0:00:10 > 0:00:14Let's face it, our world is downright weird...
0:00:15 > 0:00:17- Oh! - LAUGHTER
0:00:17 > 0:00:21..crawling with creatures you've never heard of...
0:00:21 > 0:00:24I can't believe that is a living thing.
0:00:24 > 0:00:25..full of the unexpected.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31Like freak weather exploding out of the blue...
0:00:31 > 0:00:33I thought I was going to die.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36..and rocks that spontaneously combust.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39I thought it was dynamite going off.
0:00:39 > 0:00:40And the unexplained.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44An unborn twin...
0:00:44 > 0:00:46discovered inside a brain!
0:00:46 > 0:00:50There was multiple hair follicles, bone and teeth.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58We've scoured the globe to bring you the very weirdest stories.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00MAN SHOUTS
0:01:00 > 0:01:02LAUGHTER
0:01:02 > 0:01:04I could feel this intense pain,
0:01:04 > 0:01:07as if you were being stabbed by hundreds of syringes.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15In this series, we are going to examine the evidence,
0:01:15 > 0:01:19test the science and unravel the mysteries.
0:01:19 > 0:01:25We are going to discover what in the weird world is going on.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40In this episode, we'll uncover the secrets behind some
0:01:40 > 0:01:44of the natural world's oddest occurrences.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47Like what caused an Antarctic glacier
0:01:47 > 0:01:50to flow blood red.
0:01:50 > 0:01:55And why frogs in California started growing too many limbs.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59What could possibly create this weird work of art
0:01:59 > 0:02:02on an arm in Texas?
0:02:02 > 0:02:04And how could a creature generate a force
0:02:04 > 0:02:08so powerful it could knock down a fisherman in South America?
0:02:16 > 0:02:21But first, we are going on a journey to the end of the world.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29Antarctica...
0:02:32 > 0:02:34..a remote, frozen wilderness.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41And hidden away in this world of white
0:02:41 > 0:02:44is a gaping wound in the ice.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54This is Blood Falls.
0:02:56 > 0:03:02A bizarre mystery that's intrigued scientists for more than a century.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06And for one, it became a lifelong fascination.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12The first time I saw Blood Falls was in a graduate glaciology class,
0:03:12 > 0:03:14and I saw a picture of it and I got really excited
0:03:14 > 0:03:17and intrigued as to what this feature was.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24But Jill wasn't the first to be intrigued by Blood Falls.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28This is not a new discovery.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30Blood Falls, as it's known,
0:03:30 > 0:03:35was first spotted by Griffith Taylor, an Australian geologist, in 1911.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39And everyone thought that the incredible spectacle was down to
0:03:39 > 0:03:42a phenomenon called watermelon snow.
0:03:45 > 0:03:50Yes, watermelon snow is caused by algae which grow at low temperatures.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55The algae produce a pigment that acts as a natural sunscreen.
0:03:57 > 0:04:02And it's this pigment that gives the snow a pink appearance,
0:04:02 > 0:04:05and a faint smell of watermelon.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08Hence the name.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12And it is a logical explanation, right? Case solved.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14Well, actually, no, case not solved,
0:04:14 > 0:04:19because it is a lot less to do with this, and a lot more to do with this.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27But what could a rusty piece of iron have to do with a bleeding glacier?
0:04:27 > 0:04:31When some chemists and glaciologists went to the site in the '60s
0:04:31 > 0:04:35and '70s, they did a lot of chemical analysis on the material
0:04:35 > 0:04:39and they determined that it was various iron oxides.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41And this is basically rust.
0:04:42 > 0:04:47So, iron oxides were found to be the cause of Blood Falls.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52The water, oozing out from under the glacier, contains massive
0:04:52 > 0:04:57concentrations of dissolved iron that turns the ice red.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02But the big question for Jill was,
0:05:02 > 0:05:06where is this huge amount of iron actually coming from?
0:05:08 > 0:05:12Well, you see, some glaciers, when they are sliding downhill, grind up
0:05:12 > 0:05:15the bedrock, releasing iron into the water.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18But this one was hardly moving.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22There's a little bit of iron there, but not enough to turn anything red.
0:05:22 > 0:05:28So Jill suspected that something was going on under the glacier.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32Determined to find answers, Jill and her team travelled to Antarctica's
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Dry Valleys, one of the most remote
0:05:35 > 0:05:37and inhospitable places on Earth.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39It is a polar desert.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43The first explorers walked in there, they called this the Valley of the Dead.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46Feels what is must feel like to be on Mars.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49I've never seen anything like it before.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53But for Jill, it was the opportunity of a lifetime.
0:05:53 > 0:05:54Chasing down your curiosity
0:05:54 > 0:05:58and following it is...is a pretty exciting process.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03In order to explore far beneath the glacier, Jill's team used a
0:06:03 > 0:06:09huge antenna to measure electromagnetic forces below the ice.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13This created a map of a hidden world.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17What they found was more astonishing than anyone ever imagined.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23A vast reservoir of salty water...
0:06:25 > 0:06:29..stretching at least 5km beneath the glacier.
0:06:29 > 0:06:34And it has remained untouched for at least one million years.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38What they discovered was an environment that's as close
0:06:38 > 0:06:41to out of this world that we're ever going to find.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Isolated for millions of years.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47Frozen at minus five degrees,
0:06:47 > 0:06:51deprived of oxygen, and totally dark.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Jill probed further for answers,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56by taking samples from the core of the glacier.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03After being intrigued her entire adult life, she was finally
0:07:03 > 0:07:07in a position to solve the mystery of Blood Falls.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09A world first discovery.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15In a place seemingly devoid of life...
0:07:17 > 0:07:21..Jill found life under the glacier.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27Jill's work revealed a massive community of bacteria,
0:07:27 > 0:07:33organisms that survive in a place that seems inconceivable.
0:07:33 > 0:07:38Locked away in a time capsule for at least one million years.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41But what does this incredible discovery have to do with
0:07:41 > 0:07:43Blood Falls?
0:07:45 > 0:07:47Well, without oxygen to breathe,
0:07:47 > 0:07:51these ingenious life forms have evolved a way to live
0:07:51 > 0:07:54off elements in the rock, extracting minerals,
0:07:54 > 0:07:57like iron, to produce energy.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02In the process, iron is dissolved into the water
0:08:02 > 0:08:05and it is that that turns red as it exits the glacier.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11So a century after Blood Falls was first discovered,
0:08:11 > 0:08:13the mystery was finally solved.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16And it might actually have ramifications for the next
0:08:16 > 0:08:19century beyond our planet.
0:08:20 > 0:08:25Because so far, Jill and her team have only scratched the surface.
