Coral Castle
Was one man able to move these huge coral blocks using some unknown technology?
Filed under Ancient Mysteries, Paranormal, Urban Legends
| Skeptoid #149 April 14, 2009 Podcast transcript | Listen | Subscribe |
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In Homestead, Florida stands an oddity that is a favorite of paranormal enthusiasts: A sort of artificial rock park popularly called Coral Castle, though its official name is Rock Gate Park. Built from a total of 1,100 tons of locally quarried coral, the park is filled with astrologically themed structures like crescent moons, stars and planets, a sundial, obelisks, and a viewing port called the Telescope. The whole park is surrounded by an 8-foot wall of coral blocks weighing 15 tons each. The largest single block in the park weighs 30 tons, and two of the monoliths are 25 feet high. But the remarkable thing about Rock Gate Park is that it was built by a single man. Over a period of 28 years, from 1923 until his death in 1951, the diminutive 5-foot-tall Edward Leedskalnin, a Latvian, worked all by himself to quarry, cut, move, and position every single coral block. Coral Castle is almost always described as a mystery; a mystery that cannot be explained.
But that's where the story of Coral Castle only starts to get weird. Ed wasn't just interested in moving heavy blocks of coral, he also dabbled in electricity and magnetism. He built a hand-cranked electrical generator and wrote a number of short pamphlets, which he sold through local newspapers, on subjects as diverse as his own notions about magnetic current and the magnetic nature of life, as well as a political rant that sounds like it could have been written by Hitler. I've read his pamphlets on magnetism (they've available online) and to me they're quite childish, but perpetual motion enthusiasts and vortex energy believers have latched onto Ed as a great genius. One guy has even self-published an e-book called "Coral Castle Code" in which he believes Ed's writings unlock all the secrets of energy, life, and the true nature of the atom. They believe that Ed built Coral Castle using his unique insights into magnetism and electricity, perhaps levitating the blocks into place using magnetic vortices (whatever that means).
Very few people ever watched Ed actually do his work moving the blocks — more about this later — and so some believe that he deliberately worked in great secrecy to protect some presumed secret. Did Ed use some advanced technology to build Coral Castle? The first question a skeptic should ask is "Is it necessary to invoke a mystical or undiscovered technology as the only possible explanation?"
Meet Wally Wallington, a retired construction worker in Michigan. He's building a Stonehenge replica in his back yard, and he's using only levers and fulcrums. His equipment consists of sticks and stones. No wheels, no cranes, no pulleys, no metal or machinery. His favorite tool, and best ally, is gravity. There's a YouTube video of Wally raising a 19,200-lb concrete beam up into the air and tilting it up onto its end, just like at Stonehenge. He can also raise these beams horizontally into the air as high as you'd like, with little apparent effort. It's simply good old fashioned human ingenuity. All he does is lever the block enough to slide a fulcrum under its center, turning it into a giant teeter totter. Weight down the east end, and slide more wood in just west of the center. Move the weight to the west end, transferring the mass onto the west end of the fulcrum, and slide in more wood just east of the center. Back and forth, back and forth, going higher each time, rocking its way into the sky.
Wally takes a 1600-lb block and rolls it over the ground as easily as you'd roll a basketball. How? Imagine viewing the square end of a rectangular block. Now superimpose a circle over that square end, and imagine that circle rolling along. Visualize the path that the square would trace over the ground. Wally simply built a wooden roadway shaped like that trace — it looks like a line of half-circles placed next to each other, round side up — and he can give a 1600-lb block a shove and send it rolling down that path. It rolls smoothly about its center, just as if it were round.
Wally can also move a one-ton block 300 feet an hour by levering it up onto a pebble as a fulcrum, and walking it around onto another pebble a foot or so away.
