11 Most Shocking Facts about the Bermuda Triangle

The Bermuda Triangle (also known as the Devil's Triangle) is a mythical area bounded by points in Bermuda, Florida and Puerto Rico where ships and planes are said to mysteriously vanish into thin air — or deep water.

1. The Bermuda Triangle was first discovered by the great Italian explorer Christopher Columbus(1451–1506).

2. The Bermuda Triangle is located off the Southeastern coast of the United States in the Atlantic Ocean. It covers roughly 500,000 square miles.

3. The triangle is certainly not fixed and its effect can be experienced outside of the triangle too.

4. The term "Bermuda Triangle" was coined in 1964 by writer Vincent Gaddis in the men's pulp magazine Argosy.

5. William Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest,” which some scholars claim was based on a real-life Bermuda shipwreck, may have enhanced the area’s aura of mystery. 

6. The “Devil’s Triangle” is one of the two places on earth that magnetic compasses do point towards true north. Normally it points toward magnetic north. The difference between the two is known as compass variation.

7. Stories of unexplained disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle started to reach public awareness around 1950 and have been consistently reported since then.

8. Whenever any plane or ship disappears in the Triangle, its debris cannot be found. The reason behind this is that Gulf Stream runs near the triangle, which quickly rids off the debris.

9. Unverified supernatural explanations for Bermuda Triangle incidents have included references to UFO’s and even the mythical lost continent of Atlantis.

10. In March 1918, during World War I, the USS Cyclops vanished in the Bermuda Triangle.

11. At least 1000 lives are lost within the last 100 years. On average, 4 aircraft and 20 yachts go missing every year.