These Phenomena Show How Little We Know About Earth

Bright Side

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Transcript

00:00:00You're in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, one of the driest places on Earth.

00:00:06But this desert has a beautiful secret.

00:00:09Every 3 to 5 years, flowers pop up out of nowhere.

00:00:12It's so famous, it's also called the flowering desert.

00:00:16Seeds lie around in the ground just waiting for some rain.

00:00:20When the desert gets enough water, about 200 types of flowers sprout up.

00:00:25The yellow sands of the Atacama turn purple, white, green, and even pink.

00:00:30Another mystical phenomenon that can be seen in the desert is called a sand waterfall.

00:00:36When the wind brings a lot of sand to the edge of the canyon, it begins to fall down.

00:00:41Now amplify this effect 100 times, and you get a sand waterfall in Saudi Arabia.

00:00:47It really is like Niagara Falls, only there's not a drop of water.

00:00:51The locals say this phenomenon warns of an impending sandstorm.

00:00:56Fairy rings, also known as elf rings or pixie rings, are mysterious circles of mushrooms

00:01:02that appear in grasslands and forested areas.

00:01:05There's a lot of debate about why these fairy rings form a nearly perfect circle.

00:01:10Some superstitions claim that fairy dances would burn the ground, causing mushrooms to

00:01:15rapidly grow.

00:01:17In southern India, between July and September 2001, people witnessed one of the strangest

00:01:23weather phenomena in recorded history.

00:01:26The rain was red.

00:01:28What many would've thought to be a typical rainstorm left them shocked.

00:01:33The color was bright enough to stain clothes.

00:01:35There were other colors too, such as green, yellow, brown, and even black.

00:01:40In the middle of a monsoon, red rain started to fall, and so did periodically for several

00:01:45weeks.

00:01:46Many researchers have found this unusual rain is stained either by dust or algae, so don't

00:01:52try to catch any on your tongue.

00:01:54Scientists aren't entirely sure how the algae got all the way up there.

00:01:58This does make events like this a little unsettling.

00:02:03People who live in rural central Norway, over the Hestalen Valley, can often witness floating

00:02:08lights of white, yellow, and red cross the sky.

00:02:12The lights appear both at day and night, and once back in the 80s, ahem, the 1980s,

00:02:18they were spotted 15 to 20 times in a single week.

00:02:21The Hestalen lights can last just a few seconds, but sometimes they can last more than an hour.

00:02:28The lights move, seeming to float or even sway around.

00:02:32Some scientists believe that the reason for these lights is due to ionized iron dust.

00:02:37Others say it's a combination that includes sodium, oxygen, and hydrogen.

00:02:42Many people claim they're just misidentified aircrafts.

00:02:46Norway!

00:02:47Snow doughnuts are one of the rarest meteorological sights to see, with perfect weather conditions

00:02:52needed just to create them.

00:02:54Found in any snow-covered mountain area, like the Rocky Mountains, the wind, temperature,

00:02:59snow, ice, and moisture all have to work together for us to see these phenomenal rings.

00:03:05A thin layer of wet snow on the ground.

00:03:08Under that layer, ice or powdered snow.

00:03:11And a strong enough breeze to roll the doughnut down a hill, just like a snowball.

00:03:17Once it stops rolling, it can be the size of a baseball or as large as a car tire.

00:03:22It all depends on how strong the wind is.

00:03:24A newly formed snow doughnut won't stay around for very long, so hurry up with that

00:03:29camera and watch your head!

00:03:32Can you believe there's another place on Earth with its own ecosystem and atmosphere,

00:03:36similar to another planet?

00:03:38Well, start believing!

00:03:40The Smoviel Cave, located in southeastern Romania, remained closed in complete darkness

00:03:45for a whopping 5.5 million years.

00:03:48It wasn't until workers discovered the cave, when they were looking for a place to build,

00:03:53that anyone learned about it.

00:03:55Scientists carved out an opening to the cave and found that a completely sustained ecosystem

00:04:00was thriving inside.

00:04:02As a pathway was carved through the rock past numerous tunnels, scientists found a lake

00:04:07of sulfuric water that stank like rotten eggs.

00:04:11The air was filled with hydrogen sulfide and had 100 times more carbon dioxide than Earth's

00:04:16atmosphere contains.

00:04:18Needless to say, this air is completely toxic.

00:04:21What's even crazier is that a whole ecosystem has been existing in this cave, with 33 species

00:04:27that can't be found anywhere else on Earth.

00:04:30This cave gives us a glimpse of what could possibly exist on other planets with completely

00:04:35different atmospheres.

00:04:37How it managed to exist on Earth all this time without anyone knowing is rather unbelievable,

00:04:43isn't it?

00:04:44Now check these trees out.

00:04:46They're called Indian rubber trees.

00:04:48Their strong roots grow not underground, but on the surface.

00:04:52With the help of special frames and fasteners, people have learned to control how these roots

00:04:57grow.

00:04:58Let's say a tree is next to a small pit.

00:05:00You need to make a bridge from one end of this pit to the other.

00:05:04You direct the growing tree roots in the needed direction.

00:05:08Over time, the roots penetrate the ground and strengthen under endless downpours.

00:05:13It takes about 15 years to create one bridge.

00:05:17Here's another amazing tree called the Tree of Life.

00:05:20It grows in Bahrain's desert.

00:05:22The tree has been standing on top of this sandy hill for more than 400 years, surrounded

00:05:27by miles of sand.

00:05:28It's extremely hot here, and there's no moisture.

00:05:32Despite this, the tree has green leaves, and it continues to grow.

00:05:36So far, scientists haven't figured out yet how the tree gets moisture and nutrients.

00:05:41There are only places with oil deposits around.

00:05:45Locals think the tree is sacred.

00:05:47After all, it demonstrates the magic of life and the power of nature.

00:05:51Some experts are sure it's all about the roots.

00:05:54They go so deep that they can reach underground sources of water.

00:05:59So there you are.

00:06:01You've been driving for hours through the night.

00:06:03You didn't have any chance to sleep, so your mind is hanging by a thread.

00:06:08You stop the car and go out to stretch your limbs.

00:06:11And then you look up into the sky and see a beautiful sunrise.

00:06:15Whoa, wait, there are three suns in the sky.

00:06:19You rub your eyes, but nope, there are still three bright stars in the sky.

00:06:24No, our home star hasn't been torn into three pieces, nor has it been visited by two

00:06:29other stars.

00:06:31This is called a sun dog.

00:06:33It occurs mostly during severe frosts.

00:06:36Small ice crystals in the sky bend the light.

00:06:39As a result, you may see three bright spots in the sky instead of just one.

00:06:43This phenomenon is officially called a halo.

00:06:46Usually it's just a circle around the sun.

00:06:49You can even see a halo at night, too.

00:06:51Just look at a street lamp, and you'll see a bright circle around it.

00:06:55Sometimes, a halo can take on a fancier shape.

00:06:58If there's a lot of ice in the air, the light is warped even more.

00:07:02Just like in a room with a dozen mirrors.

00:07:05Then the halo can take on the shape of a human eye.

00:07:09Because of this phenomenon, a false dawn can also occur.

00:07:13While you're looking at the horizon, the dawn begins, and the edge of the sun appears.

00:07:18A little bit more, and wait, the sun starts to just dissolve in the sky.

00:07:24After a few moments, it's dark again.

00:07:27And only a minute later, the real sun shows its face.

00:07:31It was the same light curvature effect you saw before with the three suns.

00:07:35Only now, the light is curved vertically, not horizontally.

00:07:39And instead of the real sun, its reflection in ice crystals in the sky appeared.

00:07:44But the sunrise with three stars on the horizon is actually real.

00:07:49Not on Earth, though, but 340 light-years away.

00:07:53There's a star system at the center of which lurks a star almost twice the size of the

00:07:58sun.

00:07:59And there are two smaller stars orbiting around this giant.

00:08:02The strange world has a planet too.

00:08:05Sunsets and dawns there really happen with three stars.

00:08:09If you brought your significant other to a park bench to watch a sunset here, your date

00:08:14would go just fine.

00:08:16Whatever that means.

00:08:18And since we're talking about the most baffling natural phenomenon, it would be a crime not

00:08:23to mention snow in a desert.

00:08:25Yep, in the winter of 2018, the inhabitants of the Sahara Desert, one of the driest and

00:08:31hottest places on this planet, woke up to discover a thick blanket of snow covering

00:08:36the sand.

00:08:37In some places, the layer of snow enveloping the dunes reached a staggering 15 inches.

00:08:43Meteorologists, however, had an explanation for this exciting phenomenon.

00:08:48They stated that cold pools of air, combined with the precipitation from the most recent

00:08:53storm, resulted in a snowfall instead of rain.

00:08:57So what do you do in that case?

00:08:58Build snow camels?

00:08:59Hmm, one hump or two.

00:09:04You're hiking in the wilderness, looking for a safe spot to set up camp.

00:09:08All you can hear are leaves and branches crackling under your footsteps.

00:09:12Some squirrels are running up a tree over there.

00:09:15But suddenly, something unexpected happens.

00:09:18You notice something weird in the distance in between the trees.

00:09:22It kinda looks like a concrete structure of some kind.

00:09:25Weird.

00:09:26At this point, you're at least 20 miles deep into the woods, and there are no nearby

00:09:30towns or villages, as far as you know.

00:09:34So, you decide to go off the trail with your friends to get a closer look.

00:09:39But as you get nearer, you realize that it's leading to… nowhere.

00:09:43Hmm, what's it doing here, in the middle of literally nowhere?

00:09:48And it doesn't even lead to anything!

00:09:50You put on your Sherlock Holmes cap and investigate.

00:09:54So, maybe there used to be an old house or mansion here that collapsed over the years,

00:09:59and the only thing left is a staircase?

00:10:02But weirdly enough, after circling the bizarre structure, you realize there's no trace

00:10:08of any ruins or even foundations.

00:10:10It's like someone just sliced a staircase off their house, cake-style, and plopped it

00:10:16here for no reason!

00:10:18Okay…

00:10:19You and your friends aren't really into getting a whole lot closer.

00:10:23Something feels wrong.

00:10:25The longer you look at this weird structure, the more you feel a super creepy presence.

00:10:31Something tells you you should probably leave the area as fast as possible.

00:10:36As weird as this sounds, discoveries of random staircases illogically found in the woods

00:10:42are surprisingly common.

00:10:44Some are made of wood, others of brick or stone.

00:10:47Some look ancient, while others look like they were finished yesterday.

00:10:51The one thing they all have in common – they all lead to absolutely nowhere, and they're

00:10:56all found in super-mysterious locations.

00:11:00One of the most famous ones is in Chesterfield, New Hampshire.

00:11:04A long medieval-looking staircase made of stones with Roman arches in the middle of

00:11:09the woods.

00:11:10It's believed to have been part of Madame Antoinette Sherry's castle.

00:11:14She was a big singer back in Paris.

00:11:16The castle dates back about 100 years, and it was later discovered again in 1962.

00:11:22This time, there was nothing but a staircase.

00:11:27Another mysterious ancient staircase dates back to 9,000 years ago.

00:11:31It's in a forest in Italy.

00:11:33It looks like a series of stairs that lead to a tiny platform at the top.

00:11:38Now why go through all the trouble of building the thing if it leads to… nowhere?

00:11:43Well, some scientists think it could've been some sort of ritual tower, but your guess

00:11:48is as good as theirs.

00:11:50There's an anomaly in the Indian Ocean known as the Indian Ocean Geoid Low, or IOGL.

00:11:58It produces the largest distorting natural gravitational force in the world.

00:12:03Heavy mineral deposits, many deep-sea trenches, and magma reservoirs disturb the magnetic

00:12:09field in this area.

00:12:11Earth's gravity changes in different places around the planet.

00:12:14It allows researchers to look for patterns and figure out what's happening beneath

00:12:18the surface.

00:12:20Higher gravity fields usually mean denser materials below, and vice versa.

00:12:25Some scientists believe that the anomaly might be a dent in the planet's mantle that is

00:12:30working its way up to the crust.

00:12:34The Niihau Island actually rejects the fruits of today's advancements.

00:12:39There are no cars in sight since the locals get around on foot or by bicycles.

00:12:44No wonder their legs have great definition.

00:12:47They thrive without running water, internet, or shops.

00:12:51The only school on the entire island is powered by solar energy with a backup generator.

00:12:57And what's awesome is that it's the only school in the state that's powered by the

00:13:01sun.

00:13:02Being a resident of the island, the local explains some ground rules the permanent residents

00:13:07must abide by.

00:13:08If they do break these rules, they can be evicted.

00:13:13Not far from Bangkok, in northeastern Thailand, there's a 75-million-year-old rock formation.

00:13:20These rocks look like three whales swimming together.

00:13:23The beautiful design created by nature became known as Three Whales Rock.

00:13:30Millions of years ago, this area was just a desert, but the land was changing.

00:13:34Gradually, sandstone got pulled apart by the movements of tectonic plates and erosion.

00:13:39That's how these spectacular formations were created.

00:13:44If you decide to explore this system of trails around Three Whales Rock, you'll find waterfalls

00:13:49and an abundance of fauna and flora there.

00:13:53Located on Gamal and Gaiden peninsulas, these expansive pit holes were discovered in 2014.

00:14:00They seem to be still changing and evolving.

00:14:02The pits grow wider, and people find them more often.

00:14:06Of course, there's no shortage of theories about how they appeared.

00:14:10Suggestions range from meteorite impacts to the activity of other civilizations.

00:14:15But the most common explanation is that methane gas reacted to water molecules after the planet's

00:14:21permafrost started to melt.

00:14:23This resulted in bubbles of methane bursting through the ice.

00:14:27The craters could be thousands of years old, but nobody knows for sure.

00:14:33You're driving to the state of New Mexico, to the small town of Taos.

00:14:38Two percent of the locals hear a strange buzzing in the air every day.

00:14:43Some residents believe the sound is somehow connected with technologies used by guests

00:14:48from other galaxies.

00:14:51Also there is a theory that something sinister lives in the town.

00:14:55They say Taos is cursed.

00:14:57An evil spirit or a phantom punishes people for something their ancestors did in the past.

00:15:03Scientists still can't explain the nature of this sound.

00:15:06Another theory says it's caused by unusual acoustics of the location, while others think

00:15:11the buzzing is a hallucination.

00:15:14Some can hear it because everybody talks about something, and our minds create an illusion

00:15:19of the sound that doesn't really exist.

00:15:21The sound isn't the same for everyone either.

00:15:24For some, it's a low hum.

00:15:26For others, it's more of a buzzing sound.

00:15:29But this is not the only place where you can hear the strange noises.

00:15:33It's called the hum, and people worldwide claim to have heard it.

00:15:38Some dwellers of a small village in Scotland describe it as a low, thick hum, while some

00:15:44residents of Florida heard a similar sound too.

00:15:47It's not exactly known where this phenomenon appeared, but the first time the media started

00:15:52talking about it was in the 1970s in England.

