# Trapped boring machine; personally, I wouldn't want to have it at a cocktail party **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 8, 2023, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trapped-boring-machine-personally-i-wouldnt-want-to-have-it-at-a-cocktail-party/986777 "2023-07-08T16:39:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [July 8, 2023, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trapped-boring-machine-personally-i-wouldnt-want-to-have-it-at-a-cocktail-party/986777/1 "2023-07-08T16:39:56Z")
I saw this headline several times and finally had to click on it, just to find out what it was about: “Boring machine rescue nearly triples in price, according to new city report” It turns out that it’s a _tunnel_ boring machine, not one that is so inert that it’s not possible to have an interesting discussion about it. Short version: - residents in the Old Mill area of Toronto regularly complained of flooded basements; - Toronto city engineers concluded that a new drainage tunnel was needed; - because the new drain would run under the subway, the tunnel had to be built deep and remotely, via a _ta-da!_ boring machine, worth about $3 million; - once in operation, the boring machine became entangled in metal cables / rebar associated with the subway construction; - poor thing is trapped and estimated cost for extrication (in pieces) has steadily expanded, from an original estimate of $9 million, now approaching $25 million; - Don Mills residents still have flooded basements. Sounds like the poster child for an engineering project gone wrong? > **[Boring machine rescue nearly triples in price, according to new city report |...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/boring-machine-rescue-cost-increased-1.6899121)** > > The cost to rescue a multimillion-dollar boring machine trapped beneath a west end street has nearly tripled in just months, with city staff saying the work to unearth the device is more complicated than first anticipated. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trapped-boring-machine-personally-i-wouldnt-want-to-have-it-at-a-cocktail-party/986777/2 "2023-07-08T16:44:06Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > …poor thing is trapped and estimated cost for extrication (in pieces) has steadily expanded Does it keep weakly calling “help me, help me, help me” ad nauseam? ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trapped-boring-machine-personally-i-wouldnt-want-to-have-it-at-a-cocktail-party/986777/3 "2023-07-08T16:44:23Z")
When I was a kid, whenever I saw a sign posted in front of a machine shop saying “boring worker wanted” it always made me chuckle. Yes, I was an easily amused kid. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trapped-boring-machine-personally-i-wouldnt-want-to-have-it-at-a-cocktail-party/986777/4 "2023-07-08T16:44:33Z")
Maybe they should just move the city instead. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2023, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trapped-boring-machine-personally-i-wouldnt-want-to-have-it-at-a-cocktail-party/986777/5 "2023-07-08T16:45:43Z")
But what other Canadians would want _Toronto_ near them? \<\< shudder \>\> ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trapped-boring-machine-personally-i-wouldnt-want-to-have-it-at-a-cocktail-party/986777/6 "2023-07-08T16:46:26Z")
$9 million could waterproof lots of basements. Just sayin’ ---
**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:** [July 8, 2023, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trapped-boring-machine-personally-i-wouldnt-want-to-have-it-at-a-cocktail-party/986777/7 "2023-07-08T16:46:29Z")
Although I suppose it is appropriate that “Toronto the Good” has a problem with a boring machine. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trapped-boring-machine-personally-i-wouldnt-want-to-have-it-at-a-cocktail-party/986777/8 "2023-07-08T17:41:10Z")
> [@solost](#): > > When I was a kid, whenever I saw a sign posted in front of a machine shop saying “boring worker wanted” it always made me chuckle. Yes, I was an easily amused kid. I always enjoyed seeing the “Slow men working” signs. Meant the kids who lived near the “slow children playing” signs could find jobs eventually. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trapped-boring-machine-personally-i-wouldnt-want-to-have-it-at-a-cocktail-party/986777/9 "2023-07-08T17:55:27Z")
It is terribly, terribly sad that this happened in Toronto. It should have happened in a small town in Maryland. (wait for it…) 1… 2… 3…[Boring, Maryland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boring,_Maryland) . ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trapped-boring-machine-personally-i-wouldnt-want-to-have-it-at-a-cocktail-party/986777/10 "2023-07-08T18:50:55Z")
1. [Boring, Oregon.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boring,_Oregon) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trapped-boring-machine-personally-i-wouldnt-want-to-have-it-at-a-cocktail-party/986777/11 "2023-07-08T19:13:02Z")
