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In this video, you will learn where to place a tent, which trees you should stay away from and what to do if you see a red moon.
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00:01Ah, the beauty of nature all around you, the fresh air, and days and days of meditative rest far away
00:08from civilization ahead of you.
00:10But you've been walking for quite some time to get this far, and now it's time to set up camp.
00:16The woods around are dense, and there's no suitable place to put up your tent.
00:21Then you notice a nice green patch completely devoid of trees and only sprinkled with some low-growing bushes.
00:28Well, you go there, smug about your fine, and get to work on the tent.
00:33The ground is unusually soft and smooth, but that doesn't bother you too much.
00:38All the better! The pegs go into the soil like a knife into butter.
00:42By the time you're done, it's dark already, so you get inside the tent and crawl into your cozy sleeping
00:48bag.
00:49You wake up from a creepy feeling that something's not right.
00:54You feel wet.
00:55You start wriggling inside your bag, and yes, it's almost completely soaked from below.
01:02You rush out of the tent as quickly as you can, and see that it's started to sink into the
01:07ground.
01:08Turns out, you've set up camp on a swamp.
01:12And you've been lucky too.
01:14Swamps aren't always obvious.
01:16Sometimes you won't even see them until you're knee-deep in muck and trouble.
01:20Getting out of there can be tricky as well.
01:23The moss and roots create a soft padding that's slowly pulling you under.
01:28And when you try to raise your feet, you might end up without your boots.
01:32Telling a forest swamp is fairly easy when you know what to look for.
01:36If you're in a dense thicket and see a lush, sunlit glade where nothing but moss and an occasional bush
01:43grows,
01:44chances are high it's a swamp.
01:46You can also check it by stepping lightly on this serene ground.
01:50If it feels springy, better stay away.
01:53One other thing the swamp can be dangerous for is, surprisingly, a forest fire.
01:59If you stay too close to a swamp and start a campfire, it might catch on, especially if there's a
02:05strong wind.
02:06Swamps and marshes are chock-full of tar hidden underneath the layers of water and moss.
02:12When it starts to burn, extinguishing it is nearly impossible.
02:16Always keep a safe distance from any swamp before starting a campfire.
02:21Another common mistake while breaking camp in the wild is not looking up.
02:26Let's say you found some solid ground to put up the tent,
02:29cleared it from all the nasty cones and stones,
02:32and made sure there aren't any ant hills close by.
02:35You don't want anything to creep inside your sleeping bag at night, do you?
02:40The spot you've chosen is perfect,
02:42and the tree your tent is leaning to protects you from the wind and rain.
02:47You set up for the night, turning off your camping light,
02:50and suddenly, your tent is thrashing as if a wild beast has attacked you.
02:55Bewildered, you scrambled out and see a huge branch has fallen on top of your tent.
03:00The worst thing about this is that you would have seen it coming
03:04if only you'd looked up before setting up camp.
03:08Half-broken and rotten branches are easy to spot,
03:11and it's never a good idea to put your tent straight beneath them.
03:14Such a thing can break off at any moment,
03:17and you'll be lucky if it doesn't tear your tent and harm you.
03:21You know, crunch.
03:22Dozens of tourists make this mistake every year,
03:25and often pay dearly for it.
03:27Looking up will also help you make sure there are no wasp nests or spider nets above you.
03:34These might prove even worse than a branch,
03:36because wasps don't like to be disturbed,
03:38and spiders may turn out to be venomous.
03:42Now, if you see a beautiful river and decide to break camp on its banks,
03:47pay special attention to where exactly you put up your tent as well.
03:51If you stay too close to the water, especially in spring or fall,
03:55chances are you'll find yourself afloat in the middle of the night.
04:00Always check the weather forecast for the day and the night after.
04:03If there's a chance of rain, better stay away from any bodies of water, especially rivers.
04:09The rain might raise the water level in it and make it burst its banks,
04:13drowning your little camp and ruining your vacation.
04:16But even if you're far from water, rain could spoil it for you.
04:21Say you're once again deep in the forest and tree crowns are protecting you from the weather.
04:26Precipitation still gets to the forest floor, but at least it's not as bad as in the open.
