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Revealing the myths about Google Maps and other mysterious places!
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00:04Welcome to Starbuck Island in the middle of the Pacific near French Polynesia.
00:09Even if the name brings to mind a strong coffee smell, you will find no Frappuccino there.
00:15The island is uninhabited.
00:17It's also pretty tiny, just 5.5 miles east to west and about 2 miles north to south.
00:24The island is so small, New York City could fit in 18 such islands.
00:29It seems like there can be zero interesting things, but Google Maps have something to surprise you.
00:36A couple of months ago, there was a viral TikTok video about a weird saucer-shaped object found on Google
00:42Maps on Starbuck Island.
00:44The video racked up over 5 million views in two days.
00:47The creepiest part is that there's a long streak traversing almost the whole island.
00:52It looks as if someone had to brake with all their might, but failed, and it resulted in a crash
00:58of that saucer-looking vehicle.
01:00Could that be another possible proof that we aren't alone in the universe, and someone tried to visit us, and
01:06couldn't drive very well?
01:08All these speculations are blood-chilling, and the users believe no one knew the true story behind those traces and
01:15the saucer.
01:15Little did they know that back in 2009, a group of explorers visited the deserted island.
01:21They made a couple of videos that were uploaded to the net.
01:25Thing is, the island didn't used to be that deserted.
01:28In the 19th century, Starbuck Island was used for guano mining.
01:32A tiny clarification here.
01:34Guano is bird and bat droppings.
01:36Yeah, droppings mining doesn't sound quite convincing.
01:39But guano is rich in phosphates, and phosphates have a lot of uses and can be used as fertilizers.
01:46So, since there were some people on that island, they had to construct a sort of temporary settlement, which they
01:52did.
01:53Now, back to Google Maps.
01:55Do you see that angle?
01:56Right.
01:57The satellite picture can be compared to the pictures and videos made in 2009 by the explorers.
02:03Another point proving that this weird object has a terrestrial origin is that there are some trees on the island,
02:09which is bizarre.
02:11These trees aren't native to coral limestone terrain, and they were definitely planted by people.
02:16Mystery solved.
02:18The saucer-shaped object is not an extraterrestrial vehicle, but what remains from a settlement.
02:23And the traces stretched out across the island?
02:26Eh, who knows?
02:27But it's definitely nothing out of this world.
02:29Another TikTok user claimed they saw zombies on Google Maps.
02:34Let's see if this one is true.
02:36First off, the video scared over a million people who watched it.
02:40This TikTok starts with a view from afar.
02:43And as the user zooms in, we understand we're in Finland.
02:47Then, we see an inscription.
02:50Uh, alright, I surrender.
02:52Finnish viewers, help me out here.
02:53The next thing we see is a low-quality Google Street View image, and that shot sends shivers down my
03:00spine.
03:01It looks like a mass gathering of people, but they don't look quite alive.
03:05The image looks foggy and bewildering.
03:08Are these real zombies?
03:10Sure thing they're not.
03:11First off, let's deal with the inscription.
03:14It translates to English as,
03:16A Quiet People's Facial Artwork by this person.
03:19So, he is a Finnish dancer and choreographer,
03:22and intended the Silent People artwork to be part of his performance.
03:27But now, it's an independent art piece.
03:30Fun fact, the Silent People figures get changed twice a year,
03:34in the fall and at the beginning of the summer.
03:36They get all the clothes from donations.
03:39Bang!
03:40Another myth debunked.
03:41Right side two.
03:42TikTok myths zero.
03:44Right, now take a look at that pic.
03:47Anything weird you've noticed?
03:49Right, it's a three-legged girl.
03:52The satellite picture was taken in Croatia.
03:54But there's nothing to worry about.
03:56These are nothing but Google Maps issues.
03:58Thing is, the technology used for Google Maps purposes has a curious algorithm.
04:03Each object gets photographed several times,
04:06and then the resulting photos are stitched together to achieve the most accurate image.
04:11In most cases, it works.
04:12But sometimes, it seems like the technology tries too hard,
04:16and it results in extra details,
04:18and sometimes extra limbs people have in the photo.
04:21And if we're going to have a three-legged race,
04:24then I'd bet on her.
04:26There's nothing that can escape the all-seeing satellite eye, right?
04:30On September 20, 2022, a TikTok user posted a video about a plane found underwater on Google Earth app.
