright side, John should only worry about warm conical clouds.
01:33:40 Cold ones are totally harmless.
01:33:43 The only problem is to figure out the temperature of the cloud he sees.
01:33:47 Duh!
01:33:48 Ah, look!
01:33:50 John just spotted some weirdly shaped trees.
01:33:52 They look like the letter J and grow on a slope.
01:33:55 It means the ground under John's feet is likely to be unstable.
01:33:59 If he keeps wandering around, it can cause a bad landslide!
01:34:04 Square waves appear when two different wave patterns crash into each other.
01:34:08 This phenomenon does look kinda awesome!
01:34:10 No, don't go into the water, John!
01:34:12 Keep watching it from the shore.
01:34:14 Cross currents in that spot can easily pull even a skilled swimmer under the surface.
01:34:20 John keeps walking along the shore.
01:34:22 At one point, he sees wild, choppy waves carrying ocean debris and seaweed.
01:34:27 This time, he stays out of the water.
01:34:29 He knows it can be a sign of a strong rip current.
01:34:31 It can carry a swimmer far away into the ocean!
01:34:37 How about a walk in the park?
01:34:39 John likes this idea.
01:34:40 The sun is shining and the sky is so blue and beautiful.
01:34:44 Suddenly, he spots a rapidly growing vertical cloud.
01:34:48 At first, it looks bright white.
01:34:50 But as it approaches, alarmingly fast, it becomes dense and inky.
01:34:55 The sky is darkening.
01:34:57 It's getting windy.
01:34:59 That's when the guy notices that his hair stands on end.
01:35:02 It's his cue that he's about to get hit by lightning.
01:35:04 At this very moment, positive charges are rising through his body.
01:35:08 They're reaching towards the negatively charged part of the storm.
01:35:11 If he doesn't react fast, these charges will meet.
01:35:16 There's nowhere to hide, so John should crouch down and try to make himself smaller than
01:35:20 the objects around him.
01:35:21 Oh no!
01:35:22 John, don't lie down on the ground!
01:35:25 It may be damp and thus a great conductor of electricity.
01:35:29 There are other signs that scream danger during a lightning storm.
01:35:33 John's palms may begin to sweat.
01:35:35 He might hear bizarre crackling and buzzing sounds coming from metal objects nearby.
01:35:41 His skin can start tingling.
01:35:43 There might be a strange metallic taste in his mouth.
01:35:45 Plus, John is likely to smell chlorine.
01:35:49 That's how ozone smells.
01:35:52 Electrical charges split the molecules of nitrogen and oxygen, which are the main gases
01:35:56 making up the atmosphere, into separate atoms.
01:35:59 When these atoms come together again, some of them produce molecules made up of three
01:36:03 oxygen atoms.
01:36:05 That's ozone.
01:36:06 We can smell it during a thunderstorm because downdrafts bring this gas from high altitudes
01:36:11 to your level.
01:36:13 Some bugs can feel a storm coming.
01:36:16 They get ready for a natural disaster by freezing.
01:36:19 So, when John notices that insects around him look drowsy, he knows to get ready.
01:36:24 Oh, and bees can predict heavy rainstorms.
01:36:28 These critters begin to work much harder the day before it starts raining.
01:36:33 While walking next to the river during a period of heavy rains, John hears a roaring sound.
01:36:39 He feels paralyzed with fear.
01:36:40 It's likely to be a flash flood moving in his direction.
01:36:43 Indeed, he soon sees debris coming down with the flow.
01:36:47 The water is rapidly changing its color, becoming muddier and darker.
01:36:52 Flash floods are very, very dangerous.
01:36:55 Take care of your safety immediately, John!
01:36:59 Another day, John sees a spectacular wall cloud.
01:37:02 It seems to be stretching for up to 5 miles.
01:37:04 In the best case scenario, it's just a severe storm coming.
01:37:08 But if the wall cloud begins to move in a circle, it's a sure sign of a tornado.
01:37:14 John is walking across a snowfield in the mountains, listening to the sounds the ice
01:37:18 under his feet makes.
01:37:20 The noise is kinda hollow.
