The Well of Barhout - The Mystery of Yemen’s "Well of Hell"

The Well of Barhout, located in Al-Mahara, Yemen, is considered one of the most mysterious giant holes in the world. According to mythological beliefs, this well present in the middle of the desert is considered Yemen's "well of hell". Local folklore tell of a genie or jinn being imprisoned in it and also consider it a symbol of bad luck. Some people are also calling the well as "Path to Hades" or "Jail of Jinns". According to the locals, the well pulls people inside when they go nearby, so no one goes near it out of fear, but there is no scientific evidence that it pulls in. 

It is worth mentioning that there is so much fear among the locals about this place that they are afraid to even talk about it. In such a situation, they always prefer to maintain a safe distance from the well and this process was going on for centuries. But in September 2021 Oman Cave Exploration Team decided to explore the well and find out the truth. A team of seven members started descending the well and reached the bottom, making it the first time in history that someone stepped down into this dangerous well of hell. 

Read:-2010 Guatemala City sinkhole - A Hole That Suddenly Appeared In The Ground

But after landing in the well, when the inside video surfaced, everyone was surprised. Don't worry they didn't find any demon inside. In fact, this 100 feet wide (circular entrance) and 367 feet deep pit was a sinkhole made of a natural phenomenon, whose upper surface was narrow, but on moving downwards it was much wider, reaching a width of 380 feet at the base. The team spent about four to five hours exploring the bottom of the sinkhole, during which different things were seen in different layers. Somewhere waterfalls, somewhere snakes, somewhere deep layer of pearls, and somewhere thick layer of calcium carbonate.

Read:-Kola Superdeep Borehole - The Deepest Hole Ever Dug Into the Earth

Cavers discover waterfalls inside the well along with some dead animals and many other creatures such as toads, snakes, beetles, birds, and lizards. Of course, there was no ventilation inside the well and the air inside was not suitable for breathing, but apart from this, nothing like monstrous powers could be experienced in the well. According to geologists, the sinkhole would have been formed by mudslides caused by water flowing through different layers of the ground. 

Read:-Mel's Hole - One of the most mysterious alleged paranormal holes in the earth

Significantly, researchers have not yet been able to find out how old this well is. Scientists believe that the well of hell can be millions of years old, which still needs a lot of research. Although light does not reach the very bottom of the pit. We must heartily thank the exploration team who showed immense courage to step into this dangerous well and freed the whole world from the fear of centuries. 

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What Caused The Blood Red Sky In China? A Rare Phenomenon Turned The Sky Discoloured

On 7 May 2022, people in China's Zhoushan City were shocked and scared when they saw the sky above turning blood red. The townspeople posted several videos of this red sky on social media which went viral and became a topic of discussion, resulting in various rumors started spreading on social media. Because seeing such an unusual sight, some said this supernatural phenomenon was a significant indication of the apocalypse, and from others' point of view, it was a warning of an upcoming earthquake. 

But shortly after the incident, the Zhoushan Meteorological Bureau did research on it and advised the public to stay away from false rumors, saying that this is just a simple natural phenomenon. They said the fog was very much thick and the clouds were at a low altitude. They attributed it to a phenomenon caused by the refraction of light. Even a local fishing company confirmed that the light was refracted from their fishing boats because this red light was generated by their boats which they have to turn on while fishing. 

Read:-What If We Throw A Bucket Full Of Water On The Sun?

When these lights are turned on, the light hit the water and moves toward the sky. But when it collided with fog or aerosols, that is, a suspension of liquid droplets in the air, it was refracted and the sky appeared red. According to weather experts, when weather conditions are good, more water in the atmosphere creates aerosols that refract and scatter the light of fishing boats, resulting in red skies. It is quite common in coastal areas. 

Read:-Why Does the Sky Light Up Seconds Before the Earthquake?

Also in 1770, due to immense solar activity, many countries experienced the red sky, when the sky remained red for nine days. Internet users somewhere speculated that China's red sky may have been caused by a solar storm like the one in 1770, but this phenomenon is quite different and had nothing to do with solar activity.

