November 20, 2008: Whole Lotta Hole - Page 2

Clodfobble · 11-20-2008, 01:09 PM

How can the air be any good way down at the bottom? I would think they'd need breathing apparatus at some point in their explorations.

Also: better hope the bulbs don't burn out on those flashlights.

Cicero · 11-20-2008, 01:10 PM

I like it when HLJ talks dirty.

barefoot serpent · 11-20-2008, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glatt

There's probably some simple explanation for how it was formed, but I can't imagine what that would be.

Limestone rock (soluble) + water (slightly acidic) + time (millions of years) = karst topography

dar512 · 11-20-2008, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveDallas

What about terminal velocity? I guess you couldn't figure it unless you knew the exact size & mass of the stone and figured out the air resistance.

And whether they have coconuts tied on.

HungLikeJesus · 11-20-2008, 02:57 PM

Perhaps someone in Argentina dug a hole to China.

Here's an elevation map of the cave from 2002 (from here). (I think it's the same cave. The link is to the explorers' journals.)

footfootfoot · 11-20-2008, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glatt

It's really cool how smooth/straight that hole is. I'm no geologist. There's probably some simple explanation for how it was formed, but I can't imagine what that would be.

Tunnelling like that is usually caused by small clumps of baking soda or baking powder which weren't properly sifted. That is why it is important to sift all your dry ingredients, especially if they are clumpy.

Undertoad · 11-20-2008, 03:38 PM

I would guess that layers of permeable and impermeable rock are created over ages, and then pushed around as a part of tectonic plate collision, with some layers being pushed close to vertical, and then a process of erosion occurs and the impermeable parts don't crumble in for some reason. That's just a guess.

glatt · 11-20-2008, 03:53 PM

It's clearly water doing it, but I don't understand why the water eroded straight down instead of making a more horizontal cavern with stalactites and stalagmites. Those caverns are in limestone too.

It's so perfectly straight in the photos and we all know that water almost never goes perfectly straight. It winds and meanders all over the place following the path of least resistance.

Barefoot's karst topography link makes a lot of sense the way it's drawn, but I'm not fully convinced. This shaft reminds me of peeing into a snow bank. Dogs, I mean, not me. You would never catch me peeing into a snowbank.

Wombat · 11-20-2008, 06:48 PM

Not just any water... falling water. Water does go in a perfectly straight line when gravity makes it fall straight down and there is no wind.

Makes me think of Gandalf and the Balrog...

Ibby · 11-20-2008, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HungLikeJesus

Perhaps someone in Argentina dug a hole to China.

Here's an elevation map of the cave from 2002 (from here). (I think it's the same cave. The link is to the explorers' journals.)

they named all the different parts after... Doctor Who?

that. is. so. COOL.

footfootfoot · 11-20-2008, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheldonrs

But "Horrendous personal pleasuring device accident' will.

You can't really dust astroglide for fingerprints, can you?

Gravdigr · 11-21-2008, 08:43 AM

Looks kinda like the asshole of the earth. And here I thought it (the a-hole of the earth) was in a trailer park here in Kentucky.

Diaphone Jim · 11-21-2008, 04:11 PM

No comments on the "grandma" quip in the intro, but I'm not sure why. One time I think of it I laugh out loud, the next time I shudder. Is it an old IOTD standby? Or just something xoB managed to sneak in?
Speaking of IOTD standbys, when I was in Vietnam there was a nearbly unit called the 174th Assault Helicopter Company, with the motto or handle "Dolphins and Sharks." The dolphins were the "slicks" or troop carriers and dustoffs and the sharks the gunships (Cobra, e.g.). Have they come up in the d/s bandinage here?

dar512 · 11-21-2008, 05:20 PM

Bruce is just a witty guy.

Sundae · 11-21-2008, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diaphone Jim

No comments on the "grandma" quip in the intro, but I'm not sure why.

I thunked it. But I have a quota of snarky comments per day, and I was saving them up for Flint.

11-20-2008, 01:09 PM	#16
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	How can the air be any good way down at the bottom? I would think they'd need breathing apparatus at some point in their explorations. Also: better hope the bulbs don't burn out on those flashlights. __________________ My book My other book My spirit animal

11-20-2008, 01:10 PM	#17
Cicero Looking forward to open mic night. Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: New Mexico Posts: 5,148	I like it when HLJ talks dirty. __________________ Show me a sane man, and I will cure him for you.- Carl Jung

11-20-2008, 02:57 PM	#20
HungLikeJesus Only looks like a disaster tourist Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: above 7,000 feet Posts: 7,208	Perhaps someone in Argentina dug a hole to China. Here's an elevation map of the cave from 2002 (from here). (I think it's the same cave. The link is to the explorers' journals.) __________________ Keep Your Bodies Off My Lawn SteveDallas's Random Thread Picker.

11-20-2008, 06:48 PM	#24
Wombat (marsupial with backward-facing pouch) Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Canberra Posts: 251	Not just any water... falling water. Water does go in a perfectly straight line when gravity makes it fall straight down and there is no wind. Makes me think of Gandalf and the Balrog... __________________ If you don't do it properly, you'll get to the pub sooner.

11-21-2008, 08:43 AM	#27
Gravdigr The Un-Tuckian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: South Central...KY that is Posts: 39,517	Looks kinda like the asshole of the earth. And here I thought it (the a-hole of the earth) was in a trailer park here in Kentucky. __________________ These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, EPA, FBI, DEA, CDC, or FDIC. These statements are not intended to diagnose, cause, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you feel you have been harmed/offended by, or, disagree with any of the above statements or images, please feel free to fuck right off.

11-20-2008, 03:38 PM	#22
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	I would guess that layers of permeable and impermeable rock are created over ages, and then pushed around as a part of tectonic plate collision, with some layers being pushed close to vertical, and then a process of erosion occurs and the impermeable parts don't crumble in for some reason. That's just a guess.

11-20-2008, 03:53 PM	#23
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	It's clearly water doing it, but I don't understand why the water eroded straight down instead of making a more horizontal cavern with stalactites and stalagmites. Those caverns are in limestone too. It's so perfectly straight in the photos and we all know that water almost never goes perfectly straight. It winds and meanders all over the place following the path of least resistance. Barefoot's karst topography link makes a lot of sense the way it's drawn, but I'm not fully convinced. This shaft reminds me of peeing into a snow bank. Dogs, I mean, not me. You would never catch me peeing into a snowbank.

11-21-2008, 04:11 PM	#28
Diaphone Jim Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Northern California Posts: 2,122	No comments on the "grandma" quip in the intro, but I'm not sure why. One time I think of it I laugh out loud, the next time I shudder. Is it an old IOTD standby? Or just something xoB managed to sneak in? Speaking of IOTD standbys, when I was in Vietnam there was a nearbly unit called the 174th Assault Helicopter Company, with the motto or handle "Dolphins and Sharks." The dolphins were the "slicks" or troop carriers and dustoffs and the sharks the gunships (Cobra, e.g.). Have they come up in the d/s bandinage here?

11-21-2008, 05:20 PM	#29
dar512 dar512 is now Pete Zicato Join Date: May 2003 Location: Chicago suburb Posts: 4,968	Bruce is just a witty guy. __________________ "Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain." -- Friedrich Schiller

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