0:08:25 > 0:08:30If Blood Falls is just a small component of this much larger
0:08:30 > 0:08:32subsurface ecosystem,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35I was wondering what it might tell us about the potential
0:08:35 > 0:08:39for life on other planets, for example under the ice caps of Mars.
0:08:41 > 0:08:46Jill's discovery of bacteria under the glacier proves that life can
0:08:46 > 0:08:49thrive in the most unexpected places.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53And now we have a clue to what life under the ice caps of distant
0:08:53 > 0:08:56planets could actually look like.
0:08:56 > 0:09:01All thanks to Jill's determined curiosity to investigate
0:09:01 > 0:09:03the mystery of Blood Falls.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10Weird forms of life can survive in the most inhospitable
0:09:10 > 0:09:12environments, and who knows,
0:09:12 > 0:09:16they might even occur on planets at the other side of the galaxy.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20But one thing I do know for sure is that even stranger things can
0:09:20 > 0:09:22happen in familiar places.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30So for the next story, we are going to travel to a much more familiar
0:09:30 > 0:09:31environment.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33A humble pond.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39In 1999, a team of scientists in California began investigating
0:09:39 > 0:09:41a strange phenomena.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45Reports of what appeared to be mutant frogs
0:09:45 > 0:09:48with extra limbs.
0:09:48 > 0:09:53It became an environmental mystery of national significance.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56'When we were first working on this topic and we were starting to
0:09:56 > 0:09:59'examine malformed amphibians under microscopes,'
0:09:59 > 0:10:02we were trying to figure out what might be causing the deformities.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07Whether it was chemical pollutants,
0:10:07 > 0:10:10whether it was UV radiation,
0:10:10 > 0:10:14or even whether it was just an isolated phenomenon of inbreeding.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17And what happens is, if you start to put these animals under
0:10:17 > 0:10:21the microscope, what you begin to notice is that right around the
0:10:21 > 0:10:26base of where the limbs are growing, you find these tiny white dots.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35These spots were a clue, because they allowed scientists to uncover
0:10:35 > 0:10:39a link between our sadly malformed frogs
0:10:39 > 0:10:41and a snail.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48Just a simple freshwater snail that
0:10:48 > 0:10:51lives a pretty unremarkable life,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54except for the vital role it was found to
0:10:54 > 0:10:57play in the mystery of the malformed frogs.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00If we were to open up this snail,
0:11:00 > 0:11:04what you would find inside of it is a large population of parasites.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08Somewhere in the order of a few hundred to several thousand
0:11:08 > 0:11:10parasites live inside this snail.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16They transform the snail into a parasite factory.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Where they clone themselves by the thousand.
0:11:23 > 0:11:28Then, under the cover of darkness, swarms of parasitic larvae
0:11:28 > 0:11:32emerge from the snail and swim around the pond.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Having left the snail, where they multiplied,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38the parasites are on the hunt for a new abode.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44The next stage of the adventure is about to begin.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47Because they are on the lookout for tadpoles.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52They will land on the tadpole's body, they will move all over
0:11:52 > 0:11:55the body until they find the exact spot where they want to infect,
0:11:55 > 0:11:59which is where the hind limbs are ultimately going to develop.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03And they start producing these highly specialised, but very powerful, acids.
0:12:04 > 0:12:10Those acids allow the parasite to burn its way inside, and once inside,
0:12:10 > 0:12:14these crafty intruders cause the tadpole's legs
0:12:14 > 0:12:17to malform as it grows.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20As the tadpole is turning into a frog,
0:12:20 > 0:12:25the spots where there should be just one leg either have none or too many.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29It is a horrific form of manipulation.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33And the reason why this puppeteering parasite perpetrates with such
0:12:33 > 0:12:36precision this malformation is equally
0:12:36 > 0:12:40as ingeniously callous.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43These deformities are going to increase the probability that that
0:12:43 > 0:12:47frog is unable to escape a bird when it comes down to search for prey.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51The parasite is basically playing a waiting game.
0:12:51 > 0:12:56And it is waiting for that frog to eventually be eaten by a bird.
0:12:56 > 0:13:01So first the parasite turns the snail into a breeding chamber,
0:13:01 > 0:13:05and then it deforms the frog's legs.
0:13:05 > 0:13:10These cumbersome appendages make the frog unable to escape.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12Easy pickings for a bird.
0:13:12 > 0:13:18But why go to so much effort just to get eaten by a bird?
0:13:18 > 0:13:21Well, the bird is vital for the parasite.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25Because the bird's stomach acids help the parasites mature into adults.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30This stomach is the place to be,
0:13:30 > 0:13:33as all the parasites gather to find a mate.
0:13:33 > 0:13:38Here they reproduce sexually and release eggs into the bird's faeces.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42Now I know it might not sound like the most pleasant place to raise a
0:13:42 > 0:13:46family, but for these parasites, the best way to start life
0:13:46 > 0:13:48is in bird poo.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50Once the birds defecate in those ponds,
0:13:50 > 0:13:53the parasite eggs will hatch and infect more snails.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56So let's get this straight.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00The parasite goes from snail to frog to bird...
0:14:00 > 0:14:05to bird faeces in the pond, and then back to the snail.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07It sounds absolutely exhausting,
0:14:07 > 0:14:12so why would it evolve such a long and complex life cycle?
0:14:14 > 0:14:17This is a brilliant mode of dispersal,
0:14:17 > 0:14:19because rather than being dependent on the movement of a snail,
0:14:19 > 0:14:23which doesn't move that far, or the movement of a frog, which
0:14:23 > 0:14:25might get a little bit farther but is still pretty limited,
0:14:25 > 0:14:29the parasites are now being transported around by birds,
0:14:29 > 0:14:33which can move miles, sometimes even hundreds or thousands of miles.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38So this is an excellent way for the parasite to disperse rapidly
0:14:38 > 0:14:41and pretty effortlessly across the landscape.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52Let's just think about things from the parasite's point of view.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55It wants to reproduce as much as possible,
0:14:55 > 0:15:00to spread as widely as possible, using whatever means possible.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04So it's bad news for the frog and it's bad news for the snail,
0:15:04 > 0:15:08but it is great news for the parasite. Mystery solved.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12It wasn't the UV radiation, it wasn't chemical pollutants, it wasn't
0:15:12 > 0:15:15a malignant mutation in the frog,
0:15:15 > 0:15:17it was a tiny little parasite
0:15:17 > 0:15:20intent on world domination.
0:15:20 > 0:15:25Don't tell me that nature is not a weirdly wonderful thing.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27I'd say so.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30And of course, we humans, well, we are
0:15:30 > 0:15:34immune to such bizarre phenomena. Aren't we?
