Strange Evidence (2017–…): Season 2, Episode 3 - Curse of the Mayan Treasure - full transcript
An explorer searching for treasure at a Mayan sacrificial site is attacked by a mysterious underwater fog; thousands of fish spontaneously jump to their deaths; something alien appears over the skies of Lost Angeles.
Narrator: WORLDWIDE, SIX BILLION
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: OH, 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.
Woman: [ SCREAMING ]
Narrator: COMING UP, THE REAL-LIFE IRON MAN
ON HIS WAY TO MARS CAUSES PANIC IN L.A.
-AH! AH. -OH, [BLEEP].
Narrator: TERROR FROM THE DEEP
CAUSING FISH TO FLEE THE WATER.
THOSE ARE FRIGHTENED FISH.
THEY ARE ESCAPING SOMETHING.
Narrator: AND THE CAR
FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION.
[ TIRES SCREECHING ]
WHERE DID THAT CAR COME FROM?
IT SEEMS TO HAVE JUST
MATERIALIZED OUT OF THIN AIR.
Narrator: BIZARRE PHENOMENA,
MYSTERIES CAUGHT ON CAMERA.
WHAT'S THE TRUTH BEHIND THIS?
"STRANGE EVIDENCE."
CAMERAS CAPTURE A HUGE, COMPLEX SHAPE
FORMING IN THE NIGHT SKY OVER LOS ANGELES.
Man: WOW, WHAT IS THAT?
MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ARE STARING UP,
THINKING WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?
AND MORE IMPORTANTLY,
WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN NEXT?
Man: IT'S SOME WEIRD
STUFF. LOOK AT ALL THAT.
Narrator: THIS IS A MASS SIGHTING
CAUGHT ON MULTIPLE CAMERAS.
IT'S AN UNIDENTIFIED FLYING
OBJECT IS REALLY WHAT IT IS.
♪♪
Narrator: LOS ANGELES, DECEMBER 22, 2017,
THE START OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON.
LOCAL RESIDENT ROBERT BROOKS
PREPARES TO HEAD OUT OF
TOWN FOR THE LONG WEEKEND.
IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL NIGHT,
TYPICAL OF LOS ANGELES.
MILLIONS OF STARS IN THE SKY.
AND I TURNED AROUND AND THERE IT WAS.
♪♪
IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS COMING RIGHT AT ME.
Narrator: WHATEVER IT IS,
IT'S CAUGHT ON SURVEILLANCE
CAMERAS THROUGHOUT L.A.
Man: THAT'S SOME WEIRD
STUFF. LOOK AT ALL THAT.
Narrator: WITNESS ROBERT BROOKS
FEARS HE'S FILMING THE END OF THE WORLD.
I ABSOLUTELY WONDERED, IS IT SPIRITUAL?
YOU KNOW, IS THERE A RECKONING COMING?
♪♪
Narrator: ON THE FREEWAYS,
IT'S THE MIDDLE OF RUSH HOUR.
SOMETHING IS HAPPENING
TO THE UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT,
AND IT'S CAPTURED ON CAR DASH CAMS.
Man: IT'S GLOWING LIKE... WHOO!
Narrator: THE OBJECT SEEMS
TO EXPAND THEN SPLIT.
A SMALLER ENTITY APPEARS ACTIVE
WITHIN WHAT LOOKS LIKE A
BALLOON OF SMOKE OR GAS.
Man: WOW, WHAT IS THAT?
I'VE NEVER SEEN THAT HALO EFFECT
SURROUNDING A BRILLIANT CENTER ITEM,
MOVING SO RAPIDLY ACROSS THE SKY.
Narrator: SHOCK TURNS TO
CONFUSION AND TERROR.
[ TIRES SCREECH ] -AH!
[ BLEEP ]
-DAMN. -DAMN.
IT'S NOT NORMAL TO SEE
SOMETHING THAT BIG AND THAT BRIGHT
OVERHEAD IN THE SKY.
IT SETS OFF A PRIMAL FEAR IN PEOPLE.
WHATEVER THIS THING IS, IT'S BIG,
AND IT'S MAKING A BIG
IMPACT ON THE SKYLINE.
Man: WHAT KIND OF [BLEEP] IS THAT, MAN?
♪♪
Narrator: LOS ANGELES IS
USED TO ALIEN INVASIONS.
BEING BURNED TO THE GROUND,
FLATTENED, OR VAPORIZED,
BUT THAT'S IN THE MOVIES.
THIS TIME, IT'S FOR REAL.
[ SIREN WAILING ]
Man: WHAT IS THAT?
Narrator: THIS IS JUST THE
MOST RECENT MASS REPORTING
OF STRANGE OBJECTS OVER L.A.
IN 1942, AUTHORITIES
RECEIVED WIDESPREAD REPORTS
OF LIGHTS OVER THE CITY.
THE MILITARY RESPONDED WITH SUCH FEROCITY,
IT BECAME KNOWN AS THE
BATTLE OF LOS ANGELES.
THE MILITARY, THINKING THAT
THERE WAS A JAPANESE ATTACK,
STARTED SHOOTING PRETTY
MUCH EVERYTHING INTO THE SKY.
IT LIT UP THE SKY, TERRIFIED THE CITIZENS.
[ EXPLOSIONS ]
Narrator: OVER 1,000 ANTI-AIRCRAFT SHELLS
ARE FIRED AT THE LIGHTS IN
THE SKY, BUT TO NO EFFECT.
AFTERWARDS, WHEN THEY
TRIED TO FIND SOME WRECKAGE
OF MAYBE SOME JAPANESE
PLANES, THERE WAS NOTHING.
♪♪
Narrator: MANY BELIEVE THAT
WHATEVER WAS IN THE SKY
OVER L.A. THAT NIGHT IN 1942,
IT WASN'T JAPANESE PLANES.
THEY THOUGHT IT WAS A GOVERNMENT COVER-UP.
SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT THE EXPLANATION
IS A LITTLE BIT MORE ALIEN.
Narrator: IT'S 75 YEARS LATER.
THE SAME SKIES OVER L.A.,
AND ANOTHER SET OF UNEXPLAINED
BRIGHT LIGHTS CAUSE MASS PANIC.
-ANY IDEA WHAT IT IS? -I DON'T KNOW, MAN.
Man: THAT'S SOME WEIRD
STUFF. LOOK AT ALL THAT.
CARS HIT EACH OTHER. UFO REPORTS POUR IN.
SOCIAL MEDIA, RADIO STATIONS,
TELEVISION, EVERYONE HAD
A ALL-PURPOSE FREAKOUT.
♪♪
Narrator: EX-NYPD VIDEO
ANALYST CONOR McCOURT
STUDIES THE DASHCAM FOOTAGE.
IT'S LIKE NOTHING HE'S EVER SEEN BEFORE.
IT'S AN UNIDENTIFIED FLYING
OBJECT IS REALLY WHAT IT IS.
SO I STARTED TO LOOK AT
ALL THE SPECIFIC THINGS
IN THAT UFO TO SEE, IS IT IDENTIFIABLE?
Narrator: HE ANALYZES THE
FOOTAGE FRAME BY FRAME
AND NOTICES THERE'S NOT ONE,
BUT TWO STREAKS WHICH
LOOK LIKE FIERY VAPOR TRAILS.
AT 01:30:14, THE SECOND TRAIL APPEARS.
SOMETHING HAPPENS IN BETWEEN THERE,
INDICATING MAYBE A STAGE IN A ROCKET.
Narrator: IF THIS IS SOME KIND OF
ROCKET LEAVING A VAPOR TRAIL,
THE GAP IN THE TRAIL MIGHT
MARK THE SHUTTING DOWN
OF A FIRST-STAGE ENGINE
AND THE FIRING UP OF THE NEXT.
BUT WHAT OF THE WEIRD OBJECT
HOVERING STRANGELY WITHIN
THE GAS OR VAPOR BALLOON?
WHEN WE ZOOM INTO THIS VIDEO IMAGE,
INSIDE THE VAPOR TRAIL,
WE SEE A DOT IN THE MIDDLE.
IS THAT THE BACK OF THE ROCKET FALLING OFF?
♪♪
Narrator: McCOURT EXAMINES
THE DASHCAM FOOTAGE
TO LOCATE WHERE THE
OBJECT MIGHT'VE COME FROM.
McCourt: IT'S COMING FROM THE NORTHWEST
BECAUSE WE HAVE THE COORDINATES
IN THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN.
SO WE HAVE TO FIND OUT, IS
ANYTHING SCHEDULED TO HAPPEN
IN THE NORTH AND WEST OF THE CITY?
Narrator: A CHECK OF THE AREA
REVEALS A MILITARY FACILITY
WITHIN 140 MILES.
THE VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE.
IF THERE WERE ANY LAUNCHES
TO TAKE PLACE FROM THAT BASE,
IT WOULD BE VISIBLE FROM THE CITY.
Narrator: MILITARY
CORRESPONDENT CARLO MUÑOZ
COMPARES THE OBJECT CAUGHT ON CAMERA
WITH THE TYPE OF WEAPONS
BELIEVED TO BE PRESENT
ON THE VANDENBERG BASE.
YOU COULD VERY CLEARLY SEE
THAT THIS IS SOMETHING MOVING
AT AN INCREDIBLE RATE OF SPEED
AND HITTING VERY HIGH ALTITUDES.
NOW THERE'S NOT THAT MANY
THINGS THAT CAN MOVE THAT FAST,
THAT HIGH.
Narrator: VANDENBERG AIR
BASE IS UNDER THE CONTROL
OF THE 30th SPACE WING,
AIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND.
IF THERE'S EVER A WAR IN SPACE,
THESE ARE THE GUYS WHO WILL FIGHT IT.
AMONG THE WEAPONRY AT THIS
SPACE WAR BASE ARE FOUR SO-CALLED
INTERCEPTOR ROCKETS CAPABLE
OF LEAVING EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE.
EACH OF THESE INVADER-BUSTING
WEAPONS HAS MULTIPLE ROCKET
ENGINES WHICH FIRE IN STAGES.
AS EACH STAGE SEPARATES,
IT ALLOWS THE WARHEAD TO ACCELERATE FURTHER
AND HIGHER INTO THE SKY.
SO WITH EACH SUBSEQUENT SEPARATION,
THE MISSILE TRAVELS
FURTHER TOWARDS IT TARGET,
WHICH WOULD BE AN INCOMING
MISSILE TO THE UNITED STATES.
Narrator: OF THE TERRESTRIAL
THREATS TO THE UNITED STATES,
THE BIGGEST AT THE MOMENT
IS BELIEVED TO COME FROM ASIA.
RIGHT NOW, THINGS ARE VERY TENSE,
PARTICULARLY ON THE WEST
COAST OF THE UNITED STATES.
Narrator: THE NORTH KOREAN
MILITARY HAS SAID THEY DEVELOPED
LONG-RANGE, BALLISTIC MISSILE TECHNOLOGY
THAT ACTUALLY HAS THE ABILITY
TO REACH THE WEST COAST,
WHICH PUTS CALIFORNIA WITHIN RANGE.
Narrator: BUT WOULD THIS
MAD MARXIST DICTATOR
BE CRAZY ENOUGH TO
PICK A FIGHT WITH AMERICA?
♪♪
COMING UP, THE UNDERWATER SMOG MONSTER.
A CREEPING CLOUD KILLING
EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH.
EVERYTHING THIS CLOUD TOUCHES SEEMS TO DIE.
Narrator: DEEP-SEA DEATH WISH.
WHAT'S FRIGHTENING THE KAMIKAZE FISH?
THIS LOOKS LIKE MASS FISH SUICIDE.
Narrator: SCIENTISTS INVESTIGATE
HOW ICE CAN BE ON FIRE.
THIS IS REALLY STRANGE
BECAUSE YOU IMAGINE ICE
WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO CATCH ON FIRE.
Narrator: AND AN EXTRA PLANETARY
PUZZLE IN THE SKIES OVER L.A.
ONE OF THOSE STAGES SEEMS
TO BE MOVING ON ITS OWN,
AND THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT ROCKETS DO
IN THE U.S. MILITARY ARSENAL.
♪♪
Narrator: A STRANGE OBJECT
CROSSING THE SKY OVER L.A.
CAUGHT ON MULTIPLE CAMERAS
CAUSES PANIC ON THE FREEWAY.
[ TIRES SCREECHING ] -AH!
[ BLEEP ]
Narrator: COULD IT BE
AN INTERCEPTOR MISSILE
LAUNCHED BY THE U.S. AIR
FORCE SPACE COMMAND?
AVIATION EXPERT JOE
PAPPALARDO IS NOT CONVINCED.
HE SPOTS SOMETHING STRANGE ABOUT THE OBJECT
WHICH APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN JETTISONED.
IT DOESN'T FALL BACK TO EARTH.
IT'S NOT BEHAVING LIKE A
MISSILE NORMALLY DOES.
ONE OF THOSE STAGES SEEMS
TO BE MOVING ON ITS OWN,
SO THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE THAT'S UP THERE.
Narrator: BUT THERE IS ONE COMPANY
THAT HAS THE TECHNOLOGY
TO BUILD SOMETHING LIKE THIS,
AND RUNNING IT IS A GUY WHO HAS BEEN CALLED
THE REAL-LIFE IRON MAN.
WHEN YOU SEE SOMETHING
MOVING AROUND ON THE BACK-END
OF A ROCKET LIKE THAT,
IT'S A GOOD BET THAT IT'S GONNA BE SPACEX.
Narrator: SPACEX IS RUN BY ELON MUSK,
THE MAN ON WHOM ROBERT DOWNEY JR.
BASED THE CHARACTER OF TONY STARK.
THE U.S. MILITARY ALLOWS MUSK'S COMPANY
TO OPERATE OUT OF
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE.
