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SHATNER: A lake,
bombarded by
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a thousand lightning bolts
in a single hour.
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[thunder crashes]
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A never-ending fire that
destroys an entire town.
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And bizarre humming noises...
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[distorted screaming]
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...that drive people insane.
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We call everything around us...
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"nature,"
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as if the incredible world
we live in
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is "natural," "normal."
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Something we can understand.
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But what happens when nature
is unnatural--
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bizarre, unreal?
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How can nature defy
the very laws
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that are supposed to govern it?
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What then?
Are we simply at its mercy?
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Or is it something
we must figure out
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before it's too late?
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♪
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SHATNER:
Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela.
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This body of water, near the
mouth of the Catatumbo River,
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has been called "The Lightning
Capital of the World,"
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because almost every night,
it's a place
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where the lightning never stops.
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[thunder crashing]
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300 days out of a year,
we see this lightning.
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It's called
"Catatumbo lightning."
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It's like sheets of lightning
constantly for hours and hours
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and hours,
and it goes on and on,
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and it lights up
everything around it.
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And it's not like
any other lightning
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anywhere else on the planet.
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It's amazing.
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You have to wonder why is there
not lightning like this
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everywhere else in the world?
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SHATNER:
There's an old expression
that says lightning
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doesn't strike twice
in the same place.
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But at Lake Maracaibo,
not only does it strike
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at the same place,
it does so over and over.
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But why?
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There are some areas
of the Earth
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which seem to be
like lightning valleys.
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[thunder crashes]
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Areas that are just inundated
with lightning bolts
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on a given storm.
And why?
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Well, we're not sure.
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When you look at Venezuela,
you can take some guesses
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as to what's going on.
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Maybe it's the water.
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But it also could be things
like the altitude,
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or the general
atmospheric conditions.
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So it's very hard to pin down
exactly what's going on
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in that place,
and why that place is special.
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There's a thing called
"chaos theory,"
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and in chaos theory,
there are these places
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that are called "attractors."
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They're regions that just occur
sort of randomly
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that cause a vortex.
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Things occur there,
things collect there.
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Perhaps the Earth
has an attractor
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over this lake in Venezuela
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that's causing the
Catatumbo lightning.
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One thing about lightning
is there is
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a tremendous amount
of energy involved.
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But that's not
the most exciting piece.
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It's the power.
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It's how quickly
the energy is released.
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Lightning represents
one of the most powerful,
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high-power phenomena in nature.
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So lightning's really exciting
because there's pieces
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we do understand,
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but there's still a lot
of pieces we don't understand.
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[thunder crashing]
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KAKU:
For example,
recently it was revealed
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that the energy of
a lightning bolt is so great
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that even antimatter
can be formed.
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To create antimatter,
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you need a particle accelerator.
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You need an atom smasher
to create antimatter
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- in the laboratory.
- [explosion]
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But it turns out
an ordinary lightning bolt
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will also create
minute quantities
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of this exotic form of matter.
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[thunder crashes]
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The lightning in Lake Maracaibo
is an interesting case
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of scientists trying to figure
out an unusual phenomenon.
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This region had been
identified for many years
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as a hotspot of lightning.
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And it turns out,
with a detailed NASA study,
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it is indeed the greatest
lightning hotspot in the world.
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SHATNER:
Lightning hotspots?
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Are there really places on Earth
that act like lightning rods?
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Perhaps further clues
can be found
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by examining not only places
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that are repeatedly
struck by lightning,
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but the story of one woman
who's been struck twice,
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and has lived to tell the tale.
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Fort Benning, Georgia.
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July 20, 1992.
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Army specialist Beth Peterson
is working
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at an ammunition point
when storm clouds
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begin to gather over the base.
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I saw lightning strike
and hit the concertina wire
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on the-the fence going around
the ammunition point.
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And then I watched lightning
strike a tree across from me.
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And next thing you know,
lightning struck again.
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It entered my feet,
it exited my mouth.
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It grounded on top of my head.
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It felt like my body exploded.
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And it just lifted me
as it launched me.
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And everything just
felt like burnt.
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I felt like it took my head off.
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SHATNER:
Beth was rushed
to the infirmary,
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and, incredibly, she survived.
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But after months of recovery,
Beth realized that
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- something was different.
- [monitor beeping]
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She had been changed.
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Not enough people
get hit by lightning
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and survive, like the strike
that I survived the first time.
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And so there isn't
a lot of research
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for my doctors to understand,
to be able to say,
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"You've been hit by lightning,
and this is the end result."
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In my case, they say,
"You've been hit by lightning,
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and we have to help you figure
out a way to cope with it."
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Because there are things that
happen that are unexplained.
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I really believe
in the electromagnetic
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changes in the body,
because the first ten years
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of having, with my children,
having the Christmas tree up,
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and putting maybe tinsel on it,
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the tinsel would jump six feet
off the Christmas tree onto me.
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I couldn't get it
to stay on the tree.
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- Turning on lights...
- [electricity crackles]
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...touching things...
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I'm very staticky.
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My hair likes to get
very floaty.
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I can feel it in my body.
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SHATNER:
After such a harrowing experience,
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Beth took solace, both in
the fact that she had survived,
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and that her near-fatal
encounter with lightning
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was over.
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Or was it?
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PETERSON:
July 19th of 1993,
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I was struck by lightning again.
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I had a psychologist tell me
that I was a soldier.
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I needed to get over it,
I needed to carry on
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and soldier on,
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and that I should go home
and watch the storm.
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And that's what I told myself
as I drove home
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and took off my boots,
and opened the French doors,
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and was struck again.
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It threw me approximately
eight to nine feet
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back into the house.
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No one has ever come forward
and told me why
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this has happened.
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I have had a team
of incredible doctors,
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and they have tried
and tried and tried
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through the years to medically
have some explanation.
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Because when a person's going
through what I've gone through,
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you want an answer.
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And the answer just always
keeps coming back to,
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"You've been struck
by lightning."
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SHATNER:
Was it merely a coincidence
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that Beth was struck
a second time?
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Or could there have been
something larger at play?
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[thunder crashes]
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Is it possible that,
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like Lake Maracaibo,
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some people attract lightning?
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They say that being hit
by a lightning bolt
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is similar to winning
the lottery,
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and yet, some people are hit
by lightning bolts
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more than once,
and what's the reason?
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Is it just bad luck?
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DENNIN:
As people, we do have
a certain composition,
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and we're mostly water.
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And water is a great conductor
of electricity.
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But the exact details
and specifics
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of how each person is set up
is gonna vary enough
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so you can imagine
some people are greater
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or lesser lightning rods.
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So if you think about
the whole electrical system,
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and how they fit into
the electrical system
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of the Earth and the atmosphere,
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some people are more likely to
be hit by lightning than others.
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PETERSON:
I always have
a heightened awareness.
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I know where the storms
are coming.
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I can feel it by the hair
on my arms standing up.
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The hair on the back
of my neck,
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my static in my own hair...
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it floats.
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I can tell when the changes
in the weather are happening
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by the response
of what I feel in my body.
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I do not necessarily think
it was a coincidence
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that I was struck a second time.
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I think the changes in my body
made it more attractive.
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Why are certain places
and people
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repeatedly struck by lightning?
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I'm sure Beth Peterson
would love to know the answer.
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Just like the people
who used to live in a small town
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in rural Pennsylvania,
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one that has literally
gone up in smoke.