04:31The next night, when you set up camp in another place,
04:34you feel the ground is soft and springing.
04:37It's not a swamp, though, just the last night's rain has loosened the soil.
04:42If you're in such a spot, better move to somewhere solid.
04:46Thing is, soft and loose ground might start creeping out from under you at any point.
04:51This movement isn't as dangerous as when you're in a swamp,
04:55but the pegs of your tent might come loose too,
04:57and you'll end up buried underneath a pile of rugs that used to be your tent.
05:02And if you decided to set up your camp in a cozy-looking valley,
05:07and the rain starts falling when you're already there,
05:10well, prepare for a nice floating trip.
05:13All the water will naturally go down and into your shelter,
05:17eventually finding its way under your tent.
05:19No wonder you'll find yourself knee-deep in rainwater when you wake up.
05:24Oh, what a great spot for taking a bit of rest after a long walk.
05:28It's on a hilltop, so there's no water nearby,
05:31the sun shining, and not a single tree to block it out.
05:35Sunbathing here has got to be fabulous!
05:38Well, it seems this way for the first few hours.
05:41But when you stay here long enough, you'll see the error of your decision.
05:46Direct sunlight on your tent can make it hot in a matter of hours
05:49due to the materials it's made of.
05:52And you'll feel it on your skin as soon as you crawl inside.
05:55Let's just say you won't want to stay in there for long until it's night
05:59and the tents cool down at least.
06:02Same thing with the wind.
06:03In an open spot, gusts can reach crazy speeds,
06:07and if you haven't been careful while hammering down the pegs,
06:10you might say goodbye to your tent sooner than you'd like.
06:14It's best to find a spot near a tree that would protect you,
06:18both from the sun and the wind.
06:20Still, don't get tempted to camp near a lone tree
06:23when the weather forecast isn't in your favor.
06:25Both sunny and rainy weather are okay,
06:28but if there's a serious storm coming,
06:31a single-standing tree will serve as a lightning rod.
06:34It's not hard to imagine what may come
06:37if lightning strikes a tree you're camping under.
06:40Hey, you might get a charge out of it!
06:42When winter camping, the weather can be even more treacherous.
06:46Remember what I said about direct sunlight?
06:49Forget it.
06:50In winter, it's best to have the sun shining on your tent.
06:53The cold might get to you no matter how cool and expensive your tent is,
06:57and the winds are generally much more vicious in the cold season.
07:01Direct sunlight will help you cope with much of the cold.
07:05One of the more common mistakes hikers make
07:08is starting a campfire too close to the tent.
07:11Again, the material of the tent conducts heat very well,
07:15and it's a good thing when it's warm.
07:17But it also catches on fire easily.
07:20Sometimes, one spark is enough to burn your shelter to cinders.
07:24Make sure there's enough room between your tent and the campfire,
07:27and never leave your fire unsupervised.
07:30When you go to sleep, it's a rule to extinguish the fire
07:34so that you don't wake up to a blazing inferno around you.
07:38Insects can ruin even the most exciting hike.
07:42Mosquitoes, ants, ticks, and other pesky bugs
07:45can find their way into your tent wherever you are.
07:48So make sure you protect yourself from them.
07:51Use skin repellents when you go outside
07:54and put an anti-insect spiral next to the entrance to your tent.
07:58Don't put it too close or inside, though.
08:01The smell is irritating, and it can also cause a fire.
08:04To avoid the best part of mosquitoes, and especially ticks,
08:08try to stay away from lakes, ponds, and dense forests
08:11where swamps may occur.
08:14Skeeters reproduce in still water,
08:16so areas around such pools are replete with the winged pests.
08:20But they have a hard time flying when there's some wind,
08:24so choosing an open spot is your best bet to get rid of them.
08:28Don't let them bug you.
08:29In Florida, and in some parts of the Caribbean coast,
08:33you can find an unusual tree.
08:36Externally, it doesn't look special at all.
08:38A gray trunk, green leaves, and fruit similar to small apples.
08:42What you must remember is never to pluck these apples
08:46and never stand next to the tree, especially if it's raining.
08:50This is the mansion eel tree,
08:52which is considered the most dangerous in the world.
08:55Its trunk, bark, branches, and fruit contain poisonous juice.