AND IT IS KNOWN THAT SPACEX
IS WORKING ON A PROGRAM
TO SEND HUMANS TO COLONIZE MARS.
THAT INVOLVES BUILDING
A NEW KIND OF REUSABLE,
MULTIPLE-STAGE ROCKET.
Pappalardo: WHEN A FUEL TANK IS EMPTY,
THEY'LL GUIDE IT DOWN.
THE STAGE WILL SEPARATE,
MOVE IN THESE VERY UNNATURAL
WEIRD WAYS TO POSITION ITSELF TO
SETTLE BACK DOWN TO THE GROUND
SO IT CAN BE REUSED.
♪♪
Narrator: WHAT ANGELENOS
WITNESSED THAT NIGHT
IS A SPACEX FALCON 9 ROCKET
BLASTING TOWARDS SPACE.
THIS SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH IS ONE STEP TOWARD
HUMANS REACHING OTHER WORLDS.
ROBERT BROOKS HAS ACCIDENTALLY WITNESSED
A BIT OF SPACE HISTORY.
I'M VERY PLEASED THAT I GOT TO
BE THERE ON THE FRONT ROW SEAT
OF ALL OF THIS WITH A FANTASTIC VIEW.
THE FACT THAT WE CAN DO
ALL THESE GREAT THINGS,
AND WE MIGHT EVEN BE
GOING TO MARS PRETTY SOON?
I MEAN, HOW AWESOME IS THAT?
♪♪
Narrator: NOW, THE HORROR
FROM THE BLUE LAGOON.
IT LOOKS LIKE SOME KIND OF
PORTAL TO THE UNDERWORLD.
I'D NEVER SEEN ANYTHING QUITE LIKE IT.
Narrator: NOTHING CAN
SURVIVE THIS MYSTERY CLOUD.
IT'S A FLOATING SERIAL KILLER.
EVERYTHING THIS CLOUD TOUCHES SEEMS TO DIE.
IT'S PRETTY TERRIFYING.
♪♪
Narrator: YUCATáN PENINSULA, MEXICO.
MYSTERIOUS RUINS ARE ALL THAT REMAINS
OF THE CITIES OF THE MIGHTY MAYANS,
BUT THE STRANGE FATE OF THIS CIVILIZATION,
MORE THAN A THOUSAND YEARS
AGO, REMAINS UNEXPLAINED.
MANY OF THESE CITIES
ARE BUILT AROUND GIANT,
NATURAL HOLES LEADING INTO THE EARTH.
TO THE MAYANS, THESE
CENOTES, OR SACRED WELLS,
WERE FEARED AND REVERED,
THE SITE OF RITUAL, HUMAN SACRIFICE.
TO ARCHAEOLOGIST GUILLERMO
DE ANDA AND HIS TEAM,
THEY ARE RICH, BUT
TREACHEROUS HUNTING GROUNDS
FOR ANCIENT TREASURE.
IT'S A DREAM COME TRUE
FOR AN ARCHAEOLOGIST.
THERE'S NOT ONLY A LOT OF ARTIFACTS,
THEY ARE VERY WELL PRESERVED.
Narrator: MAY 2015, DE ANDA HAS
VENTURED INTO THE THICK JUNGLE
10 MILES SOUTH OF THE LONG-ABANDONED
MAYAN CITY OF TULUM.
HE PREPARES TO DIVE INTO ONE
OF THE MAYANS' SACRED WELLS.
DE ANDA DESCENDS INTO
THE GLOOMY, ECHOING HOLE.
THE WATER IS SHOCKINGLY COLD,
BUT DE ANDA AND HIS TEAM ARE USED TO DIVING
IN THESE CONDITIONS.
90 FEET DOWN,
HE ENCOUNTERS SOMETHING
HE'S NEVER SEEN BEFORE.
BELOW HIM, A VAST, UNDERWATER CLOUD.
AS HE APPROACHES THE EDGE OF THE CLOUD,
HE STARTS TO FEEL PAIN.
IT ACTUALLY BURNS YOUR LIPS.
WE DON'T TAKE OUR MASKS OFF
BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT EFFECT
THAT COULD HAVE ON YOUR EYES.
Narrator: DE ANDA REALIZES
SOMETHING'S WRONG.
MAYAN SACRED WELLS ARE
NORMALLY TEEMING WITH LIFE, BUT HERE,
EVERYTHING IS DEAD.
I HAVE NEVER SEEN SOMETHING
LIKE THAT IN ANY OTHER CENOTE.
Narrator: SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS,
HE POSTS FOOTAGE OF THE CLOUD ONLINE.
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE JUNGLE,
WHERE LIFE IS ABUNDANT,
ONE OF THE MOST BIODIVERSE PLACES ON EARTH,
YOU FIND THIS POCKET OF DEATH.
WHEN HE REALIZED THAT IT'S
KILLING EVERYTHING THERE,
YOU HAVE TO ASK YOURSELF, WHAT IS THAT?
♪♪
Narrator: THE KILLER CLOUD
IS IN A SACRED MAYAN WELL.
SCIENCE JOURNALIST JOHN FARROW
LOOKS FOR CLUES IN MAYAN RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
AND THEIR OBSESSION WITH
DEATH AND THE END OF THE WORLD.
THE MAYAN CIVILIZATION, WHICH
WAS QUITE ADVANCED FOR ITS TIME,
HAD A CALENDAR SYSTEM.
BUT THIS CALENDAR ACTUALLY HAD AN ENDING.
IT WAS IN THE YEAR 2012 WHEN
THE WORLD WAS SUPPOSED TO END.
PEOPLE REALLY BELIEVED THIS, AND IN 2012,
THEY WERE COUNTING DOWN THE MINUTES
TO THE END OF THE WORLD.
Narrator: AROUND THE WORLD,
THERE WERE SOME WHO
FEARED THE MAYAN PROPHECY
WOULD COME TRUE.
BUT WHEN THE CLOCK ULTIMATELY
HIT ZERO, NOTHING HAPPENED.
SO WHEN PEOPLE SEE A CLOUD OF
DEATH IN THE MIDDLE OF A CENOTE,
A RELIGIOUS PLACE FOR
THE MAYANS, THEY THINK,
MAYBE WE JUST GOT THE DATE WRONG,
AND THE END OF THE WORLD IS COMING,
AND IT'S COMING FROM HERE.
♪♪
Man: [ SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE ]
Narrator: BUT EX-CIA AGENT LINDSAY MORAN
HAS A LESS MYSTICAL POSSIBLE EXPLANATION.
THIS CENOTE SITS INSIDE NARCO TERRITORY.
THERE WAS A 2017 REPORT THAT
SHOWED THAT THERE WAS COCAINE
IN THE CAVE SYSTEMS.
IF SOME HUGE AMOUNT OF
COCAINE GOT INTO THE WATER,
THIS COULD BE WHAT'S
CREATING THIS CLOUD OF DEATH,
AND ESSENTIALLY, CAUSING
ALL THE LIFE DOWN THERE
TO HAVE OVERDOSES.
Narrator: IT SOUNDS INCREDIBLE,
BUT THE VOLUME OF COCAINE
HANDLED BY THE NARCOS WAS STAGGERING.
IN A SINGLE YEAR, THE COCAINE
SMUGGLED INTO AMERICA
BY PABLO ESCOBAR ALONE
WAS EQUIVALENT IN WEIGHT
TO 25 STATUES OF LIBERTY.
PABLO ESCOBAR IS FAMOUS
FOR BEING HISTORICALLY
THE MOST PROLIFIC DRUG
TRAFFICKER IN THIS AREA.
Narrator: ESCOBAR'S MEN WERE
MOVING 15 TONS OF COCAINE A DAY,
MUCH OF IT THROUGH MEXICO.
AND WHEN THERE WAS A RISK OF
CAPTURE, THE COCAINE WAS DUMPED.
Man: THIS RAID YIELDED
ABOUT 6,500 KILOGRAMS
OF PROCESSED COCAINE
WORTH WELL OVER $1 BILLION.
Narrator: ESCOBAR'S DRUG RUNNERS
COULD HAVE USED THE WELL-CONCEALED
MAYAN SACRED WELLS AS DRUG DEPOTS
OR DUMPING GROUNDS ON
THEIR SMUGGLING ROUTE.
FOR A DRUG LORD LIKE ESCOBAR,
THESE CENOTES MIGHT
PRESENT THE PERFECT PLACE
TO STASH HUGE AMOUNTS OF COCAINE.
Narrator: IF THIS IS A CLOUD OF COCAINE,
HUNDREDS OF ADDITIONAL TONS
COULD BE LYING IN OTHER CENOTES,
POSING A POSSIBLY TERRIFYING THREAT
TO THE REGION'S WATER SUPPLY.
♪♪
COMING UP, THE DRIVER
FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION.
A WORMHOLE CAR CRASH CAUGHT ON CAMERA.
[ TIRES SCREECHING ]
I MEAN, CARS DON'T COME OUT OF NOWHERE.
[ TIRES SCREECHING ]
Narrator: BURNING ICE.
A FREAKY FROZEN INFERNO
BAFFLES FIRE INVESTIGATORS.
I HAVE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE LIKE THIS.
FIRE AND ICE DON'T MISS.
Narrator: AND EXPERTS FEAR THE SPREAD
OF THE MAYAN KILLER CLOUD... THAT IS TOXIC,
VERY TOXIC, AND THAT WILL KILL
ANYTHING THAT COMES IN THERE.
♪♪
Narrator: DIVERS ENCOUNTER A FOG OF DEATH
IN AN ANCIENT MAYAN SACRED WELL.
EXPERTS WONDER IF THIS COULD
BE A KILLER CLOUD OF COCAINE
DUMPED BY NARCO DRUG LORD PABLO ESCOBAR.
CHEMIST ANDREA SELLA LOOKS
AT THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
OF COCAINE AND HOW IT ACTS WITH WATER.
NOW, COCAINE IS EXTREMELY SOLUBLE.
IF YOU DISSOLVE SALT UP INTO
WATER, YOU CAN'T SEE IT ANYMORE.
WELL, EXACTLY THE SAME THING
WOULD HAPPEN TO THE COCAINE.
IT JUST VANISHES.
THE FACT THAT YOU'VE GOT THAT
CLOUDINESS MEANS THAT CLEARLY,
WHATEVER THAT MATERIAL IS,
IT ISN'T SOLUBLE IN THE WATER.
IT'S ACTUALLY TINY PARTICLES,
WHICH ARE SUSPENDED.
WHAT THE NATURE OF THOSE
PARTICLES IS, WE HAVE NO IDEA.
♪♪
Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGIST GUILLERMO DE ANDA
RISKS HIS LIFE TO INVESTIGATE.
THOUGH THE TOXIC CLOUD BURNS HIS SKIN,
HE SWIMS INTO IT AND
EMERGES FROM THE OTHER SIDE.
WHATEVER THE CLOUD IS,
IT'S NOT SITTING ON THE FLOOR OF THE WELL.
SOMETHING WAS STRANGE BECAUSE WE REALIZED,
THIS IS NOT THE BOTTOM.
THIS IS SOMETHING ELSE,
AND THEN WE PUT OUR HAND,
OUR HAND DOES GO THROUGH.
THEN WE VENTURE A LITTLE
BIT MORE AND A LITTLE MORE
UNTIL WE GET TO THE
OTHER SIDE OF THE LAYER.
IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S A
HUGE TARP ON TOP OF YOU.
♪♪
Narrator: PHYSICIST SIMON FOSTER
FROM IMPERIAL COLLEGE, LONDON,
WANTS TO KNOW WHY THE CLOUD IS
HOVERING IN THIS PARTICULAR PART
OF THE WELL.
WHAT I THINK WE'RE SEEING HERE
ARE TWO SEPARATE BODIES OF WATER.
ONE FRESHWATER AND ONE SEAWATER.
WE'VE ACTUALLY GOT THAT IN PLAY HERE.
ON ONE SIDE, I'VE GOT SALTWATER,
AND ON THE OTHER SIDE, I'VE GOT FRESHWATER.
WHEN I REMOVE THE SEPARATE BETWEEN THE TWO,
YOU'LL SEE THAT THE SALTWATER MOVES
BELOW THE FRESHWATER BECAUSE IT'S DENSER,
IT'S HEAVIER, AND YOU GET
THIS CLEAR, DISTINCT SEPARATION
OF THE TWO LAYERS.
Narrator: FOSTER'S TEST
SUGGESTS THAT DENSER SALTWATER
IS SITTING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MAYAN WELL,
FRESHWATER LIES ABOVE.
THE LETHAL CLOUD IS HELD IN PLACE,
TRAPPED BETWEEN THESE LAYERS.
NOW, THE REAL MYSTERY IN
THIS FOOTAGE IS THIS CLOUDY,
MURKY FOG THAT'S SANDWICHED
BETWEEN THE TWO BODIES.
WHAT IS IT?
THAT'S WHAT WE'VE GOT TO DISCOVER.
♪♪
Narrator: FLUID DYNAMICS EXPERT JAMES BIRD
SETS TO WORK TRYING TO
IDENTIFY THE KILLER SUBSTANCE.
THE FIRST CLUE ARE THE DEAD TREES
LYING IN AMONGST THE KILLER CLOUD.
IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE THE
STICKS AND OTHER DEBRIS THAT
SEEMS LIKE IT COULD BE ROTTING.
GENERALLY, DURING THE ROTTING PROCESS,
THE BACTERIA CAN CREATE GASES.
Narrator: IS THE CLOUD
KILLING ALL LIFE IN ITS PATH,
OR IS THE UNUSUAL QUANTITY
OF DEAD MATTER ITSELF
CREATING THE KILLER MIST?
WE'RE LIKELY SEEING LOTS OF
SMALL BUBBLES THAT WOULD GIVE
A CLOUD-LIKE APPEARANCE.
