Strange Evidence (2017–…): Season 1, Episode 10 - Vampire Down Under - full transcript
A strange creature on the site of one of the worst nuclear disasters ever sparks fears of a terrifying genetic mutation. New evidence suggests a legendary predator with a thirst for blood might have come back from the dead.
Narrator: WORLDWIDE, 300
MILLION SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS
ARE WATCHING US.
ON OUR STREETS.
AT WORK.
AND IN OUR HOMES.
THEY CAPTURE THINGS THAT SEEM IMPOSSIBLE.
IT DEFIES THE LAWS OF PHYSICS.
Man: THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE, MAN.
Narrator: EXPERTS CARRY
OUT FORENSIC ANALYSIS
OF THESE UNUSUAL EVENTS.
THERE'S GOT TO BE SOME
EXPLANATION FOR WHAT'S GOING ON.
[ PEOPLE SCREAMING ]
Narrator: COMING UP...
DEMONIC DESTRUCTION IN A
TUNNEL FROM THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
Farrow: IT'S CRAZY. CARS
JUST KEEP COMING IN,
AND THEN THEY DON'T COME OUT AGAIN.
Narrator: FEAR OF ATOMIC
MONSTERS IN THE FALLOUT ZONE.
Price: IS IT ALIVE? WE DON'T KNOW.
BUT IT'S NOT LIKE ANYTHING
WE'VE SEEN BEFORE.
[ GROWLS ]
Narrator: EXTINCT BEASTS CAUGHT ON CAMERA.
IT'S JUST UNBELIEVABLE.
THIS THING'S JUST WEIRD.
AND THE SPOOKY SNOWBALLS
THAT MAKE THEMSELVES.
THEY APPEAR OUT OF
NOWHERE. WHAT'S GOING ON?
Narrator: BIZARRE PHENOMENA.
MYSTERIES CAUGHT ON SURVEILLANCE.
WHAT'S THE TRUTH BEHIND
THIS STRANGE EVIDENCE?
♪♪
SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS
CAPTURE CAR-CRASH CHAOS
IN A SPOOKY TUNNEL.
[ CRASHING ]
I JUST FIND THIS A
COMPLETELY TERRIFYING VIDEO.
MAYBE THERE'S MORE THAT'S
GOING ON THAN JUST DRIVER ERROR.
Narrator: BAFFLED EXPERTS
SEARCH FOR CLUES IN THE CARNAGE.
WHEN IT KEEPS HAPPENING,
THAT TUNNEL STARTS TO GET A REPUTATION.
IT'S KNOWN AS THE TUNNEL OF DEATH.
Narrator: MOSCOW, RUSSIA.
THE LEFORTOVO TUNNEL.
SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS KEEP A WATCHFUL EYE
ON ONE OF THE CITY'S MAJOR ARTERIES.
4,000 VEHICLES PASS
THROUGH HERE EVERY HOUR.
WITHOUT WARNING, THE CAMERAS
WITNESS THE UNEXPLAINED.
YOU KEEP SEEING CARS DRIVE IN AND THEN
SWERVE ALL OVER THE PLACE, HIT THE WALLS,
HIT OTHER CARS. MORE CARS PILE IN.
THE IDEA THAT CARS SUDDENLY
LOSE CONTROL OVER AND OVER...
IT REALLY IS QUITE SCARY.
IT'S ALMOST LIKE THERE'S
SOME UNSEEN HIDDEN FORCE
THAT'S MAKING THESE CRASHES HAPPEN.
♪♪
Narrator: THESE UNEXPLAINED
CRASHES ARE NOT ISOLATED INCIDENTS.
[ CRASHING, TIRES SQUEALING ]
WEIRDLY, IN JUST 6 YEARS, CAMERAS CAPTURE
OVER 1,000 PILE-UPS HERE.
[ CRASHING ]
PYOTR SHKUMATOV IS AN EXPERT
ON MOSCOW'S TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS.
WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS TUNNEL?
[ CRASHING ]
♪♪
Narrator: SOME LOCALS TELL
EXPERTS THE MAYHEM IN THE TUNNEL
MAY BE A RESULT OF SUPERNATURAL FORCES.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENS
WHEN KIND OF A LOT OF PEOPLE
START CRASHING IN THE SAME SPOT
IS THAT YOU MIGHT THINK
THAT THAT PLACE IS CURSED.
♪♪
Narrator: LEGEND HAS IT, THE
GHOSTS OF TUNNEL WORKERS
LURK IN THE SHADOWS.
TORTURED SOULS WHO TAKE THEIR
REVENGE ON UNSUSPECTING DRIVERS.
♪♪
ANALYSIS OF THE LEFORTOVO
TUNNEL ROUTE REVEALS
THAT IT RUNS BY A HISTORIC CEMETERY.
FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS,
RUSSIANS BURIED FOREIGNERS IN THESE GRAVES.
UNHAPPY VISITORS WHO NEVER MADE IT HOME.
IT'S TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
FOR SOME MOSCOW DRIVERS.
BUT SCIENTISTS LOOK FOR ANOTHER
EXPLANATION FOR THE CARNAGE.
THEY ANALYZE RUSSIAN ROAD-ACCIDENT DATA
AND DISCOVER A SHOCKING STATISTIC.
OVER 30,000 PEOPLE DIE ON
RUSSIAN ROADS EVERY YEAR.
THAT'S THE SAME AS THE U.S.,
BUT RUSSIA HAS HALF THE POPULATION.
WE'VE ALL SEEN THE
RUSSIAN-DRIVER DASH-CAM VIDEOS.
TO SAY THAT RUSSIAN
DRIVERS ARE SOMEHOW CRAZIER
THAN OTHER DRIVERS...
I MEAN, I'M NOT TOTALLY CONVINCED.
I THINK WE JUST SEE IT MORE
'CAUSE EVERYONE HAS A DASH CAM,
WHICH IS NOT THE CASE
IN MOST OTHER COUNTRIES.
Narrator: BUT FRAME-BY-FRAME
ANALYSIS OF THE SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE
REVEALS MANY OF THE TUNNEL
CRASHES COME OUT OF THE BLUE.
THESE CARS ARE DRIVING
NORMALLY, IN A STRAIGHT LINE,
AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN
THEY SWERVE AND CRASH.
WHICH ISN'T REALLY CONSISTENT
WITH RECKLESS DRIVING.
Wolshon: CLEARLY, WHEN YOU SEE
A CONSISTENT PATTERN LIKE THIS,
THAT WOULD SUGGEST MAYBE
THERE'S MORE THAT'S GOING ON
THAN JUST DRIVER ERROR.
Narrator: TRANSPORT ENGINEER BRIAN WOLSHON
STUDIES THE SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE.
HE EXAMINES THE OVERHEAD LIGHTING.
THE IDEA WITH TUNNEL LIGHTING IS
TO NOT HAVE ANY ABRUPT CHANGES
IN THE DRIVING ENVIRONMENT.
Narrator: WOLSHON WONDERS IF THE LIGHTS
AT THE TUNNEL ENTRANCE ARE TO BLAME.
Wolshon: ONE OF THE
QUESTIONS WE COULD ASK IS,
WERE SOME OF THESE DRIVERS NOT ABLE
TO ACTUALLY SEE
THE VEHICLES IN FRONT OF THEM?
THEY COULD BE COMING FROM
DAYLIGHT ENTERING THE TUNNEL
THAT APPEARS TO BE WELL-LIT,
BUT THEIR EYES HAVEN'T ADJUSTED YET,
SO IT'S ACTUALLY TOO DARK.
Narrator: REPORTS SHOW THAT THE
RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES HAVE EXAMINED
IF THE TUNNEL LIGHTING IS TOO DIM.
ENGINEER VALERIY MERKIN,
A CONSULTANT ON THE TUNNEL PROJECT,
CONFIRMS THIS.
BUT GOVERNMENT REPORTS
CONFIRM THAT TUNNEL ENGINEERS
HAVE MADE THE LIGHTING BRIGHTER.
EXPERTS CONSIDER THE HYPNOTIC
EFFECTS OF TUNNEL DRIVING.
THEY WONDER IF DRIVERS ZONE OUT
TRAVELING THROUGH
PREDICTABLE REPETITIVE SCENERY.
Wolshon: ONE OF THE CONCERNS
FOR DRIVING THROUGH TUNNELS
IS A SENSE OF MONOTONY WHERE
DRIVERS WILL LOSE THEIR FOCUS
OR LOSE THEIR CONCENTRATION,
BECAUSE THERE'S NOT AS MANY VISUAL CLUES
AS YOU WOULD HAVE IN A
REGULAR OPEN-ROAD SETTING.
Narrator: 1,500 MILES AWAY IN NORWAY,
THE DESIGNERS OF THE WORLD'S
LONGEST ROAD TUNNEL IN LAERDAL
BRING IN PSYCHOLOGIST GUNNAR JENSSEN
TO COUNTER THIS DEADLY HYPNOSIS.
A MODERN TUNNEL IS VERY BORING.
IT'S MONOTONY.
YOU COULD FALL ASLEEP.
Narrator: FLICKERING LIGHTS
REFLECTING OFF THE CAR HOOD
ARE LIKELY TO MATCH THE HYPNOTIC RHYTHM
THAT'S BIOLOGICALLY
PROGRAMMED TO SEND US TO SLEEP.
SOME PSYCHOLOGISTS SUGGEST
THE KEY TO PREVENTING ACCIDENTS
IS NOT TO MAKE LIGHTS BRIGHTER
AFTER ALL BUT TO DIM THEM.
♪♪
TOO DIM OR TOO BRIGHT,
LIGHTING DOES NOT SEEM TO EXPLAIN
WHAT'S GOING ON IN
RUSSIA'S TUNNEL OF DEATH.
♪♪
COMING UP...
GENETIC MUTATION AND FEARS
OF A REAL-LIFE NUCLEAR MONSTER.
THIS FOOTAGE IS FROM ONE
OF THE MOST DANGEROUS
TOXIC PLACES IN THE WORLD.
Narrator: A KILLER BEAST
BACK FROM THE DEAD.
IF THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE ARE CLAIMING IT IS,
IT WOULD REWRITE BIOLOGY
BOOKS AND HISTORY BOOKS
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
Narrator: AND THE MYSTERY
FORCE MAKING MAYHEM IN MOSCOW.
ONCE WE ARE AWARE THAT THIS TUNNEL
IS ACTUALLY UNDER A RIVER,
THAT COULD PROVIDE AN EXPLANATION.
[ CRASHING ]
Narrator: ANALYSTS INVESTIGATE MULTIPLE
CRASHES IN A MOSCOW ROAD TUNNEL.
THEY LOOK AT THE POSSIBILITY
OF ICE IN THE TUNNEL.
IF YOU LOOK AT WHEN A LOT
OF THESE CRASHES HAPPEN,
IT'S DURING THE WINTERTIME,
WHERE IT GETS VERY COLD IN RUSSIA.
Narrator: MOSCOW IS ONE OF THE
COLDEST CAPITAL CITIES IN THE WORLD.
WINTER TEMPERATURES
REGULARLY DROP TO 14 DEGREES.
ABOUT 5 FEET OF SNOW
COVERS THE CITY ANNUALLY.
Foster: THAT LEADS TO POOR ROAD CONDITIONS.
THERE COULD BE ICE ON THE ROAD, OR SNOW.
AND OBVIOUSLY THAT COULD INCREASE
YOUR FREQUENCY OF ACCIDENTS.
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS
CONSIDER HOW THE WEATHER
MIGHT CAUSE MAYHEM IN A TUNNEL.
BUT YOU'D THINK THAT
KIND OF A TUNNEL'S INSIDE,
SO SURELY OUTDOOR CONDITIONS
DON'T REALLY HAVE MUCH TO DO WITH IT.
Narrator: A CHECK OF THE
ENGINEERING DRAWINGS REVEALS
THAT THE TUNNEL RUNS
BENEATH MOSCOW'S YAUZA RIVER.
♪♪
ONCE WE ARE AWARE THAT
THIS TUNNEL IS ACTUALLY
UNDER A RIVER,
THAT COULD PROVIDE AN EXPLANATION.
IN THE TUNNEL, OBVIOUSLY
YOU'RE UNDERGROUND.
THE PEOPLE PROBABLY THINK THAT
THE ROAD CONDITIONS WILL BE NICE
AND DRY AND PERFECT FOR DRIVING ALONG.
BUT THAT MAY NOT ALWAYS BE THE CASE.
