# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/22 "2013-03-03T14:03:58Z")
Why do sinkholes seem to be cylindrical? ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/23 "2013-03-03T14:19:07Z")
I had not even heard of a sinkhole before this. ---
**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 3, 2013, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/24 "2013-03-03T15:00:16Z")
CNN reports that the house is to be demolished without recovering the body. That seems a bit callous. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/25 "2013-03-03T15:38:51Z")
What struck me were some photos of people walking around in the yard next to the house. I sure as hell wouldn’t do that. At least not the way those folks were doing it. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/26 "2013-03-03T16:02:29Z")
What if it was a clever way of escaping justice/collecting on insurance money? No body, just a big pit. He starts over with anew identity and the family collects on the insurance policy. StG ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/27 "2013-03-03T16:26:17Z")
that state must suck. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/28 "2013-03-03T17:11:25Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > CNN reports that the house is to be demolished without recovering the body. That seems a bit callous. How would you propose getting his body out, without endangering the recovery team? It’s obviously very unstable ground. Heavy earth moving equipment would probably be too dangerous. Even individuals going in with picks and shovels might trigger further collapse. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/29 "2013-03-03T18:18:15Z")
Consider, too, that once dug up, his body would likely just have been buried again. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/30 "2013-03-03T18:24:41Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > Was there a note thanking them for the turkey? ROFLMAO mrAru was saying that the area must be populated by sunbirds from [Inverness](http://broken-barrier-base.com/a-sireadh-seudan/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Kraken-cthulhu-300x225.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/31 "2013-03-03T18:41:51Z")
The Onion and FL have to be in cahoots. Jan 2013 - Dog runs over owner with owner’s van Last week - Dog shoot owner Now… man in bed sucked into 30 foot sink hole, the family name is Bush, there’s only a box sticking out of the hole, they used heavy equipment to lower stuff into the hole in an effort to save the lost Bush… Seriously… isn’t it time that we just trench that mote across the top of FL and set it adrift… if BP and pump all that sludge into the Gulf why can’t we set a little bit of our refuse free to find a new place on the globe? ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/32 "2013-03-03T18:53:21Z")
Ten biggest sink holes: [http://everycountryisbeautiful.blogspot.com/2012/11/10-biggest-sinkholes.html](http://everycountryisbeautiful.blogspot.com/2012/11/10-biggest-sinkholes.html) Notice that FL and TX claim spots 9 and 10 on the list… I always thought there was something a little unstable about those states. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/33 "2013-03-03T19:26:11Z")
Wouldn’t there be warning signs ahead of time in the house? Floor or wall cracks? Noise? ---
**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 4, 2013, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/34 "2013-03-04T17:47:57Z")
They should have all the house cleared away soon and the sinkhole will be visible. I’m curious how big it is. Meanwhile here’s a [slideshow of 19 sinkholes](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/sinkholes-world-gallery-1.1277820). That first one especially looks perfectly round. Almost like the _mole people drilled it_. :eek: Mother nature does some strange stuff. 😃 There’s one sinkhole directly under a pool. Maybe caused by it leaking? ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/35 "2013-03-04T19:48:22Z")
I wonder what they’re going to put on the guy’s death certificate. They really don’t know what the exact cause of death is. Also… why do people live in Florida? The lightening strike capital of the world, sinkhole alley, the whole hurricane season thing, bugs so big that the sinkholes might actually just be their nests and -oh yea- dogs that off their owners and never get prosecuted. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/36 "2013-03-04T19:54:22Z")
I told my kid he’d been jumping on the bed. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/37 "2013-03-04T20:48:07Z")
That first picture is terrifying. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/38 "2013-03-04T21:56:16Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Hopefully his landlord gives him a few extra days to get the rent in this month. I suppose the rent will increase due to the new basement. ---
**Author:** ![Rack-a-Bones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/39 "2013-03-04T23:03:41Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Consider, too, that once dug up, his body would likely just have been buried again. This is just wrong. I had to leave the room as I was laughing so hard I was crying and unable to speak. But still, so wrong… ---
**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 5, 2013, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/40 "2013-03-05T02:18:17Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > I suppose the rent will increase due to the new basement. And it will make a _killer_ man-cave. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724/41 "2013-03-05T06:33:34Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > 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. Lacking in details but the assertion is not likely. Better to believe the oil field is within a Karst topography with limestone and underground caverns and solution channels. An oil reservoir is not usually left a perfect cavity after the oil is pumped out. It quickly collapses. And you said it’s a drill rig, so production hasn’t started. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole/651724.md?page=3)