Narrator: MARINE BIOLOGIST ERIK CORDES
INVESTIGATES HOW A KILLER CLOUD
OF UNDERWATER GAS COULD COME
FROM ROTTING, DEAD TREES.
IN ENVIRONMENTS STARVED OF OXYGEN,
THE BACTERIA DIGESTING THE VEGETATION
CAN CREATE TOXIC GAS.
WHEN CORDES CHECKS OXYGEN
READINGS FROM THE CENOTE,
HE FINDS THAT THE OXYGEN
LEVELS ARE NEARLY ZERO.
IF THERE'S NO OXYGEN, ALL
THE PLANT MATTER AND LEAVES
AND STICKS AND EVERYTHING
THAT SUNK DOWN INTO THE BOTTOM
WOULD DEGRADE BY THE BACTERIA,
AND THEY WOULD START
PRODUCING HYDROGEN SULFIDE.
Narrator: HYDROGEN
SULFIDE IS A CORROSIVE ACID.
IT CAN SUFFOCATE ANY LIFE THAT
INHALES THE POISONED WATERS
WITHIN SECONDS.
THESE CHEMICAL REACTIONS
TRIGGER AN UNSTOPPABLE
CHAIN REACTION OF DEATH.
HYDROGEN SULFIDE IS TOXIC, VERY TOXIC.
AND THAT WILL KILL ANYTHING
THAT COMES IN THERE.
AND SO YOU GET MORE DEAD ANIMALS
AND MORE HYDROGEN SULFIDE BEING PRODUCED,
AND IT'LL JUST KEEP GOING
AND GOING AND GOING
UNTIL THE WHOLE THING BECOMES TOXIC.
Narrator: THIS MAYAN SACRED WELL IS,
INDEED, A WELL OF DEATH,
AND THIS KILLER CLOUD
COULD BE HARD TO CONTAIN.
THESE ARE CAVES THAT ARE
CONNECTED BY A SYSTEM OF
ESSENTIALLY UNDERWATER RIVERS.
IF ONE CENOTE GETS POLLUTED,
THE REST OF THEM ARE
GOING TO BE POLLUTED, TOO.
♪♪
Narrator: NOW, A DASHCAM
CAPTURES A CRAZY COLLISION.
SO WHERE DID THAT CAR COME FROM?
IT SEEMS TO JUST
MATERIALIZE OUT OF THIN AIR.
Narrator: EXPERTS STRUGGLE
TO EXPLAIN THIS PHANTOM CAR.
ONE, I'M JUST MISSING SOMETHING
OR TWO, THIS CAR IS INVISIBLE.
♪♪
Narrator: YAROSLAVL, RUSSIA.
160 MILES NORTHEAST OF MOSCOW.
THIS CITY IS A HUB OF
HIGH-TECH RESEARCH INSTITUTES.
FROM AUTOMOTIVE DEVELOPERS
TO A BRANCH OF THE
RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE.
♪♪
AUGUST 30, 2012.
A DASH-MOUNTED CAMERA RECORDS A JOURNEY
THROUGH THE CITY STREETS.
THEN WHAT HAPPENS NEXT... [ TIRES SCREECH ]
...IS STRAIGHT OUT OF THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
WE'VE GOT A CAR DRIVING DOWN
THE ROAD AT A NORMAL PACE.
EVERYTHING'S COMPLETELY
NORMAL. EVERYTHING'S FINE.
AND THEN WHAM!
THE APPROACHING VEHICLE
SEEMS TO JUST MATERIALIZE
OUT OF THIN AIR.
I'VE INVESTIGATED MANY CAR CRASHES,
BUT I'VE NEVER SEEN ONE LIKE THIS BEFORE.
I MEAN, CARS DON'T COME OUT OF NOWHERE.
[ TIRES SCREECH ]
Narrator: THE FOOTAGE OF THIS PHANTOM CAR
COMES TO THE ATTENTION OF INVESTIGATORS.
WHEN YOU SEE SOMETHING THIS STRANGE,
YOU START TO THINK OF SCIENCE FICTION.
IF THAT CAR WAS A DeLOREAN,
THEN MAYBE IT MIGHT BE SOME TIME TRAVEL,
BUT THERE HAS TO BE A
DIFFERENT EXPLANATION.
♪♪
Narrator: COMING UP, MASS SUICIDE AT A LAKE
AS THOUSANDS OF FISH LEAP
IN TERROR OUT OF THE WATER.
I'VE HEARD OF FLYING FISH BEFORE,
BUT THIS IS A LITTLE CRAZY.
Narrator: A FREAKY FROZEN INFERNO
BAFFLE CHICAGO FIREFIGHTERS.
THIS LOOKS LIKE THE ICE ITSELF IS ON FIRE.
♪♪
Narrator: AND ARE CAR WARS
A NEW PHANTOM MENACE?
THAT'S A GAME CHANGER. THEY'D
BASICALLY BE UNSTOPPABLE.
♪♪
Narrator: DASHCAM FOOTAGE
SHOWS A PHANTOM CAR
COMING OUT OF THIN AIR.
[ TIRES SCREECH ]
AN INVISIBLE CAR SOUNDS CRAZY,
BUT INVISIBILITY STEALTH TECHNOLOGY
IS SOMETHING THAT'S BEING ACTIVELY PURSUED
IN SECRET WEAPONS PROGRAMS.
EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT
OF SOME KIND OF INVISIBILITY
PROVIDING TECHNOLOGY IS
SOMETHING THAT'S VERY REAL.
AND ONE THING THAT EVERY MILITARY
WOULD LOVE TO HAVE IS SOME
KIND OF CLOAK OF INVISIBILITY.
Narrator: RUSSIA'S SKIES
HAVE BEEN A TESTING GROUND
FOR INVISIBILITY PROGRAMS FOR DECADES.
THE SUKHOI SU-57 FIGHTER JET HAS
ADVANCED STEALTH TECHNOLOGIES.
ITS ANGLED SHAPE MINIMIZES
RADIO WAVES REFLECTING BACK
TO ENEMY DETECTING SYSTEMS,
ALLOWING IT TO PENETRATE ENEMY
AIR SPACE, UNDETECTED BY RADAR.
[ EXPLOSION ]
BUT THESE JETS ARE STILL
VISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE.
IF A COUNTRY WERE ABLE TO
DEVELOP SOME KIND OF TECHNOLOGY
THAT PROVIDED FOR INVISIBILITY
ON THE BATTLEFIELD, I MEAN,
THAT'S A GAME CHANGER. THEY'D
BASICALLY BE UNSTOPPABLE.
♪♪
Narrator: BUT THE NEWEST STEALTH TECHNOLOGY
COSTS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS
AND IS TOP, TOP SECRET.
IT WILL BE TESTED ON FIGHTER
PLANTS, TANKS, AND SHIPS,
NOT ON A SMALL HATCHBACK
AT A BUSY INTERSECTION.
VIDEO ANALYST CONOR McCOURT
STUDIES THE COLLISION FRAME BY FRAME.
THE ANSWER TO THIS WORMHOLE WEIRDNESS
IS IN THE FOOTAGE ITSELF.
IF YOU LOOK ON THE BACK
RIGHT SIDE OF THE CAR,
THERE'S A LITTLE PROTRUSION RIGHT THERE.
I BELIEVE THAT'S THE
BACK OF THE PHANTOM CAR
AS IT STRIKES THE FRONT OF THE CAR.
[ TIRES SCREECH ]
Narrator: REPLAYING THE FOOTAGE,
McCOURT NOTICES PARKED
CARS BESIDE THE CRASH SITE.
HE BEGINS TO SUSPECT THE
PHANTOM CAR IS ALWAYS THERE.
IT'S JUST NOT VISIBLE BEFORE THE CRASH
BECAUSE IT'S BLOCKED
FROM THE DASHCAM'S VIEW.
AS THE PHANTOM CAR IS COMING ALONG
AND ENTERING THE INTERSECTION,
THERE'S ONLY A MOMENT WHERE WE CAN SEE IT,
AND THAT THE PHANTOM
CAR IS OBSCURED BY THE CAR
THAT'S JUST ABOUT TO BE HIT.
Narrator: THE ANALYSIS REVEALS
THIS IS A PERFECTLY TIMED OPTICAL ILLUSION.
♪♪
WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS A
VERY AMAZING COINCIDENCE.
WHERE, AT THE EXACT TIME THAT
THAT BLACK CAR WAS ENTERING
INTO THE INTERSECTION,
IT WAS OBSCURING THE
ENTRY OF THAT PHANTOM CAR
INTO THE INTERSECTION.
SO WHEN THE COLLISION OCCURRED,
IT WAS ALMOST AS IF IT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE,
BUT IT WAS THERE THE WHOLE TIME.
[ TIRES SCREECH ]
♪♪
Narrator: NOW, IN CHINA,
FISH ARE FREAKING OUT.
I'VE HEARD OF FLYING FISH BEFORE,
BUT THIS IS A LITTLE CRAZY.
WHAT THE HECK ARE THESE FISH DOING?
WHY ARE THEY ALL JUMPING OUT
OF THE WATER AT THE SAME TIME?
Narrator: KAMIKAZE FISH,
DRIVEN TO THEIR DOOM
BY SOMETHING SUPER SCARY IN THE LAKE.
THOSE ARE FRIGHTENED FISH.
THEY ARE ESCAPING SOMETHING.
WHAT COULD BE UNDER THE
WATER? THEY CAN'T BREATHE.
IT'S ALMOST LIKE FISH SUICIDE.
♪♪
Narrator: JIAOZUO, CHINA,
AN AREA OF WATERFALLS AND LAKES.
IT ATTRACTS THOUSANDS
OF SIGHTSEERS EACH YEAR.
JUNE 13, 2017.
AS TOURISTS TAKE PICTURES IN
THE TRANQUIL SURROUNDINGS,
THE PEACE IS SHATTERED.
ONLOOKERS ARE SHOCKED AND DISTURBED
TO WITNESS AN AQUATIC HORROR SHOW.
ALL OF A SUDDEN, MADNESS BREAKS OUT,
AND FISH START LEAPING OUT OF THE LAKE,
AND THEY'RE JUST FLOPPING EVERYWHERE.
Narrator: THE BIZARRE
SIGHT BAFFLES SCIENTISTS.
IT'S CHAOS.
THIS LOOKS LIKE MASS FISH SUICIDE.
THESE FISH ARE ABSOLUTELY
JUMPING TO THEIR DOOM.
♪♪
Narrator: COMING UP,
FIREFIGHTERS BATTLE BURNING ICE.
IT LOOKS LIKE SOME KIND
OF DEMONIC, FROZEN ICE HELL.
♪♪
Narrator: AND EXPERTS
FEAR THESE SUICIDE FISH
COULD BE AN APOCALYPTIC WARNING.
IT MIGHT BE THERE'S AN EARTHQUAKE
RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER.
♪♪
Narrator: IN A NIGHTMARE SCENE,
THOUSANDS OF FISH LEAP ONTO
DRY LAND FROM A CHINESE LAKE.
MARINE BIOLOGIST DANNI WASHINGTON
STUDIES THE FOOTAGE.
SHE ZOOMS IN ON AN INDIVIDUAL FISH.
THE SPECIES THEY BELONG
TO COULD PROVIDE A CLUE
TO THIS BIZARRE BEHAVIOR.
LOOKING CLOSER AT THE FISH,
YOU CAN SEE THAT IT'S GOT
A BLUNT NOSE, LARGE SIZE,
A SILVERY SHIMMY ON THE SIDES.
IT LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THAT
IT'S AN ASIAN SILVER CARP.
THESE FISH CAN GROW UP TO
THREE FEET LONG AND 60 POUNDS.
THAT'S A REALLY BIG FISH TO BE
JUMPING RANDOMLY OUT OF A LAKE.
Narrator: ASIAN SILVER CARP
COME FROM CHINA AND SIBERIA,
BUT THEY'RE SPREADING ACROSS THE WORLD.
THEIR NUMBERS ARE
GROWING RAPIDLY IN AMERICAN
AND EUROPEAN RIVERS AND LAKES
WITH SOME FEARING THESE FISH
WILL OVERWHELM THE WATERWAYS.
♪♪
BUT ACROSS THE GLOBE,
THERE ARE REPORTS OF THESE CARP
DISPLAYING STRANGE
BEHAVIOR WHEN FRIGHTENED.
Washington: THEY WILL GET SPOOKED,
AND THEY'LL START SHOWING
THIS WEIRD, CRAZY BEHAVIOR
WHERE THEY'RE JUMPING OUT OF THE WATER.
THEY CAN JUMP NEARLY
10 FEET OUT OF THE WATER.
Narrator: SCIENTISTS ARE
TRYING TO FIGURE OUT
WHAT'S CAUSING THESE
CARP TO KILL THEMSELVES.
MARINE EXPERT JAY HEMDAL
ANALYZES THE FOOTAGE.
THE FISH, HE THINKS, ARE TRYING
TO GET AWAY FROM SOMETHING.
SOMETHING INSIDE THE LAKE.
THOSE ARE FRIGHTENED FISH.
THEY ARE ESCAPING SOMETHING.
IT'S DIFFICULT TO SAY WHAT THAT COULD BE.
THERE COULD BE A PREDATOR,
OR IT COULD BE WHAT THEY
PERCEIVE TO BE A PREDATOR.
WHEN YOU'RE A FISH AND
THERE'S A PREDATOR AROUND,
ONE OF YOUR RESPONSES IS
TO ACTUALLY JUMP INTO THE AIR.
Narrator: BUT TO CAUSE
SUCH AN EXTREME REACTION,
WHATEVER IS DOWN THERE
MUST BE TRULY FRIGHTENING.
