The Empire State Building's Bermuda Triangle

In January 2008, the New York Daily News published a rather odd account surrounding this popular New York City landmark with the headline, "Empire State Building Car Zap Mystery". According to the report, around 10-15 vehicles per day became mysteriously disabled when in close vicinity to the structure. The phenomenon (dubbed "The Empire State Building Effect" or "An Automotive Bermuda Triangle") included cars that just stalled or remote keyless entries that had become completely non-functional by the time the owner had returned to their parked cars. Perhaps even more interesting is the fact that the tow truck drivers that came to their rescue had their own remedy. The drivers told the paper that if they towed the vehicle four to five blocks away from the skyscraper, it would suddenly start working again.

The owners of the Empire State Building denied that there was any direct correlation between the reports of the disabled vehicles and the skyscraper, but others were not so sure. Though there have been no further updates on whether cars are still being stranded beneath the large structure almost a year later, there was a prevailing theory at the time as to the cause of the accounts. What was it?

Click here to find out.

-Casey H.