# Area man swallowed by sinkhole **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 1, 2013, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724 "2013-03-01T13:49:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/1 "2013-03-01T13:49:19Z")
> [@](#): > > BRANDON, Fla. (AP) — A man was missing early Friday after a large sinkhole opened under the bedroom of a house near Tampa and his brother says the man screamed for help before he disappeared. “When he got there, there was no bedroom left,” Hillsborough County Fire Rescue spokeswoman Jessica Damico said. “There was no furniture. All he saw was a piece of the mattress sticking up.” Talk about getting up on the wrong side of the bed… ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/2 "2013-03-01T14:07:11Z")
Sounds like the “Twilight Zone” episode where a portal to the fourth dimension opens up behind the little girl’s bed. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/3 "2013-03-01T14:20:19Z")
Pretty sure that when you look up “Florida” in the dictionary, the definition is “sinkhole”. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/4 "2013-03-01T14:54:11Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Pretty sure that when you look up “Florida” in the dictionary, the definition is “sinkhole”. I thought that just referred to intelligence. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/5 "2013-03-01T15:03:58Z")
Probably too soon, but… "Jesus! That was the worst nightmare I ever… _ **THUD!** _ " 😛 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/6 "2013-03-01T15:35:41Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Sounds like the “Twilight Zone” episode where a portal to the fourth dimension opens up behind the little girl’s bed. Yeah, that was cool. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/7 "2013-03-02T12:30:09Z")
A giant hole opens in the ground. I hear authorities are looking into it. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/8 "2013-03-02T13:47:23Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > A giant hole opens in the ground. I hear authorities are looking into it. _The more subtle puns are the worse._ ---
**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/9 "2013-03-02T13:55:02Z")
I don’t think there are any other documented instances of people being swallowed up by a new sinkhole. Yes, sinkholes are common in Florida’s karst geology, sometimes shutting down major highways, etc… Sometimes a water main leak washes out and dissolves the ground around it, the street or property caves in or starts to sink and people rush to call it a ‘sinkhole’. Had one like that in our neighborhood in Gainesville. It was just a leaky water main, but two miles away is the famous “Devil’s Millhopper”, 200 feet deep, 200 feet across. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/10 "2013-03-03T03:07:24Z")
> [@crucible](#): > > I don’t think there are any other documented instances of people being swallowed up by a new sinkhole. There are lots of documented instances. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/11 "2013-03-03T03:40:07Z")
Oil Wells can cause sink holes. My granddad and crew had just taken a lunch break. The entire drilling rig, trucks and equipment all collapsed into a sink hole. It’s been full of water for over seventy years. Dangerous place to swim because theres so much metal in there that you can get snagged on. This oil field worker wasn’t so lucky last year. [http://www.kget.com/news/local/story/Body-of-worker-pulled-from-sinkhole-in-oil-field/IQgrOxLHi0CCvgcvRr92Kw.cspx](http://www.kget.com/news/local/story/Body-of-worker-pulled-from-sinkhole-in-oil-field/IQgrOxLHi0CCvgcvRr92Kw.cspx) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/12 "2013-03-03T03:51:38Z")
Hopefully his landlord gives him a few extra days to get the rent in this month. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/13 "2013-03-03T04:48:32Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Pretty sure that when you look up “Florida” in the dictionary, the definition is “sinkhole”. No, the definition of “Florida” has an h after the s and is spelled a little differently. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/15 "2013-03-03T08:14:35Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Hopefully his landlord gives him a few extra days to get the rent in this month. He may need longer than that. Officials have called off the search for him and plan to move forward with demolishing the house, using equipment that can reach the site from a distance. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/16 "2013-03-03T08:48:45Z")
Let this be a lesson to everyone: Do NOT try to double-cross the Mole People. They will come find you. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/17 "2013-03-03T10:13:08Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > Let this be a lesson to everyone: Do NOT try to double-cross the Mole People. They will come find you. I thought Superman took care of the Mole People. ---
**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/18 "2013-03-03T10:13:32Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > There are lots of documented instances. I didn’t find any USA references. Of course, I could miss some, but the point is that this is news precisely because it is so rare. Ten people might have been killed on I-75 and I-95 in FLA yesterday, and no one noticed… ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/19 "2013-03-03T10:41:50Z")
Was there a note thanking them for the turkey? ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/20 "2013-03-03T11:14:36Z")
> [@crucible](#): > > I didn’t find any USA references. Of course, I could miss some, but the point is that this is news precisely because it is so rare. Ten people might have been killed on I-75 and I-95 in FLA yesterday, and no one noticed… The only instances in the US I could find were where people were swallowed by a sinkhole while they were drilling wells (like the aforementioned oil-worker). Other cases had people killed by driving or falling into already opened sinkholes. But I couldn’t find any like this one, where someone was just minding their own business when a sinkhole opened up underneath them. I found one case in Canada where there were fatalities, but the pictures make it look like a whole hillside gave way, so it was more of what I’d think of as a landslide. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/21 "2013-03-03T13:08:50Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > Was there a note thanking them for the turkey? No gold bars in payment though. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724.md?page=2)