[ ALLIGATOR GROWLING ]
THE REGION'S MOST FEROCIOUS AQUATIC BEAST
IS THE CHINESE ALLIGATOR.
THEY ARE FEARSOME, APEX PREDATORS.
OPPORTUNIST FEEDERS
THAT WILL DEVOUR ANYTHING
THAT GETS TOO CLOSE.
FROM MAMMALS NEAR THE WATER EDGE
TO ANY FISH IN THE WATERS.
IF A CHINESE ALLIGATOR WERE IN THIS LAKE,
THE CARP WOULD HAVE CAUSE FOR CONCERN.
THEY DON'T NECESSARILY
HAVE A DIRECTIONAL ABILITY,
AND THEY LAND ON THE GROUND
BY ACCIDENT, NOT ON PURPOSE.
Narrator: BUT THIS CAN'T BE THE ANSWER.
THIS LAKE IS MANMADE
WITH NO CONNECTING RIVERS
TO NATURAL WATERWAYS.
NO ALLIGATOR POPULATION
HAS BEEN INTRODUCED HERE.
THIS IS NOT AN APEX
PREDATOR'S HUNTING GROUND.
♪♪
BIOLOGIST ROLAND KAYS STUDIES THE FOOTAGE.
A SPECIALIST IN ANIMAL BEHAVIOR,
HE KNOWS THAT SOME SPECIES SEEM TO BE ABLE
TO PREDICT NATURAL DISASTERS.
THERE'S A LOT OF STORIES
GOING BACK MILLENNIA,
TOLD ALL AROUND THE WORLD,
ABOUT ANIMALS DETECTING SEISMIC EVENTS,
EARTHQUAKES, OR VOLCANOES,
BEFORE THEY HAPPEN.
Narrator: REPORTS FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE
REVEAL GIANT OARFISH BEACHING THEMSELVES
BEFORE AN IMMINENT EARTHQUAKE.
[ SIREN WAILS ]
IN 2010, OARFISH BEACHED
THEMSELVES IN JAPAN.
SOON AFTERWARDS,
THE 9.1 MAGNITUDE TOHOKU
EARTHQUAKE SPAWNS A TSUNAMI.
SCIENTISTS NOW BELIEVE
FINDING THESE FISH ON THE COAST
IS THE SIGN OF A COMING CATASTROPHE
AND BELIEVE THEY'VE UNPACKED
THE COMPLICATED PROCESS
THAT ALLOWS FISH TO PREDICT
UPCOMING SEISMIC EVENTS.
WHEN THERE'S TECTONIC
STRESS IN THE EARTH'S CRUST,
IT RELEASES POSITIVE IONS INTO THE AIR.
AND WHEN THOSE IONS REACH A BODY OF WATER,
IT OXIDIZES AND THEN
CREATES OXYGEN PEROXIDE,
WHICH IS AN EXTREME IRRITANT FOR FISH.
THE FISH COULD BE JUMPING OUT OF THE WATER
BECAUSE HYDROGEN PEROXIDE
IS BUILDING UP IN THE LAKE,
AND THEY NEED TO ESCAPE.
WHICH MEANS THERE'S AN EARTHQUAKE
RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER.
Narrator: BUT IF THIS IS A CASE OF FISH
PREDICTING SEISMIC EVENTS,
THE EARTHQUAKE NEVER COMES.
THERE WAS NO SEISMIC ACTIVITY
DETECTED ANYWHERE IN THE REGION.
SEISMIC ACTIVITY IS NOT
WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE.
THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING ELSE.
♪♪
Narrator: WHEN LOCAL AUTHORITIES RELEASED
THEIR OFFICIAL EXPLANATION,
RESIDENTS CAN'T BELIEVE THE FINDING.
AUTHORITIES LAY THE BLAME
ON A POPULAR CHINESE PASTIME.
THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVEALED
WHAT THEY BELIEVED CAUSED
THIS STRANGE PHENOMENON.
IT WAS A SINGING CONTEST.
♪♪
Narrator: IT SEEMS THAT CHINESE SINGERS
AND CHINESE SONGS WERE
SO LOUD AND SO DISTURBING,
EVEN UNDERWATER, THAT
THEY DROVE THE CARP CRAZY.
A SOUND WAVE TRAVELS THROUGH
THE WATER FOR GREAT DISTANCES
WITH A LOT OF PRESSURE.
A LOT OF AQUATIC ANIMALS
CAN SENSE THAT PRESSURE
USING SOMETHING CALLED THE LATERAL LINE.
IT'S A SERIES OF SENSITIVE PORES
THAT RUN DOWN THE SIDE OF THEIR BODY.
THEY CAN FEEL THE MOVEMENT
OF LARGER FISH AROUND THEM,
AND THOSE LARGER FISH
ARE USUALLY PREDATORS.
SO, WHEN YOU SEND A LOT OF
SOUNDWAVES THROUGH THE WATER,
THEY FEEL THROUGH THEIR BODIES
THAT THEY'RE BEING ATACKED BY
A NUMBER OF PREDATORS AT THE SAME TIME.
Narrator: LOCALS SEEM TO LIKE IT,
BUT TO A CARP, SOME
MUSIC IS SIMPLY UNBEARABLE.
CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT YOUR SINGING IS SO BAD
THAT YOU CAUSED AN ENTIRE SCHOOL
OF FISH TO JUMP OUT OF THE WATER
AND COMMIT SUICIDE?
THAT'S REALLY BAD.
♪♪
Narrator: COMING UP, A FROZEN
INFERNO BAFFLES EXPERTS.
IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE IT COULD BE POSSIBLE.
Narrator: AND SCIENTISTS INVESTIGATE
HOW ICE CAN BE ON FIRE.
THIS IS REALLY STRANGE
BECAUSE YOU IMAGINE ICE
WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO CATCH ON FIRE.
♪♪
Narrator: CAMERAS CAPTURE AN ICE-ENTOMBED
CHICAGO BUILDING ENGULFED BY FIRE.
IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE.
IT LOOKS LIKE SOME KIND
OF DEMONIC, FROZEN ICE HELL.
Narrator: FIRE EXPERTS ARE BAFFLED.
I HAVE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE LIKE THIS.
FIRE AND ICE DON'T MIX.
♪♪
Narrator: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.
IN THIS CITY OF 2.7 MILLION PEOPLE,
EMERGENCIES ARE INEVITABLE.
THE CHICAGO FIRE DEPARTMENT
RESPONDS TO NEARLY 1,000 ALARMS EVERY DAY.
JANUARY 22, 2013.
PHOTOGRAPHER TIM OLK
RECEIVES A CALL FROM ENGINE 42.
HIS JOB IS TO CAPTURE
IMAGES FOR FORENSIC ANALYSIS.
I HEARD OVER THE RADIO
THERE WAS ONE BLOCK WIDE,
ONE BLOCK BUILDING ABOUT
FIVE STORIES, HEAVY TIMBER,
JUST WELL-INVOLVED WITH FIRE.
I AUTOMATICALLY GO OVER THERE
AND JUST START SHOOTING THE PICTURES.
Narrator: WHAT HE WITNESSES
DEFIES EXPLANATION.
AN INFERNO INSIDE A
BUILDING ENTOMBED IN ICE.
I'VE SEEN EVERY KIND OF DISASTER,
ANY KIND OF INCIDENT YOU CAN IMAGINE.
I'VE NEVER SEEN THAT BEFORE.
YOU GOT BIG PLUMES OF SMOKE
COMING UP THROUGH THE
MIDDLE OF THIS BUILDING,
BUT THE WHOLE THING'S ENCAPSULATED IN ICE.
♪♪
Narrator: FIREFIGHTERS BATTLE
THE BLAZE INTO THE NIGHT.
SCIENTISTS STRUGGLE TO EXPLAIN
WHAT APPEARS TO BE BURNING ICE.
IT'S LITERALLY FIRE AND ICE,
WHICH ARE SUPPOSED TO
BE COMPLETE OPPOSITES.
HOW CAN THESE TWO THINGS CO-EXIST?
Narrator: CHEMIST JOHN POJMAN
FROM LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
STUDIES THE FOOTAGE.
FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTS
REVEAL THAT THE BUILDING
IS AN INDUSTRIAL WAREHOUSE.
IT MAKES POJMAN SUSPECT THE BURNING ICE
COULD BE EXPLAINED BY CHEMICAL ASSOCIATED
WITH METAL PROCESSING.
ALTHOUGH IT MAY SEEM STRANGE,
THERE ARE CHEMICAL REACTIONS...
VIOLENT CHEMICAL REACTIONS THAT
CAN HAPPEN ON THE SURFACE OF ICE.
ONE OF THEM BEING THE REACTION
OF CARBON CARBIDE WITH ICE.
Narrator: CALCIUM CARBIDE IS A CHEMICAL
USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF STEEL.
IT'S ADDED TO MOLTEN
STEEL TO REMOVE SULFUR,
MAKING THE STEEL STRONGER.
BUT THERE'S A PROBLEM WITH CALCIUM CARBIDE
THAT MAKES IT EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO STORE.
CALCIUM CARBIDE, WHEN ADDED TO
WATER, PRODUCES ACETYLENE GAS.
Narrator: ACETYLENE IS
A HIGHLY VOLATILE GAS
THAT BURNS AT OVER 2,500 DEGREES.
POJMAN DEVISES A TEST
TO SEE IF CALCIUM CARBIDE
REACTING WITH ICE COULD
RELEASE ENOUGH ACETYLENE
TO CREATE FLAMES.
SO I HAVE A BLOCK OF ICE,
AND I'M GONNA TAKE SOME
OF THIS CALCIUM CARBIDE.
AND YOU CAN SEE NOW, IT'S STARTING TO FIZZ,
AND THAT SHOULD BE
ACETYLENE GAS. LET'S SEE.
Narrator: POJMAN REALIZES THE INTENSE HEAT
MEANS THE REACTION FEEDS ITSELF,
MAKING THE BLAZE EVEN MORE VIOLENT.
SO NOW WHAT'S HAPPENING
IS THE ACETYLENE IS BURNING,
WHICH IS MELTING THE ICE, PRODUCING WATER,
WHICH IS REACTING WITH THE CALCIUM CARBIDE
TO PRODUCE MORE ACETYLENE.
BUT IT IS REMARKABLE.
IT REALLY DOES LOOK
AS IF THE ICE IS BURNING.
Narrator: IN THE LAB, LESS THAN
ONE OUNCE OF CALCIUM CARBIDE
REACTING WITH ICE CREATES LARGE FLAMES.
SCALE THAT UP AND POJMAN
BELIEVES TONS OF CALCIUM CARBIDE
INSIDE THE WAREHOUSE
COULD CREATE THE ICE INFERNO.
AND IT'S NOT HARD TO
IMAGINE THAT THIS REACTION
IS WHAT'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PHENOMENA
OBSERVED IN THE VIDEO.
♪♪
Narrator: JOURNALIST JEFF
WISE CHECKS CITY REPORTS
TO DISCOVER MORE ABOUT
THE FIRE-RAVAGED ICE BUILDING.
IT WAS AN ABANDONED BUILDING.
IT HAD FALLEN INTO DISUSE.
THE BUILDING HAD SAT EMPTY FOR YEARS,
BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANY EVIDENCE
THAT THAT KIND OF CHEMICAL
WAS STORED IN THIS BUILDING
AT THIS TIME.
♪♪
Narrator: THE BIZARRE INFERNO
COMES TO THE ATTENTION OF
SCIENTIST KISHORE HARI.
HE SCANS THROUGH THE
FOOTAGE OF THE BLAZE FOR CLUES
AND DISCOVERS A BREAKTHROUGH
FOR THE INVESTIGATION.
HE NOTICES THAT WHEN
THE FIREFIGHTERS ARRIVE
AT THE WAREHOUSE, THERE'S
NO ICE ON THE BUILDING.
AND REALIZES THE FIRE COMES FIRST.
WE HAVE THE FIRE NATURALLY
BURNING THINGS INSIDE THE WAREHOUSE.
PAPER, WOOD, A NUMBER OF OTHER THINGS.
AND THE ICE, I THINK, IS COMING
FROM A DIFFERENT PLACE.
Narrator: METEOROLOGIST ANGELA FRITZ
CHECKS THE WEATHER RECORDS FOR THE DAY.
SHE DISCOVERS THAT THE FIRE
ERUPTS AT THE EXACT TIME CHICAGO
PLUNGES INTO ARCTIC CONDITIONS.
THIS WINTER, IN PARTICULAR,
WAS VERY, VERY BAD.
TEMPERATURES WERE 10, 15 DEGREES BELOW 0.
FIRES CAN BURN IN COLD
WEATHER, BUT AT MINUS-10 DEGREES,
ANY WATER THAT YOU TRY AND
USE TO PUT OUT THIS FIRE IS GOING TO
FREEZE INSTANTANEOUSLY.
Narrator: IN THE FROZEN CONDITIONS,
EVEN THE INTENSE HEAT OF
THE INFERNO CAN'T MELT THE ICE.
AND AS THE FIREFIGHTERS
KEEP BATTLING THE BLAZE,
IT CREATES EVEN MORE ICE.
IT'S A VICIOUS CYCLE OF FREEZING,
LEADING TO A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME DISASTER.
NATURE'S REALLY WORKING AGAINST THESE GUYS
BECAUSE AS SOON AS THAT WATER COMES OUT,
IT'S TURNING INTO ICE, AND NONE
OF IT IS ACTUALLY GETTING TO
WHERE IT NEEDS TO GO.
Narrator: FIREFIGHTERS WAIT
THREE DAYS FOR TEMPERATURES
TO RISE AND THE FIRE TO
MELT THE ICE, AT WHICH POINT,
THEY FINALLY PUT OUT
THIS BIZARRE ICE INFERNO.
YOU HAD THE COLD WEATHER.
