6.1 Earthquake Hits Southeastern Hojedk, Iran Injuring 42

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A magnitude 6.1 earthquake injured dozens of people after it jolted a sparsely populated area in Iran's southeast, media reported Friday.

The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude at 6.

Iranian media said most of the 42 injuries were minor and happened when people rushed to seek shelter.

The quake also damaged scores of buildings in remote mountainous villages near the epicenter, the town of Hojedk, about 1,100 kilometers (683 miles) southeast of the capital Tehran, the reports said.

The town has a population of 3,000 and is frequently hit by quakes. It is home to farms and coal mines.

Rescue workers were at the site.

In November, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck western Iran, killing 530 people and injuring more than 9,000. In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 quake flattened the historic southern city of Bam, killing 26,000.

Iran is located on major seismic faults and averages a quake per day.

Magnitude 3.7, 2.9 Quakes Rattle Oklahoma Town Early Sunday

EDMOND, Okla. (AP) — The U.S. Geological Survey has recorded two earthquakes that struck near a central Oklahoma town.

Both temblors hit just east of the Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond early Sunday. The first quake had a preliminary magnitude of 3.7 and struck at 2:12 a.m. The second quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 2.9, followed soon after, hitting at 2:20 a.m.

There were no immediate reports of injury or severe damage.

Thousands of quakes have struck Oklahoma in recent years, many linked to the underground injection of wastewater from oil and natural gas production. Researchers have also linked earthquakes in Kansas, Texas and other states to wastewater injection.

Several oil and gas producers have been directed to close wells and reduce injection volumes in others, including two near the recent temblors.

The Next BIG Earthquake?

The recent earthquake tragedies in Iran and Iraq that killed 400 people last Sunday may come as no surprise to some as fault lines run through Iran and Iraq, so their recent earthquake should come as no surprise. However, the 7.3 magnitude is much higher than the 2012 6.4 and 6.3 quakes that killed 300 people. 

The rural regions are especially hard hit with mud-brick homes collapsing and kerosene heater and lamps igniting fires. There were even mudslides triggered by aftershocks creating a chaotic situation amidst the suffering. Iranian officials said 70,000 people are homeless.

This is a big reminder to us all around the world but perhaps especially to those living in the Pacific Northwest where the next "big one" is expected to cause a catastrophe of epic proportions. 

Let's take a look at the anatomy of earthquakes

 

1) Invisible Origins

When our Earth's huge underground tectonic plates grind into each other, we experience shaking above ground. The electromagnetic forces churning at around the core of the planet cause these shifts, which occur gradually all the time until some pressure points build to a dangerous crescendo. 

The tectonic plates can slide over and under each other or slide across each other along fault lines. 

“Our understanding of these within-plate earthquakes is not as good,” said Stanford University geophysics professor Greg Beroza. “These two earthquakes that happened in Mexico are the latter,” he added, noting that an earthquake within a tectonic plate has fewer telltale signs than those that occur at fault lines.

 

2) Measuring Earthquakes

The Richter Scale was invented in 1935 by Charles Richter and uses a logarithmic scale, rather than a linear scale. A logarithmic scale shows a magnitude 7 earthquake as 10 times stronger than a magnitude 6, and 100 times more than a magnitude 5.

However, it's actually a very limiting perspective as it only measures the peak of an earthquake's seismic waves. It misses the size of the triggering force and the radius of the affects.

“We can’t use that in our design calculations,” said Steven McCabe, leader of the earthquake engineering group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. “We deal in displacements.”

Displacement of the ground it another method.

Moment Magnitude Scale measures different seismic waves with precise instruments but is just a size proxy of the earthquake. It can take up to a year to calculate a quake because of indirect measurements.

Peak Ground Acceleration measures speed and directional changes. 

3) Predictability

There are many more wrong earthquake predictions than accurate ones but geologists have identified the fault lines where earthquakes tend to recur. See US Geological Survey’s interactive map of fault lines and NOAA’s interactive map of seismic events. So we know where but not when. 

Also, there are usually smaller tremors following large earthquakes. Countries are setting up electronic warning systems to buy a few minutes that can save lives.

4) Natural or Manmade Disasters?