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Not from being hit by lightning,
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but from a fire...
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that has been burning...
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00:10:17,758 --> 00:10:19,655
for more than half a century.
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SHATNER: Centralia,
Pennsylvania.
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Population: five.
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Once upon a time,
this small mining town
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00:10:33,448 --> 00:10:35,482
was home to more than
2,000 people.
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Today, it's an almost
entirely abandoned wasteland.
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Some would say
it resembles a war zone.
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00:10:45,448 --> 00:10:48,344
But it wasn't war
that ravaged Centralia.
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It was something
much more devastating.
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00:10:52,862 --> 00:10:54,689
DAVID WHITEHEAD:
The story of Centralia
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is both tragic and terrifying
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in that it used to just be
a quaint mining town...
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00:11:01,965 --> 00:11:04,551
...but now
it's a total ghost town.
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SHATNER:
February 14, 1981.
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00:11:10,068 --> 00:11:12,000
Valentine's Day.
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00:11:13,655 --> 00:11:16,000
12-year-old Todd Dombowski
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00:11:16,103 --> 00:11:18,862
is playing
in his grandmother's backyard
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00:11:18,965 --> 00:11:21,689
when he notices
something strange
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00:11:21,793 --> 00:11:25,034
coming up from the ground.
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00:11:25,137 --> 00:11:30,344
He sees what he thinks is-is
smoke coming up from the lawn,
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00:11:30,448 --> 00:11:32,000
goes over to investigate...
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00:11:33,620 --> 00:11:35,655
...drops out of sight
into a steaming hole
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approximately 170 feet deep.
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He saves himself by grabbing
onto a tree root.
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WHITEHEAD:
So after what happened
to Todd Dombowski,
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the media started coming in,
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00:11:47,310 --> 00:11:49,758
and Centralia became
a big story.
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00:11:49,862 --> 00:11:52,448
DOROTHY LUCEY: Todd Dombowski
was playing when the earth
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00:11:52,551 --> 00:11:54,793
opened up below his feet.
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I see the smoke and when I did,
I just fell right through it.
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SHATNER:
After a brief investigation,
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00:11:59,413 --> 00:12:01,551
the cause of the smoke
in Todd's grandmother's backyard
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00:12:01,655 --> 00:12:04,344
becomes obvious.
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00:12:04,448 --> 00:12:07,620
A fire that was
deliberately started,
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00:12:07,724 --> 00:12:08,931
and thought to have
been extinguished,
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00:12:09,034 --> 00:12:11,862
had, in fact, never gone out.
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00:12:11,965 --> 00:12:14,344
And it was now being fueled
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00:12:14,448 --> 00:12:19,344
by the vast reserves of coal
located underneath the town.
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00:12:20,931 --> 00:12:25,137
Centralia was a very typical
small coal town
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00:12:25,241 --> 00:12:28,655
in the anthracite region
of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
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00:12:28,758 --> 00:12:32,758
Its only purpose for being
was to mine coal...
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00:12:34,241 --> 00:12:38,620
...and its growth was in tandem
with the coal industry.
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00:12:38,724 --> 00:12:42,344
As new mines opened up,
more people would move there.
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00:12:42,448 --> 00:12:44,586
Some of those families
in Centralia had been there
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00:12:44,689 --> 00:12:46,586
for as long as five generations.
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00:12:46,689 --> 00:12:48,931
And what I'm leading to is that
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00:12:49,034 --> 00:12:51,896
there's this massive labyrinth
of-of abandoned coal mines
253
00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:55,000
beneath Centralia,
really under the entire town.
254
00:12:56,275 --> 00:12:58,931
And so, in 1962,
255
00:12:59,034 --> 00:13:01,586
the state dump inspector told
Centralia Borough Council
256
00:13:01,689 --> 00:13:03,896
that the location
of its landfill
257
00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:06,827
didn't meet state regulations.
258
00:13:06,931 --> 00:13:10,517
And they arranged
for the local fire department
259
00:13:10,620 --> 00:13:12,827
to set the dump on fire
to clean it up.
260
00:13:12,931 --> 00:13:14,586
And they had done this
in the past.
261
00:13:14,689 --> 00:13:16,344
They would just go out
and set it on fire,
262
00:13:16,448 --> 00:13:19,137
let it burn for a while,
and then wash it down with water
263
00:13:19,241 --> 00:13:22,689
from a tanker truck and go away,
everything's fine.
264
00:13:22,793 --> 00:13:25,034
Except, this time
it wasn't fine...
265
00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:29,965
...because this fire had stayed
smoldering in the garbage,
266
00:13:30,068 --> 00:13:32,827
and then it moved
into this labyrinth
267
00:13:32,931 --> 00:13:35,137
of abandoned coal mines
beneath the town
268
00:13:35,241 --> 00:13:37,965
and that was how
the mine fire got started.
269
00:13:38,068 --> 00:13:41,551
And eventually, the fire broke
out of the ground,
270
00:13:41,655 --> 00:13:43,896
and you could see
glowing red rocks,
271
00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:46,310
you could see
blue burning rocks.
272
00:13:46,413 --> 00:13:48,551
And so, so hot.
273
00:13:48,655 --> 00:13:51,068
If you got even, like,
within ten feet of it,
274
00:13:51,172 --> 00:13:55,413
your face was frying, you know?
It was that, that hot.
275
00:13:55,517 --> 00:13:58,344
They sent
the fire department back,
276
00:13:58,448 --> 00:14:00,344
but the damage was already done.
277
00:14:02,620 --> 00:14:05,862
WYSESSION: Attempts to put out
the Centralia coal seam fire
278
00:14:05,965 --> 00:14:08,931
had been a total failure,
starting in 1962,
279
00:14:09,034 --> 00:14:12,310
when they first lit
that trash pit on fire.
280
00:14:12,413 --> 00:14:16,310
That fire continued
to spread underground
281
00:14:16,413 --> 00:14:19,620
despite multiple attempts
to put it out.
282
00:14:19,724 --> 00:14:23,896
And then,
in over a period of 20 years,
283
00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:27,586
the fire just kept
growing out of control,
284
00:14:27,689 --> 00:14:32,241
to the point where smoke and
steam come up out of the ground,
285
00:14:32,344 --> 00:14:34,000
where the ground is as hot
286
00:14:34,103 --> 00:14:36,827
as 900 degrees Fahrenheit
in places,
287
00:14:36,931 --> 00:14:40,206
just consuming the entire town.
288
00:14:40,310 --> 00:14:41,758
SUSAN JELLIG: The people
of Centralia want to know
289
00:14:41,862 --> 00:14:44,000
when the 20-year-old mine fire
will be put out.
290
00:14:44,103 --> 00:14:45,965
They appeared tired
of living with the danger
291
00:14:46,068 --> 00:14:48,275
of toxic gases
entering their homes.
292
00:14:48,379 --> 00:14:51,758
Representative Frank Harrison
says it won't be easy.
293
00:14:52,896 --> 00:14:55,172
WHITEHEAD:
And it was at this point
294
00:14:55,275 --> 00:14:57,862
that the town started
to shut down and close shop.
295
00:14:57,965 --> 00:15:02,827
LUCEY: Residents take
a vote to move their homes.
296
00:15:02,931 --> 00:15:05,862
The federal government forked
over another $1 million
297
00:15:05,965 --> 00:15:09,103
to move them to safety.