DESPITE THE BEST EFFORTS OF
ENGINEERS AND CONTRACTORS
WHO BUILD TUNNELS,
TUNNEL SEGMENTS DON'T
ALWAYS HAVE A WATER-TIGHT SEAL.
AND LEAKS CAN HAPPEN.
Narrator: SCIENTISTS
BELIEVE THIS WATER FORMS
A SUPER-THIN LAYER OF TRANSPARENT ICE
THAT SITS ON TOP OF THE DARK ASPHALT.
IT DOESN'T TAKE A LOT OF WATER
TO GENERATE A VERY,
VERY THIN COATING OF ICE.
Narrator: IT'S KNOWN AS BLACK ICE,
AND MAKES THE ROAD SURFACE FRICTIONLESS.
♪♪
YOUR BRAIN CAN'T IDENTIFY IT.
IT CAN'T SCAN THE SEE IT.
SO YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY
THINK THAT THIS ROAD SURFACE
IS PERFECT, YOU CAN DRIVE ACROSS IT.
IT'S NOT GONNA BEHAVE
THE WAY YOU EXPECT IT TO.
IT'S COMPLETELY INVISIBLE.
AND THE MOMENT THE GRIP OF
YOUR TIRE MEETS THAT STUFF,
YOU'RE LOST.
Narrator: BUT FOR SOME LOCALS,
THE ICE EXPLANATION DOESN'T ADD UP.
[ CRASHING ]
WHILE THE INVISIBLE FORCE
BEHIND THE TRAFFIC MAYHEM
IS UNCONFIRMED, MOSCOW'S TUNNEL OF DEATH
CONTINUES TO TERRORIZE
UNSUSPECTING DRIVERS.
[ CRASHING ]
♪♪
AND NOW... NUCLEAR MELTDOWN.
THIS FOOTAGE IS FROM ONE OF
THE MOST DANGEROUS TOXIC PLACES
IN THE WORLD.
Narrator: THE FALLOUT EXCLUSION
ZONE SHOULD BE EMPTY,
BUT THERE'S SOMETHING THERE.
YOU SUDDENLY START TO GET THIS MOVEMENT.
THIS FORMLESS THING.
Price: IS IT ALIVE? IT'S MOVING.
NOT LIKE ANYTHING WE'VE SEEN BEFORE.
♪♪
Narrator: JAPAN. MARCH 11, 2011.
2:46 PM.
A MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE
MEASURING 9 ON THE RICHTER SCALE
ROCKS THE COUNTRY.
[ WOMAN SPEAKING JAPANESE ]
IT MOVES JAPAN'S MAIN
ISLAND MORE THAN 8 FEET EAST
AND SENDS A GIANT TSUNAMI
HURTLING TOWARDS THE COAST
AT 500 MILES AN HOUR.
[ SIREN WAILS ]
DIRECTLY IN THE PATH
OF THE 30-FOOT-HIGH WAVE
IS THE FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT.
♪♪
IT FLOODED THE REACTORS
AND BASICALLY SHUT DOWN
THE COOLING PROCESSES.
THE RESULT WAS A CORE MELTDOWN
FOLLOWED BY A HYDROGEN EXPLOSION
THAT BLEW THE BUILDING OPEN.
♪♪
WITHIN A MATTER OF
MINUTES, FUKUSHIMA BECOMES
ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS
PLACES ON THE PLANET.
Narrator: IT'S A NIGHTMARE SCENARIO.
300 MILLION CUBIC FEET OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE
IS SCATTERED ACROSS
AN AREA THE SIZE OF OHIO.
IT IS THE WORST NUCLEAR
DISASTER SINCE CHERNOBYL IN 1986.
THERE'S A PANIC BECAUSE NO ONE KNOWS
HOW FAR THIS RADIATION IS GOING TO SPREAD.
TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE.
YOU HAVE TO FLEE IMMEDIATELY
OR YOU'RE GONNA GET SICK.
[ POLICE RADIO CHATTER ]
Narrator: FUKUSHIMA SCIENTISTS
PLACE THE NUCLEAR POWER STATION
IN IMMEDIATE LOCK DOWN.
CCTV CAMERAS MONITOR THE
RADIATION EXCLUSION ZONE.
THESE CAMERAS ARE RUNNING 24/7,
AND PEOPLE CAN TUNE IN AT
ANY POINT AND WATCH THEM LIVE.
Narrator: FOR 3 YEARS, THE CAMERAS
KEEP WATCH ON THE ABANDONED PLANT.
THEN IN JULY 2014,
A CAMERA SCANNING
REACTOR 4 PICKS UP MOVEMENT.
A GLOWING ENTITY IN THE
HEART OF THE NO-GO ZONE.
Price: IS IT ALIVE? WE DON'T KNOW.
BUT IT'S MOVING.
AND IT'S MOVING IN WAYS THAT ARE UNEXPECTED
AND NOT LIKE ANYTHING WE'VE SEEN BEFORE.
THIS IS IN A RADIOACTIVE ZONE
WHERE NOTHING SHOULD BE WHATSOEVER.
CERTAINLY NOTHING LIVING.
Fisher: THIS IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S
FEW NUCLEAR-REACTOR DISASTERS,
SO WHAT WOULD WE
EXPECT TO SEE IN THIS VIDEO
THAT WE MIGHT NOT HAVE
SEEN ANYWHERE ELSE BEFORE?
♪♪
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS CONSIDER
IF THE PLANT'S LEAKING RADIATION
HAS CREATED A MUTANT ATOMIC MONSTER.
Sella: ONE OF THE THINGS
THE RADIATION WILL DO
IS THEY WILL DAMAGE DNA
THAT WILL CAUSE MUTATIONS.
AND THAT WILL CAUSE SMALL
CHANGES IN AN ORGANISM.
IS IT CAUSING SOME KIND OF MUTATION?
IS IT CREATING SOME KIND OF MONSTER?
RADIATION IS AN EXTREMELY POWERFUL BEAST,
AND WHEN IT'S ON YOUR SIDE
IT CAN DO AMAZING THINGS.
BUT IF IT TURNS ON YOU,
YEAH YOU'D BETTER WATCH OUT.
Narrator: TWO ATOM BOMBS HAVE
SHOWN THE JAPANESE THE BIZARRE
AND HORRIFIC EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR RADIATION.
THEIR FEARS ARE REFLECTED IN THEIR MOVIES.
GODZILLA WAS BORN OUT OF RADIOACTIVE FIRE
AND COMES ONTO LAND TO RAVAGE TOKYO.
THE IDEA THAT THERE'S A RADIATION MONSTER
THAT COMES FROM SOME
SORT OF RADIOLOGICAL EVENT
IS INGRAINED IN JAPANESE CULTURE.
WE'VE HAD SO MANY FILMS
WHERE THERE'S SOME TERRIBLE RADIATION EVENT
AND THAT CREATES A
NEW LIFE FORM, A MONSTER.
AND, OH, MY GOD, HERE
IS OUR WORST NIGHTMARE
ACTUALLY COMING TRUE BEFORE OUR EYES.
Narrator: COMING UP...
A CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH A
BEAST FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE.
I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING
ELSE MOVE LIKE THIS.
Narrator: AND MUTANT
MONSTERS VERSUS THE ROBOTS.
Sella: THEY'RE ROBOTS
THAT ARE ACTUALLY SENT
INTO THE REACTOR CHAMBER.
THEY ACTUALLY HAVE QUITE LIMITED LIFETIMES
BECAUSE OF THE INTENSITY OF THE RADIATION.
Narrator: EXPERTS INVESTIGATE IF A
CAMERA HAS CAPTURED A MUTANT ENTITY
IN THE FALLOUT ZONE OF A NUCLEAR DISASTER.
♪♪
THEY EXAMINE LEVELS OF
RADIATION LEAKING FROM REACTOR 4.
THERE ARE TOXICALLY HIGH
LEVELS OF RADIATION THERE.
THAT RESULTS IN RADIATION
POISONING AND DEATH.
THAT DOES NOT RESULT IN HORRIFIC MUTATIONS.
♪♪
Narrator: RADIATION LEVELS
INSIDE THE FUKUSHIMA REACTORS
ARE HIGH ENOUGH TO
KILL A HUMAN IN 3 MINUTES.
ALL EXPLORATIONS OF THE CORE
ARE UNDERTAKEN BY ROBOTS.
BUT EVEN THE ROBOTS STRUGGLE.
THEY'RE ROBOTS
THAT ARE ACTUALLY SENT
INTO THE REACTOR CHAMBER.
THEY ACTUALLY HAVE QUITE LIMITED LIFETIMES
BECAUSE OF THE INTENSITY OF THE RADIATION.
Narrator: IN PARTS OF THE
REACTOR, THE RADIATION IS SO HIGH
THE ROBOTS SURVIVE ONLY A FEW HOURS.
RADIATION WILL COMPLETELY FRY ELECTRONICS.
BUT THEY'LL GO IN, THEY'LL
BE ABLE TO DO ENOUGH THINGS
THAT MAKES IT WORTHWHILE,
THEN THEY DIE IN PLACE.
Narrator: IT LEADS SOME TO
SUGGEST THE STRANGE APPARITION
ON THE SURVEILLANCE TAPE
COULD BE THE RESULT OF RADIATION DAMAGE
TO THE CCTV CAMERA'S ELECTRONICS.
WHAT ARE THE CHANCES THAT THIS CAMERA,
WHICH IS OPERATING DAY AND
NIGHT IN THIS KIND OF ENVIRONMENT,
MAYBE IT'S SUFFERING FROM SOME DEGRADATION.
Narrator: ANALYSIS OF FOOTAGE
FROM THE FUKUSHIMA ROBOTS
REVEALS WHAT RADIATION
DOES TO A RECORDED IMAGE.
THE RADIATION PARTICLES GO THROUGH THE LENS
AND THEY HIT THE PHOTOSENSITIVE
LAYERS OF THE CAMERA.
AND TYPICALLY WHAT THIS
CAUSES IS A LITTLE SPARK.
THERE'S A RELEASE OF ENERGY,
AND SO WHAT YOU SEE IN THE IMAGE
IS YOU SEE A LITTLE FLASH.
BUT CERTAINLY NOT THESE
KINDS OF WAVY PATTERNS
OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
♪♪
Narrator: OPTIC SPECIALIST
ROBERT FISHER BELIEVES
THAT THE POSITION OF THE
REACTOR 4 CAMERA MAY OFFER A CLUE.
THE CCTV CAMERA OBSERVING
THE SCENE IS OUTDOORS
AND IT'S SUBJECT TO ALL
THE NORMAL OUTDOOR STUFF,
RAIN AND MIST,
SO THE WATER CAN BUILD
UP IN FRONT OF THE LENS.
Narrator: FISHER PROPOSES THE
STRANGE ENTITY COULD BE CAUSED
BY A RARE COMBINATION
OF WIND, LIGHT, AND WATER.
HE TESTS HIS THEORY IN THE LAB.
OKAY, SO, WE'VE GOT A LITTLE
BIT OF WATER ON THE SCREEN.
YOU CAN SEE THE STRANGE
LITTLE SPARKLE PATTERNS.
Narrator: FISHER USES A DESK FAN
TO SIMULATE THE WIND AND A TORCH
TO REPRESENT FUKUSHIMA'S
SECURITY FLOOD LIGHTS.
YOU CAN SEE THE LITTLE SPARKLY EFFECTS.
IF THE LIGHT WERE ON A POLE,
MOVING AROUND A LITTLE BIT IN THE BREEZE,
YOU CAN SEE THAT THE LIGHTING
PATTERNS ARE CHANGING.
♪♪
I THINK THERE'S A PRETTY GOOD CHANCE
THAT WHAT'S CAUSING THE
THINGS THAT WE SEE IN THE VIDEO
ARE JUST A LITTLE BIT OF
WATER, A LITTLE BIT OF WIND,
A LITTLE BIT OF CHANGING LIGHTING MAYBE.
♪♪
Narrator: BUT ANALYSTS
WONDER IF THIS IS MERELY
AN EFFECT OF WIND AND RAIN,
WHY HAS SUCH AN IMAGE
NEVER BEEN CAPTURED BEFORE?
THE CAMERA HAS BEEN OPERATING FOR 3 YEARS
AND IT HAS RAINED MANY TIMES AT THE SITE.
♪♪
AT THE END, YOU END UP AT WHAT
YOU THINK IS YOUR BEST GUESS
AS TO WHAT THE OBSERVATION REALLY IS.
Narrator: IT COULD TAKE 30
YEARS BEFORE REACTOR 4 IS SAFE
FOR HUMANS TO ENTER.
