Top 10 Weirdest Things Ever Found in the Ocean

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The oceans are arguably the most mysterious places on Earth. We have always been both fascinated and scared of it. However, our fascination has grown significantly in the last few centuries since the advent of technologies that allow us to get a better glimpse of what is down below. However, we still have only a very small part of the whole picture. In fact, we have only explored approximately 5% of the underwater world. However, even this little part has provided us with some of the weirdest things ever found in the ocean.

When we learn more, often we just have more questions. The mysterious 95% of the unexplored ocean that remains gives birth to even more questions about what we may find in our continued search of the ocean’s depth. Perhaps we might find forgotten treasures of ancient times, sunken cities that we do not even know their names, or even creatures that that we could not even imagine to have existed in our wildest dreams. With that in mind, check out the list below for the top 10 weirdest things ever found in the ocean!

#10: The Antikythera Mechanism: Possibly the First Computer Ever

The Antikythera Mechanism is famous worldwide, and scientists have dubbed it the first computer mankind ever made and one of the weirdest things ever found in the ocean. In 1900, sponge divers discovered this ancient mechanism. It was inside a shipwreck near the island of Antikythera in Greece at a depth of approximately 160 feet or 50 meters. According to archaeologists, its creators most like made it around the 2nd century B.C. The machine’s purpose is still not completely clear to us. However, scientists believe that it was made in order to chart the movements of the planets in our solar system through the passing years.

The machine is comprised of an analog mechanical computer with a complex clock mechanism. Due to its fragile nature, researchers agree that this mechanism should not be transported outside of Greece.^[1]Antikythera Mechanism – Project Overview^[2]The Cosmos in the Antikythera Mechanism^[3]The Telegraph – What is the Antikythera Mechanism? How was this ancient ‘computer’ discovered?

#9: Mysterious Stone Structure Beneath the Sea of Galilee

In 2003, researchers accidentally discovered a gigantic stone structure beneath the Sea of Galilee in Israel. They detected the stone structure during a sonar expedition of the southwest part of the sea.^[4]CNN – Mysterious structure found at bottom of ancient lake Ever since archaeologists have only had more questions. Even though they believe that it was most probably a very important site, it’s true purpose is still unclear. In fact, scientists know very little about it including its date of construction.

The structure has a cone like shape, and it is made of small stones, larger boulders, and basalt. It is quite a large structure. It is almost 10 meters high and has a diameter of about 70 meter. Researchers estimate that it weighs 60,000 tons. It  In order to make it easier to grasp its size, imagine the well-known by equally mysterious Stonehedge. Its diameter is around 35 meters, and it’s the tallest stone does not even reach 10 meters in height.

#8: The Lost Egyptian City of Heracleion

Despite how hard it might seem to believe, a whole city was vanished into the depths of the Mediterranean Sea. The city of Heraklion, also called Thonis by the Egyptians, was an ancient Egyptian city located to the northeast of Alexandria. In 1999, French archaeologist Franck Goddio discovered the ruins of this ancient city.

However to this day, they have only explored 5% of this underwater city.^[5]The Guardian – Lost cities #6: how Thonis-Heracleion resurfaced after 1,000 years under water^[6]The Telegraph – Lost city of Heracleion gives up its secrets^[7]The Telegraph – Sunken Cities: the man who found Atlantis According to archaeological findings, the city flourished during the 6th to the 4th century BC. However over the years the city was weakened by a number of earthquakes, tsunamis, and of the rising sea levels in the area. Around the 2nd century BC, after a great flood, the land’s soil liquefied resulting in the whole city collapsing.

#7: Diving Bell Spiders

Most people find spiders quite creepy and might expect them in a cabinet or some other dark area. However, most people wound never expect to find one in the depths of the ocean! This is not some sort of fish that resembles a spider either. In fact, these creatures are actual spiders that breath normal air but have made their home under the waves.

They live in the seas across Europe and northern Asia. The Diving Bell spider has earned its name from their under water web that fills with air in order to live beneath the surface. Scientists have studied them and found that they have to come back to the surface once per day in order to fill their web with air before submerging once again.^[8]The Company of Biologists – The diving bell and the spider: the physical gill of Argyroneta aquatica This is definitely one of the weirdest things ever found in the ocean.

