From lakes that turn Teddy Bears to stone, to underground caves with entirely new species,
here are 10 real places on earth that seem scientifically impossible….
10.
The Pink Lake
Usually, you'd think of a lake as being deep blue, or gray, or maybe a less appealing color
because of pollution…but what about bright pink?
Well, that's what a number of lakes in Australia are like, and for a long time, it was completely
unclear what made them that way.
Stories were told of how they were the site of a flamingo massacre, or full of brightly
colored shrimp, and there were more reasonable suggestions that it was a result of high salt
content or because of microalgae.
Researchers, looking at lake Hillier on the southwestern coast, announced in 2015 that
they had found the cause… bacteria.
They took DNA samples from the lake, and while they found 10 different species of salt-loving
bacteria, and a number of species of algae that were red or pink, more than 33 percent
of the DNA collected was from one species of bacteria called Salinibacter Ruber, and
that it was this, not microalgae, that was causing the color.
The best thing about the pink lakes is that they’re totally safe to swim in, so if you
want to dive in a completely unusual environment, it’s worth visiting next time you’re in
Australia.
9.
The Sleeping City of Kalachi
Since March of 2013, the residents of two towns in Kazakhstan...
Kalachi and Krasnogorsk, have suffered from a peculiar illness.
With a combined population of 810 people, the dusty towns on the Kazakh Steppe were
hidden away and almost no one had even heard of them.
Until more than 140 people became affected by a mysterious sleeping disease.
Reports were made of them suddenly falling asleep, even while walking, and they would
wake up with headaches, memory loss, grogginess, and weakness.
This could happen multiple times, and in some cases, the person was asleep for as long as
6 days.
Old and young people were affected, some would see crazy hallucinations, and even pets exhibited
symptoms.
The cause of these problems was speculated on for years, with some thinking it was to
do with nearby uranium mines, others thinking it was counterfeit alcohol, and various researchers
blamed a mass psychosis.
Eventually, though, it was confirmed that the uranium mines were to blame.
They were responsible for releasing high concentrations of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons, which
are known to have these kind of effects on humans and animals.
It is lucky that these people survived, and lived to tell the tale.
8.
Pennsylvania’s Ringing Rocks
As the name would suggest, the 128-acre Ringing Rocks county park in Pennsylvania has a number
of rocks in an 8-acre area that exhibit some unusual qualities.
Normally, if you were to clunk a rock, you'd expect to hear a thud sound, but the ones
here do something completely different- they emit a metal clang when hit with a hammer
or another rock.
The sound is so strange, that you'd think they were hollow and made of metal, as opposed
to being made from stone.
Many tests have been carried out on these rocks to try and understand them, but still,
no answers have been found.
What has become clear is that each rock produces tones that are too low for us to hear, but
when the sounds from multiple rocks interact with each other, they form a sound that we
are able to register.
The rocks are made from a substance called diabase, which contains iron and minerals-
much like other stones.
Why they make this sound is a complete mystery, and so is their location.
Usually, clusters of rocks are found at the base of hills as a result of a collapse, but
these ones are all on top of a hill- how could they have got here?
7.
The Petrifying Well
The river Nidd, in the county of Yorkshire, England, is home to one of the oldest ‘charging'
attractions in England… a well that's thought to have been cursed by the devil.
What's unusual about this place is that whatever object is left in the waters will, eventually,
turn to stone.
People realized the side of the well looks like a giant's skull, and either avoided it
altogether or began to leave belongings near the well to watch them slowly turn to stone
in a matter of weeks.
There's a Victorian top hat and a bonnet that was left there in 1853, and plenty of other
items that have been left behind since.
The first written record of the well comes from 1538 when locals believed the place to
have miraculous healing powers.
Tests of the water in recent times, though, have revealed what exactly is going on here.
It has an extremely high mineral content that precipitates over objects and forms a hard
shell around them.
This is the same process that stalagmites and stalactites are formed, but in this case,
it happens much much faster.
Teddy bears are a particularly popular choice to leave there because they are porous and
can petrify from the inside out in a matter of months.
6.
The Darvaza Gas Crater
The Darvaza gas crater, known by locals as ‘the door to hell’, is about 150 miles
away from the capital city of Turkmenistan, and is one of the most popular tourist attractions
in the area.
It’s a sinister looking place- even more so on the days that desert creatures are attracted
to the flames… sometimes swarms of thousands of spiders can be seen plummeting into the
pit, suckered in by the hypnotic fires.
It hasn’t always been this way, though.
In 1971, when the country was still a part of the Soviet Union, a team of geologists
were searching for oil fields.
Having found what they believed to be one, then began to drill…
The problem was, they were wrong, and were actually drilling into a pocket of natural
gas that collapsed under the weight of their equipment.
This created a crater that was 230 feet across and 65 feet deep and was releasing huge amounts
of gas into the air.
