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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 45,820
cobra kai 15000+ posts
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OP
cobra kai 15000+ posts
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 45,820 |
The Mega Crystals of Naica Mine: Big Pics
Discovery.com - Nestling up to a cauldron of pressurized, molten rock is almost never a good idea. But in Mexico's Naica mine, the payoff is worth the risk.
About 900 feet below the surface, there is a chamber filled with gypsum. It's the same stuff that goes in the drywall in your house, only in Naica it spent half a million years parboiling in a chamber filled with magma-heated water.
Suddenly miners showed up and started pumping the mineral-rich broth out to get at valuable silver and lead deposits nearby. The result is a cavern filled with crystals 36 feet long and weighing in at up to 55 tons, easily the largest in the world.
Last Fall, adventurer and filmmaker George Kourounis traveled to Naica to see the incredible “Crystal Cave of Giants” for himself. Though there's little risk of eruption from the nearby magma chamber, the cave itself is still deadly hot – over 120 Fahrenheit with about 90 percent humidity. People are only allowed in without cooling suits for a few minutes at a time.
Kourounis detailed his journey on his Web site:
"When we first arrived at the Naica mine, Manuel and his crew took us inside without wearing the special cooling suits. This was in order to get us used to what REAL heat is like. There is a steel door protecting the cave and as soon as you pass through it, the temperature hits you like a truck.
But as soon as you get your first glimpse of the incredible crystals, you want to keep going deeper. We were inside for only 14 minutes, which was pushing the danger limits without cooling suits. When we exited, the staging area was a "cool" 41 Celsius. My heart was pounding and I was completely soaked in sweat, my shirts, pants, socks & boots... Everything. All we could do was sit, drink and rest."
Cooling suits – vests of frozen gel packs surrounded by insulation, plus a backpack that supplies the wearer with chilled air to breathe – allow people to remain in the mine for close to an hour. Kourounis and his crew took the opportunity to snap these incredible images as well as shoot some video.
Of his experience visiting the crystal cave, Kourounis writes:
"I've never seen such a spectacular place. It was like setting foot on a new planet. Many of the crystals were so large that I couldn't even wrap my arms around them and the terrain was so difficult to walk on that we had to be extremely cautious not to slip and fall. Doing so would could get you impaled on a sharp crystal and would require a dangerous and difficult rescue."
Sadly, once the silver in Naica runs out, miners will likely turn the pumps off again. The chamber will fill with water, the crystals will once again be among Earth's vast, inaccessible depths.
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 43,951 Likes: 6
Officially "too old for this shit" 15000+ posts
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Officially "too old for this shit" 15000+ posts
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Posts: 43,951 Likes: 6 |
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Joined: Jun 2002
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Timelord. Drunkard. 15000+ posts
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Timelord. Drunkard. 15000+ posts
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Lex Luthor has already come up with a plan to turn it into condominiums.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet." Our Friendly Neighborhood Ray-man said: "no, the doctor's right. besides, he has seniority."
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 45,820
cobra kai 15000+ posts
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OP
cobra kai 15000+ posts
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 45,820 |
giant picture
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 43,951 Likes: 6
Officially "too old for this shit" 15000+ posts
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Officially "too old for this shit" 15000+ posts
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 43,951 Likes: 6 |
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 57
Virgin 25+ posts
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Virgin 25+ posts
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Do they have a GameStop or Bath and Bodyworks there?
All I've ever wanted was someone to be in love with, and have that same person be in love with me, and I'm starting to realize that that is never going to happen.
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 10,539
I'm just sayin' 10000+ posts
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I'm just sayin' 10000+ posts
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 10,539 |
Yes,so you're automatically banned from living there.
It's a dog eat dog world & I'm wearing milkbone underwear.
I can get you a toe.
1,999,999+ points.
Damn you and your lemonade!!
Booooooooooooooobs.
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Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 47,810 Likes: 2
Hip To Be Square 15000+ posts
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Hip To Be Square 15000+ posts
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Why cant he be banned from living?
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 33,385 Likes: 1
Regenerated 15000+ posts
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Regenerated 15000+ posts
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Posts: 33,385 Likes: 1 |
... a-w-k-w-a-r-d... 
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,237
"Youtubie" 1000+ posts
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"Youtubie" 1000+ posts
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Joined: Jul 2008
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"Youtubie" 1000+ posts
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"Youtubie" 1000+ posts
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Joined: Dec 2000
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devil-lovin' Bat-Man 15000+ posts
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devil-lovin' Bat-Man 15000+ posts
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 33,919 |
I'm overwhelmed by all the possible angles here!