04:39The plane was found off the coast of Crooked Island in the Bahamas,
04:43not far away from Colonel Hill Airport.
04:46Now, let's see if that's true.
04:47The first thing we should keep in mind is that even Google Earth help themselves admit the fact that the
04:53pic found in the app may be the result of several photos,
04:56either satellite or aerial, taken on different days and even in different months.
05:01The result of stitching might sometimes be a bit unpredictable.
05:05Remember the three-legged girl?
05:06How could we forget?
05:07So, as you may have already guessed, this photo is nothing but stitching.
05:13The area with that plane was photographed multiple times, in 2004 and 2005.
05:18Then it was photographed eight times in 2015 and a couple of times later.
05:23The most probable reason for this photo being on Google Earth is that these are the 2015 shots combined together.
05:31They say the reticulated python is the largest snake in the world
05:35and can reach a whopping 20 feet in length.
05:38There's a record of one such python found in 1912 that reached 32 feet in length.
05:44However, users found an even more staggering snake on Google Earth.
05:48On March 24, 2022, another mind-blowing video was posted on TikTok.
05:54The video got over 200,000 likes.
05:57Imagine the views!
05:58This time, the user claimed that a megaskeleton of the extinct Titanoboa
06:03was found on Google Maps somewhere in France.
06:06It was hard to judge from the image, but the skeleton was estimated to be about 100 feet long
06:12and could have certainly been the longest snake that ever existed,
06:15if the snakes had had such a skeleton in reality.
06:19So, it's the number one reason why this one is not a snake.
06:23You see, snakes have somewhat thinner ribs,
06:26and the skeleton in the picture looks way more massive.
06:29Another curious thing about this skeleton is that it turned out to be made of steel.
06:34See what I'm driving at?
06:35It's not a real skeleton, but a stunning 425-foot-long art installation.
06:41It's called this French snake, which means ocean snake in French.
06:46The installation was created by a Chinese artist, Huang Yong-ting, and it's free to visit.
06:51The cool thing about this installation is that it only appears with tides,
06:56so it looks like a real archaeological excavation.
06:59Well, the artist made a monkey out of millions of users.
07:02If you ever travel to France, you can go check this extraordinary piece of art.
07:07It's located in this place, not far away from that place.
07:14Sometimes, Google Maps shows something that never existed.
07:18Meet Sandy Island.
07:19For a long time, it was believed to be located near New Caledonia in the eastern Coral Sea.
07:25It all started when Captain James Cook included it in the charts back in 1774.
07:31He never visited it, but it was later included in several more charts as a precaution against reefs.
07:37At the time, it was standard practice.
07:39Plus, the area was and is still swarming with pumice sea rats.
07:44These are the masses left after an underwater volcanic eruption,
07:48so such a precaution was a necessity.
07:51This way, the island stayed in the charts until 1974.
07:55A flying recognition campaign claimed there was a lack of appearance of that island,
07:59and Sandy Island was deleted from the charts.
08:03Google Maps appeared back in 2005,
08:05and the island, surprisingly, was there,
08:08even though it had been previously undiscovered.
08:11It got removed from Google Maps only in November of 2012.
08:15Now, there is nothing but black pixels,
08:18but there used to be a darkened sea area.
08:20Today, some specialists believe the whole situation with the island was just a copyright trap,
08:26which was a popular practice among cartographers back in the day.
08:30Those traps help cartographers protect their intellectual property.
08:34So, have you ever seen anything weird on Google Maps?
08:38You plan to spend your summer vacation in Africa.
08:41The final destination is the Sahara Desert.
08:44It's located in northern Africa,
08:46stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea.
08:48You're excited to ride camels and learn about the region's rich cultures.
08:53You hop on an extensively long flight,
08:55and finally, you are here.
08:57You find yourself in the world's biggest hot desert.
09:00Can you believe it's 3 million square miles?
09:04You're ready for your first adventure after drinking liters of ice-cold water.
09:08The guide gives you a choice.
09:10You can spend two weeks visiting a collection of oases,
09:14or you can help them solve an ongoing local mystery.
09:18Deep into the desert, near this Algerian town,
09:21lies a mystery begging to be solved.
09:24A collection of huge, spotted circles in the sand.
09:27There are dozens of them, stretching for miles in a straight line.
09:31The circles were first identified via Google Earth images several years ago.
09:36People have debated them for years, but no one seems to know the answer.