298
00:15:09,206 --> 00:15:12,586
WHITEHEAD:
Businesses started closing,
299
00:15:12,689 --> 00:15:16,034
people started leaving,
300
00:15:16,137 --> 00:15:19,517
and the government actually
ended up buying the land
301
00:15:19,620 --> 00:15:22,206
to stop people
from coming back in,
302
00:15:22,310 --> 00:15:24,896
because they realized
at that point,
303
00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:27,586
that they had no way
to stop this fire,
304
00:15:27,689 --> 00:15:31,413
and sadly, this fire is raging
right up to this day.
305
00:15:35,482 --> 00:15:37,413
SHATNER:
But why,
306
00:15:37,517 --> 00:15:39,931
after nearly six decades,
307
00:15:40,034 --> 00:15:43,551
why won't the fires go out?
308
00:15:43,655 --> 00:15:47,034
WYSESSION:
It's a question that's almost
impossible to know.
309
00:15:47,137 --> 00:15:51,172
Because not only can we not
see through the rock,
310
00:15:51,275 --> 00:15:55,310
any attempts
to try to figure it out
311
00:15:55,413 --> 00:15:58,275
by drilling holes in the ground,
for example,
312
00:15:58,379 --> 00:16:03,275
you provide channels of air
that can actually feed the fire.
313
00:16:04,862 --> 00:16:08,551
And so, you can try
to cut off the fuel
314
00:16:08,655 --> 00:16:10,206
by digging out around it
315
00:16:10,310 --> 00:16:14,724
to remove the coal
to prevent it from spreading,
316
00:16:14,827 --> 00:16:17,482
and you can also
address the fire
317
00:16:17,586 --> 00:16:23,034
by pouring water directly in
through channels underground
318
00:16:23,137 --> 00:16:28,068
to try to cool that fire
below its activation energy.
319
00:16:28,172 --> 00:16:32,724
All of these were tried
in the case of Centralia.
320
00:16:32,827 --> 00:16:35,551
Not one of them succeeded.
321
00:16:37,103 --> 00:16:39,724
You would think
we understand fires enough
322
00:16:39,827 --> 00:16:41,241
that we could,
we could take care of this,
323
00:16:41,344 --> 00:16:43,068
because we know,
for a fire to occur,
324
00:16:43,172 --> 00:16:45,896
you have to have
an ignition source, a spark...
325
00:16:47,068 --> 00:16:50,034
...then you have to have fuel.
326
00:16:50,137 --> 00:16:52,862
Well, it's a coal mine,
so coal is a pretty good fuel.
327
00:16:52,965 --> 00:16:54,862
Then you also have to
have an oxidizer.
328
00:16:54,965 --> 00:16:57,586
That oxidizer is-is air,
in most cases.
329
00:16:57,689 --> 00:16:59,965
But if they cut off the tunnels,
330
00:17:00,068 --> 00:17:01,620
or whatever's going
into this mine,
331
00:17:01,724 --> 00:17:02,793
no air should get down there,
332
00:17:02,896 --> 00:17:04,344
eventually all the air
should burn out,
333
00:17:04,448 --> 00:17:06,655
and it should go out,
but it's not doing that.
334
00:17:06,758 --> 00:17:09,137
DEKOK:
What I've been told
by engineers is that
335
00:17:09,241 --> 00:17:11,137
they could pump water
down there for a year,
336
00:17:11,241 --> 00:17:13,586
and if they turn the water off,
337
00:17:13,689 --> 00:17:15,862
there'd be a good chance
it'd be enough residual heat
338
00:17:15,965 --> 00:17:17,896
that the fire would start
right back up again.
339
00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,275
It's a tremendous monster.
340
00:17:20,379 --> 00:17:22,379
JONES: Once an accident
like this happens
341
00:17:22,482 --> 00:17:24,068
underground where you have
a fire burning,
342
00:17:24,172 --> 00:17:26,517
as time goes on,
the odds of putting it out
343
00:17:26,620 --> 00:17:28,965
get fewer and fewer and fewer.
344
00:17:29,068 --> 00:17:32,172
With a coal fire,
you're talking temperatures
345
00:17:32,275 --> 00:17:35,310
of a thousand
to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
346
00:17:35,413 --> 00:17:38,275
As the fire grows and grows
and grows like this underground,
347
00:17:38,379 --> 00:17:41,068
all that heat is radiated
through the earth.
348
00:17:41,172 --> 00:17:43,379
It warms up the earth,
and could get to the point
349
00:17:43,482 --> 00:17:45,344
where you can see temperatures
of two, 300 degrees
350
00:17:45,448 --> 00:17:46,793
on the surface.
351
00:17:46,896 --> 00:17:49,965
And asphalt
and different materials
352
00:17:50,068 --> 00:17:51,862
actually start melting.
353
00:17:51,965 --> 00:17:55,172
Sinkholes open up,
houses collapse.
354
00:17:55,275 --> 00:17:58,172
This can go on
for a very, very long time.
355
00:17:58,275 --> 00:18:01,310
In the case of Centralia, even
to this day, 50 years later,
356
00:18:01,413 --> 00:18:03,586
you see steam vents
with toxic gasses
357
00:18:03,689 --> 00:18:05,586
being emitted out of the ground,
358
00:18:05,689 --> 00:18:07,896
you see vegetation
that has been destroyed
359
00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:09,862
because of those gases
in the heat.
360
00:18:09,965 --> 00:18:11,896
This is almost a wasteland,
361
00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:13,758
caused by these
underground fires.
362
00:18:13,862 --> 00:18:15,758
Some people have estimated
that it'll take 200 years
363
00:18:15,862 --> 00:18:19,620
for this fire to burn out,
and my estimation, nobody knows.
364
00:18:19,724 --> 00:18:23,275
We could be talking
two, three, four, 500 years.
365
00:18:23,379 --> 00:18:25,413
There is no answer
to that question.
366
00:18:26,689 --> 00:18:28,344
It's basically hell on Earth.
367
00:18:31,896 --> 00:18:37,103
SHATNER:
Centralia, Pennsylvania:
once booming, now barren.
368
00:18:37,206 --> 00:18:41,241
The ghost of a town
that once was.
369
00:18:41,344 --> 00:18:43,275
The few structures that remain
370
00:18:43,379 --> 00:18:46,689
seem to defy the fumes
to consume them.
371
00:18:46,793 --> 00:18:51,724
Is this story a cautionary tale
about the futility of mankind
372
00:18:51,827 --> 00:18:55,206
trying to bend nature
to its will?
373
00:18:55,310 --> 00:18:56,482
Perhaps.
374
00:18:56,586 --> 00:19:01,034
But in a forest halfway
across the world,
375
00:19:01,137 --> 00:19:03,000
there's an equally
compelling story,
376
00:19:03,103 --> 00:19:05,965
not about mankind
trying to bend nature,
377
00:19:06,068 --> 00:19:11,551
but about nature succeeding
in bending itself.
378
00:19:16,206 --> 00:19:18,931
SHATNER: In northwestern Poland,
379
00:19:19,034 --> 00:19:21,172
just outside the village
of Nowe Czarnowo,
380
00:19:21,275 --> 00:19:24,965
stands a grove of pine trees
unlike any other.
381
00:19:25,068 --> 00:19:27,586
Instead of rising
straight up to the sky,
382
00:19:27,689 --> 00:19:30,931
these trees bend, bow...
