Miami Triangle
It was around 1950 that people started to really notice there were mysterious disappearances happening in the Bermuda Triangle. At first, they tried to name it the Miami Triangle but the city of Miami was worried that they would lose tourists so they complained. Next the idea of the Puerto Rico Triangle was brought up, but Puerto Rico complained as well. So then they named it the Bermuda triangle and there were no objections.
Devil's Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle is also called the Devil's Triangle because of the theories of evil forces at play in the area. Also, at the time of the naming of the Triangle, Bermuda was known as the "Isle of the Devils", so it turned out that Bermuda was the right choice of name!
Larry Kusche
Larry Kusche, a librarian, did extensive research in the 1970s and came to the conclusion that many of the claims of the Bermuda Triangle had been exaggerated. In fact, he said that there weren't a significantly greater number of missing ships and planes in the Bermuda Triangle than other commonly travelled areas of the ocean. More current data seems to back his information up as a 2013 report by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature did not list the Bermuda triangle as one of the 10 most dangerous waters for shipping. Still, the idea has been around for so long and won't go away, it bears further digging!
Missing Ships and Planes
Though the Bermuda Triangle was only named just over 60 years ago, there have been reports of missing ships and then planes since long before then. In fact, over the last 500 years, over 1000 ships and planes have gone missing in the Bermuda Triangle.
Human Error
One of the prevailing theories of skeptics to explain a lot of the disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle is simple human error. They claim that it is a huge area with a wide expanse of blue skies and blue ocean and similar looking tiny islands and it is easy to lose your way. Surely this could explain a small number of the missing craft, but it's hard to imagine that that many experienced pilots and navigators could lose their way so easily, even before GPS!
Bad Weather
A more likely explanation for some of the disappearances is bad weather, which the Bermuda Triangle is famous for. Hurricanes travel right through the area every year. The Atlantic's Gulf Stream also cuts right through the Triangle, causing strong currents that can be hard to handle.
Sargasso Sea
The Sargasso Sea is a strange area located in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean that is surrounded by currents. It partially overlaps the Bermuda Triangle. There are stories of ships getting caught in the middle of the sea and being stranded, motionless.
Compass Variation
Compass problems are often cited as causing people to lose their way in the Bermuda Triangle. Legends have said that the area is one of two places where compasses point to true north instead of magnetic north. This is simply not true. A compass will vary slightly but pilots and sailors who are trained properly know how to adjust for that.
Atlantis
One of the crazier theories about the Bermuda Triangle is that under it's waters lies the ancient lost city of Atlantis. The story originated from 1970 when a scuba diver claims to have spotted a pyramidal structure somewhere near the Bahamas. Others point to Bimini Road, seemingly sculpted ancient towers of rock, who others claim is just a natural formation.
