sources mekorot - Where does the Maharsha mention the Bermuda Triangle?

Someone once told me that the Maharsha talks about Bermuda Triangle in meseches berachos.

Does anyone know where the Maharsha speaks about it?

Answer

You may be referring to a comment by the Rashash, who in turn explains a comment by Rashi on B'rachos 8a (s.v. כפיטורי בפי ושט). Rashi says:

ים אוקיינוס יש בו מקומות שאינו מקבל ברזל ומחברין לוחי הספינה ע"י חבלים ועקלים שתוחבי' בנקביו ותוקעין אותו בדוחק לפי שהם גסין כמדת הנקב

My translation:

There are places in the ocean that do not tolerate iron, and the sailors instead keep the boards of the ship together with ropes and bands that fit through holes in the ship, and they fasten it with difficulty since the circumference of the ropes are fitted so that they are exactly as thick as the circumference of the holes.

The Rashash (ad loc.) comments on Rashi as follows:

יש בו מקומות שאינו מקבל ברזל. והוא מפני שנמצאים שמה בקרקעית הים אבני מאגנעט אשר טבעם למשוך הברזל אליהם

My translation:

"There are places that do not tolerate iron": This is because the seafloor in those places is made up of magnetic stones whose nature is to attract iron.

This does not seem to be a specific reference to the Bermuda Triangle, which had not yet become notorious for allegedly causing ships to disappear. Instead, it seems to be related to older notions about the effects of magnetite on ships.

The Maharsha (1555-1631) does not comment on this gemara (ואיכא דאמרי כפיטורי בפי ושט) or this Rashi. In any case, since the Maharsha was born almost 300 years before the first reported disappearance in the Bermuda Triangle, it is implausible to attribute any mention of the Bermuda Triangle to him.