383
00:19:32,551 --> 00:19:35,172
...and buckle
384
00:19:35,275 --> 00:19:40,103
in a most curious-- and some
would say-- unnatural fashion.
385
00:19:40,206 --> 00:19:44,034
Which is why this place
has come to be known as...
386
00:19:44,137 --> 00:19:47,034
the Crooked Forest.
387
00:19:47,137 --> 00:19:50,482
WYSESSION:
When you see this forest,
it's very striking.
388
00:19:50,586 --> 00:19:52,586
Trees come up
initially straight,
389
00:19:52,689 --> 00:19:55,620
and then they take a sharp bend
all to the north,
390
00:19:55,724 --> 00:19:59,931
and eventually curve
back up again.
391
00:20:00,034 --> 00:20:05,655
And to see maybe one tree grow
this way might not be unusual,
392
00:20:05,758 --> 00:20:08,862
but to see a whole grove
of trees grow this way,
393
00:20:08,965 --> 00:20:11,172
clearly something was at work.
394
00:20:15,068 --> 00:20:19,103
SHATNER:
Although scientists have dated
the unusual trees to the 1930s,
395
00:20:19,206 --> 00:20:22,793
local records became lost
after the end of World War II.
396
00:20:22,896 --> 00:20:25,068
The only thing
we know for certain
397
00:20:25,172 --> 00:20:27,931
is that these are otherwise
normal pine trees that,
398
00:20:28,034 --> 00:20:33,000
for whatever reason,
didn't grow straight.
399
00:20:33,103 --> 00:20:35,724
JOSH SLOAN: I don't know
of anywhere else in the world
400
00:20:35,827 --> 00:20:38,137
that we could walk into a forest
401
00:20:38,241 --> 00:20:43,310
and see such broad,
dramatic sweeping curves
402
00:20:43,413 --> 00:20:45,137
throughout the entire stand.
403
00:20:45,241 --> 00:20:47,896
And so there have been
a lot of questions,
404
00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:51,482
a lot of speculation
as to what caused this.
405
00:20:51,586 --> 00:20:54,758
Everything from tank maneuvers
406
00:20:54,862 --> 00:20:56,482
that might have occurred
in the area
407
00:20:56,586 --> 00:20:58,724
around the time of World War II
408
00:20:58,827 --> 00:21:02,034
to snow and wind loads
on these stands...
409
00:21:04,482 --> 00:21:07,034
...to chemicals that might have
been in the soil,
410
00:21:07,137 --> 00:21:10,724
or genetic questions
that might be at play.
411
00:21:19,689 --> 00:21:22,344
And be it
the human intervention...
412
00:21:30,862 --> 00:21:32,931
I think most of the natural
processes would cause
413
00:21:33,034 --> 00:21:35,896
a much more sort of
gradual curve or lean in a tree,
414
00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:38,793
but not such a distinctive
sort of hook shape.
415
00:21:38,896 --> 00:21:41,931
In this case, the fact
that it's very consistent
416
00:21:42,034 --> 00:21:44,517
and more extreme
than you would typically see
417
00:21:44,620 --> 00:21:46,896
in any sort of natural situation
418
00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:49,241
would suggest that it was
probably human manipulation.
419
00:21:49,344 --> 00:21:52,862
But we'll never know for sure
if that was the case.
420
00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:55,862
WYSESSION:
One possible explanation
421
00:21:55,965 --> 00:21:59,862
comes from records of timbers
called compass timbers,
422
00:21:59,965 --> 00:22:03,965
that were trees
that were grown particularly.
423
00:22:04,068 --> 00:22:07,724
They were pruned, much like
topiaries or bonsai trees,
424
00:22:07,827 --> 00:22:09,379
to have a curved shape.
425
00:22:09,482 --> 00:22:13,344
And these timbers
were used in the hulls of ships.
426
00:22:13,448 --> 00:22:17,689
Rather than trying to bend
boards with steam to make ships,
427
00:22:17,793 --> 00:22:22,413
they actually grew trees that
already had that curved shape.
428
00:22:24,827 --> 00:22:26,689
Whatever happened to these trees
429
00:22:26,793 --> 00:22:30,206
most likely happened
when they were very young.
430
00:22:30,310 --> 00:22:35,310
This obviously would have taken
a lot of thought and work
431
00:22:35,413 --> 00:22:39,896
on the part of somebody
to go out and plant this forest,
432
00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:44,862
to go in and prune or otherwise
manipulate these young trees
433
00:22:44,965 --> 00:22:49,827
and tend them to create this
kind of a big sweeping bend.
434
00:22:49,931 --> 00:22:52,620
And then that raises
the other part of this mystery:
435
00:22:52,724 --> 00:22:56,379
what changed
that nobody came back?
436
00:22:58,344 --> 00:23:01,172
WHITEHEAD: So, the idea that
humans cultivated these trees
437
00:23:01,275 --> 00:23:04,482
to make furniture or for some
other manufacturing purpose,
438
00:23:04,586 --> 00:23:06,172
it doesn't really add up.
439
00:23:06,275 --> 00:23:07,689
The question is,
why would anybody
440
00:23:07,793 --> 00:23:09,862
go to that kind of trouble?
441
00:23:09,965 --> 00:23:12,172
And, I mean, we're talking
at least ten years
442
00:23:12,275 --> 00:23:14,448
to produce a tree
with that kind of bend,
443
00:23:14,551 --> 00:23:18,172
only to disappear when it comes
time to harvest them.
444
00:23:19,965 --> 00:23:22,103
SHATNER:
If the Crooked Forest
isn't the result
445
00:23:22,206 --> 00:23:25,517
of some arborist's bizarre plan,
then what else
446
00:23:25,620 --> 00:23:30,965
could explain the trees'
strange and contorted shapes?
447
00:23:32,413 --> 00:23:34,206
There's got to be
something more to this.
448
00:23:34,310 --> 00:23:37,413
Maybe it's something
that we haven't yet thought of.
449
00:23:37,517 --> 00:23:40,551
Could it be that these trees
have some kind of capability
450
00:23:40,655 --> 00:23:42,793
that we have yet
to fully understand?
451
00:23:42,896 --> 00:23:46,034
In Native American traditions,
452
00:23:46,137 --> 00:23:48,931
plants have spiritual essence--
453
00:23:49,034 --> 00:23:51,655
or you might say souls,
plants have souls--
454
00:23:51,758 --> 00:23:55,413
and in that sense, what we might
think in terms of being a person
455
00:23:55,517 --> 00:23:57,379
or having a consciousness.
456
00:23:59,034 --> 00:24:01,103
Amongst our people, the trees,
457
00:24:01,206 --> 00:24:02,827
they, they do have a spirit.
458
00:24:02,931 --> 00:24:05,137
Not only trees, but everything.
459
00:24:05,241 --> 00:24:09,344
But mankind, we don't see that,
we don't understand that.
460
00:24:09,448 --> 00:24:11,551
WHITEHEAD:
We see this also
in Japanese culture,
461
00:24:11,655 --> 00:24:15,724
where they talk about nymphs and
spirits that inhabit the trees.
462
00:24:15,827 --> 00:24:17,724
And even
in the Druid traditions,
463
00:24:17,827 --> 00:24:19,827
they wouldn't even
approach a tree
464
00:24:19,931 --> 00:24:21,586
or walk underneath
the leaves of a tree
465
00:24:21,689 --> 00:24:23,482
without asking permission.
