# What's The Crack With Mel's Hole? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 28, 2008, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-crack-with-mels-hole/454585 "2008-06-28T18:33:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-crack-with-mels-hole/454585/1 "2008-06-28T18:33:54Z")
I came across **[this](http://www.seattlechatclub.org/MelsHole.html)** while browsing the web, and wondered what the wise folk of SD might have to say. Ignoring all the paranormal BS associated with this story, how deep would a hole have to be, not to be able to hear objects hit the bottom? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-crack-with-mels-hole/454585/2 "2008-06-28T18:49:08Z")
[Mel’s Hole](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel's_Hole) at wikipedia. > [@](#): > > claim that he had discovered that it was in excess of 15 miles (24 kilometers) deep, a figure which he is said to have reached after spooling out 18 reels of 20 lb test fishing line, tied end on end, into the hole. Waters claims that he attached a “triangular, one-pound, standard lead fishing weight” to the end of the fishing line. (Note, however, that the fishing weight plus the weight of 18 spools of ~5000-foot monofilament fishing line might well exceed the tensile strength of the line) Sound will carry a long ways through a pipe. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-crack-with-mels-hole/454585/3 "2008-06-28T20:36:16Z")
Okay, I’ll lower my standards and allow the non-wise, the averagely smart, and complete whack-jobs to take part. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-crack-with-mels-hole/454585/4 "2008-06-29T00:33:07Z")
Well [if the temp rises approx 1 degree F for every 60 feet of dept](http://www.gemologyonline.com/Forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3571)h inot the earth and [nylon fishing line melts at approximately 500 degrees Fahrenheit](http://www.sme.org/cgi-bin/communities.pl?/communities/techgroups/plastic_injection/plastics_solution_center/materials.htm&&&SME&) you’re at the absolute temp failure point of the monofilament at 30,000 feet of 5.68 miles. It’s all bullshit from a bullshitter. ---
**Author:** ![WoodenTaco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/45deac/32.png) [@WoodenTaco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WoodenTaco)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-crack-with-mels-hole/454585/5 "2008-06-29T01:42:01Z")
Whew, I had unbelievably unpleasant expectations of a thread about Mel Brooks’ nether regions. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-crack-with-mels-hole/454585/6 "2008-06-29T09:44:16Z")
[QUOTE=astro] Well [if the temp rises approx 1 degree F for every 60 feet of dept](http://www.gemologyonline.com/Forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3571)h inot the earth and [nylon fishing line melts at approximately 500 degrees Fahrenheit](http://www.sme.org/cgi-bin/communities.pl?/communities/techgroups/plastic_injection/plastics_solution_center/materials.htm&&&SME&) you’re at the absolute temp failure point of the monofilament at 30,000 feet of 5.68 miles. It’s all bullshit from a bullshitter. [/QUOTE] Sorry Astro, but perhaps you should have read the entire paragraph where your first link came from? > [@](#): > > We have found, as evidenced in drill holes, that the temperature increases about 1 degree Fahrenheit for every 60 feet in depth. **If** this increase was consistent to the center of the earth, the temperature at the core would be 100,000 degree Celcius. > > It is universally agreed, that the earth’s core is not that hot so it has been hypothesized that the temperature increase slows with depth. I have heard estimates of core temperature vary from 3000 to 7000 degrees Celcius. ( The second link didn’t even work.) Bullshit from a bullshitter??? P.S. I’d still love to know how far a hole has to go down, not to be able to hear things hit the bottom? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-crack-with-mels-hole/454585/7 "2008-06-29T12:49:16Z")
I can’t remember where it was, but I read not long ago of a cave that was reputed to be bottomless because you couldn’t hear a stone hit the bottom when you threw it in. When someone eventually explored it, they found it was actually not that deep at all, but had a thick layer of soft mud in the bottom. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-crack-with-mels-hole/454585/8 "2008-06-29T16:28:37Z")