00:15:56Also, there are written records of a mysterious buzzing dating back almost 200 years.

00:16:02According to some estimates, only about 2% of people on the planet can hear the hum.

00:16:08Perhaps their ears pick up some low frequency waves, or the reason is something else entirely.

00:16:14Maybe, just maybe, they hear humming because the person doing it doesn't know the words

00:16:19to the song.

00:16:21Yeah, that joke is also 200 years old.

00:16:25A volcano in Indonesia spews bright blue lava and produces electric blue and purple flames.

00:16:32This phenomenon occurs because the volcano has some of the highest levels of sulfur in

00:16:37the world.

00:16:38You can also know you're near it by its foul stench.

00:16:42But I digress.

00:16:44And when sulfuric gases interact with scorching hot air and get lit by the molten lava, they

00:16:50turn blue.

00:16:51You can also find the world's largest acid lake inside this crater.

00:16:55Yup, it's a real stinker.

00:16:59Underwater rivers and lakes are called brine pools for a reason.

00:17:03High salinity makes the water in them denser than the seawater around.

00:17:08That's why it sinks to the bottom, forming rivers and lakes.

00:17:12Those have waves of their own, and these waves can sometimes lap up against the shorelines.

00:17:17If you went down there in a submarine, it would easily float on the surface of a brine

00:17:21pool.

00:17:22But without a submarine, swimming in such a lake would be too risky.

00:17:26They contain too much toxic methane and hydrogen sulfide.

00:17:30Yeah, I'd pass on that too.

00:17:32But hey, be my guest!

00:17:34Cave of Crystals in Mexico is home to the world's most unique crystal formations.

00:17:40Thanks to super-rare conditions in the cave, crystals there grow to unbelievable sizes.

00:17:46The air inside is incredibly humid.

00:17:48The water contains tons of minerals that boost the growth of the milky white giants.

00:17:53Some of them are longer than telephone poles.

00:17:57Cylindrical snow doughnuts occur when a wind gust starts to roll some snow across a snowy

00:18:03area, as if making a snowball.

00:18:05If it was a real thing, it would eventually become too heavy for the wind to move.

00:18:10But a snow doughnut's center is hollowed out.

00:18:13This happens because its inner layer is too thin and is blown away when the doughnut is

00:18:18formed.

00:18:19This makes the thing lighter than a snowball.

00:18:22That's also why it rolls further.

00:18:24Unfortunately, snow doughnuts are rare because they need very precise conditions to appear.

00:18:30The Danikil Depression in Ethiopia is probably one of the most bizarre-looking places you'll

00:18:36ever see.

00:18:37It started with neon-colored hot springs, lava pools, and vast salt flats.

00:18:43But you gotta be especially careful there.

00:18:45Toxic gases are swirling over hydrothermal fields, and many pools are super-acidic.

00:18:51So don't go swimming.

00:18:53Until at least 30 minutes after lunch.

00:18:55Just kidding.

00:18:57And finally, there's nothing mysterious about 28,000 rubber ducks found in the sea in 1992.

00:19:05That's when a ship transporting bath toys got lost in the ocean while traveling from

00:19:09Hong Kong to the US.

00:19:11Some of these ducks are still floating in the ocean several decades later.

00:19:15They've been spotted in South America, Alaska, Hawaii, and even Australia.

00:19:21And they make bath time lots of fun.

00:19:24Ooh, rubber ducky!

00:19:27Gwajan Volcano in Indonesia is not your ordinary lava-belching mountain.

00:19:32Instead of producing black smoke and red lava, as most volcanoes do, this eccentric guy lets

00:19:38out a blue flame and electric blue lava.

00:19:41This phenomenon occurs because the volcano contains some of the highest levels of sulfur

00:19:46in the world, and when the sulfuric gases interact with scorching air and get lit by

00:19:51the molten lava, they start to turn blue.

00:19:54Unfortunately, you can see this mesmerizing sight only at night, but you can smell it

00:19:59all day long.

00:20:01By the way, the world's largest acid lake is also located inside this crater.

00:20:06The Dead Sea has a high concentration of salt and minerals compared to other seas, even

00:20:11though it's technically a lake.

00:20:13Swimming is almost impossible, but people go there for the natural chemicals for the

00:20:17body.

00:20:19Floating on the surface is a great way to relax.

00:20:21This ancient body of water got its name because no macroscopic organisms can live there since

00:20:27it's 9.6 times saltier than oceans.

00:20:30Only a few bacteria and fungi can be found enjoying the salt.

00:20:34It's also Earth's lowest elevation on land at 1,400 feet below sea level.

00:20:41An underground crystal cave exists in Mexico, and it looks like some interstellar world.

00:20:47It's roughly 1,000 feet beneath the surface, with each spike measuring up to 35 feet in

00:20:52length and weighing up to 55 tons.

00:20:55These are some of the largest crystals in the world.

00:20:59Luskintyre Beach is an endless strand of white sand dunes and azure water.

00:21:04But don't let the tropical vibes fool you.

00:21:06It's located in Scotland.

00:21:08That's why it mostly looks like this during May and June only.

00:21:12In December, the place gets only an average of one hour of sunshine per day, making it

00:21:16way more dramatic and monochrome.

00:21:20The Georgia Guidestones is a collection of giant stones in a star pattern.

00:21:25It has inscriptions in 8 languages, including Hindi, Chinese, and Swahili.

00:21:30It also has an astronomical calendar, finished in 1980, and was built to last centuries.

00:21:36No one knows who built it or why.

00:21:40All the way over in sunny California is Sequoia National Park, home to the giant forest.

00:21:46It's been around for thousands of years.

00:21:48More than 8,000 of these colossal trees rule the land, including 10 of the largest living

00:21:53plants in the world.

00:21:55The General Sherman Sequoia is estimated to be up to 2,700 years old, and is recognized

00:22:01as the world's largest known living tree by volume.

00:22:06The famous stone heads of Easter Island have been around for hundreds of years.

00:22:11No one knows exactly why they were built.

00:22:13Some scientists think that local people believed the statues would make the soil more fertile.

00:22:18Soil analysis proved the heads did their job well.

00:22:21It's the best agricultural spot on the island.

00:22:25The chemical composition of the ancient hot springs in Pamukkale, Turkey, makes the water

00:22:30pouring over the edge look magical.

00:22:33They're not only good for cleansing your body, but the mind too.

00:22:37All the way in Saudi Arabia is a rock sliced perfectly in the middle with two pieces sitting

00:22:42parallel.

00:22:43What makes al-Nasla so unique is that it wasn't artificially done, but is a result of nature's

00:22:49work over the years.

00:22:51This glacier may look like someone dropped tons of red paint in the middle of Antarctica,

00:22:56but it's actually the natural color.

00:22:58Blood falls is a result of extreme salted water mixed with iron oxide, giving out this

00:23:04eerie vibe in the middle of nowhere.

00:23:07In early May 2018, New England observed one of the scariest and most dangerous phenomena

00:23:13ever, a super long-track tornado.

00:23:16The frightening natural phenomenon started not far from Charleston, New Hampshire, and

00:23:21traveled toward the town of Webster in Merrimack County.

00:23:24It took the tornado 33 minutes to cover 36 miles and become the third on the list of

00:23:30the longest-track tornadoes in New England.

00:23:33In the Philippines, you can swim in some of the most crystal-clear waters and discover

00:23:37an underwater world below you in the province of Palawan.

00:23:42The municipality of Coron has white sandy beaches with many small boats riding through

00:23:47the many amazing sceneries.

00:23:50Tristan da Cunha is a small volcanic archipelago in the Atlantic, with the only neighboring

00:23:55cities of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Cape Town, South Africa.

00:23:59It takes 7 days by ship to get to this unique place.

00:24:03If you want to escape from the rest of the world, staying with the 280 locals will make

00:24:08you feel like you're away from everything.

00:24:12During the first week of January, 2018, unusually cold weather in the Northeast United States

00:24:18froze the Atlantic Ocean in North Thalmouth, Massachusetts.

00:24:22What's more, the ocean was frozen so thoroughly that people were walking on the waves.

00:24:27Now that's obviously something you don't see every day.

00:24:31Red sand is what makes this beach unique and why tourists flock to Tianjin, China.

00:24:36A red-colored plant called a suede salsa dwells in the saltwater.

00:24:41The whole beach is covered in red, with only the top layer of the sea visible.

00:24:46If there ever was a thing that said, I defy gravity out loud, it's the stone of Devasco

00:24:52in Argentina.

00:24:53The huge 300-ton boulder stands precariously on the edge of a cliff and rocks a little

00:24:59bit from side to side in the wind.

00:25:02People even checked it by putting glass bottles under one of its edges.

00:25:05They exploded with another movement of the rock.

00:25:08Unfortunately today, you can't see this wonder of nature as it was a century ago.

00:25:13In 1912, the boulder suddenly dropped from its perch, which it had occupied for literally

00:25:19hundreds of years.

00:25:20The people of the nearby town of Tandil were so sad about this event that 95 years later,

00:25:26in 2007, they decided to restore the stone.

00:25:30They made a plastic replica of the rock and put it on the same spot and even in the same

00:25:34position.

00:25:35So, even today, coming by Tandil, you can see its famous balancing boulder.

00:25:41More of a symbol now, of course, because it's no longer rocking and only weighs 9 tons,

00:25:46but instantly recognizable nonetheless.

00:25:50Socotra is an alien-like island off the coast of Yemen in the Indian Ocean with one of the

00:25:55most unique trees ever seen.

00:25:58It's called the Dragon Tree, and it can only be found on this amazing island.

00:26:03In 2008, it was labeled as a World Heritage Site.

00:26:08If you ever see a tight-burning column of air, don't panic, it's not the end of the

00:26:12world!

00:26:13The creepy combination of whirlwind sounds and scorching inferno means that you have

00:26:18crossed paths with a fire tornado, also known as fire twister or fire whirl.

00:26:24This dangerous phenomenon occurs mostly during wildfires.

00:26:28These fires create a big area of super-hot air just above the ground.

00:26:33When this scorching air gets mixed with the cooler air higher up, it results in a whirlwind

00:26:37that churns up burning debris and flames.

00:26:40The most powerful fire tornadoes can stretch hundreds of feet into the air.

00:26:45The House of Mystery in Gold Hill, Oregon amazes its visitors with gravity-defying effects.

00:26:51You can't stand straight there, always leaning to the side and having to hold on to something

00:26:56for balance.

00:26:58Balls roll upwards.

00:26:59There's also a broom that stands perfectly still wherever you put it, unlike virtually

00:27:04everything else in the shack.

00:27:06The local Native American tribes called this place the Forbidden Ground, even before the

00:27:11house was built there, and they avoid approaching it.

00:27:15The owners of the shack, though, decided to turn it into an attraction, and they succeeded.

00:27:20They created an atmosphere of mystery around the place, and spread the news about it in

00:27:24newspapers and later on the Internet.

00:27:27And voila!

00:27:28A perfect anomaly is made.

00:27:30In fact, it's no more than a curiosity.

00:27:32A human-made optical illusion that tricks your eyes and other senses.

00:27:38If you travel to the Philippines, Indonesia, or Papua New Guinea, you'll have a chance

00:27:42to see some of the most unusual and cheerful trees in the world.

00:27:46The trunk of the Rainbow Eucalyptus looks as if it had been painted orange, green, red,

00:27:52purple, yellow, brown, blue, hey, you name it!

00:27:55Some trees are so bright that they seem artificial.

00:27:59The Rainbow Eucalyptus regularly sheds strips of bark, which reveals a bright green layer

00:28:04underneath.

00:28:05A bit later, this green layer gradually changes its color, and since the shedding happens

00:28:10at a different time in different places on the trunk, the tree starts to look multicolored

00:28:15and very attractive.

00:28:18Yemen is home to the oldest skyscrapers in the world and the oldest metropolis.

00:28:23The ancient city of Shabam is considered to be the Manhattan of the desert due to the

00:28:28collection of mud buildings popping out of the desert floor.

00:28:31It used to be a caravan stop during ancient times.

00:28:38Now picture this.

00:28:39You're watching a volcano erupt, which is a scary view by itself.

00:28:44But suddenly, you notice ominous bright flashes lighting up the sky over the volcano.

00:28:50It takes the nightmarishness of the experience to a whole new level!

00:28:54One causes static electricity, which occurs when dense ash particles rub together not

00:29:00very high above the ground.

00:29:02The other source of volcanic lightning is high above the surface near the stratosphere,

00:29:06where chaotically moving ice crystals set free powerful jolts.

00:29:12Salar del Uyuni feels like you're standing on top of a large mirror, but it's actually

00:29:16a salt flat of more than 4,000 square miles.

00:29:20It's located in Bolivia, South America's highest elevated country.

00:29:25This natural mirror is a remnant of prehistoric lakes that had evaporated a long time ago.

00:29:32Even though it may look flat, GPS technology proved that some of the landscape has some

00:29:37little defaults that are all less than an inch small.

00:29:40The place is so bogged that it has around 10 billion tons of salt.

00:29:45If you get there at the right time, some of the nearby lakes overflow with a small layer

00:29:50of water, which acts as the mirror of the sky.

00:29:53Many locals extract salt and lithium from there.

00:29:56Don't forget to pass by the world's first salt hotel when you visit!

00:30:00You can find a real rainbow mountain in Peru.

00:30:03Scientists still can't explain it.

00:30:05The colorful peak is hard to reach, but seeing the blue, red, green, yellow, and pink colors

00:30:10in nature is something to remember.

00:30:14What looks like frozen flying saucers is, in fact, pockets of highly flammable and combustible

00:30:20methane gas.

00:30:22Trapped underwater, it forms psychedelic landscapes and stunning patterns.

00:30:27Typical for northern lakes, such as Lake Abraham in Alberta, Canada, these bubbles appear when

00:30:32dead animals, leaves, and plants fall into the water and get consumed by bacteria.

00:30:37These bacteria later excrete methane gas.

00:30:40Wow, I can smell it from here!

00:30:44In late March 2018, Eastern Europe witnessed an event as beautiful as it was spooky.

00:30:50Skiers glided down tangerine slopes under the red-tinted sky.

00:30:55Puzzled and excited, people described this experience as walking on Mars or skiing down

00:31:00sand dunes.

00:31:02But however mysterious this phenomenon seems, it has a disappointingly simple explanation.

00:31:08The sponsor of the extraterrestrial landscape was a powerful sandstorm that had arrived

00:31:13from the Sahara Desert.

00:31:15This storm had brought along dust, sand, and pollen particles that colored the snow orange.

00:31:20It's not a one-time natural phenomenon.

00:31:23Meteorologists say that orange snow covers the lands of Eastern Europe at least once

00:31:27every 5 years.

00:31:29Meanwhile, don't eat the orange snow!

00:31:33On February 20 and 21 of 2018, people in the northeastern part of the US experienced one

00:31:39of the most extraordinary weather events of recent times, and it was… a heatwave.

00:31:44Yep, in February!