Animals in the surrounding area began to die, and it was decided the only way to prevent
a catastrophe was to set fire to the gas- something that's often done to control huge
releases and is known as flaring.
They believed it would burn out in a few weeks time but, almost 50 years later, it still
burns strong.
Plans are supposedly being put into place to try and extinguish the flames, and find
a way to capture the gas… but, as of yet, no-one has any idea how to do it!
5.
Socotra Island
Where's the most otherworldly place on earth that you can think of?
In terms of plant life, it has to be the Socotra archipelago in the Indian Ocean… about 250
miles away from Somalia.
The 4 islands have long been separated from the rest of Africa, and have more than 6 million
years of evolution that's unique to them.
It's an extremely hot and dry climate and has given rise to more than 700 species of
plants that don't grow anywhere else on earth.
One of the plants that stands out the most is the Dragon’s Blood tree, one that grows
in the shape of an umbrella.
According to legend, the tree’s purple resin used to be the dragon’s blood, and in more
recent times has been used in the manufacture of violins, paints, and varnishes.
With such a wealth of unusual plant life, Socotra island is truly a place unlike any
other.
4.
The Everlasting Lightning Storm
Usually, when there's a thunderstorm, you can just watch the light show from indoors
and wait for it to pass.
There's one place in the world, though, where there's a virtually continuous lightning storm…
over the mouth of the Catatumbo River in Venezuela.
Known as the Catatumbo lightning, it takes place between 140 and 160 nights a year, lasts
for 10 hours a day, and sees as many as 280 strikes per hour.
The frequency and intensity change along with prevailing weather conditions, with occasional
periods of low activity and, conversely, times when it is far more active.
The lightning comes from storm clouds about three-quarters of a mile high, and is thought
to be a result of the clouds making their way across swampy plains and then meeting
the ridges of the nearby Andes mountains.
The lightning that occurs happens over and over… and it's one of the places in the
world where lightning most definitely does strike twice!
3.
The Blood Falls
First discovered in 1911, Antarctica's blood falls became famous for their grotesque appearance.
Water from a river had stained the surrounding ice with a dark red hue, which was thought
to be caused by algae in the water.
Recent research has revealed the true cause of this unusual site, but even knowing the
causes doesn’t make it any less spectacular and seemingly impossible.
The water of the river that passes through the Taylor Glacier comes from a brine lake
beneath the glacier.
The lake has, over time, absorbed iron from the surrounding bedrock.
This iron-rich salty water exists under such extreme pressure because of the glacier, and
at such a high level of salinity… that it's able to remain liquid despite being in freezing
temperatures.
Then it is forced up through the glacier to emerge as a river.
The river deposits the iron as it crosses the ice, but that's not all that it leaves
behind.
There's also evidence in the water of microbes that can survive in extremely hostile conditions.
The environment that they've grown in is similar to how the earth would have been in its formation
and gives clues as to how life managed to survive in low oxygen surroundings.
2.
Kawah Ijen
When you think of a volcanic eruption, the glowing red lava probably comes to mind…
but what if that color was blue?
Well, that's what happens at Mount Ijen in East Java.
Not only is this unusual place a popular tourist attraction, but it’s also one of the most
dangerous work environments in the world.
In 1968, workers constructed sulfur mines beneath the volcano… and now, every day,
miners climb the 9000-foot volcano at night, before descending 3000 feet into the crater
where they chip away blocks of sulfur… to earn around five dollars a trip.
The gases here sting the eyes, burn the lungs, and corrodes the skin… and the nearby half
mile lake, a beautiful turquoise shade, has to be avoided at all costs- its PH is lower
than that of battery acid and can dissolve metal.
It may be one of the most stunning mountains in the world, but it’s easily one of the
deadliest too.
1.
Movile Cave
Movile Cave is a deadly and inhospitable place, but it’s been separated from the rest of
the world for so long that things work a little differently down here.
It's in the southeast of Romania and was cut off from the rest of the world for 5.5 million
years.
The cave was discovered in 1986 by workers testing the ground to see if it would be a
good place for a power plant.
There's no light, and it's full of gases like carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide… but
is still teeming with life, such as spiders, scorpions, woodlice, and centipedes.
The hydrogen sulfide means that the cave smells of rotten eggs, and it’s extremely treacherous
to visit.
Authorities have sealed the cave since its discovery, and fewer than 100 people have
ever entered, practically all of them scientists.
48 new species have been found in the cave, 33 of which are found nowhere else.
Most of them are slimy and slithery things, like snails and shrimps that spend their lives
escaping the water scorpions.
The food source at the bottom of the food chain here is a thick film of bacteria that
float on the water surface, which means nothing has to survive on plant life.
So little is known about life in the Movile cave, but scientists are actually looking
at it to theorize about distant planets.
If such a wealth of life can survive in conditions that seem deadly to us… it means it's more
than possible that life forms can exist in equally inhospitable planets elsewhere.
Thanks for watching!!