UNTIL THEN, SCIENTISTS
ARE UNABLE TO ESTABLISH
WHAT'S HAPPENED AS THE
RESULT OF THE NUCLEAR FALLOUT.
ALL THEY CAN DO IS SEND IN MORE ROBOTS
AND MONITOR THE SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS.
♪♪
NOW...
A BUSH CAM CAPTURES A FOREST PREDATOR
THAT DEFIES EXPLANATION.
IT'S JUST UNBELIEVABLE.
THIS THING'S JUST WEIRD.
SOME BELIEVE IT'S A BEAST
RISEN FROM THE DEAD.
Mooney: THEY WERE PURSUIT CARNIVORES,
AND THE MYTHOLOGY IS
THAT THEY ONLY DRANK BLOOD.
♪♪
Narrator: THE ISLAND OF TASMANIA.
A SECLUDED RUGGED WILDERNESS
150 MILES OFF THE COAST OF AUSTRALIA.
LIVING IN ITS REMOTE FOREST
ARE SPECIES NOT FOUND
ANYWHERE ELSE ON EARTH.
NOVEMBER 2016.
LOCAL TRACKERS VENTURE DEEP INTO
THE FORESTS OF CENTRAL TASMANIA.
THE AREA IS UNFORGIVING.
SHE'S WILD COUNTRY OUT HERE.
YEAH.
THE TASMANIAN BUSHLAND? IT IS THICK.
THERE'S A LOT OF TREACHERY.
AND VISIBILITY IS LESS THAN
2 METERS FROM THE TRACK.
THEIR MISSION?
TO SET CAMERA TRAPS TO CAPTURE IMAGES
OF THE CREATURES LIVING HERE.
WE PLACE THE CAMERAS OUT,
ENSURE THAT IT'S
POSITIONED ON A GAME TRAIL.
♪♪
2 WEEKS LATER, THE TEAM
REVIEW THEIR FOOTAGE
AND THAT IS WHEN THEY SEE IT.
IT'S THE MOST AMAZING THING THAT I'VE SEEN.
IT WAS EXCITING TO SEE THIS VIDEO.
WE WERE SHOCKED.
IN THE HALF LIGHT, A STRANGE CREATURE MOVES
STEALTHILY THROUGH THE BUSH.
IT'S JUST UNBELIEVABLE.
THIS THING'S JUST WEIRD.
WEIRD.
THE HEAD IS REALLY BIG.
IT'S GOT A REALLY BIG JAWLINE.
THE NOSE OF THE ANIMAL, OR
THE MUZZLE, IS REALLY LONG.
IT'S A STRANGE ANIMAL.
IT'S HARD TO MAKE OUT.
IT HAS A PRETTY STRAIGHT TAIL,
FEATURES I FIND REALLY INTRIGUING.
I WISH IT WAS HIGHER RESOLUTION.
Narrator: AND THEN AS SWIFTLY
AS THE ANIMAL APPEARS, IT'S GONE.
THE PEOPLE WHO TOOK THIS VIDEO?
THEY'VE BEEN OUT IN THE BUSH
FOR YEARS WATCHING ANIMALS.
WATCHING THEM MOVE.
WATCHING THEIR BEHAVIORS.
SO IF THEY'RE SEEING SOMETHING
THAT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE ANYTHING
THEY'VE EVER SEEN BEFORE?
THAT REALLY MAKES ME WANT TO TRUST THEM.
Narrator: THE TASMANIAN TRACKERS
BELIEVE THE CREATURE CAUGHT
BY THEIR CAMERA TRAP
MATCHES THE DESCRIPTION OF
AN ELUSIVE LEGENDARY BEAST.
I WAS ABSOLUTELY GOBSMACKED.
I KNEW STRAIGHT AWAY WHAT I SAW.
IT'S A TASMANIAN TIGER.
ONE OF THE GREAT EXTINCTION MYSTERIES
OF THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS HAS BEEN
WHETHER THE TASMANIAN
TIGER IS ACTUALLY EXTINCT.
♪♪
Narrator: COMING UP...
SPOOKY SIGHTINGS OF SPONTANEOUS SNOWBALLS.
IT LOOKS LIKE SOME KIND
OF SYNCHRONIZED MOVEMENT.
I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT.
Narrator: AND ANALYSTS TRY
TO DECODE WHAT KIND OF BEAST
IS ROAMING THE TASMANIAN FORESTS.
I WATCHED THE FOOTAGE OVER AND OVER AGAIN
AND WAS KIND OF ENTRANCED
BY HOW STRANGELY IT MOVED.
Narrator: A TRAIL CAM
CAPTURES AN UNEXPLAINED
SHADOWY CREATURE PROWLING THE OUTBACK.
LOCAL TRACKERS BELIEVE THEY'VE
CAPTURED AN EXTINCT BEAST
COME BACK FROM THE GRAVE.
♪♪
THE TASMANIAN TIGER WAS
HUNTED TO EXTINCTION IN THE 1930s.
THIS FOOTAGE REVEALS THE
LAST REMAINING SPECIMEN
WHICH DIED IN HOBART
ZOO ON SEPTEMBER 7, 1936.
IT IS UNLIKE ANY CREATURE ALIVE TODAY.
TASMANIAN TIGERS ARE REALLY UNIQUE.
THEY ARE NOT TIGERS AT ALL.
THEY LOOK A LOT LIKE A WOLF.
BUT THEY'RE NOT WOLVES, THEY'RE NOT DOGS.
THEY'RE ACTUALLY MARSUPIALS
LIKE THE AUSTRALIAN KANGAROO.
THE TASMANIAN TIGER ROAMED
AROUND THE GRASSLANDS
AND FORESTS OF TASMANIA.
IT HUNTED KANGAROOS AND POSSUMS
AND OTHER LARGE-BODIED PREY,
SO IT WAS, FOR A LONG WHILE,
THE TOP PREDATOR IN TASMANIA.
♪♪
Narrator: IF THE TASMANIAN
TRACKERS' THEORY IS RIGHT,
THEIR CAMERA TRAP HAS CAPTURED
A FOREST PREDATOR RESURRECTION.
♪♪
IT WOULDN'T BE THE FIRST TIME
AN EXTINCT SPECIES CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD.
THERE'S BEEN A NUMBER OF CASES OF ANIMALS
THOUGHT EXTINCT FOR DECADES,
EVEN MORE THAN A CENTURY,
THAT HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED.
Narrator: THERE ARE A NUMBER OF
THESE SO-CALLED LAZARUS SPECIES.
OMURA'S WHALE WAS
DECLARED EXTINCT FOR A DECADE,
UNTIL A POD WAS PHOTOGRAPHED
OFF THE COAST OF MADAGASCAR.
THE OKAPI, FEARED LOST IN 1959,
WAS REDISCOVERED IN THE
FORESTS OF CONGO IN 2005.
AND ON MAINLAND AUSTRALIA,
THE NIGHT PARROT WAS REDISCOVERED IN 2013.
WE HAD A LOT OF SUSPICION
THAT THIS DESERT-DWELLING BIRD
HAD GONE EXTINCT IN THE 1930s.
NO ONE HAD SEEN IT FOR OVER
70 YEARS, AND THEN IT WAS FOUND.
♪♪
Narrator: NICK MOONEY IS A FORMER
HEAD OF PARKS AND WILDLIFE,
AN EXPERT IN IDENTIFYING ANIMALS
CAUGHT ON LOW-RESOLUTION SURVEILLANCE CAMS.
THE TASMANIAN TRACKER TEAM
GIVE HIM THEIR FOOTAGE TO ANALYZE.
Mooney: IT'S NOT VERY CLEAR FOOTAGE.
AS I LOOKED AT IT MORE AND MORE
AND THEN WAS ABLE TO MAKE
SOME MEASUREMENTS OF THE ANIMAL,
FREEZE THE FOOTAGE, AND
COMPARE IT WITH THIS OR THAT...
Narrator: MOONEY EXAMINES THE
TAPE FOR THE TELLTALE SIGNS
OF A TASMANIAN TIGER.
THE EASIEST WAY TO
DESCRIBE A TASMANIAN TIGER IS,
THINK OF A WOLF AND THEN
ADD STRIPES TO ITS BACK.
Narrator: MOONEY'S FRAME-BY-FRAME ANALYSIS
FAILS TO IDENTIFY A CLEAR SET OF STRIPES,
BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THEY'RE NOT THERE.
THE FACT THAT YOU CAN'T
SEE STRIPES IS NO SURPRISE.
THAT TYPE OF DIGITAL LENS WILL NOT GIVE YOU
GREAT DETAIL IN POOR LIGHT.
THE STRIPES ON AN ANIMAL LIKE A TAZZY TIGER
ARE MEANT TO CAMOUFLAGE.
YOU'RE NOT MEANT TO
HAVE OUTSTANDING STRIPES.
SO AT A CERTAIN DISTANCE, YOU
WON'T SEE THEM CLEARLY ANYWAY.
♪♪
Narrator: MOONEY EXAMINES THE
FOOTAGE FOR OTHER CHARACTERISTICS
OF A TASMANIAN TIGER.
IT HAD A VERY LONG,
REASONABLY INFLEXIBLE TAIL.
THE VERTEBRAE OF THE TAIL ARE VERY LONG.
MEANS THE TAIL IS... IT
CAN'T WAG, IT CAN'T CURL,
AND DO THOSE SORTS OF THINGS,
SOMEWHAT LIKE A KANGAROO TAIL.
♪♪
THERE'S NO WAY IT WAS A POSSUM OR A CAT.
I'VE NEVER SEEN A DOG
WITH THAT SORT OF TAIL
AND THAT SORT OF PROPORTION
TO THE BODY, THE TAIL.
YOU VERY QUICKLY RUN OUT OF OPTIONS.
Narrator: BARRY BROOK
HAS INVESTIGATED REPORTS
OF TASMANIAN TIGERS FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS.
HE ANALYZES THE MYSTERY CREATURE'S MOVEMENT
AND CONFIRMS ITS GATE IS
THAT OF A PREDATORY MARSUPIAL,
BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN
IT'S A TASMANIAN TIGER.
WHAT WE SEE IS ESSENTIALLY
THE BACK OF A SLINKING ANIMAL
THAT WAS LIKELY TO BE A PREDATOR,
BUT THE FORM OF MOVEMENT STRONGLY SUGGESTS
TO ME IT LOOKS MORE LIKE A QUOLL.
Narrator: QUOLLS ARE SPOTTED
MARSUPIAL PREDATORS
ONLY FOUND IN THE FORESTS
OF MAINLAND AUSTRALIA AND TASMANIA.
THE HEAD OF A LARGE SPOTTED-TAIL
QUOLL IS VERY SIMILAR IN SHAPE
AND FORM TO THAT OF A TAZZY TIGER.
SO EVEN HEAD-ON, MISTAKING A LARGE QUOLL
FOR A SMALL TAZZY TIGER
IS NOT A RIDICULOUS SCENARIO AT ALL.
♪♪
Narrator: COMING UP...
A RURAL STORE IS THE SITE
OF A SPOOKY VISITATION.
THERE'S NO TRACKS OR ANYTHING.
WHAT'S AMAZING TO ME IS THAT
HOW COULD ALL THEM SNOWBALLS
BE THERE WITHOUT TRACKS?
Narrator: AND ANALYSIS OF THE
MYSTERIOUS TASMANIAN BEAST'S SIZE
RAISES A TANTALIZING POSSIBILITY.
THIS VIDEO COULD PROVE THAT
AN ANIMAL THAT ONCE WAS THOUGHT
TO BE EXTINCT HAS COME BACK FROM THE DEAD.
♪♪
Narrator: EXPERTS ANALYZE
FOOTAGE OF A STRANGE PREDATOR
ON THE ISLAND OF TASMANIA.
IS IT A CREATURE CALLED A QUOLL
OR A LEGENDARY TASMANIAN
TIGER BACK FROM THE DEAD?
♪♪
TIGER QUOLLS HAVE A VERY SIMILAR SHAPE
TO THE TASMANIAN TIGER,
BUT THEY'RE MUCH SMALLER.
Narrator: NICK MOONEY
RETURNS TO THE FOOTAGE
FOR A WAY OF ESTIMATING
THE ANIMAL'S TRUE SIZE.
HE COMPARES IT TO OTHER WILDLIFE
FILMED AT THE SAME LOCATION.
Mooney: SO, WE SEARCHED THE
FOOTAGE AND FOUND LYREBIRD
IN THE SAME PLACE TAKEN BY THE SAME CAMERA.
Narrator: AN ADULT LYREBIRD
CAN REACH THREE FEET IN LENGTH.