466
00:24:23,586 --> 00:24:25,413
They would speak to the tree.
467
00:24:29,344 --> 00:24:32,034
SHATNER:
Is it possible that the pines
of the Crooked Forest
468
00:24:32,137 --> 00:24:34,827
are actually capable
of communication?
469
00:24:34,931 --> 00:24:37,310
While such a notion
may seem far-fetched,
470
00:24:37,413 --> 00:24:39,931
scientists are beginning
to discover that trees,
471
00:24:40,034 --> 00:24:41,931
and other plants,
472
00:24:42,034 --> 00:24:46,310
have far greater capabilities
than previously known.
473
00:24:46,413 --> 00:24:50,103
FISHER:
When you step into a forest,
all the trees around you
474
00:24:50,206 --> 00:24:52,689
are not just isolated organisms.
475
00:24:52,793 --> 00:24:54,896
They're actually a community
476
00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:58,793
that are communicating
with each other.
477
00:24:58,896 --> 00:25:02,448
Forests are more often
connected underground
478
00:25:02,551 --> 00:25:05,344
through their root systems
by fungal mycelia,
479
00:25:05,448 --> 00:25:07,793
which are basically
little threads of fungi
480
00:25:07,896 --> 00:25:12,758
that tap into the roots and then
connect that tree to other trees
481
00:25:12,862 --> 00:25:14,655
that it's also connected to.
482
00:25:15,965 --> 00:25:18,034
WHITEHEAD:
So, the question is,
483
00:25:18,137 --> 00:25:21,379
is there an advanced form
of consciousness, in a way,
484
00:25:21,482 --> 00:25:22,896
that inhabit trees?
485
00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:24,655
And even
in the scientific world,
486
00:25:24,758 --> 00:25:27,689
they've been changing the way
that they look at trees,
487
00:25:27,793 --> 00:25:28,793
and they've been
seeing that trees
488
00:25:28,896 --> 00:25:30,931
possess a sort of intelligence,
489
00:25:31,034 --> 00:25:35,034
where they communicate
amongst each other.
490
00:25:36,620 --> 00:25:38,517
SHATNER:
Did the trees
of the Crooked Forest
491
00:25:38,620 --> 00:25:42,586
grow that way because someone,
or some force, willed them to?
492
00:25:42,689 --> 00:25:46,344
If true, it could revolutionize
the way we humans
493
00:25:46,448 --> 00:25:49,724
interact with the wondrous world
we live in.
494
00:25:49,827 --> 00:25:51,758
But it might also
help to explain
495
00:25:51,862 --> 00:25:55,034
another, less benign phenomenon,
496
00:25:55,137 --> 00:25:58,310
one in which a sound is produced
that is so subtle,
497
00:25:58,413 --> 00:26:01,931
yet so persistent, that it can
drive those who hear it...
498
00:26:02,034 --> 00:26:03,379
[window rattling]
499
00:26:03,482 --> 00:26:07,172
- ...stark raving mad.
- [screams]
500
00:26:12,551 --> 00:26:14,862
SHATNER: Windsor, Ontario.
501
00:26:14,965 --> 00:26:18,103
Located along the Detroit River,
this Canadian city seems,
502
00:26:18,206 --> 00:26:21,344
by all appearances,
to be quite normal.
503
00:26:21,448 --> 00:26:26,137
But if you listen closely,
you'll hear something strange.
504
00:26:26,241 --> 00:26:27,586
[low humming]
505
00:26:27,689 --> 00:26:30,034
Do you hear it?
506
00:26:30,137 --> 00:26:31,793
That humming noise?
507
00:26:33,620 --> 00:26:35,517
Well, if you do, be careful.
508
00:26:35,620 --> 00:26:39,379
It may just drive you mad.
509
00:26:42,068 --> 00:26:44,517
WYSESSION:
About a decade ago,
in Windsor, Canada,
510
00:26:44,620 --> 00:26:47,103
people began hearing a hum.
511
00:26:47,206 --> 00:26:49,896
Some people, not everyone,
and not all the time,
512
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:52,896
but this was a serious,
significant hum.
513
00:26:55,172 --> 00:26:57,896
NOORY: I was born in Detroit and
I would go to Windsor, Canada
514
00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:02,000
quite often during my days
as a reporter in that city.
515
00:27:02,103 --> 00:27:05,379
People are hearing a strange hum
that affects them.
516
00:27:05,482 --> 00:27:09,206
It literally drives them crazy,
517
00:27:09,310 --> 00:27:11,206
and nobody's been able
to pinpoint exactly
518
00:27:11,310 --> 00:27:12,724
what's happening.
519
00:27:15,827 --> 00:27:18,586
Most people would describe it
as a very low frequency,
520
00:27:18,689 --> 00:27:20,310
modulating sound,
521
00:27:20,413 --> 00:27:24,758
or they'd characterize it
as a large diesel truck
522
00:27:24,862 --> 00:27:28,517
or even train locomotive
parked outside their window,
523
00:27:28,620 --> 00:27:30,448
chugging away.
524
00:27:32,586 --> 00:27:35,931
Sometimes I get, like, a rumble,
like, almost thunder,
525
00:27:36,034 --> 00:27:38,620
but it's definitely not thunder.
526
00:27:38,724 --> 00:27:40,310
It changes from one moment
to the next.
527
00:27:40,413 --> 00:27:43,068
Sometimes we get four hours,
sometimes we get four days,
528
00:27:43,172 --> 00:27:46,172
four weeks,
sometimes it's nonstop.
529
00:27:47,965 --> 00:27:49,379
DREW TRAUX:
Some nights it's been, like,
530
00:27:49,482 --> 00:27:51,586
really, really intense,
where it kind of has a little,
531
00:27:51,689 --> 00:27:54,586
to me, I-- has a little grind
to it as well.
532
00:27:54,689 --> 00:27:58,103
SONYA MACKIE:
It would be
in the middle of the night.
533
00:27:58,206 --> 00:28:00,827
You couldn't tell whether you're
hearing it or, or feeling it.
534
00:28:00,931 --> 00:28:05,896
It was, uh,
it's like a "voom, voom" noise.
535
00:28:07,551 --> 00:28:09,689
TAYLOR: Imagine that you're
sitting in a room
536
00:28:09,793 --> 00:28:11,896
trying to relax,
537
00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:15,862
and there is this low-level
humming sound in the background
538
00:28:15,965 --> 00:28:19,931
that you can just barely hear,
and it's continuous.
539
00:28:20,034 --> 00:28:23,793
So, if you have this constant
acoustic hum in the background,
540
00:28:23,896 --> 00:28:26,137
this could cause
adverse reactions.
541
00:28:26,241 --> 00:28:28,931
This hum is affecting people,
keeping them awake.
542
00:28:29,034 --> 00:28:30,655
It's ruining their lives.
543
00:28:30,758 --> 00:28:32,896
[loud humming]
544
00:28:35,827 --> 00:28:37,517
PROVOST:
It does affect my sleep.
545
00:28:37,620 --> 00:28:40,758
The pulsing and the pounding,
yeah, it-it wakes you up.
546
00:28:40,862 --> 00:28:43,379
It just resonates
through the house.
547
00:28:43,482 --> 00:28:45,862
Sometimes it gets so bad,
you get so infuriated with it,
548
00:28:45,965 --> 00:28:47,931
that it scares the hell
out of you.