0:15:35 > 0:15:39In the US state of Washington, when applying for benefits,
0:15:39 > 0:15:44standard procedure requires DNA testing for proof of parentage.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50But when one woman's family fell on hard times,
0:15:50 > 0:15:55taking this routine test turned her life into a living hell.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02You see, the test results stated she was not the mother
0:16:02 > 0:16:04of her own children.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09Getting the actual documents showing,
0:16:09 > 0:16:12"Mother - 0.00%"
0:16:12 > 0:16:15was just unbelievable to me.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18With that evidence, they in fact can come and get my kids.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20SHE SOBS
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Every morning I felt like I was saying goodbye to them.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32Lydia's nightmare began just a few weeks after taking the test.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37I get a call from a prosecutor, who wants me to come
0:16:37 > 0:16:40up to his office, concerning the DNA results.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45Right away he started saying,
0:16:45 > 0:16:47"Who are you, what is your real name,
0:16:47 > 0:16:49"whose kids are these?"
0:16:49 > 0:16:52And I said, "What are you talking about? These are my children.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54"I've had them with my partner."
0:16:54 > 0:16:56He goes, "Oh, well, we know he is the father,
0:16:56 > 0:16:59"he came back 99.9% the father.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02"But the DNA test came back that you are in no way
0:17:02 > 0:17:05"possible the mother of these children."
0:17:06 > 0:17:09So what was going on?
0:17:09 > 0:17:10Was Lydia lying?
0:17:12 > 0:17:15In my mind, I'm like, "OK, there must have been a mistake,
0:17:15 > 0:17:17"let's do another test."
0:17:17 > 0:17:22But the result was the same as the first DNA test.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24I didn't know what was going on.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27I didn't know why my DNA wasn't coming back as the mother.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30It just wasn't making sense to me.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32Lydia knew she was the mother,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35but the test said she was lying.
0:17:35 > 0:17:40And now, with no-one believing her story, her whole family was at risk.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46Just imagine knowing that you are the mother
0:17:46 > 0:17:48but a lab result says otherwise.
0:17:48 > 0:17:53A result so powerful you could have your children taken away
0:17:53 > 0:17:55and never see them again.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01This nightmare became Lydia's reality.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04When the prosecutor had threatened me that any day someone could
0:18:04 > 0:18:08come and get my children from me, just solely on that DNA evidence alone,
0:18:08 > 0:18:10going to work and dropping them off at daycare, I would pray with
0:18:10 > 0:18:15my children and hug them as if it was going to be last time I was going to see them.
0:18:18 > 0:18:19Yeah.
0:18:19 > 0:18:20SHE SOBS
0:18:21 > 0:18:26Facing charges of fraud and even kidnapping her own children,
0:18:26 > 0:18:29getting to the bottom of this mystery was vital.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34That just brought back memories, I'm sorry.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36Lydia needed help.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43When I first met with Lydia and started learning about the facts
0:18:43 > 0:18:46of the case, I was very intrigued by it because it was certainly
0:18:46 > 0:18:49unlike any other paternity case I had ever dealt with.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54One of the things that had to be ruled out
0:18:54 > 0:18:57is that there wasn't some sort of criminal thing going on.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00If they're not related to her, then whose children are they?
0:19:00 > 0:19:04But Lydia was about to give birth to her third child.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08An opportunity for her lawyer to gather some evidence.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14The court ordered someone be in that room when I give birth,
0:19:14 > 0:19:18to take DNA directly from me and the baby right after birth.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21That's what happened, someone was there, took DNA from me
0:19:21 > 0:19:23and the child right away.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27And when those tests came back, the baby came back as not mine.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33Now Lydia had legal verification
0:19:33 > 0:19:36that this new child was hers.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40She could prove that she wasn't lying, and yet still
0:19:40 > 0:19:42the DNA said otherwise.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45There could only be one possible conclusion,
0:19:45 > 0:19:49and that was that the DNA test was wrong.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51And if this was the case,
0:19:51 > 0:19:56it could have massive implications across the entire legal system.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02DNA evidence is powerful evidence.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05People have been sentenced to death in this country
0:20:05 > 0:20:07because their DNA is at a crime scene
0:20:07 > 0:20:09and other people have been released from death row
0:20:09 > 0:20:12because their DNA isn't at a crime scene.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16These tests aren't supposed to be inaccurate
0:20:16 > 0:20:20and so it led not only to the questions of this woman's maternity,
0:20:20 > 0:20:22but the larger question of whether or not these tests
0:20:22 > 0:20:24could be trusted in any circumstance.
0:20:25 > 0:20:30Her case was really testing the integrity of the DNA testing regime.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32So there had to be some sort of scientific explanation
0:20:32 > 0:20:35as to why her test did not match up.
0:20:39 > 0:20:40With time running out,
0:20:40 > 0:20:44Lydia's case was still baffling the experts.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48But then, all of a sudden, something very similar cropped up
0:20:48 > 0:20:502,000 miles away in Boston.
0:20:51 > 0:20:56You see, a lady there needed a kidney transplant,
0:20:56 > 0:20:58but when they DNA tested her three sons,
0:20:58 > 0:21:02they found no maternal compatibility -
0:21:02 > 0:21:06a very similar thing to what was going on with Lydia.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09So could this finally give her the answer she needed?
0:21:09 > 0:21:13Her lawyer sent some samples to Harvard University,
0:21:13 > 0:21:18hair, blood, a mouth swab and a cervical smear.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22And it was this last sample that proved conclusive
0:21:22 > 0:21:25with absolutely astonishing results.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28You see Lydia was, in fact, a chimera.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Chimera is a word from Greek mythology,
0:21:34 > 0:21:38describing a creature made of different animals.
0:21:38 > 0:21:43Something that simply could not exist in the real world.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46But for Lydia, her condition was very real indeed.
0:21:48 > 0:21:53Unbeknown to Lydia, she started life in the womb as a twin,
0:21:53 > 0:21:59but her sibling never fully developed and Lydia absorbed those cells.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03So when she was born, Lydia was made up of two sets of genes
0:22:03 > 0:22:06instead of the usual one.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09And in her case, her ovaries
0:22:09 > 0:22:12contained her sister's DNA.
0:22:12 > 0:22:13Her twin,
0:22:13 > 0:22:15that she never knew existed,
0:22:15 > 0:22:17was technically the biological
0:22:17 > 0:22:19mother of her children,
0:22:19 > 0:22:22which is why the DNA test results
0:22:22 > 0:22:23were so confusing.
0:22:24 > 0:22:30Lydia is one of only 30 people in the US confirmed to have this condition,
0:22:30 > 0:22:33but any one of us could be a chimera.