00:31:46In fact, it was the most impressive winter heatwave since official weather records started

00:31:51in the 1800s.

00:31:52For example, in Freiburg, Maine, people were taking off their coats after the temperature

00:31:57had risen to a baffling 70°F. In Fitchburg, Massachusetts, confused people put on sandals

00:32:04when they saw the temperature outside – 80°F. The same was happening in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,

00:32:10where the temperature reached 83°F, and in Wells, Maine, where the thermometer showed

00:32:1577°F.

00:32:18Around 11,000 years ago, in present-day Turkey, with no cities or metal tools whatsoever,

00:32:24some incredibly skilled craftsmen completed Gobekli Tepe.

00:32:28How they managed to chip and lift limestone blocks 3 times as heavy as a T-Rex, and what

00:32:33they symbolized, is still unknown.

00:32:38One mind-blowing fact about Devil's Tower in Wyoming, USA, is that scientists can't

00:32:44explain how it came to existence in the first place.

00:32:46You see, it's an 867-foot rock formation with walls so steep they're basically vertical.

00:32:54This piece of stone just arose amid the rolling plains of Wyoming with nothing like it for

00:32:59miles and miles around.

00:33:01So how is it that such a flat landscape could have suddenly given birth to something so

00:33:05tall?

00:33:06Theories abound, but nobody has the answer yet.

00:33:12Croatia's Plitvice Lakes National Park is a major tourist attraction and a World Heritage

00:33:18Site with many unique animals and plants teeming around.

00:33:22It looks like an epic movie set, with infinite waterfalls flowing from every direction and

00:33:27the clear lakes all around.

00:33:30In the mid-1980s, a scuba diver discovered the Yanaguni Monument off the coast of Japan.

00:33:37Scientists are positive this collection of structures is thousands of years old, but

00:33:41they still can't decide if it's natural or man-made.

00:33:45In case it proves to be an ancient city, the new mystery is, what lost civilization built

00:33:50it, and how did it make it to the bottom of the sea?

00:33:54The shape and formations of these rocks aren't a result of some human's work.

00:33:58They were created by intense volcanic eruptions.

00:34:02Scientists are still confused why the Giant's Causeway in Ireland is shaped in such a weird

00:34:07way.

00:34:09Back in 1812, for an unknown reason, an English farmer paid a local painter to remove tons

00:34:15of soil on a hillside and fill the contours with chalk.

00:34:20The painter ran away with the money, so the farmer had to pay a second time to get the

00:34:24Alton Barn's white horse finished.

00:34:28Waterfalls in Iceland get their name from the dark lava columns surrounding it.

00:34:33The base of the waterfall has sharp rocks.

00:34:35The entire structure was the inspiration for Icelandic architecture seen in some of their

00:34:40famous buildings.

00:34:43You can see hair ice in the forest on a humid winter night.

00:34:47Resembling cotton candy or a white hair wig, unusual ice crystals grow on rotting wood.

00:34:53Unfortunately, this beauty melts as soon as the sun comes up.

00:34:57Only recently have scientists discovered what creates hair ice.

00:35:01All this time it was, are you ready?

00:35:04Fungus.

00:35:05Yep.

00:35:06It allows the ice to form super-thin hairs and helps them to support this form throughout

00:35:10the night.

00:35:11When this particular type of fungus isn't present, instead of fragile hair, ice forms

00:35:16a crust-like structure.

00:35:19One of the most common causes of wildfires is lightning from thunderstorms.

00:35:24But have you ever heard of a wildfire that triggered a thunderstorm?

00:35:28Well, now you know!

00:35:30It happened on May 11, 2018, not far from Amarillo, Texas.

00:35:35Then the super-powerful Mallard Fire not only created a massive dense cloud high in the

00:35:40air, its heat also caused a violent thunderstorm that later dumped tons of quarter-sized hailstones

00:35:4760 miles away in Wheeler County, Texas.

00:35:52Carhenge is the weirdest landmark of Nebraska.

00:35:55Its author studied the real Stonehenge and created his own version out of old cars as

00:36:00a tribute to his father.

00:36:02Some cars stand like monoliths.

00:36:05Others are connected into arches.

00:36:10When asked why he did all this, the creator of the construction said, why not?

00:36:16Another Stonehenge lookalike was found on the bottom of Lake Michigan in 2007.

00:36:22There's a group of rocks in a circle and carvings of a mastodon.

00:36:26This beast ceased existing over 10,000 years ago, so the carving has to be older than that.

00:36:32Its location is kept secret from the public.

00:36:34Good luck finding it!

00:36:37Canada's Hudson Bay is probably the only place in the world where gravity is indeed

00:36:41lower than anywhere else on the planet.

00:36:45Even skeptics can't smirk at it because the difference has been measured with precision

00:36:49equipment.

00:36:50So does it mean that the gravity here is as low as, say, on the Moon?

00:36:55Unfortunately or is it luckily, I'm not sure yet.

00:36:58The difference is minuscule.

00:37:00The exact value is 0.005 or 1 200th of a percent.

00:37:06You won't be able to feel it even if you try your hardest, but it's still there.

00:37:11Scientists say this anomaly exists because of the ice sheet that covered the area about

00:37:1510,000 years ago.

00:37:17It compressed the rocks so much that they still can't fully recover, shifting the

00:37:21gravitational field in Hudson Bay.

00:37:24Sometime in the future, though, the gravity will return to normal in this area as well.

00:37:30In 2010, fossilized fish were uncovered 250 miles west of the Nile River, where the Sahara

00:37:36Desert was as arid as ever.

00:37:39This chance finding led scientists to believe there could've been a sea where the Sierra

00:37:43is now.

00:37:45So they conducted a geological survey of the area, and it yielded unexpected results.

00:37:51They found evidence of something huge under the sands, and it wasn't part of any sea

00:37:55at all.

00:37:58For several months, the research continued with GPS equipment on land, and later, when

00:38:03all the ground data was collected, scientists took a look at the area from a satellite.

00:38:08The view was astounding.

00:38:10It turned out there was an enormous basin underneath the desert, with another, smaller

00:38:15one nearby.

00:38:16Along the shores of these basins, ancient human settlements had been found previously,

00:38:21and now the researchers finally had the answer as to why exactly they had chosen those spots

00:38:26to live.

00:38:27There had been a lake of impressive proportions – over 42,000 square miles of freshwater

00:38:33in total, about half the size of Lake Michigan.

00:38:38Hey, ever heard of a fire rainbow?

00:38:41Yeah, me neither.

00:38:43How about a circumhorizontal arc?

00:38:45Didn't think so, but just so you know, they're one and the same thing.

00:38:50At first glance, it looks like a painting, or like a rainbow-colored splash in the sky.

00:38:56Despite the name, they have nothing in common with either fire or rain.

00:39:00This phenomenon happens on rare occasions when the sun shines through a particular type

00:39:05of ice cloud formation.

00:39:08The rainbow halos are just as unique.

00:39:10Again, a specific type of ice crystals and clouds needs to be present for the surface

00:39:15of the Earth to bend light from the sun into a perfect ring.

00:39:20The same thing can happen with moonlight.

00:39:22The only difference will be that moon halos are usually white, and sun halos can be rainbow-colored.

00:39:29When visiting regions with high altitudes, you may be one of the lucky people to stumble

00:39:34upon penitentes.

00:39:36They're basically naturally formed ice spikes.

00:39:39For them to be formed, they need a really cold and elevated environment where the air

00:39:43is dry.

00:39:44The sunlight turns ice directly into vapor, rather than melting it into water.

00:39:50And that's why these blades of snow and ice start to pop up on the surface of the

00:39:54Earth.

00:39:55As cute as they may be, they can end up as tall as 15 feet!

00:40:00Now what happens when small individual droplets of lava meet the wind?

00:40:05Pele's hair, basically.

00:40:07Let me explain.

00:40:08The word Pele comes from an ancient Hawaiian symbol for volcanoes.

00:40:13Whenever the wind picks up little drops of lava, it stretches them into hair-like strands,

00:40:19similar to the process of glass wire creation.

00:40:22These delicate strands can stretch as far as 6 feet.

00:40:26On rare occasions, it can rain without any clouds.

00:40:30But does it really?

00:40:32Let's look at the science behind this rare phenomenon.

00:40:35It's sometimes called a sun shower, just because it looks like the rain is falling

00:40:39straight from the sun.

00:40:41Let's be clear, though.

00:40:42There is no way rain can ever come down directly from a star.

00:40:47Rain clouds are at a bit of a distance from that specific location.

00:40:51With sun rays being angled, the clouds become out of sight.

00:40:55Add a little wind to blow the rain in your direction, and ta-da!

00:40:59You get sun showers!

00:41:02Located in Bolivia is a place called Salar de Uyuni.

00:41:06It's the largest salt flat in the world.

00:41:08It's also the home of half of the world's lithium, which is a crucial component for

00:41:13making batteries.

00:41:14But what else is so special about this place?

00:41:18Whenever the rain season comes, it turns this piece of flat land into a perfectly reflective

00:41:23mirror lake.

00:41:25What comes to your mind when you hear about the Blood Falls?

00:41:28A horror movie?

00:41:29Well, they are merely a series of waterfalls located in one of the driest regions of Antarctica.

00:41:36They emerge from an underground lake filled with a special kind of bacteria.

00:41:41These little organisms use sulfates as fuel instead of sugars, which makes them very intriguing

00:41:46for scientists.

00:41:48The water contained in this lake is so full of iron that it basically just rusts when

00:41:53it meets the air.

00:41:54Hence, the reddish color of the waterfall, which also gives it its trademark name.

00:41:59Okay, we all know the song, but it's not really made up.

00:42:04There is actually such a thing called a desert rose.

00:42:06It's not a plant, though, but a unique form of the mineral gypsum.

00:42:11It develops in dry sandy places that can occasionally flood.

00:42:15This constant switching between a wet and dry environment lets the gypsum crystals emerge

00:42:20between grains of sand, trapping them and forming a rose-like shape.

00:42:26Ever heard of the Eye of Sahara?

00:42:28Scientists are still trying to figure out how it was formed.

00:42:32You can only see it if you fly above it, but it's basically a naturally formed dome that

00:42:37dates back to approximately 100 million years ago.

00:42:41And no, I wasn't around then.

00:42:43It has a rough diameter of 25 miles and consists of a bunch of concentric rings.

00:42:49The biggest one, or the central area, measures about 19 miles in diameter.

00:42:55Astronauts were some of the first people to notice it, and it's been studied ever since.

00:42:59In fact, even to this day, when landing in Florida, they know they're almost home when

00:43:05they see the Eye of Sahara.

00:43:08One of the most beautifully colored trees in the world is located in the Philippines

00:43:12and Indonesia.

00:43:13It's called the Rainbow Eucalyptus.

00:43:16It got its name because of its bark that switches colors and peels away as the tree ages.

00:43:22The bright green bark is the youngest, as it contains a substance called chlorophyll,

00:43:27usually found in leaves.

00:43:29It then switches to purple, and then to the color red.

00:43:32And finally, it turns brown as it grows and loses the chlorophyll.

00:43:37Don't be tricked into thinking that's a whole forest.

00:43:41It's one single tree.

00:43:42And no, it's not some sort of optical illusion either.

00:43:46Let me explain.

00:43:47Underneath that soil, there is a complex network of roots that connects around 47,000 tree-like

00:43:54shapes you see above the ground.

00:43:57It's called the Quaking Aspen.

00:43:59Some of these trees are among the oldest and largest organisms in the world.

00:44:04Now here's a good destination for all travelers, or maybe not so good after all.

00:44:09The most lightning-stricken area in the world, according to recent data released by NASA,

00:44:15is Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela.

00:44:18Out of all the days in a year, 300 of them feature thunderstorms in this location.

00:44:23What makes this area so unique, though, that storms happen so often?

00:44:27Well, it's because where cool mountain air meets the warm moist breeze and generates

00:44:33electricity over the lake.

00:44:36The Eternal Flame Falls are located in upstate New York, near the Canadian border.

00:44:41In this region, there is a tiny waterfall with a big secret – a spark about 8 inches tall.

00:44:48Turns out there's a natural gas seep that provides fuel to the flame behind the waterfall.

00:44:53The waterfall provides enough coverage so that it stays lit pretty much every time.

00:44:59Hikers do enjoy to relight it if they see that it's been blown out.

00:45:03This phenomenon is actually quite common, but this one gained more popularity because

00:45:08it is younger than most.

00:45:10And it looks very good in pictures, let's be honest!

00:45:13I've heard of yellow sand, white sand, and even black sand here or there.

00:45:18But I've never heard of green beaches until now.

00:45:21Papacolia, also known as Green Sand Beach, is located in Hawaii and is one of the few

00:45:27beaches in the world that features green sand.

00:45:30The unique coloring comes from olivine rock that was formed when a nearby volcano erupted.

00:45:37Actually in Hawaii, all the volcanoes are nearby.

00:45:41Move over, green sands, because some of the other beaches around the world can even glow

00:45:45at night.

00:45:46And it's completely natural.

00:45:48The culprit?

00:45:49A little thing called photoplankton, or microalgae as they're sometimes called.

00:45:55They're basically little plants that contain chlorophyll and need sunlight in order to

00:45:59live and grow.

00:46:02Most photoplankton kinds are able to float in the upper part of the ocean, where the

00:46:06sunlight can still reach them beneath the water.

00:46:09When the photoplankton gets agitated by the movement of waves and currents, they emit

00:46:14light, which looks like some glow during the night.

00:46:17These special microorganisms are found on beaches in a lot of places around the world,

00:46:22such as the Maldives, Puerto Rico, and the Everglades.

00:46:27At the base of a mountain located just outside of Afton, Wyoming, is a little river called

00:46:32the Intermittent Spring.

00:46:34There are only 3 of this kind in the whole world, but what makes this little string of

00:46:39water so mysterious?

00:46:40Well, the fact that it starts and stops every few minutes.

00:46:45Scientists have yet to pinpoint precisely why this happens.

00:46:48They speculate that it's basically just a siphon effect that happens deep within the

00:46:52ground that causes the river to just start and stop so often.

00:46:56Should you ever be interested in checking it out, be sure to do so in the late summer,

00:47:02as that's when the Intermittent Spring is most active.

00:47:05Do you see the irony here?

00:47:07You can only see the spring in the summer?

00:47:09Okay, I'm done.

00:47:11Ah, a purple sunset.

00:47:13You must've seen one of those at least once in your life.

00:47:16Normally, it's nothing ominous and has to do with the way light travels.

00:47:21The light that the sun produces is white.

00:47:24When it goes through a prism, you see light waves of different colors, from red and orange

00:47:29to blue, green, and indigo.

00:47:31Light normally travels in a straight line if there's no obstacle in its way.

00:47:36The shorter light waves, including blues and purples, are scattered easier when they meet

00:47:41with those obstacles, like molecules and aerosols in the atmosphere.

00:47:45Because the sun is low on the horizon at sunset and sunrise, its light has to pass through

00:47:50more molecules that scatter the violet and blue light.

