Strangest Things Found on the Beach + Other Weird Discoveries

Bright Side

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Transcript

00:00:00You walk along the beach one day, and in the distance, you see something.

00:00:04What? Is that a person made of plastic?

00:00:07You can't believe it! It's a giant Lego man!

00:00:11Several 8-foot Lego men were washed up on beaches,

00:00:14one in 2007 in the Netherlands and another in 2008 in England.

00:00:20Then, a couple more Lego men were found in 2011 in Florida and California.

00:00:26Is there an unknown colony of life-size Lego people hidden somewhere on Earth?

00:00:30Unfortunately, not. So put that vacation to giant Legoland on hold.

00:00:36What you see was a performance by a Dutch guerrilla artist.

00:00:39There was no real reason for doing it.

00:00:41He just wanted to bring some kindness into everyday life.

00:00:44There are 720,000 miles of coastline in the entire world.

00:00:49It's estimated that 31% of these contain beaches.

00:00:54If we consider the ocean's size, we can expect something strange now and then to pop up.

00:00:59But some things could be of good value.

00:01:01There are not so many places other than a bathtub where you'd expect to find a rubber ducky,

00:01:06or maybe in a swimming pool.

00:01:08But there have been many found on many beaches all over the world,

00:01:11and they all relate to a single incident.

00:01:14In 1992, a shipping container fell off its ship along a journey from Southeast Asia to the USA.

00:01:2129,000 rubber ducks inside the container managed to escape their iron cage,

00:01:26and they began their own journey following many different currents in the ocean.

00:01:31The first ones were found in Alaska a year later.

00:01:33They had traveled a huge 2,000 miles from their departure point.

00:01:38One scientist took this opportunity to map the journeys of these ducks.

00:01:42It was a rare chance to find interesting facts about how the currents work.

00:01:47Our research found that some ducks also traveled to Japan through the Bering Strait,

00:01:51some moved with ice across the North Pole,

00:01:54and some even passed over the Arctic, where the Titanic sank.

00:01:58Many of them weren't found and continued even longer journeys.

00:02:02They will probably sail the seas for a further 15 years.

00:02:06The last one passed by Greenland and finally arrived in England in 2007.

00:02:11There were even some that were frozen in ice sheets at the North Pole.

00:02:16Who knows, maybe in a million years from now, humans will study these ducks

00:02:20and learn about the interesting details of bathing from our time.

00:02:25In 2018, a couple of beach walkers were enjoying the Western Australian coast one day

00:02:30when they found an old bottle.

00:02:32They thought it looked pretty neat, so they kept it as a nice ornament for their shelf.

00:02:37They then realized there was something inside of it,

00:02:40taking out what appeared to be something rolled up and dried it out.

00:02:43They were amazed to find that it was a message in a bottle.

00:03:00After seeking professional advice from where it came from,

00:03:03it was an authentic message from a German ship dated 12 June 1886.

00:03:09This holds the record for the oldest message in a bottle.

00:03:12The note relates to a German experiment.

00:03:14Thousands of these bottles were also thrown overboard.

00:03:17It was an experiment and they requested whoever found the bottles contact them.

00:03:22I wonder if 132 years is not too late.

00:03:27In 2012, an 8-year-old boy stumbled across an interesting rock.

00:03:31Taking it home to his parents, they were told it was an ambergris.

00:03:35You likely wouldn't have heard of this, and either way,

00:03:38when they learned, it was called the treasure of the sea and floating gold.

00:03:42It's been used by humans for around 1,000 years to make perfume.

00:03:47This rare element allows the perfume to have a pleasant, long-lasting smell.

00:03:52It was unknown where this magical thing came from for a long time.

00:03:56But today, it's understood that it comes from inside cashalot whales,

00:04:00the leftover material from food that they spit out.

00:04:03But regardless of its disgusting origins,

00:04:06one of these could fetch you a huge $65,000.

00:04:09Not a bad allowance.

00:04:12We all like bubbles in our baths.

00:04:14But one beach in Queensland, Australia,

00:04:16it experiences a massive amount of foam on its beaches every year.

00:04:20But how could this occur?

00:04:22Is it a soapy beach?

00:04:24All seawater contains dissolved salts, fats, proteins, and algae,

00:04:29with some detergents and other materials.

00:04:31And when this water is agitated, it bubbles.

00:04:35If you were to take a bottle of seawater and shake it vigorously,

00:04:38you would get bubbles from just that small amount.

00:04:41So when tropical storms hit the sea at certain beaches,

00:04:44it has the same effect, but on a much larger scale.

00:04:49Iceland is otherworldly and beautiful,

00:04:51and its beaches have rare black sandy beaches.

00:04:55This is because of the constant volcanic activity.

00:04:57But this doesn't make it amazing enough.

00:05:00On the southeast part of the island,

00:05:02icebergs wash up onto the shore as well.

00:05:05These bits of ice break off from one of Europe's largest glaciers,

00:05:09where they've been for thousands of years,

00:05:11and then make their journey south,

00:05:13making Iceland beaches even more beautiful.

00:05:17In 2016, above the Arctic Circle in Siberia,

00:05:20thousands of balls of ice were found lying on the beach.

00:05:24The locals had never seen this before,

00:05:26and the sizes ranged from as small as a tennis ball

00:05:28to the size of a volleyball.

00:05:31It's as though a massive snowball competition was held,

00:05:33and then everyone just left.

00:05:36Although a snowball competition in the Arctic Circle does sound amazing.

00:05:41This naturally occurring phenomenon is due to sludge ice

00:05:44forming and binding together with the effects of the wind and water,

00:05:48and gradually build up as they roll in the shallows.

00:05:52The same thing can happen in inland lakes,

00:05:54which also occurred at Lake Michigan in 2013.

00:05:58Driftwood isn't strange on the beach,

00:06:00but their drift logs in other parts of Washington

00:06:03are a whole different story.

00:06:06The Red Cedar is a typical visitor to the shores,

00:06:08originating north from the Canadian border,

00:06:10and then gradually floating southwards.

00:06:13Their sizes reach 200 feet long.

00:06:17The Kraken has been in mythological history for centuries.

00:06:21It was scaring seafaring people,

00:06:23but could you imagine it lying on your beach?

00:06:25One was found in New Zealand.

00:06:28A giant squid was discovered by some local divers

00:06:31who were hoping to go for a swim,

00:06:33until they stumbled across this beast.

00:06:36Although it was 13 feet long,

00:06:38it was only a young squid.

00:06:40Adults can reach up to 43 feet.

00:06:42And where there's a young squid,

00:06:44there are probably older ones lurking nearby.

00:06:47A good sign not to go for a swim on that particular beach.

00:06:51In 2009, a container ship left Taiwan

00:06:54and suddenly disappeared without a trace.

00:06:57A massive vessel couldn't be located

00:06:59without contact with its crew.

00:07:01Then, nine years later,

00:07:03it mysteriously reappeared along the beach of Myanmar.

00:07:06No signs of a crew ever being there

00:07:08or any cargo was on board.

00:07:10It was deemed as a ghost ship,

00:07:12but once it was located,

00:07:14the truth came out that it was scheduled to be dismantled

00:07:16and somehow detached,

00:07:18slowly drifting away on its own voyage.

00:07:22Finding a computer on a beach

00:07:24wouldn't be that much of a find

00:07:26given the seawater would ruin it.

00:07:28However, a much older computer was found in Greece.

00:07:31The Antikythera computer

00:07:33was found in a shipwreck

00:07:35and is believed to be the earliest computer form.

00:07:37It was made as far back as 200 BCE,

00:07:40much earlier than when Pong became popular.

00:07:44This computer was so advanced

00:07:46with its prediction of astronomical positions

00:07:48that there was nothing like this

00:07:50until the 14th century.

00:07:52But probably the strangest thing

00:07:54that has been found on a beach

00:07:56is an entire city.

00:07:58Pavlopetri in Greece

00:08:00was once a populous city

00:08:02until it submerged around 1000 BCE.

00:08:04It's one of the oldest

00:08:06underwater cities in the world.

00:08:08What's really fascinating about this place

00:08:10is that it has an almost perfect town plan.

00:08:12You can swim around

00:08:14and check out streets, buildings

00:08:16and other interesting places.

00:08:18Have you ever seen cricket balls

00:08:20that are 3 billion years old?

00:08:22Klerkstorp spheres

00:08:24were found in deposits

00:08:26of the mineral pyrophyllite in South Africa

00:08:28and rock the science world.

00:08:30They do look like tiny ancient cricket balls

00:08:32with seams-like lines around the middle.

00:08:34Back in the 1980s,

00:08:36some folks claimed

00:08:38these spheres had been made

00:08:40by an advanced pre-flood civilization

00:08:42we know nothing about.

00:08:44One museum curator shared stories

00:08:46about how they rotated on their own

00:08:48in a display case.

00:08:50There was also a TV show

00:08:52that invited a psychic

00:08:54who declared the spheres

00:08:56were pieces of an ancient spaceship.

00:08:58But according to geologists,

00:09:00these spheres are actually

00:09:02pretty common concretions

00:09:04or spherical objects

00:09:06formed by different minerals

00:09:08than the surrounding rock.

00:09:10The seam-like lines

00:09:12are just imprints

00:09:14that can noticeably flatten spheres

00:09:16to distinct disks.

00:09:18As for that episode

00:09:20when one of these spheres

00:09:22spun on its own,

00:09:24the curator of the Klerkstorp museum

00:09:26cleared that up too.

00:09:28He said that when he put one sphere

00:09:30on its glass shelf

00:09:32when a journalist came to visit,

00:09:34the sphere naturally rotated a bit

00:09:36because it's round.

00:09:38The area where the museum is located

00:09:40often experiences earth tremors

00:09:42like footprints could be

00:09:446 million years old.

00:09:46They were found on the Greek island of Crete

00:09:48in 2002.

00:09:50If the number is correct,

00:09:52it would mean that early human ancestors

00:09:54may have migrated between Europe and Africa

00:09:56much earlier than we previously thought.

00:09:58This doesn't mean Africa

00:10:00is not the cradle of humankind, though.

00:10:02It could just prove that early human ancestors

00:10:04moved back and forth

00:10:06between continents.

00:10:08Some researchers believe the footprints

00:10:10were made by a bipedal creature

00:10:12possibly related to an early human ancestor

00:10:14nicknamed El Grico.

00:10:16According to scientists

00:10:18who studied them,

00:10:20the footprints have a very human-like shape

00:10:22with five toes and a parallel big toe.

00:10:24Some scientists are skeptical

00:10:26about it and suggest the prints

00:10:28might be from a late European ape.

00:10:30The new study analyzed

00:10:32fossilized marine microorganisms

00:10:34found in the sedimentary rocks

00:10:36to determine the footprints' age

00:10:38to prove it's actually 6 million years.

00:10:40The next

00:10:42amazing find that keeps scientists

00:10:44entertained is the Dorchester Pot.

00:10:46It's a beautifully crafted

00:10:48metal vessel with some fancy

00:10:50geometric designs embossed in shiny

00:10:52silver. The pot was discovered

00:10:54in, who could've thought, Dorchester

00:10:56in 1852

00:10:58under quite unusual circumstances.

00:11:00During a powerful blast,

00:11:02the pot broke into two pieces.

00:11:04Scientists believe it was originally

00:11:06embedded within a rock or boulder

00:11:08known as Puddingstone.

00:11:10The rock from which the Dorchester Pot

00:11:12emerged is dated to be around

00:11:14500 million years old.

00:11:16So it could mean the pot itself

00:11:18is also that old.

00:11:20The current and less exciting theory

00:11:22suggests that the Dorchester Pot is a

00:11:24Victorian-era candlestick holder.

00:11:26Such things were really trending back

00:11:28then, so it's not a surprise to

00:11:30find such a fancy household item

00:11:32from that time. The Dorchester Pot

00:11:34falls into the category of uparts

00:11:36or out-of-place artifacts.

00:11:38Those are objects that seem too

00:11:40advanced for the time period they're supposedly

00:11:42from. If we accept

00:11:44that the pot is 500 million

00:11:46years old, then whoever

00:11:48made it was way ahead of their times

00:11:50in terms of crafts and tech.

00:11:52One extra mystery is that the

00:11:54pot has an engraving of a plant

00:11:56that most likely disappeared from Earth

00:11:58over 100,000 years ago.

00:12:00Sounds like good proof

00:12:02the pot is really extra old.

00:12:04Now, it looks like the

00:12:06oldest map in Europe is a stone

00:12:08from 4,000 years ago.

00:12:10This Bronze Age slab

00:12:12was found in France in the year 1900

00:12:14at an ancient burial

00:12:16ground. The carvings on the slab

00:12:18show in three dimensions the River

00:12:20Odin network with a fantastic

00:12:22accuracy of around 80%

00:12:24over an 18-mile stretch.

00:12:26There are other stone-carved

00:12:28maps around the world, but this

00:12:30one is unique because it shows a specific

00:12:32area to scale.

00:12:34Looks like the slab's carvings don't just

00:12:36map rivers and hills, but also

00:12:38settlements, barrow sites, and

00:12:40field systems.

00:12:42Archaeologists say the slab wasn't

00:12:44used for navigation, but rather

00:12:46to symbolize power. The detailed

00:12:48markings on the slab might have served

00:12:50to illustrate the domain of a local

00:12:52ruler, possibly a prince or

00:12:54king, to show their control

00:12:56over the territory. When the ruler

00:12:58lost power, the slab was likely

00:13:00repurposed as part of a burial

00:13:02vault. The unique artifact

00:13:04was stored in the cellar of a museum.

00:13:06For decades, no one even

00:13:08noticed until several scholars

00:13:10read older reports about the slab

00:13:12and decided to check it out.

00:13:14They conducted a detailed analysis

00:13:16using 3D techniques.

00:13:18Their research proved that the creators

00:13:20of the slab had not only etched

00:13:22lines into the rock, but also

00:13:24modified its surface to reflect the

00:13:26topography of the landscape with

00:13:28high accuracy.

00:13:30The Salzburg Cube, also

00:13:32known as the Wolf's Egg Iron,

00:13:34was discovered in the late 19th century

00:13:36in Austria. Now, don't let

00:13:38the name mislead you. It doesn't look like

00:13:40a cube at all. It's more like a rounded

00:13:42object with two flat sides.

00:13:44Down the middle, there's a groove,

00:13:46and the surface is covered with pits and

00:13:48craters. This unique

00:13:50appearance is the reason why many people

00:13:52think it might be something out of this

00:13:54world. Workers accidentally found

00:13:56this artifact when they blew apart a

00:13:58piece of coal. The coal seam

00:14:00it came from is thought to be over

00:14:0260 million years old.

00:14:04The Salzburg Cube moved between museums,

00:14:06mysteriously vanished in the

00:14:08early 20th century, and then

00:14:10showed up again. A professor

00:14:12from Bonn University suggested

00:14:14it might be from a meteor. But

00:14:16they found no evidence of elements that

00:14:18you'd normally see in meteorites, like

00:14:20cobalt or nickel.

00:14:22Then, researchers thought it must be

00:14:24a human-made object, possibly

00:14:26a Victorian-era candlestick holder.

00:14:28No one knows the true story

00:14:30of the cube or its current location.

00:14:32Yep, it disappeared again.

00:14:34Have you heard

00:14:36about the Meister print?

00:14:38It's a fossilized sandal print

00:14:40discovered in 1968, and

00:14:42it has sparked a lot of intrigue.

00:14:44There's a trilobite inside

00:14:46the print, which supposedly went extinct

00:14:48around 500 million years

00:14:50before humans even existed.

00:14:52But many historians think this age

00:14:54is an exaggeration. When Meister

00:14:56found the fossil, it was authenticated.

00:14:58But the scientist who

00:15:00did it didn't confirm it was a

00:15:02human sandal print. He only

00:15:04agreed there was a trilobite there.

00:15:06When another scientist visited the site,

00:15:08he found a 6-inch impression

00:15:10he believed was from a child's

00:15:12moccasin. But the footwear seemed

00:15:14to be new. So, could it

00:15:16be evidence of time travel?

00:15:18Proof that humans existed millions of

00:15:20years earlier than we thought?

00:15:22Or a sign that someone else visited

00:15:24early Earth? Or is it

00:15:26just a rock formation that looks like a sandal

00:15:28print? We still don't have the answers.

00:15:32Back in June 1936,

00:15:34a couple was walking along Red Creek

00:15:36in London, Texas. London,

00:15:38Texas? Yeah, when they stumbled

00:15:40upon something unusual.

00:15:42It was a piece of wood sticking

00:15:44out of what seemed to be an ancient rock

00:15:46formation. About 10 years later,

00:15:48their curious son decided

00:15:50to crack open the rock to see what was inside.

00:15:52And he saw a

00:15:54hammer, which looked surprisingly

00:15:56modern. Then, one unique

00:15:58finds enthusiast decided that the

00:16:00rock encasing the hammer was from

00:16:02the Cretaceous period.

00:16:04This would mean that someone dropped

00:16:06a 19th century hammer while

00:16:08dinosaurs like Triceratops were

00:16:10still roaming the Earth. So,

00:16:12if this hammer was truly from the

00:16:14Cretaceous period, then the whole

00:16:16evolutionary theory would be wrong.