0:22:33 > 0:22:38As most of us are unlikely to take a DNA test, we'll never know.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40It's an amazing story.
0:22:40 > 0:22:45It seems unreal. But...these things can happen.
0:22:45 > 0:22:46I mean, it happened to me.
0:22:52 > 0:23:00From alien life forms under the ice to malformed frogs,
0:23:00 > 0:23:03and a case of deceitful DNA,
0:23:03 > 0:23:08the tiniest things in nature can have enormous consequences.
0:23:20 > 0:23:21Where next?
0:23:21 > 0:23:24Well, we're going to take you on a romp
0:23:24 > 0:23:28through a manifestation of your worst possible nightmares.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32From a never-ending tropical storm of enormous magnitude
0:23:32 > 0:23:36to a close encounter with a zombie cockroach.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38But first, let's get to grips
0:23:38 > 0:23:42with one of nature's most powerful forces.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45Lightning. THUNDER CRASHES
0:23:45 > 0:23:47Shocking and unpredictable.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54Out here, it can strike without warning.
0:23:54 > 0:23:55But, of course, they do say
0:23:55 > 0:23:58that lightning never strikes twice in the same place.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06But what if I told you there is a place where lightning never ends?
0:24:10 > 0:24:14It must be a place like no other, a true hell on Earth.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21Actually, it's the Catatumbo region in Venezuela.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27Now, it might look like an idyllic, tranquil haven,
0:24:27 > 0:24:30but every evening, the atmosphere changes dramatically.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38It's one of the world's most violent and frightening natural spectacles.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45These storms are so frequent, they happen on such a regular basis
0:24:45 > 0:24:48and for such a long period of time, they've been nicknamed
0:24:48 > 0:24:50everlasting storms.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57The storms develop about 160 days of the year
0:24:57 > 0:25:02and we can see 280 strikes of lightning in just an hour.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10And the local fishermen actually use it
0:25:10 > 0:25:13as a way of directing themselves back into shore.
0:25:16 > 0:25:21This is the eternal lightning storm of Catatumbo.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24It's been going on for centuries.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26It's the stuff of legend.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31In 1595, Sir Francis Drake
0:25:31 > 0:25:34was planning a surprise attack on this location.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38He waited for night-time when it was dark, but at midnight,
0:25:38 > 0:25:43the sky lit up and his whole surprise attack was just foiled.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52But what's going on in Catatumbo
0:25:52 > 0:25:56that makes these ferocious storms everlasting?
0:25:56 > 0:25:59Well, it's all down to geography.
0:26:01 > 0:26:06Electrical storms require two basic ingredients -
0:26:06 > 0:26:09warm, moist air and cold air.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14Being located just above the equator,
0:26:14 > 0:26:17Catatumbo's weather is pretty much the same all year round,
0:26:17 > 0:26:21with a constant supply of warm, moist air
0:26:21 > 0:26:24blowing in from the Caribbean Sea.
0:26:24 > 0:26:29It's also supplied with a constant source of cold air that cascades down
0:26:29 > 0:26:34from the snow-capped mountains that surround the area on three sides.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37But the final and vital ingredient
0:26:37 > 0:26:39that creates these never-ending storms
0:26:39 > 0:26:43arises because of the massive lake nearby.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47During the day, the hot tropical sun evaporates
0:26:47 > 0:26:50huge volumes of water from the lake,
0:26:50 > 0:26:53but every night, winds rush in from the mountains.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56They're known as a low level jet.
0:26:56 > 0:26:57And it's this which
0:26:57 > 0:26:59forces the air to rise,
0:26:59 > 0:27:01boosting the formation
0:27:01 > 0:27:03of electrical storms.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06Which is why these storms develop from about midnight
0:27:06 > 0:27:10and then drop away at dawn time when this low level jet dissipates.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17So the location really pulls all the ingredients together
0:27:17 > 0:27:21to make this the perfect storm generating system.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24Catatumbo is a delicately balanced
0:27:24 > 0:27:26lightning generating machine,
0:27:26 > 0:27:28and it's one that could run eternally...
0:27:31 > 0:27:34..providing all the ingredients remain in place.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40But extreme forces of nature can sometimes combine
0:27:40 > 0:27:42to create even stranger things.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46Back in 2011 in Texas,
0:27:46 > 0:27:48whilst his girlfriend Daphne was out of town,
0:27:48 > 0:27:53electrician Winston Kemp spent a weekend in the garden,
0:27:53 > 0:27:56tending his prize pumpkins.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58When I went outside that day,
0:27:58 > 0:28:01my mind was pretty much on the pumpkins.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09But it turned out to be a very weird weekend for Winston.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13When Daphne returned, he had something very strange to show her.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19An impossibly intricate work of art on his arm.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25When it happened, I was back home in St Angelo visiting my family.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31When I came back, I saw his arm
0:28:31 > 0:28:34and I took a picture and I posted it online and I asked,
0:28:34 > 0:28:37"So, what does your boyfriend do when you go out of town?
0:28:37 > 0:28:39"Well, this is what happens to mine."
0:28:43 > 0:28:45A lot of people thought it was a fake.
0:28:45 > 0:28:47They were like, no, this didn't happen to him.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49They thought it was, like, henna or a tattoo.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54But Winston hadn't made an ill-advised trip
0:28:54 > 0:28:56to the tattoo parlour.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00No, what had actually happened was far weirder.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07I was trying to save my pumpkins from all the rain we were having.
0:29:09 > 0:29:14So I went outside to try and divert some of the water away from them.
0:29:14 > 0:29:18I heard a really loud noise and I saw a flash.
0:29:18 > 0:29:22There was a lot of shock and my arm started to burn.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26Winston had been struck by lightning.
0:29:30 > 0:29:31But rather than killing him,
0:29:31 > 0:29:35he'd been left with a remarkable temporary tattoo,
0:29:35 > 0:29:40a bizarre branching pattern etched from shoulder to elbow.
0:29:44 > 0:29:48But how could the lightning have made such a such a beautiful design?
0:29:51 > 0:29:53It was raining heavily on the night
0:29:53 > 0:29:56that Winston was trying to save his precious pumpkins,
0:29:56 > 0:30:00so a layer of water was running across his skin.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04And this water may just have saved his life.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09You see, when he was struck by lightning,
0:30:09 > 0:30:12conditions combined in a perfect way.
