Not many people can stake claim to being a "real-life Indiana Jones," but David Hatcher Childress has over 40 years worth of adventure-filled expeditions to fill that moniker.
David Hatcher Childress is also the founder of World Explorers Club. (Credit https://davidhatcherchildress.com)
Childress, who has also authored or coauthored over 20 books on his journeys in search of lost cities, UFOs, and ancient civilizations, is also a frequent contributor on History Channel's popular, yet divisive "Ancient Aliens" show. The show faces constant criticism from ufologists who rally around the "everything is aliens" argument.
"They are trying to make the show entertaining, which they do a good job of," Childress said. "The theme is ancient astronauts, so that is what they keep hawking. Now that there are over 100 episodes, you have to wonder if they will run out of ideas for new episodes. They are very creative, and they will find all sorts of new subjects that they can cover on the show."
It's easy to look at his travels and feel jealous of his journey that has took him in search of Atlantis, the Crystal Skull, Lemuria and other undiscovered and unexplained aspects of the world. With years of globe trotting, it is hard for Childress to narrow down one stand-out moment.
"The amazing structures in Egypt are just as stunning as those in Peru or elsewhere," Childress said. "The Basalt city of Nan Madol in Micronesia is the 8th Wonder of the World, so I might rate it at the top."
Childress, an avid swimmer and scuba diver, looks to below the surface of the sea for answers, just as many do up to the sky. His love for recreational water activities merged with his interest in the unknown, as he has focused a lot of his career on underwater archaeological studies, namely Atlantis.
"I believe that much of the evidence for ancient civilizations on this planet is now underwater, " Childress said. "There are over 200 known sunken cities in the Mediterranean. There are many more all over the world. In many ways, this is the search for Atlantis, since we don’t really have another name for an advanced civilization that is over 10,000 years old."
In his studies, Childress has combined science, anthropology, religious lore and mythology, which lends to his open-mindedness to the unknown. Many are afraid to look at the idea of mythology and "Gods" as possible truth, and are conditioned to believe what we've been previously taught is fact.
"We have been taught that myths and ancient books are just fantasy and that only our own current world culture can have the sort of science we have, including genetics, cloning, plant and animal alterations," said Childress." It’s clear that it has been going on for tens of thousands of years. In many ways, 'we' are the gods."
-By MIKE DAMANTE