00:47:54The colors that your eyes pick up, then, are yellow, orange, and red.

00:47:58But with the right conditions, you can see the gorgeous purple sky.

00:48:03Sometimes purple sky appears for much scarier reasons.

00:48:06It can be caused by hurricanes, wildfires, or dust storms.

00:48:10The concentration of vapor in the air increases, and the light scatters more than usual.

00:48:16Dust, a setting sun, and low cloud cover all contribute to this natural show, too.

00:48:22The sky turns orange and red at dusk if there's still enough light.

00:48:26Then it gives off pink hues, which mix up with the dark blue sky above.

00:48:31Do you remember what happens when you mix pink and blue?

00:48:34You get the color purple.

00:48:37Not every hurricane makes the sky turn purple, and trying to predict if it's going to happen

00:48:42is like trying to forecast a rainbow.

00:48:45Still, people reported several major hurricanes made the skies turn purple.

00:48:51Green skies might look just as spectacular as purple ones, but they actually also scream

00:48:56danger.

00:48:57They're usually there to tell you a thunderstorm, hailstorm, or tornado is somewhere nearby.

00:49:04The unique color is a result of yellow sun rays getting mixed with the blue light coming

00:49:08from storm clouds.

00:49:11So you're enjoying a nice day by the ocean with a fresh breeze in your hair, when suddenly

00:49:17you notice the water starts retreating from the beach at a huge speed.

00:49:21This is a sign for you to start running as fast and far away from the beach as you can.

00:49:26This most likely means that a tsunami is on the way.

00:49:30A quick reaction maximizes your chances of survival.

00:49:35If you notice the sea level is rising, but it doesn't seem too extreme, it could be

00:49:39another sign of an approaching tsunami.

00:49:42It happens in 40% of cases, and the incoming water is the first tsunami wave.

00:49:48The next one, way larger and more dangerous, usually follows in about 10 minutes.

00:49:54Another thing about tsunamis is that they like to arrive with some loud sounds.

00:49:59People describe them as thunder, the sound of a locomotive, a helicopter, or just a loud

00:50:04boom.

00:50:05Do you see a channel of choppy water on the beach?

00:50:08It's in your best interest to stay away from the water.

00:50:11There might be a rip current under the surface that can be extremely dangerous.

00:50:16Sometimes waves hit the shore in a weird way, which forms these rip currents.

00:50:21You might see a strange break in the waves, or an area with a different color than the

00:50:25rest of the water.

00:50:27Random bits of seaweed going in all directions is another rip current warning sign.

00:50:33If you happen to find yourself caught in a rip current, try to stay afloat, but don't

00:50:38try to go against the current.

00:50:40You'll only waste precious energy.

00:50:42Scream for help and try to float your way along the beach.

00:50:46Once you break out of the current, swim diagonally to the shore.

00:50:50The next time you spot conically shaped clouds in the sky, remember it's a good time to

00:50:55start looking for some shelter.

00:50:57If it just stays like that, a severe storm is on the way.

00:51:01But if a cloud of that shape starts spinning around, it means it's about to transform

00:51:06into a tornado.

00:51:09If you have bees nearby, they can save you from big trouble one day.

00:51:14These hard-working little guys get more active than usual when they feel like a storm is

00:51:18on the way.

00:51:19They speed up to collect more nectar before it hits them.

00:51:23And once they're done with it, they'll always come back to the hive 10-15 minutes

00:51:27before heavy rain, even when there are no obvious signs of it coming.

00:51:31Their secret is super-sensitive hairs on the back that can pick up electrostatic build-ups

00:51:36from storm clouds.

00:51:39For centuries, people have noticed that animals act weirdly a couple of days before big seismic

00:51:44events.

00:51:45Dogs can't start barking, cows halt their milk, and toads, rats, and snakes leave their

00:51:51homes.

00:51:52It looks like animals can feel smaller initial shock waves that humans don't even notice.

00:51:58Scientists have tried to find some legit explanation for it and run endless tests and experiments.

00:52:04But so far, they're still on their way to explaining this mystery.

00:52:08Can you smell ozone in the air?

00:52:11When a thunderstorm is on the way, it's the most distinct and pungent smell you can

00:52:15pick up.

00:52:16An electrical charge of lightning sets it free from higher altitudes.

00:52:20The other, more pleasant smell of rain is petrichor.

00:52:24Rainwater wakes up molecules on plants, trees, concrete, and asphalt.

00:52:28Their aroma spreads all over the place.

00:52:31You can even feel that smell in your own mouth.

00:52:34All those positive ions in the air that a lightning bolt sets free gets mixed with ozone

00:52:40and your saliva, and that's how you get that bitter metallic taste.

00:52:45When lightning is about to strike, you might hear bizarre crackling, buzzing, or vibrating

00:52:51sounds coming from metal objects nearby.

00:52:53Your palms may begin to sweat, and then you can feel your hair stand on end.

00:52:59That's a clear call for action, and that action is to run for your life.

00:53:04Negative charges are going through your body, trying to reach toward the negatively charged

00:53:08part of the storm.

00:53:09Trust me, you don't want these charges to meet.

00:53:13If you see no shelter that you can reach fast, try to make yourself smaller than the objects

00:53:18around you.

00:53:19Drop down your umbrella and stay away from wire fences, metal pipes, rails, and other

00:53:24metallic objects.

00:53:25And don't lie flat on the ground – it's likely wet, which means it's a great conductor

00:53:30of electricity.

00:53:32If you suddenly notice crevices in the asphalt next to your house, it could be a sinkhole

00:53:38warning sign.

00:53:39Inspect your house on the inside – does that door begin to jam?

00:53:43Or maybe there's a gap where the walls meet the ceiling.

00:53:47Uneven kitchen cabinets and drawers, slanted floors, stairs that begin to slope, water

00:53:53leaking after every rain, and displaced moldings are all signs that a sinkhole is about to

00:53:58open.

00:54:00To find out if it's definitely a sinkhole and how dangerous it is, you gotta consult

00:54:04with an engineering company.

00:54:06If you find a sinkhole that's already there, you gotta stay away from the sinkhole area.

00:54:12Fence or rope it off to make it less dangerous for others.

00:54:15You'll need professional help to fix it.

00:54:18Some volcanoes scream when they're about to erupt.

00:54:22Small earthquakes, which often happen before, produce a hum.

00:54:26It's mostly non-audible to human ears, but sometimes it reaches a frequency that lets

00:54:31you hear it as a strange rumbling or hissing sound coming from the ground.

00:54:36This noise is known as a harmonic tremor.

00:54:39With some volcanoes, it's the sound of magma bubbles vibrating when they're going through

00:54:44crevices in the crust of the Earth.

00:54:46But it's not always like this.

00:54:48If scientists managed to understand what exactly causes these volcanic screams, they could

00:54:54create a limited early warning system for volcanic eruptions.

00:54:58If you're out in the wild, pay attention to the water in creeks, streams, and rivers.

00:55:03If its level is quickly falling, even if it's raining, this might be a sign of a nearing

00:55:09landslide.

00:55:10And if you hear a faint rumbling noise or unusual sounds, like boulders knocking together,

00:55:16it could mean debris is on its way to you.

00:55:19It's a sign to head to safety immediately, like right now.

00:55:24Rocks rolling down the slopes of a rumbling volcano, pushing other bigger rocks on their

00:55:29way, and eventually tumbling down into the ocean in a humongous cascade, causing a wave

00:55:35the height of which the world's never seen before.

00:55:39This is what might happen if the Halina Slump of the Hawaiian Big Island falls off into

00:55:44the water.

00:55:45The Kilauea volcano is far from dormant.

00:55:48The latest eruption occurred in 2018.

00:55:51Its eruptions are usually accompanied by earthquakes of different magnitudes, and with each quake,

00:55:56the magma rocks on the slopes of the volcano shift down.

00:56:00These rock formations are called slumps, and the Halina Slump is the most notorious of

00:56:05them all.

00:56:06In 1868, the shift of this slump caused a tidal wave rising as tall as 60 feet.

00:56:12But what's most troubling is that some 110,000 years ago, a landslide here

00:56:18led to one of the most powerful earthquakes ever, which, in turn, led to a mega-tsunami

00:56:23of over 1,000 feet in height.

00:56:26Scientists are worried that such an event may repeat in the future.

00:56:29If that happens, the wave might engulf the whole of Hawaii and easily reach both North

00:56:35and South American coasts.

00:56:38Geologists are quick to reassure, though, that a landslide like this is unlikely to

00:56:42occur anytime soon.

00:56:43It's just too early for that.

00:56:45But when it finally does, the consequences will be catastrophic.

00:56:50Have a nice day!

00:56:52Yellowstone National Park in the Western USA is world-famous for its dazzling views, and

00:56:57especially the colorful Grand Prismatic Spring at its very heart.

00:57:02But we should all stay aware that Yellowstone is, first and foremost, an enormous caldera

00:57:08– basically, a slumbering supervolcano.

00:57:11The difference between a regular volcano, like Kilauea from earlier, and a supervolcano

00:57:16is that the latter is thousands of times more powerful.

00:57:20Imagine an eruption spewing tons of huge rock and rivers of hot lava, pumping out clouds

00:57:26of ash that make countries stop air travel for weeks.

00:57:29And now multiply all of this by a thousand.

00:57:33This is what a Yellowstone eruption would look like.

00:57:36At first, a huge area in the middle of the National Park would shake, crumble, and then

00:57:41blast upwards in a megaton explosion.

00:57:44Lava flows and magma rocks would cover the area of about 40 square miles – roughly

00:57:49half of Washington, D.C.

00:57:51But the greatest danger is the volcanic ash.

00:57:54The ashen plume would rise miles above and get carried by the wind in every direction.

00:58:00Since the eruption would be far from ordinary, the spread and damage would also be much greater

00:58:05than usual.

00:58:06The ash is thick and heavy, so it would cover a vast area in a blanket, destroying crops

00:58:12and even buildings.

00:58:13Worse still, it would spread in the air and block out the sun, leading to a drastic drop

00:58:18in temperature and an artificial winter.

00:58:22Even regular volcanoes can lower temperatures worldwide by a few degrees.

00:58:26A supervolcano may potentially cause a new ice age.

00:58:30Luckily, the chances of Yellowstone's supervolcano erupting in the near future, or at all, are

00:58:36extremely low.

00:58:37There have been only three of those in the history of Earth, and there's no evidence

00:58:41such a disaster should repeat.

00:58:44Scientists estimate the probability at 0.00014%, which is lower than the chances of an asteroid

00:58:51wiping us all out.

00:58:53Speaking of which…

00:58:55If dinosaurs could talk, and were at least still alive for that matter, they'd tell

00:58:59you that asteroid threat is as real as it gets.

00:59:03Scientists at NASA say they've tracked 90% of all near-Earth asteroids of significant

00:59:07size, and none of them are a matter of any concern.

00:59:11But there are still the other 10% in the great unknown.

00:59:15What's more, asteroids can change their line of flight because of the pull of other

00:59:20celestial bodies, and eventually turn our way.

00:59:24Lucky us!

00:59:25Now, if an asteroid big enough, like a mile across, hits the Earth, it will first cause

00:59:30an explosion powerful enough to erase a dozen big cities in a matter of seconds.

00:59:35Then the impact will raise a cloud of dust and debris that will block out the Sun, just

00:59:40like the ash cloud from a volcano, and cause a centuries-long winter on the whole planet.

00:59:46But even if it falls into the ocean, which is more likely, a resulting wave will rise

00:59:50several miles high, washing coastal cities off the face of the planet.

00:59:55But at least there won't be a new ice age.

00:59:57Though scientists are pretty sure there's no such threat in the near future, it can't

01:00:02be ruled out completely, and humanity needs at least 5 years to prepare for this event.

01:00:08If a big near-Earth asteroid suddenly changes its course and turns right toward our planet,

01:00:13we won't stand a chance against it.

01:00:15Disaster movie, anyone?

01:00:17A much more probable calamity, though, rests right beneath our feet.

01:00:21It's the San Andreas Fault in California.

01:00:24The fault has been ready for rupture for years now, and scientists estimate that an

01:00:28earthquake along this line is likely to occur in the next three decades.

01:00:34And when it happens, it won't be nice.

01:00:36They expect a magnitude of 8.0, which is comparable to some of the most devastating quakes in

01:00:41history.

01:00:42It's all the more dangerous since California is home to some of the most populated cities

01:00:47in the western U.S., including Los Angeles and San Francisco.

01:00:52High-rise buildings are common there, and they're particularly vulnerable against

01:00:56underground shakes.

01:00:58The San Andreas earthquake might cause a whole lot of damage both to cities and countryside.

01:01:04In the worst-case scenario, the ground might break apart, destroying buildings, farms,

01:01:09and changing the landscape altogether.

01:01:11Still, scientists believe that the probability of such a quake is only 7% for the next 30

01:01:17years.

01:01:18There's a rather big chance, um, 93%, that we'll never see that in our lifetime.

01:01:25Yet there's another earthquake hazard not so far away from the previous one.

01:01:30The megathrust in Chile.

01:01:32The country sits right above the subduction zone, an area where two tectonic plates meet

01:01:37and go one beneath the other.

01:01:40At the place of their meeting, stress is accumulated because of their continuous movement, and

01:01:45once that strain is too much, a major earthquake occurs.

01:01:49Chile has experienced a lot of quakes in the recent years, and scientists are worried those

01:01:54might be preparing the area for a really big one.

01:01:57They believe a great earthquake is due to happen before the end of the century, and

01:02:02it might be devastating to the coastal area.

01:02:04Even smaller quakes cause tsunamis that flooded the west coast, and a huge one like that is

01:02:10likely to raise a wave of incredible height.

01:02:13On the bright side, Chile now knows to prepare in advance for the coming natural disasters,

01:02:19and geologists are pretty sure people will be able to evacuate before the earthquake

01:02:24strikes.

01:02:25In September of 1859, astronomer Richard Carrington was looking at the Sun and suddenly saw a

01:02:32bright flare on its surface.

01:02:34He made a note of it in his records, but only realized how important it was a couple of

01:02:38days later.

01:02:40The energy from that flare reached Earth and struck it directly, causing northern lights

01:02:45to appear above Cuba and burning telegraph lines all around the world.

01:02:50This was dubbed the Carrington event, and it was a solar storm.

01:02:55Such storms hit the Earth fairly often, but none of them were so powerful as the Carrington

01:03:00event, neither before nor after.

01:03:03But in 2012, astronomers registered a similar solar flare whose energy nearly hit our planet

01:03:09once again.

01:03:10If it had been just a week earlier, we'd have been in big trouble.

01:03:14Today, humanity relies on electricity in almost every aspect of life, and a powerful solar

01:03:20storm would mess with the electromagnetic field of Earth a lot.

01:03:24All electric appliances would either shut down or short-circuit, and huge transformers

01:03:29powering basically everything would go out of order for good.

01:03:33It would take years to repair them, and the cost of such a massive blackout would count

01:03:38in trillions of dollars.