09:40The first person you talk to is a map expert.
09:43You need to understand if those circles were authentic or a satellite glitch.
09:47You end up interviewing the people who take Google Earth satellite pictures.
09:51The circles are really there.
09:53They appear in multiple pictures from many years.
09:57Then, let's understand why they are there in the first place.
10:00After two days of interviews, you have your first lead.
10:04The circles could be the result of oil activity.
10:07Experts explained why this would make sense.
10:11Algeria is a rich area for natural resources,
10:14so this would be a sensible guess.
10:16Usually, to find out if there is anything worth extracting,
10:20companies would undertake seismic surveys.
10:22Seismic surveys are a way of analyzing the Earth's surface by sending shockwaves into the ground.
10:28Depending on how these waves bounce back, you'll know what is located there.
10:33A special vehicle could have marked the soil that way.
10:36So, did we unravel the mystery?
10:38Hmm, not quite so.
10:40As you know, the Sahara Desert is one of the driest areas on the planet.
10:45The average high temperatures in summer are over 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
10:49To survive there, people need to find ways of accessing water.
10:54So, these circles could be a kind of ruin or leftovers from ancient water wells.
11:00Again, I'd say this is a sensible guess.
11:02Ready for some fact-checking?
11:04Some anthropologists agree that these circles could be ancient fagueras.
11:09Fagueras is the name of a 2,500-year-old style of irrigation system,
11:14usually found in northern Africa.
11:16It is also known as a kanak in other places in northern Africa.
11:22Locals would dig a deep well at an elevated point,
11:25deep enough to tap into underground water.
11:28They would then dig parallel shafts at regular distances.
11:31Then, they would dig an underground channel that connected the city to the well.
11:36Solely with the help of gravity, water would run from the well to the city.
11:41This traditional technology provided water for crops, livestock, and humans.
11:47Now, let's say these wells made human-made oases possible.
11:51Even the closest municipality name was an indication that this could be true.
11:55The name Faguret-Esaouya is actually named after Fagurets, these ancient wells.
12:02Now, this lead was proving to be very accurate.
12:05You decide to travel over there to see for yourself.
12:08You take a local bus, sit back, and enjoy the ride.
12:12The landscape in northern Algeria is filled with ancient-looking towns.
12:16You even see ruins of wells along the way, on the outskirts of smaller cities.
12:21Opening Google satellite images, you can see the Knaut's markings on the ground.
12:26A series of holes running down several miles.
12:29But, as soon as you arrive, you find out you were wrong.
12:34Dale Lightfoot, one of the world's leading experts on Knaut's,
12:37said that the circles were definitely not Knaut's.
12:40Even the satellite images confirm this difference.
12:43Uh-oh, we were so close!
12:47Apparently, Knaut's or Fagurets would not run down a straight line.
12:51They wouldn't be shaped like circles.
12:53Another clue that this wasn't the case was that there were no towns at the end.
12:57The circles were really far away from any human activity.
13:01And Knaut's were explicitly built to provide water for human settlements.
13:05Well, it sure was a good try.
13:08You almost gave up on this mystery when you decided to take one more field trip.
13:13It was days of preparation.
13:15Pick up cars, food, equipment.
13:17All so that the mystery of the Sahara circles could be unraveled.
13:21On the first day, you drove over 99 miles into the desert.
13:25You were always curious to see what this part of the world looked like.
13:29Over there, you see nothing but mustard yellow dunes.
13:32The night sky is pretty decent, though.
13:35You can see the entire Milky Way with your own eyes.
13:38You set up camp and sleep under a canopy of stars.
13:42The next day, tension grows.
13:44There's no cell reception.
13:46Oh, dear.
13:47But thankfully, you added the coordinates of the circles to your Google Map.
13:51And surprise, the offline mode works out there.
13:55You follow the coordinates, but it leads you astray.
13:58You start to get nervous, thinking this was all in vain.
14:02But you and the team get into the car and drive a few more miles past the coordinates on your
14:07phone.
14:08After a very bumpy ride, you can't believe your eyes.
14:12There it is.
14:13An enormous crater dug on the sand, surrounded by 12 smaller holes.
14:18From up high, it looks like a clock.
14:21Without the pointers, of course.
14:23On the ground, they're very faint.
14:25So faint, you almost miss them.
14:28Searching the area, you notice all the holes had something similar.
14:32Metal wires.