Besides naturally occurring earthquakes there are some triggered by manmade hydraulic fracturing or the injection of millions of gallons of wastewater underground. This makes it easier for tectonic plates to move at fault lines. 

US Geological Survey map of natural and induced earthquake risk in 2017.

The US Geological Survey reported Oklahoma earthquakes exploded to 2,500 in 2014, 4,000 in 2015, and then down to 2,500 in 2016.

“The decline in 2016 may be due in part to injection restrictions implemented by the state officials,” the USGS wrote in a release. “Of the earthquakes last year, 21 were greater than magnitude 4.0 and three were greater than magnitude 5.0.”

Usually, there are only two quakes a year at magnitude 2.7 or greater.

It Pays to Prepare

90% of earthquakes happen in the Ring of Fire around the Pacific Ocean that runs through the Philippines, Japan, Alaska, California, Mexico, and Chile. Oh yeah, 75% of all volcanoes are located here too, sounds cozy right?

After years of experiencing the devastation of earthquakes in crowded cities with tall buildings, engineers and architects learned to seismically retrofit old buildings and quake-proof new ones. This, of course, costs more so some people are resistant to implementing these changes. It's almost certainly worth the price to save lives in the future. 

A terrible example of poor building code is the 150,000+ deaths in Haiti's 2010 magnitude 7.9 quake. 

The "Big One" is Coming

The New Yorker won a Pulitzer Prize in 2015 for reporting the potential massive earthquake in the Pacific Northwest — “the worst natural disaster in the history of North America,” affecting 7 million people over 140,000 square miles.

It could be a magnitude 8.7 up to 9.2, even bigger than the San Andreas Fault's expected max of 8.2.

“In the business, we’ve been talking about that [Pacific Northwest] scenario for decades,” Beroza said. “I wouldn’t say we’re overdue, but it could happen at any time.”

Since it's better to be safe than sorry, please consider preparing. Let the recent earthquakes around the world be reminders of the serious risks earthquake-prone regions face. 

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Sources:

https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/energy-and-environment/2017/9/21/16339522/8-things-to-know-about-earthquakes-mexico

Do Near Death Experiences Prove Souls Exist?

By Leonardo Vintini, Epoch Times

Can science show proof of a soul?

In the wee hours of the morning on July 28, 1976, the deadliest earthquake of the 20th century and the third greatest in recorded history shook Tangshan, China. Approximately one-fifth of the city perished in the calamity, and thousands were rescued from the arms of death.

A sociological survey was conducted among people who were brought back from a state of near-death to find out what they experienced at the most critical moments of their lives.

Surprisingly, many responded that on the threshold of death, they did not feel any pain or regret, but experienced a kind of excitement, as if they had been liberated from their physical bodies. Some said that they had seen a tunnel of light and some reported seeing other beings. 
It is likely that many people are familiar with these kinds of stories, known by experts as Near Death Experiences (NDEs).

The existence of NDEs raises a problem for contemporary understanding of the mind, as modern science holds that the mind is a product of neurochemical reactions, rather than an entity independent of the brain and at times able to separate from the physical body. The NDE phenomenon suggests that a human being not only has a body but also has a soul. Naturally, scientists have diverse opinions with regard to the existence of the soul as an individual entity.

One study that probed into this matter was performed by medical doctor Duncan MacDougall of Haverhill, Massachusetts, in 1907. MacDougall worked with six patients who were all in a critical condition. He weighed them at the moment just before death, and then immediately following their departure.

The results, published in contemporary medical journals, found that the patients lost an average of 21 grams (about 0.74 oz.) at the precise moment of death. Dr MacDougall reached the conclusion that this difference was the weight of the human soul, a curious fact made famous in the 2003 movie “21 Grams.”  

Nowadays this study is given little consideration, dismissed as nothing more than an anecdote in scientific circles, since detractors say that measurement errors caused by several factors could have occurred. Yet, so far no one has repeated the experiment either to confirm or refute it.

The “reductionist” is by nature skeptical of the existence of the possibility of an independent consciousness. Scientist Francis Crick—who shared the Nobel Prize with James Watson in 1962 for discovering the double-helix structure of DNA—is probably the most well-known contemporary representative for this viewpoint.