MOONEY'S SCALE ANALYSIS
CONFIRMS THE MYSTERY CREATURE
IS NEARER TO THE SIZE OF A QUOLL.
IT SHOULD BE AT LEAST TWICE AS HIGH AS THAT
TO BE A WILD FREE-RANGING TASMANIAN TIGER.
♪♪
Narrator: YET SOME ZOOLOGISTS
BELIEVE THERE'S ANOTHER
TANTALIZING POSSIBILITY.
IT COULD POTENTIALLY BE
JUST A VERY SMALL INDIVIDUAL
OR A VERY YOUNG ONE.
IF THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE ARE CLAIMING IT IS,
IT WOULD REWRITE BIOLOGY BOOKS
AND HISTORY BOOKS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
Narrator: EXPERTS REVIEWING
THE SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE
REMAIN DIVIDED.
THE TASMANIAN TIGER LOVER IN ME SAYS
I WOULD LOVE IT TO BE OUT THERE,
BUT WE NEED MORE HARD EVIDENCE
IN THIS FOR ME TO BE CONVINCED.
Narrator: NEW EVIDENCE EMERGES
WHEN THE TASMANIAN TRACKERS
REWIND THEIR RECORDING.
JUST MINUTES BEFORE THE
MYSTERIOUS BEAST APPEARS,
THE CAMERA CAPTURES ANOTHER VISITATION.
THE FOOTAGE IS INTERESTING,
THERE'S NO DOUBT.
IT'S A NOSE WHICH POPS UP
IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA LENS
FOR A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.
THE NOSE ITSELF LOOKS A LOT
LIKE A TIGER QUOLL'S NOSE...
LARGE, PINK, AND WET,
JUST LIKE THAT NOSE LOOKED.
AND THE TASMANIAN TIGER'S NOSE WASN'T PINK.
IT WAS MORE OF A BROWNISH-BLACK COLOR.
THAT STRONGLY SUGGESTS TO ME
IT WASN'T A TASMANIAN TIGER NOSE.
THE CAMERA WAS AT 1.3 METERS HIGH.
THAT'S TOO HIGH FOR A TASMANIAN TIGER.
SO THE ANIMAL THAT SNIFFED THE
CAMERA WAS HANGING ONTO THE TREE
AND CLIMBED UP IT, SUCH AS
A SPOTTED-TAIL QUOLL MIGHT.
THEY'RE VERY GOOD CLIMBERS.
Narrator: WITHOUT THE CONCLUSIVE PROOF,
THE BEAST CAUGHT ON
CAMERA REMAINS UNIDENTIFIED.
I THINK THE BEST CHANCE OF US OBSERVING
A TASMANIAN TIGER IN THE WILD,
IF IT'S STILL OUT THERE,
IS SETTING UP REMOTE CAMERAS
IN LOCATIONS WHERE
THEY'RE LIKELY TO BE FOUND
AND LEAVING THEM OUT THERE FOR LONG ENOUGH
TO TRY AND SERENDIPITOUSLY CATCH SOMETHING.
WE WILL SEE ANOTHER TIGER,
WE WILL GET HIM ON FILM,
AND WE'LL PROVE TO THE
WORLD THE TIGER IS THERE.
[ GROWLS ]
♪♪
Narrator: NOW, SECURITY CAMERAS
CAPTURE STRANGE THINGS HAPPENING.
SNOWBALLS CREATED OUT OF THE GROUND.
IT'S SCARY.
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS ARE BAFFLED
BY THE SELF-ROLLING SNOWBALLS.
LITTLE SNOWBALLS MAKE THEMSELVES
BY ROLLING ACROSS THE LAWN.
WHAT'S GOING ON?
♪♪
Narrator: ORRVILLE, A
SMALL CITY IN RURAL OHIO.
KEN STOLLER RUNS THE
LOCAL GARDEN SUPPLY STORE.
A BATTERY OF SECURITY
CAMERAS MONITORS HIS STOCK 24/7.
THE WHOLE YARD IS
NORMALLY FULL OF EQUIPMENT,
BUT OVER THE WEEKEND, WE PUT IT AWAY.
Narrator: JANUARY 27, 2014.
♪♪
A COLD FRONT BLOWS IN FROM LAKE ERIE.
AN ICY WINTER STORM BLASTS THE CITY,
COVERING THE SILENT
STREETS IN A BLANKET OF SNOW.
THE NEXT MORNING, KEN
STOLLER HEADS TO WORK EARLY
TO SURVEY THE SCENE.
Stoller: I WAS THE FIRST ONE
INTO WORK THAT MORNING.
IT WAS REALLY COLD. IT
WAS PROBABLY CLOSE TO 0.
Narrator: AS HE APPROACHES THE
STORE, HE IS MET BY AN UNNERVING SIGHT.
Stoller: I SEE THESE SNOWBALLS
IN THE YARD, AND I THOUGHT,
"WELL, WHO'S THROWING
THEM SNOWBALLS IN MY YARD?"
Narrator: THE PHANTOM
SNOWBALLS DEFY BELIEF.
Stoller: IT'S NOT PACKED VERY TIGHT,
BUT IT'S JUST KIND OF ROLLED LIKE A CAKE.
WELL, I JUST THOUGHT, "THAT'S STRANGE."
Narrator: STOLLER BELIEVES HE'S
THE VICTIM OF A HIGH SCHOOL PRANK.
AND THEN I GOT TO THINKING,
"WELL, I PROBABLY HAVE
A VIDEO FROM MY SECURITY CAMERA."
AND I COULD SEE HOW THEY WERE BEING MADE.
Narrator: WHAT STOLLER'S SECURITY
FOOTAGE REVEALS IS NO JOKE...
HUNDREDS OF SNOWBALLS
SPONTANEOUSLY GROWING FROM THE SNOW.
THEY'RE ACTUALLY STARTING FROM NOTHING
AND JUST ALL OF A SUDDEN SNOWBALLS ROLLING.
SOME GOT BIGGER AND SOME
STOPPED AND THEN MAKE IT BIGGER.
THEY ROLL SOME MORE AND
SOME NEW ONES WOULD START.
THE WHOLE THING HAPPENED
IN ABOUT TWO MINUTES,
MAYBE, FROM THE START TO DONE.
Narrator: STOLLER IS MYSTIFIED
BY HIS BACKYARD SURVEILLANCE
AND RELEASES HIS FOOTAGE ONLINE.
INVESTIGATORS ATTEMPT TO
EXPLAIN THE UNSEEN FORCE
CREATING THESE BIZARRE SNOW BOULDERS.
♪♪
Narrator: SCIENTISTS ARE BAFFLED.
IN FRONT OF A GARDEN SUPPLY
STORE, A SNOWY VISITATION.
IT LOOKS LIKE SOME KIND
OF SYNCHRONIZED MOVEMENT.
I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT.
AND TO SEE ALL THESE DIFFERENT
BALLS MOVING TOGETHER,
IT'S REALLY CRAZY.
THEY APPEAR OUT OF NOWHERE.
THEY JUST SEEM TO ROLL AND BUILD UP.
Narrator: LOCALS TURN TO THE
WEATHER FOR AN EXPLANATION.
LOOKING AT IT, THE ONLY
THING I COULD THINK OF
WAS IT HAD TO HAVE
BEEN WIND AND BLOWING IT.
IT SEEMS STRANGE TO ME.
Narrator: THE PROBLEM IS,
THE WIND IS BLOWING SNOW
ACROSS THE ENTIRE CITY,
BUT THE SELF-GENERATING SNOWBALLS
ONLY APPEAR IN KEN STOLLER'S YARD.
IN PLACES LIKE OHIO, THERE'S A LOT OF WIND.
THERE'S ALSO A LOT OF SNOW.
BUT I'VE NEVER SEEN
ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE.
SO YOU HAVE TO ASK
YOURSELF, WHY IS THIS THERE?
Narrator: THE FOOTAGE
COMES TO THE ATTENTION
OF BIOLOGIST ROLAND KAYS.
HE STUDIES THE PATTERN
OF SNOWBALL MOVEMENT.
HE'S REMINDED OF A SIMILAR PHENOMENON
IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM...
THE WORK OF A SPECIES ACTIVE IN WINTER.
THE POSSIBILITY IS THAT
IT'S ACTUALLY SOME ANIMAL
RUNNING UNDERNEATH THE SNOW.
LEMMINGS ARE SMALL, LITTLE,
MICE-LIKE CREATURES THAT BURROW
AROUND UNDERNEATH THE SNOW ALL THE TIME.
AND AS THEY GO, THEY'RE SORT
OF PUSHING UP THIS BALL OF SNOW
IN FRONT OF THEM, KIND OF LIKE A SNOW PLOW.
♪♪
Narrator: LEMMINGS ARE USUALLY SOLITARY,
BUT WHEN POPULATIONS BECOME TOO DENSE,
THEY MIGRATE EN MASSE.
EXPERTS CONSIDER IF THE 100-PLUS SNOWBALLS
COULD BE DRIVEN BY BURROWING CRITTERS.
♪♪
KEN STOLLER CHECKS HIS SURVEILLANCE TAPE
FOR SIGNS OF ANIMAL ACTIVITY.
NO FOOTPRINTS, NO TRACKS, OR ANYTHING.
WHAT WAS AMAZING TO ME
IS THAT HOW COULD ALL THEM
SNOWBALLS BE THERE WITHOUT TRACKS?
I DIDN'T HAVE AN ANSWER FOR IT.
Narrator: CHEMIST ANDREA
SELLA BELIEVES CLUES COULD LIE
IN THE TYPE OF SNOW THAT FELL THAT NIGHT.
Sella: SNOW IS MADE OF FROZEN WATER.
IT'S A LITTLE BIT TOO WARM,
WE KNOW THAT IT'LL MELT
ALMOST IMMEDIATELY.
IF IT'S A LITTLE BIT TOO COLD,
THEN IT'LL BE DRY AND FORM
SOMETHING VERY POWDERY.
BUT SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE,
WHAT YOU'LL GET IS SOMETHING
WHICH STICKS TO ITSELF QUITE WELL.
THOSE ARE THE CONDITIONS THAT YOU WANT,
BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN YOU
CAN SCOOP THE SNOW UP,
DO THIS, AND GET SOMETHING
PROPER AND COMPACT.
Narrator: SELLA NOTICES, ON THE NIGHT
OF KEN STOLLER'S SPOOKY APPARITION,
STICKY SNOW FALLS ON TOP OF A
COMPACTED ICY LAYER IN THE YARD,
AND THE TWO LAYERS DON'T MIX.
SELLA PROPOSES ALL THAT'S NEEDED
TO GENERATE PHANTOM SNOWBALLS
IS A FORCE TO SCOOP UP THE SNOW.
♪♪
CHEMIST SUZE KUNDU FROM
SURREY UNIVERSITY, ENGLAND,
DETECTS A CLUE IN THE MOVEMENT
OF SNOWFLAKES IN THE VIDEO.
YOU CAN SEE STRAY
SNOWFLAKES FLYING SIDEWAYS.
I THINK THE WIND MAY HAVE
SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT.
Narrator: A CHECK OF ATMOSPHERIC
CONDITIONS DURING THE STORM
REVEALS WIND SPEEDS OF 60 MILES PER HOUR
THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT...
POWERFUL ENOUGH TO SHIFT SNOW.
KUNDU TESTS HER THEORY.
A SUPER-COOLED STEEL
PLATE MIMICS THE ICY GROUND.
SOFT ICE CREAM HAS THE
SAME STICKY PROPERTIES
AS THE FRESH SNOW.
AND KUNDU USES A SPATULA
TO SIMULATE THE POWER
OF A 60-MILE-PER-HOUR WIND.
Kundu: WHAT YOU SHOULD SEE
IS A SORT OF ROLL DEVELOPING.
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT
WE'RE SEEING WITH THE SNOW.
HERE, THE ICE CREAM HAS
MANAGED TO LIFT ITSELF UP,
ROLL OVER ONTO ITSELF,
AND CREATE THESE ROLL-LIKE STRUCTURES.
Narrator: SCIENTISTS HAVE DUBBED
THESE EXTREMELY RARE STRUCTURES
SNOW ROLLERS.
EXPERTS BELIEVE THIS PERFECT
SNOWSTORM OCCURS SO INFREQUENTLY
THAT STOLLER IS THE FIRST TO
CAPTURE THEM FORMING ON CAMERA.
THEY'RE VERY UNIQUE. YOU
DON'T SEE THEM VERY OFTEN,
MAYBE ONCE IN A LIFETIME.
