# A safe in your basement of which you don't know it's contents **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 27, 2010, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-safe-in-your-basement-of-which-you-dont-know-its-contents/540897 "2010-05-27T01:14:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Umbriel2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/4af34b/32.png) [@Umbriel2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Umbriel2)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-safe-in-your-basement-of-which-you-dont-know-its-contents/540897/61 "2010-05-29T03:09:39Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Shag - Is it possible you’ve got an underground railroad stop there? That would be so amazing. . . We found one in the older part of a local church when I was in high school. I still get chills just thinking about it. Have you actually tried lifting the floorboards? They may come up rather easily. That was my first thought. I’m not sure how you’d recognized that from the room (as opposed to historical records), unless someone left a cot or some personal effects there. How was the one in the church identified? ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-safe-in-your-basement-of-which-you-dont-know-its-contents/540897/62 "2010-05-29T03:12:00Z")
Curiosity killed the cat. Satisfaction brought him back…and all that. There’s no way I could stand not to know. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-safe-in-your-basement-of-which-you-dont-know-its-contents/540897/63 "2010-05-29T03:43:31Z")
Personally, I’d want to see what was in it, but it wouldn’t drive me nuts. I’d probably want to have it opened up before I moved in in the first place, though—I’d balance the possibility of finding cash or treasure for the keeping against the chance of finding out, several years in the future, that there’d been a mummified head sitting inside it for years, with what looked like teeth marks inside the door. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-safe-in-your-basement-of-which-you-dont-know-its-contents/540897/64 "2010-05-29T04:54:35Z")
Seems this poll is pretty on sided and my customer is a member of an extreme minority. I’m back there a few days next week. We’ve decided we need to move the safe a few feet for the new pressure tank. Even just working around it I’m tempted to bring a stethoscope over. I guess the world will never know what’s in it. Maybe the next owner will be more curious. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-safe-in-your-basement-of-which-you-dont-know-its-contents/540897/65 "2010-05-29T12:42:41Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > I’m back there a few days next week. We’ve decided we need to move the safe a few feet for the new pressure tank. Even just working around it I’m tempted to bring a stethoscope over. Stethoscope will more than likely be useless, unless the safe is extremely old, and probably even then. Even in the hands of a professional, the sound is so subtle and faint that even if you know what you’re listening for it’s either useless or you’ll be doing it for hours and hours on end, if not days. Pros use a drill, hand tools, and fiber optic (or some other type of optical) scope. It can still take hours. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-safe-in-your-basement-of-which-you-dont-know-its-contents/540897/66 "2010-05-29T20:41:05Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > There might be Nazi gold in it. Open it for sure. No! Then the smart zombies come! ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-safe-in-your-basement-of-which-you-dont-know-its-contents/540897/67 "2010-05-29T23:22:27Z")
Wanted to post a link to [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=12513382#post12513382) ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-safe-in-your-basement-of-which-you-dont-know-its-contents/540897/68 "2010-05-29T23:55:58Z")
> [@Vihaga](#): > > Well, I’ve had a locked trunk in my attic for the entire two years we’ve lived here, so I guess I’m a “leave it there” type. Open it! ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-safe-in-your-basement-of-which-you-dont-know-its-contents/540897/69 "2010-05-30T05:01:44Z")
I would have to know. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-safe-in-your-basement-of-which-you-dont-know-its-contents/540897.md?page=3)