HOST: Some experts believe there are bizarre magnetic forces
in the Bermuda Triangle that can cause compasses to malfunction,
and ships and planes to veer off course.
Thousands of miles from here in Scotland,
is it possible that another magnetic force
exists that is so strong, it can pull a car uphill?
It's May 2012 in South Ayrshire, Scotland.
Engineer and professional trainer
Chris Croft is traveling up from England with his wife.
I did a bit of research on things to see in Scotland.
And there was this thing called the Electric Brae.
And they said it's one of the weirdest things you'll ever
see, and you have to see it.
HOST: Chris and his wife arrive at the Brae, which
in Scottish means hillside.
He gets out of his car, but then his car
does something remarkable.
CHRIS CROFT: This is a car rolling uphill.
The Electric Brae.
Have a look at it from the other angle.
My first thought was, is it magnetism?
Is it some weird gravity effect?
Because it absolutely feels like that.
How can things roll uphill?
HOST: And Chris isn't the only one
to capture this strange sight.
This is crazy.
HOST: In January 2020, travel journalist Bridget Barbour
showed that not only cars, but also balls seemed to roll
up the slope of this roadway.
So what's the deal?
The sort of notorious name Electric Brae
comes from the fact that many people who have witnessed
this sort of anomaly feel that it had to do with electricity
being installed in the area.
They started to wonder if there could
be some electromagnetic field that's
moving objects up this hill.
So let's take another look at this car rolling uphill.
The camera catches it from multiple angles,
and it seems clear that the car is going up the slope,
contrary to all the known laws of physics.
We don't have Sir Isaac Newton on staff,
but let's see if our experts can figure
out what's going on here.
MICHIO KAKU: If it was magnetism that was dragging the car
uphill, it would have to be tremendously big and huge,
and we don't see that anywhere.
We don't see a gigantic magnet pulling this object up.
HOST: One experiment suggests a magnet would
need to be six miles wide in order
to pull a small car up a hill.
And physicist Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi says there's another problem.
Not every object that's moving up the road is made of metal.
A ball is not made of metal.
It is not a conductor.
HOST: Our physicists believe the explanation
of this strange video lies not in electricity,
but in geography.
We judge our orientation on the planet Earth
by looking at the horizon.
But the horizon here is not flat, it's tilted.
As a consequence, the brain could become confused as
to what really is horizontal.
And perhaps, that's the key to how
you can ride something uphill.
What appears to be up and down is all relative.
You can get fooled.
You can get tricked.
HOST: The slope of this hill is very slight, rising only
17 feet over a quarter mile.
This gradual slope surrounded by the unusual landscape
leads to the confusion.
And Chris says it can be hard to switch your brain back around.
CHRIS CROFT: I was saying to myself, looking down this hill,
this is actually uphill.
And it must be just the shape of the mountain behind that's
making me feel that.
But I couldn't flip it in my mind.
Our verdict, this is an optical illusion.
The surrounding landscape makes what's going
down look like it's going up.
Scientists say our brains take in so much information
that in filtering some things out,
they can make us see things that aren't real.