So we all live with our knowledge that there is a certain invisible force, gravity, that makes us fastened to earth. But there have been some mysterious places in the world where gravity is apparently off for holidays. These are some strange corners where logic and physics simply do not exist and not only scientists but also tourists are amazed. That could be something like water flowing up the hill or people seemingly experiencing a lean without falling, and these aberrations are a reminder that there still are many secrets of nature that people are unaware of or have yet to unravel.
These are 7 unusual places across the globe where gravity does not appear to follow the law.
1. Magnetic Hill – Ladakh, India
At first sight, the Magnetic Hill near Leh in Ladakh is nothing special compared to other roads. However, in case you park your car in neutral in an appropriate location, it seems to go uphill. Tourists have been using this optical illusion for years. Although some people tend to think that there is some kind of attraction of magnetic forces pulling the vehicles, the answer is in the arrangement of the surroundings. On the hills and roads, there is also a visual distortion, and a downhill slope seems like it is up the hill. Nevertheless, the feeling of going against gravity is quite exhilarating to anyone who gets to do so.
2. Mystery Spot – Santa Cruz, California, USA
The Mystery Spot, one of the most well-known gravity-defying places known to man, was discovered in 1939. Located in the nearby redwood forest of Santa Cruz, customers enter an angled wooden cabin in which absurd angles with people who seem to lean the impossible, balls rolling uphill and your sense of balance goes completely haywire. The guides refer to peculiar magnetic forces here, but the actual answer is clever geometry of the slanted room and forced perspective, which affect the human perception.
However, one cannot help but feel a bit dizzy, and even the scientists who do not want to believe that stuff still have to admit that the site presents a lot of convincing things to the senses.
3. Hoover Dam – Nevada, USA
Hoover Dam is an engineering miracle by itself; nonetheless, there is one trick that still makes people dizzy. When you pour water out of a bottle over the edge of the dam, it does not fall straight down, but seems to go up, into the air, against gravity.
This bizarre occurrence is not a product of paranormal forces, however. Strong updrafts due to the wind and the damaged structure of the dam, overcoming the water with its curved shape, ensure that the water is pushed upwards. The gravity has not ceased to work, but the wind currents blow its power away momentarily, thus giving an illusion of breaking the law of gravity.
4. Mount Aragats – Armenia
The gravity hill of Aragats is situated in close vicinity of the border of Armenia and Turkey. For a lot of travelers, the gravity hill appears as something they cannot comprehend, making them start scratching their heads. Marked on a certain stretch of street, automobiles in neutral gear seem to coast up, rather than roll down the hill. Water, also, hurries forth uphill-ways. This has resulted in local legends, some say the area is subject to the effect of some cosmic forces or magnetic anomalies.
Scientists, however, blame the elusive surrounding topography as the true offender. The upward plane is, in fact, slightly downwards inclined, carried off most ingeniously by the adjacent scenery.
5. St. Ignace Mystery Spot – Michigan, USA
It is one of the offbeat attractions in the State of Michigan, as it was founded in the 1950s. This is another brain-twisting affair. Similarly to the Californian version, the St. Ignace Mystery Spot is full of wobbly rooms and the magic of defied gravity. People would be shorter or taller than usual based on whatever ground they are standing and balls would roll against the slope and it would be abnormally difficult to remain upright.
And it is another superb camera foreshadowing. It is not less fun because of that, though. Whether you think that there are natural vortexes of energy or not does not matter; thousands of people visit the Mystery Spot annually.
6. Reverse Waterfall – Naneghat, India
The Naneghat is an upstream springing waterfall in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, located at the base of a mountain pass. It is impossible, but powerful winds that go down the gorge drive the falling water up the cliff. The view is captivating and unreal since nature appears to go against nature.
This is not the failure of gravity, but an interesting interaction of air pressure, speed of the wind, as well as the direction of the waterfall itself. It sure is a bright demonstration of how strong forces of nature can sometimes conspire and puzzle our concept of physics.
7. Spook Hill – Lake Wales, Florida, USA
Even though the name gives the impression it is a spooky place, Spook Hill has kept motorists guessing about what exactly goes on there for, probably, 50 years now. In this case, an immobilized automobile seems to go up a hill single-handedly even though it is in neutral gear and positioned in a specified line. The local folklore insists that the phenomenon is caused by a ghost of a Native American chief struggling with the forces of an ancient alligator, driving the cars uphill.
The scientific explanation, however, falls in the same group as the Magnetic Hill and Mount Aragats: optical illusion. The surrounding landscape gives you the impression that you are viewing a rise when you are viewing a slope.
Why These Places Baffle Us
Are these sites where the force of gravity is defied? The reply is no, but not literally. Gravity, in the sense in which we appreciate it, is not at all obsolete. We are experiencing optical illusion, wind effects or architectural trickery that plays games with our minds.
Human beings depend much on visual features of balance and orientation. When such clues are altered in some way, e.g. the room is tilted, there is an odd landscape, or the wind direction appears to be reversed, our minds find it difficult to make out what is going on. This gives a phantasm of the gravity being askew.
The Fascination Lives On
These spots still tend to attract people all over the world, despite the scientific explanations. It is simply exciting to get a sense that you are bending the rules of the universe, even temporarily. It can be seeing water moving in an uphill direction or trying to stand upright in a crooked room; both events leave one having a feeling of wonder that sometimes science cannot give.
Even in a world where everything seems explicable by the law and equations, these gravity-defying places give us hope that there is room left in this world for wonders. And perhaps, it is the reason why they still enchant us.
Final Thoughts
These gravity-defying locations, which stretch between India and the United States, as well as between the natural landscape and man-made structures, are tourist sites, but above all, they are zones of exploration. Although science could be used to explain the illusions, the sensation of seeing something so impossibly real does not leave you entirely. The next time you schedule yourself a trip, you should think about these locations. As someone who believes in the paranormal or as someone interested in physics, you would walk out with a story to tell.