01:03:40The worst of it is that science is almost unable to predict solar storms, and even if

01:03:45we could know about them in advance, we'd be powerless to stop them.

01:03:49The flare happens in a matter of seconds, and it takes about 8 minutes for the particles

01:03:54to reach the Earth's atmosphere, causing the disturbance.

01:03:57The power outage would come a bit later, in a day or so, when a massive cloud of plasma

01:04:02gets to our planet.

01:04:04At the moment, there's no protection against solar flares, and the chances of one powerful

01:04:09enough to cut all of our electricity in the next few years are quite high – about 12%.

01:04:15The only good thing about all this is that we now know of such a possibility and can

01:04:20at least prepare in advance.

01:04:22Hey, don't forget to pack some underwear and socks – you'll always need those!

01:04:27The Baltic Sea Anomaly In 2011, a diving team came down to the bottom

01:04:33of the northern part of the Baltic Sea.

01:04:35They went on a treasure hunt, but what they came upon was a pretty weird object.

01:04:40When they took photos and showed them to others, many believed it was a sunken spaceship of

01:04:46another civilization.

01:04:49Other people thought that some natural causes formed the object, but the metals inside the

01:04:54structure definitely couldn't have been formed naturally.

01:04:58Now, some scientists even believe it was something that appeared way back in the Ice Age.

01:05:04Maybe it was even a meteorite that ended up trapped under ice back then.

01:05:10A maelstrom is a whirlpool, some sort of a powerful rotational current that forms when

01:05:15two currents collide and create a circular vortex.

01:05:20Even fearless Vikings were afraid of maelstroms because those were forces so powerful that

01:05:25they could sink large ships.

01:05:27These whirlpools remain dangerous even today, but luckily not for big modern ships that

01:05:33are large enough to withstand the power of maelstroms.

01:05:37But a cruise ship that gets into a maelstrom usually faces massive waves that can rock

01:05:42even big vessels from side to side pretty intensely.

01:05:47A maelstrom can be so strong it can turn into some sort of an underwater black hole.

01:05:53Yep, black holes are not only present in the cold expanse of space, you can find them

01:05:58here on our home planet too, swirling in the oceans.

01:06:02They're similar to those in space since they're compacted so tightly that nothing they trap

01:06:07can escape.

01:06:11Underwater black holes often span up to 93 miles in diameter, and if you got into one

01:06:16of those, you probably wouldn't even know it.

01:06:20These black holes act like vortices, but because of their size, even professionals

01:06:25can hardly see their boundaries.

01:06:28Here's something relaxing.

01:06:30Next time you go to the beach, pay attention, and maybe you'll see an optical phenomenon

01:06:35called the green flash.

01:06:37You can see it shortly after sunset or right before sunrise.

01:06:41It occurs when the sun is almost completely below the horizon, while its rim, the upper

01:06:47edge of the sun, is still visible.

01:06:50For just a second or two, that upper edge of the sun will appear green.

01:06:55It's because you're looking at the sun through thicker parts of the atmosphere as it's moving

01:06:59down in the sky.

01:07:01As it's dipping below the horizon, light refracts, or bends, in the atmosphere and gets dispersed.

01:07:10Wait for a clear day with no clouds or haze on the horizon to see this phenomenon better.

01:07:17You've been looking forward to a nice swim, only to realize that the water in the ocean

01:07:21is red?

01:07:23Better avoid going in.

01:07:25Florida is known for its red tides.

01:07:28It occurs when the concentration of specific microscopic algae is higher than normal.

01:07:35Thousands of species of algae in marine and fresh waters are mostly harmless to animals

01:07:40and humans.

01:07:41They even help us, since they're an important source of oxygen.

01:07:45But some, like the algae that makes the ocean red, can be extremely dangerous for marine

01:07:51animals like sea turtles, fish, and seabirds.

01:07:56This kind can grow out of control and produce neurotoxins harmful to humans, especially

01:08:02those who have some respiratory issues.

01:08:04Such people should avoid red tide areas, especially when winds are strong enough to

01:08:09push the algae toward the shore.

01:08:13Volcanoes can spew poisonous gas, ash, and red-hot lava.

01:08:18Those are the most obvious dangers most of us already know about.

01:08:21But submarine volcanoes can be very tricky in their own way.

01:08:25Sometimes, when they're located in shallow waters, they reveal their presence by blasting

01:08:30debris of rock and steam high above the surface.

01:08:35Since submarine volcanoes are surrounded by an unlimited supply of water, they can behave

01:08:40differently from those on land.

01:08:42When they erupt, seawater gets into active submarine vents.

01:08:48Lava can be spreading across a shallow seafloor, or sometimes even flowing into the sea from

01:08:53land volcanoes.

01:08:55When in water, it may cool down so quickly that it shatters into rubble and sand.

01:09:01So, there are large amounts of volcanic debris left there.

01:09:04You know those popular black sand beaches in Hawaii?

01:09:08That's how they formed.

01:09:11Hot lava and powerful eruptions certainly don't sound safe, but submarine volcanoes

01:09:16in deeper waters are equally dangerous.

01:09:20Even though they're not necessarily erupting, they produce pockets of bubbles.

01:09:24These bubbles reduce the density of the surrounding waters, which can even sink ships.

01:09:31The worst thing is that when you look at the surface of the ocean, you can't understand

01:09:36something's wrong.

01:09:37But at the same time, tiny bubbles are there, causing ships to lose buoyancy, and with very

01:09:43little warning.

01:09:46Across sea is a rare phenomenon, beautiful to observe, but also very dangerous.

01:09:52It's when you see square waves, which are more common in shallow parts of the ocean.

01:09:57That's something you can often see in France, or on certain beaches of Tel Aviv.

01:10:02But it can also happen in many coastal areas across the world.

01:10:08Across sea occurs when two wave patterns travel at oblique angles.

01:10:12They form this checkerboard-like pattern.

01:10:15It mostly happens when two swells meet, or when a swell pushes waves in one direction

01:10:21while a strong wind pushes them in another.

01:10:25These square waves can be dangerous for swimmers and boaters.

01:10:28The waves produced by strong ocean currents can be pretty unpredictable and tall, sometimes

01:10:34up to almost 10 feet.

01:10:36This phenomenon is sometimes called white walls.

01:10:39These waves can be so powerful that they can turn over even big boats.

01:10:45If you fill a clear glass with some ocean water and take a closer look, you'll see

01:10:50it's full of very small particles.

01:10:53Seawater contains dissolved salts, fats, algae, proteins, detergents, and other bits of artificial

01:11:00and organic matter.

01:11:03If you shake that glass, you'll see tiny bubbles forming on its surface.

01:11:07That's how sea foam forms when waves and winds agitate the ocean.

01:11:12When you see thick sea foam, algal blooms might have caused it.

01:11:16When big blooms of algae fall apart in the sea, large amounts of that matter move in

01:11:21the direction of dry land.

01:11:24Most kinds of sea foam aren't dangerous to humans.

01:11:28But when blooms of algae fall apart, it can have a negative impact on both the environment

01:11:33and people.

01:11:34For example, when sea foam bubbles pop, the toxins they contain get released into the

01:11:39air and they can irritate your eyes or cause some other health issues.

01:11:46You can see a tidal bore in the areas where a river empties into a sea or an ocean.

01:11:52It's a powerful tide that goes against the current and pushes up the river.

01:11:56A tidal bore falls into a category of something called the surge, which is a sudden change

01:12:02in depth.

01:12:03A tidal bore is a positive surge, which means it pushes up a river, making it much deeper.

01:12:09A negative surge is when the river suddenly becomes very shallow.

01:12:15You won't see tidal bores everywhere.

01:12:17The river must be fairly shallow with a narrow outlet to the sea.

01:12:21The place where the sea and the river meet must be flat and wide.

01:12:25Also, the area between low and high tide must be at least 20 feet across.

01:12:32Of course, there are some exceptions, like the Amazon River, the world's largest one.

01:12:38The mouth of the Amazon is not narrow, but the river experiences tidal bores.

01:12:43That's because its mouth is shallow and has many sandbars and low-lying islands.

01:12:48The tidal bore is so strong there that the river doesn't even have a delta.

01:12:53Its sediment goes directly into the Atlantic Ocean, where fast-moving currents take it

01:12:58away.

01:13:00A tidal bore is often unpredictable and can be extremely rough.

01:13:04In many cases, it changes the color of the river from greenish or blue to brown.

01:13:10It can damage vegetation or even tear trees out of the ground.

01:13:14So, recreation sports like kayaking and river surfing can be hazardous in these areas.

01:13:22Even if you just want to take a look at a tidal bore, be careful.

01:13:26Tidal waves can sweep over lookout points and drag whatever or whoever is there into

01:13:31the churning river.

01:13:32Ah, Kyiv, you've been dreaming of getting here for years.

01:13:37Getting out your trusty camera, you start taking pictures of the cathedrals, aviation

01:13:42museum, and the Dnipro River, when, without warning, there's an enormous boom behind

01:13:48you.

01:13:49Turning around, you see something towering in the distance.

01:13:52It looks like a gigantic explosion.

01:13:54Uh-oh, time to leave fast!

01:13:57In June 2020, what the people of Kyiv were looking at was an anvil cloud, a rare storm

01:14:03formation in the sky.

01:14:06Forming when strong air currents carry water vapor upwards, the air expands and spreads

01:14:11out as it hits the bottom of the stratosphere.

01:14:14It pushes the dense cloud into the cool anvil shape you see, and sometimes it even gets

01:14:20to be a mushroom.

01:14:23Anvil clouds produce some of the most dangerous lightning of all storms, one that's called

01:14:28a bolt out of the blue.

01:14:30This lightning strike seems to magically come out of the blue sky with the storm being many

01:14:35miles away.

01:14:37This type of bolt comes from the top of the anvil and can be 10 times more powerful than

01:14:42a typical lightning strike.

01:14:45People got so frightened after witnessing a giant cloud just 60 miles away thinking

01:14:51something terrible must've happened.

01:14:53The locals had pictures of the large billow on social media before officials could explain

01:14:58what was going on.

01:15:01Authorities managed to calm everyone's fears by informing them it was nothing more than

01:15:05a natural phenomenon, and a beautiful one at that.

01:15:10Before dissipating, these clouds typically stay in one area regardless of how strong

01:15:15the wind is.

01:15:17Touring around the northern tip of Queensland, Australia, way away from those creepy crawlies,

01:15:22it's time to take a break and relax at the beach.

01:15:26Getting comfortable, you notice a great big shadow passes over you, then another, and

01:15:32yet another.

01:15:34Looking up, this weird weather is simply stunning.

01:15:37The clouds are called morning glory, a very rare type of cloud that almost seems to roll

01:15:43across the sky, looking like a massive tube.

01:15:48These clouds can measure up to 600 miles long, even appearing in large groups as well.

01:15:54This phenomenon is the result of an updraft pushing through the cloud, creating a rolling

01:16:00appearance, while moist cooler air at the back causes them to sink downward.

01:16:07In India, between July and September 2001, people witnessed one of the strangest weather

01:16:13phenomenon in recorded history.

01:16:16The rain was red.

01:16:18What many would've thought to be a typical rainstorm left them shocked.

01:16:23The color was bright enough to stain clothes.

01:16:26There were other colors too, such as green, yellow, brown, and even black.

01:16:31In the middle of a monsoon, red rain started to fall, and did so periodically for several

01:16:38weeks.

01:16:39Researchers have found this unusual rain is stained either by dust or algae, so don't

01:16:45try to catch any on your tongue.

01:16:48Scientists aren't entirely sure how the algae got all the way up there.

01:16:52This does make events like this a little unsettling.

01:16:56Like to take a bubble bath to relax after an exhausting day, but taking too long to

01:17:01fill the bathtub?

01:17:03Problem solved!

01:17:04Head to any coastline after a big storm and take a dip.

01:17:09Foamy tides aren't native to any one place or location.

01:17:13They can be formed anywhere in the world.

01:17:15They're most likely to happen along rocky coastlines, like the coast of San Francisco,

01:17:21Northern Ireland, or the Mooloolaba, Australia.

01:17:24Each coast has differing conditions forming the sea foams.

01:17:29If you scoop up seawater into a glass and look at it closely, you'll see it's full

01:17:34of tiny particles.

01:17:36Many things like plants, chemicals, and lots of salt and minerals create the perfect formula

01:17:41for foam.

01:17:43When powerful currents and wind mix it all together, we get something that resembles

01:17:48a cappuccino top floating on top of the water.

01:17:53When freezing temperatures hit orchards in Michigan, all kinds of unusual things happen.

01:17:58Like ghost apples.

01:17:59No, they're not going to scare you at all.

01:18:03But if you plan on sneaking away one winter to find one, be warned!

01:18:08Everything has to be perfect for this to occur, and it's going to be freezing cold.

01:18:13This is actually a rare weather phenomenon caused by having the apples freeze where they

01:18:18are with rain coating the fruit in a thin layer of ice.

01:18:23The apples then thaw and leak out like applesauce, leaving just the beautiful ice shell behind.

01:18:31The Catatumbo River in Venezuela might be the most electric place in the world, with

01:18:36nearly 300 storm days per year.

01:18:40The lightning storms are so consistent, they're predicted for 3 months in advance.

01:18:46During the wet season in October, you might see 30 lightning flashes in a single minute,

01:18:51a truly shocking experience.

01:18:54With each bolt having the energy to power a single light bulb for 6 months, the impressive

01:19:00display could power all of Venezuela forever.

01:19:04At sunset, strong winds flow around the three surrounding mountains, forming storm clouds

01:19:09over the water.

01:19:11As the water droplets of humid air collide with ice crystals from the cold air, it produces

01:19:17the static charges that cause the lightning storms nearly every night.

01:19:22If that wasn't bad enough, some storms have lightning above them as well.

01:19:27Try to take a picture of this one!

01:19:30Jellyfish lightning sprites are electrical discharges high in Earth's atmosphere.

01:19:35They're associated with powerful thunderstorms, but they have nothing to do with rain.

01:19:41These sprites occur 30 to 50 miles up in the sky, in the mesosphere.

01:19:47Artificial lights at night make it a lot harder to see this faint lightning.

01:19:51If you spot one, it'll look tiny, but can be well over 30 miles wide!

01:19:58The red sprites are a type of cold plasma discharge above a thundercloud.

01:20:03They're the balance of the lightning charges between the storm clouds and the ground below.

01:20:09Don't try to find this type of donut at your favorite bakery – it won't be there!

01:20:14Snow donuts are one of the rarest meteorological sights to see, with perfect weather conditions

01:20:20needed just to create them.

01:20:23Found in any snow-covered mountain area, like the Rocky Mountains, the wind, temperature,

01:20:28snow, ice, and moisture have to all work together for us to see these phenomenal rings.

01:20:35A thin layer of wet snow on the ground.

01:20:38Under that layer, ice or powdered snow.

01:20:40Then, a strong enough breeze to roll the donut down a hill, just like a snowball.