THIS LITTLE VIDEO REALLY
CAPTURES THIS EXTRAORDINARY,
BEAUTIFUL, WEIRD LITTLE FORMS
USING WIND, SNOW, AND MAYBE A BIT OF MAGIC.
♪♪
MILLION SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS
ARE WATCHING US.
ON OUR STREETS.
AT WORK.
AND IN OUR HOMES.
THEY CAPTURE THINGS THAT SEEM IMPOSSIBLE.
IT DEFIES THE LAWS OF PHYSICS.
Man: THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE, MAN.
Narrator: EXPERTS CARRY
OUT FORENSIC ANALYSIS
OF THESE UNUSUAL EVENTS.
THERE'S GOT TO BE SOME
EXPLANATION FOR WHAT'S GOING ON.
[ PEOPLE SCREAMING ]
Narrator: COMING UP...
DEMONIC DESTRUCTION IN A
TUNNEL FROM THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
Farrow: IT'S CRAZY. CARS
JUST KEEP COMING IN,
AND THEN THEY DON'T COME OUT AGAIN.
Narrator: FEAR OF ATOMIC
MONSTERS IN THE FALLOUT ZONE.
Price: IS IT ALIVE? WE DON'T KNOW.
BUT IT'S NOT LIKE ANYTHING
WE'VE SEEN BEFORE.
[ GROWLS ]
Narrator: EXTINCT BEASTS CAUGHT ON CAMERA.
IT'S JUST UNBELIEVABLE.
THIS THING'S JUST WEIRD.
AND THE SPOOKY SNOWBALLS
THAT MAKE THEMSELVES.
THEY APPEAR OUT OF
NOWHERE. WHAT'S GOING ON?
Narrator: BIZARRE PHENOMENA.
MYSTERIES CAUGHT ON SURVEILLANCE.
WHAT'S THE TRUTH BEHIND
THIS STRANGE EVIDENCE?
♪♪
SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS
CAPTURE CAR-CRASH CHAOS
IN A SPOOKY TUNNEL.
[ CRASHING ]
I JUST FIND THIS A
COMPLETELY TERRIFYING VIDEO.
MAYBE THERE'S MORE THAT'S
GOING ON THAN JUST DRIVER ERROR.
Narrator: BAFFLED EXPERTS
SEARCH FOR CLUES IN THE CARNAGE.
WHEN IT KEEPS HAPPENING,
THAT TUNNEL STARTS TO GET A REPUTATION.
IT'S KNOWN AS THE TUNNEL OF DEATH.
Narrator: MOSCOW, RUSSIA.
THE LEFORTOVO TUNNEL.
SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS KEEP A WATCHFUL EYE
ON ONE OF THE CITY'S MAJOR ARTERIES.
4,000 VEHICLES PASS
THROUGH HERE EVERY HOUR.
WITHOUT WARNING, THE CAMERAS
WITNESS THE UNEXPLAINED.
YOU KEEP SEEING CARS DRIVE IN AND THEN
SWERVE ALL OVER THE PLACE, HIT THE WALLS,
HIT OTHER CARS. MORE CARS PILE IN.
THE IDEA THAT CARS SUDDENLY
LOSE CONTROL OVER AND OVER...
IT REALLY IS QUITE SCARY.
IT'S ALMOST LIKE THERE'S
SOME UNSEEN HIDDEN FORCE
THAT'S MAKING THESE CRASHES HAPPEN.
♪♪
Narrator: THESE UNEXPLAINED
CRASHES ARE NOT ISOLATED INCIDENTS.
[ CRASHING, TIRES SQUEALING ]
WEIRDLY, IN JUST 6 YEARS, CAMERAS CAPTURE
OVER 1,000 PILE-UPS HERE.
[ CRASHING ]
PYOTR SHKUMATOV IS AN EXPERT
ON MOSCOW'S TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS.
WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS TUNNEL?
[ CRASHING ]
♪♪
Narrator: SOME LOCALS TELL
EXPERTS THE MAYHEM IN THE TUNNEL
MAY BE A RESULT OF SUPERNATURAL FORCES.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENS
WHEN KIND OF A LOT OF PEOPLE
START CRASHING IN THE SAME SPOT
IS THAT YOU MIGHT THINK
THAT THAT PLACE IS CURSED.
♪♪
Narrator: LEGEND HAS IT, THE
GHOSTS OF TUNNEL WORKERS
LURK IN THE SHADOWS.
TORTURED SOULS WHO TAKE THEIR
REVENGE ON UNSUSPECTING DRIVERS.
♪♪
ANALYSIS OF THE LEFORTOVO
TUNNEL ROUTE REVEALS
THAT IT RUNS BY A HISTORIC CEMETERY.
FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS,
RUSSIANS BURIED FOREIGNERS IN THESE GRAVES.
UNHAPPY VISITORS WHO NEVER MADE IT HOME.
IT'S TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
FOR SOME MOSCOW DRIVERS.
BUT SCIENTISTS LOOK FOR ANOTHER
EXPLANATION FOR THE CARNAGE.
THEY ANALYZE RUSSIAN ROAD-ACCIDENT DATA
AND DISCOVER A SHOCKING STATISTIC.
OVER 30,000 PEOPLE DIE ON
RUSSIAN ROADS EVERY YEAR.
THAT'S THE SAME AS THE U.S.,
BUT RUSSIA HAS HALF THE POPULATION.
WE'VE ALL SEEN THE
RUSSIAN-DRIVER DASH-CAM VIDEOS.
TO SAY THAT RUSSIAN
DRIVERS ARE SOMEHOW CRAZIER
THAN OTHER DRIVERS...
I MEAN, I'M NOT TOTALLY CONVINCED.
I THINK WE JUST SEE IT MORE
'CAUSE EVERYONE HAS A DASH CAM,
WHICH IS NOT THE CASE
IN MOST OTHER COUNTRIES.
Narrator: BUT FRAME-BY-FRAME
ANALYSIS OF THE SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE
REVEALS MANY OF THE TUNNEL
CRASHES COME OUT OF THE BLUE.
THESE CARS ARE DRIVING
NORMALLY, IN A STRAIGHT LINE,
AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN
THEY SWERVE AND CRASH.
WHICH ISN'T REALLY CONSISTENT
WITH RECKLESS DRIVING.
Wolshon: CLEARLY, WHEN YOU SEE
A CONSISTENT PATTERN LIKE THIS,
THAT WOULD SUGGEST MAYBE
THERE'S MORE THAT'S GOING ON
THAN JUST DRIVER ERROR.
Narrator: TRANSPORT ENGINEER BRIAN WOLSHON
STUDIES THE SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE.
HE EXAMINES THE OVERHEAD LIGHTING.
THE IDEA WITH TUNNEL LIGHTING IS
TO NOT HAVE ANY ABRUPT CHANGES
IN THE DRIVING ENVIRONMENT.
Narrator: WOLSHON WONDERS IF THE LIGHTS
AT THE TUNNEL ENTRANCE ARE TO BLAME.
Wolshon: ONE OF THE
QUESTIONS WE COULD ASK IS,
WERE SOME OF THESE DRIVERS NOT ABLE
TO ACTUALLY SEE
THE VEHICLES IN FRONT OF THEM?
THEY COULD BE COMING FROM
DAYLIGHT ENTERING THE TUNNEL
THAT APPEARS TO BE WELL-LIT,
BUT THEIR EYES HAVEN'T ADJUSTED YET,
SO IT'S ACTUALLY TOO DARK.
Narrator: REPORTS SHOW THAT THE
RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES HAVE EXAMINED
IF THE TUNNEL LIGHTING IS TOO DIM.
ENGINEER VALERIY MERKIN,
A CONSULTANT ON THE TUNNEL PROJECT,
CONFIRMS THIS.
BUT GOVERNMENT REPORTS
CONFIRM THAT TUNNEL ENGINEERS
HAVE MADE THE LIGHTING BRIGHTER.
EXPERTS CONSIDER THE HYPNOTIC
EFFECTS OF TUNNEL DRIVING.
THEY WONDER IF DRIVERS ZONE OUT
TRAVELING THROUGH
PREDICTABLE REPETITIVE SCENERY.
Wolshon: ONE OF THE CONCERNS
FOR DRIVING THROUGH TUNNELS
IS A SENSE OF MONOTONY WHERE
DRIVERS WILL LOSE THEIR FOCUS
OR LOSE THEIR CONCENTRATION,
BECAUSE THERE'S NOT AS MANY VISUAL CLUES
AS YOU WOULD HAVE IN A
REGULAR OPEN-ROAD SETTING.
Narrator: 1,500 MILES AWAY IN NORWAY,
THE DESIGNERS OF THE WORLD'S
LONGEST ROAD TUNNEL IN LAERDAL
BRING IN PSYCHOLOGIST GUNNAR JENSSEN
TO COUNTER THIS DEADLY HYPNOSIS.
A MODERN TUNNEL IS VERY BORING.
IT'S MONOTONY.
YOU COULD FALL ASLEEP.
Narrator: FLICKERING LIGHTS
REFLECTING OFF THE CAR HOOD
ARE LIKELY TO MATCH THE HYPNOTIC RHYTHM
THAT'S BIOLOGICALLY
PROGRAMMED TO SEND US TO SLEEP.
SOME PSYCHOLOGISTS SUGGEST
THE KEY TO PREVENTING ACCIDENTS
IS NOT TO MAKE LIGHTS BRIGHTER
AFTER ALL BUT TO DIM THEM.
♪♪
TOO DIM OR TOO BRIGHT,
LIGHTING DOES NOT SEEM TO EXPLAIN
WHAT'S GOING ON IN
RUSSIA'S TUNNEL OF DEATH.
♪♪
COMING UP...
GENETIC MUTATION AND FEARS
OF A REAL-LIFE NUCLEAR MONSTER.
THIS FOOTAGE IS FROM ONE
OF THE MOST DANGEROUS
TOXIC PLACES IN THE WORLD.
Narrator: A KILLER BEAST
BACK FROM THE DEAD.
IF THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE ARE CLAIMING IT IS,
IT WOULD REWRITE BIOLOGY
BOOKS AND HISTORY BOOKS
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
Narrator: AND THE MYSTERY
FORCE MAKING MAYHEM IN MOSCOW.
ONCE WE ARE AWARE THAT THIS TUNNEL
IS ACTUALLY UNDER A RIVER,
THAT COULD PROVIDE AN EXPLANATION.
[ CRASHING ]
Narrator: ANALYSTS INVESTIGATE MULTIPLE
CRASHES IN A MOSCOW ROAD TUNNEL.
THEY LOOK AT THE POSSIBILITY
OF ICE IN THE TUNNEL.
IF YOU LOOK AT WHEN A LOT
OF THESE CRASHES HAPPEN,
IT'S DURING THE WINTERTIME,
WHERE IT GETS VERY COLD IN RUSSIA.
Narrator: MOSCOW IS ONE OF THE
COLDEST CAPITAL CITIES IN THE WORLD.
WINTER TEMPERATURES
REGULARLY DROP TO 14 DEGREES.
ABOUT 5 FEET OF SNOW
COVERS THE CITY ANNUALLY.
Foster: THAT LEADS TO POOR ROAD CONDITIONS.
THERE COULD BE ICE ON THE ROAD, OR SNOW.
AND OBVIOUSLY THAT COULD INCREASE
YOUR FREQUENCY OF ACCIDENTS.
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS
CONSIDER HOW THE WEATHER
MIGHT CAUSE MAYHEM IN A TUNNEL.
BUT YOU'D THINK THAT
KIND OF A TUNNEL'S INSIDE,
SO SURELY OUTDOOR CONDITIONS
DON'T REALLY HAVE MUCH TO DO WITH IT.
Narrator: A CHECK OF THE
ENGINEERING DRAWINGS REVEALS
THAT THE TUNNEL RUNS
BENEATH MOSCOW'S YAUZA RIVER.
♪♪
ONCE WE ARE AWARE THAT
THIS TUNNEL IS ACTUALLY
UNDER A RIVER,
THAT COULD PROVIDE AN EXPLANATION.
IN THE TUNNEL, OBVIOUSLY
YOU'RE UNDERGROUND.
THE PEOPLE PROBABLY THINK THAT
THE ROAD CONDITIONS WILL BE NICE
AND DRY AND PERFECT FOR DRIVING ALONG.
BUT THAT MAY NOT ALWAYS BE THE CASE.
DESPITE THE BEST EFFORTS OF
ENGINEERS AND CONTRACTORS
WHO BUILD TUNNELS,
TUNNEL SEGMENTS DON'T
ALWAYS HAVE A WATER-TIGHT SEAL.
AND LEAKS CAN HAPPEN.
