So, according this blueprint, tunnels were built to the homes of “Mr. J. Nicholson,” “Mr. W. Beatty,” “Mr. K. Douglas” and “Mr. J. Caan.” We’ll go ahead and assume they’re talking about Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, Kirk Douglas and James Caan – all of whom lived near the Playboy Mansion during the late 1970s and early 1980s. There are no dates on the architectural schematics, but the dates on the Polaroids were from 1977.
April 1, 2015
"One of our editors... found some Polaroids from 1977 that showed a large excavation project at The [Playboy] Mansion."
"We asked the new general manager at The Mansion about these photos. He said, very matter-of-factly, 'that’s probably when they built the tunnels in the 70s.'"
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25 comments:
Is that bullsh*t I smell?
bad link?
Oh how I hate this day on the internet.
I hear one of the tunnels might go all the way to Planet Chlamydia
i wonder if the resale value of their houses was higher
Fooling around today? Hmmm?
The link isn't as linky as some links I've clicked.
I was hoping to read a good April Fools' story, but instead it just crashed my browser
Sorry. Link fixed.
Sh*t, I just realized that today is April 1st. You got me good, Professor (unless someone got you).
I'd leave off the April Fool's theory because the article is dated 2 days ago.
Is it a hoax? Maybe, but the use of the names of real persons means (at least) that they got the consent of those 4 men.
And, yes, Kirk Douglas is still alive. He's 98.
Now, let's think about how much money it would cost to build a "usable" tunnel, that is 6 ft high, 4ft wide, & always predictably clean & dry & well lite so that your clothes don't get dirty & you don't emerge smelling like an earthworm. Imagine building that tunnel at least a block long, avoiding all water mains, electrical feeds, gas lines, sewer mains, and multiple it by four.
That's a major chunk of change! Much cheaper, much easier, to just sneak out of the house & go in the back entrance to the Playboy mansion, isn't it?
April Fool or not, I'm callin' BS.
Very difficult to believe this is true and not an April Fool's story.
From a technical prospective, you build tunnels in one of two ways. Cut and cover or driven. Cut and cover would require digging a half-mile trench (one of the tunnels shows to be well over 2200 ft long) 30 to 40 ft deep, laying the ground slab, drainage, and then laying whatever tunnel surround is used. Galvanized conduit, poured concrete, precast concrete sections, or whatever. Then backfill. Note that this would have totally disrupted the Country Club and required ripping up several streets.
The alternative is to drive the tunnel using an underground excavation approach, often using a boring machine, although in ye olde days, it was done with hand labor and boring shields. Unlikely as well, considering the depth and the photos.
Either of these would require building permits and permission from the surface landowners. All of that would presumably be public in the press at the time.
Also note there is no architect name on the blue line prints.
Blue line prints of that era were produced using the Ozlid process, with an ammonia based developer and are subject to fade after a decade or two. These look rather fresh.
So, very nice effort put into this, but even if it was proposed,I can't see it being built.
Elton John dug the tunnels?
what JackOfVA said...
Note, they aren't stamped "as built"
lots of fantasy drawings never make it to the budge approved, much less built stage.
Warring on women in the prime of their lives.
"Near?" How near? If the answer isn't "next door" then this is obvious BS. It's a funny idea, but I think the post needs a "things not believed" tag.
It looks like BS. No contractor or engineer listed on the drawings. They show depth to San Andreas Fault, which does not run through LA. The note on the mixed ground basalt... is nonsense.
I don't think Nicholson or Beatty would go to that much trouble to keep hidden their interest in parties at the Playboy mansion......I wonder if the ghost of Dorothy Stratton haunts the halls of the Playboy mansion. How is it possible for a ghost to wear a diaphanous outfit?
Those bunny outfits were painful with push extreme up bras. So the women needed an escape tunnel to go strip them off.
One of the tunnels was to go east across the Los Angeles Country Club. It would be a very long tunnel, and I just don't see that happening.
6 word explanation: IT'S GOOD TO BE THE KING.
It's good to have your own tunnel access to the Playboy mansion. The inconvenience of having to walk the mean streets of Beverly Hills for 5 mins can be overwhelming.
Beatty, Nicholson -- politically, these guys are Conservative Republicans, right?
At least I got to see Barbi Benton again.
Whatever those excavation pictures are about, they aren't about tunnels. You can take that to the bank.
Those tunnel plans are completely bogus, BTW. They may look legit, but no engineer familiar with tunneling or mining would create even a concept drawing without provisions for ventilation.
Althouse notes that the article is dated two days ago. I find that an unconvincing counterargument to the April Fool Hoax meme advanced by Big Mike, MayBee, and others. Firstly, a good hoaxer would avoid the April 1 dateline just for the added verisimilitude. Secondly, given the rash of hoaxes and jokes that flood the web on April 1st, if you want your hoax to get maximum exposure on All Fools Day you'd be well advised to get it started at least a few days before.
Is it a hoax? Maybe, but the use of the names of real persons means (at least) that they got the consent of those 4 men.
Not necessarily. None of the persons have been harmed, or have had their reputations besmirched. Hefner, Douglas, Nicholson, Caan and the others are public figures, so there's already a steep slope a libel suit would have to overcome long before any damage could be asserted. Besides the legal difficulties (Has anyone was wasn't a perennial asshole ever filed suit over an All Fool's joke?) These men have publicists who would go apoplectic if even a hint of outrage or discontent were to result from this obvious prank. It would be like George Bush Sr. getting peeved with Dana Carvey over those impersonations he did on SNL -- it's a foot/bullet situation. Smart guys don't go there.
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