WEBVTT - 9 Weird Things Hiding Underground 0:00:03.279 --> 0:00:06.240 Welcome to Part Time Genius, the production of I Heart Radio. 0:00:11.760 --> 0:00:13.960 I guess what, Mango? What's that? Well, so I've been 0:00:13.960 --> 0:00:16.960 looking into underground bunkers this week and that this was 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:18.759 just on a whim. It was not because of any 0:00:18.800 --> 0:00:21.520 real world events. You know. I just get curious about stuff. 0:00:21.720 --> 0:00:25.480 And it turns out that living underground is actually a 0:00:25.520 --> 0:00:28.720 ton of work. So what do you mean by that? Exactly? 0:00:28.920 --> 0:00:30.840 All right, Well, just just think about it. So first 0:00:30.880 --> 0:00:34.240 you've got to excavate and build the foundation for this place. 0:00:34.680 --> 0:00:37.680 Then you've got to add electrical wiring and plumbing, a 0:00:37.800 --> 0:00:43.520 septic system, air filtration, backup generators, like doomsday preppers put 0:00:43.560 --> 0:00:46.640 a lot of work into this sort of thing, you know. Honestly, 0:00:46.880 --> 0:00:48.920 I feel like I'm too lazy to really prep for 0:00:48.960 --> 0:00:51.040 more than like a day or two. And I remember 0:00:51.040 --> 0:00:54.640 looking up emergency prep foods once. This is before Sandy happened, 0:00:54.680 --> 0:00:57.720 and uh, instead of finding anything practical, like, I went 0:00:57.760 --> 0:01:00.279 into this rabbit hole trying to find the funniest one, 0:01:00.520 --> 0:01:02.960 and my favorite was something called P B and J 0:01:03.120 --> 0:01:05.800 and it can you know, I think when people hear 0:01:05.840 --> 0:01:08.520 that that their instinct is to try to claim that 0:01:08.520 --> 0:01:10.959 that sounds gross I want to admit it, it actually 0:01:11.000 --> 0:01:13.520 sounds like maybe that could be good. I'd probably I'm 0:01:13.560 --> 0:01:15.679 just hungry right now, but I would probably try it. 0:01:16.120 --> 0:01:18.399 I know, Like I thought it would be this dehydrated 0:01:18.520 --> 0:01:20.200 like PB and J that you heat up and it 0:01:20.280 --> 0:01:23.880 magically seems fresh again. But instead it was this tin 0:01:24.000 --> 0:01:27.800 can with this old hotdog roll stuffed inside and two 0:01:27.880 --> 0:01:30.560 packets of peanut butter and jelly. They just smear on yourself, 0:01:30.640 --> 0:01:33.720 so it was obviously so unappetizing. When I found out 0:01:33.720 --> 0:01:35.240 what it was, I tried to order a few to 0:01:35.240 --> 0:01:37.640 give out a Christmas. You said, you smear it on 0:01:37.680 --> 0:01:41.920 yourself like you do the Okay, I would say, this 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:45.160 is just got got really weird. But I feel like 0:01:45.240 --> 0:01:48.200 you and I clearly aren't cut out for prepping, which 0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:51.040 is why I found, you know, the service for people 0:01:51.080 --> 0:01:54.440 like us. It's called Vivos, and they've spent the last 0:01:54.480 --> 0:01:57.960 decade setting up dozens of these subterranean shelters all of 0:01:58.040 --> 0:02:01.200 the world. And here's the thing. Most of these shelters 0:02:01.240 --> 0:02:04.560 aren't privately owned, so instead they're actually part of a 0:02:04.600 --> 0:02:08.520 membership program where customers pay annual dues and exchange for 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:12.880 a guaranteed spot in the closest vivos bunker and so 0:02:13.040 --> 0:02:16.040 that way, like if disaster strikes, members can take shelter 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:18.000 at a moment's notice. I like it. So it's like 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:22.440 a we work for doomsday. I think that's their tagline exactly. 0:02:22.919 --> 0:02:25.400 And their website lists out a bunch of scenarios this 0:02:25.480 --> 0:02:28.320 co living space might be great for. So here here's 0:02:28.360 --> 0:02:32.920 some of them, for a magnetic pole shift, a super volcano, 0:02:33.240 --> 0:02:39.360 or even a social meltdown, which sounds like they're advertising 0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:42.040 to like a very specific clientele, right, like if you're 0:02:42.040 --> 0:02:44.120 living with Kanye West and needs some space from a 0:02:44.240 --> 0:02:47.280 social media amountdowns, this is perfect for you. But it 0:02:47.400 --> 0:02:50.640 really does sound expensive to me. Yeah, it is definitely pricey. 