00:16:18And if the hammer was modern,

00:16:20it would mean the Cretaceous rock formation

00:16:22it came from was much younger than

00:16:24we thought. But the real

00:16:26answer was much simpler.

00:16:28The hammer was indeed modern,

00:16:30and geological processes had

00:16:32encased it in rock.

00:16:34Minerals can harden around an object in

00:16:36a relatively short time. So,

00:16:38the hammer was probably dropped by a miner

00:16:40a century or so ago,

00:16:42and the rock formed around it afterwards.

00:16:44And no, it wasn't a

00:16:46Victorian-era candlestick holder

00:16:48either. The most exciting

00:16:50accidental discovery I've made

00:16:52in my life was a $10 bill in

00:16:54my old winter jacket. Some

00:16:56folks are luckier, though, as they find underground

00:16:58cities from centuries ago or make

00:17:00inventions that turn them into millionaires.

00:17:02Velcro was invented after

00:17:04a routine walk in the woods.

00:17:06Kellogg's cornflakes were inspired by a

00:17:08chipped tooth. And Play-Doh saved

00:17:10the business empire from falling by chance.

00:17:12Back in 1998,

00:17:14electrical engineer John

00:17:16Williams found something that looked like an

00:17:18electrical plug sticking out of the ground.

00:17:20He started digging, and

00:17:22noticed that it was stuck in a small rock.

00:17:24He found it in a rural location

00:17:26in North America far from civilization,

00:17:28industrial complexes, airports,

00:17:30factories, and electronic plants.

00:17:32This piece of electronics embedded

00:17:34into a solid granite stone got the

00:17:36nickname Enigmalith, and a

00:17:38price tag of $500,000.

00:17:40Some scientists are sure it's

00:17:42a big hoax and not a souvenir left by

00:17:44some visitors from space, as Williams

00:17:46claims. But the finder of the

00:17:48rock wanted to prove that it was a real piece of

00:17:50ancient technology, some sort of

00:17:52an electrical connector.

00:17:54If it's not a hoax, then this little find

00:17:56could be proof that humans, or

00:17:58some other civilization from the past,

00:18:00were way more advanced than we ever thought.

00:18:02They must have managed to

00:18:04invent a way to transmit electricity

00:18:06long before humans in the 19th century.

00:18:08He offered scientists to

00:18:10take a look at this find and establish

00:18:12what it really is without breaking the rock

00:18:14open, but there were no takers.

00:18:16Williams consulted an engineer

00:18:18and a geologist, and both confirmed

00:18:20there were no traces of glue on the electronic

00:18:22component. It hasn't been

00:18:24welded either, so it must be as old as

00:18:26the rock, which is around 100,000

00:18:28years old, according to geological

00:18:30analysis.

00:18:32Dr. John Kellogg

00:18:34had a philosophy of biological

00:18:36living with regular exercise,

00:18:38massage, plenty of water,

00:18:40zero bad habits, caffeine,

00:18:42and no meat. At the end of the

00:18:4419th century, he looked over a health

00:18:46institute in Michigan. He once

00:18:48whipped up a mix of flour, oats,

00:18:50and cornmeal. He

00:18:52thought that by baking whole grains

00:18:54at high temps, they'd be easier on the

00:18:56stomach and healthier overall.

00:18:58He baked the mix twice

00:19:00and first made cookies, but a

00:19:02patient chipped a tooth on that version.

00:19:04Then he decided to break it into

00:19:06small pieces. It's hard to

00:19:08pinpoint exactly how Kellogg Corn

00:19:10Flakes came to be, with so many versions

00:19:12of the story floating around.

00:19:14Kellogg's wife, Ella, and his brother, Will,

00:19:16both claim they played a role in creating

00:19:18the flakes, along with several other family

00:19:20members and sanitarium staff.

00:19:22The company lore says that

00:19:24it all went down one night in

00:19:261898, when some

00:19:28wheat-based cereal dough was left out too

00:19:30long, fermenting in the process.

00:19:32When rolled out thin, the slightly

00:19:34moldy dough turned into these perfect

00:19:36large thin flakes that got all

00:19:38crispy and yummy in the oven.

00:19:40Over the next few years, Will Kellogg

00:19:42kept tweaking the recipe and realized

00:19:44that corn, not wheat, made even

00:19:46crunchier, tastier flakes.

00:19:48His brand, Kellogg's Corn Flakes,

00:19:50has grown into a multi-billion dollar

00:19:52company. Swiss

00:19:54engineer, Georges de Mestral,

00:19:56once went for a walk with his dog

00:19:58and came back with a concept that would

00:20:00later go to space. Once they got

00:20:02back from the woods, de Mestral noticed

00:20:04that his pants and his dog's fur were

00:20:06covered in the tiny barbs of the

00:20:08cocklebur plant. He examined the

00:20:10burrs under the microscope and noticed

00:20:12that they were shaped like tiny hooks

00:20:14that stuck to loops on clothes

00:20:16and fur. He decided

00:20:18to recreate that natural tech

00:20:20to design an extra strong fastener,

00:20:22one with many practical

00:20:24uses. He was testing different

00:20:26materials for his invention for so

00:20:28many years and finally settled

00:20:30on nylon. He also

00:20:32needed to design a special type

00:20:34of loom that could weave the

00:20:36fibers in the right size, shape

00:20:38and density. It took de Mestral

00:20:40a total of 14 years until

00:20:42he introduced the world to velcro,

00:20:44which means velvet and hook

00:20:46in French. De Mestral

00:20:48was hoping his invention would replace the

00:20:50zipper on clothes, but the fashion

00:20:52world found velcro cheap looking and

00:20:54unattractive. But NASA

00:20:56didn't think so and used velcro

00:20:58for astronauts' spacesuits and helmets

00:21:00in the 1960s. Now

00:21:02velcro is used everywhere from footwear

00:21:04to toys to airline seat cushions.

00:21:10Before the middle of the 20th century,

00:21:12most homes were heated with coal.

00:21:14It left soot throughout the house, which was

00:21:16especially visible on wallpapers.

00:21:18Kutal Products was the largest

00:21:20company that sold wallpaper cleaner,

00:21:22but in the 50s, more and more people

00:21:24switched to gas, oil and electricity

00:21:26and the sooty build-up problem was

00:21:28mostly solved. The owner of

00:21:30Kutal Products was trying to save his

00:21:32business. Meanwhile, his

00:21:34sister-in-law read that wallpaper cleaner

00:21:36could be used to make holiday decorations.

00:21:38She worked as a nursery

00:21:40school teacher and modeling clay was

00:21:42pretty hard for her students to handle.

00:21:44So, she decided to test this material

00:21:46for molding into different shapes

00:21:48and it works out just fine.

00:21:50She told her relatives about the discovery

00:21:52and suggested a name for it, Play-Doh.

00:21:54The Kutal company

00:21:56was about to go bankrupt, so it

00:21:58was a great alternative for a new business.

00:22:00Soon enough, Macy's

00:22:02and Marshall Field got interested

00:22:04in the new toy and started selling it.

00:22:06Play-Doh was originally only in

00:22:08one color, white, but soon

00:22:10expanded to red, blue and yellow.

00:22:12They also made several changes

00:22:14to the original recipe, but the mixture

00:22:16is still mostly the same as when it was used

00:22:18in wallpapers.

00:22:20An urban legend says that if you take all the

00:22:22Play-Doh compound ever made and

00:22:24put it through their Fun Factory play set,

00:22:26you'll get a snake that will wrap around

00:22:28the planet 300 times.

00:22:32A man in Turkey was renovating his home

00:22:34when he knocked down a wall in his basement

00:22:36with a sledgehammer. He found a tunnel

00:22:38behind the wall that led to an ancient

00:22:40underground city.

00:22:42The tunnel led to more tunnels and then

00:22:44halls and chambers.

00:22:46It turned out to be a whole underground complex

00:22:48with 18 stories and without a single

00:22:50inhabitant abandoned a long

00:22:52time ago.

00:22:54It was the city of Derinkuyu,

00:22:56built thousands of years ago.

00:22:58A home for up to 20,000 people.

00:23:00Whoever built it had great skill

00:23:02and it's rather easy to build tunnels

00:23:04out of the soft rock, but

00:23:06cave-ins are a big risk.

00:23:08None of the floors at Derinkuyu have ever

00:23:10collapsed. The city had a complex

00:23:12ventilation system with over 15,000

00:23:14shafts.

00:23:16The upper levels had the best ventilation

00:23:18and were used for living and sleeping quarters.

00:23:20The lower levels were mainly used

00:23:22for storage, but they also had a dungeon.

00:23:24In between, there were

00:23:26room for domestic animals, a school,

00:23:28a convent, and small churches.

00:23:32John Martin,

00:23:34a forestry professor, was out exploring

00:23:36a forest in Wisconsin one night.

00:23:38He was shining a UV flashlight

00:23:40up into the canopy to spot lichens,

00:23:42fungi, plants, and frogs that

00:23:44glow under the UV light.

00:23:46Then suddenly, he heard a flying squirrel

00:23:48chirping at a bird feeder, pointed

00:23:50the flashlight at it, and saw it

00:23:52light up pink.

00:23:54The professor told his colleagues about it and they

00:23:56decided to investigate further.

00:23:58They checked out some flying squirrel skins

00:24:00at museums to see if this pink glow was a

00:24:02common thing among them.

00:24:04It turns out that almost all of the flying squirrel

00:24:06specimens they looked at had the same

00:24:08pink fluorescence.

00:24:10Some flying squirrels didn't glow at all.

00:24:12Other animals with fluorescence, like

00:24:14puffins and chameleons, glow blue

00:24:16under UV light.

00:24:18The only other mammals with fluorescent fur

00:24:20are around 20 species of opossum.

00:24:22They live in different ecosystems

00:24:24and have different diets.

00:24:26The only thing they have in common with

00:24:28flying squirrels is that they're all active

00:24:30at night. And regular squirrels

00:24:32prefer sunlight.

00:24:34There's enough ultraviolet light in low light

00:24:36conditions and nocturnal animals

00:24:38need UV vision. So the pink

00:24:40glow might have to do with night time

00:24:42perception and navigation,

00:24:44especially in cold and snowy

00:24:46conditions. Or it could be a way

00:24:48for male flying squirrels to attract

00:24:50prospective mates. It could be a sort

00:24:52of mimicry.

00:24:54Welcome to Rapa Nui,

00:24:56better known as Easter Island.

00:24:58It's a tiny speck in the vast Pacific Ocean,

00:25:002,200 miles away

00:25:02from the coast of Chile.

00:25:04This island is most famous for its

00:25:06legendary Moai statues.

00:25:08This place is also home to one of the most

00:25:10mysterious writing systems in the world

00:25:12called Ranga Ranga.

00:25:14We found it on 27

00:25:16small wooden tablets.

00:25:18For years, historians have been

00:25:20arguing about the true history of these tablets.

00:25:22And now, we might have

00:25:24found the truth.

00:25:26Humans first set foot on this island

00:25:28in the 12th century.

00:25:30For many years, it was home to the Rapa Nui people.

00:25:32They were pretty isolated

00:25:34there in the Pacific Ocean until Europeans

00:25:36arrived in the 1720s.

00:25:38Europeans brought with them lots

00:25:40of troubles, leaving only a small

00:25:42fraction of the native population alive.

00:25:44Later in the 19th

00:25:46century, a missionary,

00:25:48Eugene Iroh, went to the island

00:25:50and discovered the wooden tablets with

00:25:52intricate symbols carved on them.

00:25:54He wrote how marvelous they are.

00:25:56But there are hundreds of them on the island,

00:25:58and that they can be found in

00:26:00every household. But unfortunately,

00:26:02not all of them survive

00:26:04to this day. We've only got 27

00:26:06of them. Some of them were heavily

00:26:08weathered, burned, or otherwise

00:26:10damaged. And now, they're scattered

00:26:12all over the world in museums and private

00:26:14collections. Some of the

00:26:16language's artifacts were carted off to

00:26:18Tahiti and then to Europe by Europeans,

00:26:20leaving none behind on

00:26:22Easter Island itself.

00:26:24The 4 sacred tablets found their home

00:26:26in a congregation in Rome.

00:26:28They were the ones used in the recent

00:26:30discovery.

00:26:32For years, historians have been arguing

00:26:34whether this writing system was made up

00:26:36by the islanders themselves,

00:26:38or they borrowed it from Europeans.

00:26:40To find the truth, they decided

00:26:42to use a technique called

00:26:44radiocarbon dating.

00:26:46All organic materials, like wood,

00:26:48charcoal, and so on, contain

00:26:50a tiny amount of a radioactive

00:26:52form of carbon called carbon-14.

00:26:54When life comes to an

00:26:56end, things stop taking in

00:26:58carbon-14, and the amount they

00:27:00had starts to decay over time.

00:27:02By measuring how much carbon-14

00:27:04is left in a sample,

00:27:06we can assume how old this sample is.

00:27:08This is how we learn the age of

00:27:10many fossils and artifacts.

00:27:12So, they looked at the age of some

00:27:14Rongoronga tablets. Three of them

00:27:16were crafted from trees grown in the

00:27:1818th or 19th century, which

00:27:20aligns with the arrival of Europeans.

00:27:22However, one of them is older

00:27:24than the Europeans' first visit to the

00:27:26island.

00:27:28There are two reasons to believe

00:27:30that Rapa Nui people created

00:27:32this writing system themselves.

00:27:34First, Rongoronga

00:27:36works differently from European languages.

00:27:38Decoding it is a pretty hard

00:27:40task. Unlike English,

00:27:42this language boasts over 400

00:27:44unique glyphs, none of which

00:27:46resemble any known writing system.

00:27:48There were many attempts to decipher

00:27:50this language, and none of them were

00:27:52successful so far.

00:27:54Second, one of the tablets

00:27:56is shown to be from around the 15th

00:27:58century, before the Europeans

00:28:00arrived. The problem is that

00:28:02radiocarbon dating can only tell us

00:28:04when the wood the tablet was made from

00:28:06was cut down, not when the writing

00:28:08was put on it. And since we've

00:28:10only got one tablet to go by,

00:28:12this isn't enough to be completely

00:28:14sure. On the other hand,

00:28:16why and where would they preserve

00:28:18cut wood for over 200 years

00:28:20just to grab it and write something

00:28:22on it one day? But anthropologists

00:28:24and historians say that it's

00:28:26possible. Scarce wood resources

00:28:28might have led the islanders

00:28:30to reuse old driftwood,

00:28:32which could be centuries older than the writing

00:28:34itself. This is known as the

00:28:36old wood problem in archaeology.

00:28:38Plus, the tablet looks

00:28:40very preserved. It was maintained

00:28:42to protect it from wood-damaging insects,

00:28:44humidity, and so on.

00:28:46That's why it survived over the

00:28:48centuries. Whatever is written

00:28:50on it, it was probably important

00:28:52for the Rapa Nui people.

00:28:54Now, all of these are guesses and clues,

00:28:56but scientists are cautiously optimistic.

00:28:58They believe that rongoronga

00:29:00could be one of the rare

00:29:02instances of independent writing

00:29:04invention, like those of the

00:29:06Sumerians or the Egyptians.

00:29:08But we need more evidence.

00:29:10In the Rapa Nui language,

00:29:12rogorogo means to

00:29:14recite or to declaim.

00:29:16Not everyone could write, only a select

00:29:18few. Probably only the elite

00:29:20of Easter Island, mostly men,

00:29:22knew and could read this written language.

00:29:24After colonization,

00:29:26none of them survived.

00:29:28So now we have to rack our brains

00:29:30trying to figure out what's written here.

00:29:32First, scholars can't agree

00:29:34on what type of script it is.

00:29:36We aren't even sure that this was their language.

00:29:38But even if it was,

00:29:40we don't know whether it's a primitive form

00:29:42of writing or a fully developed

00:29:44system. In the 1990s,

00:29:46a linguist, Stephen Roger

00:29:48Fisher, believed he might have

00:29:50cracked the code of rongoronga

00:29:52structure. His idea was that

00:29:54these tablets conveyed cosmogonies.

00:29:56Cosmogonies are

00:29:58stories or narratives that explain

00:30:00how the universe was created

00:30:02and how natural phenomena came to be.

00:30:04They often come from ancient

00:30:06traditions and cultures, like those

00:30:08found in East Polynesia.

00:30:10The tablets could have talked about

00:30:12things like how the world began,

00:30:14where everything came from,

00:30:16and how different aspects of nature,

00:30:18like the stars or the mountains, were formed.

00:30:20This would also explain why only

00:30:22the wise elite could write.

00:30:24Fisher thought that rongoronga

00:30:26is a mix of logographic

00:30:28and semasiographic systems,

00:30:30which means that some symbols

00:30:32represent spoken words, while

00:30:34others represent ideas or concepts.

00:30:36But deciphering them

00:30:38would be very hard because it requires

00:30:40extensive memory and knowing context

00:30:42because the symbols are more like

00:30:44hints than complete expressions.

00:30:46However, other language

00:30:48experts disagreed with his ideas,

00:30:50saying there were problems with how

00:30:52he put together his theory.

00:30:54Unfortunately, Fisher couldn't prove

00:30:56this hypothesis.

00:30:58Maybe these are just drawings.

00:31:00If we look at the tablets, there are

00:31:02some things that look recognizable.

00:31:04People, animals, plants,

00:31:06and geometric shapes.