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"The Mysterious Death Of Starfish", "Seafood Rain", And "The Annual Capelin Roll"

The Mysterious Death Of Starfish

In 2015, on Moreton Island in southeast Queensland, tour guide "Ericsen-Miller" saw hundreds of starfish lying dead on the shore. Ericsen said while this scene on the beach was heartbreaking to watch, on the other hand, it was truly a wonderful thing to see so many starfish in such numbers at once. Seeing such a situation, he started throwing the surviving starfish back into the sea, but he quickly realized it was impossible to do so in such numbers. According to him, this was a very rare natural phenomenon and it had never happened before. No one knows the exact reason behind this, but the theory of "Kathy Townsend", a marine biologist from the University of Queensland, seems to be closest to the truth. According to Kathy, it could have been a case that when starfish tend to gather together for mating, and suddenly the conditions changed, such as the water temperature changing more rapidly and the strong wind starts blowing may cause this condition to occur. But many researchers still consider this phenomenon a mystery.

Read:- The Time When Mysterious Blobs Rained Down Over Washington

Seafood Rain

You may have heard about different types of rains, like the red rain that hit Kerala in 2001, and a downpour of fish in the same city in 2008. But in June 2018, a strange incident happened in China when aquatic creatures like octopus, starfish, shellfish, and shrimp started falling on vehicles and roads in the form of rain in Shandong Province. Such a scene was never seen earlier. People named it seafood rain and its pictures became viral on the internet. As strange this incident was, a very simple explanation came from the Chinese Meteorological Administration that a strong and fierce storm gave birth to a waterspout, through which these creatures were lifted out of the Yellow Sea and rained down on the city.

The Annual Capelin Roll

Every year around summer, the beaches of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, are a unique sight to behold as millions of capelin fishes make their way ashore. This natural phenomenon is called the "Capelin Roll" and is a beloved phenomenon for city dwellers and visitors alike, as people come here to watch the sight and catch these tiny fish. If people are lucky enough, they also get to see humpback whales that come here to feed on these slender, speedy fish. Capelin fishes gather on these beaches every year to spawn. People eagerly wait to visit this beautiful place to experience the natural phenomenon of the annual capelin roll.

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The Mystery Of "Wadi al Hitan" - The Valley of the Whales | What Is Meister Footprint

The world is full of such mysterious things about which no human can even guess. It is certain that we are not the first civilization on this planet as many other human races and animals have been present on this earth even before us. That's why scientists across the world are always engaged in the search for such things, which can reveal the secrets of the earth thousands and millions of years ago. But sometimes in such discoveries, such things are revealed which are not easy to explain.

About 150 km southwest of Cairo, Egypt, is located the "Wadi al Hitan" i.e., "Valley of the Whales", which is an archaeological site and has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in July 2005. Now you must be wondering what is so special about this place. When the sands of the Sahara desert were removed with the wind over time, something very peculiar and bizarre emerged from the womb of the desert, that no one had ever imagined. In fact, several hundred whale fossils were discovered beneath this desert. But the first shocking thing was how could the bones of a marine creature be found in a desert, that is, the desert used to be a huge sea before. 

Read:-The Time When Skelton of Huge Sea Dragon Found In UK

But when their study was done, the second shocking thing that came to light was these bones are at least 40 million years old. In addition, a fossil of a 65-foot-long whale was also found that had legs, meaning these whales were the prehistoric ancestors of today's whales. Namely, the discovery unraveled the mystery of how whales evolved over time and how foot mammals later evolved into oceanic whales. This means today's dolphin whale was once a creature that walked on land. Even the condition of these fossils was much better than other fossils found in the world. Not only whales but fossils of other early animals such as crocodiles and turtles were also found in the valley. The first fossil skeletons of whales were discovered in 1902. 

Read:- The Most Noteworthy Archaeological Discoveries of the 1980s

Trilobite Fossils (Meister Footprint)

In 1968, 43 miles west of Delta, Utah, American scientists found such fossils of trilobites, which puzzled researchers around the world. Trilobites are a class of extinct marine animals that were related to marine arthropods such as crabs and shrimps, existed about 260 to 600 million years ago. Trilobites fossil surprised the scientists because two trilobites found in a slate appeared to be crushed in a human shoe print, known as the Meister Footprint. The size of these shoe print was measured at approximately 13 inches. But if the theory of scientists is to be believed it is impossible for any human being to exist so long ago. The existence of humans is said to appeared only five to seven million years ago and humans have started wearing shoes only a few thousand years ago. So can these footprints be of astronauts from another planet?