01:37:22 Hmm.
01:37:23 Quickly check whether there are cracks around your footprints, John.
01:37:26 If so, the chances are an avalanche is about to happen.
01:37:30 Soon, John sees an avalanche moving in his direction.
01:37:33 He does his best to get off the slope.
01:37:36 In most cases, he could probably outrun it by heading downhill and then veering sideways.
01:37:40 But not this time.
01:37:42 He realizes he doesn't have enough time and heads for the nearest tree.
01:37:46 If John keeps holding onto it really tightly, the avalanche might not pull him along.
01:37:51 But if this doesn't work, he should try to swim up to the snow's surface while the avalanche
01:37:56 is still moving.
01:37:59 On a pretty nice summer evening, John notices leaves with soft stems droop all of a sudden.
01:38:05 Ah, it might be because of an upcoming storm.
01:38:08 Right before extreme weather arrives, the air usually becomes more humid.
01:38:12 Leaves also get damp and heavy, and the wind easily flips them over.
01:38:18 John lives in a pretty old house and is used to having cracks in the interior walls.
01:38:22 But one day, he notices that some of them have widened.
01:38:25 And look, there are a few new ones!
01:38:28 It's an alarm bell!
01:38:29 He lives in an area with loads of limestone, so new cracks can mean a sinkhole is about
01:38:34 to open next to his house!
01:38:36 John is hurrying home, trying not to waste time admiring shelf clouds.
01:38:41 They look like something from a sci-fi movie.
01:38:43 They form when warm and moist air gets caught in a thunderstorm updraft.
01:38:48 And these ominous clouds most often mean a storm is coming.
01:38:54 Sure, some people say interacting with animals is good for our health.
01:38:59 I'm sorry to break it to you, but it really doesn't apply to all creatures.
01:39:05 Just to be sure you're safe, let's take a look at some you should steer clear of, especially
01:39:10 their kisses.
01:39:13 Not that you'd like touching worms anytime soon, but do stay away from ribbon worms.
01:39:19 They're easy to spot because these long, thin creatures are often brightly colored.
01:39:24 You'll see some of them in oceans, while other species can also live on land.
01:39:29 Ribbon worms have a unique feature called a proboscis, which is a long, thin tube that
01:39:34 they use to capture and eat their prey.
01:39:37 They're often very flexible and can stretch out to catch their food or wrap around objects.
01:39:42 Some ribbon worms are also venomous, often sneaking harmful substances into their prey.
01:39:48 Or so, they can also secrete a slime that can be irritating to the skin.
01:39:55 Let's also look at the cone snail for a bit.
01:39:58 This one lives in the ocean, usually in warm and shallow waters near coral reefs.
01:40:04 It can be found in many different colors and patterns, and uses its long, pointed shell
01:40:09 to hide and protect itself.
01:40:11 It also has a long, pointed tongue, which can be quite dangerous.
01:40:15 It's called a radula, and the snail uses it to catch its prey.
01:40:20 Inside its tongue, there are tiny, sharp teeth.
01:40:23 When the cone snail sees a fish or other small animal, it shoots out its tongue and injects
01:40:28 its harpoons into its prey.
01:40:31 These harpoons are covered in venom, which can make the prey very sick.
01:40:35 The venom can also be harmful to humans, so it's important to be careful around cone
01:40:40 snails.
01:40:43 Parasites and lampreys have had quite a complicated relationship over the years.
01:40:47 In case you haven't heard of them, they are eel-like fish that are known for this unusual
01:40:52 feature – tube-shaped mouths with scary teeth!
01:40:56 They are parasites that attach themselves to other fish and feed on their blood and
01:41:01 tissues.
01:41:02 You'll find them in both fresh and saltwater.
01:41:05 Despite the terrifying way they look, people have eaten them for a long time.
01:41:10 Some rich and powerful people in the past, like kings and emperors, enjoyed having them
01:41:15 for dinner as a delicacy.
01:41:16 There's even a story about a king who ate so many lampreys that he eventually kicked
01:41:21 the proverbial bucket!
01:41:23 Tasty as they may seem for some, they are quite dangerous.