00:31:08There are some birds. One of them looks like

00:31:10a frigate bird, which Rapa Nui people

00:31:12associate with the deity Maki Maki.

00:31:14There are also fish,

00:31:16centipedes, and so on.

00:31:18Or at least these glyphs look like them.

00:31:20Could it be just art or a form

00:31:22of decoration? Maybe.

00:31:24But there are some problems.

00:31:26The glyphs show a high degree of complexity

00:31:28and structure. They also keep

00:31:30the same style. For example,

00:31:32there are several symbols that show something

00:31:34human-like with a raised hand.

00:31:36The only difference is different heads.

00:31:38As if it wasn't complicated

00:31:40enough, this unique writing

00:31:42style also uses a system

00:31:44known as reverse ostrophedon.

00:31:46This means that each alternate

00:31:48line is flipped upside down,

00:31:50resembling nothing seen elsewhere.

00:31:52We don't know why they would turn the tablet

00:31:54upside down after each line.

00:31:56But all this shows that

00:31:58they had some sort of system and

00:32:00organization behind these symbols.

00:32:02Plus, it seems like they used

00:32:04these tablets every day for some

00:32:06practical purpose.

00:32:08But there's some hope for the future.

00:32:10New technology like AI and other

00:32:12computer programs might help us

00:32:14understand lost languages.

00:32:16We already started creating algorithms

00:32:18that could help us solve other mysteries

00:32:20like the Voynich manuscript.

00:32:22Academics even organized

00:32:24the Vesuvius Challenge,

00:32:26a machine learning competition that,

00:32:28in 2023, cracked the riddle

00:32:30of the ancient Herculaneum scrolls.

00:32:32The scrolls were buried under

00:32:34volcanic mud after the catastrophic

00:32:36eruption of Mount Vesuvius

00:32:38in 79 AD.

00:32:40In real life, the scrolls are very

00:32:42fragile, so deciphering them

00:32:44would be a very hard task.

00:32:46But with digital scanning and machine

00:32:48learning, it's much easier.

00:32:50They have a rich history.

00:32:52They most likely belong to the personal

00:32:54library of an Epicurean philosopher

00:32:56named Philodemus.

00:32:58These scrolls contain very important

00:33:00insights into Greek philosophy

00:33:02and Latin literature.

00:33:04If we decipher more of them,

00:33:06we'll learn more about the rich history

00:33:08of the Roman Empire.

00:33:10In February 1961,

00:33:12three adventurous rock lovers

00:33:14were searching for geodes near

00:33:16Oloncha, California.

00:33:18They took one of their findings home

00:33:20and studied it because it looked

00:33:22pretty unusual.

00:33:24They managed to cut through the matrix

00:33:26and discovered something unexpected

00:33:28inside. Instead of the usual mineral

00:33:30and cylindrical object resembling

00:33:32porcelain inside, there was a

00:33:34metal shaft at its center and around

00:33:36it, a hexagonal sheath made of

00:33:38copper and some unidentified

00:33:40substance. Its discoverers

00:33:42were hoping they had found an example

00:33:44of some unknown technology from

00:33:46500,000 years ago.

00:33:48It could be proof that there was a

00:33:50hyper-advanced ancient civilization

00:33:52like Atlantis or that time travel

00:33:54was real. Maybe someone

00:33:56came all the way from the future

00:33:58and accidentally dropped the item.

00:34:00Or maybe some intelligent extraterrestrial

00:34:02beings brought it when visiting Earth.

00:34:04If any of these theories were true,

00:34:06it would mean that scientists have to

00:34:08completely rewrite all human history

00:34:10as we know it.

00:34:12But not everyone shared the excitement

00:34:14and truth-seekers and alternative

00:34:16archaeology circles were trying to solve

00:34:18the mystery of the so-called Koso

00:34:20artifact until the late 90s with

00:34:22theories and debates. Then a group

00:34:24of skeptics took images and x-rays

00:34:26of the discovery and showed them

00:34:28to spark plug collectors.

00:34:30They have identified the artifact

00:34:32as a spark plug with corroded metal

00:34:34components from the 1920s

00:34:36and not ancient technology at all.

00:34:38Almost 20 years later,

00:34:40one of the co-discoverers of the

00:34:42artifact agreed to take it for inspection

00:34:44at the University of Washington.

00:34:46They officially confirmed it was

00:34:48a 1920s-era champion spark plug.

00:34:50And the stone matrix

00:34:52containing the artifact wasn't a geode

00:34:54but a concretion. Those can

00:34:56form because of natural processes

00:34:58over decades or years, but not

00:35:00millennia. The Koso

00:35:02artifact is a good example of an

00:35:04out-of-place artifact, which is

00:35:06a thing in pseudo-archaeology.

00:35:08It's something found in a place or

00:35:10time where it shouldn't logically be.

00:35:12These artifacts seem too advanced

00:35:14for the time period they're found in.

00:35:16They could also mean human activity

00:35:18existed when humans weren't supposed to be

00:35:20around.

00:35:22The Baghdad Battery is another example

00:35:24of such an artifact.

00:35:26It was found in the 1930s

00:35:28by a German archaeologist

00:35:30and consists of a clay jar,

00:35:32a copper cylinder, and an iron rod

00:35:34going through the jar's stopper.

00:35:36Its top, which was broken off,

00:35:38probably had been sealed with asphalt.

00:35:40Its discoverer noticed that

00:35:42it had two different metals and

00:35:44possibly an electrolyte, which are

00:35:46key components of a battery.

00:35:48There are no ancient writings to support

00:35:50this theory, but when scientists ran

00:35:52tests and filled it with an ionic solution

00:35:54like vinegar or wine, it showed

00:35:56that it could conduct electricity.

00:35:58If it really was a battery from

00:36:002,000 years ago, it might have been

00:36:02used in ancient medical practices

00:36:04or even embedded in statues

00:36:06to make it look like they were buzzing

00:36:08to impress people.

00:36:10Koenig, who found it, believed it was used

00:36:12for electroplating, a process for

00:36:14coating metals. Even if it

00:36:16was used as a battery, the Baghdad

00:36:18artifact could only produce a small

00:36:20amount of energy, around one volt

00:36:22of electricity. So,

00:36:24some people believe it was used as a storage

00:36:26container for sacred scrolls.

00:36:28Back in the 1930s,

00:36:30a couple stumbled upon something

00:36:32strange while walking along Red

00:36:34Creek in London, Texas.

00:36:36It was a piece of wood sticking out of what

00:36:38looked like an ancient rock formation.

00:36:40Around a decade later,

00:36:42their son, who was really curious to

00:36:44find out its secret, decided to

00:36:46crack open the rock and found a

00:36:48surprisingly modern hammer inside.

00:36:50This discovery caught the

00:36:52attention of Karl Bau, a young

00:36:54Earth creationist who claimed the rock

00:36:56surrounding the hammer dated back to the

00:36:58Cretaceous period. He saw it

00:37:00as evidence against evolutionary

00:37:02theory. After some investigation,

00:37:04scientists proved that the rock

00:37:06was not as ancient as it seemed.

00:37:08Geological processes have

00:37:10just encased the modern hammer over time,

00:37:12so it wasn't evidence of humans

00:37:14coexisting with dinosaurs like the

00:37:16Flintstones, as some hoped.

00:37:18It was just a case of a miner dropping

00:37:20his hammer centuries ago and

00:37:22nature doing its thing.

00:37:24A Chinese archaeologist

00:37:26supposedly stumbled upon some caves that

00:37:28seemed to serve as a burial ground

00:37:30for small beings with big oval

00:37:32heads. Alongside

00:37:34these remains, there was rock art

00:37:36depicting figures with round helmets,

00:37:38the sun, the moon, the earth

00:37:40and stars, connected by groups

00:37:42of pea-sized dots.

00:37:44They also found over 700

00:37:46mysterious stone disks

00:37:48etched with spiral grooves.

00:37:50Things got even weirder when these disks

00:37:52were sent to a Chinese professor

00:37:54who claimed the grooves were actually written

00:37:56characters. According to his

00:37:58translation, the disks told the tale

00:38:00of Dropa visitors from another planet

00:38:02who had crashed their spaceship

00:38:04on Earth about 12,000 years ago

00:38:06and had tried to live among us until

00:38:08they were hunted down by locals.

00:38:10But there's no concrete evidence that

00:38:12any of this actually happened.

00:38:14The story was first published back in

00:38:16the 1960s in a couple of articles,

00:38:18but it all seemed a bit fishy.

00:38:20None of the people involved,

00:38:22the archaeologist, the professor, or even

00:38:24the university they supposedly worked at

00:38:26seem to have left any trace in the records.

00:38:28And while there is a group in

00:38:30Tibet called the Dropka,

00:38:32they're fully human, not extraterrestrial

00:38:34visitors, and there's no solid proof

00:38:36that the Dropa stones exist at all.

00:38:38In a remote part

00:38:40of China, there are some bizarre

00:38:42pipe-like formations known as

00:38:44the Beigon Pipes. A local

00:38:46explorer found them back in

00:38:481996, protruding from Mount

00:38:50Beigon and along the shores of Toson

00:38:52Lake nearby. Some people

00:38:54thought they were the work of ancient guests

00:38:56from other planets. When samples

00:38:58of the pipe material were tested,

00:39:00they contained mostly common minerals,

00:39:02but there was a mysterious

00:39:048% of unknown stuff.

00:39:06Special testing revealed that

00:39:08these pipes had been there before humans.

00:39:10Chinese geologists later

00:39:12visited the site and suggested that these

00:39:14pipes were formed naturally over time.

00:39:16It could be sediment

00:39:18piling up in the fissures in the earth,

00:39:20or even fossilized tree roots from

00:39:22the area's lush past, but it's

00:39:24not certain.

00:39:26There's a mysterious terracotta head

00:39:28in Mexico with a hard to pronounce

00:39:30name, discovered back in the

00:39:321930s during a burial excavation.

00:39:34This head looked a lot like

00:39:36fancy Roman statues, so it wasn't

00:39:38clear what it was doing in Mexico.

00:39:40For some reason, the discoverer

00:39:42kept it secret for several decades.

00:39:44The head was found in a pyramid

00:39:46with three floors about 40 miles

00:39:48from Mexico City, alongside gold,

00:39:50copper, and pottery.

00:39:52Some argue that if this head really

00:39:54is many centuries old, it could

00:39:56mean the Romans or some other civilization

00:39:58had made it to Mesoamerica

00:40:00before Columbus did.

00:40:02There are also drift voyage theories

00:40:04mentioning a shipwreck after which

00:40:06some artifacts and survivors made

00:40:08it ashore. Some suggest

00:40:10that this figurine head was a little souvenir

00:40:12brought over by the Vikings,

00:40:14but there's no solid archaeological

00:40:16proof of the Vikings meeting the folks

00:40:18in Mesoamerica. There are

00:40:20some artifacts floating around, but none of them

00:40:22have been stamped as undeniable evidence

00:40:24of pre-Columbian contact,

00:40:26so the mystery of how this head

00:40:28ended up where it did remains

00:40:30unsolved. While

00:40:32digging a trench along a river in Romania,

00:40:34workers found a wedge,

00:40:36which is now famous as the aluminum

00:40:38wedge of Ajd, or the object

00:40:40of Ajd. Right next to it,

00:40:42there were some mastodon bones.

00:40:44Those distant relatives of elephants

00:40:46lived 11,000 years ago,

00:40:48so the wedge is probably of

00:40:50the same age. The cool part is

00:40:52that it's made of aluminum, a metal

00:40:54not even discovered until the 1800s.

00:40:56This material requires

00:40:58serious heat to produce.

00:41:00The wedge is also covered in a thick layer

00:41:02of oxide that's been sitting there

00:41:04for hundreds of years. Some folks

00:41:06believe this wedge must have crash-landed

00:41:08here on a spacecraft from some

00:41:10other planet. Some scientists

00:41:12think it's all a hoax, and others

00:41:14suppose it might be a human-made object

00:41:16with an unknown purpose.

00:41:18There are entire communities

00:41:20of unusual tiny organisms

00:41:22that live in lagoons in Patagonia,

00:41:24and they are some of the first forms

00:41:26of life ever. No one had

00:41:28known about them until two scientists,

00:41:30Brian and Maria, went to

00:41:32explore certain areas in Patagonia.

00:41:34Patagonia occupies

00:41:36nearly half of Argentina,

00:41:38and few people live there. Only

00:41:40some farmers and sheep ranchers

00:41:42mostly stay near rivers and grow things

00:41:44such as apples, pears, and alfalfa.

00:41:46A long time ago,

00:41:48it was a wild and distant place

00:41:50where Indian tribes lived.

00:41:52But this time, we're going to

00:41:54follow the tracks of life forms

00:41:56that appeared long before humans

00:41:58and look closer at these interesting

00:42:00microorganisms Brian and Maria

00:42:02found. Those two had to

00:42:04drive for 9 hours on some rough

00:42:06roads to reach their destination.

00:42:08They stayed in a small village.

00:42:10Only 35 people live there.

00:42:12These people depend on just one

00:42:14spring because it almost never

00:42:16rains there. On the last night

00:42:18in the village, Brian realized

00:42:20that satellite images he had taken

00:42:22had shown a set of lagoons

00:42:24that were only 10 miles away.

00:42:26The next day, the small

00:42:28team jumped into a car and went

00:42:30up the road as far as they could

00:42:32until it became too difficult to drive.

00:42:34They continued hiking the rest

00:42:36of the way. It was hard because

00:42:38they had to carry water to deal with

00:42:40the intense sunlight.

00:42:42In some spots, they ended up

00:42:44sinking up to their knees in a

00:42:46slush made of salt.

00:42:48Up there, there were 12 lagoons

00:42:50with perfectly clear waters.

00:42:52The place itself didn't offer much

00:42:54except for very acidic and salty

00:42:56water and intense direct sunlight.

00:42:58But it was kind of like

00:43:00traveling back in time

00:43:02because those conditions were like what

00:43:04Earth looked like many, many years ago.

00:43:06When Brian examined

00:43:08the lagoons, he was surprised

00:43:10to see many unusual microorganisms

00:43:12there. We call them

00:43:14stromatolites, and they're so small

00:43:16we can't even see them without a microscope.

00:43:18But they get together

00:43:20and form large communities.

00:43:22In the past, many unusual

00:43:24species lived this way. For example,

00:43:26cyanobacteria.

00:43:28They were important back in their time

00:43:30because they produced oxygen.

00:43:32Earth in its initial stages

00:43:34didn't have much of this gas in its atmosphere.

00:43:38The first stromatolites might have been

00:43:40formed by diverse types of bacteria

00:43:42that didn't necessarily

00:43:44produce any oxygen, but were just

00:43:46living their peaceful life there.

00:43:48They formed layers, piling on top

00:43:50of one another, so that at least

00:43:52some of them could get a bit of sunlight.

00:43:54They used sand and sticky liquids

00:43:56to stay close together.

00:43:58Brian was also incredibly surprised

00:44:00because those were the biggest living

00:44:02stromatolites he had ever seen.

00:44:04Living stromatolites usually

00:44:06grow to be over 3.3 feet

00:44:08high. But the newly found

00:44:10ones were 15 feet

00:44:12wide and a few feet tall,

00:44:14which is giant compared to those

00:44:16living in other places.

00:44:18And fossilized ones were even larger.

00:44:20A long time ago,

00:44:22they could grow bigger than today because

00:44:24there weren't many other species

00:44:26that could eat or harm them.

00:44:30Also, there are many

00:44:32other organisms today that

00:44:34can grow faster and more massive than

00:44:36them and take up their space.

00:44:38That's why stromatolites can

00:44:40only survive in rare places

00:44:42where hardly anything else can live,

00:44:44like in these very salty lagoons

00:44:46located high above sea level

00:44:48in Puta de Atacama.

00:44:50The stromatolites found there

00:44:52are the most famous ones because

00:44:54they might be some of the best examples

00:44:56of the earliest life on our planet.

00:44:58But they're not actually the first

00:45:00form of life on Earth.

00:45:02The oldest of their fossils are 3.5

00:45:04billion years old,

00:45:06while some other evidence we have

00:45:08tells us that life on our planet

00:45:10began around 4.1 billion years ago.

00:45:12Maybe some stromatolites

00:45:14lived back then as well.

00:45:16But Earth has changed a lot since then,

00:45:18and the places where they might've

00:45:20lived haven't survived.

00:45:24Now, all this may not seem

00:45:26like a lot at first glance,

00:45:28because no one has found an exotic

00:45:30and weird beast our world has never seen.

00:45:32But these are notable examples

00:45:34of what searching for life somewhere

00:45:36else in the universe might look like.

00:45:38Scientists who are interested

00:45:40in studying Mars often come to

00:45:42this place, since it might be similar

00:45:44to what the Red Planet looked like

00:45:46an exceptionally long time ago.

00:45:48If there were fossils hidden

00:45:50in the ancient rocks on Mars,

00:45:52they might look like these stromatolites.

00:45:54Another faraway land

00:45:56has revealed some of its secrets.

00:45:58It's Antarctica, with an ancient

00:46:00lost world found under its ice.

00:46:02Antarctica hasn't always

00:46:04been this frosty, isolated

00:46:06land of snow and ice sheets.

00:46:08Once, it used to be part of the

00:46:10Gawanda supercontinent, together

00:46:12with what is now South America,

00:46:14Africa, Australia, the Arabian

00:46:16Peninsula, and the Indian subcontinent.