0:02:50.720 --> 0:02:53.720 So a spot in an eighty person bunker will set 0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:57.600 you back about thirty five thousand dollars and that's actually 0:02:57.639 --> 0:02:59.680 way more than I would have even guessed on this. 0:02:59.760 --> 0:03:02.960 But with the threat of super volcanoes, maybe this is 0:03:03.000 --> 0:03:05.840 a good investment. I don't know, but all my research 0:03:05.919 --> 0:03:09.880 made me wonder what other mysteries are hiding under our feet, 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:13.800 from hidden cities to weird creatures. There's this whole secret 0:03:13.840 --> 0:03:16.560 world to explore down there. So strap on your head 0:03:16.600 --> 0:03:41.160 lamp and let's dig in their podcast. Listeners, Welcome to 0:03:41.200 --> 0:03:43.840 Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and as always I'm 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:46.280 joined by my good friend mangesh Hot Ticketer and on 0:03:46.320 --> 0:03:49.080 the other side of his computer screen waving a pick 0:03:49.120 --> 0:03:53.040 acts like he is ready for a gold rush. That's 0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:55.440 our friend and producer Loell. I'm not sure if I'm 0:03:55.440 --> 0:03:58.320 following this one exactly, but he's He's really waving it aggressively. 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:01.800 I do love how even in a quarantine, Lowell comes 0:04:01.800 --> 0:04:05.680 through with the problems. It's so good. But you know, 0:04:06.440 --> 0:04:08.640 I do have a little housekeeping to start this off. 0:04:08.680 --> 0:04:10.760 Since we started off the show again, we've gotten really 0:04:10.800 --> 0:04:13.760 really nice notes of people have been leaving reviews that 0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:16.320 are super kind and writing to our Instagram and Facebook, 0:04:16.320 --> 0:04:18.679 and honestly it's really heartwarming. It makes me so happy. 0:04:18.800 --> 0:04:21.559 So thank you so much for listening. I I also 0:04:21.600 --> 0:04:23.840 have an apology. I mentioned this previously, but one of 0:04:23.880 --> 0:04:26.919 our readers, Charles wrote in this great correction about the 0:04:26.920 --> 0:04:30.120 comic book character the Red Bee, and so I sent 0:04:30.240 --> 0:04:33.040 him some honey in these cute little like bare bombs, 0:04:33.080 --> 0:04:35.720 thinking it's on topic, and then it turns out he's 0:04:35.720 --> 0:04:39.640 a beekeeper and the last thing he needs is honey. Yeah, 0:04:40.360 --> 0:04:44.200 so I miscalculated on that front. I'm sorry, Charles. I 0:04:44.240 --> 0:04:45.840 like the idea that he's just gonna work his way 0:04:45.839 --> 0:04:48.440 into every episode. We're just gonna take turns thanking him 0:04:48.480 --> 0:04:51.800 and then apologizing and then thanking him. So yeah, a 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:55.920 good way to go. But I'd say the bigger thing 0:04:56.240 --> 0:04:58.560 is that last week we announced the very first ever 0:04:58.640 --> 0:05:02.119 part time Genius Grant, and this is huge news because 0:05:02.120 --> 0:05:04.400 we've never done this on the show before. We're gonna 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:06.920 give out six dollars to the person who sends us 0:05:06.960 --> 0:05:10.039 the best ridiculous invention they come up with. Um, We've 0:05:10.040 --> 0:05:12.360 had a handful of suggestions, but I can't stress how 0:05:12.400 --> 0:05:16.840 prestigious this is. It's truly an honor. So send us 0:05:16.880 --> 0:05:21.080 your inventions via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, wherever. Just tags in 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:22.599 it and we'll look for it, and then next week 0:05:22.600 --> 0:05:25.080 we'll announce who's won the big money. It's a big one. 0:05:25.160 --> 0:05:27.640 I had actually forgotten that we committed to that six dollars, 0:05:27.680 --> 0:05:30.000 so I need to need to focus this week. So 0:05:30.200 --> 0:05:32.359 just so we're clear, parents aren't