Watching Wally move his blocks around looks so simple, the techniques seem so obvious, and yet I didn't think of them. I slapped myself on the forehead when I first watched his video. And, logically, I have to force myself to accept that there are other techniques, just as easy and just as inventive, that I also haven't thought of. Human beings have an annoying tendency to project our own ignorance. We tend to say "I can't think of a way to do this, therefore you can't either." As a kid I spent years with my LEGO kit trying to reinvent the automobile differential. I knew they existed, but I didn't know what the mechanism was. I finally gave up, and actually forced myself to conclude they were mechanically impossible, in dead opposition to the evidence. Then one day I finally saw one, and it was like watching Wally Wallington's video for the first time. I turned red as I realized I simply hadn't considered enough possibilities. I hadn't been innovative enough. Watching a simple, elegant solution to a problem we had ourselves considered insoluble can be a bitter pill to take, or it can be like opening a Christmas present and finding the perfect gift. It depends on your attitude.
It depends on whether you want there to be a solution, or whether you insist on a supernatural explanation and are predisposed to antagonism toward any notion that suggests otherwise.
We don't know whether Ed Leedskalnin used the same techniques as Wally Wallington, but we clearly have to acknowledge that there are ways to do it without machinery. When asked how he built his castle, Ed would answer "It's not difficult if you know how," and according to Coral Castle's web site, he said he was able to move the heavy blocks because he "understood the laws of weight and leverage well." Sounds to me like he figured things out the same way Wallington did.
Ed actually had a little more leeway than Wally, because Wally chose to use only technologies known to the ancient Britons, while Ed had no such restrictions. Remember how I said very few people actually watched Ed work? Well, some did, and some brought cameras. There are photographs of Ed at work on his castle, lifting his blocks with a large tripod made of telephone poles perhaps 25 feet tall, using chains and a block and tackle system. When he once disassembled and relocated Rock Gate Park a few miles from Florida City to Homestead to escape an encroaching subdivision, the blocks were moved on a flatbed trailer towed behind a rented tractor. But his use of tripod cranes and tractors don't seem to fit in very well with the magnetic energy vortex theories, and so you won't find references to these pictures on most Coral Castle web sites.
A Wikipedia author conceded the existence of the photographs of Ed with his boringly Earthly lifting mechanism, but then tried to debunk them saying that if you used a block and tackle in that manner to lift something as heavy as Ed's coral blocks, so many pulleys would be needed that the friction would make it impossible to move. This logic is exactly like saying that if you downshift your car into first gear, the additional friction would make it impossible to move. Basically, it's the opposite of what's true. Using a block and tackle in this manner is called mechanical advantage, and it's what allowed Archimedes to once lift an entire warship full of men using only a block and tackle and his own strength.
Other criticism of the photographs has pointed out that the two obelisks in Coral Castle look like they could be taller than the telephone pole tripod pictured, so it couldn't have been used to raise them to the vertical position. This is just silly. It's like saying you can't lean over, pick up an 8-foot 2×4, and stand it on its end because it's taller than you. But even if the tripods or block and tackles pictured could be proven to be mechanically inadequate for any of the tasks needed to assemble Coral Castle, that doesn't prove magnetic levitation was the only other possible agent. In the nearly 30 years that Ed worked, I'm sure the one rig in the picture was not the only time he ever set up such a system. It is reasonable to allow for the possibility that Ed set up other such rigs at times other than the day these particular photos were taken. There is no reason to conclude that the photographed rig represents his only capability or even his maximum capacity.
An extension of this same argument states that just because Ed used a tripod crane in this picture, doesn't mean that he didn't also use energy vortex powers. This is quite true, of course. It's also true that just because I can dig a hole with a shovel, it doesn't prove that I can't also dig one with my energy vortex powers.