01:41:26 They can cause trouble for people because they can attach themselves to the skin and
01:41:31 use their sharp teeth to feed on their host's blood and tissue.
01:41:35 This is what earned it the nickname "vampire fish."
01:41:39 Lampreys can cause severe damage to their host because of things like infection or loss
01:41:43 of blood.
01:41:45 More so, the wounds they cause can be difficult to heal and may leave scarring.
01:41:52 Lampreys may not be your dream fish, but they do look like beauty pageant contestants next
01:41:57 to the hagfish.
01:41:59 A hagfish is also a slimy, eel-like fish that lives in the ocean.
01:42:03 It has a long, slippery body and no scales.
01:42:06 Instead, it has a layer of slime that it can release to protect itself from predators or
01:42:12 to help it move through the water.
01:42:15 Hagfish are scavengers and will eat expired animals that they find in the ocean.
01:42:19 Thankfully, they are not known to attack or harm humans, but you should steer clear of
01:42:24 these pesky mouths of theirs.
01:42:26 That's because they can carry a lot of harmful bacteria, seeing as they don't eat from
01:42:31 the fresh produce aisle, if you know what I mean.
01:42:34 They can be a problem for divers or fishermen because they can give off a slime that can
01:42:38 clog fishing nets and make the water difficult to see in.
01:42:42 Because they often feast themselves from the ocean's trash cans, they can smell pretty
01:42:47 bad, too.
01:42:50 A fish that's dubbed the "cookie cutter shark" might seem cute when you first hear
01:42:54 about them, but these creatures can be quite dangerous.
01:42:58 They are small fish that got their name because of the unique way they eat food.
01:43:03 These creatures feature a small, circular-shaped mouth that comes with a terrifying set of
01:43:08 teeth.
01:43:09 They allow the shark to cut out round pieces directly from their prey, just like a cookie
01:43:14 cutter leaves an imprint on a piece of dough.
01:43:18 You'll find them in tropical waters around the world, and what's even more dangerous
01:43:22 is that they often swim near the surface of the water.
01:43:25 So people are more likely to get into contact with these fish when surfing or swimming.
01:43:32 Ever heard of a "trash panda"?
01:43:34 Well, if you haven't heard of it before, this is actually a nickname for the naughty
01:43:39 raccoon.
01:43:40 They're small, furry animals with black and white markings on their face and bushy
01:43:45 tail.
01:43:46 These quirky creatures are famous for their mischievous behavior, like raiding trash cans
01:43:51 for food.
01:43:52 They're often found near forests and are more active at night time.
01:43:56 Despite their innocent looks, raccoons can be dangerous if they lick you.
01:44:01 That's because their saliva can contain harmful bacteria or diseases.
01:44:06 It's best to avoid contact with raccoons and to seek help if you've been licked by one,
01:44:12 just in case.
01:44:14 The odds of you ever encountering the Oaxacan salamander are pretty slim, but did you know
01:44:20 its tongue is dangerous?
01:44:22 Weirdly enough, it's because of its speed.
01:44:25 This type of salamander is found in the Oaxaca region of Mexico.
01:44:29 It also features a dark brown or black body and bright orange or yellow markings on its
01:44:34 arms, legs, and tail.
01:44:37 This creature spends most of its time in the trees, where it feeds on insects.
01:44:41 It's nocturnal, and when threatened, it can release a nasty substance from its skin to
01:44:46 protect itself from predators.
01:44:48 However, a new study has found that this giant palm salamander has the most powerful muscle
01:44:54 in the animal kingdom.
01:44:56 It can shoot out its tongue with so much power that being snapped by it can cause serious
01:45:01 damage.
01:45:02 It can also extend its tongue more than half its body length in just 7 milliseconds!
01:45:09 Geese are pretty common domesticated animals.
01:45:12 If you've ever spent some time on a farm, you've encountered these sturdy birds for
01:45:16 sure.
01:45:17 They might look wobbly, but they can get aggressive to protect their territory and their offspring.
01:45:22 As no surprise, some farms even use these birds for protection, mostly because they
01:45:27 get easily startled by noise and can alert the owner if something unusual is going on
01:45:33 in their yard.