549
00:28:48,034 --> 00:28:50,448
You just want to get away.
550
00:28:52,827 --> 00:28:55,172
Windsor being such
a highly industrialized city,
551
00:28:55,275 --> 00:28:57,448
we have a lot of different
sources of noise.
552
00:28:57,551 --> 00:28:59,172
But when it didn't go away,
553
00:28:59,275 --> 00:29:02,241
that's when people
started to get concerned.
554
00:29:02,344 --> 00:29:04,103
SHATNER:
For the residents of Windsor,
555
00:29:04,206 --> 00:29:06,931
the hum is no longer
a mere curiosity.
556
00:29:07,034 --> 00:29:11,000
For them, it's become
a full-fledged crisis,
557
00:29:11,103 --> 00:29:15,310
one that the local authorities
have tried to address.
558
00:29:15,413 --> 00:29:17,620
CRAIG PEARSON: The Canadian
government did a study
559
00:29:17,724 --> 00:29:21,931
and the report suggested
that it came from Zug Island,
560
00:29:22,034 --> 00:29:25,689
across the Detroit River
in Michigan.
561
00:29:25,793 --> 00:29:27,448
WHITEHEAD:
And the conventional theory
562
00:29:27,551 --> 00:29:31,000
is that the U.S. steel factories
that are located on Zug Island
563
00:29:31,103 --> 00:29:34,034
are somehow causing
a weird reverberation effect
564
00:29:34,137 --> 00:29:36,379
that is carrying that sound
565
00:29:36,482 --> 00:29:39,413
across the lake
and people are hearing it.
566
00:29:39,517 --> 00:29:42,724
WYSESSION:
One possible explanation
has to do
567
00:29:42,827 --> 00:29:45,413
with a phenomenon
called resonance.
568
00:29:45,517 --> 00:29:50,103
So, it could be, whatever
the low frequency machinery is
569
00:29:50,206 --> 00:29:55,103
that's vibrating, it's vibrating
at just the wrong frequency
570
00:29:55,206 --> 00:29:58,413
that is causing
surrounding structures
571
00:29:58,517 --> 00:30:02,724
to begin to amplify at that
exact resonant frequency.
572
00:30:02,827 --> 00:30:05,068
DENNIN:
The human use of industry
573
00:30:05,172 --> 00:30:07,586
is fairly common
from place to place.
574
00:30:07,689 --> 00:30:09,655
And so when you think
about Detroit,
575
00:30:09,758 --> 00:30:11,620
if the hum or the noise
is from industry,
576
00:30:11,724 --> 00:30:16,103
and that type of noise, you
would expect it in other places.
577
00:30:16,206 --> 00:30:18,517
However,
nature and natural noise
578
00:30:18,620 --> 00:30:20,620
is more localized and distinct.
579
00:30:20,724 --> 00:30:25,482
MACKIE:
When it first started,
no one knew what the hum was.
580
00:30:25,586 --> 00:30:26,793
They started studying it,
581
00:30:26,896 --> 00:30:28,517
and that's where the Zug Island
theory came up,
582
00:30:28,620 --> 00:30:31,103
but there's all these
what-if questions that come up.
583
00:30:31,206 --> 00:30:34,103
Why is it felt
in the evening hours,
584
00:30:34,206 --> 00:30:36,620
maybe verses
more so during the daytime?
585
00:30:36,724 --> 00:30:39,034
Why do you feel it on a weekend?
586
00:30:39,137 --> 00:30:41,137
Are they actually running
their facility on the weekend?
587
00:30:41,241 --> 00:30:44,344
Why is it worse during when the
weather patterns are different?
588
00:30:44,448 --> 00:30:49,448
It definitely does pose a lot of
questions and a lot of what-ifs.
589
00:30:49,551 --> 00:30:53,103
It could be many other places
that generate this.
590
00:30:53,206 --> 00:30:56,620
And low frequency sound could
be due to seismic activity.
591
00:30:56,724 --> 00:30:58,275
In the Detroit area,
592
00:30:58,379 --> 00:31:03,275
we know there's been
an increase in seismic activity.
593
00:31:03,379 --> 00:31:05,965
One natural phenomenon
that creates low frequency noise
594
00:31:06,068 --> 00:31:07,758
is earthquakes.
595
00:31:07,862 --> 00:31:11,586
In several cases, you can hear
the earthquakes occurring.
596
00:31:11,689 --> 00:31:13,000
They're very low frequency,
597
00:31:13,103 --> 00:31:15,172
mostly below
the human hearing range.
598
00:31:15,275 --> 00:31:17,310
But in some cases,
they can be heard.
599
00:31:17,413 --> 00:31:19,827
Interestingly,
some of the residents in Windsor
600
00:31:19,931 --> 00:31:23,034
have noted
the rattling of windows.
601
00:31:23,137 --> 00:31:27,068
And I've experienced an
earthquake where I had no idea
602
00:31:27,172 --> 00:31:29,517
it occurred except
all the windows of my house
603
00:31:29,620 --> 00:31:31,241
started vibrating.
604
00:31:31,344 --> 00:31:33,827
There was something in that
resonance of that earthquake
605
00:31:33,931 --> 00:31:36,931
that was the same frequency
as my windows.
606
00:31:38,068 --> 00:31:40,620
NOORY:
So, these hums are around
607
00:31:40,724 --> 00:31:43,379
on this planet in certain areas.
608
00:31:43,482 --> 00:31:45,931
Exactly what's causing it,
nobody knows.
609
00:31:46,034 --> 00:31:48,034
But it's very annoying
to a lot of people.
610
00:31:48,137 --> 00:31:50,482
Just imagine yourself
trying to sleep,
611
00:31:50,586 --> 00:31:53,310
feeling this hum all the time.
612
00:31:53,413 --> 00:31:55,655
It drives you nuts.
613
00:31:55,758 --> 00:31:57,000
I don't think
it'll ever be solved.
614
00:31:57,103 --> 00:31:58,689
I'm hoping it will be.
I won't give up
615
00:31:58,793 --> 00:32:02,586
until they find an answer
or tell us what's going on.
616
00:32:02,689 --> 00:32:06,172
If they can fix it, fix it.
If not, let us know why not.
617
00:32:06,275 --> 00:32:08,724
MACKIE:
It'd be nice
if it would be explained.
618
00:32:08,827 --> 00:32:10,655
Maybe one day.
619
00:32:10,758 --> 00:32:12,068
It would be great
if it went away.
620
00:32:12,172 --> 00:32:14,103
It'd be nice
not to hear it anymore.
621
00:32:14,206 --> 00:32:17,206
SHATNER:
Is the nauseating hum
622
00:32:17,310 --> 00:32:19,379
experienced by the people
of Windsor
623
00:32:19,482 --> 00:32:23,448
really caused by nearby
industrial plants?
624
00:32:23,551 --> 00:32:27,275
Or is it due
to something even stranger?
625
00:32:27,379 --> 00:32:30,103
There are some who believe
that the hum
626
00:32:30,206 --> 00:32:32,172
may come from the same place
627
00:32:32,275 --> 00:32:36,275
where geologists believe there
lies an incredible energy,
628
00:32:36,379 --> 00:32:39,344
one so powerful
and so unstoppable,
629
00:32:39,448 --> 00:32:42,724
that one day it may
actually wipe out
630
00:32:42,827 --> 00:32:45,620
all of mankind.