In one study carried out over several years, Professor Crick affirmed that: “our minds—the behavior of our brains—can be explained by the interactions of nerve cells (and other cells) and the molecules associated with them.”

However, some scientists argue that Professor Crick clings to an extreme viewpoint. “It is like saying that the cathedral is a pile of stones and glass. It is true, but too simplistic and it misses the point,” says Michael Reiss, professor at the University of London who is both a priest and a scientist.

The most complete study on NDEs to date was made by Pim van Lommel and a team of Dutch doctors on 344 patients from 10 hospitals. The patients had been resuscitated after cardiac arrest. The study, reported in Lancet in 2001, found that 62 of the patients (18 percent) had some recollection of a near-death experience, while 41 of these described experiencing a “deep” or “very deep” experience.

Half of those who reported having an NDE said they were aware of being dead, while 56 percent said they experienced positive emotions. Fifteen people (24 percent) reported having an out-of-body experience, while 31 percent experienced moving thorough a tunnel. Eighteen said they saw a “celestial landscape.” A third said they met with dead relatives, and eight said they saw their life reviewed.

“The concept thus far assumed, but never scientifically proven, that consciousness and memories are localized in the brain,” writes Professor Van Lommel in “About the Continuity of Our Consciousness”

“How could a clear consciousness outside one’s body be experienced at the moment that the brain no longer functions during a period of clinical death with flat EEG?” asks Van Lommel. “Furthermore, blind people have described (perceptions that agree with reality) during out-of-body experiences at the time of this experience.” Van Lommel says near-death experiences push the limits of medical understanding concerning the range of human consciousness and the mind-brain relationship.

While the subject will likely remain a contentious issue in scientific circles, further studies may be warranted to probe the eternal question:  Is there life after death?

Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake Shakes Japan Sparking Tsunami Fears

Magnitude 6.0 earthquake shook Japan's Hachijo-jima island at 7:42am UTC 2017-11-09. 

Hachijo-jima is a volcanic island in the Philippine Sea home to 8,000 people and 287km south of Tokyo, Japan. This 6.0 magnitude quake came 14 hours after a 4.6 magnitude one in the same area. 

Japan is sitting in the "Ring of Fire" where about 80% of Earth's earthquakes occur. Fortunately, there are no reported deaths or building damage and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue any tsunami warnings. 

This may trigger frightening memories of the Fukushima nuclear reactor meltdowns from a 2011 9.0 earthquake tsunami, which has since mutated sea life in the Pacific Ocean. 

MOUNT AGUNG: Threat of Volcanic Eruption Reaches HIGHEST Alert Level in Indonesia

CREDIT: BAY ISMOYO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Mount Agung, also known as Gunung Agung, is a volcano located in Bali, Indonesia. It can be seen to the south-east of the Mount Batur volcano. Gunung Agung is a stratovolcano, which means that it is a conical volcano made up of many layers of hardened lava, tephra, pumice and volcanic ash. Stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile and periodic explosive eruptions as well as effusive eruptions (a type of eruption where lava continuously flows down onto the ground). An ethnic group called the Balinese believe that Agung started as a fragment of Meru (a sacred cosmological mountain with five peaks in Hindu, also considered to be the center of all the physical, metaphysical and spiritual universes) brought to Bali by the first Hindus.  

Mount Agung was last known to erupt in 1963, when lava travelled 7km over a period of 20 days and killed almost 1,500 people. The eruption was preceded by an increased frequency in earthquakes. Since the eruption, Mount Agung has remained quiet. Mount Agung has not erupted for more than half a century which leads experts to believe Mount Agung is due for an eruption very soon.

But the problem is - they don’t know when. Recently, Indonesian authorities have announced the highest possible alert warning. Over 100,000 people were evacuated last week after Agung experienced a series of almost 1200 volcanic earthquakes over two days.  Scott Bryan, an associate professor at the Queensland University of Technology, also states that there are have been numerous signs that an eruption will occur soon. He said that the fact that the seismic tremors located beneath the volcano are increasing in number, intensity, and also the reduction in their depth, is one of the main hints that magma is moving up to the high ground. Besides having seismic activities, there are other two signs that a volcanic eruption is coming: gas Emissions on the summit and bulging on the volcano’s surface.