the only ones with 0:05:32.480 --> 0:05:36.560 ridiculous invention ideas. Kids are welcome to UM. You know, 0:05:36.600 --> 0:05:38.880 winning a part time Genius grant is going to look 0:05:39.000 --> 0:05:42.960 so great on your college applications. Get your parents permission 0:05:42.960 --> 0:05:44.880 to submit these, but we'd love to hear from you, 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:47.560 so send in your ideas. But all right, enough of that, 0:05:47.680 --> 0:05:50.880 it is time to get back to today's idea. This 0:05:50.920 --> 0:05:54.400 week we're talking about great things hidden underground, and we 0:05:54.440 --> 0:05:58.839 are of course joined by our favorite researcher, pal Gabe Lousier. Gabe, 0:05:58.839 --> 0:06:02.159 what do you have for us? All right? So when 0:06:02.200 --> 0:06:04.920 I think of weird things underground, one of the first 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:08.760 that comes to mind our cicadas. I actually have some 0:06:08.839 --> 0:06:11.039 fond memories of these guys from when I was a 0:06:11.080 --> 0:06:14.679 kid in southern Maryland. Which it's kind of strange because 0:06:14.880 --> 0:06:18.280 cicadas are, you know, gross monster bugs, which is not 0:06:18.400 --> 0:06:22.320 all that endearing. But the sound they make is so distinct. 0:06:22.360 --> 0:06:25.719 It's this ominous kind of drone. It almost sounds like 0:06:25.760 --> 0:06:28.080 something sizzling. I feel like you have to do the 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:33.200 sound game, so okay, put me on the spot. I 0:06:33.200 --> 0:06:39.320 don't know, it's like they do much better. That's how 0:06:39.400 --> 0:06:44.720 stuff sizzles about. Oh don't anyway, Cicadas, you know, they 0:06:44.720 --> 0:06:47.479 were basically the soundtrack of my summer's growing up. But 0:06:47.880 --> 0:06:50.760 there was one summer in particular, and this is where 0:06:50.760 --> 0:06:54.040 my fact comes in where the cicada noise got cranked 0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:56.479 up to eleven. And this was in the summer of 0:06:56.560 --> 0:06:59.480 ninety nine, which is the year that the brood five 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:03.039 cicada das came to town. And I know brood five, 0:07:03.279 --> 0:07:05.240 it like makes them sound pretty tough, like these are 0:07:05.279 --> 0:07:08.640 like like you're gang of cicadas or something. But basically 0:07:08.680 --> 0:07:13.760 they're a species of cicadas known as periodical cicadas, and basically, 0:07:13.840 --> 0:07:17.280 instead of emerging every summer to lay their eggs, these 0:07:17.320 --> 0:07:20.920 ones only come to the surface once every seventeen years. 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:24.679 So whenever that rolls around, the regions where these guys 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:29.360 live are flooded with swarms of cicadas. And they caused 0:07:29.360 --> 0:07:32.240 this enormous racket for a month and a half and 0:07:32.360 --> 0:07:36.320 during that time they lay some eggs, malt, some exoskeletons, 0:07:36.400 --> 0:07:39.640 and then they all die and they're offspring burrowback underground 0:07:39.680 --> 0:07:42.800 for them next seventeen years. I mean, that is an 0:07:42.840 --> 0:07:45.080 amazing life cycle when you think about it, but but 0:07:45.160 --> 0:07:47.680 it's also kind of confusing, like why stay underground for 0:07:47.800 --> 0:07:51.960 seventeen years instead of just one. Yeah. Well, the short 0:07:51.960 --> 0:07:55.240 answer is, we don't really know. Like scientists think, maybe 0:07:55.320 --> 0:07:57.920 it's because it puts their life cycle out of sync 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:00.200 with predators, so you know, it gives them a heer 0:08:00.280 --> 0:08:03.760 chance of survival. But that's just a guess. All we 0:08:03.800 --> 0:08:06.080 know is that every seventeen years it gets really really 0:08:06.080 --> 0:08:08.560 loud in the summer, and millions of these bugs all 0:08:08.640 --> 0:08:14.120 come ountain party. That sounds terrible, but I like that 0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:16.520 you started with animals because I also wanted to talk 0:08:16.560 --> 0:08:19.320 about one, and that's the star nosed