14:34Thin wires that you can pull from the ground.
14:36Now, they're buried deep, so you start digging.
14:39An object starts to reveal itself.
14:42Uh-oh.
14:43It looks like old dynamite.
14:45This certainly surprises you.
14:47Um, better stop digging to avoid any accidents.
14:50At the end of the survey, you feel satisfied, but still curious.
14:54What could all this dynamite mean?
14:57And who put it there?
14:58What comes next is the turning point of your adventure.
15:02Walking back to the car, you see something shining on the ground.
15:06You approach the item with curiosity.
15:08It's round and rusty, and looks like a sardine can.
15:13What's that doing here?
15:14Could this give you more clues about the circle's mystery?
15:17Just in case, you pick it up and put it in the car.
15:21Back in the city, the puzzle pieces start to reveal the story behind the Sahara Circles.
15:27You bring photos in the sardine can and show them to local experts.
15:31They analyze your material and give you an intriguing verdict.
15:36As it turns out, guess number one was the closest one to the truth.
15:40So, what happened to the first guess?
15:42Why do we need to keep digging deeper?
15:44Well, because it was only half right.
15:49The Sahara Circles are not a historical footprint of seismic surveying.
15:53Back when the circles were made, this technology didn't even exist.
15:57But they sure are related to oil exploration.
16:00The dynamite-filled holes were an old method for oil searching.
16:04The circles are the leftovers of surveyors looking for resources underground.
16:09And the sardine cans?
16:11Well, they were left by the workers who held explosion works.
16:14You gotta eat, right?
16:16According to the model of the can, this happened more or less around the 1950s and 1960s.
16:22So, these circles aren't even that ancient.
16:25More like modern ones, if you ask me.
16:28Well, well, well.
16:29Hope you are glad you tagged along and helped unravel this mystery.
16:33See you in the next mystery-solving adventure.
16:36You don't need to go to the end of the world or some exotic land to see strange things.
16:41You just need to go to Reddit.
16:42Check out how its users share weird and crazy stuff they found in their houses.
16:48It's rare when old finds in the house have any value.
16:51But this married couple managed to win the jackpot.
16:53In Cleveland, Ohio, they started making home repairs.
16:57The man was tearing dusty boards from the ceiling in the basement when he noticed something behind bars.
17:02It was a small green suitcase.
17:04He found the second one in another part of the basement.
17:08At first, the husband and wife thought the suitcase contained some old baseball cards.
17:12But instead, they found a treasure worth £33,000.
17:17There were old banknotes, and some of them were very rare.
17:20They were delighted with this find but didn't spend money on entertainment.
17:24According to the man, they used the cash to pay off their mortgage.
17:28These people were even luckier.
17:31Several residents of a small English town in North Yorkshire were doing repairs in the house.
17:36They discovered one of the largest hordes of 18th-century English gold coins ever found in Great Britain.
17:42The owners removed a small clay cup the size of a soda cane hidden in the concrete under the floorboards.
17:47The bowl's surface was covered with a thin layer of salt, and inside, there were about 260 gold coins.
17:55The estimated value of the entire treasure was about $200,000.
18:00But it all depends on the auction.
18:02Perhaps the amount will reach half a million.
18:05One user came to his mom's new multi-apartment building.
18:09He went to the basement and found a huge bank vault there.
18:12There was this round, thick metal door leading to the bank's safe.
18:15He didn't find any money or gold, but the vault was in excellent condition.
18:20Of course, other Reddit users found out how this could happen.
18:23If a bank goes bankrupt, it takes all its belongings from the building except for a giant safe.
18:29The fact is that dismantling such an object requires huge costs.
18:33It can't be removed without expensive equipment.
18:36So banks leave their safes in the building.
18:38Another Reddit user wrote that a law firm bought a closed bank building and turned the vault into an office.
18:43They couldn't break through a thick wall in this room to install a window, so they just hung a photo
18:48with a window.
18:49Another user showed a rather creepy discovery made in the basement of his house.
18:54It was a huge hole leading into the darkness and filled with cold liquid.
18:58The user didn't panic and measured the pit.
19:00It was only 8 feet deep, half filled with ordinary water.
19:04He didn't find anything else, no secret room or dungeon.
19:07In fact, this was not just a pit, but a particular well called a cistern.
19:12And again, thanks to Reddit users for the answer.
19:15In the past, people installed such things in many homes to replenish water supplies.