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What Is Ball Lightning? The Longstanding Mystery Of Ball Lightning

You might have seen such a video many times on the internet that a mysterious round light moves aimlessly here and there, and then suddenly disappears. It is sometimes depicted as a ghostly event and sometimes as an unexplained mystery. It is likely that you have heard some such stories from your grandparents as well. This is a rare and unexplained phenomenon associated with hazardous atmospheric lightning-related events, referred to as "Ball Lightning". It is a luminescent sphere, whose size can range from a pea to several meters in diameter. 

Although this phenomenon is associated with lightning, it lasts much longer than lightning. In the 19th century, the light ball also burst in two cases, leaving behind an odor of sulfur. Because of the fire and sulfur smell, some explained the ball of fire as "the devil" or as the "flames of hell.  According to some people, ball lightning also passes through a closed window. The actual existence of Ball Lightning has not been proven to date, but it has been visible for centuries. Ball lightning sightings have been recorded since the early 1600's, except there is one problem. This type of lightning has been witnessed by only 5% of the people on Earth and it is even the first time that someone has captured it on camera.

According to an incident, on the evening of 27 July 2013, there was a very strong thunderstorm in the area of Kath's (An American woman) home and it rained heavily for about 20 minutes, after which she went outside to feed her hens where she experienced something quite peculiar. She saw a glow of light on the grass looking like bright sunlight and was about 60 cm in diameter. Kath was just trying to make sense of it when a similar ball passed in front of her, but this time with an orange-yellow glow. It went a short distance away and exploded with an incredibly loud thunderous noise.

Read:-Bengal Swamp (Aleya ghost lights)

In another account, there was once a tailor living next to the Church of the Val-de-Grace in Paris, who on the stormy night of 5 July 1852, saw a light ball as large as a human head entering his house through the chimney. He couldn't figure out what it was, and meanwhile, the light ball was moving straight toward him. But again just like Kath, before the tailor could understand anything, that light ball immediately went out through the same path it was entered and exploded destroying the top of the chimney on the way.

In 2007, scientists created ball lightning in the laboratory, which lasted for eight seconds, but no one could prove how it relates to the natural phenomenon. Several hundred theories have emerged so far, but in 2019, Vladimir Torchigin of the Russian Academy of Sciences said that this is not an incident related to lightning. In fact, it is formed due to the trapping of light in a thin layer of air, in which photons keep rebounding inside the air bubble. But still scientists have different opinions about this.

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What Are Waterspouts? What Is The Cause Behind Their Formation?

Waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water or that move through the land into water, appearing as funnel-shaped clouds that seem to descend from the sky into the sea, also known as Tornadic waterspouts. Like tornadoes formed on the land, Waterspouts are also associated with deadly thunderstorms, huge hail, strong winds, and often dangerous lightning, that is, totally life-threatening for ships and boats running in the water. The size of Waterspouts may vary from just a few feet to several hundred feet wide.

There are many such incidents recorded in history in which many boats and ships were sunk due to Waterspouts. Scientists speculate that waterspouts are responsible for the phenomenon of rain of frogs and fish, but this has never been certainly observed or recorded. Because if this were the case, why would there only be the rain of fishes and frogs, because waterspouts would have even pulled up other species along with them and rain of mixed marine creatures would have been seen. 

Waterspouts have so far proved to be less dangerous than land tornadoes, the reason being that the human population has settled on land rather than over water. These intense columnar vortexes can occur anywhere in the world's coastal regions, according to the scientific description there is no particular place where they are more likely to occur. Many times more than one Waterspout can be seen at once as about 12 waterspouts were spotted over the Black Sea in the Russian city of "Sochi" at the same day.

There are mainly two types of waterspouts: Fair-weather waterspouts and Tornadic waterspouts. Fair-weather waterspouts formed in calmer weather as they develop only over open water, forming at the surface and actually ascending skywards towards the clouds. Such waterspouts are not generally connected with thunderstorm-like conditions. On the other hand, tornadic waterspouts can often start as tornadoes on land and then move over water, forming even in severe thunderstorms over a body of water, wreaking havoc with strong winds and intense lightning.