Narrator: SCIENTISTS
BELIEVE THIS WATER FORMS
A SUPER-THIN LAYER OF TRANSPARENT ICE
THAT SITS ON TOP OF THE DARK ASPHALT.
IT DOESN'T TAKE A LOT OF WATER
TO GENERATE A VERY,
VERY THIN COATING OF ICE.
Narrator: IT'S KNOWN AS BLACK ICE,
AND MAKES THE ROAD SURFACE FRICTIONLESS.
♪♪
YOUR BRAIN CAN'T IDENTIFY IT.
IT CAN'T SCAN THE SEE IT.
SO YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY
THINK THAT THIS ROAD SURFACE
IS PERFECT, YOU CAN DRIVE ACROSS IT.
IT'S NOT GONNA BEHAVE
THE WAY YOU EXPECT IT TO.
IT'S COMPLETELY INVISIBLE.
AND THE MOMENT THE GRIP OF
YOUR TIRE MEETS THAT STUFF,
YOU'RE LOST.
Narrator: BUT FOR SOME LOCALS,
THE ICE EXPLANATION DOESN'T ADD UP.
[ CRASHING ]
WHILE THE INVISIBLE FORCE
BEHIND THE TRAFFIC MAYHEM
IS UNCONFIRMED, MOSCOW'S TUNNEL OF DEATH
CONTINUES TO TERRORIZE
UNSUSPECTING DRIVERS.
[ CRASHING ]
♪♪
AND NOW... NUCLEAR MELTDOWN.
THIS FOOTAGE IS FROM ONE OF
THE MOST DANGEROUS TOXIC PLACES
IN THE WORLD.
Narrator: THE FALLOUT EXCLUSION
ZONE SHOULD BE EMPTY,
BUT THERE'S SOMETHING THERE.
YOU SUDDENLY START TO GET THIS MOVEMENT.
THIS FORMLESS THING.
Price: IS IT ALIVE? IT'S MOVING.
NOT LIKE ANYTHING WE'VE SEEN BEFORE.
♪♪
Narrator: JAPAN. MARCH 11, 2011.
2:46 PM.
A MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE
MEASURING 9 ON THE RICHTER SCALE
ROCKS THE COUNTRY.
[ WOMAN SPEAKING JAPANESE ]
IT MOVES JAPAN'S MAIN
ISLAND MORE THAN 8 FEET EAST
AND SENDS A GIANT TSUNAMI
HURTLING TOWARDS THE COAST
AT 500 MILES AN HOUR.
[ SIREN WAILS ]
DIRECTLY IN THE PATH
OF THE 30-FOOT-HIGH WAVE
IS THE FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT.
♪♪
IT FLOODED THE REACTORS
AND BASICALLY SHUT DOWN
THE COOLING PROCESSES.
THE RESULT WAS A CORE MELTDOWN
FOLLOWED BY A HYDROGEN EXPLOSION
THAT BLEW THE BUILDING OPEN.
♪♪
WITHIN A MATTER OF
MINUTES, FUKUSHIMA BECOMES
ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS
PLACES ON THE PLANET.
Narrator: IT'S A NIGHTMARE SCENARIO.
300 MILLION CUBIC FEET OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE
IS SCATTERED ACROSS
AN AREA THE SIZE OF OHIO.
IT IS THE WORST NUCLEAR
DISASTER SINCE CHERNOBYL IN 1986.
THERE'S A PANIC BECAUSE NO ONE KNOWS
HOW FAR THIS RADIATION IS GOING TO SPREAD.
TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE.
YOU HAVE TO FLEE IMMEDIATELY
OR YOU'RE GONNA GET SICK.
[ POLICE RADIO CHATTER ]
Narrator: FUKUSHIMA SCIENTISTS
PLACE THE NUCLEAR POWER STATION
IN IMMEDIATE LOCK DOWN.
CCTV CAMERAS MONITOR THE
RADIATION EXCLUSION ZONE.
THESE CAMERAS ARE RUNNING 24/7,
AND PEOPLE CAN TUNE IN AT
ANY POINT AND WATCH THEM LIVE.
Narrator: FOR 3 YEARS, THE CAMERAS
KEEP WATCH ON THE ABANDONED PLANT.
THEN IN JULY 2014,
A CAMERA SCANNING
REACTOR 4 PICKS UP MOVEMENT.
A GLOWING ENTITY IN THE
HEART OF THE NO-GO ZONE.
Price: IS IT ALIVE? WE DON'T KNOW.
BUT IT'S MOVING.
AND IT'S MOVING IN WAYS THAT ARE UNEXPECTED
AND NOT LIKE ANYTHING WE'VE SEEN BEFORE.
THIS IS IN A RADIOACTIVE ZONE
WHERE NOTHING SHOULD BE WHATSOEVER.
CERTAINLY NOTHING LIVING.
Fisher: THIS IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S
FEW NUCLEAR-REACTOR DISASTERS,
SO WHAT WOULD WE
EXPECT TO SEE IN THIS VIDEO
THAT WE MIGHT NOT HAVE
SEEN ANYWHERE ELSE BEFORE?
♪♪
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS CONSIDER
IF THE PLANT'S LEAKING RADIATION
HAS CREATED A MUTANT ATOMIC MONSTER.
Sella: ONE OF THE THINGS
THE RADIATION WILL DO
IS THEY WILL DAMAGE DNA
THAT WILL CAUSE MUTATIONS.
AND THAT WILL CAUSE SMALL
CHANGES IN AN ORGANISM.
IS IT CAUSING SOME KIND OF MUTATION?
IS IT CREATING SOME KIND OF MONSTER?
RADIATION IS AN EXTREMELY POWERFUL BEAST,
AND WHEN IT'S ON YOUR SIDE
IT CAN DO AMAZING THINGS.
BUT IF IT TURNS ON YOU,
YEAH YOU'D BETTER WATCH OUT.
Narrator: TWO ATOM BOMBS HAVE
SHOWN THE JAPANESE THE BIZARRE
AND HORRIFIC EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR RADIATION.
THEIR FEARS ARE REFLECTED IN THEIR MOVIES.
GODZILLA WAS BORN OUT OF RADIOACTIVE FIRE
AND COMES ONTO LAND TO RAVAGE TOKYO.
THE IDEA THAT THERE'S A RADIATION MONSTER
THAT COMES FROM SOME
SORT OF RADIOLOGICAL EVENT
IS INGRAINED IN JAPANESE CULTURE.
WE'VE HAD SO MANY FILMS
WHERE THERE'S SOME TERRIBLE RADIATION EVENT
AND THAT CREATES A
NEW LIFE FORM, A MONSTER.
AND, OH, MY GOD, HERE
IS OUR WORST NIGHTMARE
ACTUALLY COMING TRUE BEFORE OUR EYES.
Narrator: COMING UP...
A CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH A
BEAST FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE.
I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING
ELSE MOVE LIKE THIS.
Narrator: AND MUTANT
MONSTERS VERSUS THE ROBOTS.
Sella: THEY'RE ROBOTS
THAT ARE ACTUALLY SENT
INTO THE REACTOR CHAMBER.
THEY ACTUALLY HAVE QUITE LIMITED LIFETIMES
BECAUSE OF THE INTENSITY OF THE RADIATION.
Narrator: EXPERTS INVESTIGATE IF A
CAMERA HAS CAPTURED A MUTANT ENTITY
IN THE FALLOUT ZONE OF A NUCLEAR DISASTER.
♪♪
THEY EXAMINE LEVELS OF
RADIATION LEAKING FROM REACTOR 4.
THERE ARE TOXICALLY HIGH
LEVELS OF RADIATION THERE.
THAT RESULTS IN RADIATION
POISONING AND DEATH.
THAT DOES NOT RESULT IN HORRIFIC MUTATIONS.
♪♪
Narrator: RADIATION LEVELS
INSIDE THE FUKUSHIMA REACTORS
ARE HIGH ENOUGH TO
KILL A HUMAN IN 3 MINUTES.
ALL EXPLORATIONS OF THE CORE
ARE UNDERTAKEN BY ROBOTS.
BUT EVEN THE ROBOTS STRUGGLE.
THEY'RE ROBOTS
THAT ARE ACTUALLY SENT
INTO THE REACTOR CHAMBER.
THEY ACTUALLY HAVE QUITE LIMITED LIFETIMES
BECAUSE OF THE INTENSITY OF THE RADIATION.
Narrator: IN PARTS OF THE
REACTOR, THE RADIATION IS SO HIGH
THE ROBOTS SURVIVE ONLY A FEW HOURS.
RADIATION WILL COMPLETELY FRY ELECTRONICS.
BUT THEY'LL GO IN, THEY'LL
BE ABLE TO DO ENOUGH THINGS
THAT MAKES IT WORTHWHILE,
THEN THEY DIE IN PLACE.
Narrator: IT LEADS SOME TO
SUGGEST THE STRANGE APPARITION
ON THE SURVEILLANCE TAPE
COULD BE THE RESULT OF RADIATION DAMAGE
TO THE CCTV CAMERA'S ELECTRONICS.
WHAT ARE THE CHANCES THAT THIS CAMERA,
WHICH IS OPERATING DAY AND
NIGHT IN THIS KIND OF ENVIRONMENT,
MAYBE IT'S SUFFERING FROM SOME DEGRADATION.
Narrator: ANALYSIS OF FOOTAGE
FROM THE FUKUSHIMA ROBOTS
REVEALS WHAT RADIATION
DOES TO A RECORDED IMAGE.
THE RADIATION PARTICLES GO THROUGH THE LENS
AND THEY HIT THE PHOTOSENSITIVE
LAYERS OF THE CAMERA.
AND TYPICALLY WHAT THIS
CAUSES IS A LITTLE SPARK.
THERE'S A RELEASE OF ENERGY,
AND SO WHAT YOU SEE IN THE IMAGE
IS YOU SEE A LITTLE FLASH.
BUT CERTAINLY NOT THESE
KINDS OF WAVY PATTERNS
OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
♪♪
Narrator: OPTIC SPECIALIST
ROBERT FISHER BELIEVES
THAT THE POSITION OF THE
REACTOR 4 CAMERA MAY OFFER A CLUE.
THE CCTV CAMERA OBSERVING
THE SCENE IS OUTDOORS
AND IT'S SUBJECT TO ALL
THE NORMAL OUTDOOR STUFF,
RAIN AND MIST,
SO THE WATER CAN BUILD
UP IN FRONT OF THE LENS.
Narrator: FISHER PROPOSES THE
STRANGE ENTITY COULD BE CAUSED
BY A RARE COMBINATION
OF WIND, LIGHT, AND WATER.
HE TESTS HIS THEORY IN THE LAB.
OKAY, SO, WE'VE GOT A LITTLE
BIT OF WATER ON THE SCREEN.
YOU CAN SEE THE STRANGE
LITTLE SPARKLE PATTERNS.
Narrator: FISHER USES A DESK FAN
TO SIMULATE THE WIND AND A TORCH
TO REPRESENT FUKUSHIMA'S
SECURITY FLOOD LIGHTS.
YOU CAN SEE THE LITTLE SPARKLY EFFECTS.
IF THE LIGHT WERE ON A POLE,
MOVING AROUND A LITTLE BIT IN THE BREEZE,
YOU CAN SEE THAT THE LIGHTING
PATTERNS ARE CHANGING.
♪♪
I THINK THERE'S A PRETTY GOOD CHANCE
THAT WHAT'S CAUSING THE
THINGS THAT WE SEE IN THE VIDEO
ARE JUST A LITTLE BIT OF
WATER, A LITTLE BIT OF WIND,
A LITTLE BIT OF CHANGING LIGHTING MAYBE.
♪♪
Narrator: BUT ANALYSTS
WONDER IF THIS IS MERELY
AN EFFECT OF WIND AND RAIN,
WHY HAS SUCH AN IMAGE
NEVER BEEN CAPTURED BEFORE?
THE CAMERA HAS BEEN OPERATING FOR 3 YEARS
AND IT HAS RAINED MANY TIMES AT THE SITE.
♪♪
AT THE END, YOU END UP AT WHAT
YOU THINK IS YOUR BEST GUESS
AS TO WHAT THE OBSERVATION REALLY IS.
Narrator: IT COULD TAKE 30
YEARS BEFORE REACTOR 4 IS SAFE
FOR HUMANS TO ENTER.
UNTIL THEN, SCIENTISTS
ARE UNABLE TO ESTABLISH
WHAT'S HAPPENED AS THE
RESULT OF THE NUCLEAR FALLOUT.