Before Ed moved from Latvia at age 26, he grew up in a family of stone masons. Very little is known about what type of stone mason work he did in Latvia, but it probably explains his interest and knowledge of quarrying, cutting, and carving stone. He then lived in Canada and worked as a lumberjack, work which is largely about moving felled trees. A tree the weight of Ed's largest coral block, 30 tons, is not at all uncommon — some trees can weigh hundreds of tons. Before Ed ever started work on Coral Castle, he had a wealth of work experience that gave him all the knowledge he'd ever need to build his creation. It's simply not necessary to invoke made-up mystical powers, aliens, or magnetic vortex energy to explain Coral Castle.
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References & Further Reading
Arnold, Dieter. Building in Egypt: Pharaonic Stone Masonry. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.
Editors. "Who's Ed?" Who's Ed? - Coral Castle Museum. Coral Castle Museum, 1 Jan. 2008. Web. 16 Jan. 2010. <http://coralcastle.com/whos-ed/>
McClure, R., Heffron, J. Coral Castle: The Story of Ed Leedskalnin and his American Stonehenge. Dublin, Ohio: Ternary Publishing, 2009.
Thomson, Peter. "Coral Castle." Ancient History, Fact or Fiction. Peter Thomson, 1 Jan. 2005. Web. 24 Jan. 2010. <http://www.peter-thomson.co.uk/coralcastle/coralcastle.html>
Wallington, W.T. "The Forgotten Technology." W.T. Wallington's Forgotten Technology Official Website. W.T. Wallington, 20 Jul. 2006. Web. 1 Mar. 2009. <http://www.theforgottentechnology.com/>
Reference this article:
Dunning, Brian.
"Coral Castle." Skeptoid Podcast. Skeptoid Media, Inc.,
14 Apr 2009. Web.
6 Sep 2010. <http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4149>
Discuss!
Remember, you should always read with skepticism the comments of anyone too lame to put their real name & city.
Good episode. I've used many of the methods Wally uses myself, my mother taught them to me when I was a child. I have also used the telphone pole tripod lift - it is not too uncommon in the old farms, used mainly to lift really heavy loads or pull stumps out of the ground.
Some people may think this is a mystery because we will never know exactly how it was built... but that is hogwash. I don't know exactly how my clothes were made either, but I'm betting there was some fancy sewing machine involved rather than magic.
Not knowing the exact details don't make things a mystery in my mind. When something has no possible rational explanation... now that is a mystery! Until someone thinks of an explanation.
Frank, Elsewhere
April 14, 2009 10:08am
Think of all the money I wasted having sub-contractors build my underground lair when I could have just used a few levers and fulcrums.
Damn you, physics!
H. Tiberius Miser, Secret Underground Lair, Earth
April 14, 2009 1:11pm
Great episode. I wonder why the awesome achievement of the man building that place by himself needs to be overshadowed by outrageous claims. Even with levers and tractors, I'm impressed.
Morgan, Tracy, CA
April 14, 2009 2:20pm
Check out this online physics puzzle game with levers and gravity:
http://fantasticcontraption.com
Solutions range from head-slapping simple to Rube Goldberg complex.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxE08qsQF9Q
Max, Boston, MA
April 14, 2009 10:09pm
Brian
Another fine show. I am happy to support you with my 99c per download and I hope other do too. Hell, I pay much for for a cup of coffee or a glass of beer. And what do I get out of that?? eh? Well, yes, they both taste good. Anyway, I wish could join you for the big party... look forward to seeing you at D*C.
Richard from The Skeptic Zone Podcast
Richard Saunders, Sydney, Australia
April 14, 2009 10:27pm
Now this was a well written and excellant article...
R.L. Adams, Huntingdon Valley, PA
April 16, 2009 2:12pm
I am quite baffled by how people can lay such extraordinary claims about a structure built in 20th century. If Leedskalnin was willing to pay the money he would have had access to pretty much the same technology that was used to build Empire State Building, Golden Gate or the Eiffel Tower - why don't the paranormals claim that these too were made with magic or other weird power?
Tomek, Warsaw
April 17, 2009 2:14am
Thanks for this Brian. Maybe tis will help me deflect some of my brother in law's projected ignorance. Wally is far more impressive than any Alien stone mason.
