Old Faithful Conspiracy Theory
Tue, May 16, 06 | Permanent Link
While staying with a friend in Miami I asked him what parts of the U.S. he’s seen and what he liked best. He said he really liked Yellowstone National Park and that it was beautiful. But then he added that he believes that the Old Faithful geyser - the one that erupts faithfully every 74 minutes - is faked. “Maybe it was real at one time,” he added “but not anymore. There’s too much money at stake.”
This might be the most interesting conspiracy theory I’ve ever heard.
The National Park Service has built a large visitor area around Old Faithful and rely on it to attract 2.6 million tourists per year. Cars are charged $20 to enter the park and the Old Faithful Inn there costs up to $424 per night. This one famous geyser represents about $55-60 million in annual revenue. That’s big money for our national parks, which have seen a steady decline in attendance since the 1990s. If Old Faithful weren’t, it would be bad for the park service.
The way the theory works is that the geyser was discovered in 1870 and it erupted like clockwork “for a long while”. Then it started becoming irregular in the 1940s and 1950s. To combat this problem, an underground pipeline runs from the nearby Firehole River to pumps beneath the Old Faithful Lodge and back to the new Mecha-Old Faithful. This work was probably done during a 1956 Old Faithful Lodge “laundry room” renovation [pdf source link]. I doubt if it’s true, but it’s certainly more believable (and entertaining) than faking the Moon landings.
Comments
Jean-Paul on 05/17 at 10:50 PM
I must make a correction, since I’m questioning the legitimacy of one of the US’s main attractions (based on little scientific evidence, I must add); the Old Faithful I visited is in Calistoga, California.
http://www.oldfaithfulgeyser.com/
I still believe it’s a hoax. You ought to check it out, there are lots of wineries around there. I’ve just realised, I do recall doing quite a few tastings that morning…
Jean-Paul
Andrea and I laughed a lot reading this, now you’ve got to write about the Asian post-lady.
Commenting is not available in this major section entry.
© 1996-2007 sean m. tevis
http://tevis.net/home/story/old-faithful-conspiracy-theory/
Tue, May 16, 06 | Permanent Link
While staying with a friend in Miami I asked him what parts of the U.S. he’s seen and what he liked best. He said he really liked Yellowstone National Park and that it was beautiful. But then he added that he believes that the Old Faithful geyser - the one that erupts faithfully every 74 minutes - is faked. “Maybe it was real at one time,” he added “but not anymore. There’s too much money at stake.”
This might be the most interesting conspiracy theory I’ve ever heard.
The National Park Service has built a large visitor area around Old Faithful and rely on it to attract 2.6 million tourists per year. Cars are charged $20 to enter the park and the Old Faithful Inn there costs up to $424 per night. This one famous geyser represents about $55-60 million in annual revenue. That’s big money for our national parks, which have seen a steady decline in attendance since the 1990s. If Old Faithful weren’t, it would be bad for the park service.
The way the theory works is that the geyser was discovered in 1870 and it erupted like clockwork “for a long while”. Then it started becoming irregular in the 1940s and 1950s. To combat this problem, an underground pipeline runs from the nearby Firehole River to pumps beneath the Old Faithful Lodge and back to the new Mecha-Old Faithful. This work was probably done during a 1956 Old Faithful Lodge “laundry room” renovation [pdf source link]. I doubt if it’s true, but it’s certainly more believable (and entertaining) than faking the Moon landings.
Comments
Jean-Paul on 05/17 at 10:50 PM
I must make a correction, since I’m questioning the legitimacy of one of the US’s main attractions (based on little scientific evidence, I must add); the Old Faithful I visited is in Calistoga, California.
http://www.oldfaithfulgeyser.com/
I still believe it’s a hoax. You ought to check it out, there are lots of wineries around there. I’ve just realised, I do recall doing quite a few tastings that morning…
Jean-Paul
Andrea and I laughed a lot reading this, now you’ve got to write about the Asian post-lady.
Commenting is not available in this major section entry.
© 1996-2007 sean m. tevis
http://tevis.net/home/story/old-faithful-conspiracy-theory/