YOU HAD LARGE AMOUNTS OF WATER.
AND YOU MIX THOSE ALL TOGETHER,
IT MADE LIKE A PERFECT STORM.
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: OH, 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.
Woman: [ SCREAMING ]
Narrator: COMING UP, THE REAL-LIFE IRON MAN
ON HIS WAY TO MARS CAUSES PANIC IN L.A.
-AH! AH. -OH, [BLEEP].
Narrator: TERROR FROM THE DEEP
CAUSING FISH TO FLEE THE WATER.
THOSE ARE FRIGHTENED FISH.
THEY ARE ESCAPING SOMETHING.
Narrator: AND THE CAR
FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION.
[ TIRES SCREECHING ]
WHERE DID THAT CAR COME FROM?
IT SEEMS TO HAVE JUST
MATERIALIZED OUT OF THIN AIR.
Narrator: BIZARRE PHENOMENA,
MYSTERIES CAUGHT ON CAMERA.
WHAT'S THE TRUTH BEHIND THIS?
"STRANGE EVIDENCE."
CAMERAS CAPTURE A HUGE, COMPLEX SHAPE
FORMING IN THE NIGHT SKY OVER LOS ANGELES.
Man: WOW, WHAT IS THAT?
MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ARE STARING UP,
THINKING WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?
AND MORE IMPORTANTLY,
WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN NEXT?
Man: IT'S SOME WEIRD
STUFF. LOOK AT ALL THAT.
Narrator: THIS IS A MASS SIGHTING
CAUGHT ON MULTIPLE CAMERAS.
IT'S AN UNIDENTIFIED FLYING
OBJECT IS REALLY WHAT IT IS.
♪♪
Narrator: LOS ANGELES, DECEMBER 22, 2017,
THE START OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON.
LOCAL RESIDENT ROBERT BROOKS
PREPARES TO HEAD OUT OF
TOWN FOR THE LONG WEEKEND.
IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL NIGHT,
TYPICAL OF LOS ANGELES.
MILLIONS OF STARS IN THE SKY.
AND I TURNED AROUND AND THERE IT WAS.
♪♪
IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS COMING RIGHT AT ME.
Narrator: WHATEVER IT IS,
IT'S CAUGHT ON SURVEILLANCE
CAMERAS THROUGHOUT L.A.
Man: THAT'S SOME WEIRD
STUFF. LOOK AT ALL THAT.
Narrator: WITNESS ROBERT BROOKS
FEARS HE'S FILMING THE END OF THE WORLD.
I ABSOLUTELY WONDERED, IS IT SPIRITUAL?
YOU KNOW, IS THERE A RECKONING COMING?
♪♪
Narrator: ON THE FREEWAYS,
IT'S THE MIDDLE OF RUSH HOUR.
SOMETHING IS HAPPENING
TO THE UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT,
AND IT'S CAPTURED ON CAR DASH CAMS.
Man: IT'S GLOWING LIKE... WHOO!
Narrator: THE OBJECT SEEMS
TO EXPAND THEN SPLIT.
A SMALLER ENTITY APPEARS ACTIVE
WITHIN WHAT LOOKS LIKE A
BALLOON OF SMOKE OR GAS.
Man: WOW, WHAT IS THAT?
I'VE NEVER SEEN THAT HALO EFFECT
SURROUNDING A BRILLIANT CENTER ITEM,
MOVING SO RAPIDLY ACROSS THE SKY.
Narrator: SHOCK TURNS TO
CONFUSION AND TERROR.
[ TIRES SCREECH ] -AH!
[ BLEEP ]
-DAMN. -DAMN.
IT'S NOT NORMAL TO SEE
SOMETHING THAT BIG AND THAT BRIGHT
OVERHEAD IN THE SKY.
IT SETS OFF A PRIMAL FEAR IN PEOPLE.
WHATEVER THIS THING IS, IT'S BIG,
AND IT'S MAKING A BIG
IMPACT ON THE SKYLINE.
Man: WHAT KIND OF [BLEEP] IS THAT, MAN?
♪♪
Narrator: LOS ANGELES IS
USED TO ALIEN INVASIONS.
BEING BURNED TO THE GROUND,
FLATTENED, OR VAPORIZED,
BUT THAT'S IN THE MOVIES.
THIS TIME, IT'S FOR REAL.
[ SIREN WAILING ]
Man: WHAT IS THAT?
Narrator: THIS IS JUST THE
MOST RECENT MASS REPORTING
OF STRANGE OBJECTS OVER L.A.
IN 1942, AUTHORITIES
RECEIVED WIDESPREAD REPORTS
OF LIGHTS OVER THE CITY.
THE MILITARY RESPONDED WITH SUCH FEROCITY,
IT BECAME KNOWN AS THE
BATTLE OF LOS ANGELES.
THE MILITARY, THINKING THAT
THERE WAS A JAPANESE ATTACK,
STARTED SHOOTING PRETTY
MUCH EVERYTHING INTO THE SKY.
IT LIT UP THE SKY, TERRIFIED THE CITIZENS.
[ EXPLOSIONS ]
Narrator: OVER 1,000 ANTI-AIRCRAFT SHELLS
ARE FIRED AT THE LIGHTS IN
THE SKY, BUT TO NO EFFECT.
AFTERWARDS, WHEN THEY
TRIED TO FIND SOME WRECKAGE
OF MAYBE SOME JAPANESE
PLANES, THERE WAS NOTHING.
♪♪
Narrator: MANY BELIEVE THAT
WHATEVER WAS IN THE SKY
OVER L.A. THAT NIGHT IN 1942,
IT WASN'T JAPANESE PLANES.
THEY THOUGHT IT WAS A GOVERNMENT COVER-UP.
SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT THE EXPLANATION
IS A LITTLE BIT MORE ALIEN.
Narrator: IT'S 75 YEARS LATER.
THE SAME SKIES OVER L.A.,
AND ANOTHER SET OF UNEXPLAINED
BRIGHT LIGHTS CAUSE MASS PANIC.
-ANY IDEA WHAT IT IS? -I DON'T KNOW, MAN.
Man: THAT'S SOME WEIRD
STUFF. LOOK AT ALL THAT.
CARS HIT EACH OTHER. UFO REPORTS POUR IN.
SOCIAL MEDIA, RADIO STATIONS,
TELEVISION, EVERYONE HAD
A ALL-PURPOSE FREAKOUT.
♪♪
Narrator: EX-NYPD VIDEO
ANALYST CONOR McCOURT
STUDIES THE DASHCAM FOOTAGE.
IT'S LIKE NOTHING HE'S EVER SEEN BEFORE.
IT'S AN UNIDENTIFIED FLYING
OBJECT IS REALLY WHAT IT IS.
SO I STARTED TO LOOK AT
ALL THE SPECIFIC THINGS
IN THAT UFO TO SEE, IS IT IDENTIFIABLE?
Narrator: HE ANALYZES THE
FOOTAGE FRAME BY FRAME
AND NOTICES THERE'S NOT ONE,
BUT TWO STREAKS WHICH
LOOK LIKE FIERY VAPOR TRAILS.
AT 01:30:14, THE SECOND TRAIL APPEARS.
SOMETHING HAPPENS IN BETWEEN THERE,
INDICATING MAYBE A STAGE IN A ROCKET.
Narrator: IF THIS IS SOME KIND OF
ROCKET LEAVING A VAPOR TRAIL,
THE GAP IN THE TRAIL MIGHT
MARK THE SHUTTING DOWN
OF A FIRST-STAGE ENGINE
AND THE FIRING UP OF THE NEXT.
BUT WHAT OF THE WEIRD OBJECT
HOVERING STRANGELY WITHIN
THE GAS OR VAPOR BALLOON?
WHEN WE ZOOM INTO THIS VIDEO IMAGE,
INSIDE THE VAPOR TRAIL,
WE SEE A DOT IN THE MIDDLE.
IS THAT THE BACK OF THE ROCKET FALLING OFF?
♪♪
Narrator: McCOURT EXAMINES
THE DASHCAM FOOTAGE
TO LOCATE WHERE THE
OBJECT MIGHT'VE COME FROM.
McCourt: IT'S COMING FROM THE NORTHWEST
BECAUSE WE HAVE THE COORDINATES
IN THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN.
SO WE HAVE TO FIND OUT, IS
ANYTHING SCHEDULED TO HAPPEN
IN THE NORTH AND WEST OF THE CITY?
Narrator: A CHECK OF THE AREA
REVEALS A MILITARY FACILITY
WITHIN 140 MILES.
THE VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE.
IF THERE WERE ANY LAUNCHES
TO TAKE PLACE FROM THAT BASE,
IT WOULD BE VISIBLE FROM THE CITY.
Narrator: MILITARY
CORRESPONDENT CARLO MUÑOZ
COMPARES THE OBJECT CAUGHT ON CAMERA
WITH THE TYPE OF WEAPONS
BELIEVED TO BE PRESENT
ON THE VANDENBERG BASE.
YOU COULD VERY CLEARLY SEE
THAT THIS IS SOMETHING MOVING
AT AN INCREDIBLE RATE OF SPEED
AND HITTING VERY HIGH ALTITUDES.
NOW THERE'S NOT THAT MANY
THINGS THAT CAN MOVE THAT FAST,
THAT HIGH.
Narrator: VANDENBERG AIR
BASE IS UNDER THE CONTROL
OF THE 30th SPACE WING,
AIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND.
IF THERE'S EVER A WAR IN SPACE,
THESE ARE THE GUYS WHO WILL FIGHT IT.
AMONG THE WEAPONRY AT THIS
SPACE WAR BASE ARE FOUR SO-CALLED
INTERCEPTOR ROCKETS CAPABLE
OF LEAVING EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE.
EACH OF THESE INVADER-BUSTING
WEAPONS HAS MULTIPLE ROCKET
ENGINES WHICH FIRE IN STAGES.
AS EACH STAGE SEPARATES,
IT ALLOWS THE WARHEAD TO ACCELERATE FURTHER
AND HIGHER INTO THE SKY.
SO WITH EACH SUBSEQUENT SEPARATION,
THE MISSILE TRAVELS
FURTHER TOWARDS IT TARGET,
WHICH WOULD BE AN INCOMING
MISSILE TO THE UNITED STATES.
Narrator: OF THE TERRESTRIAL
THREATS TO THE UNITED STATES,
THE BIGGEST AT THE MOMENT
IS BELIEVED TO COME FROM ASIA.
RIGHT NOW, THINGS ARE VERY TENSE,
PARTICULARLY ON THE WEST
COAST OF THE UNITED STATES.
Narrator: THE NORTH KOREAN
MILITARY HAS SAID THEY DEVELOPED
LONG-RANGE, BALLISTIC MISSILE TECHNOLOGY
THAT ACTUALLY HAS THE ABILITY
TO REACH THE WEST COAST,
WHICH PUTS CALIFORNIA WITHIN RANGE.
Narrator: BUT WOULD THIS
MAD MARXIST DICTATOR
BE CRAZY ENOUGH TO
PICK A FIGHT WITH AMERICA?
♪♪
COMING UP, THE UNDERWATER SMOG MONSTER.
A CREEPING CLOUD KILLING
EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH.
EVERYTHING THIS CLOUD TOUCHES SEEMS TO DIE.
Narrator: DEEP-SEA DEATH WISH.
WHAT'S FRIGHTENING THE KAMIKAZE FISH?
THIS LOOKS LIKE MASS FISH SUICIDE.
Narrator: SCIENTISTS INVESTIGATE
HOW ICE CAN BE ON FIRE.
THIS IS REALLY STRANGE
BECAUSE YOU IMAGINE ICE
WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO CATCH ON FIRE.
Narrator: AND AN EXTRA PLANETARY
PUZZLE IN THE SKIES OVER L.A.
ONE OF THOSE STAGES SEEMS
TO BE MOVING ON ITS OWN,
AND THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT ROCKETS DO
IN THE U.S. MILITARY ARSENAL.
♪♪
Narrator: A STRANGE OBJECT
CROSSING THE SKY OVER L.A.
CAUGHT ON MULTIPLE CAMERAS
CAUSES PANIC ON THE FREEWAY.
[ TIRES SCREECHING ] -AH!
[ BLEEP ]
Narrator: COULD IT BE
AN INTERCEPTOR MISSILE
LAUNCHED BY THE U.S. AIR
FORCE SPACE COMMAND?
AVIATION EXPERT JOE
PAPPALARDO IS NOT CONVINCED.
HE SPOTS SOMETHING STRANGE ABOUT THE OBJECT
WHICH APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN JETTISONED.
IT DOESN'T FALL BACK TO EARTH.
IT'S NOT BEHAVING LIKE A
MISSILE NORMALLY DOES.
ONE OF THOSE STAGES SEEMS
TO BE MOVING ON ITS OWN,
SO THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE THAT'S UP THERE.
Narrator: BUT THERE IS ONE COMPANY
THAT HAS THE TECHNOLOGY
TO BUILD SOMETHING LIKE THIS,
AND RUNNING IT IS A GUY WHO HAS BEEN CALLED
THE REAL-LIFE IRON MAN.
WHEN YOU SEE SOMETHING
MOVING AROUND ON THE BACK-END
OF A ROCKET LIKE THAT,
IT'S A GOOD BET THAT IT'S GONNA BE SPACEX.
Narrator: SPACEX IS RUN BY ELON MUSK,
THE MAN ON WHOM ROBERT DOWNEY JR.
BASED THE CHARACTER OF TONY STARK.
THE U.S. MILITARY ALLOWS MUSK'S COMPANY
TO OPERATE OUT OF
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE.
AND IT IS KNOWN THAT SPACEX
IS WORKING ON A PROGRAM
TO SEND HUMANS TO COLONIZE MARS.