01:45:34 Nevertheless, geese can be dangerous if they bite you.
01:45:38 Their beaks can cause injury and can also carry bacteria that can lead to many other
01:45:43 problems inside your body.
01:45:45 It's important to avoid approaching or interacting with geese in a way that may provoke them
01:45:50 to bite.
01:45:52 The list of animals you shouldn't let lick you doesn't end with wild ones.
01:45:57 Let's look at domesticated ones, too, like cats.
01:46:01 Their tongue is made of small backward-facing spines called papillae, which help them groom
01:46:06 themselves and eat.
01:46:08 These papillae are made out of keratin, the same protein found in human nails and hair.
01:46:13 If you've ever been licked by a cat, you know the sensation.
01:46:17 It's like being touched by sandpaper.
01:46:19 A cat's rough tongue can cause irritation on any type of skin if used a lot or aggressively.
01:46:27 Same goes with dogs.
01:46:29 Your dog can have bacteria in its mouth that can cause you some problems.
01:46:34 Dogs can get these bacteria by sniffing or eating animal waste or by drinking dirty water.
01:46:40 Sometimes, dogs have these bacteria in their bodies but do not look sick, so you might
01:46:45 be easily confused into thinking your dog is actually top-notch healthy.
01:46:49 If you don't want to have any problems from the stuff in your dog's mouth, avoid letting
01:46:54 them lick your mouth or nose and wash your hands and face after giving them a kiss.
01:47:01 If you do, however, have a routine with your dog and can't help yourself to these smooches,
01:47:06 kissing your dog on the cheek instead of the lips is a safer option.
01:47:10 Allowing your pets to lick you can reinforce unwanted behavior, like begging for food or
01:47:16 attention.
01:47:17 Some pets may even have allergies that can be passed on to humans through their saliva.
01:47:23 You're hiking in the wilderness, looking for a safe spot to set up camp.
01:47:28 All you can hear are leaves and branches crackling under your footsteps.
01:47:33 Some squirrels are running up a tree over there.
01:47:35 But suddenly, something unexpected happens.
01:47:38 You notice something weird in the distance in between the trees.
01:47:42 It kinda looks like a concrete structure of some kind.
01:47:45 Weird.
01:47:46 At this point, you're at least 20 miles deep into the woods, and there are no nearby
01:47:51 towns or villages, as far as you know.
01:47:55 So you decide to go off the trail with your friends to get a closer look.
01:47:59 But as you get nearer, you realize that it's leading to… nowhere.
01:48:03 Hmm, what's it doing here, in the middle of literally nowhere?
01:48:08 And it doesn't even lead to anything!
01:48:10 You put on your Sherlock Holmes cap and investigate.
01:48:14 So maybe there used to be an old house or mansion here that collapsed over the years,
01:48:20 and the only thing left is a staircase?
01:48:23 But weirdly enough, after circling the bizarre structure, you realize there's no trace
01:48:28 of any ruins or even foundations.
01:48:31 It's like someone just sliced a staircase off their house, cake-style, and plopped it
01:48:36 here for no reason!
01:48:38 Okay…
01:48:40 You and your friends aren't really into getting a whole lot closer.
01:48:44 Something feels wrong.
01:48:45 The longer you look at this weird structure, the more you feel a super creepy presence.
01:48:51 Something tells you you should probably leave the area as fast as possible.
01:48:56 As weird as this sounds, discoveries of random staircases illogically found in the woods
01:49:02 are surprisingly common.
01:49:04 Some are made of wood, others of brick or stone.
01:49:08 Some look ancient, while others look like they were finished yesterday.
01:49:11 The one thing they all have in common – they all lead to absolutely nowhere, and they're
01:49:16 all found in super mysterious locations.
01:49:20 One of the most famous ones is in Chesterfield, New Hampshire.
01:49:24 A long medieval-looking staircase, made of stones with Roman arches in the middle of
01:49:29 the woods.
01:49:30 It's believed to have been part of Madame Antoinette Chéry's castle.