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What Is Coal-Seam Fire? The Deadly Threat Of Underground Burning Or Fire

After battling a wildfire in Detroit, Oregon in September 2020, a firefighter named Don Tesdal noticed a strange thing, took a video of it, and uploaded it to Facebook to warn people. Don noticed that the fire was now burning underground, while the fire above ground had been extinguished. The fire had captured the root system of the entire forest, according to Don, this hidden fire could pose a threat not only to those walking on the ground above but also to those living nearby. 

Underground burning makes the ground hollow from the inside and those who walk on it do not know what is going on inside, due to which they can sink inside it. Not only this, this kind of fire with 1200 degree temperature can burn anyone's shoes and can even burn a person standing above it. Whether you know it or not, similar underground fires have been burning in many other places around the world for years. This phenomenon is called "Coal-seam fire". What happens is that due to various reasons like industrial accidents, gas explosions, etc, the fire somehow reaches the underground coal layer and then gradually spreads. Because due to mining, the fire keeps getting little oxygen. 

Read:-Eternal Flame Falls - New York, USA

In Jharia, Jharkhand, there has been a fire under the ground for the last hundred years, while thousands of people have built houses above. Here, after coal mining got shut down, instead of covering it with the proper amount of sand, it was left in an improper way. In many areas, toxic fumes have always kept coming out from the walls of houses, which can fall anytime or the ground can collapse. These heavy fumes can also cause serious health problems. The underground fire has destroyed a dozen nearby settlements. Flames and gas smoke everywhere have been telling the frightening situation. According to a report, Rs 2311 crore has been spent so far to extinguish this fire, but the situation is getting worse every day. Coal worth more than 10 billion has been burnt to ashes so far due to underground fire. This fire is both a health and safety hazard.

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What Is Milky Sea Effect? A Mysterious Glow In The Ocean

It was common sailor's lore that sometimes they got to areas where the sea was white and the lights were glowing below the ships. Between 1915 and 1993, about 235 times, the fishermen from ships claimed to have seen large areas of seawater appear to glow brightly at night, particularly in the northwestern Indian Ocean near to Somalia. It was claimed to be the largest bioluminescent area in the world, an area so immense that you can even see it from space, that remained unknown to science until 2005.

Image - Wikipedia

Initially, the scientists took this matter very lightly, but when such news surfaced again and again, pictures were taken from the satellites, and they were surprised to see that it was absolutely true. Furthermore, they also revealed that the area of this glowing portion was equal to the US state of Connecticut. Scientists have named this phenomenon the "Milky Sea Effect", also called Mareel. It is said to be a rare form of marine bioluminescence where the ocean surface emits a broad, uniform, and steady white glow at night. 

Although what is this Milky Sea Effect actually, scientists are still finding out, but even today they have not found anything special in their hands. There are about two or three Milky Sea sightings annually worldwide, most of which originate in the waters of the northwestern Indian Ocean off the coast of Indonesia. Sometimes these conditions persist over an area of more than 1,00,000 km square on the sea surface for several days to weeks and move silently among the ocean currents. 

Read:-The 2012 Kermadec Islands pumice raft - A floating island that suddenly appeared in the ocean

In 1985, a research vessel in the Arabian Sea took water samples during the Milky Sea effect, and they concluded that the event was caused by the bacterium "Vibrio harveyi". In July 2015, when this phenomenon occurred in Alleppey, Kerala, the National Institute of Oceanography and Kerala Fisheries Department researched it and found that these glittering waves were the result of bioluminescent "Noctiluca scintillans". 

Therefore, the number of bacteria it would take to create a luminous sphere the size of Connecticut is almost immeasurable, that's about forty billion trillion bacteria. But sometimes their color was found to be white, sometimes blue, and even green, so many other scientists do not believe in the theory of bioluminescent in this regard. Well, let's see what they find in the future.

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Abraham Lake Ice Bubbles - Stunning Bubbles Frozen Under Lake Abraham

No one can know nor predict the way nature works and the changes that take place in it. Some changes made by nature prove to be very dangerous, while some are very relaxing. There are thousands of such lakes in the world, which are quite different from each other in terms of characteristics and which have to undergo many changes every year.

Now if it is a matter of lakes, how can we forget Abraham Lake, which is located in the foothills of western Alberta, Canada, with a surface area of 20.7 square miles and a length of 32 km. In winter, the beauty of this lake increases immensely because of an unusual natural change taking place in it. Here, the freezing temperature, cold winds, and beautiful views of the high mountains will make you crazy about this place. But if you plan to visit here in the winter season, you need to think a little, because, in the winter season, the temperature around Abraham Lake drops drastically. 