01:20:47Once it stops rolling, it can be the size of a baseball or as large as a car tire.

01:20:53It all depends on how strong the wind is.

01:20:56A newly formed snow donut won't stay around for very long, so hurry up with that camera!

01:21:03Watching the sunset over the horizon, the beautiful purples and pink overhead are nothing

01:21:09compared to the three suns you see in front of you.

01:21:12Wow, since when did Earth get three suns?

01:21:16These phantom stars sometimes appearing besides the sun are called sun dogs.

01:21:22Maybe they're called that because they're kind of dogging the actual sun?

01:21:27Sun dogs often appear as colored areas of light at the same height above the horizon

01:21:32as the sun.

01:21:34They're mostly observed on a ring or halo, where ice crystals best reflect the light.

01:21:40There are also moon dogs that appear alongside the moon and are formed by lunar light passing

01:21:45through ice crystals, though these aren't seen nearly as much as their daytime partners.

01:21:52Taking photos in the wild, you've finally found the perfect spot to take that dream

01:21:57shot.

01:21:58The crystal-clear water, the pines, the mountains, and the flying saucer!

01:22:03Wait, a flying saucer?

01:22:05Oh, aliens are here!

01:22:09You might be thinking this if you saw a saucer-shaped cloud.

01:22:13I'm not even going to try to pronounce their name, though.

01:22:16Put that on the screen, please.

01:22:18Wait, just kidding!

01:22:19It's Autocumulus lenticularis, aren't you impressed?

01:22:24These are really just unusual cloud formations over mountaintops.

01:22:28When moist air flows over a mountain, a wave is created if the temperature difference is

01:22:34perfect.

01:22:35As the air passes through the wave, evaporation occurs, and a series of these clouds may form

01:22:41into an oval shape.

01:22:43Not aliens at all!

01:22:47The sky is falling, the sky is falling!

01:22:51People who've experienced these clouds say they look like they're coming down from

01:22:54the sky.

01:22:56Mammatus clouds look like giant white lumpy marshmallows, but it might be hard to toast

01:23:02these ones.

01:23:03These weird fluffy clouds can extend hundreds of miles in any direction, remaining visible

01:23:09for short periods at the bottom of anvil or other thunderstorm clouds.

01:23:14The strange bubble shapes are formed from turbulence within the storm itself, creating

01:23:20an uneven cloud base and appearing anywhere in the world.

01:23:24Mammatus clouds form when moist air sinks into dry air.

01:23:28The air must be cooler than its surroundings, cooled with ice, or be heavy with water.

01:23:37In Russia, on the shores of the Baltic Sea, there's an enigmatic national park.

01:23:42The Dancing Forest is a place that no scientist has managed to explain so far.

01:23:48The pine trees of the forest are all crooked and twisted into loops and spirals.

01:23:52The forest didn't appear until the early 60s, when the pines were planted in order

01:23:57to make the sand dune in that area more stable.

01:24:00One theory is that it's the unstable sand that made the trees twist in such a way.

01:24:05Other theories for the crooked trees are strong winds, or even supernatural powers.

01:24:10Some people say the forest is a place where positive and negative energies meet, twisting

01:24:15the trees.

01:24:16Local legend says that if a person climbs through one of the rings of a tree, it'll

01:24:21add an extra year to this person's life, or they'll be granted a wish.

01:24:25I like that one.

01:24:27Speaking of bizarre trees, and I was, one grows in the region of Piedmont, Italy.

01:24:32There, a cherry tree grows on the top of a mulberry tree.

01:24:37The strange thing is that both trees are perfectly healthy.

01:24:42A continuous storm at Saturn's north pole has an odd shape – a hexagon.

01:24:48This is probably because of the gradient of the winds.

01:24:51The total length of this cloud pattern is 9,000 miles, which is about 1,200 miles longer

01:24:57than the Earth's diameter.

01:24:59The hexagon has been observed for many years, but it gets even more mysterious because it

01:25:03changes color too.

01:25:05It used to be turquoise, but it has recently shifted to a golden color.

01:25:10The reason for the color change is that the pole gets exposed to sunlight as the seasons

01:25:15change.

01:25:18Rain isn't unusual for Oakville, Washington.

01:25:21However, this one still doesn't have any solid scientific explanation.

01:25:26Instead of common raindrops, people watch translucent jelly-like blobs fall from the

01:25:31skies.

01:25:32These blobs covered about 20 square miles.

01:25:35Those who got really close to the rain experience flu-like symptoms.

01:25:39What were the blobs?

01:25:41Researchers claim that the blobs contain human white blood cells.

01:25:45Later tests showed no presence of nuclei.

01:25:48Some people claim the blobs might've been evaporated jellyfish resulting in rain.

01:25:53Or maybe even waste from a commercial plane.

01:25:58Walking rocks, also known as sailing rocks, move across the Death Valley National Park

01:26:03in California without any external intervention, leaving long trails in the dirt and sand along

01:26:10their way.

01:26:11Various time-lapse footages of the moving rocks have been taken.

01:26:15Scientists even installed GPS navigators on some of the rocks, and it showed that the

01:26:19rocks move at a considerable speed.

01:26:23Some researchers believe that the movement is due to thin sheets of ice that form overnight

01:26:28at freezing temperatures in the valley, letting the rocks move until it melts during the day.

01:26:33Or there was a Rolling Stones concert.

01:26:36Nah.

01:26:39The Batageka Crater in Siberia looks like a doorway to the underworld.

01:26:44It's about a half-mile long and over 280 feet deep, but it never stops growing.

01:26:50As it gets deeper, it exposes more underground layers.

01:26:53The layers show what our planet looked like thousands of years ago, as the slumps reveal

01:26:58the used-to-be climates.

01:27:00The crater appeared back in the 60s, and it all started with rapid deforestation.

01:27:05Trees no longer cast shade on the ground, and it got hotter.

01:27:09The permafrost melted, resulting in the crater formation.

01:27:14The throbbing hum in Taos, New Mexico, has driven locals wild since the 1990s.

01:27:26The low-frequency hum deprives people of sleep and depletes their energy.

01:27:30Even though scientists have tried to find the source of the hum, they still haven't

01:27:34pinpointed its origin.

01:27:36Different variations of the hum have also been heard in the UK, Australia, Canada, and

01:27:41other areas of the US.

01:27:43Luckily, only about 2% of the world's population can hear it.

01:27:47The hums have been blamed on mechanical devices, multiple disturbances of auditory systems,

01:27:53and even animals.

01:27:54The West Seattle hum, for example, was blamed on toadfish.

01:28:00Fairy rings, also known as elf rings or pixie rings, are mysterious rings of mushrooms that

01:28:06appear in grasslands and forested areas.

01:28:08There's a lot of debate about why these fungi form a nearly perfect circle.

01:28:14Some superstitions claim that fairy dances would burn the ground, causing mushrooms to

01:28:19rapidly grow.

01:28:22In Costa Rica, there's an assortment of about 300 spherical stone balls.

01:28:27Locals call them las bolas, which is simply the balls in English.

01:28:31These stones have an almost perfect round shape.

01:28:35Some of them are huge, weighing up to 16 tons each.

01:28:38They're also made of different materials – gabbro, limestone, and sandstone.

01:28:43They're considered to have been put in straight lines in front of the chiefs' houses, but

01:28:47there's no precise information of their origin.

01:28:50Some myths claim that these stones originated in Atlantis.

01:28:57If you ever travel to the Mekong River in late October, you have a chance of seeing

01:29:01glowing balls rising from the water and beelining up into the air.

01:29:06Locals call these glowing balls the Naga fireballs.

01:29:10The size of the lights vary.

01:29:12The reddish balls can be as tiny as a spark and as large as a basketball.

01:29:16There can be dozens to thousands of balls a night.

01:29:20Myths don't have any solid explanation for why it happens, but it could be due to

01:29:24flammable gases released by the marshy environment.

01:29:28Some superstitious locals are sure it's all because of a giant serpent living in the

01:29:33Mekong.

01:29:34Great balls of fire!

01:29:38In Minnesota, on the north shore of Lake Superior, there's a park known for the Devil's Kettle.

01:29:44This is a waterfall that splits in two.

01:29:47One part of the river continues, while the other part disappears into a hole in the ground.

01:29:52Whatever object you throw into the Devil's Kettle won't reappear.

01:29:56Scientists still haven't fully explained where the water that drops into the hole goes.

01:30:00Devil's Kettle is considered to be unsafe for people because it's nearly impossible

01:30:05to trace the flow.

01:30:06Yeah, not a place to go tubing.

01:30:11Grunions are fish known for their bizarre mating ritual.

01:30:14The females climb out of the water and onto the shore.

01:30:17They dig their tails into the sand in order to lay eggs.

01:30:21The legs stay hidden in the sand, waiting.

01:30:24Ten days later, the high tide comes, washing the newly hatched young to the sea.

01:30:29Scientists still can't give any solid explanation for this way of breeding.

01:30:35People who live in rural central Norway, over the Hestalen Valley, can often witness floating

01:30:41lights of white, yellow, and red cross the sky.

01:30:44The lights appear both at day and night, and once back in the 80s, they were spotted 15-20

01:30:50times in a single week.

01:30:52The Hestalen lights can last just a few seconds, but sometimes they can last more than an hour.

01:30:58The lights move, seeming to float or even sway around.

01:31:02Some scientists believe that the reason for these lights is due to ionized iron dust.

01:31:07Others say it's combustion that includes sodium, oxygen, and hydrogen.

01:31:12Many people claim they're just misidentified aircrafts.

01:31:17Yellowstone Park has a famous boiling lake, but it's not the world's only place of

01:31:22boiling water.

01:31:24Deep in the Amazon, there's the 4-mile Shanay-Timpishka River that's always hot.

01:31:29The name means boiled by the sun.

01:31:32Well, it's not exactly boiling, but it can reach 196°F – enough to cook pasta!

01:31:39Ooh, let's try that!

01:31:41The lowest temperature in these waters is about 113°F.

01:31:45This river still can't be scientifically explained because it would require close proximity

01:31:50to a volcano for the water to reach such temperatures.

01:31:53However, the closest volcano is 400 miles away.

01:31:58There could be a fault between the Earth that could explain this phenomenon.

01:32:04In western Venezuela, locals living close to the Catatumbo River aren't afraid of

01:32:08lightning because they see it almost every single night.

01:32:12It starts at around 7 o'clock and doesn't stop until dawn.

01:32:16The everlasting Catatumbo lightning did once stop for a few months, from January to March

01:32:222010.

01:32:23It was probably due to drought, or maybe the charge ran out.

01:32:27In 1991, a scientist suggested that the phenomenon happens because of cold and warm air currents

01:32:33meeting in the area.

01:32:35Another theory is that the lightning could be due to the presence of uranium in the bedrock.

01:32:40Speaking of lightning, I gotta bolt, bye!

01:32:43You're taking a stroll on a warm summer afternoon.

01:32:47The grass is green, the sun is in the sky, and suddenly, you feel yourself sinking.

01:32:53You begin to panic, but then immediately you bounce back up.

01:32:56You test your footing and jump slightly.

01:32:59The grass bounces with you, like a trampoline.

01:33:02This phenomenon is caused by soil liquefaction.

01:33:05Excess water from heavy rain or floods becomes trapped in the soil, causing it to be waterlocked.

01:33:11This makes the ground temporarily act like a giant water bed.

01:33:15While it may be tempting to run and bounce on the springy grass, it's best to tread carefully.

01:33:21The grass could potentially break open, and if someone fell through, it would be incredibly

01:33:25tricky for them to get back out again.

01:33:28An erupting volcano is already a pretty terrifying sight, with clouds of dark smoke and flowing

01:33:33molten hot lava.

01:33:35What's even more terrifying is that they can produce lightning.

01:33:39Volcanic lightning is pretty hard to study, so scientists don't know exactly what causes

01:33:43it.

01:33:44A common theory is that during an eruption, the ash picks up so much friction that it

01:33:48creates a buildup of static electricity.

01:33:51This static electricity then triggers the volcanic lightning.

01:33:55A fire whirl, or fire tornado, is exactly what it sounds like.

01:33:59They occur when ground winds pick up flames and escalate the embers into a whirling force.

01:34:04These spinning columns of fire can reach up to 1,000 feet tall, but luckily, they only

01:34:08last for a couple of minutes.

01:34:11Fire tornadoes are pretty rare, but they can be extremely dangerous.

01:34:15In Tokyo in 1923, a large city-wide fire produced a gigantic fire tornado.

01:34:20The tornado lasted 15 minutes and devastated the city, causing significant damage and leaving

01:34:2638,000 people injured.

01:34:30On a cold and cloudless winter night, you might have been lucky enough to witness colorful

01:34:33beams of blue and orange light reaching up towards the sky.

01:34:37These are called light pillars.

01:34:39They occur when light is reflected from tiny ice crystals that float about in the atmosphere.

01:34:44These pillars are more common in cold, northern countries like Canada or Russia.

01:34:50We've all seen the colorful rainbow arches that the sun produces.

01:34:53It's much rarer to see a rainbow light up in the sky produced by the moon.

01:34:58This is called a moonbow.

01:34:59It's bright and colorful like a rainbow and occurs when moonlight reflects off water droplets

01:35:04in the sky.

01:35:05Moonbows are incredibly rare and can only occur in specific conditions.

01:35:09The moon must be very low, the sky has to be dark, and rain must fall directly opposite

01:35:14from the moon to create this lunar rainbow.

01:35:18If you're taking a moonlit stroll along the beach at night, you might come across the

01:35:23strange phenomena of a bioluminescent beach.

01:35:26This occurs when a microorganism in the water called plankton are agitated by the movement

01:35:30of the waves and give off a bright blue color.

01:35:33These microorganisms tend to live in warmer waters, so you can find these luminescent

01:35:38beaches in places like the Maldives, Puerto Rico, and even Florida.

01:35:43In Antarctica, you'll find the famous Blood Falls.

01:35:46Red-red colored water pours out of the Taylor Glacier from an underground lake.

01:35:51Scientists originally believed that the striking color was caused by a microorganism similar

01:35:56to the luminescent beach's glowing plankton.

01:35:58But after further studies, it was discovered that the water has abnormally high levels

01:36:02of iron that oxidize and turn to rust the second they hit fresh air.

01:36:08In colder climates where lakes are frozen all year round, if you look pretty closely

01:36:13beneath the icy waters, you'll notice frozen bubbles trapped in the ice.

01:36:17These are small pockets of methane gas.

01:36:19Bacteria in the water feast on other organisms and digest them to produce methane.

01:36:24The methane turns into floating bubbles in the frozen water, trapped beneath layers of

01:36:28ice.

01:36:30Asparatus clouds are one of the rarest events in nature.

01:36:33This cloud formation consists of incredibly dark and storm-like waves of clouds.

01:36:38Although these clouds appear ominous and look like they carry a heavy storm, they usually

01:36:42dissipate without ever affecting the weather.