01:49:34 She was a big singer back in Paris.
01:49:37 The castle dates back about 100 years, and it was later discovered again in 1962.
01:49:43 This time, there was nothing but a staircase.
01:49:47 Another mysterious ancient staircase dates back to 9,000 years ago.
01:49:51 It's in a forest in Italy.
01:49:54 It looks like a series of stairs that lead to a tiny platform at the top.
01:49:58 Now why go through all the trouble of building the thing if it leads to… nowhere?
01:50:03 Well, some scientists think it could've been some sort of ritual tower, but your guess
01:50:09 is as good as theirs.
01:50:10 There's an anomaly in the Indian Ocean, known as the Indian Ocean Geoid Low, or IOGL.
01:50:18 It produces the largest distorting natural gravitational force in the world.
01:50:24 Heavy mineral deposits, many deep-sea trenches, and magma reservoirs disturb the magnetic
01:50:29 field in this area.
01:50:31 This gravity changes in different places around the planet.
01:50:34 It allows researchers to look for patterns and figure out what's happening beneath
01:50:39 the surface.
01:50:41 Higher gravity fields usually mean denser materials below, and vice versa.
01:50:46 Some scientists believe that the anomaly might be a dent in the planet's mantle that is
01:50:50 working its way up to the crust.
01:50:54 The Niihau Island actually rejects the fruits of today's advancements.
01:50:59 There are no cars in sight since the locals get around on foot or by bicycles.
01:51:04 No wonder their legs have great definition.
01:51:07 They thrive without running water, internet, or shops.
01:51:11 The only school on the entire island is powered by solar energy with a backup generator.
01:51:17 And what's awesome is that it's the only school in the state that's powered by the
01:51:21 sun.
01:51:22 Being a resident of the island, the local explains some ground rules the permanent residents
01:51:27 must abide by.
01:51:29 If they do break these rules, they can be evicted.
01:51:34 Not far from Bangkok, in northeastern Thailand, there's a 75-million-year-old rock formation.
01:51:41 These rocks look like three whales swimming together.
01:51:44 The beautiful design created by nature became known as "Three Whales Rock."
01:51:50 Millions of years ago, this area was just a desert, but the land was changing.
01:51:55 Gradually, sandstone got pulled apart by the movements of tectonic plates and erosion.
01:52:00 That's how these spectacular formations were created.
01:52:04 If you decide to explore this system of trails around Three Whales Rock, you'll find waterfalls
01:52:09 and an abundance of fauna and flora there.
01:52:13 Located on Gamal and Gaiden peninsulas, these expansive pit holes were discovered in 2014.
01:52:20 They seem to be still changing and evolving.
01:52:23 The pits grow wider, and people find them more often.
01:52:26 Of course, there's no shortage of theories about how they appeared.
01:52:30 Suggestions range from meteorite impacts to the activity of other civilizations.
01:52:35 But the most common explanation is that methane gas reacted to water molecules after the planet's
01:52:41 permafrost started to melt.
01:52:43 This resulted in bubbles of methane bursting through the ice.
01:52:47 The craters could be thousands of years old, but nobody knows for sure.
01:52:53 You're driving to the state of New Mexico, to the small town of Taos.
01:52:58 Two percent of the locals hear a strange buzzing in the air every day.
01:53:03 Some residents believe the sound is somehow connected with technologies used by guests
01:53:08 from other galaxies.
01:53:10 Also, there is a theory that something sinister lives in the town.
01:53:15 They say Taos is cursed.
01:53:17 An evil spirit or a phantom punishes people for something their ancestors did in the past.
01:53:23 Scientists still can't explain the nature of this sound.
01:53:27 Another theory says it's caused by unusual acoustics of the location, while others think
01:53:31 the buzzing is a hallucination.
01:53:34 Some can hear it because everybody talks about something, and our minds create an illusion
01:53:39 of the sound that doesn't really exist.
01:53:42 The sound isn't the same for everyone, either.
01:53:44 For some, it's a low hum.
01:53:47 For others, it's more of a buzzing sound.
01:53:49 But this is not the only place where you can hear the strange noises.