09:00One drop of this corrosive acidic liquid can harm your skin a lot.
09:06The tree can secrete this juice,
09:07and if you accidentally touch it, you risk burning your hand.
09:11When it rains, water droplets fall on the tree and mix with the poison.
09:17Water can also bounce off the bark and get on your skin.
09:20That's why you shouldn't stand nearby, either.
09:23There are almost no other shrubs or mushrooms growing around.
09:27Animals avoid these trees,
09:29and people don't chop them and don't pluck the fruit.
09:32You can't make a bonfire from their branches.
09:35Burning wood emits poisonous smoke that can damage your eyes.
09:39Locals know this tree well,
09:41but tourists and travelers might accidentally get harmed.
09:45That's why most mansion eel trees are marked with paint or have a warning sign.
09:50To see the next amazing tree,
09:53we need to visit the wettest place on earth.
09:55Welcome to the village of Maasinrem in India.
09:59The Bay of Bengal isn't that far away,
10:01and all the moisture that condenses there moves toward the village.
10:05Because of this, the village literally lives in a huge wet cloud.
10:10Downpours rarely stop here.
10:12Interestingly, people have adapted to life in such a place.
10:15They walk and work under special homemade umbrellas made of reeds.
10:20But the coolest thing is bridges.
10:22They're built so that people can move around the village.
10:25Because of the endless rains,
10:27it's impossible to construct ordinary bridges and roads here.
10:31Building materials simply don't have time to solidify.
10:34Water erodes them and turns them into porridge.
10:38Luckily, there's very rich vegetation in that area.
10:41For example, Indian rubber trees.
10:43Their strong roots grow not underground, but on the surface.
10:47With the help of special frames and fasteners,
10:50people have learned to control how these roots grow.
10:53Let's say a tree is next to a small pit.
10:56You need to make a bridge from one end of this pit to the other.
11:00You direct the growing tree roots in the needed direction.
11:03Over time, the roots penetrate the ground and strengthen under endless downpours.
11:08It takes about 15 years to create one bridge.
11:12One of the most colorful trees in the world grows in the warm rainforests of Southeast Asia.
11:18Unlike other trees with colorful leaves, this one has a colorful, bright trunk.
11:23From a distance, it seems as if someone has spilled different paints on the tree.
11:28The colors shimmer, like drops of gasoline on asphalt.
11:31The pattern is so beautiful and bright that it's difficult to believe that nature did this.
11:37The tree is called the rainbow eucalyptus.
11:40The colors on its trunk are constantly changing, depending on the time of year.
11:45At first, there are more bright green shades.
11:48Then, they're replaced with red, orange, and purple.
11:51The last color is brown.
11:53And then, this colorful cycle repeats.
11:55The next tree grows in the U.S.
11:59To find it, you'll need to drive along Vashon Highway.
12:02The road is surrounded by dense forest.
12:05Keep going until you see a bus stop.
12:07Then, it's time to make your way through the thicket.
12:11Bushes, dirt, branches, birdsong, and...
12:14That's it!
12:15You notice quite an ordinary tree.
12:17There are hundreds of similar trees around you.
12:20But, look up, and you'll see why this one is so unique.
12:24A rusty red bicycle is stuck inside the trunk.
12:27It looks as if it's grown into the tree.
12:30Literally.
12:31One wheel and a handlebar are still visible,
12:34while everything else is swallowed by the tree.
12:37Now, the bike looks like part of the forest.
12:40The tree has been growing this way for more than 50 years.
12:43It all started in 1954.
12:46One boy got a bicycle.
12:47But, he was not very happy about the gift
12:50because of its thin tires and uncomfortable handlebars.
12:54One day, the boy forgot the bike in the forest
12:56when he was playing there with his friends.
12:58He just left it leaning against a young tree and went home.
13:02The tree continued to grow.
13:04And, sometime later, the bike became a part of it.
13:08The largest trees in the world are redwoods.
13:10And one of them, a giant sequoia, is the largest of them all.
13:15It grows in California's Sequoia National Park.
13:18The tree is called General Sherman,
13:21and it's more than 2,000 years old.
13:24The volume of this tree is 52,500 cubic feet,
13:28which is about half the size of an Olympic swimming pool.