ALL THEY CAN DO IS SEND IN MORE ROBOTS
AND MONITOR THE SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS.
♪♪
NOW...
A BUSH CAM CAPTURES A FOREST PREDATOR
THAT DEFIES EXPLANATION.
IT'S JUST UNBELIEVABLE.
THIS THING'S JUST WEIRD.
SOME BELIEVE IT'S A BEAST
RISEN FROM THE DEAD.
Mooney: THEY WERE PURSUIT CARNIVORES,
AND THE MYTHOLOGY IS
THAT THEY ONLY DRANK BLOOD.
♪♪
Narrator: THE ISLAND OF TASMANIA.
A SECLUDED RUGGED WILDERNESS
150 MILES OFF THE COAST OF AUSTRALIA.
LIVING IN ITS REMOTE FOREST
ARE SPECIES NOT FOUND
ANYWHERE ELSE ON EARTH.
NOVEMBER 2016.
LOCAL TRACKERS VENTURE DEEP INTO
THE FORESTS OF CENTRAL TASMANIA.
THE AREA IS UNFORGIVING.
SHE'S WILD COUNTRY OUT HERE.
YEAH.
THE TASMANIAN BUSHLAND? IT IS THICK.
THERE'S A LOT OF TREACHERY.
AND VISIBILITY IS LESS THAN
2 METERS FROM THE TRACK.
THEIR MISSION?
TO SET CAMERA TRAPS TO CAPTURE IMAGES
OF THE CREATURES LIVING HERE.
WE PLACE THE CAMERAS OUT,
ENSURE THAT IT'S
POSITIONED ON A GAME TRAIL.
♪♪
2 WEEKS LATER, THE TEAM
REVIEW THEIR FOOTAGE
AND THAT IS WHEN THEY SEE IT.
IT'S THE MOST AMAZING THING THAT I'VE SEEN.
IT WAS EXCITING TO SEE THIS VIDEO.
WE WERE SHOCKED.
IN THE HALF LIGHT, A STRANGE CREATURE MOVES
STEALTHILY THROUGH THE BUSH.
IT'S JUST UNBELIEVABLE.
THIS THING'S JUST WEIRD.
WEIRD.
THE HEAD IS REALLY BIG.
IT'S GOT A REALLY BIG JAWLINE.
THE NOSE OF THE ANIMAL, OR
THE MUZZLE, IS REALLY LONG.
IT'S A STRANGE ANIMAL.
IT'S HARD TO MAKE OUT.
IT HAS A PRETTY STRAIGHT TAIL,
FEATURES I FIND REALLY INTRIGUING.
I WISH IT WAS HIGHER RESOLUTION.
Narrator: AND THEN AS SWIFTLY
AS THE ANIMAL APPEARS, IT'S GONE.
THE PEOPLE WHO TOOK THIS VIDEO?
THEY'VE BEEN OUT IN THE BUSH
FOR YEARS WATCHING ANIMALS.
WATCHING THEM MOVE.
WATCHING THEIR BEHAVIORS.
SO IF THEY'RE SEEING SOMETHING
THAT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE ANYTHING
THEY'VE EVER SEEN BEFORE?
THAT REALLY MAKES ME WANT TO TRUST THEM.
Narrator: THE TASMANIAN TRACKERS
BELIEVE THE CREATURE CAUGHT
BY THEIR CAMERA TRAP
MATCHES THE DESCRIPTION OF
AN ELUSIVE LEGENDARY BEAST.
I WAS ABSOLUTELY GOBSMACKED.
I KNEW STRAIGHT AWAY WHAT I SAW.
IT'S A TASMANIAN TIGER.
ONE OF THE GREAT EXTINCTION MYSTERIES
OF THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS HAS BEEN
WHETHER THE TASMANIAN
TIGER IS ACTUALLY EXTINCT.
♪♪
Narrator: COMING UP...
SPOOKY SIGHTINGS OF SPONTANEOUS SNOWBALLS.
IT LOOKS LIKE SOME KIND
OF SYNCHRONIZED MOVEMENT.
I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT.
Narrator: AND ANALYSTS TRY
TO DECODE WHAT KIND OF BEAST
IS ROAMING THE TASMANIAN FORESTS.
I WATCHED THE FOOTAGE OVER AND OVER AGAIN
AND WAS KIND OF ENTRANCED
BY HOW STRANGELY IT MOVED.
Narrator: A TRAIL CAM
CAPTURES AN UNEXPLAINED
SHADOWY CREATURE PROWLING THE OUTBACK.
LOCAL TRACKERS BELIEVE THEY'VE
CAPTURED AN EXTINCT BEAST
COME BACK FROM THE GRAVE.
♪♪
THE TASMANIAN TIGER WAS
HUNTED TO EXTINCTION IN THE 1930s.
THIS FOOTAGE REVEALS THE
LAST REMAINING SPECIMEN
WHICH DIED IN HOBART
ZOO ON SEPTEMBER 7, 1936.
IT IS UNLIKE ANY CREATURE ALIVE TODAY.
TASMANIAN TIGERS ARE REALLY UNIQUE.
THEY ARE NOT TIGERS AT ALL.
THEY LOOK A LOT LIKE A WOLF.
BUT THEY'RE NOT WOLVES, THEY'RE NOT DOGS.
THEY'RE ACTUALLY MARSUPIALS
LIKE THE AUSTRALIAN KANGAROO.
THE TASMANIAN TIGER ROAMED
AROUND THE GRASSLANDS
AND FORESTS OF TASMANIA.
IT HUNTED KANGAROOS AND POSSUMS
AND OTHER LARGE-BODIED PREY,
SO IT WAS, FOR A LONG WHILE,
THE TOP PREDATOR IN TASMANIA.
♪♪
Narrator: IF THE TASMANIAN
TRACKERS' THEORY IS RIGHT,
THEIR CAMERA TRAP HAS CAPTURED
A FOREST PREDATOR RESURRECTION.
♪♪
IT WOULDN'T BE THE FIRST TIME
AN EXTINCT SPECIES CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD.
THERE'S BEEN A NUMBER OF CASES OF ANIMALS
THOUGHT EXTINCT FOR DECADES,
EVEN MORE THAN A CENTURY,
THAT HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED.
Narrator: THERE ARE A NUMBER OF
THESE SO-CALLED LAZARUS SPECIES.
OMURA'S WHALE WAS
DECLARED EXTINCT FOR A DECADE,
UNTIL A POD WAS PHOTOGRAPHED
OFF THE COAST OF MADAGASCAR.
THE OKAPI, FEARED LOST IN 1959,
WAS REDISCOVERED IN THE
FORESTS OF CONGO IN 2005.
AND ON MAINLAND AUSTRALIA,
THE NIGHT PARROT WAS REDISCOVERED IN 2013.
WE HAD A LOT OF SUSPICION
THAT THIS DESERT-DWELLING BIRD
HAD GONE EXTINCT IN THE 1930s.
NO ONE HAD SEEN IT FOR OVER
70 YEARS, AND THEN IT WAS FOUND.
♪♪
Narrator: NICK MOONEY IS A FORMER
HEAD OF PARKS AND WILDLIFE,
AN EXPERT IN IDENTIFYING ANIMALS
CAUGHT ON LOW-RESOLUTION SURVEILLANCE CAMS.
THE TASMANIAN TRACKER TEAM
GIVE HIM THEIR FOOTAGE TO ANALYZE.
Mooney: IT'S NOT VERY CLEAR FOOTAGE.
AS I LOOKED AT IT MORE AND MORE
AND THEN WAS ABLE TO MAKE
SOME MEASUREMENTS OF THE ANIMAL,
FREEZE THE FOOTAGE, AND
COMPARE IT WITH THIS OR THAT...
Narrator: MOONEY EXAMINES THE
TAPE FOR THE TELLTALE SIGNS
OF A TASMANIAN TIGER.
THE EASIEST WAY TO
DESCRIBE A TASMANIAN TIGER IS,
THINK OF A WOLF AND THEN
ADD STRIPES TO ITS BACK.
Narrator: MOONEY'S FRAME-BY-FRAME ANALYSIS
FAILS TO IDENTIFY A CLEAR SET OF STRIPES,
BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THEY'RE NOT THERE.
THE FACT THAT YOU CAN'T
SEE STRIPES IS NO SURPRISE.
THAT TYPE OF DIGITAL LENS WILL NOT GIVE YOU
GREAT DETAIL IN POOR LIGHT.
THE STRIPES ON AN ANIMAL LIKE A TAZZY TIGER
ARE MEANT TO CAMOUFLAGE.
YOU'RE NOT MEANT TO
HAVE OUTSTANDING STRIPES.
SO AT A CERTAIN DISTANCE, YOU
WON'T SEE THEM CLEARLY ANYWAY.
♪♪
Narrator: MOONEY EXAMINES THE
FOOTAGE FOR OTHER CHARACTERISTICS
OF A TASMANIAN TIGER.
IT HAD A VERY LONG,
REASONABLY INFLEXIBLE TAIL.
THE VERTEBRAE OF THE TAIL ARE VERY LONG.
MEANS THE TAIL IS... IT
CAN'T WAG, IT CAN'T CURL,
AND DO THOSE SORTS OF THINGS,
SOMEWHAT LIKE A KANGAROO TAIL.
♪♪
THERE'S NO WAY IT WAS A POSSUM OR A CAT.
I'VE NEVER SEEN A DOG
WITH THAT SORT OF TAIL
AND THAT SORT OF PROPORTION
TO THE BODY, THE TAIL.
YOU VERY QUICKLY RUN OUT OF OPTIONS.
Narrator: BARRY BROOK
HAS INVESTIGATED REPORTS
OF TASMANIAN TIGERS FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS.
HE ANALYZES THE MYSTERY CREATURE'S MOVEMENT
AND CONFIRMS ITS GATE IS
THAT OF A PREDATORY MARSUPIAL,
BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN
IT'S A TASMANIAN TIGER.
WHAT WE SEE IS ESSENTIALLY
THE BACK OF A SLINKING ANIMAL
THAT WAS LIKELY TO BE A PREDATOR,
BUT THE FORM OF MOVEMENT STRONGLY SUGGESTS
TO ME IT LOOKS MORE LIKE A QUOLL.
Narrator: QUOLLS ARE SPOTTED
MARSUPIAL PREDATORS
ONLY FOUND IN THE FORESTS
OF MAINLAND AUSTRALIA AND TASMANIA.
THE HEAD OF A LARGE SPOTTED-TAIL
QUOLL IS VERY SIMILAR IN SHAPE
AND FORM TO THAT OF A TAZZY TIGER.
SO EVEN HEAD-ON, MISTAKING A LARGE QUOLL
FOR A SMALL TAZZY TIGER
IS NOT A RIDICULOUS SCENARIO AT ALL.
♪♪
Narrator: COMING UP...
A RURAL STORE IS THE SITE
OF A SPOOKY VISITATION.
THERE'S NO TRACKS OR ANYTHING.
WHAT'S AMAZING TO ME IS THAT
HOW COULD ALL THEM SNOWBALLS
BE THERE WITHOUT TRACKS?
Narrator: AND ANALYSIS OF THE
MYSTERIOUS TASMANIAN BEAST'S SIZE
RAISES A TANTALIZING POSSIBILITY.
THIS VIDEO COULD PROVE THAT
AN ANIMAL THAT ONCE WAS THOUGHT
TO BE EXTINCT HAS COME BACK FROM THE DEAD.
♪♪
Narrator: EXPERTS ANALYZE
FOOTAGE OF A STRANGE PREDATOR
ON THE ISLAND OF TASMANIA.
IS IT A CREATURE CALLED A QUOLL
OR A LEGENDARY TASMANIAN
TIGER BACK FROM THE DEAD?
♪♪
TIGER QUOLLS HAVE A VERY SIMILAR SHAPE
TO THE TASMANIAN TIGER,
BUT THEY'RE MUCH SMALLER.
Narrator: NICK MOONEY
RETURNS TO THE FOOTAGE
FOR A WAY OF ESTIMATING
THE ANIMAL'S TRUE SIZE.
HE COMPARES IT TO OTHER WILDLIFE
FILMED AT THE SAME LOCATION.
Mooney: SO, WE SEARCHED THE
FOOTAGE AND FOUND LYREBIRD
IN THE SAME PLACE TAKEN BY THE SAME CAMERA.
Narrator: AN ADULT LYREBIRD
CAN REACH THREE FEET IN LENGTH.
MOONEY'S SCALE ANALYSIS
CONFIRMS THE MYSTERY CREATURE
IS NEARER TO THE SIZE OF A QUOLL.