mole. If you 0:08:19.360 --> 0:08:21.960 haven't seen one of these pictures, like a regular mold, 0:08:22.000 --> 0:08:24.160 but instead of the usual snout, they have this like 0:08:24.400 --> 0:08:28.640 weird pink star shaped dependency on the front. And when 0:08:28.640 --> 0:08:30.920 I used to see this in like children's dictionaries, I 0:08:30.920 --> 0:08:33.200 I always thought it was a mistake. It kind of 0:08:33.200 --> 0:08:35.920 looked like almost like when a cigar explodes in an 0:08:35.960 --> 0:08:39.360 old cartoon. Yeah, it actually kind of looks like somebody 0:08:39.440 --> 0:08:41.920 forgot to add a head to it. Instead, they just 0:08:42.679 --> 0:08:45.080 like glued a squid to its face as a prank. 0:08:45.160 --> 0:08:49.080 Like it's pretty disgusting but also kind of cool looking. Yeah, 0:08:49.160 --> 0:08:50.600 I mean, you kind of understand why they want to 0:08:50.600 --> 0:08:55.520 stay underground, and that star knows is actually really functional. 0:08:56.040 --> 0:08:59.360 It contains a hundred thousand nerve fibers which help it 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:02.720 sense it's pray, And just for reference, that's five times 0:09:02.720 --> 0:09:05.120 more touch sensors than we have in our entire hand. 0:09:05.520 --> 0:09:08.240 And they're all crammed into this nose that's smaller than 0:09:08.280 --> 0:09:10.240 like the tip of your pinky, So the mole makes 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:13.520 good use of them. It's basically blind, and it hunts 0:09:13.520 --> 0:09:15.800 by bobbing that star up and down as it plows 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:19.560 through soil, so it's touching twelve different places all at once. 0:09:19.960 --> 0:09:22.440 And the tactic is so effective that the star nosed 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:25.120 mole actually holds the record as the world's fastest eater. 0:09:25.280 --> 0:09:27.680 It can actually find and devour an insect in a 0:09:27.840 --> 0:09:31.120 quarter of a second. That's pretty cool, all right. Well, 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:34.240 since you two have given underground wildlife, it's due I 0:09:34.280 --> 0:09:37.280 feel like I should talk about the plant version of 0:09:37.320 --> 0:09:41.720 the Internet. So instead of using wires and satellites to communicate, 0:09:41.800 --> 0:09:45.559 plants use fungal threads called my celia, and it's pretty 0:09:45.559 --> 0:09:49.760 crucial to their survival. So take the phantom orchid for example. 0:09:50.160 --> 0:09:53.800 These plants actually lack chlorophyll, which means they can't create 0:09:53.840 --> 0:09:56.880 their own energy through you know, photosynthesis, which we all 0:09:56.920 --> 0:09:59.880 remember from our elementary school years like other plants use. 0:10:00.440 --> 0:10:03.280 So to get around this hang up, the orchid engages 0:10:03.400 --> 0:10:07.360 in a strange three way partnership and involves an underground 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:11.120 fungus and a nearby tree species. Now it sounds a 0:10:11.120 --> 0:10:13.559 little kinkier than it actually has. Trust me on this one, 0:10:13.600 --> 0:10:16.640 but the roots of both the orchid and the tree 0:10:16.720 --> 0:10:20.600 are connected to the mycelia beneath the soil, and it's 0:10:20.640 --> 0:10:23.480 through this middleman that the tree is able to transfer 0:10:23.600 --> 0:10:27.000 carbon to the orchid, which is of course what it needs. 0:10:27.280 --> 0:10:30.160 That's pretty incredible, but it also sounds a little too altruistic. 0:10:30.280 --> 0:10:32.479 What's in it for the trees to share its resources? 