When volcanoes erupt, the earth becomes cooler. A lecturer in volcanology from the University of Queensland, Teresa Ubide, explained that the cooling effect after an eruption is caused by sulfur emissions from the volcano. Basically, when a volcano that generates sulfur-based aerosols erupts, the sulfur emissions block the radiation of the sun, and we will experience a decrease in global temperature. Similar to what happened in 1963 when Mount Agung erupted, the global temperature dropped by 0.1°C and 0.4°C. When Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines erupted in 1991, global temperatures decreased by 0.5°C.

Although it does not sound like a huge difference, we have to remember that the earth is very sensitive and even the smallest changes will impact global climate systems in drastic large ways. You may think that this may help to reverse some of the effects of global warming, but ironically, it actually makes it worse. How? Volcanoes excrete carbon dioxide. On average, land-based and water-based volcanoes release between 100m – 300m carbon dioxide each year.

So what will happen if Mount Agung does erupt? In terms of safety, the Indonesian officials are much more prepared for an eruption to occur this year, taking many precautions to keep people safe and are monitoring the situation very closely. Professor Mike Burton, the chairman of volcanology at Manchester University, believes that monitoring and consistent communication using modern technologies will allow many more locals to get out of danger in time.

No one can predict the future, but everyone can prepare for what will come next.

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SOURCES:

1. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/27/bali-volcano-will-mount-agung-erupt-and-what-happens-if-it-does
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Agung
3. http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/859537/Bali-volcano-news-Mount-Agung-what-will-happen-erupts-eruption-latest
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratovolcano

5 Mega Disasters that Can Happen Tomorrow

Every morning we wake up brings us closer and closer to a catastrophic disaster that could spell doomsday for the entire human race. In the morning while we enjoy our cup of coffee, a mega earthquake is ready to shake things up under our feet. While we mix milk with our favorite cereal in our favorite bowl, a super volcano is slowly waking up to spread Armageddon the moment we clock into the office. On our daily drive, facing rush hour traffic, the ground may open up without warning, swallowing every car, pedestrian, and building in its wake.

There are so many nightmare scenarios that have a high possibility of happening within the next three or five decades, and there is nothing that we can do to prevent it because nature runs on its own schedule. All that we can do when it happens — or before it happens — is to stay prepared for the worst. 

From super volcanic eruptions to a super tsunami that can wipe out an entire chain of island from the earth, natural disasters are always lurking at every corner.

#5 — West Coast Wildfires

The State of California is no stranger to wildfires. Every year, hundreds upon hundreds of acres are burned down by forest fires that seem to be getting worse over time.
In fact, in a study made by the US Geological Survey and Forest Service, they reported that the acreage burned by wildfires has skyrocketed to 6.4 million since 1999, drastically tripling from an annual 2.2 acres. If this number keeps on going up, experts predict that a large portion of the country will be up in flames in the very near future. Also, according to the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences or SEAS, wildfire seasons in the United States will be twice as smoky and will last longer by three weeks, unforgivably burning and scorching massive portions of the West each year.

Additionally, SEAS points out that the increase in the Earth’s temperature due to climate change has greatly contributed to the worsening situation of annual wildfires. Dr. Loretta J Mickley, a SEAS Senior Research Fellow in Atmospheric Chemistry shares that climate temperature is indeed the biggest factor in determining future wildfires. It is more likely that the fires will get fiercer as climate temperatures continue to rise, she adds.

To add more salt to the wound campaigns to stop forest fires like “Smokey the Bear” has only exacerbated the problem because it prevents the natural cycle of brush fires that clear out the forest underbrush. The irony, unfortunately, is not lost here.

Today, with predictions of 30,000 to 50,000 annual wildfires, the US might eventually end up experiencing its literal version of Hell on Earth.

#4 — The East Coast Submerged

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy submerged a lot of major US cities underwater, and it was considered by many experts as one of the most devastating freak storms to ever hit the country in 700 years; but with the rising sea levels along the East Coast of the US, we may not even need a storm like Sandy or Katrina to see major cities get swallowed up by water.