13:32A house with several bedrooms, bathrooms,
13:34and a spacious living room would easily fit inside the tree.
13:39Despite its age, General Sherman is far from the oldest tree.
13:43In the park, there are redwoods that are more than 3,000 years old.
13:48The tallest tree in the world grows in California, too.
13:51It also belongs to the sequoia family.
13:54It's called Hyperion, and its height reaches 380 feet.
13:58That's one-third of the Eiffel Tower's height.
14:02The oldest tree in the world is the Great Basin Bristlecone Pine.
14:06It's almost 5,000 years old.
14:08It was already growing during the times of ancient Egypt and ancient Greece.
14:13But not many people have seen this tree.
14:16It might be one of the reasons why it's survived to this day.
14:19The tree grows in harsh conditions.
14:22It's been hit by strong cold winds for thousands of years.
14:26But this has only made its wood more durable.
14:29Also, because of bad weather conditions, the tree has been growing very slowly,
14:34which also contributed to its longevity.
14:37Thanks to the slow growth and dense wood,
14:40now the pine isn't afraid of insects, fungi, rotting, or erosion.
14:45And the lack of vegetation around the bristlecone pine makes it protected from forest fires.
14:50Its exact location is kept secret from the public, so that no one can harm the tree.
14:55By the way, trees appeared on our planet about 385 million years ago.
15:01Some of them are still growing in colonies that clone themselves.
15:05It means that in place of an old tree, a new one appears, and it has a similar genetic structure.
15:11Nowadays, there are trees whose family lines began in the times of dinosaurs.
15:18These trees look like they've been ripped up out of the ground, turned upside down, and planted again.
15:24Baobabs are some of the most beautiful trees in the central part of southern Africa.
15:29Their branches grow in such an unusual way because they're too thin for the wide girth of the tree.
15:35These trees' trunks resemble sponges.
15:38They expand and absorb moisture during the rainy season.
15:41Elephants drink this moisture during a drought.
15:43They tear off parts of the tree to quench their thirst.
15:47At night, flowers bloom on Baobabs.
15:50They smell like sour milk and attract bats.
15:54This tree looks like a bottle.
15:56No wonder it's called the Bottle Tree.
15:59It grows in Namibia and attracts many tourists.
16:02But don't get too close to the tree because it's one of the most dangerous on Earth.
16:07Milky juice flows inside the trunk.
16:09It's highly toxic to the human body.
16:11But on the bright side, the trees have beautiful pink-white leaves with a red core.
16:17There's a tree growing in Western Australia that was once used as a prison.
16:22A cell for criminals existed inside the Boab Prison Tree for a long time.
16:28People were usually kept there temporarily, just for one night.
16:32After that, they were taken to their final destination.
16:35The prison was built more than 1,500 years ago and has been perfectly preserved to this day.
16:43Tourists visiting this place can sneak a peek inside.
16:46One of the most amazing trees in the world is called the Tree of Life.
16:50It grows in Bahrain's Desert.
16:52The tree has been standing on top of this sandy hill for more than 400 years, surrounded by miles of
16:59sand.
17:00It's extremely hot here and there's no moisture.
17:03But despite this, the tree has green leaves and continues to grow.
17:08So far, scientists haven't figured out yet how the tree gets moisture and nutrients.
17:13There are only places with oil deposits around.
17:17Locals think the tree is sacred.
17:19After all, it demonstrates the magic of life and the power of nature.
17:24Some scientists are sure that it's all about the roots.
17:27They go so deep that they can reach underground sources of water.
17:32People stop their cars on the highway, get out of them, and lift their heads in wonder.
17:37In the cities, everyone takes to the streets.
17:40Balconies and rooftops of houses are full of people staring at the moon in shock.
17:45Look, it's red.
17:46Some people scream that it's the end of the world.
17:49Some seek shelter.
17:51Indeed, the usual white moon now looks like it's been doused in red paint.
17:56There's no need to be afraid if you see such a thing.
17:59On the contrary, enjoy the view.
18:01Because you have witnessed a rare astronomical phenomenon.
18:05This is a total lunar eclipse.
18:08Here's the sun.