00:46:18But at some point,

00:46:20it split off and went to build

00:46:22a life on its own.

00:46:24It formed as other landmasses started

00:46:26to move away, which created its coastline.

00:46:30But Antarctica was different

00:46:32in many other ways back then too.

00:46:34It used to be a land covered in

00:46:36magnificent forests and rivers full of life.

00:46:38Scientists use radar

00:46:40and satellites to explore a

00:46:42mysterious world hidden under the ice

00:46:44there. This ancient land,

00:46:46which is close to the Indian Ocean,

00:46:48is as big as the U.S. state of Maryland

00:46:50or Belgium. It's more than

00:46:5214 million years old.

00:46:54Some studies say that this area

00:46:56formed over 34 million years ago,

00:46:58which was way before Antarctica

00:47:00got into its deep freeze.

00:47:02At first, temperatures

00:47:04there were higher, possibly like

00:47:06the weather in Patagonia or the cold

00:47:08temperate rainforests of Tasmania,

00:47:10New Zealand, or maybe

00:47:12even more tropical than that.

00:47:14But as the climate became cooler,

00:47:16small glaciers started

00:47:18forming on hills close to the rivers.

00:47:20Valleys sunk deeper because

00:47:22of all that ice covering them.

00:47:24And then, temperatures dropped even

00:47:26lower, and a giant layer of ice

00:47:28covered the entire continent,

00:47:30hiding those old glaciers.

00:47:34Rivers shaped this

00:47:36lost world a long time ago,

00:47:38way before it ended up covered in

00:47:40ice that's almost 2 miles thick

00:47:42in some spots.

00:47:44Scientific studies of this area showed

00:47:46that those landscapes had been full of

00:47:48highlands and mountains.

00:47:50The ice that formed over Antarctica

00:47:52made the whole area very cold,

00:47:54so the landscape couldn't erode anymore.

00:47:56This means everything has

00:47:58remained basically the same and

00:48:00untouched under the ice for

00:48:02millions and millions of years.

00:48:04What's interesting is that we know

00:48:06less about this land hidden under the

00:48:08ice than about the surface of Mars.

00:48:10One way to explore it

00:48:12would be to drill through these ice sheets

00:48:14to check for samples of sediments

00:48:16below. They could tell us

00:48:18more about the ancient flora and fauna

00:48:20frozen underneath.

00:48:22It's not a new method. A similar method

00:48:24was used to collect 2-million-year-old

00:48:26samples in Greenland.

00:48:28Australia has a secret world too.

00:48:30Ancient organisms

00:48:32were found hidden in rocks in the

00:48:34northern parts of the continent that are

00:48:36about 1.6 billion years old.

00:48:38These microscopic things

00:48:40are part of a family called

00:48:42eukaryotes. The members of this

00:48:44family that exist today include

00:48:46plants, fungi, animals,

00:48:48and even those tiny organisms

00:48:50with just one cell, such as

00:48:52amoeba. All living

00:48:54things with nuclei in their cells,

00:48:56including us, can trace

00:48:58their family tree back to one of the

00:49:00oldest members of this family.

00:49:02That one is called the last eukaryotic

00:49:04common ancestor, and it

00:49:06lived more than 1.2 billion

00:49:08years ago. Those ancient organisms

00:49:10were more complex and bigger than

00:49:12bacteria. Maybe they were the

00:49:14first predators on Earth, hunting

00:49:16bacteria.

00:49:18Surprise! There's more than

00:49:20seven continents on our planet.

00:49:22Argo Land, a hidden continent, may

00:49:24help us understand how our planet will

00:49:26look in the future. To find out how

00:49:28it hid from us, and what secrets

00:49:30it holds, well, you'll just have to

00:49:32keep watching.

00:49:34Ready for a mystery? Scientists

00:49:36have been looking for a piece of land that's been

00:49:38missing for over 100 million

00:49:40years. Not exactly newsworthy,

00:49:42since people search for information

00:49:44about our planet's history all

00:49:46the time. You'd think it was probably

00:49:48this minuscule island somewhere

00:49:50in the middle of an ocean. Well,

00:49:52you'd be wrong, because this continent

00:49:54used to be as big as the entire

00:49:56US territory.

00:50:00For a long time, geologists have been

00:50:02wondering whether a massive chunk

00:50:04of contemporary Australia

00:50:06vanished into thin air. Some believed

00:50:08it was simply hiding somewhere on the

00:50:10ocean floor. But thanks to some

00:50:12Dutch specialists and seven years

00:50:14of investigating, we now know

00:50:16there are bits and pieces of this lost

00:50:18land mixed underneath the

00:50:20lush jungles of Southeast Asia.

00:50:22The continents we see in our

00:50:24geography manuals these days are

00:50:26like scattered pieces of a puzzle.

00:50:28There's even a nice experiment you

00:50:30can conduct to see for yourself.

00:50:32Find a world map online and

00:50:34print it out. Cut out all of the

00:50:36continents and play around with them for a

00:50:38while. You'll see they all

00:50:40fit together. Probably the most striking

00:50:42thing you'll see is how South

00:50:44America perfectly fits near

00:50:46Africa.

00:50:48If you close up the

00:50:50oceans that were formed in the last

00:50:52200 million years, the continents

00:50:54look like they form a giant letter

00:50:56C. And that C is what

00:50:58scientists call the supercontinent

00:51:00Pangaea. It was swimming in an

00:51:02ocean called Panthalocene, and

00:51:04the inner portion of that letter C

00:51:06had a smaller stretch of water called

00:51:08the Tethys Ocean. It is in this

00:51:10small ocean where things get interesting.

00:51:12Back in

00:51:14the Jurassic period, this vanished

00:51:16continent, which scientists started

00:51:18calling Argo Land, vanished

00:51:20and left a hole in Australia, now

00:51:22known as the Argo-Abyssal Plain.

00:51:24Geologists initially

00:51:26believed this was all due to a process

00:51:28called subduction. It's when

00:51:30one piece of the Earth's crust

00:51:32dives under another and recycles

00:51:34it into the planet's mantle.

00:51:36Usually,

00:51:38specialists track this continental

00:51:40vanishing through offscraping.

00:51:42That's how they figured out, for instance,

00:51:44that India bumped into Asia

00:51:46and gave us the majestic Himalayan

00:51:48mountains. But for Argo Land,

00:51:50things were a bit more complicated.

00:51:52Bits and pieces were popping up

00:51:54in places like Myanmar and Indonesia,

00:51:56but they behaved like these

00:51:58time-traveling relics, looking

00:52:00way older than when Argo Land

00:52:02supposedly separated from Australia.

00:52:04It immediately

00:52:06raised the question, if one

00:52:08continent can behave so weirdly,

00:52:10how many others are out there

00:52:12doing the same? Thankfully,

00:52:14scientists have now put together the entire

00:52:16timeline of Argo Land

00:52:18and figured out its mystery.

00:52:20It didn't sink or get swallowed up.

00:52:22It simply transformed into

00:52:24an Argo Pelagos, breaking

00:52:26into smaller pieces called

00:52:28microcontinents and floating away

00:52:30from Australia. These mini

00:52:32continents then took a little journey

00:52:34before settling down in Southeast Asian

00:52:36jungles. This discovery fits

00:52:38right into the whole Pangea puzzle.

00:52:40It helps us better understand

00:52:42how continents break up and make up,

00:52:44all in one discovery,

00:52:46revealing secrets of biodiversity

00:52:48and climate back from in the day.

00:52:50If you'd like to find out more secrets

00:52:52about history, civilization, or

00:52:54random day-to-day objects,

00:52:56be sure to like this video and subscribe

00:52:58to the channel.

00:53:00Like, for instance,

00:53:02the mystery behind this

00:53:04invisible species line in Indonesia.

00:53:06It's called the Wallace Line,

00:53:08named after the British explorer

00:53:10Alfred Russell Wallace.

00:53:12Over 150 years ago,

00:53:14Wallace was on a journey around the

00:53:16Malay Archipelago, visiting

00:53:18thousands of islands. What he found

00:53:20was that animals on one side of this

00:53:22invisible line were considerably

00:53:24different from ones on the other side.

00:53:26This invisible line

00:53:28is like a wall between marsupials

00:53:30and tigers, for instance, or

00:53:32honey eaters and trogons.

00:53:34But now we know that around

00:53:3635 million years ago, Australia

00:53:38broke up with Antarctica and collided

00:53:40with Asia, and this continental

00:53:42love triangle triggered significant

00:53:44changes. It didn't just change

00:53:46the way the land looked, it

00:53:48also messed with the species of animals

00:53:50on each side of the Wallace Line.

00:53:52In more recent times,

00:53:54a bunch of specialists published

00:53:56a study saying this collision and

00:53:58climate chaos made Asian species

00:54:00comfy living in the Malay

00:54:02Archipelago. Meanwhile,

00:54:04the Aussie animals weren't as happy with

00:54:06the new environment. It was too hot

00:54:08and wet for some, and others just

00:54:10couldn't handle the tropical island lifestyle.

00:54:14The discovery of this

00:54:16continental shift towards Asia

00:54:18might also explain a recent finding

00:54:20of a human species that

00:54:22didn't seem to make any sense either.

00:54:24You see, in this hidden cave

00:54:26in the Philippines, archaeologists

00:54:28stumbled upon a new human ancestor.

00:54:30It seems that about

00:54:3250,000 years ago, on the island of

00:54:34Luzon, there was this ancient

00:54:36human-like species. The lead

00:54:38researcher believed this finding was

00:54:40crucial for understanding human evolution

00:54:42in Asia, and it named

00:54:44this new species after the island

00:54:46Homo luzonensis.

00:54:48Now, here's where it gets a bit

00:54:50confusing. The bones found

00:54:52by archaeologists had one small

00:54:54problem. They had a weird mix

00:54:56of traits that hadn't been seen together

00:54:58in any other hominid species.

00:55:00Smaller teeth, similar to ours,

00:55:02yet hands and feet that were

00:55:04more like our ancient humanoid ancestors.

00:55:06It was those

00:55:08throwback limbs in particular

00:55:10that connected this human species with

00:55:12the long-lost southern territory.

00:55:14That's because they have this primitive

00:55:16look, like these hard-to-pronounce

00:55:18guys, for instance.

00:55:20Only these two species are separated

00:55:22by 2-3 million years of time

00:55:24in evolution. Many have wondered,

00:55:26is Homo luzonensis

00:55:28really a new species? Not

00:55:30everyone is convinced. But it may

00:55:32also explain why living creatures

00:55:34are also affected by the constant

00:55:36shifting of the land underneath us.

00:55:40Now, just because they haven't

00:55:42changed much during our lifetime,

00:55:44it doesn't mean our continents will look

00:55:46like this forever. They evolve from

00:55:48this large mega-continent,

00:55:50and they'll most likely end up in a similar

00:55:52position in the future.

00:55:54On that note, a geologist from

00:55:56a European university tried to

00:55:58predict the future of Earth's supercontinents.

00:56:00As a starting point,

00:56:02he used an earthquake that occurred in

00:56:04Portugal back in 1755,

00:56:06when tectonic plates behaved

00:56:08a bit differently than they should've.

00:56:10After years of research,

00:56:12he came up with a theory in

00:56:142016. He believed

00:56:16that the stitches between these tectonic

00:56:18plates might be coming apart,

00:56:20setting the stage for a bigger rupture.

00:56:22It's like when glass cracks between

00:56:24two holes in a car windshield.

00:56:26If this happens, a subduction

00:56:28zone could stretch from the Mediterranean

00:56:30all the way up past Ireland,

00:56:32bringing volcanoes,

00:56:34earthquakes, and new mountains to these

00:56:36areas. If all goes

00:56:38according to this plan, the Atlantic

00:56:40Ocean will disappear, and

00:56:42so will the Pacific, turning into

00:56:44one large stretch of water.

00:56:46Instead of the seven continents we know

00:56:48today, we'll get a new supercontinent,

00:56:50which he called Arica,

00:56:52because it would have Australia

00:56:54and the Americas at its heart.

00:56:56Now, it's not the

00:56:58only possible scenario, though.

00:57:00Novo Pangea might be another,

00:57:02and it's easy to foresee.

00:57:04The Atlantic stays open, and the Pacific

00:57:06closes. Then there's

00:57:08Amasia. For this one, you'd have to

00:57:10imagine the Arctic Ocean closing,

00:57:12and the Atlantic and Pacific staying

00:57:14open. Everything shifts to the

00:57:16North around the North Pole, except

00:57:18Antarctica. One final

00:57:20scenario would be called Pangea

00:57:22Ultima. Slow down the spreading

00:57:24in the Atlantic, and a new subduction

00:57:26plate pops up on the America's

00:57:28East Coast. Well, either

00:57:30way, if all the continents collide

00:57:32in the future once more, some

00:57:34say it won't be fun to experience.

00:57:36It's believed that in around

00:57:38250 million years,

00:57:40we'll feel like we're being trapped in a

00:57:42sweltering, soggy plastic bag.

00:57:44Weirdly, that bag will be

00:57:46the best place to live on Earth, the

00:57:48coastal areas. As for the inland

00:57:50spots, they'll be sizzling,

00:57:52like a desert on fire.

00:57:54Many of the species of animals we know

00:57:56today might not make it. As

00:57:58for us humans, we'll need to be creative

00:58:00if we want to withstand the heat.

00:58:02We should be thankful, though.

00:58:04These digital models are still great

00:58:06because we can use them to test all

00:58:08sorts of interesting ideas.

00:58:10For example, how these supercontinents

00:58:12would mess with tides.

00:58:14Or future space travels into consideration.

00:58:16These models can help us understand

00:58:18the climates of exoplanets, too.

00:58:20Those are located outside our

00:58:22solar system.

00:58:24Meet Costello.

00:58:26He's a Brazilian reef octopus.

00:58:28But Costello isn't a

00:58:30regular octopus. While watching

00:58:32him, scientists began to suspect

00:58:34that he might be experiencing nightmares.

00:58:36When he was sleeping,

00:58:38he was changing colors, making some

00:58:40wild movements, expelling water,

00:58:42and even releasing ink.

00:58:44They decided to study Costello for a while.

00:58:46His behavior during sleep

00:58:48resembled stress and fear.

00:58:50The study showed that he might see

00:58:52vivid dreams, which are,

00:58:54at times, spooky.

00:58:56Well, as just one octopus,

00:58:58these cute underwater creatures are known for

00:59:00their intelligence and sometimes

00:59:02human-like behavior. So it's

00:59:04entirely possible that they see

00:59:06dreams just like we do.

00:59:08In Costello's case, he might be

00:59:10haunted by memories of tough times

00:59:12off the coast of the Florida Keys.

00:59:14Poor Costello has a rough past.

00:59:16He lost a tentacle to a

00:59:18predator before captivity.

00:59:20So maybe that's what he sees in his dreams.

00:59:22If proven true, this

00:59:24discovery could reshape how we

00:59:26perceive intelligence and awareness in

00:59:28both animals and humans.

00:59:32Well, it turns out plants can

00:59:34talk. Well, kind of.

00:59:36Scientists found out that plants actually

00:59:38make ultrasonic clicks when they're stressed.

00:59:40Imagine tomatoes and

00:59:42tobacco plants in a jam.

00:59:44They're making sounds like popping bubble wrap,

00:59:46but way too high for us to hear.

00:59:48These are called ultrasonic

00:59:50signals, and they might be

00:59:52their way of indicating stress.

00:59:54That would mean that plants can't

00:59:56communicate with each other, and stressed

00:59:58plants prefer to be drama queens

01:00:00and let everybody know about their

01:00:02troubles. They make around 30 to

01:00:0450 pops and clicks per hour.

01:00:06Calm and healthy plants don't do

01:00:08nearly as much.

01:00:10And not only do plants talk,

01:00:12but even have their own language.

01:00:14They make different sounds

01:00:16depending on whether the plant is experiencing

01:00:18thirst or is bothered by a

01:00:20snipped stem or something else.

01:00:22Moreover, some of them

01:00:24are so dramatic that they start

01:00:26ringing alarms even before

01:00:28they show signs of dehydration,

01:00:30when they know they're getting close to it.

01:00:32Scientists aren't sure why they

01:00:34do that, though. They believe that

01:00:36it might involve cavitation,

01:00:38a term that means air bubbles dancing

01:00:40in the plant's plumbing.

01:00:42Plants that sing these symphonies include

01:00:44corn, wheat, grapes,

01:00:46and even cacti. That is

01:00:48quite a big discovery in agriculture.

01:00:50We could use it to check if our crops

01:00:52are thirsty and stuff like that.

01:00:54So now, we'll be eavesdropping

01:00:56on plants and deciphering their

01:00:58secret language.

01:01:00Okay,

01:01:02time for some universal news!

01:01:04Recent studies are shaking up what

01:01:06we thought we knew about the Universe's

01:01:08age. Our findings during

01:01:10the last decades showed that the

01:01:12Universe must be around 13.7

01:01:14billion years old.

01:01:16However, a new study shows that

01:01:18it might be almost twice as old,

01:01:20up to 26.7 billion

01:01:22years. Keep in mind that it's

01:01:24not proven, so for now, the

01:01:26official number stays the same.