[QUOTE=ivan astikov] Sorry Astro, but perhaps you should have read the entire paragraph where your first link came from? ( The second link didn’t even work.) Bullshit from a bullshitter??? P.S. I’d still love to know how far a hole has to go down, not to be able to hear things hit the bottom? [/QUOTE] Second link works fine for me , but if your browser is having issues the quote is listed below. Re depth per the degree F rise per 60 ft you are corrrect in that it will not work as a linear index of temperature past a certain point, but as a real world assumption of temperate at depth it works well enough within the the 15 mile range being claimed by the crackpot cited in the OP. The bottom line is that the nylon fishing line would be toasted well before he got even close to the depths being claimed for his magical hole. [Depth of the Deepest Drilling](http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2003/AdamCassino.shtml) > [@](#): > > The Kola Peninsula drill’s goal drilling depth is 15,000 meters. At this depth it is expected to be 300 degrees Celsius or higher, too high of a temperature for the drill to operate at. Another drilling worth mentioning has been started in the Caspian Sea. This drill also shares the same goal depth as the drilling at the Kola Peninsula. Aside from drillings for research, a noteworthy drilling is the Bertha Rogers well in Oklahoma, which is a 9,583 m (31,441 ft) deep gas well. This was the previous world record holder prior to the drilling in the Kola Peninsula. The well was started in 1974 and continued until it struck molten sulfur at its final depth. > [@](#): > > Polyamide 6 vs Polyamide 66 - what is similar and what is different? > > Polyamide (nylon) 6 melts between 216 and 221 degrees Celsius (420-430 F). Nylon 6.6 melts between 255 and 260 degrees Celsius (490 and 500 F). Deflection Temperature Under Load (DTUL) and short term maximum service temperature are typically 30-60 F higher in favor of Polyamide 66. Long term service temperatures on the other hand are very similar, Nylon 66 exceeding nylon 6 by only a few degrees. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-crack-with-mels-hole/454585/9 "2008-06-29T16:38:54Z")
> [@Wikipedia](#): > > It is said to be located in a region which has been removed from publicly available satellite images due to the presence of nearby Yakima Training Center. An army base guarding a bottomless hole with supernatural properties? A made-for-SciFi movie! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-crack-with-mels-hole/454585/10 "2008-06-29T16:59:19Z")
[QUOTE=WoodenTaco] Whew, I had unbelievably unpleasant expectations of a thread about Mel Brooks’ nether regions. [/QUOTE] Well, that beats my vision of Mel Gibson’s. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-crack-with-mels-hole/454585/11 "2008-06-29T17:51:02Z")
On a slight tangent, assuming it had been found, what would you like to throw down it to test it’s ‘supernatural’ powers? I’d like to sling some Adventists and Creationists down there; not just to try and transform them, but to see how many it would take to fill up the hole. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-crack-with-mels-hole/454585/12 "2008-06-29T19:06:05Z")
[QUOTE=ivan astikov] I’d like to sling some Adventists and Creationists down there; not just to try and transform them, but to see how many it would take to fill up the hole. [/QUOTE] [Moderating] **ivan,** in case you are not aware of it, religious jabs of this kind are not permitted in General Questions. Please read the forum rules in the first sticky at the top of the page. Refrain from these kinds of remarks in the future. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-crack-with-mels-hole/454585/13 "2008-06-29T19:14:26Z")
[QUOTE=Colibri] [Moderating] **ivan,** in case you are not aware of it, religious jabs of this kind are not permitted in General Questions. Please read the forum rules in the first sticky at the top of the page. Refrain from these kinds of remarks in the future. Colibri General Questions Moderator [/QUOTE] Considering the fantasy element in my question, I thought my suggestion might have been treated with the lack of seriousness it deserved. Religious folk need to be thicker skinned if they are offended by such a comment. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-crack-with-mels-hole/454585/14 "2008-06-29T19:27:50Z")
[QUOTE=ivan astikov] Considering the fantasy element in my question, I thought my suggestion might have been treated with the lack of seriousness it deserved. Religious folk need to be thicker skinned if they are offended by such a comment. [/QUOTE] Yeah, that was a real knee-slapper. Just abide by the rules here. If you don’t agree with them, you’re free to open a thread in ATMB or the Pit to discuss it. Don’t make comments of this kind in GQ in the future, and don’t continue this discussion here. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-crack-with-mels-hole/454585/15 "2008-06-30T03:31:31Z")
Even if the fishing line wouldn’t melt, and even if that length of line could support its own weight, how would you know when you’d bottomed out? For shallow holes, there’s a change in tension once part of the weight is supported by the bottom, but with that much line, that’d be negligible.