0:30:13 > 0:30:17Thousands of volts of electricity discharged through the water,
0:30:17 > 0:30:19bypassing his vital organs
0:30:19 > 0:30:24and instead dispersing across the surface of his skin.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29Heat and pressure created what's known as a Lichtenberg figure.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35The pattern on his arm showed exactly where the lightning moved
0:30:35 > 0:30:37as it found the path of least resistance.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46To demonstrate how this happens,
0:30:46 > 0:30:50let's substitute rain with a metal Faraday suit.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00Metal and water are more conductive than skin,
0:31:00 > 0:31:04so if you're fully covered, lightning will flow around you.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08It's called the skin effect.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19Which is why this man is able to play with lightning,
0:31:19 > 0:31:24and why Winston got away with only a pattern on his arm to show for it.
0:31:30 > 0:31:34Quite extraordinary and Winston was so extremely lucky
0:31:34 > 0:31:37to walk away with just a work of art on his arm,
0:31:37 > 0:31:39because every year in the US,
0:31:39 > 0:31:41hundreds of people are struck by lightning.
0:31:41 > 0:31:46Around 40 are killed and many more have permanent injuries.
0:31:46 > 0:31:48But in South America,
0:31:48 > 0:31:51it's not always danger from above that you have to worry about.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01Hiding in the mud beneath rivers and swamps is a shocking secret.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07They are legendarily unpleasant to encounter.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12They have a fearsome reputation
0:32:12 > 0:32:14and it's pretty well earned.
0:32:14 > 0:32:16The local fishermen call them arimna,
0:32:16 > 0:32:19which means to deprive of motion.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26So exactly what is lurking beneath the surface of the water?
0:32:28 > 0:32:33In 2013, in South America, one unlucky fisherman discovered
0:32:33 > 0:32:36first hand whilst reeling in his line.
0:32:38 > 0:32:40HE YELLS
0:32:48 > 0:32:51He'd caught an Electrophorus electricus...
0:32:56 > 0:32:59..otherwise known as an electric eel.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02The obvious thing about them
0:33:02 > 0:33:04is they're giving off this unusual force.
0:33:04 > 0:33:07What I kind of call the weapons of mass destruction.
0:33:09 > 0:33:10In terms of voltage,
0:33:10 > 0:33:13they can give off 600 volts for a very large eel.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15It's a very significant current.
0:33:21 > 0:33:25600 volts... That's nearly three times the amount
0:33:25 > 0:33:27we get out of our electrical sockets.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30But how can a fish produce such deadly power?
0:33:33 > 0:33:37All muscle cells can generate some electricity.
0:33:37 > 0:33:41Think of a heart monitor - that spike is a wave of electrical charge
0:33:41 > 0:33:43generated by a muscle.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47But electric eels have evolved a way of amping up their muscle cells
0:33:47 > 0:33:50to create a massive charge.
0:33:50 > 0:33:54A shock powerful enough to immobilise a horse!
0:33:55 > 0:34:00An animal that can generate 600 volts, that is just incredible.
0:34:00 > 0:34:02If that didn't exist and I said it could exist,
0:34:02 > 0:34:04you would never believe me, right?
0:34:05 > 0:34:07Ken's fascination with electric eels
0:34:07 > 0:34:10led him to make a ground-breaking discovery.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14It's using electricity to sort of
0:34:14 > 0:34:16reach into other animals' nervous systems
0:34:16 > 0:34:21and activate the neurons in their bodies as a way of remote control.
0:34:21 > 0:34:22It's just phenomenal.
0:34:22 > 0:34:25But how does the eel do this?
0:34:26 > 0:34:30So when the electric eel gives off its high voltage pulses,
0:34:30 > 0:34:33it's a lot like the signal that comes through our nerves.
0:34:35 > 0:34:37It can either stop you moving or make you move
0:34:37 > 0:34:41depending on what its purpose is at the time.
0:34:41 > 0:34:43So really what it's doing is remotely controlling
0:34:43 > 0:34:46the nervous system of the animal that's nearby.
0:34:48 > 0:34:52The eel mimics the signals running through your own nerves.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58So you can't even control your own body.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02And if you're a fish in the Amazon,
0:35:02 > 0:35:06nowhere is safe from the eels' electrical weaponry.
0:35:07 > 0:35:09Let's say you're hidden in the mud, for example.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12What it does is it gives off two of these pulses.
0:35:13 > 0:35:18And what that causes is a massive whole-body involuntary twitch.
0:35:18 > 0:35:19You can't help it,
0:35:19 > 0:35:21because your nervous system is remotely activated.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24And the eel in turn is very sensitive to water movement
0:35:24 > 0:35:26so it detects that twitch.
0:35:26 > 0:35:27And then it's game over.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31After you've been forced to give away your location,
0:35:31 > 0:35:36in a flash, the eel unleashes its highest setting.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40When the eel starts its high voltage output,
0:35:40 > 0:35:45within three milliseconds - that's three one thousandths of a second -
0:35:45 > 0:35:48the prey is completely frozen up.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52You get massive contraction of all the muscles,
0:35:52 > 0:35:55essentially imitating what a Taser does,
0:35:55 > 0:35:56but sort of a super-powered Taser.
0:35:58 > 0:36:03And once paralysed, you're easy pickings for the eel.
0:36:05 > 0:36:06You don't stand a chance.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14A good reason to never get out of the boat
0:36:14 > 0:36:16should you venture up the Amazon.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19And as strange as tasering your meal might sound,
0:36:19 > 0:36:23I have to tell you, there is one other tiny species
0:36:23 > 0:36:27that goes to far more extraordinary lengths
0:36:27 > 0:36:28to bring food to its table.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33For our next story, we travel to Hawaii
0:36:33 > 0:36:37where in 2011, a film-maker captured this extraordinary
0:36:37 > 0:36:40David and Goliath contest,
0:36:40 > 0:36:46a tiny jewel wasp dragging along a cockroach five times its size.
0:36:48 > 0:36:53The cockroach is one of the fastest and toughest insects around.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56With a strong exoskeleton and powerful mandibles,
0:36:56 > 0:36:59it's a formidable beast to deal with.
0:36:59 > 0:37:04The jewel wasp is a beautiful creature, but on size alone,
0:37:04 > 0:37:08it's no match for the cockroach, which should easily win this battle.
0:37:09 > 0:37:14But instead, it's being led by the wasp without putting up a fight.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20So how does the wasp get the cockroach to follow it?
0:37:20 > 0:37:22And what's it going to do with it?
0:37:22 > 0:37:23Take it for a walk?
0:37:23 > 0:37:25Well, obviously not.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28But the truth is far weirder than you could ever imagine.
0:37:30 > 0:37:34It's a process that takes some careful planning.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37To begin, the wasp hunts down a cockroach
0:37:37 > 0:37:40and administers a sting to the thorax.
0:37:42 > 0:37:47Now, that's a risky move for the wasp, but it's one that pays off.
