Who doesn't love fun stories? When the world is in a state of excitement, it is good to have a little distraction with fiction, cinematography, or video games. However, it is worth remembering that many fantastic stories were in fact a reflection of very real events.
Even some myths and legends, oddly enough, turned out to be true, and in many cases the reality, completely provable by scientific means, managed to surpass the fantastic stories.
The six scientifically proven legends described below fall into one academic category: geomythology, that is, myths and legends about earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions.
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
In the south of France, there is the ancient Chauvet-Pont D'Arc cave, in which our ancestors lived 37 thousand years ago. At that time, mankind did not yet have advanced technologies and highly developed civilizations did not exist. The ancients were mostly nomads, hunters and gatherers who had just lost their close relatives and neighbors, the Neanderthals.
The Chauvet cave walls are a real treasure trove for archaeologists and anthropologists. The pigmented works of prehistoric art that adorn the walls of the cave depict a variety of wildlife, from giant deer and bears to lions and even furry rhinos. These animals are surrounded by images of people's daily life.
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Because of the amazing rock art, the Chauvet cave is called the cave of forgotten dreams.
In 1994, a rather unusual picture was discovered on one of the walls, similar to jets rising into the sky and overlapping images of animals.
For several decades, most scholars considered this an abstract image, which in itself is extremely unusual, because all the drawings in the cave mostly depicted quite literal things.
Explanation
Asking the question: "what if a volcanic eruption is depicted on the cave wall?", Scientists traced volcanic activity in the region during the creation of rock paintings.
It turned out that only 35 kilometers from Chauvet, the remains of a powerful eruption were discovered. Surely the eruption of a large volcano, which occurred in the immediate vicinity of people's homes, led them to think that such an incident should be captured for future generations.
The disappearance of the island of Teonimanu
The inhabitants of the Solomon Islands willingly share the legend of an ancient leader named Roraimenu, whose wife decided to secretly escape with another man and settle with him on the island of Theonimanu.
In anger, the leader sought out the curse and went to Theonimana in his canoe, decorated with the image of sea waves.
He brought three taro plants to the island, planted two on the island, and kept one with him. According to the rules of the curse, as soon as his plant begins to grow, the place where the other two were planted will disappear from the face of the earth.
The curse worked. Standing on top of the mountain, Roraimenu watched as the neighboring island was swallowed up by huge waves of the sea.
In the reality
Theonimanu island really existed in reality and really disappeared as a result of seismic activity. The only thing that scientists cannot say for sure is when exactly a strong earthquake destroyed the underwater base of this volcanic island and forced it to sink under water.
The strong waves that the leader observed from the top of the mountain were not so much the cause of the disappearance of the island, but the result.
A bloodthirsty star in the sky over Korea
Historical texts speak of a bright flash of light in the sky over Korea on March 11, 1437.
At that time, the peninsula was not divided into two states and was home to a developed empire with excellent science.
On that spring night in 1437, several astronomers recorded a noticeable flash in the dark sky. According to them, this outbreak did not go out for two weeks. Someone considered this phenomenon a divine sign, and someone - the birth of a new star.
Scientific explanation
In 2017, a team of researchers uncovered the secret. Scientists have linked this event to activity in the constellation Scorpio. It turned out that the outbreak did not indicate the birth of a star, but rather a death dance, called Nova in astronomy.
The nova is the result of the interaction of a white dwarf - the dead core of an ancient star and a companion star. The dwarf's dense core steals its partner's hydrogen gas until it reaches a critical mass. After that, the dwarf is destroyed by gravity. It is this explosion that can be seen on the surface of the Earth.
Burning rivers of Queensland
Indigenous tribes have a rich oral tradition, passing down the history of peoples from generation to generation. One such story has been passed down through 230 generations of the indigenous people of the Australian tribe Gugu Badhun. This exciting story is seven thousand years old and older than most of the world's civilizations.
An audio recording from the 1970s captured a tribal chief talking about a huge explosion that shook the Earth and created a huge crater. Thick dust rose into the sky, and people who had gone into this darkness never returned. The air was unbearably hot, and the water in the rivers and seas boiled and blazed.
The research team subsequently discovered the now extinct but once powerful volcano Kinrara in northeastern Australia. About seven thousand years ago, this volcano erupted, which could well have been accompanied by the described consequences.
Deadly Catfish
Initially, the Chinese dragon played the role of an antagonist in Japanese folklore. However, in the 18th century, this role went to the giant sea catfish Namaz - a mythical monster of enormous size that lived in sea waters and was capable of causing strong earthquakes by simply slapping its tail along the bottom. Only the god Kashima could immobilize Namaz, but as soon as the god turned away, the catfish took up the old and shook the earth.
In 1855, Edo (today Tokyo) was almost completely destroyed by a 7-point earthquake, which killed ten thousand people. At that time, people blamed Namazu for the disaster.
In reality, the earthquake was caused by a sudden rupture along the junction of the Eurasian and Filipino tectonic plates. Scientists predict such an earthquake may happen again, but now we have scientific evidence of the causes of such disasters and it would never occur to anyone to blame the sea monster for the movement of tectonic plates.
Pele's Tears
Pele is the name of the Hawaiian goddess of volcanic fire. It is said that she decided to choose Hawaii as a refuge from her older sister. She hid under each island until she found her place in the depths of the main island, forming the Kilauea volcano.
This is why the legends say that Kilauea is the fiery heart of Hawaii. And this is scientifically confirmed: at least on the surface of the islands, Kilauea is the volcanic center of the archipelago.
The legend also says that Pele's tears and hair can often be found around the volcano. However, the presence of frozen "tears" and "hair" is easily explained by physics.
When lava cools quickly, especially in water or cold air, it turns into volcanic glass. When lava cools while in motion, its splashes sometimes form tear-shaped droplets; in other cases, the jets freeze into thin hair-like glass tubes.
That is why people passing by an active volcano can easily find the petrified tears and hair of the ancient fire goddess who lives in the bowels of Kilauea.
Hope Chikanchi