01:53:54 It's called the hum, and people worldwide claim to have heard it.
01:53:58 Some dwellers of a small village in Scotland describe it as a low, thick hum.
01:54:03 Well, some residents of Florida heard a similar sound too.
01:54:08 It's not exactly known where this phenomenon appeared, but the first time the media started
01:54:12 talking about it was in the 1970s in England.
01:54:16 Also, there are written records of a mysterious buzzing dating back almost 200 years.
01:54:22 According to some estimates, only about 2% of people on the planet can hear the hum.
01:54:28 Perhaps their ears pick up some low frequency waves, or the reason is something else entirely.
01:54:34 Maybe, just maybe, they hear humming because the person doing it doesn't know the words
01:54:40 to the song.
01:54:41 Yeah, that joke is also 200 years old.
01:54:45 A volcano in Indonesia spews bright blue lava and produces electric blue and purple flames.
01:54:52 This phenomenon occurs because the volcano has some of the highest levels of sulfur in
01:54:58 the world.
01:54:59 You can also know you're near it by its foul stench.
01:55:02 But I digress.
01:55:04 And when sulfuric gases interact with scorching hot air and get lit by the molten lava, they
01:55:10 turn blue.
01:55:11 You can also find the world's largest acid lake inside this crater.
01:55:15 Yep, it's a real stinker.
01:55:19 Underwater rivers and lakes are called brine pools for a reason.
01:55:23 High salinity makes the water in them denser than the seawater around.
01:55:28 That's why it sinks to the bottom, forming rivers and lakes.
01:55:32 Those have waves of their own, and these waves can sometimes lap up against the shorelines.
01:55:37 If you went down there in a submarine, it would easily float on the surface of a brine
01:55:41 pool.
01:55:42 But without a submarine, swimming in such a lake would be too risky.
01:55:47 They contain too much toxic methane and hydrogen sulfide.
01:55:50 Yeah, I'd pass on that too.
01:55:52 But hey, be my guest!
01:55:55 Cave of Crystals in Mexico is home to the world's most unique crystal formations.
01:56:00 Thanks to super-rare conditions in the cave, crystals there grow to unbelievable sizes.
01:56:06 The air inside is incredibly humid.
01:56:08 The water contains tons of minerals that boost the growth of the Milky Way giants.
01:56:14 Some of them are longer than telephone poles.
01:56:17 Cylindrical snow donuts occur when a wind gust starts to roll some snow across a snowy
01:56:23 area – as if making a snowball.
01:56:26 If it was a real thing, it would eventually become too heavy for the wind to move.
01:56:30 But a snow donut's center is hollowed out.
01:56:34 This happens because its inner layer is too thin and is blown away when the donut is formed.
01:56:39 This makes the thing lighter than a snowball.
01:56:42 That's also why it rolls further.
01:56:44 Unfortunately, snow donuts are rare because they need very precise conditions to appear.
01:56:50 The Danikil Depression in Ethiopia is probably one of the most bizarre-looking places you'll
01:56:56 ever see.
01:56:57 It's dotted with neon-colored hot springs, lava pools, and vast salt flats.
01:57:03 But be especially careful there.
01:57:05 Toxic gases are swirling over hydrothermal fields, and many pools are super acidic.
01:57:11 So don't go swimming.
01:57:13 Until at least 30 minutes after lunch.
01:57:16 Just kidding.
01:57:17 And finally, there's nothing mysterious about 28,000 rubber ducks found in the sea in 1992.
01:57:25 That's when a ship transporting bath toys got lost in the ocean while traveling from
01:57:29 Hong Kong to the US.
01:57:32 Some of these ducks are still floating in the ocean several decades later.
01:57:35 They've been spotted in South America, Alaska, Hawaii, and even Australia.
01:57:41 And they make bath time lots of fun.
01:57:44 Ooh, rubber ducky!
01:57:52 The largest tree in the world is so massive, it even earned itself the nickname "General
01:57:57 Sherman."
01:57:58 It stands tall in California's Sequoia National Park, stretching its branches at 275 feet
01:58:05 toward the sky.