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 53,734
Educator to comprehension impaired (JLA, that is you) 50000+ posts
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Educator to comprehension impaired (JLA, that is you) 50000+ posts
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 53,734 |
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Joined: Dec 2000
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devil-lovin' Bat-Man 15000+ posts
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devil-lovin' Bat-Man 15000+ posts
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It's like Sophie's Choice.
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Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 47,810 Likes: 2
Hip To Be Square 15000+ posts
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Hip To Be Square 15000+ posts
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Joined: Oct 2001
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Hip To Be Square 15000+ posts
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Hip To Be Square 15000+ posts
Joined: Oct 2001
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Joined: Oct 2001
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Hip To Be Square 15000+ posts
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Hip To Be Square 15000+ posts
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Joined: Dec 2000
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devil-lovin' Bat-Man 15000+ posts
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devil-lovin' Bat-Man 15000+ posts
Joined: Dec 2000
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 19,436 Likes: 8
brother from another mother 15000+ posts
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brother from another mother 15000+ posts
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 19,436 Likes: 8 |
Well, isn't that special?
"My friends have always been the best of me." -Doctor Who
"Well,whenever I'm confused,I just check my underwear. It holds most answers to life's questions." Abe Simpson
I can tell by the position of the sun in the sky, that is time for us to go. Until next time, I am Lothar of the Hill People!
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"Youtubie" 1000+ posts
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"Youtubie" 1000+ posts
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 25,027 Likes: 31
brutally Kamphausened 15000+ posts
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brutally Kamphausened 15000+ posts
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 25,027 Likes: 31 |
Random hotness, at Superman's Fortress of Solitude in Mexico!
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 25,027 Likes: 31
brutally Kamphausened 15000+ posts
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brutally Kamphausened 15000+ posts
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Posts: 25,027 Likes: 31 |
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Joined: Sep 2001
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brutally Kamphausened 15000+ posts
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brutally Kamphausened 15000+ posts
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 25,027 Likes: 31 |
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Joined: Sep 2001
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brutally Kamphausened 15000+ posts
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brutally Kamphausened 15000+ posts
Joined: Sep 2001
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Who will I break next? 15000+ posts
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Who will I break next? 15000+ posts
Joined: Jun 2004
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November 6th, 2012: Americas new Independence Day.
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Posts: 33,385 Likes: 1
Regenerated 15000+ posts
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Regenerated 15000+ posts
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Posts: 33,385 Likes: 1 |
So, love the heroin chicks, do ya?
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brutally Kamphausened 15000+ posts
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brutally Kamphausened 15000+ posts
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Posts: 25,027 Likes: 31 |
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devil-lovin' Bat-Man 15000+ posts
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devil-lovin' Bat-Man 15000+ posts
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Oh that's just fucking great. Thanks for getting us all arrested, Uncle Ernie.
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Joined: Nov 2003
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1000+ posts
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1000+ posts
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No officer it's ok... Just research! Lots and lots of research!
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brutally Kamphausened 15000+ posts
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brutally Kamphausened 15000+ posts
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 25,027 Likes: 31 |
Oh that's just fucking great. Thanks for getting us all arrested, Uncle Ernie. Name: Nelly Sullivan Profession: Porn Star Ethnicity: Caucasian Country of Origin: Hungary Date of Birth: December 31, 1979 (30 years old) Aliases: Nelli Sullivan, Nelly Nubiles, Nelly Sulivan, Stella Moran
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Hip To Be Square 15000+ posts
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Hip To Be Square 15000+ posts
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 47,810 Likes: 2 |
The Hungarian calendar works different to the rest of the world.
A year to us, is only six months to them, hence 1979 may be 30 years in Hungary, but its only 15 in the civilised world.
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Joined: Dec 2000
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devil-lovin' Bat-Man 15000+ posts
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devil-lovin' Bat-Man 15000+ posts
Joined: Dec 2000
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***You have blocked this user to prevent being arrested***
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 33,919
devil-lovin' Bat-Man 15000+ posts
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devil-lovin' Bat-Man 15000+ posts
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 33,919 |
Did Rob add automatic user blocking for sex-offenders, or is this a government thing? Either way, well done.
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Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 47,810 Likes: 2
Hip To Be Square 15000+ posts
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Hip To Be Square 15000+ posts
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 47,810 Likes: 2 |
I asked my girlfriend to dress up for me last night.
She walked into the bedroom dressed up in a school uniform.
I thought that she would have chosen something a little different considering she wears that 5 days a week anyway.
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