631
00:32:53,551 --> 00:32:56,655
SHATNER: It rises from the earth
like a giant fist,
632
00:32:56,758 --> 00:33:00,448
stretching out
to strike the sky.
633
00:33:00,551 --> 00:33:04,689
A colossal, 900-foot shaft
of rugged rock,
634
00:33:04,793 --> 00:33:09,965
one whose very name
conjures notions of both awe
635
00:33:10,068 --> 00:33:11,586
and dread.
636
00:33:11,689 --> 00:33:15,137
Devils Tower.
637
00:33:15,241 --> 00:33:19,206
Devils Tower is remarkable
because you can drive across
638
00:33:19,310 --> 00:33:23,034
the sedimentary plains,
see nothing but flat ground
639
00:33:23,137 --> 00:33:24,689
for miles and miles,
640
00:33:24,793 --> 00:33:29,310
and then this tall,
dark tower emerges
641
00:33:29,413 --> 00:33:30,931
as you drive towards it.
642
00:33:31,034 --> 00:33:34,758
There is nothing like it
in the surrounding area.
643
00:33:34,862 --> 00:33:38,517
The rock has a grayish,
even a greenish-gray color.
644
00:33:38,620 --> 00:33:41,379
And so, as you approach
Devils Tower,
645
00:33:41,482 --> 00:33:46,655
it's a distinct, stark contrast
to the sort of tans and browns
646
00:33:46,758 --> 00:33:50,172
of the surrounding
sedimentary rocks.
647
00:33:53,137 --> 00:33:55,310
SHATNER:
Located in northeastern Wyoming,
648
00:33:55,413 --> 00:33:58,827
Devils Tower was declared
America's very first
649
00:33:58,931 --> 00:34:03,206
national monument in 1906
by President Theodore Roosevelt,
650
00:34:03,310 --> 00:34:08,620
who sought to protect it as an
object of scientific interest.
651
00:34:08,724 --> 00:34:10,896
Since then, many have asked:
652
00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:16,586
what could have caused
this massive tower to form?
653
00:34:16,689 --> 00:34:18,586
There are many theories
about it,
654
00:34:18,689 --> 00:34:21,068
but there's no agreement
on what it was
655
00:34:21,172 --> 00:34:22,931
that produced
this miracle of nature.
656
00:34:25,827 --> 00:34:27,724
It's made of volcanic-type
materials,
657
00:34:27,827 --> 00:34:30,206
but there's no other
volcanic activity around it.
658
00:34:30,310 --> 00:34:32,724
So what caused this thing?
659
00:34:32,827 --> 00:34:34,724
We don't know the answer
to that question.
660
00:34:34,827 --> 00:34:37,379
It's a really interesting conundrum.
661
00:34:39,310 --> 00:34:42,827
SHATNER:
Is Devils Tower really
a miracle of nature?
662
00:34:42,931 --> 00:34:44,896
Something that simply
cannot be explained
663
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:47,275
by natural and scientific laws?
664
00:34:47,379 --> 00:34:53,310
Sorry, but that explanation
is simply not good enough.
665
00:34:53,413 --> 00:34:56,862
As much as we like to walk
around with the confidence that
666
00:34:56,965 --> 00:34:58,172
we know this planet
667
00:34:58,275 --> 00:35:00,137
and we understand
the planet we live on,
668
00:35:00,241 --> 00:35:05,206
there seems to be nothing
but mystery on this planet.
669
00:35:05,310 --> 00:35:07,517
We don't understand
how to predict earthquakes.
670
00:35:07,620 --> 00:35:09,931
[rumbling]
671
00:35:10,034 --> 00:35:13,172
We don't understand
how lightning travels.
672
00:35:13,275 --> 00:35:14,965
There's so many questions
that we have
673
00:35:15,068 --> 00:35:18,137
about what produces
the forces of nature.
674
00:35:19,862 --> 00:35:23,172
SHATNER:
Some have suggested that the key
to understanding Devils Tower
675
00:35:23,275 --> 00:35:27,310
is to think of it the way
many Native Americans do:
676
00:35:27,413 --> 00:35:29,862
not as a natural formation,
677
00:35:29,965 --> 00:35:34,206
but as an unnatural one.
678
00:35:34,310 --> 00:35:37,517
The native peoples of the area
have worshiped this tower
679
00:35:37,620 --> 00:35:39,275
as an altar of sorts,
680
00:35:39,379 --> 00:35:43,000
and many feel like they can
climb to the top of this place
681
00:35:43,103 --> 00:35:46,448
and get divine inspiration, uh,
become empowered.
682
00:35:46,551 --> 00:35:50,172
And the question is, is there
some truth to this native legend
683
00:35:50,275 --> 00:35:53,137
that this place is a
sacred place on the planet
684
00:35:53,241 --> 00:35:56,448
and it is a sort of altar that
allows humans to communicate
685
00:35:56,551 --> 00:35:58,896
to the spirits
or to the universe
686
00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:02,344
or to the gods
that they believe in?
687
00:36:02,448 --> 00:36:05,551
To view Devils Tower,
if you want to call it that--
688
00:36:05,655 --> 00:36:07,862
Mathó Thípila
is what we call it--
689
00:36:07,965 --> 00:36:09,275
it's a sacred place,
690
00:36:09,379 --> 00:36:13,241
and when you see it
from a certain distance,
691
00:36:13,344 --> 00:36:17,862
even then, you start to feel
the wonder of it,
692
00:36:17,965 --> 00:36:21,310
the sacredness of it, and as you
get closer and closer,
693
00:36:21,413 --> 00:36:25,517
the positive sacred energy
starts to build,
694
00:36:25,620 --> 00:36:27,551
and you feel it
even more when you
695
00:36:27,655 --> 00:36:31,758
get to the base of the tower.
696
00:36:31,862 --> 00:36:33,965
I think, in the case
of Devils Tower,
697
00:36:34,068 --> 00:36:37,724
it is so unusual,
it is so anomalous,
698
00:36:37,827 --> 00:36:41,551
that it is easy to ascribe
a mystical
699
00:36:41,655 --> 00:36:44,206
or spiritual attribute to it.
700
00:36:44,310 --> 00:36:46,931
It's not surprising
that Hollywood directors
701
00:36:47,034 --> 00:36:48,896
would choose this as the place
702
00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:52,931
that aliens would land
from outer space.
703
00:36:53,034 --> 00:36:56,241
In the mid-1970s,
one of the most important events
704
00:36:56,344 --> 00:36:58,758
in the history of, uh,
Devils Tower took place,
705
00:36:58,862 --> 00:37:00,241
and that was the filming
of the movie
706
00:37:00,344 --> 00:37:02,344
Close Encounters
of the Third Kind.
707
00:37:02,448 --> 00:37:06,310
In that movie
by Steven Spielberg,
708
00:37:06,413 --> 00:37:11,413
the tower is a spot that
many people are drawn to,
709
00:37:11,517 --> 00:37:13,827
and they don't know why
they're drawn to it.
710
00:37:13,931 --> 00:37:16,793
They're drawn to it
from all over the country.
711
00:37:16,896 --> 00:37:19,068
It turns out,
as the movie goes on,
712
00:37:19,172 --> 00:37:21,206
that they're drawn here
because they've been abducted
713
00:37:21,310 --> 00:37:23,724
some time during their life
by aliens.