0:10:32.960 --> 0:10:35.160 I mean share might not be the right word in 0:10:35.160 --> 0:10:37.520 this case, and it's probably more accurate to say the 0:10:37.559 --> 0:10:40.120 plant is is stealing the tree's carbon. But but it's 0:10:40.120 --> 0:10:42.480 still pretty cool, fair enough. I I think you said 0:10:42.480 --> 0:10:45.440 plants actually communicate through this net as well. Yeah, this 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:47.920 is this is pretty interesting. So a good example is 0:10:48.000 --> 0:10:50.920 there's this bean plant that sends out a chemical signal 0:10:51.280 --> 0:10:54.520 whenever it's under attacked by a fits, and when this happens, 0:10:54.559 --> 0:10:56.960 other bean plants in the area will pick up the 0:10:57.000 --> 0:11:00.520 distress signal through the mycelia net, and even though they 0:11:00.520 --> 0:11:04.520 aren't under attack themselves, they'll actually activate their anti a 0:11:04.720 --> 0:11:08.600 fit defenses. This is so cool. So the question is 0:11:08.960 --> 0:11:12.560 are the bean plants intentionally sending signals to warn their 0:11:12.600 --> 0:11:15.640 neighbors or are the neighboring plants just sort of like 0:11:15.760 --> 0:11:19.280 eavesdropping to see if there are a fits in the area. 0:11:19.440 --> 0:11:21.760 And technically the jury is still out on this, but 0:11:21.800 --> 0:11:24.120 I do like the idea of plants having each other's 0:11:24.160 --> 0:11:29.560 backs me too. Alright, Well, moving on from something potentially 0:11:29.640 --> 0:11:33.400 sweet to something decidedly not sweet, let me tell you 0:11:33.400 --> 0:11:37.160 a little about fat birds. I hate that you picked 0:11:37.160 --> 0:11:40.400 fat birds as the topic. The time has come though, 0:11:41.440 --> 0:11:43.480 because I thought at least a few of our listeners 0:11:43.520 --> 0:11:45.080 out there would get a kick out of this, and 0:11:45.280 --> 0:11:48.439 maybe will too, we'll see. But fat birds are pretty 0:11:48.520 --> 0:11:51.520 much what they sound like. It's an iceberg, but made 0:11:51.520 --> 0:11:54.760 out of fat instead of ice. And another difference is 0:11:54.800 --> 0:11:57.679 that fat birds don't form in the open ocean. They 0:11:57.720 --> 0:12:01.960 form underground, primarily in the pipe and sewers of cities, 0:12:02.160 --> 0:12:05.160 and that's because fat birds aren't made from just any fat. 0:12:05.200 --> 0:12:07.720 They're made from the fats and oils that we wash 0:12:07.800 --> 0:12:10.800 down our drains each day, So we're talking about everything 0:12:10.840 --> 0:12:14.560 from cooking oil to hair grease to body wash. All 0:12:14.600 --> 0:12:17.520 of that gunk eventually collects in the pipes beneath our 0:12:17.559 --> 0:12:21.360 streets and it solidifies into a massive chunk of debris 0:12:21.760 --> 0:12:27.199 a k a. A fat bird and berg. That would 0:12:27.200 --> 0:12:29.600 be you know, gross enough on its own, but the 0:12:29.640 --> 0:12:32.560 reality is even worse because everything we flushed down the 0:12:32.640 --> 0:12:36.840 toilet is also fair game for the fat birds. It's 0:12:36.840 --> 0:12:38.760 just such a great word. I just feel like we 0:12:38.760 --> 0:12:44.360 should all chant fat berg fat you were saying fat bird, 0:12:44.400 --> 0:12:49.680 I think, sorry, I love those anyway, that's right, because 0:12:49.760 --> 0:12:52.560 unfortunately it means a lot of bathroom trash that we 0:12:52.640 --> 0:12:56.160 have no business flushing in the first place, like dental floss, 0:12:56.280 --> 0:13:00.600 wet lips, and prophylactics. All of that results in a 0:13:00.679 --> 0:13:03.560 big tangle that's really tough to deal with. And if 0:13:03.600 --> 0:13:07.000 these fat bergs are left unchecked, they can actually grow 0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:10.680 so large that one can clog an entire sewer pipe, 0:13:10.800 --> 0:13:15.000 slowing water flow, causing widespread backups of sewage. It's not 0:13:15.080 --> 0:13:17.760 pretty and when it gets to that point, there aren't 0:13:17.760 --> 0:13:19.760 a lot of ways to deal with this, Like you 0:13:19.800 --> 0:13:22.760 either blast it with a power washer or you chip 0:13:22.760 --> 0:13:25.559 away at it with a pick axe. Yeah you hear that, 0:13:25.640 --> 0:13:28.800 loll it is your time to shine with that pickaxe. 