I have a horizontal boring machine. I’m going to give you a chance to consider a possible filthy interpretation of that before pointing out that it’s just a sideways drill press, which sounds faintly naughty as well. Once past those notions it is simply a boring boring machine. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2023, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trapped-boring-machine-personally-i-wouldnt-want-to-have-it-at-a-cocktail-party/986777/12 "2023-07-08T19:20:39Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Does it keep weakly calling “help me, help me, help me” ad nauseam? Since they appear to be bringing it up in pieces, it may start singing Daisy Bell towards the end. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trapped-boring-machine-personally-i-wouldnt-want-to-have-it-at-a-cocktail-party/986777/13 "2023-07-08T19:29:37Z")
A similar thing happened in Seattle not long ago. > **[Bertha (tunnel boring machine)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha_(tunnel_boring_machine))** > > Bertha was a 57.5-foot-diameter (17.5 m) tunnel boring machine built specifically for the Washington State Department of Transportation's (WSDOT) Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel project in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was made by Hitachi Zosen Sakai Works in Osaka, Japan, and the machine's assembly was completed in Seattle in June 2013. Tunnel boring began on July 30, 2013, with the machine scheduled to complete the tunnel in December 2015. > On December 6, 2013, work was halte... ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2023, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trapped-boring-machine-personally-i-wouldnt-want-to-have-it-at-a-cocktail-party/986777/14 "2023-07-09T10:47:24Z")
fun fact about the Chunnel (under the English Channel): After the tunnel was completed, and the boring machine used by the British was no longer needed, they got rid of it by…programming it to dig itself down into a patch of ground, and then remain buried. . cite: QI, so you know it has to be true.[QI | Who Made Sure The Channel Tunnel Met In The Middle? - YouTube](https://youtu.be/52g9ESmr6Ug?t=133) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2023, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trapped-boring-machine-personally-i-wouldnt-want-to-have-it-at-a-cocktail-party/986777/15 "2023-07-09T15:41:01Z")
You can say a lot of things about any company owned by Elon Musk, but not that it’s…. > **[The Boring Company](https://www.boringcompany.com/)** > > The Boring Company constructs safe, fast-to-dig, and low-cost transportation, utility, and freight tunnels. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2023, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trapped-boring-machine-personally-i-wouldnt-want-to-have-it-at-a-cocktail-party/986777/16 "2023-07-09T17:56:59Z")
> [@solost](#): > > When I was a kid, whenever I saw a sign posted in front of a machine shop saying “boring worker wanted” it always made me chuckle I used to go by a landscaping business with a sign out front that said “BARK”. My usual response was “woof.” > [@solost](#): > > Yes, I was an easily amused kid. Mine happened when I was in college. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trapped-boring-machine-personally-i-wouldnt-want-to-have-it-at-a-cocktail-party/986777/17 "2023-07-10T01:25:35Z")
A boring machine named “Hazel” is currently making her way under the Potomac from Alexandria, Va. The goal is a wastewater pipe to reach the treatment facility across the way. I have wondered whether she might not hit similar difficulties when she gets to the DC side. DC is both over-built and built-over. It’s anybody’s guess what you’ll find once you dig more than ten feet down. . . . Does anyone else find it odd that boring machines are always given feminine names? ---
**Author:** ![Quondam\_Mechanic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quondam_mechanic/32/3404_2.png) [@Quondam\_Mechanic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quondam_Mechanic)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trapped-boring-machine-personally-i-wouldnt-want-to-have-it-at-a-cocktail-party/986777/18 "2023-07-10T01:34:16Z")
I once went to a town in New Brunswick – was it Moncton? – which is famous for what are known as _tidal bores_ – which are actually, just very sudden but regular tidal surges in the Bay of Fundy; I have no idea why they’re called “bores.” But in the middle of town was (is?) a sign that says “Next Bore Arrives At” followed by the time of the next one. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trapped-boring-machine-personally-i-wouldnt-want-to-have-it-at-a-cocktail-party/986777/19 "2023-07-10T17:23:55Z")
Here you go: > **[Tidal bore | Etymology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_bore#Etymology)** > > The word bore derives through Old English from the Old Norse word bára, meaning "wave" or "swell." Lots more cool info in the rest of that article. Baby bores (the offspring of grown-up bores) are called “whelps”. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trapped-boring-machine-personally-i-wouldnt-want-to-have-it-at-a-cocktail-party/986777/20 "2023-09-18T20:46:40Z")
Boring machine still trapped. Timeline for rescue prolonged. Torontonians expostulate. > **[Rescue of boring machine trapped under Toronto street turning into expensive,...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/boring-machine-rescue-delayed-1.6968452)** > > The work to rescue a multi-million dollar boring machine trapped beneath a west Toronto street has been delayed again, with the city warning it might not be the last set-back before the complex work is wrapped. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trapped-boring-machine-personally-i-wouldnt-want-to-have-it-at-a-cocktail-party/986777.md?page=2)