Here the winds start blowing at a speed of 48km/h, due to which the ice that freezes on the surface of the lake becomes crystal-like, and at that time the real beauty of nature is visible under this ice, which are bubbles of frozen methane gas. These bubbles appear when the bacteria present at the bottom of the lake feed on some aquatic animals or plants, from which a large amount of methane gas is released, which become trapped under the ice in the form of bubbles. Now as the temperature goes on decreasing, the water of the lake starts freezing and the methane gas coming out from the depths of the lake gets frozen on the top, after which this wonderful sight of nature is seen.

But the most amazing thing is the water of the lake remains absolutely clear and in such a situation these frozen bubbles of methane gas are visible from the upper surface of the lake to the depth of the lake. Due to the transparency of frozen ice on the lake's surface, these bubbles below appear like small balls of ice or light, which are very attractive to watch. Now because the lake is completely frozen in winter, that's why during this time people enjoy ice skating over the surface of the lake, especially at the Ice Bubbles Viewpoint. 

However, a danger has also been concerned about the methane gas present inside the lake that if the level of methane increases constantly, then what effects it will show on the temperature of the earth? Currently, many types of research are going on in this regard. Thousands of people visit the lake every year during the winter season to witness its remarkable beauty and get mesmerized by its stunning views.

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What Are Lawn Blisters? How Do They Form?

Don't be alarmed if the grass in your garden starts bursting like this. Because this type of natural formation underneath the surface of the grass is commonly known as Lawn Blister or Grass Waterbed, which is a pretty satisfying sight to behold. Seeing them, it seems as if someone has filled water inside the ground. Lawn blisters are mostly seen on the heavy grasslands or the golf course. 

This phenomenon is mainly observed after heavy rains as it is formed from the accumulated rainwater. This becomes possible when the rainwater goes under the ground, but does not find a way to come back out and gets trapped there, causing it to appear like bubble-shaped peaks. In this case, it acts like water filled in a balloon and starts behaving like a waterbed inside the grass. However, many times such a view is seen due to the bursting of the pipe present under the ground. For the first time lawn blister came into the limelight when in 2015 a person found it made on his lawn, which he uploaded on youtube and the video went viral.

Read:-Grass Globe Illusion, Paris - Is It Real Or Just A Visual Illusion

Sometimes grass waterbeds burst in a few hours and sometimes the water filled inside them remains accumulated for several days, which has to be removed by piercing or using a pointed tool to create a hole in the blister. Often these peculiar bubbles disappear on their own due to excessive heat, but most people puncture them to remove all the water because they say the pleasure of bursting these blisters is an incredible feeling. 

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The Time When Hundreds Of Tumbleweeds Covered Victorville - Attack of the Giant Tumbleweeds

In April 2018 the town of Victorville in Los Angeles was wholly taken over by Tumbleweeds. Tumbleweeds are such species of plants that once matured and dried, detach from their root or stem and are carried away by the force of the wind. The constant strong wind and open environment allow these shrubs to roll without prohibitive hindrance. 

In the Victorville incident, these tumbleweeds were in so massive quantity that they engulfed over 150 houses, streets, and all vacant lots. The "fronts of houses" in particular disappeared as lots of tumbleweeds covered them completely. The high-speed winds created huge piles of tumbleweeds, blocking some residents' doors. The entire city was covered with several hundred bushes that looked like a tornado striking the region. 

Later, the government authorities and the locals somehow managed to remove them after a lot of effort. Initially, people could not understand the reason for this, but experts said that the reason for the arrival of tumbleweeds in the city was the strong winds blowing in Southern California. Now because of the abundance of these tumbleweeds in the desert of California, these shrubs tend to be severed from their weak roots by strong winds after the completion of their life span. And due to their circular shapes, they rolled from one place to another at the gusts of wind. 

It depends on which direction the wind is blowing and according to that many times these weed-like bushes reach the city and occupy the entire area. Sometimes, due to such strong winds, these Tumbleweeds run in such a huge amount that for once a bush storm-like situation arises, inside which it is not even possible to drive a car.