John Boon, Professor Emeritus of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science outlined a study and claimed that a significant change in sea level has been occurring since 1987 spanning the coastlines of Key West, Florida to Newfoundland, Canada. What is concerning about the study is that shows that sea levels are increasing at 0.3 millimeters annually. Even more troubling is a study by the US Geological Survey claims that water levels in the East Coast of the country are rising three to four times faster than anywhere else in the globe, making plenty of the coastal areas in the northeast at high risk because of property values.

The sea levels in New York city alone is expected to rise by 31 inches in 2050, submerging 25 percent of the city as well as rendering 97 percent of its power plants utterly useless.

With about 800,000 people living in high-risk flood zones, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed to create a flood system in 2013 worth $20 billion to save the sinking city. Unfortunately, the project was never put into action and is now collecting dust in a dark corner somewhere.

#3 — The Eruption of Mt Fuji

When Japan’s entire landmass shifted during the Tohoku earthquake, it also stirred 20 of the country’s 110 volcanoes awake after increased seismic activities in their areas were recorded. Even more unnerving is the fact that any one of these volcanoes may erupt any day according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

No stranger to tremors, Japan has suffered a sufficient amount of damage from earthquakes over a thousand years. However, when we are talking about dormant volcanoes waking up, the whole scenario has added much more fear into the mix.

In recent studies, calculations show that Japan is always due for a major volcanic eruption every 38 years and it seems that the country is overdue for one. Out of the 110 volcanoes dotting the island country, 47 are recorded as active.

Among the 47 active volcanoes is the famed Mt Fuji. Standing at a magnificent height of over 12,000 feet, it is one of the volcanoes that are most likely to erupt any time after a report was published by a scientific team from France and Japan.

The news caused great concern to Japanese citizens as Mt Fuji is located 62 miles from Tokyo. Should the volcano decide to erupt tomorrow it would mean that about 750,000 people will be evacuated from the city as it will most likely be covered in ash and volcanic material; practically decimating the country’s capital and nearby areas.

#2 — The Big One Shaking California

The likelihood of at least a magnitude 8.0 earthquake hitting California in the next few decades was increased by the US Geological Survey. Called as “The Big One” by many Californians, it is the one earthquake that they say will reduce the entire state into rubble and the one that everyone in the entire country has been nervously waiting for.

The US Geological Survey goes even further in their findings saying that a magnitude 8.0 quake or larger has a 7 percent chance of hitting California in the next 30 years. However, from their recent findings, the odds of a 6.5 – 7.0 magnitude quake ripping through the West Coast state has gone up to 30 percent. 

Most likely, the cause of The Big One will most likely originate from the breaking of the San Andreas Fault. However, other theories suggest that the mega quake will be triggered by the lesser known Hayward Fault that sits in proximity to San Francisco.

Regardless of the origin, experts all agree on one thing: the earthquake will definitely devastate the entire state of California and neighboring areas on the West Coast. Basing their claims through historical-data based projections, the earthquake will be predicted to cause severe damage to major infrastructure and start full-scale wildfires due to the amount of dry brush that is common in the state.

It is essentially a race against time as the White House has recently granted $5 million to a team of experts coming from UC Berkley, Caltech, and the University of Washington to develop an Earthquake Early Warning System that, hopefully, will alert people a full minute before a tremor hits. Unfortunately, the current system that has been developed is only able to predict a quake 10 seconds before it hits.

#1 — The Caribbean Tsunami

In 2001, two researchers from the University College of London and the University of California Santa Cruz hypothesized that the imminent eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano in the Canary Islands would create the largest and most destructive tsunami in recorded history.

Published in a co-authored study, Dr. Simon Day from the University College of London, and Dr. Steven Ward from UC Santa Cruz claimed that during the volcano’s last eruption, a large rupture appeared on its left side which has made the geological structure quite unstable.

If Cumbre Vieja erupts, the rupture to its side will result in a catastrophic landslide that will create the tsunami that will basically wipe out all the islands in the Caribbean on a scale that can only be compared to the mythical Atlantis.

With gigantic waves that are predicted to travel at 800 miles per hour and grow to at least 330 feet tall upon the first impact with land, the tsunami is believed to hit as far as Florida within nine hours of its creation. As the rippling continues to build waves, the monster tsunami is also projected to hit as far as England.

