Floyd's Blog

Inspirational home improvement project

I found out how to embed YouTube videos in these WordPress posts (using the “shortcode” block)!

Here is a video to share that I loved watching. Actually, one of the best I’ve seen in a long time.

The biggest thing that was going through my mind during the video was how on earth did he get permission from the building permit officials to do this (he talks about this late in the video)? I’m sure this would never work in most places in the US, not even close, and a lot of fines (at the least) would be involved.

Still, it is a lot of fun to see how he went about it despite the constant worry about cave-ins and buckets of rock falling down the shaft. I particularly like the trick he used with rotating the square bars that were clamped together to determine the direction to turn the digging in (about halfway into the video).

This is reminiscent of a network of tunnels that were (famously at the time) accidentally discovered in Washington, D.C., and were built by an entomologist, Harrison Dyar, in the early 1900s (pictured above).

Wieliczka salt bas-relief

While we’re on the subject of underground tunnels, I have to mention the Wieliczka Salt Mine in Poland. I have always wanted to go there since someone told me that their father (who had been there) said it was a place everyone should see if they have the chance. I’ve been to Poland twice but, unfortunately, so far, have not had an opportunity to see them. The mine operated for at least 700 years, and the rooms are full of statues and images carved into the salt by the miners.

Wieliczka sculptures

Don’t worry; At this time, I have no plans to dig a secret tunnel under the yard filled with statues. Actually, I would love to try, but it is dangerous, and the permitting would be a nightmare.

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