#6: A Sunken Train

In 1985, locals discovered one of the weirdest things ever found in the ocean. They found a locomotive graveyard not very far from the coast of New Jersey. The train probably dates to the 1850’s. To this day, historians have no known record of the train. In addition, they do not know the reason why the owner of the trains dumped the trains into the ocean. They have postulated that the trains fell by accident or on purpose off a ship in order to reduce the ship’s chance of sinking when encountering rough weather at sea. Despite its mysterious and ominous circumstances, the condition of the wreck is very good and has become a very popular place for wreck divers.^[9]Daily Mail – New Jersey’s deep sea train graveyard: Locomotives lost in the 1850s found preserved 90 feet under water

#5: Blackbeard’s Cannons

During his day, Blackbeard (Edward Teach) was an infamous pirate. With his frigate Queen Anne’s Revenge, he was the terror of the Caribbean. While only used for one year, it has gone down in history as one of the most well known and infamous pirate ships. For centuries, historians and archaeologists lost the ship. However, a private research firm located this legendary ship on November 21, 1996, about one mile away from the shore of Fort Macon State Park, Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. The ship had thirty-one cannons of different origins and sizes, with the heaviest weighing 1 ton 360kgs. A truly gargantuan cannon fitting of the Pirate King.^[10]Island Gazette – 250,000 Pieces of Blackbeard from Shipwreck^[11]Queen Anne’s Revenge Project – Fall 2008 Field Summary Truly one of the most mysterious and weirdest things ever found in the ocean!

#4: Yonaguni Monument

The waters around Yonaguni Island in Japan are not only home to a vast population of hammerhead sharks but also home to one of the weirdest things ever found in the ocean

Near the island is the Yonagumi Monument. It is a series of rock structures that resemble an ancient stone building but with a very strange design. It is a very odd “monument” that includes sharp angles, straight columns, and a rock protrusion that reminds one of a human face. To this day, scientists not sure if the Yonaguni Monument is a creation of man or a result of earthquakes and underwater currents.^[12]Circular Times – An Enigmatic Ancient Underwater Structure off the Coast of Yonaguni Island, Japan^[13]National Geographic News – Japan’s Ancient Underwater “Pyramid” Mystifies Scholars

#3: The Ghost Fleet

On February 17, 1944, during WWII, the Allied powers bombed a Japanese stronghold in the Caroline Islands at the Chuuk Lagoon. This unexpected attack killed hundreds of men and destroyed approximately 300 aircraft and ships combined. In the 1960s, the military threw all the wreckage from the battle at the bottom of the lagoon. It still stands there, known simply as the Ghost Fleet. One of the weirdest things is that divers investigating the place later found the bodies of many dead soldiers that were still positioned inside their vehicles.^[14]https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/us/01brfs-GOODBYETOGHO_BRF.html?ref=us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times – California Goodbye to the Ghost Fleet

#2: The “Tsunami Temple”

In December 2004, before the tsunami that hit the coast of India, archaeologists and scientists did not recognize the existence of the Seven Pagodas. However, immediately before the tsunami, the ocean’s waters pulled back approximately 500 meters. Before the ocean came back with full force, tourists and locals in the area claimed to see they mysterious stone statues in the sand. Afterwards, divers confirmed their accounts. These formerly unknown temples were discovered along with a vast number of structures and artifacts making it one of the weirdest things every found in the ocean.^[15]BBC – Tsunami reveals ancient temple sites

#1: Manganese Balls on the Ocean’s Floor

One of the weirdest things ever found in the ocean is a collection of polymetallic nodules. Scientists also call them manganese nodules. Researchers have found them to appear in rock formation on the sea floor. Layers of iron and manganese stacking upon each other over time form them.

However, the way that this natural phenomena actually takes place is still unknown to scientists. In fact, large numbers of them were not a common view until recently. Just recently, scientists discovered a large deposit of them in the Atlantic Ocean just a few hundred miles off the coast of Barbados. It appears that their size increase a few millimeters every few million years. The largest found ones are as big as grapefruits.^[16]DEEP-SEA POLYMETALLIC NODULES: RENEWED INTEREST AS
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