Dr. Day and Dr. Ward paint everything as a worst-case scenario, since it is impossible for an entire landmass to fall into the water in one event. More likely, parcels of land and rock from the volcano will tumble into its nearby waters gradually, creating destructive waves if not a tsunami itself.

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Sources:
http://listverse.com/2015/05/25/10-major-natural-disasters-predicted-in-the-near-future/
http://theconversation.com/five-global-catastrophes-that-could-happen-tomorrow-48420
http://101waystosurvive.com/emergency_prep/10-major-natural-disasters-predicted-soon/

5 Ancient Technologies Way Ahead of Their Time

The ancient world is full of wonders that the modern age cannot compete with. The great civilizations, the larger than life monuments, and the fascinating stories told about an age gone by has been the subject of many movies, documentaries, and studies. Who could argue against the revolutionary system of the aqueducts that the Romans introduced that was the precursor to modern-day irrigation? Who could introduce something much better than the discoveries and theories posed by Aristotle that became the cornerstone of what we know today as the study of Physics?

While the modern age does have technology that brings information to us faster than lightning, we should not fail to remember that it was the ancient world that opened the doors to the advancements we have today.

Doors that, in some ways, are considered too advanced for a civilization that we believed to be quite Paleolithic compared to our century. Who would think that people in the ancient world would be able to invent an early concept of an aircraft thousands of years before the first Wright Brothers prototype left land?

#5 — The Baghdad Battery

Let’s start off with one of the most famous archeological finds on the subject. Discovered in the 1930s in a region called Khujut Rubu’a just outside Baghdad, the so-called “Baghdad Battery” was a wonder to behold considering that electricity and its uses would not have been discovered 2000 years after these batteries came into existence.

The batteries discovered consisted of a clay jar with an asphalt stopper. Through the center of the stopper ran an iron rod that was surrounded by a copper cylinder inside the jar. It is believed that if the jar was filled with an electrolytic solution like vinegar or lemon juice, the battery would be able to produce at least 1.1 volts of electricity.

A volt may not be enough to power a home or a machine that relied on electricity, but archeologists and historians believe that it may have been used for purposes of electroplating since artifacts with very thin layers of gold and silver have also been unearthed in digs; artifacts that may reinforce the notion that the batteries were ancient power tools.

On the other side of the spectrum, some experts disagree that the Baghdad Batteries are, in fact, “batteries” since they found no conclusive evidence as to where they might be used or what they might be used for.

Some scholars claim that the jars were more likely to be a sophisticated means of keeping scrolls and papyri and that the acidic residue found at the bottom of the clay jars were nothing more than decomposed scrolls and papyri. Whatever the claim, the Baghdad Batteries still confound and astound historians and archeologists to this very day.

#4 — Central Heating

The Greeks were pioneers on almost anything you can conceive of that helped build Western Civilization and among those was the technology for central heating. It may sound trivial and inconsequential when compared to the Grecian contributions in mathematics, science, and philosophy but the idea of such a technology is quite remarkable given that even the concept of it is something unheard of at that time.

Called by the ancient Greeks as hypocaust or “under burnt,” the technology was first employed in the Temple of Ephesus in 350 BC. Later on, the trend caught on, and it was the Romans who managed to apply it on a larger scale from their temples to the homes of the wealthy, to the public baths, and to government buildings.

The hypocaust was created by making a structure just beneath the floor of a building. This structure would consist of pillars that would raise the structure's floor. On top of these pillars would be tiles that are covered in a layer of concrete; above it is the floor of the building itself. A furnace would then be lit, and the combination of hot air and smoke would rise and be trapped in the space between the floors. To heat multiple levels of a building, the smoke would find its way through a series of clay flues that act as pipes. What’s even more ingenious about how the Romans used the hypocaust is they built bronze ventilators that could be used to regulate temperatures.

If this system sounds too labor intensive and expensive, it’s because it is. Slave laborers would have to constantly maintain the fire at just the right temperature and the right level of comfort for people in the building or home.

#3 — Antikythera Mechanism

Recovered in a shipwreck in 1901, the Antikythera Mechanism was among several other, heavily crusted artifacts salvaged from the sea. The Mechanism is of particular interest because of its more than complicated construction. 

Taking years of research by experts and studies about Babylonian records on eclipses, it was later confirmed that the Antikythera Mechanism was the world’s first computer.