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The Massive Snake Orgy - The World's Largest Gathering Of Snakes

It is mostly seen that if a snake enters someone's house, there is a lot of commotion there. But now imagine if someone is asked to visit a place where not one or two but over 70,000 snakes are present together. Yes, this is not a joke, but absolutely true. There are numerous incredible sights of thousands of snakes seen in different parts of the world every year. But one of the best snake gatherings is experienced at Narcisse Snake Dens in Manitoba, Canada, which is said to be the home to the largest concentration of snakes in the world. In fact, every year there is an orgy of thousands of snakes (around 75,000 snakes), during which these snakes come together and complete their breeding process.

Read:-Why Suddenly Millions Of Crabs Started Running From The Forest And Headed Towards The Ocean?

It may come as a surprise to you that this massive snake mating season begins right after Valentine's Day. Research has revealed that the February weather in this region is quite favorable for the breeding of these snakes. This is the time of cohabitation of snakes and they unite by coming out of their burrows. That is, at the end of winter, all these snakes gather in these areas and carry out their sexual activities. Whenever this process of snakes begins at a particular time of the year, the government evacuates all the surrounding areas, so that there is no disturbance in the process of reproduction of these snakes. But the most interesting fact is all the snakes coming here belong to the garter species.

Read:-Snake Island (Brazil)

According to Manitoba Conservation, these snakes return to their burrows in September and come straight out of their burrows in winter. You can visit here during the last three weeks of April and early May, during which thousands of garter snakes congregate here. People come from around the world to watch this wonderful snake gathering. But the most curious topic among the people is how do so many snakes of the same species gather together in one place?

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What Is Ocean Dandruff Or Marine Snow? A Continuous Shower In The Deep Ocean

Everyone might have seen snow falling in mountainous regions, but have you ever experienced the same phenomenon in the deep ocean? Summer, winter, autumn, and spring, regardless of the season, there always snows in the ocean, which is a sight to behold. If you ever travel to the deep ocean you should expect it to be cold and dark, with a high chance of snow. But not snow as in "ice crystals" form, such as those on Earth's surface. Because here we are talking about underwater snow in the form of white flakes. Although, these flakes are not actually snow, in essence, these millimeter-sized flakes consist of dead creatures and poop, referred to as Marine Snow, also known as Ocean Dandruff. 

It sounds quite weird, doesn't it? But creatures in the deep ocean would most likely disagree with this. Because they consume underwater snow as the only source of nutrition in the dark inaccessible depths of the ocean. Ocean Dandruff or Marine Snow is a kind of snow that no one would ever want to catch with the tongue. As said earlier marine snow is actually not real snow but is made up of mostly organic matter, including dead animals or plants, poop from animals, decaying animals, and the remains of plankton falling from the upper waters to the deep ocean and this phenomenon lasts throughout the year. You may be disgusted by it, but it is a very delicious food source for the small creatures living in the seabed. 

When the animals and plants present near the surface of the ocean die and decompose, they start falling toward the ocean floor. It's an incredible way of nature to transport food to the part of the ocean where sunlight doesn't reach. The deep ocean floor is always covered with the remains of tiny sea creatures and because of this, life continues even in the deep ocean. These flakes grow as they fall, and some reach several centimeters in diameter before reaching the ocean floor. Sometimes it even takes weeks and months for some snowflakes to reach the bottom. Underwater snow however is more than just food as these white flakes have some role to play in keeping the earth cool.

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Giant Termite Colony - Centuries-Old Mound-building Termites "Super-Colony" In Amazon

The Amazon forest is hiding countless secrets within it, some of which we have already discussed in our previous articles. From time to time, such amazing discoveries have been made in the Amazon jungle, with which the world was completely unaware earlier, but later gets surprised. One such bizarre scene appeared a few years back, seeing which the scientists were shocked to a great extent. 

About 200 million termite mounds about 10 feet tall and 33 feet wide have come into view in the empty space left by the cutting of trees in the Amazon rainforest. Individually the mounds stand with a mighty presence but together this desert is a city that stands even stronger. Spread over 230,000 square kilometers, these termite mounds are even visible from space. 

