16. The creators of the Bermuda Triangle created several explanations for its existence
While the creators built the triangle upon the backs of the writers before them, none of them concerned with factual accuracy, they also proposed causes for the phenomena they reported. Paranormal activity was a popular solution, unexplained disappearances as part of things that go bump in the night. UFO activity was also proposed by many, at a time when books, films, television, and other media speculated about extraterrestrial visitation heavily. Proponents of Edgar Cayce and psychic phenomena announced the triangle was influenced by magnetic fields emanating from the Lost City of Atlantis, evidenced by a rock formation in the region known as the Bimini Road. They claimed the “road” is clearly a man-made object leftover from Atlantis. Scientists state unequivocally the “road” is a natural formation. The scientists, as they so often are, were dismissed by the believers as being part of a cover-up.
Compass variations and the Gulf Stream have been mentioned, both have been well known by navigators for centuries. In recent years, pockets of released methane have been offered as explanations for the loss of ships in the region. One would expect in a region where, according to the believers, so many ships above the norm are lost, shipowners would be required to pay higher insurance rates for their vessels transiting the area. They do not. Lloyd’s of London, the international insurance giant, does not charge higher rates for ships transiting the triangle, and never has. According to Lloyd’s it has no justification to, since the loss of ships is no greater in the region known as the Bermuda Triangle than any other similarly sized tract of ocean in the world. And it is considerably lower than some.