0:37:47 > 0:37:52This first hit temporarily paralyses the cockroach's front legs,
0:37:52 > 0:37:55vital for the next stage in the fight.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58The cockroach needs to be almost motionless
0:37:58 > 0:38:01while the wasp administers the much more accurate second sting.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06This second sting needs to be to a specific part
0:38:06 > 0:38:07of the cockroach's brain.
0:38:07 > 0:38:11And it does that almost with the precision of a surgeon's scalpel.
0:38:11 > 0:38:15This second hit goes straight to the cockroach's brain.
0:38:15 > 0:38:16Instead of fighting back,
0:38:16 > 0:38:20the cockroach responds with some strange behaviour.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23It starts to groom obsessively,
0:38:23 > 0:38:26but I'll come back to that in a moment.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29And then, as the wasp's venom takes over,
0:38:29 > 0:38:34it knocks out the cockroach's ability to fight back or even run away.
0:38:36 > 0:38:42It's been turned into a zombie completely under the wasp's control.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47But the cockroach's ordeal isn't over yet.
0:38:47 > 0:38:52The wasp leads it like a puppet to its dark lair,
0:38:52 > 0:38:57where the true purpose behind this brutal clash is finally revealed.
0:38:57 > 0:39:02The cockroach has become a larder for the wasp's larva.
0:39:03 > 0:39:05So, initially, the wasp larva feeds outside
0:39:05 > 0:39:06on the body of the cockroach.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09But after a few days, it tunnels into the cockroach's abdomen,
0:39:09 > 0:39:11then it feeds on its internal organs.
0:39:11 > 0:39:13And to keep the cockroach alive as long as possible,
0:39:13 > 0:39:15it feeds on the organs sequentially
0:39:15 > 0:39:18so it leaves the most important organs until last,
0:39:18 > 0:39:21effectively keeping the cockroach alive for as long as it can.
0:39:23 > 0:39:27As dark and twisted as it sounds,
0:39:27 > 0:39:31everything the wasp does has a purpose.
0:39:31 > 0:39:32Remember that excessive grooming?
0:39:32 > 0:39:35Well, now that comes into its own.
0:39:35 > 0:39:42The cockroach is keeping itself clean so that the wasp larvae survive.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45Imagine that. Keeping yourself in tiptop condition
0:39:45 > 0:39:50just so that some other animal can eat you alive from the inside.
0:39:51 > 0:39:57Not very nice. By committing that cockroach to such a miserable end,
0:39:57 > 0:40:01the female wasp insures that her larvae will survive,
0:40:01 > 0:40:04and that's what it's all about.
0:40:04 > 0:40:08And it's astonishing the lengths that some species will go to,
0:40:08 > 0:40:13just to ensure that their kids get the very best start in life.
0:40:16 > 0:40:20The lightning never ends in Venezuela,
0:40:20 > 0:40:23but leaves its mark on skin in Texas.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29Eels use electricity to make underwater weapons,
0:40:29 > 0:40:34and wasps rewire the circuitry of their cockroach slaves.
0:40:37 > 0:40:41The forces that shape our world are not only weird,
0:40:41 > 0:40:43but they're also deadly.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59And finally, I'm going to tell you a story
0:40:59 > 0:41:01which I can absolutely promise you
0:41:01 > 0:41:05will change the way you think about our weird and wonderful world,
0:41:05 > 0:41:12from some eye-opening dentistry to a cyborg with an ear for colour.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16So let's start with something that really has to be seen to be believed.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22In 1998, Ian Tibbetts from Shropshire
0:41:22 > 0:41:25began having problems with his eyes.
0:41:27 > 0:41:29I went blind in my right eye.
0:41:32 > 0:41:37My left eye slowly going what the right one did.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40Gradually, I got to being able to only see shadows.
0:41:44 > 0:41:46As his eyesight got worse,
0:41:46 > 0:41:49it slowly robbed him of everything that he liked doing.
0:41:52 > 0:41:58Worse still, Ian and Alex had recently had twin boys,
0:41:58 > 0:42:01but Ian had never seen their faces.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04It was quite scary in the fact that..
0:42:05 > 0:42:07..I'd never be able to see my children...
0:42:10 > 0:42:11..or the wife again.
0:42:11 > 0:42:12Or anybody again, actually.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18Then, one day, at his lowest,
0:42:18 > 0:42:21Ian stumbled across a lifeline.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24I saw this picture on the TV, on the news,
0:42:24 > 0:42:30this miraculous cure to help people who were going blind.
0:42:30 > 0:42:34It was my last chance, really, the last chance saloon.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38Ian reached out to a very specialist eye surgeon.
0:42:38 > 0:42:43I did a very detailed assessment and told him there was a good chance
0:42:43 > 0:42:45I could help him regain his sight.
0:42:48 > 0:42:49Ian was in luck,
0:42:49 > 0:42:51but Professor Liu's solution
0:42:51 > 0:42:55was weirder than he could have ever have imagined.
0:42:55 > 0:42:59With Ian's eyes, the outside of his eyes was the problem.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01The insides were fine.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04He'd need to consider an artificial cornea.
0:43:06 > 0:43:11Professor Liu wanted to replace the entire front of Ian's eye.
0:43:11 > 0:43:17That would be his cornea, his iris and his lens.
0:43:17 > 0:43:21But, of course, that sort of surgery is anything but standard.
0:43:24 > 0:43:26When I went to see him and he told me
0:43:26 > 0:43:29what he would like to try and do to me...
0:43:32 > 0:43:36..I just thought in the back of my mind, "He must be crazy."
0:43:37 > 0:43:40But this new part of Ian's eye
0:43:40 > 0:43:43wasn't going to be totally artificial.
0:43:43 > 0:43:44Oh, no.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47It was going to be made out of something very strange indeed.
0:43:51 > 0:43:55The implant consists of two parts.
0:43:55 > 0:43:59One is the lens, or optical cylinder,
0:43:59 > 0:44:02and that is like a camera lens.
0:44:02 > 0:44:04The other part is made
0:44:04 > 0:44:08from the patient's tooth, root and surrounding jawbone.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13Yes, you heard right!
0:44:13 > 0:44:16Professor Liu wanted to use one of Ian's teeth
0:44:16 > 0:44:18to rebuild his eye.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21It must be one of the most bizarre treatments
0:44:21 > 0:44:23for blindness you can imagine.
0:44:26 > 0:44:30What's putting a tooth in the back of the eye going to help me see?
0:44:31 > 0:44:35Can't work. I thought he was delusional.
0:44:38 > 0:44:42The procedure that Professor Liu wanted to perform
0:44:42 > 0:44:44has got a bit of a name.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47It's called osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis.