THAT INVOLVES BUILDING
A NEW KIND OF REUSABLE,
MULTIPLE-STAGE ROCKET.
Pappalardo: WHEN A FUEL TANK IS EMPTY,
THEY'LL GUIDE IT DOWN.
THE STAGE WILL SEPARATE,
MOVE IN THESE VERY UNNATURAL
WEIRD WAYS TO POSITION ITSELF TO
SETTLE BACK DOWN TO THE GROUND
SO IT CAN BE REUSED.
♪♪
Narrator: WHAT ANGELENOS
WITNESSED THAT NIGHT
IS A SPACEX FALCON 9 ROCKET
BLASTING TOWARDS SPACE.
THIS SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH IS ONE STEP TOWARD
HUMANS REACHING OTHER WORLDS.
ROBERT BROOKS HAS ACCIDENTALLY WITNESSED
A BIT OF SPACE HISTORY.
I'M VERY PLEASED THAT I GOT TO
BE THERE ON THE FRONT ROW SEAT
OF ALL OF THIS WITH A FANTASTIC VIEW.
THE FACT THAT WE CAN DO
ALL THESE GREAT THINGS,
AND WE MIGHT EVEN BE
GOING TO MARS PRETTY SOON?
I MEAN, HOW AWESOME IS THAT?
♪♪
Narrator: NOW, THE HORROR
FROM THE BLUE LAGOON.
IT LOOKS LIKE SOME KIND OF
PORTAL TO THE UNDERWORLD.
I'D NEVER SEEN ANYTHING QUITE LIKE IT.
Narrator: NOTHING CAN
SURVIVE THIS MYSTERY CLOUD.
IT'S A FLOATING SERIAL KILLER.
EVERYTHING THIS CLOUD TOUCHES SEEMS TO DIE.
IT'S PRETTY TERRIFYING.
♪♪
Narrator: YUCATáN PENINSULA, MEXICO.
MYSTERIOUS RUINS ARE ALL THAT REMAINS
OF THE CITIES OF THE MIGHTY MAYANS,
BUT THE STRANGE FATE OF THIS CIVILIZATION,
MORE THAN A THOUSAND YEARS
AGO, REMAINS UNEXPLAINED.
MANY OF THESE CITIES
ARE BUILT AROUND GIANT,
NATURAL HOLES LEADING INTO THE EARTH.
TO THE MAYANS, THESE
CENOTES, OR SACRED WELLS,
WERE FEARED AND REVERED,
THE SITE OF RITUAL, HUMAN SACRIFICE.
TO ARCHAEOLOGIST GUILLERMO
DE ANDA AND HIS TEAM,
THEY ARE RICH, BUT
TREACHEROUS HUNTING GROUNDS
FOR ANCIENT TREASURE.
IT'S A DREAM COME TRUE
FOR AN ARCHAEOLOGIST.
THERE'S NOT ONLY A LOT OF ARTIFACTS,
THEY ARE VERY WELL PRESERVED.
Narrator: MAY 2015, DE ANDA HAS
VENTURED INTO THE THICK JUNGLE
10 MILES SOUTH OF THE LONG-ABANDONED
MAYAN CITY OF TULUM.
HE PREPARES TO DIVE INTO ONE
OF THE MAYANS' SACRED WELLS.
DE ANDA DESCENDS INTO
THE GLOOMY, ECHOING HOLE.
THE WATER IS SHOCKINGLY COLD,
BUT DE ANDA AND HIS TEAM ARE USED TO DIVING
IN THESE CONDITIONS.
90 FEET DOWN,
HE ENCOUNTERS SOMETHING
HE'S NEVER SEEN BEFORE.
BELOW HIM, A VAST, UNDERWATER CLOUD.
AS HE APPROACHES THE EDGE OF THE CLOUD,
HE STARTS TO FEEL PAIN.
IT ACTUALLY BURNS YOUR LIPS.
WE DON'T TAKE OUR MASKS OFF
BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT EFFECT
THAT COULD HAVE ON YOUR EYES.
Narrator: DE ANDA REALIZES
SOMETHING'S WRONG.
MAYAN SACRED WELLS ARE
NORMALLY TEEMING WITH LIFE, BUT HERE,
EVERYTHING IS DEAD.
I HAVE NEVER SEEN SOMETHING
LIKE THAT IN ANY OTHER CENOTE.
Narrator: SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS,
HE POSTS FOOTAGE OF THE CLOUD ONLINE.
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE JUNGLE,
WHERE LIFE IS ABUNDANT,
ONE OF THE MOST BIODIVERSE PLACES ON EARTH,
YOU FIND THIS POCKET OF DEATH.
WHEN HE REALIZED THAT IT'S
KILLING EVERYTHING THERE,
YOU HAVE TO ASK YOURSELF, WHAT IS THAT?
♪♪
Narrator: THE KILLER CLOUD
IS IN A SACRED MAYAN WELL.
SCIENCE JOURNALIST JOHN FARROW
LOOKS FOR CLUES IN MAYAN RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
AND THEIR OBSESSION WITH
DEATH AND THE END OF THE WORLD.
THE MAYAN CIVILIZATION, WHICH
WAS QUITE ADVANCED FOR ITS TIME,
HAD A CALENDAR SYSTEM.
BUT THIS CALENDAR ACTUALLY HAD AN ENDING.
IT WAS IN THE YEAR 2012 WHEN
THE WORLD WAS SUPPOSED TO END.
PEOPLE REALLY BELIEVED THIS, AND IN 2012,
THEY WERE COUNTING DOWN THE MINUTES
TO THE END OF THE WORLD.
Narrator: AROUND THE WORLD,
THERE WERE SOME WHO
FEARED THE MAYAN PROPHECY
WOULD COME TRUE.
BUT WHEN THE CLOCK ULTIMATELY
HIT ZERO, NOTHING HAPPENED.
SO WHEN PEOPLE SEE A CLOUD OF
DEATH IN THE MIDDLE OF A CENOTE,
A RELIGIOUS PLACE FOR
THE MAYANS, THEY THINK,
MAYBE WE JUST GOT THE DATE WRONG,
AND THE END OF THE WORLD IS COMING,
AND IT'S COMING FROM HERE.
♪♪
Man: [ SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE ]
Narrator: BUT EX-CIA AGENT LINDSAY MORAN
HAS A LESS MYSTICAL POSSIBLE EXPLANATION.
THIS CENOTE SITS INSIDE NARCO TERRITORY.
THERE WAS A 2017 REPORT THAT
SHOWED THAT THERE WAS COCAINE
IN THE CAVE SYSTEMS.
IF SOME HUGE AMOUNT OF
COCAINE GOT INTO THE WATER,
THIS COULD BE WHAT'S
CREATING THIS CLOUD OF DEATH,
AND ESSENTIALLY, CAUSING
ALL THE LIFE DOWN THERE
TO HAVE OVERDOSES.
Narrator: IT SOUNDS INCREDIBLE,
BUT THE VOLUME OF COCAINE
HANDLED BY THE NARCOS WAS STAGGERING.
IN A SINGLE YEAR, THE COCAINE
SMUGGLED INTO AMERICA
BY PABLO ESCOBAR ALONE
WAS EQUIVALENT IN WEIGHT
TO 25 STATUES OF LIBERTY.
PABLO ESCOBAR IS FAMOUS
FOR BEING HISTORICALLY
THE MOST PROLIFIC DRUG
TRAFFICKER IN THIS AREA.
Narrator: ESCOBAR'S MEN WERE
MOVING 15 TONS OF COCAINE A DAY,
MUCH OF IT THROUGH MEXICO.
AND WHEN THERE WAS A RISK OF
CAPTURE, THE COCAINE WAS DUMPED.
Man: THIS RAID YIELDED
ABOUT 6,500 KILOGRAMS
OF PROCESSED COCAINE
WORTH WELL OVER $1 BILLION.
Narrator: ESCOBAR'S DRUG RUNNERS
COULD HAVE USED THE WELL-CONCEALED
MAYAN SACRED WELLS AS DRUG DEPOTS
OR DUMPING GROUNDS ON
THEIR SMUGGLING ROUTE.
FOR A DRUG LORD LIKE ESCOBAR,
THESE CENOTES MIGHT
PRESENT THE PERFECT PLACE
TO STASH HUGE AMOUNTS OF COCAINE.
Narrator: IF THIS IS A CLOUD OF COCAINE,
HUNDREDS OF ADDITIONAL TONS
COULD BE LYING IN OTHER CENOTES,
POSING A POSSIBLY TERRIFYING THREAT
TO THE REGION'S WATER SUPPLY.
♪♪
COMING UP, THE DRIVER
FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION.
A WORMHOLE CAR CRASH CAUGHT ON CAMERA.
[ TIRES SCREECHING ]
I MEAN, CARS DON'T COME OUT OF NOWHERE.
[ TIRES SCREECHING ]
Narrator: BURNING ICE.
A FREAKY FROZEN INFERNO
BAFFLES FIRE INVESTIGATORS.
I HAVE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE LIKE THIS.
FIRE AND ICE DON'T MISS.
Narrator: AND EXPERTS FEAR THE SPREAD
OF THE MAYAN KILLER CLOUD... THAT IS TOXIC,
VERY TOXIC, AND THAT WILL KILL
ANYTHING THAT COMES IN THERE.
♪♪
Narrator: DIVERS ENCOUNTER A FOG OF DEATH
IN AN ANCIENT MAYAN SACRED WELL.
EXPERTS WONDER IF THIS COULD
BE A KILLER CLOUD OF COCAINE
DUMPED BY NARCO DRUG LORD PABLO ESCOBAR.
CHEMIST ANDREA SELLA LOOKS
AT THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
OF COCAINE AND HOW IT ACTS WITH WATER.
NOW, COCAINE IS EXTREMELY SOLUBLE.
IF YOU DISSOLVE SALT UP INTO
WATER, YOU CAN'T SEE IT ANYMORE.
WELL, EXACTLY THE SAME THING
WOULD HAPPEN TO THE COCAINE.
IT JUST VANISHES.
THE FACT THAT YOU'VE GOT THAT
CLOUDINESS MEANS THAT CLEARLY,
WHATEVER THAT MATERIAL IS,
IT ISN'T SOLUBLE IN THE WATER.
IT'S ACTUALLY TINY PARTICLES,
WHICH ARE SUSPENDED.
WHAT THE NATURE OF THOSE
PARTICLES IS, WE HAVE NO IDEA.
♪♪
Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGIST GUILLERMO DE ANDA
RISKS HIS LIFE TO INVESTIGATE.
THOUGH THE TOXIC CLOUD BURNS HIS SKIN,
HE SWIMS INTO IT AND
EMERGES FROM THE OTHER SIDE.
WHATEVER THE CLOUD IS,
IT'S NOT SITTING ON THE FLOOR OF THE WELL.
SOMETHING WAS STRANGE BECAUSE WE REALIZED,
THIS IS NOT THE BOTTOM.
THIS IS SOMETHING ELSE,
AND THEN WE PUT OUR HAND,
OUR HAND DOES GO THROUGH.
THEN WE VENTURE A LITTLE
BIT MORE AND A LITTLE MORE
UNTIL WE GET TO THE
OTHER SIDE OF THE LAYER.
IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S A
HUGE TARP ON TOP OF YOU.
♪♪
Narrator: PHYSICIST SIMON FOSTER
FROM IMPERIAL COLLEGE, LONDON,
WANTS TO KNOW WHY THE CLOUD IS
HOVERING IN THIS PARTICULAR PART
OF THE WELL.
WHAT I THINK WE'RE SEEING HERE
ARE TWO SEPARATE BODIES OF WATER.
ONE FRESHWATER AND ONE SEAWATER.
WE'VE ACTUALLY GOT THAT IN PLAY HERE.
ON ONE SIDE, I'VE GOT SALTWATER,
AND ON THE OTHER SIDE, I'VE GOT FRESHWATER.
WHEN I REMOVE THE SEPARATE BETWEEN THE TWO,
YOU'LL SEE THAT THE SALTWATER MOVES
BELOW THE FRESHWATER BECAUSE IT'S DENSER,
IT'S HEAVIER, AND YOU GET
THIS CLEAR, DISTINCT SEPARATION
OF THE TWO LAYERS.
Narrator: FOSTER'S TEST
SUGGESTS THAT DENSER SALTWATER
IS SITTING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MAYAN WELL,
FRESHWATER LIES ABOVE.
THE LETHAL CLOUD IS HELD IN PLACE,
TRAPPED BETWEEN THESE LAYERS.
NOW, THE REAL MYSTERY IN
THIS FOOTAGE IS THIS CLOUDY,
MURKY FOG THAT'S SANDWICHED
BETWEEN THE TWO BODIES.
WHAT IS IT?
THAT'S WHAT WE'VE GOT TO DISCOVER.
♪♪
Narrator: FLUID DYNAMICS EXPERT JAMES BIRD
SETS TO WORK TRYING TO
IDENTIFY THE KILLER SUBSTANCE.
THE FIRST CLUE ARE THE DEAD TREES
LYING IN AMONGST THE KILLER CLOUD.
IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE THE
STICKS AND OTHER DEBRIS THAT
SEEMS LIKE IT COULD BE ROTTING.
GENERALLY, DURING THE ROTTING PROCESS,
THE BACTERIA CAN CREATE GASES.
Narrator: IS THE CLOUD
KILLING ALL LIFE IN ITS PATH,
OR IS THE UNUSUAL QUANTITY
OF DEAD MATTER ITSELF
CREATING THE KILLER MIST?
WE'RE LIKELY SEEING LOTS OF
SMALL BUBBLES THAT WOULD GIVE
A CLOUD-LIKE APPEARANCE.
Narrator: MARINE BIOLOGIST ERIK CORDES
INVESTIGATES HOW A KILLER CLOUD
OF UNDERWATER GAS COULD COME
FROM ROTTING, DEAD TREES.