Aaron, Australia
April 18, 2009 3:34am
Loved the podcast as always. Today debunking the Coral Castle, tomorrow the woo ideas of the pyramids.
Robert Clary, Tillsonburg Ontario Canada
April 19, 2009 8:00pm
Great podcast. It's good that you appreciated Leedskalnin as an engineer. On things like this, or Stonehenge or the Pyramids, there's a tendency by some to suggest that the techniques used must have been a strict subset of what's used today. But technology doesn't work that way. It's perfectly reasonable to expect that peoples who worked with stone for centuries would have clever building techniques that we don't have today (techniques we don't have simply because we haven't needed them for a long time). That doesn't make them magicians or aliens, just good engineers. Ancient peoples were not dumber versions of ourselves, nor were they especially enlightened; they just lived under different circumstances.
Paul, Walnut Creek, CA
April 22, 2009 11:45pm
It is probable that Ed Leedskalnin used physics and ingenius masonry to build Coral Castle. This may be a grand example of "the simplest answer is probably the right one". Knowledge to one person may seem like voodoo magic to another. Somebody once wrote a short story about a time-traveller who goes back in time with a simple $5 calculator and visits Isaac Newton. Newton was horrified by the device and believed it was from the Devil!
We think that a science or process which is slightly beyond our understanding might be impossible, implausible, and unprovable. I happen to be reading a book called "Anti-Gravity & The World Grid" by David Hatcher Childress. It postulates that the Earth is surrounded by a web of magnetism which crosses over at special points with gravity, causing anti-gravity nodes. These points are known (it is alleged) to anyone who studies them enough (including Ed Leedskalnin). I'm skeptical of this at the same time that I am open-minded to the possibility. I'm an engineer who uses magnetism and its principles constantly. Hence, Coral Castle may be a mixture of both traditional science and "magical" processes.
Joe Boudreault, Hanover, Ontario, Canada
April 28, 2009 11:44am
Thank you so much for your podcast on Coral Castle. I grew up in Miami and I have fond memories of visiting the Coral Castle. Of course everyone wants to focus on the so-called supernatural aspect of the castle but I never bought into any of that. The guy lived on that property for 40 years and worked hard every day. It’s no big mystery that he was able to build those structures through conventional means. It’s called hard work and dedication. But the tourists don’t want a boring answer like that.
Regardless, it’s still a fun and beautiful place to visit; it’s unique to South Florida, and any supernatural explanations are superfluous. Thanks again for bringing back those great childhood memories of exploring the Coral Castle.
Erik, LA
May 01, 2009 12:54pm
Let me start by saying I enjoy your show immensely, please keep up the good work. I would like you to know though that the statement "so many pulleys would be needed that the friction would make it impossible to move." Has a basis in fact. Please refer to the following:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulley#Rope_and_pulley_systems
where it says:
In practice, the more pulleys there are, the less efficient a system is. This is due to sliding friction in the system where cable meets pulley and in the rotational mechanism of each pulley
As you can clearly see from the evidence above the only reasonable explanation for the construction of coral castle is that the Illuminati employed abominable snowmen to complete the task through the use of holistic time travel and reverse cosmic vamiracy.
Joseph, Vancouver, B.C.
May 13, 2009 1:13pm
I do believe that Ed used advanced knowledge of the Electro-Magnetic forces both in his devices and those that are naturally occurring in or around the Homestead area. I myself am a Physicist form the University of California Irvine. I currently hold a few patents and have one that is currently pending, all of which deal with advanced electrodynamics. A friend of mine introduced me to the writings of Ed Leedskalnin namely "magnetic current" in order to debunk them and to see if there was any credible physics to be found. I proceeded to build what Ed L calls the perpetual motion magnet. He describes it as a modified electric magnet whose north and south poles are racing about one another to create a continuous loop if you will. I built his 3 foot long u shaped steel rod bent into a U shape with the prongs 3 inches apart. I followed Ed's directions (at times a but hard to follow for his lack of formal education leads him to many grammatical inconsistencies), and sure enough it worked. I have it currently charged with 200 volts. This is my 4th and longest attempt at holding a charge in his device. I held 9 volts for 2 weeks, 50 volts for 4 weeks and 100 volts for 6 weeks. Each time I broke the circuit with the insertion of a copper rod the voltage that was released after the said period was the same as I had initially charged them to. I do believe Ed built his castle with electromagnetic means and that all we need to do now is to rebuild his magnetic/clovershaped wheel to test.
