Have you ever wondered what lurks within the deep blue sea?

Creatures with transparent bodies, built in lightbulbs over their heads, razor sharp teeth, and of course, the unknown. Though, the ocean is mysterious and filled with millions of disturbing creatures, it also holds beauty. From the different species of dolphin jumping across the oceans to the crabs shuffling across the sandy floor, and so much more. Long story short, the ocean is a place humans don’t know very well, as we are unfamiliar with it, and the possibilities are endless.

Have you ever heard of Mount Everest? You most likely have, but did you know that it is the tallest mountain on Earth? Well, technically that is not true at all. There is an “Underwater Mountain” called Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano that is predominantly underwater. The ocean is such a diverse community marine life and a vast display of landforms such as underwater waterfalls, caves, mountains, and trenches.

Speaking of trenches, these are the structures that are home to millions of organisms that are not known to man. They are so difficult to reach because of their darkness, water pressure, and temperature.

What are trenches though? Trenches are deep, dark points in the ocean. These forms don’t slowly descend but they straight up drop down. The deepest trench on the  planet is the Mariana Trench, housing multiple species, some of which have been discovered and others that have remained unspecified. These animals have features in their body particularly designed to withstand the harsh conditions of the trench.

Certain careers have workers that have dedicated their lives to working in the ocean. A handful of people really enjoy the open waters and studying it, but for others, not so much. A fear of this, aka a phobia, is called Thalassophobia. Some people with this phobia simply don’t like going to the beach and are afraid of even the shore, or any big body of water. This disturbance is more with open water than sandy tropical beaches. They don’t like the idea of what is sitting beneath them, the foggy blue water, drowning, dangerous sharks, poisonous jellyfish, pinching crabs, getting stranded, shipwrecks, tales, and the list goes on and on and on.

A user on TikTok posted a video and it showcases a deep blue void with whales singing in the background one person comments, “The ocean makes me feel ill.” Another one says, “My biggest fears put in one video.” More videos on the app continue to spread and most of them say they are not afraid of a beach with crystal clear water, but rather what disturbs them is foggy, dark, and or open water.

Now that we are brushed up on the “Big Bodies Of Water” fear, let’s talk about another reason most people are uncomfortable with the ocean. The possibility of still having extinct creatures in the ocean bothers people; scientists are 99% sure they don’t exist but some still question them. A commonly feared extinct animal is “The Megalodon Shark” which approximately lived from 23-3.6 million years ago. This shark is absolutely gigantic and petrifying, but scientists feel 100% sure that they were completely wiped out — but again, some people ascertain otherwise. Along with extinct creatures, people also believe that there could be mythological organisms in there, and think that stories made up by other people could be true.

A common question is why the ocean has not been explored more than it has already; a small 5%. The answer to this is because it is simply too big to have discovered more. It is not a doubt that in the future people will continue to scope out the sea, but in order to really get to the good stuff, you need cutting-edge technology to withstand the pressure of the ocean and more dangerous factors, which we don’t have at the moment.

The technology we need must handle the unforgiving sea. The infamous “Titanic Submarine” shows just what happens if we are not prepared enough. Here’s a quick rundown of what happened: Stockton Rush, a successful business man, crafted a submersibile that would supposedly bring tourists down to the Titanic so they can see it in person, in one of the expeditions the group of people were confidently submerged into the ocean, but on the trip down the vehicle imploded, tragically killing all people onboard. Before the public knew this, the media was going on a rampage, every link you clicked, every video you watched, and every photo you saw seemed to be related to the catastrophic event. The reason people were so worried is because it is common knowledge that the ocean is an unknown world of infinite possibilities. Some believed that pressure was holding them down and there was a loss of communication. Everyone knew that anything could’ve happened. This wraps back to why some people have put a halt on exploring the ocean, we really just hear horror stories that go on down there.

The full truth is, we genuinely don’t know what is in the ocean. We have so much more to discover and the sea is just waiting for us to identify more animals, plants, and fungi. It will be hard to discover more of the ocean, but these setbacks are just obstacles on the path to victory. The ocean is an amazingly diverse space and there is a beauty to not knowing what is down there.