IN ENVIRONMENTS STARVED OF OXYGEN,
THE BACTERIA DIGESTING THE VEGETATION
CAN CREATE TOXIC GAS.
WHEN CORDES CHECKS OXYGEN
READINGS FROM THE CENOTE,
HE FINDS THAT THE OXYGEN
LEVELS ARE NEARLY ZERO.
IF THERE'S NO OXYGEN, ALL
THE PLANT MATTER AND LEAVES
AND STICKS AND EVERYTHING
THAT SUNK DOWN INTO THE BOTTOM
WOULD DEGRADE BY THE BACTERIA,
AND THEY WOULD START
PRODUCING HYDROGEN SULFIDE.
Narrator: HYDROGEN
SULFIDE IS A CORROSIVE ACID.
IT CAN SUFFOCATE ANY LIFE THAT
INHALES THE POISONED WATERS
WITHIN SECONDS.
THESE CHEMICAL REACTIONS
TRIGGER AN UNSTOPPABLE
CHAIN REACTION OF DEATH.
HYDROGEN SULFIDE IS TOXIC, VERY TOXIC.
AND THAT WILL KILL ANYTHING
THAT COMES IN THERE.
AND SO YOU GET MORE DEAD ANIMALS
AND MORE HYDROGEN SULFIDE BEING PRODUCED,
AND IT'LL JUST KEEP GOING
AND GOING AND GOING
UNTIL THE WHOLE THING BECOMES TOXIC.
Narrator: THIS MAYAN SACRED WELL IS,
INDEED, A WELL OF DEATH,
AND THIS KILLER CLOUD
COULD BE HARD TO CONTAIN.
THESE ARE CAVES THAT ARE
CONNECTED BY A SYSTEM OF
ESSENTIALLY UNDERWATER RIVERS.
IF ONE CENOTE GETS POLLUTED,
THE REST OF THEM ARE
GOING TO BE POLLUTED, TOO.
♪♪
Narrator: NOW, A DASHCAM
CAPTURES A CRAZY COLLISION.
SO WHERE DID THAT CAR COME FROM?
IT SEEMS TO JUST
MATERIALIZE OUT OF THIN AIR.
Narrator: EXPERTS STRUGGLE
TO EXPLAIN THIS PHANTOM CAR.
ONE, I'M JUST MISSING SOMETHING
OR TWO, THIS CAR IS INVISIBLE.
♪♪
Narrator: YAROSLAVL, RUSSIA.
160 MILES NORTHEAST OF MOSCOW.
THIS CITY IS A HUB OF
HIGH-TECH RESEARCH INSTITUTES.
FROM AUTOMOTIVE DEVELOPERS
TO A BRANCH OF THE
RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE.
♪♪
AUGUST 30, 2012.
A DASH-MOUNTED CAMERA RECORDS A JOURNEY
THROUGH THE CITY STREETS.
THEN WHAT HAPPENS NEXT... [ TIRES SCREECH ]
...IS STRAIGHT OUT OF THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
WE'VE GOT A CAR DRIVING DOWN
THE ROAD AT A NORMAL PACE.
EVERYTHING'S COMPLETELY
NORMAL. EVERYTHING'S FINE.
AND THEN WHAM!
THE APPROACHING VEHICLE
SEEMS TO JUST MATERIALIZE
OUT OF THIN AIR.
I'VE INVESTIGATED MANY CAR CRASHES,
BUT I'VE NEVER SEEN ONE LIKE THIS BEFORE.
I MEAN, CARS DON'T COME OUT OF NOWHERE.
[ TIRES SCREECH ]
Narrator: THE FOOTAGE OF THIS PHANTOM CAR
COMES TO THE ATTENTION OF INVESTIGATORS.
WHEN YOU SEE SOMETHING THIS STRANGE,
YOU START TO THINK OF SCIENCE FICTION.
IF THAT CAR WAS A DeLOREAN,
THEN MAYBE IT MIGHT BE SOME TIME TRAVEL,
BUT THERE HAS TO BE A
DIFFERENT EXPLANATION.
♪♪
Narrator: COMING UP, MASS SUICIDE AT A LAKE
AS THOUSANDS OF FISH LEAP
IN TERROR OUT OF THE WATER.
I'VE HEARD OF FLYING FISH BEFORE,
BUT THIS IS A LITTLE CRAZY.
Narrator: A FREAKY FROZEN INFERNO
BAFFLE CHICAGO FIREFIGHTERS.
THIS LOOKS LIKE THE ICE ITSELF IS ON FIRE.
♪♪
Narrator: AND ARE CAR WARS
A NEW PHANTOM MENACE?
THAT'S A GAME CHANGER. THEY'D
BASICALLY BE UNSTOPPABLE.
♪♪
Narrator: DASHCAM FOOTAGE
SHOWS A PHANTOM CAR
COMING OUT OF THIN AIR.
[ TIRES SCREECH ]
AN INVISIBLE CAR SOUNDS CRAZY,
BUT INVISIBILITY STEALTH TECHNOLOGY
IS SOMETHING THAT'S BEING ACTIVELY PURSUED
IN SECRET WEAPONS PROGRAMS.
EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT
OF SOME KIND OF INVISIBILITY
PROVIDING TECHNOLOGY IS
SOMETHING THAT'S VERY REAL.
AND ONE THING THAT EVERY MILITARY
WOULD LOVE TO HAVE IS SOME
KIND OF CLOAK OF INVISIBILITY.
Narrator: RUSSIA'S SKIES
HAVE BEEN A TESTING GROUND
FOR INVISIBILITY PROGRAMS FOR DECADES.
THE SUKHOI SU-57 FIGHTER JET HAS
ADVANCED STEALTH TECHNOLOGIES.
ITS ANGLED SHAPE MINIMIZES
RADIO WAVES REFLECTING BACK
TO ENEMY DETECTING SYSTEMS,
ALLOWING IT TO PENETRATE ENEMY
AIR SPACE, UNDETECTED BY RADAR.
[ EXPLOSION ]
BUT THESE JETS ARE STILL
VISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE.
IF A COUNTRY WERE ABLE TO
DEVELOP SOME KIND OF TECHNOLOGY
THAT PROVIDED FOR INVISIBILITY
ON THE BATTLEFIELD, I MEAN,
THAT'S A GAME CHANGER. THEY'D
BASICALLY BE UNSTOPPABLE.
♪♪
Narrator: BUT THE NEWEST STEALTH TECHNOLOGY
COSTS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS
AND IS TOP, TOP SECRET.
IT WILL BE TESTED ON FIGHTER
PLANTS, TANKS, AND SHIPS,
NOT ON A SMALL HATCHBACK
AT A BUSY INTERSECTION.
VIDEO ANALYST CONOR McCOURT
STUDIES THE COLLISION FRAME BY FRAME.
THE ANSWER TO THIS WORMHOLE WEIRDNESS
IS IN THE FOOTAGE ITSELF.
IF YOU LOOK ON THE BACK
RIGHT SIDE OF THE CAR,
THERE'S A LITTLE PROTRUSION RIGHT THERE.
I BELIEVE THAT'S THE
BACK OF THE PHANTOM CAR
AS IT STRIKES THE FRONT OF THE CAR.
[ TIRES SCREECH ]
Narrator: REPLAYING THE FOOTAGE,
McCOURT NOTICES PARKED
CARS BESIDE THE CRASH SITE.
HE BEGINS TO SUSPECT THE
PHANTOM CAR IS ALWAYS THERE.
IT'S JUST NOT VISIBLE BEFORE THE CRASH
BECAUSE IT'S BLOCKED
FROM THE DASHCAM'S VIEW.
AS THE PHANTOM CAR IS COMING ALONG
AND ENTERING THE INTERSECTION,
THERE'S ONLY A MOMENT WHERE WE CAN SEE IT,
AND THAT THE PHANTOM
CAR IS OBSCURED BY THE CAR
THAT'S JUST ABOUT TO BE HIT.
Narrator: THE ANALYSIS REVEALS
THIS IS A PERFECTLY TIMED OPTICAL ILLUSION.
♪♪
WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS A
VERY AMAZING COINCIDENCE.
WHERE, AT THE EXACT TIME THAT
THAT BLACK CAR WAS ENTERING
INTO THE INTERSECTION,
IT WAS OBSCURING THE
ENTRY OF THAT PHANTOM CAR
INTO THE INTERSECTION.
SO WHEN THE COLLISION OCCURRED,
IT WAS ALMOST AS IF IT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE,
BUT IT WAS THERE THE WHOLE TIME.
[ TIRES SCREECH ]
♪♪
Narrator: NOW, IN CHINA,
FISH ARE FREAKING OUT.
I'VE HEARD OF FLYING FISH BEFORE,
BUT THIS IS A LITTLE CRAZY.
WHAT THE HECK ARE THESE FISH DOING?
WHY ARE THEY ALL JUMPING OUT
OF THE WATER AT THE SAME TIME?
Narrator: KAMIKAZE FISH,
DRIVEN TO THEIR DOOM
BY SOMETHING SUPER SCARY IN THE LAKE.
THOSE ARE FRIGHTENED FISH.
THEY ARE ESCAPING SOMETHING.
WHAT COULD BE UNDER THE
WATER? THEY CAN'T BREATHE.
IT'S ALMOST LIKE FISH SUICIDE.
♪♪
Narrator: JIAOZUO, CHINA,
AN AREA OF WATERFALLS AND LAKES.
IT ATTRACTS THOUSANDS
OF SIGHTSEERS EACH YEAR.
JUNE 13, 2017.
AS TOURISTS TAKE PICTURES IN
THE TRANQUIL SURROUNDINGS,
THE PEACE IS SHATTERED.
ONLOOKERS ARE SHOCKED AND DISTURBED
TO WITNESS AN AQUATIC HORROR SHOW.
ALL OF A SUDDEN, MADNESS BREAKS OUT,
AND FISH START LEAPING OUT OF THE LAKE,
AND THEY'RE JUST FLOPPING EVERYWHERE.
Narrator: THE BIZARRE
SIGHT BAFFLES SCIENTISTS.
IT'S CHAOS.
THIS LOOKS LIKE MASS FISH SUICIDE.
THESE FISH ARE ABSOLUTELY
JUMPING TO THEIR DOOM.
♪♪
Narrator: COMING UP,
FIREFIGHTERS BATTLE BURNING ICE.
IT LOOKS LIKE SOME KIND
OF DEMONIC, FROZEN ICE HELL.
♪♪
Narrator: AND EXPERTS
FEAR THESE SUICIDE FISH
COULD BE AN APOCALYPTIC WARNING.
IT MIGHT BE THERE'S AN EARTHQUAKE
RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER.
♪♪
Narrator: IN A NIGHTMARE SCENE,
THOUSANDS OF FISH LEAP ONTO
DRY LAND FROM A CHINESE LAKE.
MARINE BIOLOGIST DANNI WASHINGTON
STUDIES THE FOOTAGE.
SHE ZOOMS IN ON AN INDIVIDUAL FISH.
THE SPECIES THEY BELONG
TO COULD PROVIDE A CLUE
TO THIS BIZARRE BEHAVIOR.
LOOKING CLOSER AT THE FISH,
YOU CAN SEE THAT IT'S GOT
A BLUNT NOSE, LARGE SIZE,
A SILVERY SHIMMY ON THE SIDES.
IT LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THAT
IT'S AN ASIAN SILVER CARP.
THESE FISH CAN GROW UP TO
THREE FEET LONG AND 60 POUNDS.
THAT'S A REALLY BIG FISH TO BE
JUMPING RANDOMLY OUT OF A LAKE.
Narrator: ASIAN SILVER CARP
COME FROM CHINA AND SIBERIA,
BUT THEY'RE SPREADING ACROSS THE WORLD.
THEIR NUMBERS ARE
GROWING RAPIDLY IN AMERICAN
AND EUROPEAN RIVERS AND LAKES
WITH SOME FEARING THESE FISH
WILL OVERWHELM THE WATERWAYS.
♪♪
BUT ACROSS THE GLOBE,
THERE ARE REPORTS OF THESE CARP
DISPLAYING STRANGE
BEHAVIOR WHEN FRIGHTENED.
Washington: THEY WILL GET SPOOKED,
AND THEY'LL START SHOWING
THIS WEIRD, CRAZY BEHAVIOR
WHERE THEY'RE JUMPING OUT OF THE WATER.
THEY CAN JUMP NEARLY
10 FEET OUT OF THE WATER.
Narrator: SCIENTISTS ARE
TRYING TO FIGURE OUT
WHAT'S CAUSING THESE
CARP TO KILL THEMSELVES.
MARINE EXPERT JAY HEMDAL
ANALYZES THE FOOTAGE.
THE FISH, HE THINKS, ARE TRYING
TO GET AWAY FROM SOMETHING.
SOMETHING INSIDE THE LAKE.
THOSE ARE FRIGHTENED FISH.
THEY ARE ESCAPING SOMETHING.
IT'S DIFFICULT TO SAY WHAT THAT COULD BE.
THERE COULD BE A PREDATOR,
OR IT COULD BE WHAT THEY
PERCEIVE TO BE A PREDATOR.
WHEN YOU'RE A FISH AND
THERE'S A PREDATOR AROUND,
ONE OF YOUR RESPONSES IS
TO ACTUALLY JUMP INTO THE AIR.
Narrator: BUT TO CAUSE
SUCH AN EXTREME REACTION,
WHATEVER IS DOWN THERE
MUST BE TRULY FRIGHTENING.
[ ALLIGATOR GROWLING ]
THE REGION'S MOST FEROCIOUS AQUATIC BEAST
IS THE CHINESE ALLIGATOR.
THEY ARE FEARSOME, APEX PREDATORS.