19:20Cisterns were popular in dry areas where residents couldn't access a water supply system,
19:24or when people were afraid that a river or reservoir was polluted.
19:28They collected rainwater and stored it in these wells.
19:31To avoid contamination from the surrounding soil, they cemented these pits.
19:35People used water for house cleaning, showering, and laundry.
19:39You could even install filters in such a tank to drink clean water.
19:43This user found something strange not in his house, but in the basement of the office where he worked,
19:48in a dark, concrete room.
19:50Among the junk, he saw a red iron door leading into the unknown.
19:54Keep closed at all times, was written on its cold surface.
19:58There were no locks or keyholes on it, only bolts.
20:01The user could have easily opened it, but didn't.
20:04Would you dare?
20:05The thing was actually not scary at all, but it was pretty dangerous.
20:09This is transformer storage with a powerful electrical voltage inside.
20:13It can explode or catch fire or even electrocute someone.
20:17Therefore, it was placed in the basement, away from people.
20:20No one except electricians is allowed to go there.
20:22Someone found a strange, tiny room in the attic of their new apartment, behind a small iron door.
20:28Inside, the user found a small bed, several shelves, and a small window.
20:32It seems that someone lived there.
20:34But who and why?
20:36There's almost no information about this.
20:39Imagine that you're walking through an abandoned house and suddenly see a phantom stuck in the wall and trying to
20:44escape.
20:45One Reddit user photographed an unusual installation in an abandoned house.
20:50It looks like a person trying to break out of the wall.
20:52Of course, there is no mystery or magic here.
20:55Just someone's great sculptor skills.
20:57But still, it looks pretty creepy.
21:00Many users find secret rooms in their homes.
21:03And no one knows what those were used for and who lived there.
21:06But this guy found the most practical and valuable space.
21:10In the backyard of his house, he discovered a shelter from radioactive waste built in the 60s.
21:15It looks pretty atmospheric and safe.
21:18This user moved into a new house and found this strange white door in the wall.
21:22It looked like an area for a water heater or something.
21:25But it turned out that the door led to a strange room.
21:28It was small but cozy.
21:30Someone even put a carpet on the floor.
21:32But there was another door with a lock at the back of this room.
21:35The user opened the black door and stepped inside another.
21:38A much creepier room.
21:40The walls and ceiling were covered with soundproof plates and white plastic tarps.
21:45Also, he saw three to four outlets and some kind of pad that looked like a small bed.
21:50There was a briefcase on the floor with an old wooden box,
21:52envelopes with money from different countries, and four small silver bars.
21:56But the strangest thing in that place was a black safe.
22:00The user opened it and found several VHS cassettes and a white sheet.
22:04Save yourself was written on it in black ink.
22:07The user wanted to share the contents of the tapes on Reddit.
22:11Many people thought that all this was fake and didn't believe him.
22:14But then another user said he knew the previous owner of the house.
22:17It was just an ordinary guy.
22:19Then the user posted the contents of the tapes.
22:22The recordings were quite unsettling.
22:24Someone suggested that all this was a promo campaign for some horror movie.
22:27But then the same user admitted that it was all a hoax that had gone out of control and become
22:33viral.
22:33He wrote a post where he described in detail how he created it.
22:37But the site administration deleted it.
22:39Let's finish our list with the most unusual apartment.
22:43Imagine that you're walking through a residential Parisian neighborhood
22:45and entering a multi-story building where ordinary people live.
22:49You go up the stairs and stop near an old door.
22:52You press the handle down and go inside.
22:54It seems to you that you're in a horror movie about ghosts.
22:58Cabinets, chairs, all the furniture here is made at the beginning of the last century.
23:02All the rooms look like an old antique store.
23:04Everything is covered with a thick layer of dust and cobwebs.
23:08There are sinister-looking dolls and stuffed toys on the floor.
23:11But nothing strange happened here.
23:13The owner left this place in the 40s.
23:16She left everything as it was.
23:17She moved to live somewhere else and didn't tell anyone about the apartment.
23:21Why she didn't come back is also unknown.
23:24The apartment has been in this condition for 70 years.
23:28The owner's relatives hired appraisers to estimate the cost of the apartment.
23:32In 2010, they went to this place, opened the door,
23:35and found a painting by Italian artist Giovanni Boldini,
23:38which he created in the 19th century.
23:41This painting was sold for $2.5 million.