18:09It's in the center of our solar system.
18:12Mercury, Venus, and here's Earth and the moon.
18:15The Earth takes 365 days to orbit around the star.
18:19At the same time, the moon revolves around the Earth and completely orbits our planet in 27 days.
18:25The Earth creates a shadow zone, and sometimes the moon passes through it.
18:30The shadow is cone-shaped and gradually narrows.
18:34The moon is 238,000 miles away.
18:37That's like nine lengths of the equator.
18:39At this distance, the width of the shadow is about 2.6 times the width of the moon.
18:46When the moon is in this zone, direct sunlight doesn't reach it.
18:50That is, it should have disappeared, but instead, it becomes red.
18:55All because the sun's rays pass through the Earth's atmosphere.
18:59They scatter, and most of the blue light disappears.
19:02But the red and orange rays continue and hit the surface of the moon.
19:07Voila!
19:08You see a phenomenon called the blood moon.
19:11By the way, this curvature of light occurs at sunsets and dawns.
19:16The atmosphere scatters the blue light, and you see a red and orange sky.
19:21If you were standing on the surface of the moon during a total lunar eclipse,
19:25planet Earth would be exactly between you and the sun.
19:28So, you would be able to observe the solar eclipse.
19:32The surface of the Earth would become entirely dark for you.
19:35All you'd see would be the sun's corona illuminating the edges of the planet.
19:40The Earth from the surface of the moon is almost the same size as the moon from the surface of
19:45the Earth.
19:47Such a red eclipse of the moon is rare, because several factors must coincide.
19:52One of them is that the moon must be full.
19:55Usually, you can see two total lunar eclipses a year.
19:59In 2038, you'll be able to see four such eclipses.
20:03And the eclipse itself can last up to 108 minutes.
20:07But this is rare, and the last time such a long blood moon was seen was in 2000.
20:12Many years ago, people didn't know so many facts about our satellite,
20:17and the sight of a red moon frightened them.
20:19It was a bad sign and a harbinger of trouble.
20:23People who knew the schedule of eclipses could take advantage of it.
20:27For example, Christopher Columbus had an astronomical almanac
20:31and knew when the next lunar eclipse would occur.
20:34He frightened the inhabitants of the Caribbean islands when he predicted the red moon.
20:40Once upon a time, the moon used to be a red ball of lava.
20:44This was way back in time, 4.5 billion years ago.
20:48Now this is our solar system.
20:50It's full of dust and asteroids.
20:52They're constantly bumping into each other, playing space billiards.
20:56This is Earth.
20:57It's just beginning to cool off from the constant asteroid and comet impacts.
21:01But then, Theia appears on the horizon, a planet the size of Mars.
21:07It had a chaotic orbit and was approaching Earth in a spiral.
21:11A collision was inevitable, and at one point, one of the biggest crashes in our solar system occurred.
21:17Theia struck the Earth at an angle.
21:20It ripped out part of the Earth's crust and threw it into space.
21:23The Earth, in turn, absorbed part of the planet that rammed it.
21:27The debris from the collision circled the Earth for a long time.
21:31They were a kind of ring, almost like Saturn's.
21:34Debris in orbit collided and piled up around a common center of gravity.
21:39And that's how the Earth got the moon.
21:42There's a theory that this collision helped give birth to life on our planet.
21:46Theia hit the Earth at a perfect angle.
21:49If the crash had been head-on, both planets would likely have been destroyed in a massive explosion.
21:55If the impact had been tangential, then there wouldn't have been enough debris in Earth's orbit to form the moon.
22:02But we got the lucky ticket.
22:04The moon stabilized the Earth's rotation.
22:06The collision shattered the planet's solid crust and allowed oceans to form.
22:11Remember, water is the basis of life.
22:14When the cores of Earth and Theia merged, we got a powerful magnetosphere.
22:19This protects all living organisms from solar radiation.
22:23The moon, along with the sun, controls the tides.
22:27Its gravity seems to draw water to it from the Earth's surface.
22:30The sun does the same thing.
22:32That is, if we imagine the Earth as a ball of water, there would be two mountains.
22:37One on the moon's side and one on the sun's side.
22:41And as the moon moves around the Earth, this mountain of water moves with it.