OPPORTUNIST FEEDERS
THAT WILL DEVOUR ANYTHING
THAT GETS TOO CLOSE.
FROM MAMMALS NEAR THE WATER EDGE
TO ANY FISH IN THE WATERS.
IF A CHINESE ALLIGATOR WERE IN THIS LAKE,
THE CARP WOULD HAVE CAUSE FOR CONCERN.
THEY DON'T NECESSARILY
HAVE A DIRECTIONAL ABILITY,
AND THEY LAND ON THE GROUND
BY ACCIDENT, NOT ON PURPOSE.
Narrator: BUT THIS CAN'T BE THE ANSWER.
THIS LAKE IS MANMADE
WITH NO CONNECTING RIVERS
TO NATURAL WATERWAYS.
NO ALLIGATOR POPULATION
HAS BEEN INTRODUCED HERE.
THIS IS NOT AN APEX
PREDATOR'S HUNTING GROUND.
♪♪
BIOLOGIST ROLAND KAYS STUDIES THE FOOTAGE.
A SPECIALIST IN ANIMAL BEHAVIOR,
HE KNOWS THAT SOME SPECIES SEEM TO BE ABLE
TO PREDICT NATURAL DISASTERS.
THERE'S A LOT OF STORIES
GOING BACK MILLENNIA,
TOLD ALL AROUND THE WORLD,
ABOUT ANIMALS DETECTING SEISMIC EVENTS,
EARTHQUAKES, OR VOLCANOES,
BEFORE THEY HAPPEN.
Narrator: REPORTS FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE
REVEAL GIANT OARFISH BEACHING THEMSELVES
BEFORE AN IMMINENT EARTHQUAKE.
[ SIREN WAILS ]
IN 2010, OARFISH BEACHED
THEMSELVES IN JAPAN.
SOON AFTERWARDS,
THE 9.1 MAGNITUDE TOHOKU
EARTHQUAKE SPAWNS A TSUNAMI.
SCIENTISTS NOW BELIEVE
FINDING THESE FISH ON THE COAST
IS THE SIGN OF A COMING CATASTROPHE
AND BELIEVE THEY'VE UNPACKED
THE COMPLICATED PROCESS
THAT ALLOWS FISH TO PREDICT
UPCOMING SEISMIC EVENTS.
WHEN THERE'S TECTONIC
STRESS IN THE EARTH'S CRUST,
IT RELEASES POSITIVE IONS INTO THE AIR.
AND WHEN THOSE IONS REACH A BODY OF WATER,
IT OXIDIZES AND THEN
CREATES OXYGEN PEROXIDE,
WHICH IS AN EXTREME IRRITANT FOR FISH.
THE FISH COULD BE JUMPING OUT OF THE WATER
BECAUSE HYDROGEN PEROXIDE
IS BUILDING UP IN THE LAKE,
AND THEY NEED TO ESCAPE.
WHICH MEANS THERE'S AN EARTHQUAKE
RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER.
Narrator: BUT IF THIS IS A CASE OF FISH
PREDICTING SEISMIC EVENTS,
THE EARTHQUAKE NEVER COMES.
THERE WAS NO SEISMIC ACTIVITY
DETECTED ANYWHERE IN THE REGION.
SEISMIC ACTIVITY IS NOT
WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE.
THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING ELSE.
♪♪
Narrator: WHEN LOCAL AUTHORITIES RELEASED
THEIR OFFICIAL EXPLANATION,
RESIDENTS CAN'T BELIEVE THE FINDING.
AUTHORITIES LAY THE BLAME
ON A POPULAR CHINESE PASTIME.
THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVEALED
WHAT THEY BELIEVED CAUSED
THIS STRANGE PHENOMENON.
IT WAS A SINGING CONTEST.
♪♪
Narrator: IT SEEMS THAT CHINESE SINGERS
AND CHINESE SONGS WERE
SO LOUD AND SO DISTURBING,
EVEN UNDERWATER, THAT
THEY DROVE THE CARP CRAZY.
A SOUND WAVE TRAVELS THROUGH
THE WATER FOR GREAT DISTANCES
WITH A LOT OF PRESSURE.
A LOT OF AQUATIC ANIMALS
CAN SENSE THAT PRESSURE
USING SOMETHING CALLED THE LATERAL LINE.
IT'S A SERIES OF SENSITIVE PORES
THAT RUN DOWN THE SIDE OF THEIR BODY.
THEY CAN FEEL THE MOVEMENT
OF LARGER FISH AROUND THEM,
AND THOSE LARGER FISH
ARE USUALLY PREDATORS.
SO, WHEN YOU SEND A LOT OF
SOUNDWAVES THROUGH THE WATER,
THEY FEEL THROUGH THEIR BODIES
THAT THEY'RE BEING ATACKED BY
A NUMBER OF PREDATORS AT THE SAME TIME.
Narrator: LOCALS SEEM TO LIKE IT,
BUT TO A CARP, SOME
MUSIC IS SIMPLY UNBEARABLE.
CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT YOUR SINGING IS SO BAD
THAT YOU CAUSED AN ENTIRE SCHOOL
OF FISH TO JUMP OUT OF THE WATER
AND COMMIT SUICIDE?
THAT'S REALLY BAD.
♪♪
Narrator: COMING UP, A FROZEN
INFERNO BAFFLES EXPERTS.
IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE IT COULD BE POSSIBLE.
Narrator: AND SCIENTISTS INVESTIGATE
HOW ICE CAN BE ON FIRE.
THIS IS REALLY STRANGE
BECAUSE YOU IMAGINE ICE
WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO CATCH ON FIRE.
♪♪
Narrator: CAMERAS CAPTURE AN ICE-ENTOMBED
CHICAGO BUILDING ENGULFED BY FIRE.
IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE.
IT LOOKS LIKE SOME KIND
OF DEMONIC, FROZEN ICE HELL.
Narrator: FIRE EXPERTS ARE BAFFLED.
I HAVE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE LIKE THIS.
FIRE AND ICE DON'T MIX.
♪♪
Narrator: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.
IN THIS CITY OF 2.7 MILLION PEOPLE,
EMERGENCIES ARE INEVITABLE.
THE CHICAGO FIRE DEPARTMENT
RESPONDS TO NEARLY 1,000 ALARMS EVERY DAY.
JANUARY 22, 2013.
PHOTOGRAPHER TIM OLK
RECEIVES A CALL FROM ENGINE 42.
HIS JOB IS TO CAPTURE
IMAGES FOR FORENSIC ANALYSIS.
I HEARD OVER THE RADIO
THERE WAS ONE BLOCK WIDE,
ONE BLOCK BUILDING ABOUT
FIVE STORIES, HEAVY TIMBER,
JUST WELL-INVOLVED WITH FIRE.
I AUTOMATICALLY GO OVER THERE
AND JUST START SHOOTING THE PICTURES.
Narrator: WHAT HE WITNESSES
DEFIES EXPLANATION.
AN INFERNO INSIDE A
BUILDING ENTOMBED IN ICE.
I'VE SEEN EVERY KIND OF DISASTER,
ANY KIND OF INCIDENT YOU CAN IMAGINE.
I'VE NEVER SEEN THAT BEFORE.
YOU GOT BIG PLUMES OF SMOKE
COMING UP THROUGH THE
MIDDLE OF THIS BUILDING,
BUT THE WHOLE THING'S ENCAPSULATED IN ICE.
♪♪
Narrator: FIREFIGHTERS BATTLE
THE BLAZE INTO THE NIGHT.
SCIENTISTS STRUGGLE TO EXPLAIN
WHAT APPEARS TO BE BURNING ICE.
IT'S LITERALLY FIRE AND ICE,
WHICH ARE SUPPOSED TO
BE COMPLETE OPPOSITES.
HOW CAN THESE TWO THINGS CO-EXIST?
Narrator: CHEMIST JOHN POJMAN
FROM LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
STUDIES THE FOOTAGE.
FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTS
REVEAL THAT THE BUILDING
IS AN INDUSTRIAL WAREHOUSE.
IT MAKES POJMAN SUSPECT THE BURNING ICE
COULD BE EXPLAINED BY CHEMICAL ASSOCIATED
WITH METAL PROCESSING.
ALTHOUGH IT MAY SEEM STRANGE,
THERE ARE CHEMICAL REACTIONS...
VIOLENT CHEMICAL REACTIONS THAT
CAN HAPPEN ON THE SURFACE OF ICE.
ONE OF THEM BEING THE REACTION
OF CARBON CARBIDE WITH ICE.
Narrator: CALCIUM CARBIDE IS A CHEMICAL
USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF STEEL.
IT'S ADDED TO MOLTEN
STEEL TO REMOVE SULFUR,
MAKING THE STEEL STRONGER.
BUT THERE'S A PROBLEM WITH CALCIUM CARBIDE
THAT MAKES IT EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO STORE.
CALCIUM CARBIDE, WHEN ADDED TO
WATER, PRODUCES ACETYLENE GAS.
Narrator: ACETYLENE IS
A HIGHLY VOLATILE GAS
THAT BURNS AT OVER 2,500 DEGREES.
POJMAN DEVISES A TEST
TO SEE IF CALCIUM CARBIDE
REACTING WITH ICE COULD
RELEASE ENOUGH ACETYLENE
TO CREATE FLAMES.
SO I HAVE A BLOCK OF ICE,
AND I'M GONNA TAKE SOME
OF THIS CALCIUM CARBIDE.
AND YOU CAN SEE NOW, IT'S STARTING TO FIZZ,
AND THAT SHOULD BE
ACETYLENE GAS. LET'S SEE.
Narrator: POJMAN REALIZES THE INTENSE HEAT
MEANS THE REACTION FEEDS ITSELF,
MAKING THE BLAZE EVEN MORE VIOLENT.
SO NOW WHAT'S HAPPENING
IS THE ACETYLENE IS BURNING,
WHICH IS MELTING THE ICE, PRODUCING WATER,
WHICH IS REACTING WITH THE CALCIUM CARBIDE
TO PRODUCE MORE ACETYLENE.
BUT IT IS REMARKABLE.
IT REALLY DOES LOOK
AS IF THE ICE IS BURNING.
Narrator: IN THE LAB, LESS THAN
ONE OUNCE OF CALCIUM CARBIDE
REACTING WITH ICE CREATES LARGE FLAMES.
SCALE THAT UP AND POJMAN
BELIEVES TONS OF CALCIUM CARBIDE
INSIDE THE WAREHOUSE
COULD CREATE THE ICE INFERNO.
AND IT'S NOT HARD TO
IMAGINE THAT THIS REACTION
IS WHAT'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PHENOMENA
OBSERVED IN THE VIDEO.
♪♪
Narrator: JOURNALIST JEFF
WISE CHECKS CITY REPORTS
TO DISCOVER MORE ABOUT
THE FIRE-RAVAGED ICE BUILDING.
IT WAS AN ABANDONED BUILDING.
IT HAD FALLEN INTO DISUSE.
THE BUILDING HAD SAT EMPTY FOR YEARS,
BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANY EVIDENCE
THAT THAT KIND OF CHEMICAL
WAS STORED IN THIS BUILDING
AT THIS TIME.
♪♪
Narrator: THE BIZARRE INFERNO
COMES TO THE ATTENTION OF
SCIENTIST KISHORE HARI.
HE SCANS THROUGH THE
FOOTAGE OF THE BLAZE FOR CLUES
AND DISCOVERS A BREAKTHROUGH
FOR THE INVESTIGATION.
HE NOTICES THAT WHEN
THE FIREFIGHTERS ARRIVE
AT THE WAREHOUSE, THERE'S
NO ICE ON THE BUILDING.
AND REALIZES THE FIRE COMES FIRST.
WE HAVE THE FIRE NATURALLY
BURNING THINGS INSIDE THE WAREHOUSE.
PAPER, WOOD, A NUMBER OF OTHER THINGS.
AND THE ICE, I THINK, IS COMING
FROM A DIFFERENT PLACE.
Narrator: METEOROLOGIST ANGELA FRITZ
CHECKS THE WEATHER RECORDS FOR THE DAY.
SHE DISCOVERS THAT THE FIRE
ERUPTS AT THE EXACT TIME CHICAGO
PLUNGES INTO ARCTIC CONDITIONS.
THIS WINTER, IN PARTICULAR,
WAS VERY, VERY BAD.
TEMPERATURES WERE 10, 15 DEGREES BELOW 0.
FIRES CAN BURN IN COLD
WEATHER, BUT AT MINUS-10 DEGREES,
ANY WATER THAT YOU TRY AND
USE TO PUT OUT THIS FIRE IS GOING TO
FREEZE INSTANTANEOUSLY.
Narrator: IN THE FROZEN CONDITIONS,
EVEN THE INTENSE HEAT OF
THE INFERNO CAN'T MELT THE ICE.
AND AS THE FIREFIGHTERS
KEEP BATTLING THE BLAZE,
IT CREATES EVEN MORE ICE.
IT'S A VICIOUS CYCLE OF FREEZING,
LEADING TO A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME DISASTER.
NATURE'S REALLY WORKING AGAINST THESE GUYS
BECAUSE AS SOON AS THAT WATER COMES OUT,
IT'S TURNING INTO ICE, AND NONE
OF IT IS ACTUALLY GETTING TO
WHERE IT NEEDS TO GO.
Narrator: FIREFIGHTERS WAIT
THREE DAYS FOR TEMPERATURES
TO RISE AND THE FIRE TO
MELT THE ICE, AT WHICH POINT,
THEY FINALLY PUT OUT
THIS BIZARRE ICE INFERNO.
YOU HAD THE COLD WEATHER.
YOU HAD LARGE AMOUNTS OF WATER.
AND YOU MIX THOSE ALL TOGETHER,
IT MADE LIKE A PERFECT STORM.