0:44:47 > 0:44:50Yeah, it's a bit of a mouthful.
0:44:50 > 0:44:55But the big question is, why did he need to use a bit of a tooth?
0:44:55 > 0:44:59Well, it's all about fooling Ian's eyes.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05If you just put the plastic lens onto the eye
0:45:05 > 0:45:08then it will just reject it.
0:45:08 > 0:45:11If we surround it with a picture frame
0:45:11 > 0:45:15made with the patient's own tooth and surrounding jawbone,
0:45:15 > 0:45:18it can trick the eye into accepting it.
0:45:18 > 0:45:22So, to help Ian see again, Professor Liu needed to use
0:45:22 > 0:45:25something from Ian's body with the perfect structure
0:45:25 > 0:45:30and blood supply to hold an artificial lens,
0:45:30 > 0:45:35and a tooth happens to be just right for the job.
0:45:35 > 0:45:37But this surgery wasn't without risk.
0:45:38 > 0:45:43If it went wrong, Ian could be plunged into darkness forever.
0:45:46 > 0:45:51Professor Liu performed the operation in two parts.
0:45:54 > 0:45:58First, a tooth was removed and shaped to hold the lens.
0:46:01 > 0:46:05It was then implanted for four months under Ian's cheek
0:46:05 > 0:46:08to grow soft tissue around it.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11In the second part of the surgery,
0:46:11 > 0:46:13the front of the eye was removed
0:46:13 > 0:46:18and replaced with the new artificial lens embedded in the tooth.
0:46:21 > 0:46:25All in all, it's an incredibly complex and delicate procedure.
0:46:27 > 0:46:30But there was no way to know if it had worked
0:46:30 > 0:46:34until the bandages were removed 24 hours later.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39When they took the bandages off,
0:46:39 > 0:46:41I couldn't see a thing.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45It was worse, actually, than it was before.
0:46:45 > 0:46:47I couldn't actually see at all.
0:46:48 > 0:46:50I thought I was going to be blind for life.
0:46:50 > 0:46:52I just started crying.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59I sat down on the floor and cried.
0:46:59 > 0:47:01And that's about all I can remember of that part.
0:47:04 > 0:47:07But a few weeks later, something truly remarkable happened.
0:47:15 > 0:47:19Callum comes in and I look at him
0:47:19 > 0:47:23and I could actually see his face clearly.
0:47:25 > 0:47:29By then, Ryan had come running in and I could see him, too.
0:47:30 > 0:47:34It made me feel ecstatic, over the moon.
0:47:35 > 0:47:38That I could actually see them.
0:47:39 > 0:47:41My little boys.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45He could see his sons for the very first time.
0:47:47 > 0:47:49And none of it would have been possible
0:47:49 > 0:47:51without this incredible surgery.
0:47:53 > 0:47:55It's wonderful, because it's given him some life again.
0:47:55 > 0:47:57You know, some quality.
0:47:58 > 0:48:00It's changed my life for the better.
0:48:08 > 0:48:09What about that?
0:48:09 > 0:48:12That's really something, isn't it?
0:48:12 > 0:48:14A real life-changing moment.
0:48:14 > 0:48:18I suppose you could say that the phrase "seeing is believing"
0:48:18 > 0:48:20has never been more apt.
0:48:21 > 0:48:25But then we all experience what we see in slightly different ways.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29Double rainbow! Oh, my God.
0:48:29 > 0:48:31It's a double rainbow, all the way.
0:48:35 > 0:48:39We've all been excited when we've spotted rainbows.
0:48:39 > 0:48:44Double complete rainbow...
0:48:44 > 0:48:46in my front yard.
0:48:46 > 0:48:49LAUGHTER
0:48:51 > 0:48:53But perhaps some more than others.
0:48:54 > 0:48:58Oh, my God, it's so bright and vivid. Oh!
0:48:58 > 0:49:02In 2010, Paul Vasquez saw a double rainbow
0:49:02 > 0:49:06from his California back yard near Yosemite National Park.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10Double rainbow all the way across the sky!
0:49:16 > 0:49:18Oh, my God.
0:49:19 > 0:49:21Whoo!
0:49:21 > 0:49:24Yeah!
0:49:24 > 0:49:25Oh...
0:49:25 > 0:49:29He recorded his dramatic reaction and the clip went viral
0:49:29 > 0:49:32and has been viewed by millions around the world.
0:49:37 > 0:49:39What does this mean?
0:49:39 > 0:49:44Paul, Paul, calm down. There's a perfectly logical explanation.
0:49:49 > 0:49:51So how does a double rainbow work?
0:49:51 > 0:49:55The answer lies in a single drop of water.
0:50:03 > 0:50:08A rainbow is created when light refracts as it enters a raindrop.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11It then bounces off the back of the droplet
0:50:11 > 0:50:15and refracts again as it exits the water.
0:50:15 > 0:50:19This splits the colour spectrum and causes a rainbow to appear
0:50:19 > 0:50:25at an angle of around 42 degrees relative to the incoming light.
0:50:25 > 0:50:29OK, that explains a single rainbow.
0:50:29 > 0:50:33But some light bounces twice before it exits the drop,
0:50:33 > 0:50:37this time at an angle of around 53 degrees,
0:50:37 > 0:50:41creating a second rainbow just above the first one.
0:50:41 > 0:50:45Scale all of this up with millions of water drops
0:50:45 > 0:50:47and you get a double rainbow.
0:50:52 > 0:50:56And the way to know that your eyes aren't deceiving you?
0:50:56 > 0:50:58Well, because of this second reflection,
0:50:58 > 0:51:02the colours in a second rainbow are reversed.
0:51:02 > 0:51:06Now the blue is on the outside and the red on the inside,
0:51:06 > 0:51:11just like the double rainbow that was so intense for Paul.
0:51:11 > 0:51:13Oh!
0:51:13 > 0:51:16Oh, my...
0:51:16 > 0:51:18Oh, my God, look at that.
0:51:18 > 0:51:22It's starting to look like a TRIPLE rainbow.
0:51:22 > 0:51:25Oh, my God, it's full-on.
0:51:25 > 0:51:28Double rainbow all the way across the sky.
0:51:31 > 0:51:33Oh, my God!
0:51:37 > 0:51:42So a double rainbow had given Paul Vasquez the moment of his life.
0:51:42 > 0:51:44But try and imagine this -
0:51:44 > 0:51:48try and imagine that you can't see any colour at all.
0:51:48 > 0:51:49A whole world without colour,
0:51:49 > 0:51:54a world made up only of shades of grey.
0:51:55 > 0:51:58What then would you give to see that world in colour?