01:36:45These clouds most commonly appear in the Great Plains of the United States, but they haven't

01:36:49been observed since 2009.

01:36:53Despite being a famously harsh climate, the desert can produce some beautiful things,

01:36:57like desert roses.

01:36:59These are intricate rose-like formations of crystal clusters.

01:37:03The intense switch between dry and wet conditions forms the crystals and traps grains of sand

01:37:08within them to give them their signature color.

01:37:12From afar, you could easily mistake a waterspout as a large tornado traveling over a body of

01:37:17water.

01:37:18In reality, waterspouts are a type of funnel-shaped cloud.

01:37:22They are rotating columns of cloud-filled wind which often take on a darker color.

01:37:27Waterspouts are much weaker and smaller than tornadoes, and they aren't strong enough to

01:37:31suck anything into them.

01:37:32This phenomenon typically occurs in tropical climates, and they usually dissipate before

01:37:37reaching land.

01:37:40Lenticular clouds are flat clouds that lay on top of the other, looking like stacks of

01:37:44pancakes in the sky.

01:37:45They typically form in high altitudes where geographic features like mountains or tall

01:37:50buildings interrupt the airflow.

01:37:52Because of their unique shape, lenticular clouds have been suggested as an explanation

01:37:56for some UFO sightings.

01:37:59As our climate changes, new natural phenomena develop.

01:38:03One of these is exploding permafrost.

01:38:05The increasing temperature in Arctic zones is causing the permafrost to melt.

01:38:10Just like in frozen lakes, bubbles of methane gas are trapped in the permafrost.

01:38:14As the permafrost begins to melt, the gas is released.

01:38:18This results in large explosions in the ground, which leave behind massive holes.

01:38:22The first case of this was reported in 2013, and several more have been reported since.

01:38:29When you think of icebergs, you usually think of a large chunk of pristine white ice.

01:38:34But in Antarctica, you find icebergs striped with colors of green, blue, yellow, and more.

01:38:39The different colors are caused due to the ice forming in special conditions.

01:38:43Green typically appears when water that is rich in algae freezes.

01:38:47Blue stripes are more often freshly frozen water.

01:38:50Other colors are typically caused by sediments of debris picked up by the water as it freezes.

01:38:57Macreous clouds are some of the rarest clouds on the planet.

01:39:00They typically occur at high altitudes and are only visible within two hours after sunset.

01:39:04The clouds appear beautiful as they display light waves of various colors.

01:39:09But don't be fooled.

01:39:10These clouds are actually a pretty dangerous sight.

01:39:13Macreous clouds are incredibly destructive to our atmosphere.

01:39:16Their presence encourages the chemical reaction that breaks down our ozone layer.

01:39:20The ozone layer is an essential shield protecting us from the sun's harmful rays.

01:39:25The more depleted it is, the more at risk we are of global warming.

01:39:31The last place you might expect to find a natural fire is in the middle of a waterfall.

01:39:35But it's more common than you think.

01:39:37In upstate New York, in the middle of a small running waterfall is an eternal flame around

01:39:418 inches tall.

01:39:43Beneath the waterfall is a natural gas seep, a low pressure of gas that escapes from underground

01:39:48into the Earth's atmosphere.

01:39:50The small fire is sheltered enough by rocks from the waterfall's spray to stay lit permanently.

01:39:56Typically, green sand isn't what you'd imagine when you think of tropical beaches.

01:40:01But in Hawaii and other volcanic islands around the globe, you'll find beaches covered with

01:40:06dark green sand.

01:40:07This remarkable color is due to the erosion of olivine, a type of rock formed by nearby

01:40:12volcanic eruptions.

01:40:14Over the years, the rock slowly withers into sand and washes onto the shore, resulting

01:40:19in these strange colored beaches.

01:40:22Penitentes are fields of ice spikes.

01:40:25Formed in high altitudes, these occur when sunlight beams directly onto ice, turning

01:40:30it into water vapor rather than melting it.

01:40:32The sun beams vaporize small dimples in the snow's surface, resulting in sharp crystal-like

01:40:38formations.

01:40:39The spike can grow as tall as 15 feet.

01:40:42Mammatus clouds are some of the most unusual and distinctive formations of clouds.

01:40:47The clouds can extend over hundreds of miles and appear like the sky has been blanketed

01:40:51with cotton balls.

01:40:53The clouds themselves are harmless, but they often signify that a dangerous storm is nearby.

01:40:58So if you see them, head inside!

01:41:01A green flash sunset is a rare phenomenon that occurs briefly at sunset or sunrise,

01:41:07when the sun is almost entirely out of the sky.

01:41:10In the right conditions, onlookers can witness a distinct green flash, making the sun appear

01:41:15bright green.

01:41:16This is caused by sunlight reflecting off the Earth's atmosphere, causing the light

01:41:20to refract into different colors.

01:41:22The sun appears green, but really, it's just an optical illusion.

01:41:28Fifty ships and twenty airplanes have gone missing.

01:41:32Many people have disappeared and mysterious forces might have…

01:41:35Oh wait, the wrong script.

01:41:37This Bermuda Triangle is located in Transylvania.

01:41:41My bad.

01:41:42So, once upon a time in the heart of Transylvania, there was a mysterious place that people named

01:41:47the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania.

01:41:50Look at these twisted trees and their tangled undergrowth.

01:41:53It seems like some evil creature may appear from behind a tree at any moment.

01:41:58There might even be ghosts and mysterious creatures that came from space, as stories

01:42:03said.

01:42:04The forest became so popular in the 1960s when a man was chilling there on a warm August

01:42:09afternoon with his girlfriend and a couple of friends.

01:42:12Suddenly, his girlfriend pointed at something unusual in the sky.

01:42:16A man came closer to the spot where she was standing and, to his surprise, saw it too.

01:42:22It was a weird silver disc shining in the sky.

01:42:26He quickly pulled out his camera and took four photos before the creepy object bolted

01:42:30away.

01:42:31The object was there for a mere two minutes, but the man developed his film and the picture

01:42:35ended up being published in local papers.

01:42:39Many people were skeptical about this.

01:42:41They claimed that those were most likely some weather balloons that looked like a spaceship

01:42:45because they were photographed in odd lighting.

01:42:49But no weather balloons, blimps, or any other objects were in the sky above the forest on

01:42:53that day.

01:42:54Spooky, huh?

01:42:55That's not the only campfire legend from that area.

01:42:59Stories say that those who ventured too deep into the murky depths of this creepy place

01:43:04often did not return, which is how it got its nickname in the first place.

01:43:09There was a shepherd who entered the forest together with his 200 sheep.

01:43:13They were never found again.

01:43:15People have also been whispering stories about a five-year-old girl who disappeared one day.

01:43:20She re-emerged one day, five years later, wearing the same clothes as the day she went

01:43:26missing.

01:43:27Plus, she hadn't aged a day.

01:43:30There are people who entered the forest and did manage to return, but with severe burns,

01:43:35high fever, and some other health issues they didn't have before.

01:43:39Some were sure that happened because the subsoil had lots of natural uranium with a high level

01:43:44of radioactivity.

01:43:46And according to others, it's not unusual that you come to this forest and feel like

01:43:51someone's watching you or your electronic devices just switch off.

01:43:55And now here's something that's not a legend.

01:43:58The forest has a rich history.

01:44:01Some sources say it was home to the oldest settlement in Romania, dating all the way

01:44:06back to 6,500 BCE.

01:44:10Trees themselves are pretty mysterious.

01:44:12They grow in creepy spirals or have some unexpected zigzag patterns.

01:44:17Even though some scientists have come there to explore this phenomenon, they couldn't

01:44:21find the answer to why they're like this.

01:44:24It seems as if trees are twisting their limbs so they can reach out and grab you when you're

01:44:29not looking.

01:44:30And that's what's interesting.

01:44:32Each of these twisted trees spirals in a clockwise direction.

01:44:36But legends say lots of inexplicable things have happened in a specific part of the forest

01:44:41where you can't find trees or any other types of vegetation.

01:44:45It's a perfect circle called the clearing.

01:44:49The perfect name for a horror movie inspired by all these stories.

01:44:53The soil in this area with no vegetation has been tested and no one has found any weird

01:44:58stuff or anomalies that could potentially stop plants from growing there.

01:45:02Some locals believe the forest has positive energy, which is why it's good to make a wish

01:45:07there.

01:45:08But many more people let their imagination run wild, telling stories about paranormal

01:45:13activities happening there, like mysterious spheres popping out in the middle of the forest

01:45:18or extraterrestrial lights.

01:45:21Either way, you and your castle can step aside, Dracula, because you're not the only scary

01:45:25story from Transylvania.

01:45:28Here's another reason you won't be able to sleep well tonight.

01:45:31The Isla de la Munecas, or the Island of the Dolls.

01:45:35In the middle of the eerie and murky waters of canals near Mexico City, there's a small

01:45:40island.

01:45:41It may look charming at first, until you realize it's home to hundreds of dolls hanging from

01:45:47the trees and scattered throughout the overgrown vegetation.

01:45:51These dolls are old and decaying, they've lost their color over time, and their once

01:45:56cheerful faces are now twisted into expressions of despair and horror.

01:46:02There is a sad story behind this disturbing place.

01:46:05It says the island used to be home to a reclusive man, who left his family more than 50 years

01:46:11ago to live alone on the island.

01:46:14He started obsessively collecting dolls that were lost in the canal.

01:46:18The story says he even traded products he grew to locals to get more dolls.

01:46:24The man didn't clean these dolls nor show any interest in fixing them, he would just

01:46:28decorate his island with them regardless of the state in which he found them.

01:46:33Even those that looked good ended up ruined due to winds and rain.

01:46:37They weren't just outside, his cabin was full of these scary dolls too.

01:46:43Many people were terrified of this place, claiming it was cursed, but others believed

01:46:47the dolls safeguarded the island.

01:46:50Moving to the suburbs of North London, where you can find the mysterious Highgate Cemetery.

01:46:56It's definitely not a typical resting place for the dearly departed.

01:47:00This cemetery has so many peculiar graves, including those of Karl Marx and Douglas Adams.

01:47:06But that's not what draws visitors to its gates.

01:47:09People come there because of the legends claiming that this place is haunted by all

01:47:13sorts of spooky creatures, including vampires.

01:47:17Yup, stories about shadowy figures hovering over graves with glowing red eyes and sharp

01:47:22fangs never get boring.

01:47:25But this place wasn't always this creepy.

01:47:28It was established in the middle of the 19th century, once neglected and overgrown with

01:47:32crumbling monuments and vegetation that seemed to swallow up graves.

01:47:37These legends became popular, along with the place itself, in the 1970s, after the cemetery

01:47:43had appeared in several horror movies.

01:47:46Some visitors there are even self-proclaimed vampire hunters.

01:47:49There's this peaceful and charming village called Pluckley, just a short drive away from

01:47:54London.

01:47:55At least that's what it seems at first sight.

01:47:58People whisper Pluckley could be the most haunted village in England.

01:48:02As you go through its winding streets, you'll come across many spots legends say are haunted.

01:48:09Many of them are connected to the Derring family, which held the title of Lords of the

01:48:13Manor for over four centuries.

01:48:16What gives the sense of old times is the round-topped windows on many buildings.

01:48:21Legend has it, hundreds of years ago, Lord Derring escaped when his enemies captured

01:48:26him.

01:48:27He jumped through one of these windows head-first.

01:48:30In commemoration of this pretty Derring act, every window in the manor house and the village

01:48:35was made in the same style.

01:48:37Even though the manor house burned down in 1951, the legacy of Lord Derring's escape

01:48:42lives on in the charming village of Pluckley.

01:48:46Some say Pluckley is surrounded by the so-called Screaming Wood.

01:48:50There are many legends about paranormal events that have occurred there.

01:48:54There are nice walking trails in this wood, but to be honest, I'd only be brave enough

01:48:58to hit them during the day.

01:49:00And how about the Crooked Forest?

01:49:02It's in Poland, and it consists of 400 pine trees whose trunks take a sharp 90-degree

01:49:08turn and then become weirdly curved, like the letter J.

01:49:14Someone planted them in the early 1930s, but it's still not completely clear how all these

01:49:18trees got the same curve.

01:49:20One scientist said this looked like a typical response to gravity.

01:49:24Spirits have a special mechanism that allows them to reorient themselves when the stem

01:49:28is horizontal to gravity.

01:49:31So these trees may have been grown this way for making boats or furniture.

01:49:36Of course, human imagination goes way beyond science, so many tried to explain the existence

01:49:41of these trees with stories of spirits that possessed these trees or mysterious creatures

01:49:46from space that made them this way.

01:49:48Ok, I'm on!

01:49:50Let me just grab my popcorn!

01:49:52Pilar de Uyuni feels like you're standing on top of a large mirror, but it's actually

01:49:57a salt flat of more than 4,000 square miles.

01:50:00It's located in Bolivia, South America's highest elevated country.

01:50:04This natural mirror is a remnant of prehistoric lakes that had evaporated a long time ago.

01:50:10Even though it may look flat, GPS technology proved that some of the landscape has some

01:50:15little defaults that are all less than an inch small.

01:50:18The place is so bogged that it has around 10 billion tons of salt.

01:50:23If you get there at the right time, some of the nearby lakes overflow with a small layer

01:50:27of water, which acts as the mirror of the sky.

01:50:30Many locals extract salt and lithium from here.

01:50:32Don't forget to pass by the world's first salt hotel when you visit!

01:50:38You can find a real rainbow mountain in Peru.

01:50:42Scientists still can't explain it.

01:50:43The colorful peak is hard to reach, but seeing the blue, red, green, yellow, and pink colors

01:50:48in nature is something to remember.

01:50:53Baratara Gorge Waterfall has 3 natural bridges for anyone to walk across, take awesome pictures,

01:50:59and even have picnics!

01:51:01The waterfall is a result of limestone erosion that's been going on for millions of years,

01:51:05even though it looks like someone punched a hole right in the middle.

01:51:09It's located in the village of Tanurin, which is just 2 hours away from the capital, Beirut.

01:51:17The Dead Sea has a high concentration of salt and minerals compared to other seas,

01:51:22even though it's technically a lake.

01:51:24Swimming is almost impossible, but people go there for the natural chemicals for the

01:51:28body.

01:51:29Floating on the surface is a great way to relax.

01:51:31This ancient body of water got its name because no macroscopic organisms can live there since

01:51:37it's 9.6 times saltier than oceans.

01:51:40Only a few bacteria and fungi can be found enjoying the salt.

01:51:44It's also Earth's lowest elevation on land, at 1,400 feet below sea level.

01:51:51All the way in Saudi Arabia is a rock sliced perfectly in the middle with two pieces sitting

01:51:56parallel.

01:51:57What makes al-Nasla so unique is that it wasn't artificially done, but is a result of nature's

01:52:03work over the years.

01:52:07This glacier may look like someone dropped tons of red paint in the middle of Antarctica,

01:52:11but it's actually the natural color.

01:52:14What falls is a result of extreme salted water mixed with iron oxide, giving out this

01:52:19eerie vibe in the middle of nowhere.

