There's a lot of things in this world that we don't yet know about, and the things that we do know about, we don't always fully understand them! One of the most mysterious places on this planet is under the water, as it makes up so much of our Earth. We can only go so deep, which means that we continue to discover things under the water, as we spend more and more time trying to map it out!
What we've done is pull together some of the most fascinating things that have ever been discovered underwater, before then taking a look at the stuff that has washed up onto the shore! Rather than having to dive deep to find that stuff, it has to come to us instead, the tides pushing it onto land for all to see.
So, we think it's about time that we got down to it and took a look at some of the things that have been hiding under the water, as well as some of the stuff that forced its way onto the land. Let's get started!
24 Apollo 11 Engines
"The engines on the Saturn V rocket that launched Neil Armstrong and his crew into outer space on their Apollo 11 mission were found 14,000 feet below the ocean’s surface off the coast of Florida." It's important that we always consider this sort of thing, as it can be easy for human beings to just forget about the waste they leave on this planet. We're glad that someone was able to actually find the engines that split off from this famous rocket!
23 The Titanic
One of the most famous ships in history, it's amazing how long it took to find it!
"The Titanic wouldn’t be found until 1985 by former Navy captain and oceanographer Robert Ballard. Finding the ghostly sunken ship was one of the largest finds in archaeological history and revealed more about what might have happened on that fateful day."
Just like most archaeological finds, the Titanic was able to show us more and more details on what actually happened on the sad day it sank.
22 washed ashore: Ice Boulders
We think of snowballs as being something that only occurs when a human gets their hands on snow, but apparently this isn't the case!
"Due to a rare natural phenomenon, a beach in Siberia was once covered in snowballs, which naturally formed due to the motion of the tide, wind, and other factors."
To think, the natural world might be able to put together a snowman just like we do whenever there's a sudden downfall of the precious white stuff.
21 The Silfra Crack
"If you scuba dive in the Silfra Crack, you’re literally in-between two continents. The water down there is also crystal clear due to cold temperatures and underground lava." There are some things in this life that very few people will ever experience, and swimming between two continents is one of those things. Anybody that ever gets the chance to swim through these crystal clear waters should never turn it down if you ask us!
20 The Vasa Shipwreck
"Dated back to 1625, the Vasa set sail but unfortunately sank on her maiden voyage not far from the dock. Heavy winds toppled her over and she sank immediately. Archaeologists were able to recover the ship and now it’s in its own museum in Sweden." While it's obviously sad that this ship sank, it's amazing that somebody was able to find it underwater and that it now stands for people to see within the confines of a museum!
19 The Ice Finger Of Doom
Pretty much everything on this list is a chance to see human inventions overtaken by water. However, this is something else...
"Looking like a tornado, the Ice Finger of Doom is actually an underwater icicle traveling down to the ocean’s surface. When it reaches the bottom, it freezes everything it touches."
We should never forget that, despite our belief that we have overcome nature, there will always be things out there that can take us down from time to time!
18 The Antikythera Mechanism
"In 1901, divers discovered a 2,000-year-old Greek mechanism from the Antikythera shipwreck. For years scientists couldn’t explain what it was used for until x-ray technology helped solve the puzzle. Now, scientists believe it was a sophisticated calendar and computer, mapping the solar and lunar calendars." We often consider ourselves to be so far ahead of anything that has come before, and we are to a certain extent, but there are still things from the past that we will never fully understand.
17 washed ashore: A Naval Mine
As human beings, we're often careless with disposing of things that could be dangerous, to both other human beings as the planet.
"A Navy training mine washed up on a beach in Miami in 2011. A squad quickly came in, and the US Navy took the mine away, presumably to either be placed in storage or blown up somewhere else."
This is a perfect example of people letting things literally get away from them. Thankfully, nobody was hurt!
16 Cars
"Using new sonar technology, police discovered two cars in an Oklahoma Lake."
After the cars were found, the police were forced to open a case that had stayed unsolved for decades, all thanks to the continuous progression of technology.
While it's always interesting to find things under the water, it's amazing to think that what is being found can continue to have an effect on the way that we see the world around us.