01:58:06 That's almost as tall as the Statue of Liberty.
01:58:09 As for its weight, if we could place it on a scale, we'd need 400 elephants to balance
01:58:14 things out.
01:58:15 Its base stretches 36 feet in diameter, big enough to hide two sedans parked end-to-end.
01:58:22 California is the last place on Earth where these colossal trees grow naturally.
01:58:27 During the Ice Age, they flourished across North America and Europe, but as the glaciers
01:58:32 retreated, so did the sequoias.
01:58:35 Today they thrive along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Range, relying on the
01:58:39 melting glacier caps to quench their thirst.
01:58:43 General Sherman gathers thousands of visitors every day, and the park's infrastructure
01:58:47 caters to this.
01:58:48 There's a short half-mile walk from the nearest parking lot that leads to the big
01:58:53 green giant.
01:58:55 Along the way, a stone marker outlines the shape and size of the tree's base, to give
01:59:00 visitors a sense of its immense scale.
01:59:03 This sassy sequoia is estimated to be around 23 to 2700 years old and has witnessed centuries
01:59:10 of change.
01:59:11 It sprouted during the early days of the Roman Empire.
01:59:15 When Europeans arrived in California in the late 1800s, they first tried to harvest the
01:59:21 sequoias, thinking they had valuable wood.
01:59:24 However, the sheer effort required to take down these giants was enormous for those days.
01:59:29 They also soon figured out that this type of wood was a bit more brittle than expected,
01:59:34 so they let these trees off the hook.
01:59:37 As for its name, the tree shares it with General William Tecumseh Sherman, a 19th-century famous
01:59:43 American public servant.
01:59:45 Not far from General Sherman stands the world's second-largest tree, named General Grant.
01:59:51 Founded by locals years before General Sherman received its name, this tree has weathered
01:59:56 its own share of challenges, including fires.
01:59:59 But like its counterpart, it survived, mostly thanks to its thick bark and resilient hardwood.
02:00:07 As for the oldest tree, for a long time, we've known it to be a Great Basin bristlecone pine
02:00:12 named Methuselah, also found in California.
02:00:15 It's been around for more than 4,800 years, way before the Egyptians built the Pyramids
02:00:20 of Giza.
02:00:22 This tree's location is a bit of a secret to keep it safe from harm.
02:00:26 Methuselah and its friends grow way up high in California, Nevada, and Utah, where it's
02:00:31 tough to survive.
02:00:33 The place is cold, with dry soil and fierce winds, but these strong timbers have figured
02:00:38 out how to thrive, getting their nutrients from the hard, rocky ground up in the mountains.
02:00:44 Their branches are twisted and gnarled because of the winds blowing in all directions as
02:00:48 they reach maturity.
02:00:50 It does make their appearance a bit messy, but it's an added layer of resistance for
02:00:54 those trees during powerful storms.
02:00:57 Their roots only feed the branches right above them, so if one part of the tree's roots
02:01:02 fades away, only that part of the tree will be affected.
02:01:07 There's a new contender, however, for the same title of the oldest tree.
02:01:11 In Chile, there's a Patagonian cypress called Gran Abuello, which means "Great Grandfather"
02:01:17 in Spanish.
02:01:18 It might even be older than Methuselah by about 500 years.
02:01:22 This would mean this tree has seen people roaming around during the Bronze Age.
02:01:26 To figure out a tree's age, we generally need to look inside its bark and count its
02:01:32 rings.
02:01:33 For the Gran Abuello, though, scientists use complex math to estimate how old it is.
02:01:38 Some experts aren't convinced by this method just yet.
02:01:41 No matter which tree is older, both Methuselah and the Gran Abuello have seen a lot of changes
02:01:47 in their long lives.
02:01:48 Each ring in their trunks holds info about the weather from the year it grew.
02:01:53 Scientists can learn a ton about past climates on our planet by studying these ancient trees.
02:02:00 The world's tallest tree is also off-limit to visitors, but this is a recent safety measure.
02:02:06 Its name is Hyperion and it's located in Redwood National Park, California.