0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:32.760 So I am curious, even though I'm grossed off with this, 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:36.360 how big can these get? Like I'm almost afraid to ask, Yeah, 0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:39.920 they can get like disturbingly big. The largest one to 0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:43.920 date was found beneath London back in and it was 0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:47.120 over eight hundred and twenty feet long and weighed more 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:51.640 than a hundred and thirty tons. It's hard to wrap 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:54.640 your head around just how massive that is, but for reference, 0:13:54.720 --> 0:13:57.240 that's nearly three times the height of the Statue of 0:13:57.280 --> 0:14:01.120 Liberty and a little over half the weight, so way 0:14:01.120 --> 0:14:04.000 way too big for a sewer. And and keep in 0:14:04.040 --> 0:14:07.000 mind like New York City spends roughly five million per 0:14:07.120 --> 0:14:10.440 year combating fat burgs, so even the smaller ones are 0:14:10.440 --> 0:14:13.040 a huge problem. Now, I do feel like we should 0:14:13.080 --> 0:14:15.200 clarify because I know, I know, we've been laughing a 0:14:15.200 --> 0:14:17.520 little bit about the name fat burg, but I feel 0:14:17.559 --> 0:14:19.640 like we should go on record and say that the 0:14:19.720 --> 0:14:23.520 PTG family here we are firmly in the anti fat 0:14:23.520 --> 0:14:26.640 Burgs camp on like some of those other podcasts out there, 0:14:26.720 --> 0:14:29.840 But listeners, please do your part and don't feed the 0:14:29.880 --> 0:14:32.520 fat Burgs. All right, we'll be back with more after 0:14:32.560 --> 0:14:48.600 a break. Welcome back to Part Time Genius. We're talking 0:14:48.640 --> 0:14:52.120 about all the strange stuff that you could but probably 0:14:52.200 --> 0:14:55.640 won't find underground. And I think, Mango, I think you're 0:14:55.680 --> 0:14:58.359 up next. What do you have? We've talked about living underground, 0:14:58.520 --> 0:15:01.240 so let's talk about working under round. And there's a 0:15:01.280 --> 0:15:04.480 weird new opportunity in Sweden where it doesn't even matter 0:15:04.640 --> 0:15:07.880 what you're doing down there. There's this job available. It's 0:15:07.920 --> 0:15:10.520 a new position. The only requirement is for the employee 0:15:10.520 --> 0:15:14.360 to clock in at the Coursewagan train station, which is 0:15:14.440 --> 0:15:18.080 currently under I guess it's under construction beneath Gothenburg, Sweden. 0:15:18.520 --> 0:15:21.800 And really that's it. According to the job description quote, 0:15:21.880 --> 0:15:25.360 the position holds no duties or responsibilities besides the fact 0:15:25.360 --> 0:15:28.280 that the work should be carried out at Corswagin. Whatever 0:15:28.280 --> 0:15:31.560 the employee chooses to do constitutes the work. Seriously, like 0:15:31.720 --> 0:15:34.720 that sounds amazing. There's got to be a catch though, right, 0:15:34.840 --> 0:15:37.680 there's actually no catch. It's a legit job offer. It's 0:15:37.720 --> 0:15:42.119 complete with a competitive starting salary uh anual wage, increases, 0:15:42.200 --> 0:15:45.360 paid vacation even at pension. And the best part is 0:15:45.840 --> 0:15:47.640 you get to enjoy the job for the rest of 0:15:47.680 --> 0:15:49.480 your life if you want it. The people behind the 0:15:49.480 --> 0:15:52.400 project call it eternal employment. You might be wondering who's 0:15:52.400 --> 0:15:54.880 behind the project. It's the work of these artists, Simon 0:15:54.920 --> 0:15:58.440 Golden and Jacob Seneby. They partnered with the Swedish Transit 0:15:58.480 --> 0:16:01.840 Authority and they raised about sixty dollars for the project. 0:16:01.920 --> 0:16:04.240 So the idea is to grow that initial sum through 0:16:04.240 --> 0:16:06.960 investments and use it to pay one employee for as 0:16:06.960 --> 0:16:09.480 long as they choose to work there. And if they 0:16:09.480 --> 0:16:12.200 ever want to retire or you know, just not hang 0:16:12.240 --> 0:16:15.440 out underground this train station all day, then they can 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:17.640 simply leave and and a new employee will be chosen 0:16:17.680 --> 0:16:20.520 to take their place. It's a super strange idea, but 0:16:20.600 --> 0:16:22.400 if it sounds like the job for you, then there's 0:16:22.440 --> 0:16:25.120 good news because anyone in the world is free to apply. 0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:27.520 The only hitches that you have to wait a few years. 