15 Washed ashore: A LOT Of Shoes
It's no surprise that, down to human error meeting up with the difficult realities of the natural world, sometimes people get lost on the open seas. Yes, this looks to us like an entire ships worth of shoes has found its way into the ocean, before then being washed up on the shore! They might be ruined at this point, but that doesn't stop them from making an absolutely fantastic image to take a look at.
14 Galleon San Jose
"Embroiled in legal battles, the discovery of the galleon San Jose near Colombia is considered to be worth $17 billion due to the mass of treasure found inside. In 1708, a UK ship sank the San Jose as it carried gold from Panama." Yes, this is a story about a real life treasure that was found underwater. Can you imagine what it must feel like to be the person to discover this much gold just waiting at the bottom of the sea?!
13 Loki's Castle
"Nearby the hydrothermal vent system known as Loki’s Castle, scientists discovered a missing link between the single celled organisms that populated the Earth and the complex cellular life that showed up around 2 billion years ago."
Not only structures have been found underwater, but beings that actually help us understand how we evolved!
Who knows what else is lost under there?! Will we discover something today that will help use better understand tomorrow?
12 The Mariana Trench
There is a reason that people find the underwater world worrying, and that's because it seems to go on forever.
"On March 23, 1875, the HMS Challenger discovered the Mariana Trench, the deepest trench on Earth. Going seven miles down into the ocean, few have been able to reach the bottom."
We have managed to map pretty much every bit of landmass on this planet at this point, and yet we will not be able to do the same with our oceans for decades to come.
11 S.S Central America
"The S.S. Central America sailed into a hurricane and sank to the bottom of the ocean. Part of its cargo was an enormous amount of gold. Then, in 1987, archaeologists discovered the wreck and pulled up 2,900 gold coins and 45 gold ingots." While we would argue that sailing into a hurricane isn't that smart, it has allowed people to live their own private treasure story, so in the long run it was probably a pretty cool decision.
10 A German U-Boat
"The German U-Boat SM U-118 washed up on a beach in Hastings. Attempts to remove it by refloating it and shooting it with a French destroyer were largely unsuccessful."
Only human beings could ever think they could salvage something by shooting it with something much bigger.
Such a sad thing that this genuine look at a time that so many of us never got to experience was shot to pieces by someone!
9 washed ashore: An Abandoned Boat
This image certainly is a warning for the rest of us that we should be careful whenever we choose to take command of a vehicle!
"In 2016, a disabled yacht was found on the shores of Palm Beach. The owner was boating under the influence when he ran aground."
Out on the ocean we can feel like we're unstoppable, but it's always good to remember that we most certainly are not!
8 washed ashore: Whale Vomit
"A UK man was offered 50 thousand Euros for a smelly rock his dog found on the beach. The smelly rock was actually ambergris or whale vomit."
Look, we've never pretended to understand the fashion and beauty industry, but this is taking it to a whole new level.
Yes, believe it or not but this whale vomit is regularly used in the production of fancy perfumes!
7 washed ashore: Rubber Ducks
"25 years ago, nearly 30 thousand rubber ducks were lost at sea. They've traveled all over the world, to places like Hawaii, the UK, South Africa, and even the Arctic."
Amazing to think isn't it that these things can spend so long at sea, before finally drifting onto a shore where they are found by a human being.
Just consider the distance they traveled, the things that they were near and, in a less literal sense, saw!
6 washed ashore: Harley Davidson
"A Japanese man who lost his Harley-Davidson motorcycle in the 2011 tsunami was surprised to find out his bike washed up five thousand miles away in Columbia."
This is the sort of story that makes people realize that there is always a chance that something they've lost will end up making an appearance!
Sure, it doesn't work anymore, but there's no way this Japanese man wasn't surprised when this thing ended up back on the land.
5 washed ashore: Giant Lego People
"Thanks to guerrilla artist Ego Leonard, giant Lego men have washed up on various beaches around the world, in places such as Florida, Brighton, Japan, and the Netherlands." There is no end to the sort of thing that artists will do around the world in an attempt to put something out there that they believe is worth it. Sure, it may not mean a lot to us right now, but there is something to be said about accidentally stumbling upon this in real life.