IT SHOULD BE AT LEAST TWICE AS HIGH AS THAT
TO BE A WILD FREE-RANGING TASMANIAN TIGER.
♪♪
Narrator: YET SOME ZOOLOGISTS
BELIEVE THERE'S ANOTHER
TANTALIZING POSSIBILITY.
IT COULD POTENTIALLY BE
JUST A VERY SMALL INDIVIDUAL
OR A VERY YOUNG ONE.
IF THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE ARE CLAIMING IT IS,
IT WOULD REWRITE BIOLOGY BOOKS
AND HISTORY BOOKS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
Narrator: EXPERTS REVIEWING
THE SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE
REMAIN DIVIDED.
THE TASMANIAN TIGER LOVER IN ME SAYS
I WOULD LOVE IT TO BE OUT THERE,
BUT WE NEED MORE HARD EVIDENCE
IN THIS FOR ME TO BE CONVINCED.
Narrator: NEW EVIDENCE EMERGES
WHEN THE TASMANIAN TRACKERS
REWIND THEIR RECORDING.
JUST MINUTES BEFORE THE
MYSTERIOUS BEAST APPEARS,
THE CAMERA CAPTURES ANOTHER VISITATION.
THE FOOTAGE IS INTERESTING,
THERE'S NO DOUBT.
IT'S A NOSE WHICH POPS UP
IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA LENS
FOR A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.
THE NOSE ITSELF LOOKS A LOT
LIKE A TIGER QUOLL'S NOSE...
LARGE, PINK, AND WET,
JUST LIKE THAT NOSE LOOKED.
AND THE TASMANIAN TIGER'S NOSE WASN'T PINK.
IT WAS MORE OF A BROWNISH-BLACK COLOR.
THAT STRONGLY SUGGESTS TO ME
IT WASN'T A TASMANIAN TIGER NOSE.
THE CAMERA WAS AT 1.3 METERS HIGH.
THAT'S TOO HIGH FOR A TASMANIAN TIGER.
SO THE ANIMAL THAT SNIFFED THE
CAMERA WAS HANGING ONTO THE TREE
AND CLIMBED UP IT, SUCH AS
A SPOTTED-TAIL QUOLL MIGHT.
THEY'RE VERY GOOD CLIMBERS.
Narrator: WITHOUT THE CONCLUSIVE PROOF,
THE BEAST CAUGHT ON
CAMERA REMAINS UNIDENTIFIED.
I THINK THE BEST CHANCE OF US OBSERVING
A TASMANIAN TIGER IN THE WILD,
IF IT'S STILL OUT THERE,
IS SETTING UP REMOTE CAMERAS
IN LOCATIONS WHERE
THEY'RE LIKELY TO BE FOUND
AND LEAVING THEM OUT THERE FOR LONG ENOUGH
TO TRY AND SERENDIPITOUSLY CATCH SOMETHING.
WE WILL SEE ANOTHER TIGER,
WE WILL GET HIM ON FILM,
AND WE'LL PROVE TO THE
WORLD THE TIGER IS THERE.
[ GROWLS ]
♪♪
Narrator: NOW, SECURITY CAMERAS
CAPTURE STRANGE THINGS HAPPENING.
SNOWBALLS CREATED OUT OF THE GROUND.
IT'S SCARY.
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS ARE BAFFLED
BY THE SELF-ROLLING SNOWBALLS.
LITTLE SNOWBALLS MAKE THEMSELVES
BY ROLLING ACROSS THE LAWN.
WHAT'S GOING ON?
♪♪
Narrator: ORRVILLE, A
SMALL CITY IN RURAL OHIO.
KEN STOLLER RUNS THE
LOCAL GARDEN SUPPLY STORE.
A BATTERY OF SECURITY
CAMERAS MONITORS HIS STOCK 24/7.
THE WHOLE YARD IS
NORMALLY FULL OF EQUIPMENT,
BUT OVER THE WEEKEND, WE PUT IT AWAY.
Narrator: JANUARY 27, 2014.
♪♪
A COLD FRONT BLOWS IN FROM LAKE ERIE.
AN ICY WINTER STORM BLASTS THE CITY,
COVERING THE SILENT
STREETS IN A BLANKET OF SNOW.
THE NEXT MORNING, KEN
STOLLER HEADS TO WORK EARLY
TO SURVEY THE SCENE.
Stoller: I WAS THE FIRST ONE
INTO WORK THAT MORNING.
IT WAS REALLY COLD. IT
WAS PROBABLY CLOSE TO 0.
Narrator: AS HE APPROACHES THE
STORE, HE IS MET BY AN UNNERVING SIGHT.
Stoller: I SEE THESE SNOWBALLS
IN THE YARD, AND I THOUGHT,
"WELL, WHO'S THROWING
THEM SNOWBALLS IN MY YARD?"
Narrator: THE PHANTOM
SNOWBALLS DEFY BELIEF.
Stoller: IT'S NOT PACKED VERY TIGHT,
BUT IT'S JUST KIND OF ROLLED LIKE A CAKE.
WELL, I JUST THOUGHT, "THAT'S STRANGE."
Narrator: STOLLER BELIEVES HE'S
THE VICTIM OF A HIGH SCHOOL PRANK.
AND THEN I GOT TO THINKING,
"WELL, I PROBABLY HAVE
A VIDEO FROM MY SECURITY CAMERA."
AND I COULD SEE HOW THEY WERE BEING MADE.
Narrator: WHAT STOLLER'S SECURITY
FOOTAGE REVEALS IS NO JOKE...
HUNDREDS OF SNOWBALLS
SPONTANEOUSLY GROWING FROM THE SNOW.
THEY'RE ACTUALLY STARTING FROM NOTHING
AND JUST ALL OF A SUDDEN SNOWBALLS ROLLING.
SOME GOT BIGGER AND SOME
STOPPED AND THEN MAKE IT BIGGER.
THEY ROLL SOME MORE AND
SOME NEW ONES WOULD START.
THE WHOLE THING HAPPENED
IN ABOUT TWO MINUTES,
MAYBE, FROM THE START TO DONE.
Narrator: STOLLER IS MYSTIFIED
BY HIS BACKYARD SURVEILLANCE
AND RELEASES HIS FOOTAGE ONLINE.
INVESTIGATORS ATTEMPT TO
EXPLAIN THE UNSEEN FORCE
CREATING THESE BIZARRE SNOW BOULDERS.
♪♪
Narrator: SCIENTISTS ARE BAFFLED.
IN FRONT OF A GARDEN SUPPLY
STORE, A SNOWY VISITATION.
IT LOOKS LIKE SOME KIND
OF SYNCHRONIZED MOVEMENT.
I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT.
AND TO SEE ALL THESE DIFFERENT
BALLS MOVING TOGETHER,
IT'S REALLY CRAZY.
THEY APPEAR OUT OF NOWHERE.
THEY JUST SEEM TO ROLL AND BUILD UP.
Narrator: LOCALS TURN TO THE
WEATHER FOR AN EXPLANATION.
LOOKING AT IT, THE ONLY
THING I COULD THINK OF
WAS IT HAD TO HAVE
BEEN WIND AND BLOWING IT.
IT SEEMS STRANGE TO ME.
Narrator: THE PROBLEM IS,
THE WIND IS BLOWING SNOW
ACROSS THE ENTIRE CITY,
BUT THE SELF-GENERATING SNOWBALLS
ONLY APPEAR IN KEN STOLLER'S YARD.
IN PLACES LIKE OHIO, THERE'S A LOT OF WIND.
THERE'S ALSO A LOT OF SNOW.
BUT I'VE NEVER SEEN
ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE.
SO YOU HAVE TO ASK
YOURSELF, WHY IS THIS THERE?
Narrator: THE FOOTAGE
COMES TO THE ATTENTION
OF BIOLOGIST ROLAND KAYS.
HE STUDIES THE PATTERN
OF SNOWBALL MOVEMENT.
HE'S REMINDED OF A SIMILAR PHENOMENON
IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM...
THE WORK OF A SPECIES ACTIVE IN WINTER.
THE POSSIBILITY IS THAT
IT'S ACTUALLY SOME ANIMAL
RUNNING UNDERNEATH THE SNOW.
LEMMINGS ARE SMALL, LITTLE,
MICE-LIKE CREATURES THAT BURROW
AROUND UNDERNEATH THE SNOW ALL THE TIME.
AND AS THEY GO, THEY'RE SORT
OF PUSHING UP THIS BALL OF SNOW
IN FRONT OF THEM, KIND OF LIKE A SNOW PLOW.
♪♪
Narrator: LEMMINGS ARE USUALLY SOLITARY,
BUT WHEN POPULATIONS BECOME TOO DENSE,
THEY MIGRATE EN MASSE.
EXPERTS CONSIDER IF THE 100-PLUS SNOWBALLS
COULD BE DRIVEN BY BURROWING CRITTERS.
♪♪
KEN STOLLER CHECKS HIS SURVEILLANCE TAPE
FOR SIGNS OF ANIMAL ACTIVITY.
NO FOOTPRINTS, NO TRACKS, OR ANYTHING.
WHAT WAS AMAZING TO ME
IS THAT HOW COULD ALL THEM
SNOWBALLS BE THERE WITHOUT TRACKS?
I DIDN'T HAVE AN ANSWER FOR IT.
Narrator: CHEMIST ANDREA
SELLA BELIEVES CLUES COULD LIE
IN THE TYPE OF SNOW THAT FELL THAT NIGHT.
Sella: SNOW IS MADE OF FROZEN WATER.
IT'S A LITTLE BIT TOO WARM,
WE KNOW THAT IT'LL MELT
ALMOST IMMEDIATELY.
IF IT'S A LITTLE BIT TOO COLD,
THEN IT'LL BE DRY AND FORM
SOMETHING VERY POWDERY.
BUT SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE,
WHAT YOU'LL GET IS SOMETHING
WHICH STICKS TO ITSELF QUITE WELL.
THOSE ARE THE CONDITIONS THAT YOU WANT,
BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN YOU
CAN SCOOP THE SNOW UP,
DO THIS, AND GET SOMETHING
PROPER AND COMPACT.
Narrator: SELLA NOTICES, ON THE NIGHT
OF KEN STOLLER'S SPOOKY APPARITION,
STICKY SNOW FALLS ON TOP OF A
COMPACTED ICY LAYER IN THE YARD,
AND THE TWO LAYERS DON'T MIX.
SELLA PROPOSES ALL THAT'S NEEDED
TO GENERATE PHANTOM SNOWBALLS
IS A FORCE TO SCOOP UP THE SNOW.
♪♪
CHEMIST SUZE KUNDU FROM
SURREY UNIVERSITY, ENGLAND,
DETECTS A CLUE IN THE MOVEMENT
OF SNOWFLAKES IN THE VIDEO.
YOU CAN SEE STRAY
SNOWFLAKES FLYING SIDEWAYS.
I THINK THE WIND MAY HAVE
SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT.
Narrator: A CHECK OF ATMOSPHERIC
CONDITIONS DURING THE STORM
REVEALS WIND SPEEDS OF 60 MILES PER HOUR
THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT...
POWERFUL ENOUGH TO SHIFT SNOW.
KUNDU TESTS HER THEORY.
A SUPER-COOLED STEEL
PLATE MIMICS THE ICY GROUND.
SOFT ICE CREAM HAS THE
SAME STICKY PROPERTIES
AS THE FRESH SNOW.
AND KUNDU USES A SPATULA
TO SIMULATE THE POWER
OF A 60-MILE-PER-HOUR WIND.
Kundu: WHAT YOU SHOULD SEE
IS A SORT OF ROLL DEVELOPING.
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT
WE'RE SEEING WITH THE SNOW.
HERE, THE ICE CREAM HAS
MANAGED TO LIFT ITSELF UP,
ROLL OVER ONTO ITSELF,
AND CREATE THESE ROLL-LIKE STRUCTURES.
Narrator: SCIENTISTS HAVE DUBBED
THESE EXTREMELY RARE STRUCTURES
SNOW ROLLERS.
EXPERTS BELIEVE THIS PERFECT
SNOWSTORM OCCURS SO INFREQUENTLY
THAT STOLLER IS THE FIRST TO
CAPTURE THEM FORMING ON CAMERA.
THEY'RE VERY UNIQUE. YOU
DON'T SEE THEM VERY OFTEN,
MAYBE ONCE IN A LIFETIME.
THIS LITTLE VIDEO REALLY
CAPTURES THIS EXTRAORDINARY,
BEAUTIFUL, WEIRD LITTLE FORMS
USING WIND, SNOW, AND MAYBE A BIT OF MAGIC.
♪♪