The Mechanism features a fixed ring dial on its front face that is called the ecliptic or the twelve zodiac signs that are equally marked off on 30-degree sectors. This construction closely resembles the Babylonian method of assigning 1/12 of the elliptic to each sign despite the fact that constellation boundaries were quite variable.

Outside of the ring dial, the device uniquely features a rotating ring that marks the days and months of the Egyptian calendar.

The Antikythera Mechanism closely resembles a modern-day clock with a large circular front face and a knob on its side which manipulates winding parts. When the knob is turned, at least seven different clock hands – one for the moon, one for the sun, and five for the five planets that the Greeks were able to see - would move and display the celestial time. Not only did the device show which stars rose and set on a given date but also the phases of the moon.

It was an extremely complicated device, and even though its pieces have given clues and ideas of how it worked, experts can only guess how it was put together with its highly intricate system of gears inside.

#2 — Ancient Seismoscope

Earthquakes are one of nature’s most unpredictable forces, and scientists have been trying to crack the mystery of foreseeing an oncoming tremor with little results for nearly 2000 years. However, the answer to their quandary may well be in a device used by a man named Zhang Heng in 132 AD.

This ancient seismoscope was able to detect earthquakes from long distances, and it was also able to predict, with an almost pinpoint accuracy, which direction the tremors are. Even more remarkable is the fact that the device was able to detect earthquakes in areas even when no tremors are felt.

The construction of the device looked fairly simple and can be mistaken for a large vase or urn. It was made of bronze and was six feet in diameter. Around the body of the device were eight dragon heads, each marking the main directions of a compass; each dragon had a small ball clamped in its mouth. Sitting directly beneath the dragons were eight toads with their mouths open towards the dragons.

When a tremor happened, one dragon would drop its ball into the gaping toad indicating where the earthquake was. In one story in 138 AD, the seismoscope detected tremors west of Luoyang, but no one sensed the slightest movement there. A few days later, a messenger from the region brought news of an earthquake which proved the device’s accuracy to the people of the time.

To this day, there is no clear understanding of how Zhang Heng’s device worked. In 2005, a group of scientists recreated the device with supporting theories and discovered that it worked as well as modern seismometers; something that, no doubt, surprised them.

#1 — Ancient Flying Machines of Egypt and South America

There are two separate stories that suggest a mind-blowing conclusion: the ancient Egyptians and the early civilization of South America had flight technology that predates the machines of Leonardo Da Vinci and the Wright Brothers.

If we are going to talk about technology that is way ahead of its time, then planes and flying machines take the top spot on this list. For thousands of years, mankind has pondered on the idea of flying and how he may be able to do it one day. From Greek philosophers to stories like the tale of Daedalus and Icarus, the flight has been one of the things man has been obsessed with before the invention of the first aircraft. 

In South America, the idea that they may have had an early concept of a flying machine came in the form of the jewelry produced by the Chimu culture, now Colombia, 2000 years ago. In one design, a pendant was crafted in the shape of, what looks like, a modern-day aircraft with a cockpit, delta wings, and tail fins. However, considering that the Chimu took their design inspiration from birds, it is highly unlikely that they have created a machine but having such a design that echoes a modern-day aircraft does command a little bit of merit.

In Egypt, there is also a similar case. A wooden falcon was discovered after it was unearthed in Saqqara by an Egyptian doctor name Khalil Messiha. He claimed that the device had exceptional flight properties and characteristics. Unfortunately, Messiah's claims were exaggerated and over-inflated until the wooden toy was held as an example. As experts dug a little deeper, the wooden carving was discovered to resemble wind vanes used on masts of Egyptian riverboats. 

Though there still needs more light to be shed on this and whether or not these so-called machines are real or just the product of creativity, what is fascinating is that given some ancient technologies that have been unearthed over the years from ancient batteries to seismoscopes, a flying machine is not that far-fetched.

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Sources:
http://historycollection.co/ancient-technology-centuries-time/
http://www.messagetoeagle.com/10-remarkable-advanced-ancient-technologies-ahead-of-their-times/
http://io9.gizmodo.com/5554053/five-ancient-technologies-that-were-ahead-of-their-times