0:51:58 > 0:52:01Something that we all take for granted.
0:52:04 > 0:52:09New York City. And this is Neil Harbisson.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12He has never seen colour.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18Born with a condition called achromatopsia,
0:52:18 > 0:52:21he only sees a world of black and white.
0:52:23 > 0:52:27But despite this limitation, Neil became an artist,
0:52:27 > 0:52:31and in 2004 began an incredible journey
0:52:31 > 0:52:34to bring him closer to the world of colour.
0:52:34 > 0:52:35There's lots of red things.
0:52:36 > 0:52:39Very F street.
0:52:39 > 0:52:41This is more F sharp.
0:52:45 > 0:52:47The woman sounded... very high-pitched E.
0:52:51 > 0:52:52I was always curious about colour
0:52:52 > 0:52:54cos everyone is using it
0:52:54 > 0:52:55in daily life.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58They are mentioning it every single day.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00So I was always interested in sensing colour.
0:53:00 > 0:53:02Not because I wanted to change my sight,
0:53:02 > 0:53:06but because I wanted to have this element of colour in my life.
0:53:06 > 0:53:08With the help of a team of engineers and doctors,
0:53:08 > 0:53:13he created something straight out of science fiction.
0:53:13 > 0:53:18Neil had an electronic device implanted inside his skull.
0:53:20 > 0:53:24So this is a colour sensor. It picks up light frequencies.
0:53:24 > 0:53:26It sends the light frequency to a chip
0:53:26 > 0:53:30and the chip transforms the light frequency to a real vibration
0:53:30 > 0:53:32that moves inside the skull.
0:53:32 > 0:53:34So the vibration inside my skull
0:53:34 > 0:53:37becomes a sound in my inner ear and each colour
0:53:37 > 0:53:40has a different vibration, so it creates a different note.
0:53:45 > 0:53:46So now the antenna is picking up
0:53:46 > 0:53:49the light frequencies of this colour.
0:53:49 > 0:53:52People can see the light frequencies and they say it's blue.
0:53:52 > 0:53:53I can say it's blue
0:53:53 > 0:53:55because the light frequencies are being converted
0:53:55 > 0:53:57into a vibration in my skull.
0:53:57 > 0:53:59In the same way that people can see this frequency,
0:53:59 > 0:54:02I can sense it through vibrations in my head.
0:54:14 > 0:54:16So, for example, red is very low. It's an F.
0:54:16 > 0:54:20And then blue sounds C sharp and the green sounds A.
0:54:20 > 0:54:23So when I look at this wall, I hear lots of music.
0:54:23 > 0:54:24So it's a musical wall.
0:54:24 > 0:54:27And there's lots of sound coming out of these colours.
0:54:36 > 0:54:39So let's get this absolutely straight.
0:54:39 > 0:54:41When Neil looks up at a clear blue sky,
0:54:41 > 0:54:46he doesn't see the colour blue, he hears a note.
0:54:46 > 0:54:48MID-RANGE NOTE
0:54:48 > 0:54:53And if he were here, looking at this green tree, he wouldn't see green.
0:54:53 > 0:54:55He'd hear another note.
0:54:55 > 0:54:57HIGHER NOTE
0:54:57 > 0:54:58But he's not happy.
0:54:58 > 0:55:02He's not happy just being able to transpose colours into sounds.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05Oh, no, he wants a technical upgrade.
0:55:07 > 0:55:11I didn't see why I should stop to only human colour perception.
0:55:11 > 0:55:14I could also sense colours that other animal species sense.
0:55:18 > 0:55:22Just like some species of snake, Neil can sense infrared light.
0:55:24 > 0:55:26For example, I can go in a shop and detect
0:55:26 > 0:55:29if the alarms are on or off, because if there is infrared,
0:55:29 > 0:55:31it means that there's movement detectors.
0:55:33 > 0:55:35At the other end of the light spectrum,
0:55:35 > 0:55:38Neil can also sense ultraviolet...
0:55:40 > 0:55:43..just like many birds can.
0:55:43 > 0:55:46Male and female bluetits look identical to us,
0:55:46 > 0:55:48but they can see UV light.
0:55:51 > 0:55:53It's how they tell each other apart
0:55:53 > 0:55:57because males like this one have brighter UV patches than females.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05But for Neil, the ability to see UV light
0:56:05 > 0:56:08has even more useful ramifications.
0:56:12 > 0:56:17On a day like today, with all the UV light pouring out of the sun
0:56:17 > 0:56:19potentially damaging me,
0:56:19 > 0:56:23Neil could hear whether it was safe enough to go out.
0:56:24 > 0:56:27And what's even more astonishing
0:56:27 > 0:56:32is that he can perceive parts of the spectrum that we will never see.
0:56:32 > 0:56:33And even more amazing
0:56:33 > 0:56:36is what's actually going on inside his brain.
0:56:39 > 0:56:41The next stage that was a big stage
0:56:41 > 0:56:43was when I started to dream in colour.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46So when I sleep, my brain creates the sound of colours,
0:56:46 > 0:56:50so I dream in colour, and that was also a very big emotional step.
0:56:57 > 0:57:01There's something absolutely amazing going on here.
0:57:01 > 0:57:03You see, the pathways in Neil's brain
0:57:03 > 0:57:07have adapted to these new sensory inputs.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10And over time, it's got to the extent
0:57:10 > 0:57:14that he doesn't need to even hear a particular sound
0:57:14 > 0:57:16to relate it to a specific colour.
0:57:16 > 0:57:18It's happening automatically.
0:57:18 > 0:57:22To the extent that, when he goes to sleep and the machine is turned off,
0:57:22 > 0:57:26his brain can still produce those sounds,
0:57:26 > 0:57:29so that he can dream in colour.
0:57:29 > 0:57:31What about that?
0:57:31 > 0:57:35The technology has fused to the circuitry in his brain,
0:57:35 > 0:57:40effectively making Neil a cyborg.
0:57:40 > 0:57:41A cyborg!
0:57:44 > 0:57:46From sight-saving surgery,
0:57:46 > 0:57:50to a mind-bending double rainbow
0:57:50 > 0:57:55and music creating a cacophony of colour in a world of grey,
0:57:55 > 0:58:00we may all see things differently, but one thing is certain.
0:58:00 > 0:58:03This world of ours it just wonderfully weird.
0:58:05 > 0:58:06Next time...
0:58:06 > 0:58:10How did this man find himself in the middle of a waterspout?
0:58:13 > 0:58:17And what creates this underwater wonderland?
0:58:18 > 0:58:21Are these the world's weirdest worms?
0:58:23 > 0:58:26And just why has this rat developed a death wish?