Read:-Matmata Underground Houses, Tunisia - The Uniquely Designed Houses In The Large Pits

These impressive structures are made from the simplest of materials, such as feces, saliva, and clay. This whole area is so big that England, Scotland, and Wales can be settled here together, i.e. greater than the size of Great Britain. These mounds tormented researchers around the world as a puzzle for a long time, but after recent research, it was found that these mounds made in the forest were built by termites named "Syntermes Dirus", which are about half an inch long. To make this happen, millions of these ancient architectural termites constantly worked together to build and maintain their underground homes. In fact, these mounds were not their nests, but the soil extracted by them while digging tunnels under the forest. 

Read:-Chocolate Hills of Bohol, Philippines - The Beautiful Cone-Shaped Hills

The amount of soil excavated by these insects to make these mounds is equivalent to the 4000 great pyramids of Giza. While the social insect expert Stephen Martin told from radioactive dating that it took about 4,000 years for termites to make this strange country, making it the largest construction ever built by any insect species in the world. With millions of insects living under one roof, life can become very congested, and toxic gases can easily build up. So the mounds even help them as a ventilation system as they allow fresh air to enter their homes, making breathing possible. These fascinating mounds have a complex internal structure of several conduits and tunnels which served as a ventilation system for the underground nest.

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What Is Flash Flood? What Causes Flash Floods?

Flooding due to heavy rains is not a new thing these days, but if you ever see something like carrying huge amounts of silt and rocks along with running water, run away from there immediately. Because flash flood is a slightly different type of flood occurring in a shorter period of time, in which not only water but debris of other things like mud, rocks, trees, etc. is involved, sweeping everything before them. 

When the embankments break with a rapid flow of water due to the heavy or excessive rainfall in the mountains miles away in a short period of time (occurring within minutes or a few hours), a sudden flood quickly and unexpectedly occurs in the low areas, it is called a flash flood or sudden flood. A flash flood can even occur without any rainfall, such as after a levee or dam has failed. On the other hand, Flooding is a longer-duration event, which may last for several days or weeks.

Flash flooding is considered more dangerous because it comes suddenly and no one can prepare for it and anyone can get injured by the debris that comes with it. According to experts, a major possible reason for flash floods is the rapid melting of glaciers or heavy rains in the mountains. Due to the heat, the water of the glaciers starts filling in the lakes formed on the slopes of the mountain, and due to the increased pressure of the water, the embankment breaks and floods occur. There are many such lakes in the Himalayan mountain range, which are made of glaciers and may pose a threat in the coming times due to global warming. 

Read:-A city hit by a powerful cyclone, causing a passenger train to completely washed away

The flood in Kedarnath in 2013 was a flash flood, in which over 5,000 people were presumed dead. In that tragic incident, thousands of tonnes of silt and water from the mountains washed away the town of Kedarnath due to the sudden flash flood caused by the heavy rain following a cloudburst. Similarly, in May 2012, a natural lake formed by glaciers near Pokhara, a beautiful tourist destination in Nepal, suddenly went burst free, and hundreds of millions of gallons of icy water and mud gushed out, destroying many houses, barns, and farms. Filming flash floods too close and underestimating it is the biggest reason people die.

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What Is Bioluminescence? A Brief Introduction To Bioluminescence

Everyone must have seen the firefly in childhood and would have been a little amazed when it glows, but the surprising thing was that it could do so only because of Bioluminescence. The emission of light by living organisms is called bioluminescence. They produce light because of a biochemical reaction in which a light-emitting compound, called luciferin, reacts with oxygen to generate light. These organisms do this primarily to lure prey and attract potential mates. Furthermore, Bioluminescence helps them in establishing contact with each other in their own species. 

Bioluminescence, like everything else in history, has been used by humans to their advantage, whether it's the bioluminescent fungi used by aborigines as flashlights to light up dense forests or to receive help from jars filled with fireflies used by workers in coal mines as safety lamps. Prior to the development of safety lamps for use in coal mines, dried fish skins were used in Britain and Europe as a weak source of light. This experimental form of lighting avoided the need to use candles. 

Read:-India's Mysterious Glowing Forest In The Western Ghats, Forest That Glow In The Dark

But nowadays it is also being used to monitor water toxicity to highlight the possible presence of contaminants in water. But nature has bestowed this gift not only on insects or deep sea creatures but also on many plants. During the American Civil War at the Battle of Shiloh, some soldiers' wounds began to glow and this helped their wounds to heal more quickly and recover from infection. This was the result of bioluminescence bacteria living in the soil and the release of anti-microbial chemicals that protected the soldiers from infection. This led to the phenomenon's nickname "Angel's Glow. 