02:02:11 Standing at a towering 380 feet, Hyperion is a coastal redwood, taller than the length
02:02:17 of an American football field.
02:02:20 Named after a character in Greek mythology, Hyperion was discovered in 2006 by two researchers.
02:02:26 The park is home to other incredibly tall trees like Helios and Icarus, both also reaching
02:02:32 heights of over 370 feet.
02:02:36 The impressive height of redwoods in Northern California is due to their leaves and the
02:02:40 region's climate.
02:02:42 These trees absorb and store moisture from morning fog, and their sprouts promote growth
02:02:47 after injury, allowing them to live for a very long time.
02:02:51 However, their shallow roots make them susceptible to damage from hikers.
02:02:56 Besides being a record holder, Hyperion's appearance may not live up to the hype.
02:03:01 Witnessing its towering height from the ground is hard, and its trunk isn't that impressive.
02:03:06 Hyperion is currently tucked away in a closed-off section with no official trail.
02:03:12 But despite this, many tree enthusiasts have trampled through over the years, harming the
02:03:17 habitat leading up to it.
02:03:19 Trash has also been found along the way in the past.
02:03:22 The park recently issued a statement urging visitors to steer clear of this tree.
02:03:27 Otherwise, they could face hundreds of dollars worth of fines and even end up behind bars.
02:03:33 The Tree of Life stands as a resilient symbol amidst the arid desert landscape of Bahrain.
02:03:40 Nestled in the highest point of the country, this ancient tree defies odds, captivating
02:03:45 visitors with its mysterious and inexplicable presence.
02:03:48 It's surrounded by endless stretches of heated dunes in the Arabian Desert.
02:03:54 Because it stands alone against the desert backdrop, it has puzzled scientists and botanists
02:03:59 for years.
02:04:00 There's little to no rainfall over there.
02:04:02 There are also no freshwater sources nearby.
02:04:05 Despite the lack of moisture, the Tree of Life insists on flourishing, flaunting its
02:04:10 green foliage.
02:04:11 How it manages to survive in such harsh conditions led to some weird theories.
02:04:17 Some speculate that the tree's roots go deep into the earth, reaching depths of up
02:04:21 to 160 feet to access underground water reserves.
02:04:26 Others suggest that the tree has adapted to its environment, drawing moisture from the
02:04:30 surrounding sand grains through specialized mechanisms.
02:04:34 One other interesting idea is that the Tree of Life lies at the side of the legendary
02:04:39 Garden of Eden, getting its water from a mystical source.
02:04:43 Apart from its scientific and cultural significance, the Tree of Life is an important tourist attraction
02:04:48 for locals, luring in approximately 65,000 visitors each year.
02:04:54 All for a tree!
02:04:57 Poland has its fair share of trees worth mentioning, all gathered in the Crooked Forest.
02:05:02 It's a group of 400 trees that bend strangely.
02:05:06 They all have a similar shape, curving sharply toward the sky in little J-shapes, almost
02:05:11 touching the ground.
02:05:13 People have different ideas about why these trees look like that.
02:05:17 Some think a heavy snowstorm covered them when they were young, pushing them down.
02:05:21 Others believe the area's gravity might have affected how they grow.
02:05:26 One interesting theory is that people who planted these trees back in the 1920s might
02:05:31 have bent them on purpose.
02:05:33 They wanted to use the curved shapes to expedite the furniture manufacturing process.
02:05:38 So when the trees were about 10 years old, they interfered with their growth, making
02:05:43 them develop in this odd shape.
02:05:46 After the manipulation process was stopped, it left the trees in this weird position for
02:05:50 decades.
02:05:52 Either way, whatever happened to one tree happened to them all because they're all
02:05:56 adjusted in the same way.
02:05:58 So human intervention is the most likely explanation.
02:06:02 Even though all the trees in the Crooked Forest look the same with their spooky bend, they
02:06:06 still manage to grow tall and healthy.
02:06:09 They've adapted to their difficult conditions.
02:06:11 And somehow, they've managed to keep growing upwards.
02:06:15 That's it for today, so hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like
02:06:20 and share it with your friends.
02:06:21 Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side of life!

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