0:16:27.760 --> 0:16:31.440 The applications won't be accepted until, which is a few 0:16:31.480 --> 0:16:33.880 months before the station is set to open. I guess 0:16:33.880 --> 0:16:35.880 that gives people plenty of time to to get that 0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:38.520 resume ready. But all right, well, if people are going 0:16:38.560 --> 0:16:42.160 to live underground and work underground, you are definitely going 0:16:42.200 --> 0:16:44.920 to need a way to relax underground, something that we 0:16:45.040 --> 0:16:48.120 don't often think about when we're thinking about constructing these 0:16:48.160 --> 0:16:50.760 sorts of things. But if you're looking for inspiration, you 0:16:50.760 --> 0:16:53.240 could always take a page from a group of French 0:16:53.440 --> 0:16:58.080 cinophiles and host your own underground movie theater. So to 0:16:58.120 --> 0:17:00.880 give you some context, they are about two hundred miles 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:06.000 of stone tunnels beneath the Moparness neighborhood in Paris. Those 0:17:06.040 --> 0:17:08.960 tunnels are a product of the city's ancient stone quarries, 0:17:09.000 --> 0:17:11.639 and they also serve as the final resting place for 0:17:11.680 --> 0:17:16.520 more than six million Parisians. That's basically because their catacombs, 0:17:16.560 --> 0:17:19.200 and even though they're not open to the public, people 0:17:19.200 --> 0:17:22.760 have been frequenting these things. Now, back in two thousand four, 0:17:22.880 --> 0:17:26.400 the French police discovered a four hundred square foot cavern. 0:17:26.880 --> 0:17:29.879 Now this is about sixty ft underground um and it 0:17:29.880 --> 0:17:32.920 had been turned into this amphitheater, complete with a full 0:17:32.960 --> 0:17:37.720 size movie screen, projection equipment and a wide selection of films. 0:17:37.760 --> 0:17:41.200 There were even twenty or so seats carved directly into 0:17:41.240 --> 0:17:44.280 the stone itself. How cool is that? Is? Super cool. 0:17:44.320 --> 0:17:47.440 It's like a secret movie club. It's like, yeah, literal 0:17:47.640 --> 0:17:51.040 underground cinema. That's right, That's right. I mean, do you know, 0:17:51.119 --> 0:17:52.560 I'm really curious, like, do you know what kind of 0:17:52.600 --> 0:17:55.160 stuff they were watching down there? I couldn't find any 0:17:55.200 --> 0:17:57.840 exact titles, but the reports I saw were that there 0:17:57.840 --> 0:18:00.879 were a bunch of like fifties noir movies and some 0:18:01.000 --> 0:18:03.960 recent thrillers. And the police did say that none of 0:18:03.960 --> 0:18:06.760 the films were obscene or banned or anything like that, 0:18:06.800 --> 0:18:10.560 but that's not to say there wasn't anything nefarious going on. 0:18:11.000 --> 0:18:14.240 According to this article in Gizmoto, the police also found 0:18:14.320 --> 0:18:19.159 quote three thousand square feet of subterranean galleries, strong with lights, 0:18:19.280 --> 0:18:23.840 wired for phones, and live with pirated electricity. The officers 0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:27.760 uncovered a bar, a lounge, a workshop, and a dining 0:18:27.800 --> 0:18:34.000 corner complete with its own couscousmaker. I feel like illegal 0:18:34.040 --> 0:18:36.879 couscous is the tastiest you know it is, you know 0:18:36.960 --> 0:18:39.240 it is? That was my favorite part actually, But the 0:18:39.320 --> 0:18:42.120 creepiest part is that when the police came back three 0:18:42.240 --> 0:18:46.399 days later, all the phone and electricity lines had been cut, 0:18:46.440 --> 0:18:49.240 and there was a note on the floor that just said, 0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:52.800 don't try to find us. I mean, isn't that spooky? 0:18:53.720 --> 0:18:56.520 But that's where I thought the story would have ended. 0:18:56.520 --> 0:19:00.400 But apparently, years later someone claimed credit for the Secrets Cinema. 0:19:00.720 --> 0:19:03.040 The perpetrators turned out to be a group of urban 0:19:03.080 --> 0:19:07.119 explorers who started mapping this underground network for fun, and 0:19:07.160 --> 0:19:09.400 they liked it so much that once they were done 0:19:09.480 --> 0:19:11.960 with the maps, they started looking for new ways to 0:19:12.000 --> 0:19:15.520 spend time down there, so they built themselves a movie theater. 