22:45If you were in the open ocean with a tape measure, you would see that the moon is attracting water
22:51to itself by about 4 to 6 inches.
22:54The moon is gravitationally locked with the Earth.
22:57That's why it's always turned to us with one side, like Mercury and the sun.
23:02But the moon doesn't stand still.
23:04It's gradually moving away from our planet, about 1.5 inches a year.
23:09Not quickly, but in about 600 million years, it will have shrunk in our sky so much that we won't
23:15be able to see lunar eclipses anymore.
23:17Do you see this crater?
23:19It's Tycho.
23:20It's visible during a full moon because of these bright rays that extend thousands of miles from its epicenter.
23:27This is the youngest crater on the moon.
23:29Scientists say it appeared there due to a meteorite impact about 109 million years ago.
23:35At that time, dinosaurs were roaming the surface of our planet.
23:38And they may have seen the impact.
23:40It was most likely accompanied by a big explosion and looked like a salute in the night sky.
23:48Humanity loves to explore the moon.
23:50We've sent a bunch of missions there.
23:52A total of 12 people have set foot on the surface of the moon.
23:56The gravitational force there is six times less than on Earth.
23:59So, if the average person on our planet weighed about 180 pounds,
24:04on the surface of the moon, the scales would only show 30 pounds.
24:08Like the weight of an average dog.
24:10That's why the astronauts moved, jumped, and fell so strangely there.
24:15And you would be six times stronger on the surface of the moon.
24:19Here on Earth, the average person could lift about 130 pounds.
24:23But on the moon, you could raise a big motorcycle or a grizzly bear.
24:28The surface of the moon is covered with regolith.
24:31This is the lunar dust that covers the solid ground.
24:34Such dust is good at preserving footprints.
24:37Here's the most famous footprint, which gave birth to many crazy theories.
24:42Here's the footprint.
24:44And here's the shoe that left it.
24:46But the shoe is completely flat.
24:48This is explained simply.
24:50The astronauts wore extra boots for walking on the lunar surface.
24:53They have exactly the kind of sole that left these marks.
24:56In addition to the footprints, we left many fascinating objects on the moon.
25:01Several lunar rovers, a golf ball, flags, and human waste.
25:06There's also a lot of broken satellites and rocket parts.
25:09All in all, about 413,000 pounds of human-made objects are there.
25:14That's the weight of three passenger planes, or 31 adult elephants.
25:19In the future, we plan to resume missions to the moon.
25:23New landers will explore the surface of our satellite to find natural resources there.
25:28It's also a great place to test new rovers.
25:31We're even going to build something like the International Space Station in the moon's orbit.
25:35The Lunar Orbital Platform Gateway.
25:38It'll be a convenient platform for exploring our satellite and launching spacecraft into distant space.
25:44If you start from here, the spacecraft won't need to spend almost all its fuel to overcome the force of
25:50Earth's gravity.
25:50So, such a station would save fuel and money.
25:55Scientists hope that we'll be able to mine water from the moon's surface.
25:58It's been proven that there's ice there, mostly at the bottom of craters where the sunlight doesn't reach.
26:04Perhaps we'll send a rover there that can drill down a few feet into the surface, searching for water.
26:10Humanity already has the technology to build a full-fledged colony there.
26:14It would take up to three days to get there.
26:16We just need to get enough solar panels and building materials to the moon.
26:21There's no atmosphere on the moon, so potential lunar inhabitants would be defenseless against solar radiation.
26:28We would have to build houses underground to provide protection.
26:32Modern 3D printers will help make construction easy and fast.
26:36However, food and water supplies can only be maintained by constant supplies from Earth.
26:41The same goes for oxygen.
26:43Each rocket launch costs millions of dollars, so for now, colonization of the moon is in question.
26:50The moon could also become an object for space tourism.
26:54Imagine a spaceship launches from Earth.
26:56Three days on the road, and you're orbiting the moon.
26:59The lunar module undocks, and you land on the surface.
27:03You ride the rover, explore the craters, then return to the lander.
27:07The engines start, the lander returns you to orbit.
27:11You dock with the ship, and return to Earth.
27:13Sounds like some pretty great plans for a week's vacation.