01:01:28Scientists were using the time since

01:01:30the Big Bang and studying ancient

01:01:32stars to measure the Universe's age.

01:01:34But some stars were playing

01:01:36hard to get, looking older than

01:01:38the Universe itself. For example,

01:01:40the ancient star Methuselah,

01:01:42which is estimated to be around

01:01:4414 billion years old, which

01:01:46would be older than our Universe.

01:01:48Also, the James Webb Space Telescope

01:01:50caught galaxies looking super

01:01:52mature just a few hundred million

01:01:54years after the Big Bang.

01:01:56All this poses some hard puzzles

01:01:58for astronomers.

01:02:00But this new hypothesis

01:02:02combines the Expanding Universe

01:02:04Theory with something called the

01:02:06Tired Light Theory. This suggests

01:02:08that light loses energy as

01:02:10it zips across cosmic distances.

01:02:12Combine this with the Expanding

01:02:14Universe Theory, and bam!

01:02:16As the Universe expands,

01:02:18the light loses energy, so we simply

01:02:20can't see all the super-ancient stars

01:02:22that are very far away from us.

01:02:24Which is why we could make a

01:02:26mistake in calculating our

01:02:28Universe's age. The new model

01:02:30also pushes back when galaxies started

01:02:32forming. It suggests that those

01:02:34early galaxies spotted by the Webb

01:02:36Telescope took way longer to

01:02:38form than we originally thought.

01:02:40This study is a serious shake-up in

01:02:42the scientific community. If we

01:02:44made such a huge mistake in calculations,

01:02:46we'd have to rethink the very

01:02:48fundamental astrophysics principles.

01:02:50That would be a giant leap,

01:02:52and we'd have to make a huge

01:02:54makeover of almost everything.

01:02:56Which is why we need to be very

01:02:58cautious about it. So,

01:03:00while scientists test this new theory,

01:03:02we just have to wait for the results.

01:03:04Now these aren't the only

01:03:06space news. The new AI

01:03:08technology is already being actively

01:03:10used for scientific research.

01:03:12This time, AI is helping us

01:03:14to look for signs of extraterrestrial

01:03:16life. Researchers in

01:03:18SETI created machine-learning

01:03:20algorithms that would help us sift

01:03:22through the cosmic noise faster

01:03:24and more efficiently. When you point

01:03:26a radio telescope at the stars,

01:03:28it's like turning into a celestial radio

01:03:30station that's full of different signals.

01:03:32We catch everything from

01:03:34pulsars to radio galaxies

01:03:36and earthly interference.

01:03:38Obviously, it would be pretty hard to

01:03:40identify a potential signal

01:03:42from extraterrestrials in all

01:03:44this mess. For over 60

01:03:46years, scientists had to do all this

01:03:48manually. It was a daunting task

01:03:50to scan the skies and explore

01:03:52countless stars and radio frequencies.

01:03:54But now, AI came

01:03:56to help. The algorithms are

01:03:58trained to recognize and distinguish

01:04:00known interference patterns, like

01:04:02those from mobile phones and electronic

01:04:04devices amidst the cosmic data.

01:04:06They spot anything deviating

01:04:08from known patterns, the potential

01:04:10needle in the haystack.

01:04:12And we've already had some breakthroughs

01:04:14here. The astronomers caught

01:04:16eight signals that didn't fit known patterns.

01:04:18While not confirmed as

01:04:20extraterrestrial life, they

01:04:22show that there's a great potential

01:04:24for future research.

01:04:26Going back to animals,

01:04:28this time we're visiting prehistoric

01:04:30Earth. Imagine turtles

01:04:32so massive they make today's

01:04:34turtles look like tiny toys.

01:04:36Recently, scientists stumbled upon

01:04:38the fossilized remains of one of these

01:04:40giants. It's a sea-dwelling

01:04:42titan that cruised the European

01:04:44waters about 80 to 70 million years

01:04:46ago. The discovery was

01:04:48accidental. A hiker in northern

01:04:50Spain stumbled upon fragments

01:04:52of this creature near the Pyrenees Mountains.

01:04:54This turtle was roughly the size

01:04:56of a rhino, around 30 feet

01:04:58in length. Just to give you an idea,

01:05:00this creature would be about the size

01:05:02of an average car.

01:05:04It shows that extreme sizes were more

01:05:06common before an extinction event.

01:05:08The turtles we know now,

01:05:10of smaller, still substantial sizes,

01:05:12dominated afterward.

01:05:14But the ancient oceans were filled

01:05:16with giant turtles munching on

01:05:18mollusks and jellyfish.

01:05:20This discovery also challenges

01:05:22the idea that gigantic turtles

01:05:24were exclusive to North America.

01:05:26The existence of this turtle proves

01:05:28that these colossal reptiles were

01:05:30hanging out in European waters too.

01:05:32So this might be just the tip

01:05:34of an iceberg. And you'll want to

01:05:36steer around that one too.

01:05:38And finally,

01:05:40NASA's James Webb Space

01:05:42Telescope has made a great discovery.

01:05:44It detected a crucial

01:05:46carbon compound in space.

01:05:48It's called methylcation.

01:05:50And this tiny molecule, even if it might

01:05:52seem insignificant, could help

01:05:54us unlock the secrets of interstellar

01:05:56organic chemistry.

01:05:58Carbon is incredibly important.

01:06:00Carbon molecules are building blocks

01:06:02that construct everything from

01:06:04stars to planets to, well,

01:06:06us. It's the key ingredient

01:06:08for life. And scientists are

01:06:10eager to understand how it shaped

01:06:12our existence on Earth, and if

01:06:14it could do the same elsewhere in the

01:06:16universe. And methylcation plays

01:06:18a very important role in the creation

01:06:20of complex carbon-based molecules.

01:06:24That's why it's very cool

01:06:26that we discovered methylcation,

01:06:28even if it's very far away.

01:06:30NASA scientists found it in a young

01:06:32star system. This system is

01:06:34chilling about 1,350

01:06:36light-years away from us

01:06:38in the Orion Nebula.

01:06:40The star in this system, which is smaller

01:06:42and a bit weaker than our Sun,

01:06:44is bombarded by intense ultraviolet

01:06:46light from nearby hot

01:06:48young massive stars.

01:06:50You'd think such strong UV

01:06:52radiation would destroy complex

01:06:54organic molecules. But the research

01:06:56team believes that it might

01:06:58actually kick-start the formation of

01:07:00these carbon compounds.

01:07:02Maybe stronger stars and their insane

01:07:04radiation levels actually work

01:07:06as energy sources for life.

01:07:08They set off a chemical chain reaction,

01:07:10which results in complex carbon

01:07:12stuff like plants and animals.

01:07:14Seems like we've found yet another

01:07:16puzzle piece.

01:07:22Hey, did you hear about the

01:07:24Philae spacecraft and its wild ride

01:07:26on a comet called 67P

01:07:28back in 2014?

01:07:30It was supposed to have a smooth landing,

01:07:32but things went haywire when

01:07:34parts of the device failed to fire,

01:07:36and Philae bounced off the surface

01:07:38like a rubber ball. It was like a scene

01:07:40out of a cartoon. Luckily,

01:07:42Philae managed to send signals back to

01:07:44Earth, confirming it was still working.

01:07:46But no one knew where it ended up.

01:07:48It was a mystery for almost

01:07:50two years, until new images

01:07:52from a nearby probe revealed

01:07:54Philae's awkward position.

01:07:56Lying on its side, with its spider-like

01:07:58legs in the air, wedged

01:08:00in a shadowed crack on 67P.

01:08:02And it gets even

01:08:04better. Philae's data suggested

01:08:06it had made a brief second touchdown

01:08:08that lasted only two minutes,

01:08:10and scientists had no idea

01:08:12where it happened. It was like a game

01:08:14of cosmic hide-and-seek.

01:08:16One planetary scientist

01:08:18from the European Space Agency

01:08:20said that Philae left them with

01:08:22quote, one final mystery waiting

01:08:24to be solved, end quote.

01:08:26The good news is that scientists were

01:08:28able to uncover Philae's second

01:08:30touchdown site, and learn more about

01:08:32the surface of 67P.

01:08:34It turns out that when Philae

01:08:36bashed into the surface, it scraped

01:08:38away a layer of dust and debris

01:08:40about 10 inches deep on the surface

01:08:42of the comet, revealing its

01:08:44icy interior. The ice

01:08:46was so bright that the team could see it

01:08:48even in images taken almost two

01:08:50years after Philae's crash.

01:08:52It was like uncovering a secret

01:08:54treasure hidden deep in the comet's

01:08:56belly. And there's more.

01:08:58The timing of the crash

01:09:00allowed scientists to calculate

01:09:02how soft 67P's interior

01:09:04was. By analyzing data

01:09:06from a magnetometer within Philae,

01:09:08they noticed a significant spike

01:09:10right around the time of the second

01:09:12touchdown. The spike lasted

01:09:14for about three seconds, and the team

01:09:16concluded that the comet's interior

01:09:18was about as soft as freshly

01:09:20fallen snow. Imagine that,

01:09:22a comet with fluffier boulders

01:09:24than froth on a cappuccino.

01:09:26Now that planetary scientists

01:09:28have a better understanding of a comet's

01:09:30physical characteristics, they can

01:09:32plan for future missions with much

01:09:34more certainty. And that's where

01:09:36things get exciting. The hope

01:09:38for a future project named Ambition

01:09:40would be to return, for the

01:09:42first time, a cryogenically

01:09:44stored sample from a comet's interior

01:09:46to Earth. Philae

01:09:48lander may not have had the smoothest landing,

01:09:50but it sure gave us some wild

01:09:52and wacky cosmic adventures.

01:09:54When it comes to comets,

01:09:56probably the star of the show

01:09:58in the comet world

01:10:00is Halley's comet.

01:10:02As a periodic comet, it visits

01:10:04Earth every 75 years or so,

01:10:06which means that you have a chance

01:10:08to see it twice in your lifetime.

01:10:10The last time it came by was in

01:10:121986, and it won't return

01:10:14until 2061.

01:10:16The comet was named after the

01:10:18English astronomer Edmund Halley,

01:10:20who realized that three comets

01:10:22seen in 1531,

01:10:241607, and 1682

01:10:26were the same comet

01:10:28returning again and again.

01:10:30He predicted that the comet would return

01:10:32in 1758, and it was

01:10:34named after him, even though he wasn't

01:10:36alive to see it. Halley's

01:10:38comet was first seen in 239

01:10:40BCE, and ancient

01:10:42Asian astronomers

01:10:44recorded its passage in their

01:10:46chronicles. Back then, people

01:10:48believed that comets were omens

01:10:50of great disaster or change.

01:10:52But we know better now.

01:10:54In the 1900s, the writer Mark

01:10:56Twain joked that he came in

01:10:58with Halley's comet in 1835

01:11:00and that he expected to go out

01:11:02with it. He passed the day

01:11:04after the comet's closest approach

01:11:06in 1910. Wow!

01:11:08The comet Hale-Bopp

01:11:10also gathered some attention back

01:11:12in 1997.

01:11:14This comet was so bright that people

01:11:16could see it with their naked eye for about

01:11:18a year and a half, especially in

01:11:20the Northern Hemisphere. In fact,

01:11:22it was a thousand times brighter

01:11:24than Halley's comet. Even folks

01:11:26in heavily lighted areas, like

01:11:28Chicago, could catch a glimpse

01:11:30of its blue and white tails.

01:11:32The Hale-Bopp comet was discovered by

01:11:34Alan Hale in New Mexico

01:11:36and Thomas Bopp in Arizona.

01:11:38They were just gazing at the sky

01:11:40and suddenly saw this fuzzy object

01:11:42nearby that wasn't there before.

01:11:44Astronomers were excited

01:11:46about this event too.

01:11:48They used telescopes to study the comet

01:11:50as it approached, and NASA even used

01:11:52the Hubble Space Telescope to get a better

01:11:54peek. Hale-Bopp's nucleus

01:11:56was huge, like 19-25

01:11:58miles across, and there

01:12:00was a lot of dust streaming out from it.

01:12:02Now, speaking of Hale-Bopp,

01:12:04the pop song

01:12:06Mmm Bop by the Hanson Brothers

01:12:08was a worldwide hit in that very same year

01:12:101997. Mmm,

01:12:12is there a connection?

01:12:14Anyway, 5,000 years ago,

01:12:16another comet swung by our Sun

01:12:18and put on a show for civilizations

01:12:20across Eurasia and North Africa.

01:12:22Unfortunately, this

01:12:24mysterious visitor wasn't recorded

01:12:26in any historical accounts,

01:12:28but scientists have a sneaky way of

01:12:30figuring things out. Enter

01:12:32Comet Atlas, or

01:12:34C2019Y4,

01:12:36which made its debut in 2020.

01:12:38Sadly, Atlas met its end

01:12:40when it broke apart into a shower

01:12:42of icy fragments. But in a

01:12:44new study using NASA's Hubble Space

01:12:46Telescope, astronomers

01:12:48discovered that Atlas was a broken

01:12:50off piece of that ancient comet

01:12:52from 5,000 years ago.

01:12:54Talk about a family reunion!

01:12:56Comet families are not

01:12:58unusual, and one of the most famous

01:13:00examples is the doomed

01:13:02Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet

01:13:04that fell piece by piece into

01:13:06Jupiter in 1994.

01:13:08But Atlas is a bit of a weirdo.

01:13:10It broke up while it was

01:13:12far from the Sun, which is strange

01:13:14because it should have broken up during

01:13:16its closest pass to the Sun.

01:13:18How did it survive its last pass

01:13:205,000 years ago?

01:13:22Well, by observing the breakup of the

01:13:24fragments. Scientists can learn more

01:13:26about how the parent comet was put

01:13:28together. And they discovered that

01:13:30one fragment of Atlas

01:13:32disintegrated in a matter of days,

01:13:34while another piece lasted for weeks.

01:13:36This suggests that part of

01:13:38the nucleus was stronger than the other

01:13:40part. But the explanation for

01:13:42why it broke apart is still

01:13:44up in the air. Pun intended.

01:13:46It could be due to centrifugal

01:13:48forces, or it could be because

01:13:50of super-volatile ices that

01:13:52blew the piece apart like a firework.

01:13:54One thing is for sure, though,

01:13:56Atlas' surviving sibling

01:13:58won't return until the 50th century.

01:14:00So until then, we'll have

01:14:02to settle for admiring the other beauties

01:14:04of the night sky.

01:14:06This next funny story is about

01:14:08a bunch of astronomers on the island of

01:14:10Maui. One night, they were

01:14:12just chilling and gazing at the stars

01:14:14with their fancy telescope, when they

01:14:16suddenly spotted something weird.

01:14:18It was a comet, but not just

01:14:20any old comet. This one was

01:14:22traveling super-fast and had a

01:14:24really strange shape. It was

01:14:26so odd that they even thought

01:14:28it might be a spacecraft from outside

01:14:30our planet. They named it

01:14:32Oumuamua, which means a messenger

01:14:34from afar arriving first in

01:14:36Hawaii. Now, I know

01:14:38what you're thinking. Did they find a new

01:14:40civilization living in space?

01:14:42Well, not quite. But

01:14:44what they did find was pretty cool.

01:14:46You see, when comets pass through our

01:14:48solar system, they usually speed up

01:14:50as they leave because of the sun's

01:14:52gravity and the dust on their surface.

01:14:54But Oumuamua was too small

01:14:56to have any surface dust, so

01:14:58it didn't have the same glowing halo

01:15:00as other comets. So, what was

01:15:02causing Oumuamua to speed up?

01:15:04One possibility was due to

01:15:06a strange effect, where small

01:15:08bodies like asteroids absorb

01:15:10photons from the sun and

01:15:12re-radiate them in a propulsive plume.

01:15:14But that effect was too small

01:15:16to explain Oumuamua's acceleration.

01:15:18That left three

01:15:20possible explanations. Propulsion

01:15:22provided by nitrogen, carbon

01:15:24monoxide, or molecular hydrogen.

01:15:26And guess what?

01:15:28One theory is that Oumuamua was rich

01:15:30in water, which is made up of

01:15:32hydrogen and oxygen. Some

01:15:34believe that before the comet entered our

01:15:36solar system, the water froze into

01:15:38ice in what's known as an

01:15:40amorphous state. This type of

01:15:42ice is porous and dotted with pockets

01:15:44like my jeans.

01:15:46The theory then goes to say that

01:15:48cosmic radiation caused some of the hydrogen

01:15:50in the water molecules to break

01:15:52away, collecting in the pores

01:15:54like fuel in tiny fuel tanks.

01:15:56When Oumuamua entered the

01:15:58inner solar system, it probably

01:16:00warmed up just enough

01:16:02for the ice to convert to its crystalline state,

01:16:04essentially closing the pockets

01:16:06and forcing the hydrogen out

01:16:08of the comet. This might've provided

01:16:10the propulsive push that could

01:16:12explain the acceleration.

01:16:14If this theory is correct, there are no

01:16:16cosmic neighbors, just some really

01:16:18cool science. Aloha!

01:16:20Egyptian archaeologists

01:16:22made an extraordinary discovery

01:16:24near Cairo just recently.

01:16:26Drumroll please!

01:16:28The most ancient and most complete

01:16:30mummy yet discovered in the country.

01:16:32Yes, they were keeping it under

01:16:34wraps.