0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:18.600 I mean, you gotta stay busy, you know, And that's true. 0:19:18.760 --> 0:19:22.320 Actually I have another fact here, another movie fact. Mind's 0:19:22.320 --> 0:19:25.159 a little different though. It turns out the salt mines 0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:29.640 in Kansas are full of old movie reels. Why is that? Yeah, 0:19:29.640 --> 0:19:32.160 I mean, it's mostly because it's it's such a stable 0:19:32.280 --> 0:19:35.199 environment down there. But like for storing the films, the 0:19:35.240 --> 0:19:40.520 temperature stays right around forty five degrees and humidity it's 0:19:40.520 --> 0:19:43.360 pretty much perfect. And and obviously, you know, weather isn't 0:19:43.359 --> 0:19:46.280 a factor down there either, because some of these facilities 0:19:46.320 --> 0:19:50.240 are more than six feet below ground. And that's important 0:19:50.280 --> 0:19:55.000 because a warmer temperatures, celluloid film will actually start to rot. Uh. 0:19:55.240 --> 0:19:58.600 They call it vinegar syndrome, and it's because the decaying 0:19:58.680 --> 0:20:03.360 film gives off a really strong vinegar smell apparently. So 0:20:04.000 --> 0:20:07.840 is it just old celluloyd movies that's in these vaults 0:20:07.920 --> 0:20:10.480 or do they store new films there too? Yeah, it's 0:20:10.520 --> 0:20:13.520 a mix of both. Nowadays, there are tons of the 0:20:13.520 --> 0:20:16.919 early celluloid classics like The Wizard of Oz Gone with 0:20:16.960 --> 0:20:20.120 the Wind. Most of the Looney Tunes from the forties 0:20:20.119 --> 0:20:23.480 and fifties are down there too, which is pretty cool. Um. 0:20:23.560 --> 0:20:26.640 Later though movies shot on film are also They're like 0:20:27.080 --> 0:20:30.199 the original Star Wars is down there. But it's not 0:20:30.240 --> 0:20:33.840 just films either. Studios also used the salt mines uh 0:20:33.880 --> 0:20:38.120 to store props and memorabilia. Like George Clooney's bat suit 0:20:38.359 --> 0:20:41.600 is a Batman costume. It's down there. I'd actually forgotten 0:20:41.640 --> 0:20:45.440 that he played Batman. Yeah, I think the studio probably 0:20:45.440 --> 0:20:47.879 wants to forget that too. But and and I'm pretty 0:20:47.880 --> 0:20:49.840 sure that's why the suit is hidden down there. But 0:20:50.560 --> 0:20:53.119 all right, well, my uh, my last fact of the 0:20:53.200 --> 0:20:55.360 day here. I thought i'd keep it simple and tell 0:20:55.400 --> 0:20:58.240 you a little about the deepest hole that has ever 0:20:58.400 --> 0:21:01.960 been dug. It's called the Super Deep Borehole, and it 0:21:02.040 --> 0:21:04.719 was drilled into the surface of the Coola Peninsula in 0:21:04.800 --> 0:21:09.439 Russia during the nineteen seventies and eighties. So after twenty 0:21:09.520 --> 0:21:13.120 years of drilling, the whole reached its maximum depth, which 0:21:13.160 --> 0:21:17.120 is forty thousand, two hundred and thirty feet or roughly 0:21:17.680 --> 0:21:22.399 seven and a half miles underground. And that sounds insanely deep, 0:21:22.440 --> 0:21:24.520 but refresh my memory. How close to the center of 0:21:24.560 --> 0:21:27.080 the Earth is that it's it's nowhere close to the 0:21:27.119 --> 0:21:30.399 center there there, but it's still pretty cool. So the 0:21:30.680 --> 0:21:34.760 earthcore is almost four thousand miles below us, so seven 0:21:34.800 --> 0:21:37.080 and a half miles is barely half the distance to 0:21:37.200 --> 0:21:40.840 the Earth's mantle. But that's the deepest we've ever managed 0:21:40.880 --> 0:21:44.600 to get in terms of true vertical depth. So that's 0:21:44.600 --> 0:21:47.359 the deepest hole drilled by machine. But if you're looking 0:21:47.440 --> 0:21:51.040 for the deepest hole ever dug by hand, that honor 0:21:51.119 --> 0:21:54.240 goes to the Wooding Dean Well near Brighton in the 0:21:54.320 --> 0:21:57.960 United Kingdom. It's one thousand, two hundred and eighty five 0:21:58.119 --> 0:22:01.360 ft deep, so almost exactly as deep as the Empire 0:22:01.480 --> 0:22:04.880 State Building is tall. Because this well was dug over 0:22:04.920 --> 0:22:08.320 a four year period during the mid eighteen hundreds, and 0:22:08.400 --> 0:22:11.040 it was a long way down just to get some water. 0:22:11.160 --> 0:22:14.919 You know, I really like all the New York references. 0:22:15.000 --> 0:22:18.240 The fat Berg was as big as like three statues Liberties, 0:22:18.359 --> 0:22:21.400