Read:-How and why do Fireflies Glow?

Even the human body produces Bioluminescence, but it is in such a small amount that it is not visible to the eyes as it is 1,000 times less intense than the levels to which our naked eyes are sensitive. This beautiful view of Bioluminescence can be witnessed in the ocean as well when the impressive blue lights release out from the ocean water in the darkness of the night, leaving everyone stunned. The bioluminescent organisms most frequently found in the surface layers of the ocean may be dinoflagellates, which are responsible for the sparkling phosphorescence sometimes seen at night in turbid waters. However, if you want to enjoy great sightings of bioluminescence, you can visit Maldives or Indonesia.

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What Are Fire Rainbow And Moonbow (Lunar Rainbow)?

All our inventions and technologies fade away in seconds when nature enters the field to reveal its power. Nature does such things very quietly, seeing which even scientists from around the world are stunned for once. Two of such craziest natural phenomena of nature are the "Fire Rainbow" And "Moonbow".

Fire Rainbow (Circumhorizontal Arc)

Fire Rainbow can be seen in many countries, but still, this sight is quite rare. This is because the conditions required for its formation are very rarely coincidental. For this, the sun should be at least 58 degrees above the horizon, and there must be hexagonal plate-shaped ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere, usually in cirrus clouds, at a specified height. And the sunlight must be refracted through these crystals at a precise angle, then somewhere this beautiful sight of nature appears. But once it appears, it persists for many hours and sometimes it is so large that it stretches for miles. Even though its name is Fire Rainbow, it neither has fire nor rainbow. It got its name just because of the way it looks. Technically its name is "Circumhorizontal Arc". Although fire rainbows are very rare, but even more beautiful and rare is the fire rainbow made from moonlight.

Moonbow (Moon Rainbow)

We all have been hearing about rainbows for centuries, but have you ever heard of a rainbow that is not formed by direct sunlight but rather produced by moonlight? These rainbow formations are generally known as "Moonbows". Such moonbows are commonly seen over Victoria Falls, on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Apart from this, moonbows are also formed over Niagara Falls, Yosemite National Park, and Cumberland Falls, which remain the center of attraction for photographers around the world. The science behind these rainbows is similar to solar rainbows. But due to the low illumination of the Moon, it is slightly less bright or much fainter than solar rainbows. But when the moon is at its brightest phase such as the full moon, Moonbows can be most easily seen.

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What Are Earthquake Lights? Why does the Sky Light Up Seconds Before the Earthquake?

The eyes are such an organ, without which this life and the entire world would probably be just a fantasy as they allow us to see. No matter how good one's eyesight is, it is of no use without external light, and there are many forms of Light Phenomena in nature that have so far been described by science, one of which is "Earthquake lights". 

It is a very rare event when flashes are observed in and around regions of the sky under seismic activity, and tectonic stress. It can even occur during volcanic eruptions. According to scientists, the lights seen in the form of flashes, or balls of light in the sky a few seconds before or during an earthquake are called earthquake lights. It can also be in the form of sheet lightning or streamers as if the sky is changing color. Although scientists have not fully understood the reason for this phenomenon.

In the year 2009, a man in Italy looked out of his kitchen window towards a hill, where he spotted some strange lights in the air, immediately after which he got suspicious and took his family to a safe place. He did so because he had already read about Earthquake lights, so he understood, but there was a lot of loss of life and property in that earthquake. Even more similar cases have come to the fore and several theories have been given regarding Earthquake Lights. According to researchers, it's an electrical process that occurs when nature stresses certain rocks, such as Basalt and gabbro, that have minor defects in their crystals, and when an earthquake's seismic waves hit them, an electrical charge builds up or is released.

These charges join together to form a plasma-like state and while traveling at very high velocity through the cracks in the rocks, burst onto the surface and emerge in various shapes and colors, emitting such lights. Earthquake lights are usually seen before or during an earthquake, but rarely after, so research is ongoing to predict earthquakes. However, apart from these lights, it has also been observed that there is some strange change in the behavior of animals, birds, and sea creatures before the earthquake to come. Since 2016, earthquake lights have been observed several times in many countries. 

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