01:16:36The 4,300-year-old mummy was found

01:16:38in a group of tombs close to the

01:16:40Step Pyramid of Djoser, dating back

01:16:42to the Egyptian Old Kingdom.

01:16:44It was covered in layers of gold.

01:16:46The team also found several other

01:16:48tombs, including one belonging to

01:16:50an ancient Egyptian official, and

01:16:52another belonging to a secret keeper

01:16:54who had the power to perform special

01:16:56ceremonies. Another interesting

01:16:58tomb was that of a writer, which

01:17:00featured the largest statues ever found

01:17:02in the area. This vast burial

01:17:04site is also home to more than a dozen

01:17:06pyramids and resting grounds.

01:17:08Probably one of the most famous

01:17:10mummies in the world is that of

01:17:12Hatshepsut. She ruled Egypt like

01:17:14a boss for around 20 years,

01:17:16building all sorts of impressive

01:17:18buildings and creating new trade routes.

01:17:20But when archaeologist

01:17:22Howard Carter found her tomb

01:17:24in the Valley of the Kings, her sarcophagus

01:17:26was empty. However,

01:17:28Carter did find two coffins

01:17:30in another tomb, one of which belonged to

01:17:32Hatshepsut's witness, and the other

01:17:34to an unknown woman.

01:17:36In 2006, a team of

01:17:38specialists decided to investigate

01:17:40whether that mysterious lady was

01:17:42the queen herself. They found

01:17:44a molar tooth in a wooden box with

01:17:46Hatshepsut's name on it, and

01:17:48when they compared it to a gap in the mummy's

01:17:50mouth, it was a perfect match.

01:17:52Ramses II was a

01:17:54pretty impressive ruler, but it was

01:17:56his mummy that eventually made history.

01:17:58We don't hear too much

01:18:00about his daddy.

01:18:02Ramses is considered

01:18:04to be the most powerful pharaoh in

01:18:06all of Egypt, as he reigned for

01:18:08a whopping 6 decades.

01:18:10He also lived to be over 90 years old.

01:18:12That's pretty amazing,

01:18:14considering the time he lived in.

01:18:16Ramses II supposedly had over

01:18:18100 offspring, too. Talk about

01:18:20a big family! When he passed

01:18:22away, his body was originally

01:18:24buried in the Valley of the Kings.

01:18:26But some sneaky guys tried to rob

01:18:28his tomb of all his treasures.

01:18:30Officials back in the day weren't having

01:18:32any of that, though, so they moved

01:18:34his body to a secret location

01:18:36to keep it safe. Fast forward

01:18:38to the 1800s, and Ramses

01:18:40II's mummy was discovered

01:18:42along with a bunch of other rulers and

01:18:44important officials. But it wasn't

01:18:46in the best condition, so

01:18:48archaeologists flew it to Paris to

01:18:50get it, well, you know, pampered.

01:18:52Problem was, he couldn't

01:18:54just be transported into another country.

01:18:56The only solution available

01:18:58was to give Ramses II

01:19:00his own passport. His

01:19:02occupation was listed as king,

01:19:04and the document even featured his

01:19:06photo. You know, most

01:19:08mummies aren't necessarily known for having

01:19:10the most hydrated skin.

01:19:12But that of an ancient woman,

01:19:14also known as Lady Di,

01:19:16proves otherwise. No, not that

01:19:18Lady Di. This wealthy lady

01:19:20from ancient times was discovered

01:19:22in an ornate tomb in 1971,

01:19:24and she looked fabulous,

01:19:26if we can say so, about a mummy.

01:19:28Thanks to the special conditions

01:19:30in her tomb, like the moisture in the

01:19:32environment and the lack of oxygen,

01:19:34her body was almost perfectly preserved.

01:19:36Her skin was soft,

01:19:38her hair was on point, and she was still

01:19:40flexible. The museum that

01:19:42now proudly displays her mummy

01:19:44also shows a ton of fancy items

01:19:46that were buried with her, like

01:19:48dinnerware and musical instruments.

01:19:50Archaeologists investigated

01:19:52the mummy further and discovered that

01:19:54she passed away from a heart attack

01:19:56at around 50 years old.

01:19:58Even though it hasn't been around for over

01:20:002,000 years, Lady Di

01:20:02is still making history.

01:20:04The mummy of Ötzi the

01:20:06Iceman was discovered in the Alps

01:20:08in 1991. Austrian

01:20:10authorities initially thought he was

01:20:12a modern mountaineer because he was

01:20:14so well-preserved. Turns out

01:20:16he was actually from the Copper Age.

01:20:18He was found in a mountain pass

01:20:20over 10,000 feet above

01:20:22sea level. Through studying his mummy,

01:20:24we've learned so much about life

01:20:26in Copper Age Europe. For example,

01:20:28we know that he was a native of

01:20:30Central Europe and enjoyed eating

01:20:32meat. He also suffered from

01:20:34arthritis, narrowing arteries,

01:20:36and intestinal problems.

01:20:38But he likely used acupuncture

01:20:40and medicinal herbs to treat these

01:20:42conditions. And apparently,

01:20:44he was pretty handy with tools.

01:20:46He sharpened them just days before

01:20:48his untimely demise.

01:20:50Who knows if he was expecting

01:20:52trouble or just getting ready for

01:20:54some routine work.

01:20:56Now, King Tut in his story

01:20:58is most likely the one that made

01:21:00all mummies famous.

01:21:02This pharaoh passed away at the young age of

01:21:0419, more than 3,000

01:21:06years ago. But his mummy

01:21:08is still one of the most well-known

01:21:10in the world. When his tomb was opened

01:21:12in 1922, people went

01:21:14wild because it was still intact,

01:21:16unlike many other royal tombs.

01:21:18It had some seriously blinged-out

01:21:20coffins, including one made

01:21:22of solid gold. Not only

01:21:24did Tut's tomb give us a glimpse into

01:21:26ancient Egyptian history, but

01:21:28his mummy also taught us a lot about

01:21:30the time he lived in.

01:21:32DNA analysis helped identify his

01:21:34parents and revealed that the pharaoh

01:21:36had a rare bone disorder that

01:21:38might've made walking a bit tough.

01:21:40Now, Ginger

01:21:42is most likely one of the coolest

01:21:44mummies you'll ever hear about.

01:21:46He's like a time traveler from 5,000

01:21:48years ago who's still looking

01:21:50fly with his golden hair and

01:21:52perfectly preserved nails.

01:21:54Ginger was discovered in Egypt

01:21:56and is believed to be the earliest known

01:21:58mummified body.

01:22:00Before people even knew about mummification,

01:22:02they used to place bodies in shallow

01:22:04graves in the hot, dry sand.

01:22:06And since the sand absorbed

01:22:08all the water, bacteria couldn't

01:22:10reproduce, and the body was preserved

01:22:12naturally. Now, scientists

01:22:14are not sure if Ginger's preservation

01:22:16was intentional or not. But

01:22:18since he was buried with some pottery

01:22:20vessels, it's likely that whoever

01:22:22buried him knew some serious preservation

01:22:24techniques. If you want to meet

01:22:26Ginger in person, he's currently

01:22:28chilling at the British Museum.

01:22:30One Dutch art collector bought

01:22:32a statue from Asia and

01:22:34ended up finding a weird discovery.

01:22:36The statue contained a mummy

01:22:38hidden inside. Unfortunately,

01:22:40the body was too fragile

01:22:42to move, so they had to leave it there.

01:22:44The coolest part is that this mummy

01:22:46is over 1,000 years old

01:22:48and was on display for 200 years

01:22:50before being encased in the statue.

01:22:52When scientists did a CT

01:22:54scan, they found out that the mummy

01:22:56was filled with paper scraps

01:22:58covered in writings. Experts

01:23:00think he might have done this thing called

01:23:02self-mummification, which is a

01:23:04pretty intense process involving

01:23:06a special diet and tea that

01:23:08makes your body less prone to bacteria.

01:23:10Only a few people could handle

01:23:12this ritual, and those who managed

01:23:14to do that were seriously respected.

01:23:16No other Egyptian

01:23:18queen has baffled scientists

01:23:20and historians like the stunning

01:23:22Nefertiti. Based on her

01:23:24statues, she was known for her slender

01:23:26neck, wide eyes, and high

01:23:28cheekbones. Her name translates

01:23:30to the beautiful woman has come.

01:23:32Talk about living up to your name,

01:23:34huh? Even though she wasn't

01:23:36a pharaoh herself, Nefertiti

01:23:38still managed to leave a lasting impression.

01:23:40Written records suggest

01:23:42that, as a wife and queen,

01:23:44she held an incredibly influential

01:23:46role. Because of her power,

01:23:48she was indeed admired, but

01:23:50she also managed to make quite a lot

01:23:52of enemies throughout her life.

01:23:54She was also related to King Tut,

01:23:56but not biologically.

01:23:58Rather, she was his stepmother.

01:24:00So far, locals have

01:24:02yet to identify her mummy, but

01:24:04that may soon change. A local

01:24:06Egyptologist who has been busy

01:24:08excavating tombs in the Valley of the Kings

01:24:10has found two mummies that he

01:24:12believes could be Nefertiti

01:24:14and her daughter. According to

01:24:16specialists, we may soon finally

01:24:18get a definitive answer about

01:24:20the identity of these two mummies.

01:24:22And if one of them does turn out

01:24:24to be Nefertiti, we could be in for

01:24:26a real treat. DNA analysis

01:24:28and CT scans of the mummy

01:24:30could give us the most complete and

01:24:32accurate image of the queen that we've ever

01:24:34seen. It's crazy to think

01:24:36that we've only scratched the surface of

01:24:38what lies beneath modern-day Egypt.

01:24:40Nefertiti ruled during a

01:24:42time of great power and prosperity

01:24:44in Egypt, but unfortunately

01:24:46passed away in a period

01:24:48of social turmoil, leading to her

01:24:50grave site being lost.

01:24:52Now, where's my mummy?

01:24:54Ever since Plato

01:24:56wrote about the Allegory of Atlantis,

01:24:58humanity has been

01:25:00fascinated with the possibility of the

01:25:02discovery of a thriving

01:25:04underwater civilization.

01:25:06Fancy joining me on a

01:25:08trip to a few historic underwater

01:25:10sites? Let's see what we can

01:25:12find out about ancient civilizations.

01:25:16The first one on our list

01:25:18is what is being called the

01:25:20underwater Stonehenge.

01:25:22Scientists have recently discovered

01:25:24a mysterious pile of cairns that

01:25:26stretch for miles under the shimmering

01:25:28waters of Lake Constance

01:25:30at the borders of Switzerland, Germany

01:25:32and Austria.

01:25:34Archaeologists began

01:25:36to explore the site back in

01:25:382015, and they haven't been

01:25:40able to understand yet what it was

01:25:42actually used for.

01:25:44What they do know is that there is

01:25:46a 12-mile line of

01:25:48170 human-made

01:25:50stone cairns under Lake Constance.

01:25:52Scientists say

01:25:54this was most likely the result

01:25:56of a combined work of several

01:25:58villages. The cairn

01:26:00site was probably used for some

01:26:02collective purpose. The formations

01:26:04are huge. Some of them

01:26:06are several dozen feet wide.

01:26:08The most

01:26:10amazing discovery so far is

01:26:12that the site dates back to around

01:26:145,500 years ago.

01:26:16Now, what were

01:26:18we humans doing back then?

01:26:20We were living in the prime years

01:26:22of the so-called Stone Age.

01:26:24We were beginning to make artifacts from

01:26:26stone and use them to hunt

01:26:28and eat. Can you imagine

01:26:30what a knife and fork might have looked like

01:26:32back in those days?

01:26:34It's no coincidence

01:26:36that scientists call this site the

01:26:38underwater Stonehenge, though.

01:26:40Both sites are believed to have been built around

01:26:42the same period of time.

01:26:44You see, Stonehenge dates

01:26:46back to around 3,100

01:26:48BCE. Both

01:26:50sites carry the distinct characteristic

01:26:52of stone monuments built

01:26:54in a circle. Not to mention

01:26:56the fact that scientists

01:26:58also haven't figured out why on

01:27:00Earth our early ancestors would feel

01:27:02the need to build a monument

01:27:04such as Stonehenge.

01:27:06Well, the mystery of Lake Constance

01:27:08hasn't been solved yet.

01:27:10Who were the Neolithic people

01:27:12from this area, and for what

01:27:14purpose did they go through such an amount

01:27:16of work and effort to build

01:27:18this huge stone site?

01:27:20Next, we're

01:27:22taking you on a tour of the Ryukyu

01:27:24Islands just off the coast of

01:27:26Japan. You're diving deep down

01:27:28to an archaeological site.

01:27:30But, I should warn you,

01:27:32the waters of the Pacific Ocean are

01:27:34far from smooth.

01:27:36It doesn't take long before you see a huge

01:27:38structure, thanks to the sunlight

01:27:40shining down on the seabed.

01:27:42At first,

01:27:44it looks like Machu Picchu's

01:27:46ruins located across the globe

01:27:48in Peru. As you approach

01:27:50the site, you slowly figure out

01:27:52its forms. A pyramid

01:27:54shaped structure, arches,

01:27:56staircases. It's something that could

01:27:58have easily been a palace or

01:28:00a castle. Could this be

01:28:02a sign of human activity?

01:28:04What you've just

01:28:06seen is known today as the

01:28:08Yonaguni Monument. It also

01:28:10goes by the name of Japan's

01:28:12Atlantis. The entire monument

01:28:14is about the size of five

01:28:16soccer fields and the height of

01:28:18a five-story building.

01:28:20Its most surprising feature is

01:28:22its expanse of terraces.

01:28:24Explorers and scientists believe

01:28:26that Yonaguni might be

01:28:2810,000 years old.

01:28:30But, whether it's a human-made structure

01:28:32or a natural formation

01:28:34is still under debate.

01:28:36For Japan's

01:28:38top marine geologist, Professor

01:28:40Masaaki Kimura, Yonaguni

01:28:42is the heritage of a lost

01:28:44civilization. Kimura

01:28:46has dived to the bottom of the ocean

01:28:48to explore the ruins over

01:28:50100 times over the past

01:28:5210 years. According

01:28:54to him, there are clear signs

01:28:56of human activity down there.

01:28:58On the monument's surface,

01:29:00there is a triangle-shaped concave

01:29:02that is a historical

01:29:04symbol of water fountains

01:29:06in the region. There is also

01:29:08a giant turtle carved on the

01:29:10eastern side of the structure.

01:29:12And, according to Kimura,

01:29:14turtles have an important cultural

01:29:16meaning. Several pieces of

01:29:18stone tools have been recovered from the

01:29:20site. Their estimated

01:29:22age is around 10,000

01:29:24years. However,

01:29:26not all scientists support

01:29:28this theory. For many,

01:29:30Yonaguni is the result of

01:29:32thousands of years of erosion.

01:29:34The fact that the monument is

01:29:36composed of one massive rock

01:29:38leads them to believe it's not

01:29:40human-made. The defined

01:29:42edges and flat surfaces

01:29:44resemble a natural formation

01:29:46in Northern Ireland, known as

01:29:48the Giant's Causeway. The

01:29:50basalt columns look like the ruins

01:29:52of a palace, but they're actually the

01:29:54result of volcanic activity in the

01:29:56region.

01:29:58Now, you're flying

01:30:00to the coast of Greece, four hours

01:30:02away from Athens.

01:30:04More specifically, you're in the

01:30:06Peloponnese Peninsula.

01:30:08You dust off an old snorkel and

01:30:10head for a free dive on a bright,

01:30:12sunny day. Some time into

01:30:14the dive, you start noticing patterns

01:30:16on a seabed. Thirteen

01:30:18feet below the surface, outlines of

01:30:20familiar objects start to

01:30:22appear, one by one.

01:30:24As you continue swimming,

01:30:26what looks like the outline of an

01:30:28entire city emerges in

01:30:30front of your eyes.

01:30:32Are you wondering how water could have taken

01:30:34the whole city?

01:30:36Rocks are perfectly aligned into what

01:30:38appears to be the foundation

01:30:40of a building. This is

01:30:42Pavlopetri, an ancient city

01:30:44you've probably heard about for the first

01:30:46time.

01:30:48It was discovered by Nicholas Fleming,

01:30:50a British oceanographer, when he

01:30:52was on vacation in Greece.

01:30:54He had heard rumors about

01:30:56Pavlopetri's existence and

01:30:58indeed found several artifacts

01:31:00on the seafloor.

01:31:02He went back to the area a year later

01:31:04with the team. They found a site

01:31:06filled with pots, storage

01:31:08vessels, and tools.

01:31:10A kernstone, for instance,

01:31:12is a tool used for grinding grains

01:31:14and turning them into flour.

01:31:16Multiple amphoras

01:31:18indicate that this settlement dates back

01:31:20to the Bronze Age, 5,500

01:31:22years ago,

01:31:24when people started living in towns.

01:31:26The settlement is believed

01:31:28to have existed for over

01:31:302,400 years!

01:31:32Today, Pavlopetri

01:31:34is considered the oldest submerged

01:31:36town ever discovered,

01:31:38and what's impressive is that it wasn't

01:31:40a simple village.

01:31:42It was a vibrant port city with

01:31:44stone buildings, a marketplace,

01:31:46streets, and even squares.