714
00:37:23,827 --> 00:37:28,379
A UFO lands on top of the tower,
715
00:37:28,482 --> 00:37:32,241
and Richard Dreyfuss
and several other people
716
00:37:32,344 --> 00:37:37,172
climb into the UFO
and fly off into space.
717
00:37:38,965 --> 00:37:41,000
The number of visitors
that came to the tower
718
00:37:41,103 --> 00:37:43,413
doubled the year after
that movie came out,
719
00:37:43,517 --> 00:37:48,206
and it stayed at that level
every year ever since.
720
00:37:48,310 --> 00:37:50,862
I don't know if it's
a landing site for UFOs,
721
00:37:50,965 --> 00:37:52,655
as Spielberg had in his movie,
722
00:37:52,758 --> 00:37:55,000
or what it might be.
723
00:37:55,103 --> 00:37:57,827
I mean, the more we look at it,
the more baffled we are.
724
00:37:57,931 --> 00:38:01,206
We are going to find things
as we continue
725
00:38:01,310 --> 00:38:05,137
to observe and search and study
the Earth that we had no idea
726
00:38:05,241 --> 00:38:09,241
how they got there, what type of
physical process created them,
727
00:38:09,344 --> 00:38:11,758
and we're gonna learn
new things all the time.
728
00:38:14,517 --> 00:38:17,379
SHATNER:
Is it Devils Tower
that is unnatural,
729
00:38:17,482 --> 00:38:21,241
or is it our own limited
understanding of nature
730
00:38:21,344 --> 00:38:23,965
that produces the confusion?
731
00:38:24,068 --> 00:38:29,103
Perhaps Devils Tower exists
to keep mankind humble,
732
00:38:29,206 --> 00:38:33,379
as a reminder that we still have
a lot to learn.
733
00:38:40,827 --> 00:38:43,034
SHATNER:
Yellowstone National Park.
734
00:38:43,137 --> 00:38:46,655
Each year, more than
four million people
735
00:38:46,758 --> 00:38:48,448
travel from all over the world
736
00:38:48,551 --> 00:38:51,689
to experience its canyons,
737
00:38:51,793 --> 00:38:55,793
hot springs,
and other natural wonders.
738
00:38:55,896 --> 00:38:59,827
But the most wondrous
sight of all
739
00:38:59,931 --> 00:39:03,620
is a geyser that shoots a jet
of superheated water
740
00:39:03,724 --> 00:39:05,931
more than 150 feet into the air.
741
00:39:07,793 --> 00:39:11,034
And it does so
at such regular intervals
742
00:39:11,137 --> 00:39:14,482
that you can practically
set your watch by it,
743
00:39:14,586 --> 00:39:16,448
which is why
they call this geyser
744
00:39:16,551 --> 00:39:19,758
"Old Faithful."
745
00:39:19,862 --> 00:39:21,241
WYSESSION:
If you visit Yellowstone,
746
00:39:21,344 --> 00:39:24,344
it's spectacular; there are
geysers all over the place.
747
00:39:24,448 --> 00:39:27,896
Some erupt every few minutes,
748
00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:31,586
some erupt every few hours.
749
00:39:31,689 --> 00:39:34,862
But what is remarkable
about Old Faithful
750
00:39:34,965 --> 00:39:38,655
is you can go there with a
stopwatch and-and you can time,
751
00:39:38,758 --> 00:39:40,275
almost to the minute,
752
00:39:40,379 --> 00:39:45,827
when the next eruption
of Old Faithful will occur.
753
00:39:45,931 --> 00:39:49,965
DENNIN:
Most of nature is radical
and unpredictable,
754
00:39:50,068 --> 00:39:52,965
but the really surprising
feature of Old Faithful
755
00:39:53,068 --> 00:39:55,275
is not that it's periodic
and regular--
756
00:39:55,379 --> 00:39:58,103
because that also happens
in many places in nature--
757
00:39:58,206 --> 00:40:01,068
it's that it's been periodic
and regular for so long.
758
00:40:01,172 --> 00:40:04,034
That is something that
really shows us there's a lot
759
00:40:04,137 --> 00:40:07,482
we don't understand about nature
and a lot more we need to learn.
760
00:40:07,586 --> 00:40:11,724
SHATNER:
Old Faithful. For centuries,
761
00:40:11,827 --> 00:40:14,965
we've thought of it as
a mere tourist attraction,
762
00:40:15,068 --> 00:40:16,655
a quaint example
of Mother Nature
763
00:40:16,758 --> 00:40:18,206
at her most punctual.
764
00:40:18,310 --> 00:40:21,793
But what if we're wrong?
765
00:40:21,896 --> 00:40:24,965
What if it is really providing
a geological countdown
766
00:40:25,068 --> 00:40:28,724
to mankind's
ultimate extinction?
767
00:40:28,827 --> 00:40:32,000
Yellowstone is famous for bears,
768
00:40:32,103 --> 00:40:35,413
it's famous for
magnificent geysers,
769
00:40:35,517 --> 00:40:37,137
but underneath your feet
770
00:40:37,241 --> 00:40:40,965
is a supervolcano,
771
00:40:41,068 --> 00:40:44,551
and it's at least
44 miles across.
772
00:40:44,655 --> 00:40:48,206
Is a whole network
of magma pools
773
00:40:48,310 --> 00:40:50,172
that could one day blow up...
774
00:40:51,827 --> 00:40:55,689
...and cause tremendous havoc.
775
00:40:55,793 --> 00:40:57,655
TAYLOR: A supervolcano,
if it were to erupt,
776
00:40:57,758 --> 00:41:00,793
is so massive amount of energy
being released
777
00:41:00,896 --> 00:41:03,344
that it would destroy half of
the continental United States,
778
00:41:03,448 --> 00:41:05,931
and it would be more devastating
to the entire planet
779
00:41:06,034 --> 00:41:09,965
than the asteroid that hit, that
we think killed the dinosaurs.
780
00:41:12,034 --> 00:41:15,551
KAKU:
This gigantic eruption
has happened three times,
781
00:41:15,655 --> 00:41:17,965
three times in
the recorded history,
782
00:41:18,068 --> 00:41:22,137
and we are due for another one
who knows when,
783
00:41:22,241 --> 00:41:26,241
maybe tomorrow, maybe a hundred,
maybe 200,000 years from now,
784
00:41:26,344 --> 00:41:28,241
but it will happen.
785
00:41:32,344 --> 00:41:37,103
What do we really know
about this planet we live on?
786
00:41:37,206 --> 00:41:39,965
Just when we think we have
Mother Nature figured out,
787
00:41:40,068 --> 00:41:45,241
something reminds us that we're
not as smart as we think we are.
788
00:41:45,344 --> 00:41:49,413
After all, have we found a way
to put out the Centralia fire?
789
00:41:49,517 --> 00:41:53,137
Or how Devils Tower was formed?
790
00:41:53,241 --> 00:41:55,275
What if not knowing
all the answers
791
00:41:55,379 --> 00:41:57,344
is why we were put here
in the first place.
792
00:41:57,448 --> 00:42:00,655
Perhaps we're made to keep
searching, to keep learning,
793
00:42:00,758 --> 00:42:04,551
and to keep trying to figure out
the answers...
794
00:42:04,655 --> 00:42:06,931
to The UnXplained.
64033
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