David Patrick Goekjian, Anaheim, California
May 25, 2009 2:21pm
http://directory.uci.edu/?David%20Patrick%20Goekjian
Casey K., Riverside, CA
June 02, 2009 4:52pm
To Casey K., Riverside, CA I do not attend UCI any longer and you wouldnt find me in the current directory thank you for being a skeptic nonetheless.
David Patrick Goekjian, Anaheim, California
June 03, 2009 1:50pm
The REAL magic of the Coral Castle is that one human being used his brain and scientific methods to build something so amazing. And he did it all alone. It is more a testament to science and ingenuity than it is to any kind of phoney mythical magic.
Kel, Missoula, Mt
June 15, 2009 2:57am
I think David Patrick Goekjian just proved that you should research by testing before you start making skeptic type assumptions based on the same reasoning used by UFO nuts. You can't debunk something by just by having another opinion. You need to create that castle with all the knowledge you want to claim but only with the tools he used. I personally think that Ed was insane and paranoid and if he did discover something great he was an ass for not telling people about it.
ed rosell, kennesaw ga
August 04, 2009 11:10am
Considering he spent 28 or more years at it, he didn't have any easy answers. If he used "magical powers" then he would have done it in perhaps a few weeks or even conservatively a few years.
Using levers (teeter totter, pulley lever etc) one man can move 100 tonnes, not much but small enough that if you were crazy and you had 28 years of your life to move boulders 1cm at a time on one project "Coral Castle" would be the result.
Still it would be nice to see a study of how each stone would have feasibly been done, particularly the harder ones. Those standing up would be straight forward, those standing up on other rocks would require more thought.
Many people do amazing things when you times it out by years and years and years of dedication.
You will only see this posted if I know how to do math!
Michael, Vanautu
October 04, 2009 5:54pm
"Considering he spent 28 or more years at it, he didn't have any easy answers. If he used "magical powers" then he would have done it in perhaps a few weeks or even conservatively a few years."
I can tell you must not have been there and seen the stone masonry. The cutting and chiseling of inscriptions, table cut to look like Florida, and many other fine artistic details. And the quarrying as well takes time. That work alone could take one man over 20 years, especially if we account the precision with which he built it- it isn't crudely put together like Stonehenge.
Is it possible that his secret was hard work and dedication? Proof-wise, as possible as some other variable we are completely unaware of and missing altogether (gnomes?!). In all seriousness though, I would say this one is far from case closed.
Andre, Miami
June 28, 2010 6:34pm
They found large electrical coils on the property. There are eyewitness reports that he floated those blocks into place. How did he cut those coral blocks out from under the sea anyways? Then, how did he get them out of the ocean?
Dennis C. Lee, Manchester NH
August 10, 2010 5:08pm
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Great episode, but I have to disagree. It was OBVIOUSLY an energy vortex. :-)
It's funny how the creator of Coral Castle himself never once claimed any supernatural powers or abilities, yet so many people insist he's a magician.
It's definitely one of my favorite unknown mysteries, because maybe we'll never know EXACTLY how the Castle was built. And on it's own, it's an incredible achievement of dedication (or possibly madness?). There is no need to add a alien or a mystical force to make the story more interesting.
Sean Dyer, Burlington, Ontario
April 14, 2009 9:19am