01:31:49The next stop on our

01:31:51voyage is one of today's

01:31:53most famous underwater cities

01:31:55that has been turned into an

01:31:57archaeological park.

01:31:59The city of Port Royal in

01:32:01Jamaica exists only

01:32:03below the surface, but

01:32:05in 1692, it was one of

01:32:07the wealthiest cities in the Western

01:32:09Hemisphere.

01:32:11Port Royal was the center of the British

01:32:13Empire at the time and an important

01:32:15trade city that attracted people from

01:32:17all over the region.

01:32:19It was also home to real-life

01:32:21pirates of the Caribbean.

01:32:23On the morning of June 7,

01:32:251692, the people

01:32:27of Port Royal met a different

01:32:29fate than they had probably expected.

01:32:31The city woke up shaking.

01:32:33People were thrown out of

01:32:35their beds by the power of a massive

01:32:37earthquake, ranking 7.5

01:32:39on a Richter scale.

01:32:41One survivor said he had seen Earth

01:32:43opening up and swallowing the whole

01:32:45town. What he said

01:32:47could be true, as the city was mainly

01:32:49built on sand. The ground

01:32:51swallowed buildings, roads, you name

01:32:53it. Geysers erupted

01:32:55and finally, waves as

01:32:57big as 10-story buildings

01:32:59hit the city.

01:33:01About 33 acres of the city

01:33:03disappeared under the water.

01:33:05Amazingly, most of its 17th

01:33:07century remains are still in

01:33:09good condition under 40 feet of water.

01:33:11Archaeologists have

01:33:13found taverns, storage rooms,

01:33:15kitchens, and recreational buildings

01:33:17used for diverse purposes.

01:33:19You can also see a Grand Lion

01:33:21statue, a submerged bridge,

01:33:23and many picturesque arches.

01:33:25Of course, I

01:33:27saved the best for last, India.

01:33:29Just off its coast lies another

01:33:31sunken marvel. A

01:33:33site known as the Lost City of

01:33:35Cambay is located in the Gulf

01:33:37with a similar name. It remained

01:33:39undiscovered until 2001

01:33:41when the National Institute

01:33:43of Ocean Technology made a

01:33:45routine water assessment.

01:33:47With the help of sonar technology,

01:33:49which sends a wave sound

01:33:51to the bottom of the sea, they found

01:33:53something far beneath the surface.

01:33:55Images showed well-defined

01:33:57geometric shapes spread along

01:33:59a five-mile stretch.

01:34:01The remains date to more than

01:34:039,500 years ago,

01:34:05meaning this civilization was lost

01:34:07at around the end of the Ice Age.

01:34:09Debris recovered from the site

01:34:11included construction material,

01:34:13pottery, beads, sculptures,

01:34:15and even bones.

01:34:17Scientists argue

01:34:19whether these artifacts are indeed

01:34:21from the site, but if they truly are,

01:34:23then the Lost City of Cambay

01:34:25might be the oldest civilization

01:34:27in the world.

01:34:39Leave it to people wandering

01:34:41on Google Earth to stumble upon

01:34:43the world's newest and weirdest

01:34:45places ever.

01:34:47Like this mysterious pyramid discovered

01:34:49in Antarctica. Soon enough,

01:34:51the internet blew up with all sorts

01:34:53of theories regarding this unusual

01:34:55shape. Could it be a sign

01:34:57from a different life form?

01:34:59Is this pyramid indeed natural

01:35:01or is it man-made?

01:35:03For starters, it's not the first

01:35:05time we've discovered a pyramid in the

01:35:07Antarctic. The first one was observed

01:35:09by the British Antarctic Expedition

01:35:11in the 1910s and kept

01:35:13secret for a long time.

01:35:15Its discovery being kept hidden only

01:35:17added to the mystery. A second

01:35:19such structure was discovered in 2016,

01:35:21which further increased the interest

01:35:23in the matter.

01:35:25The mystery was soon enough deciphered by

01:35:27scientists. These formations

01:35:29are just mountains.

01:35:33They're located near the Ellsworth Mountains,

01:35:35a range over 250

01:35:37miles long. So they're just mountain

01:35:39peaks that have broken through the ice sheet.

01:35:41As for their particular

01:35:43shape, it's just a coincidence.

01:35:45Pyramids are found throughout nature.

01:35:47The Matterhorn in the Alps

01:35:49and Mount Balenstender in Iceland,

01:35:51for example, are quite similar in terms

01:35:53of shape. As for the official name

01:35:55of these peaks, they're called

01:35:57Nunataks, or peaks of rock

01:35:59peaking through a glacier or an ice

01:36:01sheet.

01:36:03Antarctica has way more incredible features,

01:36:05like the fact that it's home

01:36:07of 60-90% of the

01:36:09world's fresh water.

01:36:11That's because its ice sheet is the biggest

01:36:13on our planet, stretching across

01:36:155.4 million square

01:36:17miles. I'll spare you the

01:36:19calculations, but that leaves only 1%

01:36:21of the continent ice-free.

01:36:23Antarctica's ice

01:36:25reaches 2.7 miles thick

01:36:27at its deepest point, meaning half

01:36:29the height of Mount Everest.

01:36:31Could it ever melt completely?

01:36:33Our sea levels would rise to roughly

01:36:35200 feet. It wasn't

01:36:37always this cold, though. At some point

01:36:39in our planet's history, Antarctica

01:36:41had some average temperatures as the city

01:36:43of Melbourne has today.

01:36:45It took a lot of research, but

01:36:47scientists figured out that Antarctica's

01:36:49temperatures could have reached up to

01:36:5162.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

01:36:53Sure, that was 40 to 50

01:36:55million years ago, but if you think about it,

01:36:57it was at the same time when dinosaurs

01:36:59came to our Earth.

01:37:01Time is also different on this icy

01:37:03continent. All the lines

01:37:05of longitude that help us calculate

01:37:07different time zones merge into

01:37:09a single point at the South Pole.

01:37:11Here, there are six months

01:37:13of daylight in the summer, followed by

01:37:15six months of complete darkness

01:37:17during the colder season. So,

01:37:19scientists working here stay, on

01:37:21average, in the same time zone they've

01:37:23come from.

01:37:29The Blood Falls

01:37:31aren't a chapter of a thriller movie.

01:37:33They are merely a series of waterfalls

01:37:35located in one of the driest

01:37:37regions of Antarctica.

01:37:39They emerge from an underground lake

01:37:41filled with a special type of

01:37:43bacteria. These little

01:37:45organisms use sulfates as

01:37:47fuel instead of sugars, which

01:37:49makes them very intriguing for scientists.

01:37:51The water contained in this

01:37:53lake is so full of iron that it

01:37:55basically just rusts when it meets air.

01:37:57So, the reddish color of the

01:37:59waterfall also gives it its

01:38:01trademark name.

01:38:03The Megalodon was the largest

01:38:05predator ever known in our planet's

01:38:07history. In terms of its location,

01:38:09the Megalodon lived practically

01:38:11in all waters on our globe,

01:38:13except near the poles.

01:38:15The reason why there are no Megalodon teeth

01:38:17found in Antarctica is probably

01:38:19because the gigantic creature was

01:38:21adapted to only warm tropical

01:38:23and subtropical waters.

01:38:25If you plan to visit Antarctica

01:38:27by boat someday, just know

01:38:29you might not get there on a non-metallic

01:38:31boat. The hull of your

01:38:33transportation device must be made

01:38:35of either steel or aluminum

01:38:37to withstand the harsh weather conditions

01:38:39here. Antarctica isn't

01:38:41home to a lot of bugs. In fact,

01:38:43there is only one true species

01:38:45of insect that calls this place home.

01:38:47It's a wingless midge

01:38:49called Belgica antarctica.

01:38:51This fly is so tiny

01:38:53that it only reaches 0.08

01:38:55to 0.23 inches long.

01:38:57But it's still the

01:38:59Antarctic's largest terrestrial animal.

01:39:01A lot of Antarctic

01:39:03fish also come with an antifreeze

01:39:05substance in their blood.

01:39:07They don't necessarily need it for protection

01:39:09against the cold temperature, but mostly

01:39:11against touching ice.

01:39:13These antifreezes are made up

01:39:15of large glycoprotein molecules.

01:39:17They surround any small

01:39:19ice crystals that may form, making

01:39:21sure they don't spread through the animal's

01:39:23tissues, which could cause a

01:39:25lot of damage.

01:39:27They also create a sort of small pillow

01:39:29blocking the sharp ice crystals,

01:39:31so they're less likely to cause any pain.

01:39:33It also doesn't

01:39:35rain a lot here on this icy continent,

01:39:37but one amazing meteorological

01:39:39quirk of Antarctica is that

01:39:41it's full of diamond dust.

01:39:43This dust is basically

01:39:45small ice crystals that pop

01:39:47out of humid air close to the Earth's

01:39:49surface. Think of it

01:39:51like an icy fog. As they

01:39:53flow through the air and get touched by sunlight,

01:39:55they begin to sparkle,

01:39:57making visitors here feel like they're

01:39:59surrounded by diamonds.

01:40:01It's probably the

01:40:03last place you'd want to go into labor,

01:40:05but in 1978, the first

01:40:07person was born here ever.

01:40:09Emil Marco Palma was its name,

01:40:11and ever since, ten other

01:40:13people have been born here in Antarctica.

01:40:15There's a lake

01:40:17on this icy continent that is so

01:40:19full of salt, it makes it impossible

01:40:21for it to freeze over, even if

01:40:23temperatures can go as low as 5 degrees

01:40:25Fahrenheit. That's because

01:40:27pure water freezes at 32 degrees

01:40:29Fahrenheit. Water that has

01:40:31salt in it, or any other substance for that

01:40:33matter, will freeze, but

01:40:35at a way lower temperature.

01:40:37That lower temperature is adjustable

01:40:39depending on the substance itself

01:40:41and the amount that has been placed into

01:40:43the water.

01:40:45Antarctica was the last

01:40:47official continent to be discovered.

01:40:49It remained completely unseen

01:40:51until the 1820s,

01:40:53but it took another 20 years

01:40:55to confirm it was actually a continent

01:40:57and not just a group of icy

01:40:59islands.

01:41:01Just because it's really cold here

01:41:03doesn't mean you can't go on a date here.

01:41:05One December night, an American

01:41:07scientist that was posted in Antarctica

01:41:09logged into a dating app

01:41:11simply out of curiosity.

01:41:13He was certain no other profiles would

01:41:15show up, but to his surprise,

01:41:17he found someone soon enough.

01:41:19Another researcher, who was stationed

01:41:21just 45 minutes away, by

01:41:23helicopter of course. They

01:41:25eventually got together and went on the first

01:41:27date in Antarctica ever recorded.

01:41:29Apart from

01:41:31ice, this continent has something

01:41:33else way more abundantly than

01:41:35any other piece of land on Earth.

01:41:37Meteorites. If we

01:41:39look at the research done by scientists,

01:41:41meteorites have equal chances of

01:41:43reaching any place on our planet.

01:41:45However, once they go through our atmosphere,

01:41:47the situation is a bit

01:41:49more complex. That's because

01:41:51different climates on our planet,

01:41:53like the humid ones found near the jungle,

01:41:55have a lot of moisture and oxygen,

01:41:57which will corrode

01:41:59most meteorites. The climate

01:42:01in Antarctica is really dry,

01:42:03so the possibility of meteorites corroding

01:42:05is little to none.

01:42:07More so, it's way easier to

01:42:09spot these rocks on the icy, white surface

01:42:11of this area than in any other

01:42:13place on Earth.

01:42:15If you're not scared of the cold, you'll

01:42:17surely freak out when you hear about the winds

01:42:19here. That's because

01:42:21Antarctica is for the most part

01:42:23the windiest place on Earth.

01:42:25Wind speeds have been reported here to

01:42:27reach even 200 miles per

01:42:29hour.

01:42:31Now here's something.

01:42:33Baltic amber is one of the most

01:42:35common resins found in the world.

01:42:37The resin for this

01:42:39is that due to the vast forests

01:42:41of pine, their numerous deposits

01:42:43are so common, they provide

01:42:45wonderful treasures from long ago.

01:42:47Ants are especially common in the

01:42:49Baltic amber, which comes from pine

01:42:51trees. Its resin is rich in

01:42:53sugar, so the ants often live

01:42:55amongst the trees, close to the easy

01:42:57source of food. One block

01:42:59found in East Germany has

01:43:01preserved one ant that is estimated

01:43:03to be about 48 million years

01:43:05old. Think of the birthday cake!

01:43:07But what makes this find interesting

01:43:09is another animal inside

01:43:11the amber. It's a mite,

01:43:13notorious hunters in the insect world,

01:43:15capable of traveling at great

01:43:17speed. These guys quickly

01:43:19latch onto their hosts, sucking

01:43:21them dry. They're also capable

01:43:23of destroying entire hives in

01:43:25one go. And within this piece

01:43:27of amber, the amber provides a

01:43:29display of their final struggle.

01:43:31In Southeast Asia,

01:43:33feathers belonging to something

01:43:35unique have been found from 80

01:43:37million years ago. They were captured

01:43:39in resin during the Cretaceous period,

01:43:41a peak time for dinosaurs.

01:43:43The many feathers inside are

01:43:45from the calurosaur. It looks

01:43:47like a dinosaur, but this animal is

01:43:49more related to birds.

01:43:51Other feathers like this have been found in resin.

01:43:53They belong to avian and other

01:43:55non-flying dinosaurs.

01:43:57The discoveries have helped re-imagine

01:43:59what dinosaurs actually look like.

01:44:01Still, dinosaurs may have

01:44:03had feathers instead of being

01:44:05completely bald. Of course,

01:44:07for most of them, the feathers weren't used

01:44:09for flying, but they helped the dinos

01:44:11stay warm. However, the

01:44:13feathers weren't all that was found,

01:44:15and a part of the calurosaur's tail

01:44:17is also preserved. Still,

01:44:19it's so small and ancient that

01:44:21its DNA hasn't survived to map

01:44:23their entire genome. The

01:44:25enclosed tail is also very delicate,

01:44:27and it can't be removed from its

01:44:29protective amber shell.

01:44:31But although these findings can only be observed,

01:44:33they've still provided a great

01:44:35insight in the evolution of birds.

01:44:37But how does amber

01:44:39preserve things so effectively,

01:44:41even at the initial stages?

01:44:43The trees produce the resin to protect

01:44:45any small gaps in the bark

01:44:47against feeding insects.

01:44:49Its antiseptic nature and lack of

01:44:51water content ensures it doesn't

01:44:53degrade for a long time.

01:44:55This also makes it more resilient,

01:44:57as it petrifies over long periods,

01:44:59eventually becoming a fossil.

01:45:01Some of the oldest amber

01:45:03ever found was from the Triassic

01:45:05period, showing how long it can

01:45:07last. The pieces from Italy

01:45:09are about 230 million

01:45:11years old. And inside

01:45:13one of these ancient droplets holds

01:45:15the oldest arthropod ever

01:45:17recorded. This mite found

01:45:19inside has provided a broader

01:45:21understanding to their evolution.

01:45:23Today, they're known to mainly

01:45:25annoy gardeners by feeding on the

01:45:27petals of flowering plants.

01:45:29However, at the time the mite was

01:45:31caught, flowers didn't have any

01:45:33petals, and it would be without this

01:45:35tasty meal for another 100

01:45:37million years.

01:45:39100 million years ago,

01:45:41Myanmar was part of Gondwanda,

01:45:43the great supercontinent.

01:45:45At that time, Myanmar wasn't part of

01:45:47Asia yet. But it was still lush

01:45:49with a great forest,

01:45:51which contained many species of lizards

01:45:53that lived amongst the undergrowth,

01:45:55hiding away from dinosaurs.

01:45:57Many of them have been stored within amber.

01:45:59This fact helped discover ancestors

01:46:01of geckos and chameleons.

01:46:03By using CT

01:46:05scans, scientists have analyzed

01:46:07them, providing a glimpse into

01:46:09the formation of their scales, teeth,

01:46:11feet, and claws.

01:46:13It also provided an understanding of

01:46:15how these archaic creatures once

01:46:17appeared. Although mostly

01:46:19pieces of lizards, by using

01:46:21modern technology, the scientists

01:46:23have been able to create 3D images

01:46:25of the lizard. These images

01:46:27can reveal how those guys appeared

01:46:29in their full form.

01:46:31The images show that they still retain

01:46:33some of their exact features to this day,

01:46:35like the chameleon's sticky pads

01:46:37used for climbing.

01:46:39A salamander fossil from around

01:46:4120 million years ago is one of the

01:46:43most intact specimens ever found

01:46:45in amber. Details of

01:46:47its final moments show that it

01:46:49attacked before getting stuck in the

01:46:51resin. However, what's

01:46:53confusing about this find from

01:46:55the Miocene era is that the amber

01:46:57was found in the Caribbean, but

01:46:59it came from a tree that's closer

01:47:01related to those from East Africa.

01:47:03The lizard also has

01:47:05ancestry from the same area.

01:47:07Finds like this have opened

01:47:09a whole new understanding about how

01:47:11these small lizards migrated.

01:47:13It's expected that they would have ridden

01:47:15fallen logs, which took them

01:47:17across the seas to new homelands.

01:47:19Not only to the Caribbean,

01:47:21but to all continents except

01:47:23for Antarctica. Nobody goes

01:47:25there, it's too cold.