01:52:23In Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, you can enjoy your coffee just a few feet away

01:52:28from an actual moving train.

01:52:30The locals who live in this neighborhood have to make sure no one is on the tracks when

01:52:34the train drives by twice a day.

01:52:37On a crowded day, you would have to stick yourself on a wall behind you or head inside

01:52:41the many coffee shops nearby.

01:52:45Frozen bubbles are a common thing in Abraham Lake, Canada.

01:52:48They look like some jelly-like substance, but they're just methane gas produced by

01:52:52bacteria when they eat the organisms that sink to the bottom.

01:52:56During the process, methane bubbles are released, but since it's below freezing temperatures,

01:53:01these bubbles become frozen in place.

01:53:05Australia is home to a unique horizontal waterfall on the coast of the Kimberley region.

01:53:10It's really just a fast tidal flow moving through two narrow allied rocks.

01:53:15The tides can rise 30 feet.

01:53:17The falls reverse whenever the tide changes.

01:53:20Also down under is the biggest single rock in the world.

01:53:23It's so big that it even looks like a large hill.

01:53:26It has a circumference of 6 miles and is 1,100 feet high.

01:53:31The edges are eroded since the rock has been around forever.

01:53:36Antelope Canyon in Arizona, also known as the place where water runs through rock, has

01:53:41two sections of slotted canyons.

01:53:44Throughout the years, the water running through sandstone has created picturesque formations

01:53:48like no other.

01:53:52In the Philippines, you can swim in some of the most crystal-clear waters and discover

01:53:56an underwater world below you, in the province of Palawan.

01:54:00The municipality of Coron has white sandy beaches with many small boats riding through

01:54:05the many amazing sceneries.

01:54:09Tristan de Cunha is a small volcanic archipelago in the Atlantic with the only neighboring cities

01:54:15of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Cape Town, South Africa.

01:54:19It takes 7 days by ship to get to this unique place.

01:54:23If you want to escape from the rest of the world, staying with the 280 locals will make

01:54:27you feel like you're away from everything.

01:54:31An island even more isolated than Tristan de Cunha is Pitcairn Island.

01:54:361,350 miles off of Tahiti, this place is a mixture of British, Polynesian, and other

01:54:42Pacific Islanders living remotely with the volcanic soil used for crops.

01:54:46The population is around 50 people.

01:54:49The little island is considered to be the second-largest marine protected area.

01:54:53If you plan on visiting, be ready for a long sea voyage on a supply ship that hosts 12

01:54:59passengers.

01:55:01This abandoned fantasy-like railway tunnel in Ukraine is one of the most romantic places

01:55:06you could visit.

01:55:07Walking through leaves and lush green plants feels like you're in a fairy tale.

01:55:13Croatia's Plitvice Lakes National Park is a major tourist attraction and a World Heritage

01:55:18Site with many unique animals and plants teeming around.

01:55:22It looks like an epic movie set with infinite waterfalls flowing from every direction and

01:55:27the clear lakes all around.

01:55:31Lake Baikal, Siberia is the oldest lake in the world and contains 20% of unfrozen freshwater

01:55:37on Earth.

01:55:38It's also the deepest lake in the world with a maximum depth of 5,400 ft.

01:55:43It's one of the most diverse places for organisms due to its age and isolation.

01:55:48More than 1,300 species of animals and 570 plants live here.

01:55:55An underground crystal cave exists in Mexico, and it looks like some interstellar world.

01:56:01It's roughly 1,000 ft beneath the surface with each spike measuring up to 35 ft in length

01:56:06and weighing up to 55 tons.

01:56:09These are some of the largest crystals in the world.

01:56:13Red sand is what makes this beach unique and why tourists flock to Tianjin, China.

01:56:19A red-colored plant called the Suida Salsa dwells in the saltwater.

01:56:23The whole beach is covered in red, with only the top layer of the sea visible.

01:56:29Also in China are the Tianzi Mountains, which inspired a famous Hollywood movie.

01:56:34These unique mountains spread across 20 square miles located in the Wuling-Yuan area.

01:56:40Millions of years of rock erosion created this amazing beauty.

01:56:46All the way over in sunny California is Sequoia National Park, home to the Giant Forest.

01:56:52It's been around for thousands of years.

01:56:54More than 8,000 of these colossal trees rule the land, including 10 of the largest living

01:56:59plants in the world.

01:57:01The General Sherman Sequoia is estimated to be up to 2,700 years old and is recognized

01:57:07as the world's largest known living tree by volume.

01:57:11Japan's Cat Island has a population of less than 10 people and over 120 cats.

01:57:19The island is located in a remote region, and the locals love it.

01:57:23If you're visiting this place, make sure to bring someone who loves cats.

01:57:28Yemen is home to the oldest skyscrapers in the world and the oldest metropolis.

01:57:33The ancient city of Shebam is considered to be the Manhattan of the desert due to the

01:57:38collection of mud buildings popping out of the desert floor.

01:57:41It was used as a caravan stop during ancient times.

01:57:45These mud brick buildings are 7 stories high and were built out of fertile soil, hay, and

01:57:50water that were made into bricks and left to bake under the sun for days.

01:57:54The ground floors were used for keeping livestock and grains, and the upper levels were places

01:57:59for socializing and catching good views.

01:58:04The chemical composition of the ancient hot springs in Pamukkale, Turkey, makes the water

01:58:09pouring over the edge look magical.

01:58:12They're not only good for cleansing your body, but the mind too!

01:58:16The shape and formation of these rocks aren't a result of some human's work.

01:58:20They were created by intense volcanic eruptions.

01:58:23Scientists are still confused why the Giant's Causeway in Ireland is shaped in such a weird

01:58:28way.

01:58:30Suqatra is an alien-like island off the coast of Yemen in the Indian Ocean, with one of

01:58:35the most unique trees ever seen.

01:58:38It's called the Dragon Tree, and it can only be found on this amazing island.

01:58:43In 2008, it was labeled as a World Heritage Site.

01:58:47Black Falls in Iceland gets its name from the dark lava columns surrounding it.

01:58:52The base of the waterfall has sharp rocks.

01:58:54The entire structure was the inspiration for Icelandic architecture seen in some of their

01:58:59famous buildings.

01:59:084.

01:59:13North Yungas Road in Bolivia is one of the most picturesque and most hazardous roads

01:59:18in the world.

01:59:20Just imagine biking along a cliff trail at a mind-numbing height, overlooking the lush

01:59:25Bolivian jungle and misty mountains at a distance.

01:59:29What a view!

01:59:30But as soon as you realize you're riding on a 10-foot-wide stretch of road, some of

01:59:34which isn't even paved, you might get skin crawls.

01:59:38But for good reason.

01:59:39Over 200 folks tumble to their demise each year on this devious mountain climb.

01:59:45And the absence of any guardrail doesn't help at all.

01:59:485.

01:59:49Now if you're more into walking, consider the Hussaini Bridge in Pakistan.

01:59:53It's officially the most dangerous hanging bridge in the world, but hardly the only one

01:59:59in the country.

02:00:00It's a long and nerve-wracking traverse over Lake Borut, with many planks of the bridge

02:00:05missing and the whole construction creaking ominously in the wind.

02:00:09Still, the place has become a major tourist attraction, although the old and broken bridge

02:00:15visible nearby only adds to the impression that you're inevitably going to fall to a

02:00:20screaming end.

02:00:22Well, at least you can be thankful that the lake beneath is not Lake Natron in Tanzania.

02:00:29If you fall into water, you still have a chance of survival.

02:00:32If you fall into the waters of Natron, not so much.

02:00:36The pH levels here are a skin-melting 10.5.

02:00:40What passes for water is more like an alkaline soup.

02:00:43No wonder this place is so peaceful.

02:00:46Pretty much nothing wants to live here.

02:00:48And yet, flocks of flamingos come to Lake Natron to breed every few seasons, and it

02:00:53becomes a white-pink paradise for the period.

02:00:56Positively.

02:00:574.

02:00:59Which can't be said about the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia.

02:01:03Despite its beautiful, otherworldly landscape, it's perhaps the loneliest place on Earth.

02:01:09Yellow, orange, and green mounds are made of salt, sulfur, and iron, creating views

02:01:15like nowhere else on the planet.

02:01:17Yet the combination of temperature and toxic minerals makes this place absolutely unlivable.

02:01:24Researchers coming here haven't found even microscopic life in this valley.

02:01:28Really, like another planet.

02:01:30Beautiful and desolate.

02:01:32On the other hand, there's an island that's bubbling with life, yet still, you don't

02:01:37want to be there.

02:01:38It's called Snake Island, and the name says it all – it's chock-full of snakes.

02:01:44In fact, there are so many of them, especially the venomous varieties, that Brazil has forbidden

02:01:50access to the island to any and all visitors.

02:01:54Even if it wasn't closed off, not many would be brave enough to go to a place where a single

02:01:59step offshore could land you a venomous bite.

02:02:03I'll bet that Fly Geyser in the middle of the Nevada desert was created partly because

02:02:09humans became jealous of that.

02:02:11This place had been just another bit of desert until 1916.

02:02:16People came here to drill a water well.

02:02:18They quickly saw the error of their ways, though.

02:02:21The water came out boiling hot and unfit for drinking.

02:02:25Fifty years later, there was another attempt, but the same thing happened.

02:02:29We don't learn, do we?

02:02:30Anyway, hot water never stops spewing from under the ground, and today, we have a massive

02:02:36geyser cluster colored in shades of red, orange, and yellow.

02:02:41Now I say let's take a break from things that could bite, burn, or crush you, and take

02:02:46a walk in a serene forest.

02:02:48We're in Japan, and it's Sagano Bamboo Forest, a marvelous natural park where you

02:02:54can't help but hush your voice and just look.

02:02:57And listen, too.

02:02:58Because the sound of the wind in the bamboo trees is the first ever officially recognized

02:03:04soundscape.

02:03:05All the more surprising to find such a place just half an hour's ride from Kyoto, one

02:03:11of the busiest cities in the country.

02:03:14Take a deep breath of fresh air now, you're gonna need it.

02:03:18We're going underwater!

02:03:19Behold the Great Blue Hole, apparently named by Captain Obvious.

02:03:24It's one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

02:03:27Located off the coast of Belize, this giant sinkhole is a massive tourist attraction,

02:03:32especially popular among divers.

02:03:34It's actually a whole cave system, and they say it gets weirder and more picturesque the

02:03:40deeper you dive.

02:03:41Beware though, it's popular among sharks too, and both bull sharks and hammerheads

02:03:47have been spotted here more than once.

02:03:50Here have a towel and prepare for some barbecue, the Darvasa gas crater is waiting.

02:03:56A huge hole again, this time in the ground and burning.

02:04:00Over 50 years ago, geologists found this spot in Turkmenia, Central Asia, and were quite

02:04:06a bit alarmed.

02:04:07There was an enormous deposit of methane, a highly flammable gas, underground.

02:04:12They set it on fire to prevent the gas from spreading, and since then, the hole's kept

02:04:17burning.

02:04:18It's over 200 feet across and 100 feet deep, and no one knows when it'll finally run

02:04:24out of fuel.

02:04:26Is it too hot again?

02:04:27Well, let's have a little swim with jellyfish then.

02:04:31Jellyfish Lake on one of the rock islands in Palau is perfectly described by its name.

02:04:36In 2005, there were about 30 million of these creatures here.

02:04:40Although today only 700,000 of them remain, their number is growing, and tourists can

02:04:46actually swim with them.

02:04:47Until they get stung, that is.

02:04:49Okay, kidding, these jellyfish don't have stingers, so it's safe.

02:04:53Until they decide to grow stingers, of course.

02:04:57From the depths, we're going even deeper.

02:04:59The Gomentang Caves are our next stop.

02:05:02The cave system on the island of Borneo could've been Batman's hideout, given how many bats

02:05:08live there.

02:05:09At night, these nocturnal animals fly out of the cave in the thousands, making you wonder

02:05:14why you're still there watching it.

02:05:16But if you're brave enough to go inside the cave, you can truly marvel at the variety

02:05:21given to us by nature.

02:05:23Because there, on the floor and walls of the cave, lie tons of bat droppings, giving food

02:05:29and home to millions of cockroaches, parasites, and giant centipedes.

02:05:33Wondrous.

02:05:34Okay, I'm outta here.

02:05:37If you're as easy to get away as I am, here's a place to go – Medellin National Park in

02:05:42Bolivia.

02:05:43It's one of the largest protected areas in South America, and is home to an immense variety

02:05:48of animals, birds, and insects.

02:05:51I could do without the mosquitoes, but it's still among the few places where you could

02:05:55see wild macaws, monkeys, capybaras, and dozens of other creatures.

02:06:00Still, it's better to be careful because wild animals aren't always happy to see

02:06:04you, and there are known cases of attacks on tourists.

02:06:09Ever wanted to feel like Frodo Baggins in Middle-earth?

02:06:12Here's your chance!

02:06:14In Iceland, there's a slumbering volcano named Þrygugageygurð that welcomes guests

02:06:19to a tea party.

02:06:21Now, don't confuse this with another infamous Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajökull.

02:06:26Yeah, it's easy to mix them up, they sound so similar.

02:06:30Here, tourists are actually ushered down into the volcano and spend close to an hour inside,

02:06:36looking at the magmatic landscape.

02:06:39They say Þrygugageygurð can't wake up all of a sudden, but who knows?

02:06:43Don't forget to bring the Ring of Power just in case!

02:06:48From the lowest dungeon to the highest peak, and here we are at Mount Hua in China.

02:06:53It's called the most dangerous hike in the world for a reason.

02:06:57It's high, it's crazy scary, and it's a hike.

02:07:00At the height of 7,000 ft, which already makes me reconsider, there are several wooden planks

02:07:06nailed to the sheer wall of the mountain.

02:07:09When you get to the start of the hike, you put on safety gear and realize there's no

02:07:13turning back.

02:07:14You have to walk all the way, and then back, but if you're lucky, you'll see a crowd

02:07:20of hundreds of tourists and decide not to spend hours waiting for your turn.

02:07:26Finally, to really creep you out, I'm taking you to Pripyat in Ukraine.

02:07:31If you watched the TV show Chernobyl, you probably know what happened in this area.

02:07:37If you didn't see it, well, don't have a meltdown.

02:07:39Much of the town is still off-limits for visitors, but there are already guided tours

02:07:44around the place.

02:07:46As haunting as it is, the landscape has some magnetic force.

02:07:50The silence makes you keep as quiet as you can.

02:07:53Also, you can see with your own eyes what happens when people abandon a whole city.

02:07:59Nature takes back what once belonged to it.

02:08:02Creeping vines along the walls and lampposts, trees and bushes sprouting from under concrete,

02:08:09and the main attraction in this desolate place is the rusty old Ferris wheel.

02:08:14It sure shivers my timbers!

02:08:18That's it for today!

02:08:19So, hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your

02:08:23friends!

02:08:24Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!

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