01:47:27In the Dominican Republic, you can find

01:47:29some of the rarest of all ambers.

01:47:31This Dominican amber came

01:47:33from neotropical forests from

01:47:35around 20 million years ago.

01:47:37Many of the trees that made the resin

01:47:39are now extinct. The amber

01:47:41is almost completely see-through,

01:47:43and can come in an array of beautiful colors.

01:47:45The most common colors are

01:47:47red, yellow, and even blue,

01:47:49and are easily mistaken for gemstones.

01:47:51One was found with a flea

01:47:53caught in it, dating to when the forest

01:47:55was at its peak, and the

01:47:57mammalian variety thrived.

01:47:59Fleas were likely common at the time,

01:48:01and this flea in particular

01:48:03had recently fed on a mammal

01:48:05before getting stuck.

01:48:07However, something more intriguing

01:48:09was found within the flea.

01:48:11While scientists checked what mammal DNA

01:48:13was within the flea, they found

01:48:15that it was carrying an ancient bacterial

01:48:17blight. These blights

01:48:19have been constant throughout Earth's history,

01:48:21dramatically decreasing populations

01:48:23of animals and plants.

01:48:25This now-extinct blight

01:48:27in the amber helped scientists determine

01:48:29how much the bacteria have evolved

01:48:31and how it spread.

01:48:33Now, most remnants of insects

01:48:35inside amber aren't much

01:48:37more than the exoskeleton bodies.

01:48:39But, with some found in Myanmar,

01:48:41they were so well-preserved

01:48:43that even the color of the insects

01:48:45is still intact.

01:48:47Colors in nature appear in three different ways.

01:48:49The first is bioluminescence,

01:48:51that's produced by a chemical reaction

01:48:53within a living organism.

01:48:55The second is about pigments,

01:48:57where the color appears in an animal

01:48:59or a plant tissue.

01:49:01The third is called structural coloration,

01:49:03and the production of colors here

01:49:05is explained by microscopic surfaces

01:49:07fine enough to react

01:49:09with the light.

01:49:11The rare insects in amber were found in the form

01:49:13of structural coloration,

01:49:15but only at specific wavelengths.

01:49:17It all explains the very intense colors

01:49:19rarely found.

01:49:2199 million years later,

01:49:23these bugs can still show their vibrant colors

01:49:25blue, purple, and green.

01:49:27Some of them appear so different

01:49:29in color and shape that they

01:49:31almost look like they're from another world.

01:49:33Which, of course, they are.

01:49:35A very old one.

01:49:37Ants have been around for about

01:49:39168 million years,

01:49:41based on fossil evidence provided.

01:49:43They're well known for their social hierarchies

01:49:45and their hive mind system.

01:49:47They've dominated almost every

01:49:49corner of the insect world.

01:49:51But when these social capabilities

01:49:53came about have been difficult to determine.

01:49:55Yet, recently,

01:49:57amber dated from 100 million years ago

01:49:59has shed some light into their evolution.

01:50:01Several amber pieces

01:50:03have preserved various ant types,

01:50:05including the worker ants,

01:50:07guardian or soldier ants,

01:50:09and even a queen ant.

01:50:11Before these pieces were found,

01:50:13it was estimated their social nature occurred

01:50:15millions of years later.

01:50:17A piece of amber dated 100 million

01:50:19years ago helped shed light

01:50:21on the evolution of birds.

01:50:23A perfectly preserved bird that hatched

01:50:25preserved in amber was already

01:50:27equipped with its flight feathers.

01:50:29With the earlier physical abilities,

01:50:31they would be capable of moving around

01:50:33the nest by themselves at a very

01:50:35young age. And it's expected

01:50:37they could search for their own food

01:50:39almost immediately. But as

01:50:41birds continued to evolve and spend

01:50:43more time in the skies, their brain

01:50:45developed larger for their cognitive

01:50:47abilities. After hatching,

01:50:49their early development was then

01:50:51more focused on the brain.

01:50:53And the chicks slowly became more reliant

01:50:55on their parents over time.

01:50:57In Spain,

01:50:59a massive treasure trove of amber

01:51:01and other fossils has been found.

01:51:03Inside, there were remnants of

01:51:05an entire ecosystem that

01:51:07existed 110 million years ago.

01:51:09A bunch of individual

01:51:11fossils were found. The vast

01:51:13collection includes many types of

01:51:15insects, mollusks, arachnids,

01:51:17plants, 50 different dinosaur

01:51:19bone fragments, feathers,

01:51:21and hair from mammals. And

01:51:23a McDonald's burger wrapper.

01:51:25Nah, just kidding. With the abundance

01:51:27of findings, it's helped researchers

01:51:29understand the ancient terrestrial

01:51:31ecosystem that once existed.

01:51:33With loads of specific details

01:51:35of the environment, they've reconstructed

01:51:37the swamp. This way,

01:51:39it's now possible to experience

01:51:41what it was like in the world of dinosaurs.

01:51:43In the northeast of Thailand,

01:51:45a family of enormous

01:51:47stone whales swim through a forest.

01:51:49These aren't real whales,

01:51:51of course. They're actually a part of

01:51:53a 75 million year old

01:51:55rock formation. A long time

01:51:57ago, this part of Thailand was

01:51:59just a desert. The movements of

01:52:01the Earth's crust push sandstone

01:52:03up to create these fascinating mountains.

01:52:05Reachable by anyone

01:52:07willing to spend a day hiking up

01:52:09the network of trails, this landmark

01:52:11is becoming increasingly popular

01:52:13with tourists. Once you reach

01:52:15the back of one of the whales and look

01:52:17down on the endless sea of green below,

01:52:19you'll know why.

01:52:21On these hikes, you'll find waterfalls,

01:52:23a wide variety of exotic

01:52:25plants and animals, and from

01:52:27the very top, you can even look

01:52:29straight across to the neighboring country

01:52:31of Laos. Their shapes

01:52:33look just like whales swimming together.

01:52:35No wonder this place is called

01:52:37Three Whale Rocks.

01:52:39What a way to see Thailand on the back

01:52:41of a giant stone whale.

01:52:43While digging in a Canadian

01:52:45mine in March 2011,

01:52:47a worker made a shocking

01:52:49discovery. They found a

01:52:51nearly perfectly preserved

01:52:53dinosaur specimen. This extinct

01:52:55dinosaur weighed in at around

01:52:573,000 pounds and grew to

01:52:5918 feet. Despite being

01:53:01over 110 million years old,

01:53:03the dinosaur was so well

01:53:05preserved that you can clearly see

01:53:07the heavy body armor and

01:53:09scaly skin that covered it.

01:53:11It took almost an entire year

01:53:13of painstaking work to

01:53:15uncover the incredible find.

01:53:17The fossil was finally unveiled

01:53:19in a Canadian museum in

01:53:212017. Unexpectedly,

01:53:23analysis of the skin

01:53:25showed shading that the

01:53:27may have been capable of

01:53:29camouflage, like modern-day geckos

01:53:31and moths. This is in

01:53:33addition to the spines and scales

01:53:35that already make it a walking

01:53:37tank. Still being studied

01:53:39today, this dinosaur could

01:53:41go down as one of the most

01:53:43important fossils discovered in a long

01:53:45time. Its detail could help

01:53:47us to uncover even more of the

01:53:49mysteries of the past.

01:53:51The Voynich Manuscript is the

01:53:53world's most mysterious document.

01:53:55Since its discovery in

01:53:571912, the manuscript

01:53:59has been a complete mystery to everyone

01:54:01that comes across it. It is

01:54:03heavily illustrated with strange

01:54:05pictures of alien plants,

01:54:07unknown objects, and the zodiac

01:54:09symbols. But the most interesting

01:54:11aspect of it is the writing.

01:54:13The language used in the text

01:54:15is completely indecipherable.

01:54:17No one knows what it says,

01:54:19who wrote it, or where it was

01:54:21written. We don't even know if it was

01:54:23a real, functional language,

01:54:25or if it was just created for this one

01:54:27text. The drawings

01:54:29of different plants are equally intriguing.

01:54:31Most of the plants in the manuscript

01:54:33are identifiable as plants,

01:54:35but they don't match up with any

01:54:37known species. A professor

01:54:39of applied linguistics in

01:54:41England claimed to have deciphered

01:54:43some of the characters in the book.

01:54:45But we haven't managed to uncover

01:54:47any more information about this

01:54:49mysterious text.

01:54:51If you're ever going to head down

01:54:53under, don't forget to pay a visit

01:54:55to the mystery craters in Queensland.

01:54:57Halfway between Bundaberg

01:54:59and Gingin is one of

01:55:01Australia's most baffling finds.

01:55:03And that's saying quite a lot

01:55:05for us. In

01:55:071971, the site belonged to

01:55:09a farmer growing zucchini and potatoes.

01:55:11As the farmer tried to

01:55:13expand his farm, he kept hitting

01:55:15large rocks in the fields while

01:55:17plowing. When he took a closer

01:55:19look at the rocks in his way, he

01:55:21found marine fossils and some

01:55:23strange craters.

01:55:25The farmer passed his finds on to

01:55:27geology professors, who set out

01:55:29to research the formations.

01:55:31When the geologists began digging around

01:55:33the area, they uncovered a huge

01:55:35layer of sandstone and

01:55:37ochre stain that was completely

01:55:39covered with craters.

01:55:41There were 35 craters in total,

01:55:43and the layer of rock is estimated

01:55:45to be around 25 million

01:55:47years old. The scientists

01:55:49studying this mystery believe that

01:55:51hot springs, former ocean

01:55:53activity, and meteors are

01:55:55the prime suspects behind the

01:55:57craters. And I'd like to

01:55:59know about the characters who named those

01:56:01towns Bundaberg and Gingin.

01:56:03What fun names!

01:56:05Now, the Antikythera

01:56:07mechanism is an ancient

01:56:09computer of sorts that's still

01:56:11baffling scientists with its

01:56:13extraordinary design.

01:56:15Around 2,000 years ago, a Greek

01:56:17ship sank off the coast of the

01:56:19island of Antikythera.

01:56:21The wreckage was discovered in 1900,

01:56:23and divers salvaged some of

01:56:25its ancient artifacts.

01:56:27When archaeologists started sorting

01:56:29out the discoveries from the wreckage,

01:56:31they came across an object that

01:56:33didn't seem to fit with anything else.

01:56:35The wreckage was ancient,

01:56:37but they found an incredible device

01:56:39that seemed far too

01:56:41technologically advanced.

01:56:43The machine functioned as a calculator,

01:56:45allowing its user to follow time,

01:56:47the movement of stars,

01:56:49eclipses, moon phases, and

01:56:51even countdowns to events like

01:56:53the Olympics with amazing precision.

01:56:55This level of technology

01:56:57is almost impossible to

01:56:59explain coming from an ancient

01:57:01Greek wreckage. No mechanism

01:57:03would come close to the machine

01:57:05until the 14th century, when

01:57:07geared clocks began to be built

01:57:09in Europe. How was the

01:57:11device created so long ago,

01:57:131,400 years before

01:57:15its time? Could the

01:57:17sinking of the Antikythera and the

01:57:19loss of the calculator have held

01:57:21the development of technology back

01:57:23by hundreds of years?

01:57:25Meanwhile, the

01:57:27Caucasus Mountains near the Black

01:57:29Sea are one of the few areas

01:57:31of Europe that haven't experienced much

01:57:33human impact, even though

01:57:35most white-skinned people in the world

01:57:37are referred to as Caucasians.

01:57:39Despite this,

01:57:41archaeologists have found many ancient

01:57:43megalithic structures in the area.

01:57:45The house-like structures,

01:57:47known as dolmens,

01:57:49contain jewelry, bronze tools,

01:57:51and assorted pottery.

01:57:53Archaeologists don't know who built them,

01:57:55why they built them, or

01:57:57what their true purpose is.

01:57:59The stones were either two stones

01:58:01held together by a large stone as a roof,

01:58:03or smaller stones

01:58:05stacked as walls with a hole

01:58:07only on one side. There have

01:58:09even been stone plugs found

01:58:11that to seal whatever is inside.

01:58:13What's even stranger about

01:58:15these stone formations is that they

01:58:17aren't just found in the Caucasus.

01:58:19They're found all over the planet

01:58:21in Australia, South Korea,

01:58:23Colombia, Africa,

01:58:25and even France. Their

01:58:27purpose is unknown, so

01:58:29all scientists can do is speculate.

01:58:31The discovery

01:58:33of the tomb of the first emperor

01:58:35of China in 1974

01:58:37is well documented.

01:58:39Who could forget the finding of

01:58:418,000 terracotta warriors

01:58:43protecting the entrance?

01:58:45Most of the statues are warriors,

01:58:47each with their own unique facial

01:58:49expressions. There are even full-size

01:58:51terracotta horses and chariots

01:58:53too, just for extra

01:58:55protection. What isn't well

01:58:57known is that some areas of the tomb

01:58:59haven't ever been entered yet.

01:59:01Archaeologists are very reluctant

01:59:03to open the site because the

01:59:05whole area is unstable.

01:59:07There might be something amazing inside,

01:59:09but no one wants to risk

01:59:11losing an amazing piece of history.

01:59:13Eventually, researchers

01:59:15will send tiny robots into

01:59:17the unopened tombs to give a

01:59:19better idea of what's inside.

01:59:21Until then, archaeologists

01:59:23have to wait a little bit

01:59:25longer for the secrets.

01:59:27In southern Costa Rica,

01:59:29people have discovered a collection of

01:59:31mysterious stone spheres.

01:59:33There are over 300 scattered

01:59:35around the landscape, and some

01:59:37are almost 7 feet across.

01:59:39No one knows their purpose

01:59:41or how they were produced.

01:59:43One thing we do know is the material

01:59:45they were made from – gabbro,

01:59:47a volcanic rock.

01:59:49Carving the stones into their perfect

01:59:51spherical shapes would've taken a lot

01:59:53of time and effort. Researchers think

01:59:55they might've been made by a now

01:59:57extinct group using barely

01:59:59any tools. The best

02:00:01theory is that they used small stones

02:00:03to chisel away at the edges of

02:00:05boulders before using sand

02:00:07to smooth the sides.

02:00:09Some think that they may have an

02:00:11astronomical purpose, or even used

02:00:13as markers to point the way

02:00:15towards something. But no one

02:00:17knows anymore. Their significance

02:00:19is lost with the civilization

02:00:21that created them.

02:00:23Off the southern tip of Japan

02:00:25and 75 miles from Taiwan

02:00:27lies the Yanaguni

02:00:29Formation. A local diver

02:00:31first noticed these formations in

02:00:331986 while searching for

02:00:35new dive sites to take tourists.

02:00:37Seeing the large steps

02:00:39that resembled a pyramid, he thought

02:00:41he'd discovered an underwater city.

02:00:43Some archaeologists

02:00:45believe that the structures could've been

02:00:47signs of a fabled Pacific

02:00:49civilization, like Atlantis,

02:00:51that vanished beneath the waves

02:00:53thousands of years ago.

02:00:55There are also reports of marks in the

02:00:57stone, suggesting quarry work.

02:00:59Some people even claim that there

02:01:01were faded images of humans and

02:01:03animals carved into the stone.

02:01:05None of this is backed with much

02:01:07evidence, though. Most

02:01:09experts believe that the formation is

02:01:11natural, and the symmetry of the

02:01:13rocks has been overstated.

02:01:15They are not as straight as reported,

02:01:17and it appears to be solid natural

02:01:19rock, rather than carved blocks.

02:01:21In other words, the resemblance

02:01:23to a sunken civilization

02:01:25is just a coincidence.

02:01:27In Turkey, archaeologists

02:01:29believe they might've found the oldest

02:01:31known architecture in the world,

02:01:33over 10,000 years old,

02:01:35according to experts. Found

02:01:37in an area that used to be home to

02:01:39ancient farming communities,

02:01:41these monoliths, which stood up

02:01:43to 18 feet high, were

02:01:45likely used for social events and rituals.

02:01:47Not much is known about them,

02:01:49though. These large stone

02:01:51structures seem to be human-shaped,

02:01:53with images of animals

02:01:55carved into them. Nearby,

02:01:57researchers have found signs of domestic

02:01:59housing, suggesting that these

02:02:01amazing monuments might have

02:02:03signaled the start of the move towards

02:02:05modern civilization.

02:02:07The Kembaya artifacts

02:02:09are some of the most interesting artifacts

02:02:11ever found. The most curious

02:02:13thing about them is how closely

02:02:15they seem to resemble modern

02:02:17airplanes. They're so aerodynamic

02:02:19that modern scientists believe

02:02:21they might even be able

02:02:23to be used as blueprints for a

02:02:25functioning aircraft.

02:02:27In 1994, two aeronautical

02:02:29engineers created larger

02:02:31scale models of these artifacts.

02:02:33They proved that the designs

02:02:35fly, with a little help from

02:02:37modern engines. What's really

02:02:39astonishing is that these objects

02:02:41are possibly thousands of years older

02:02:43than the first airplane by the Wright

02:02:45brothers. Just another one of

02:02:47our world's fascinating mysteries.

02:02:49That's it for today!

02:02:51So, hey, if you pacified your curiosity,

02:02:53then give the video a like

02:02:55and share it with your friends. Or, if you want

02:02:57more, just click on these videos and

02:02:59stay on the Bright Side!

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