Glory Hole

July 11, 2005 9:46 PM

Glory Hole
posted by rubin (61 comments total)

Glory Holes
posted by mosch at 9:48 PM on July 11, 2005

Gloryhole
posted by wakko at 9:56 PM on July 11, 2005

Wow, thanks rubin - it's very cool. I don't know why they haven't made more of these.
posted by Staggering Jack at 9:58 PM on July 11, 2005

Possibly the coolest waterslides ever.
posted by wakko at 10:00 PM on July 11, 2005

I wonder what kind of stuff has fallen down this hole - debris, animals, . . . people? This looks like a plaintiff's lawyer's wet dream.
posted by caddis at 10:01 PM on July 11, 2005

Here is quite a bit more as well.
posted by rubin at 10:01 PM on July 11, 2005

I can't believe they called it that!
posted by amberglow at 10:03 PM on July 11, 2005

I thought this was fake, as I was sure those photos were photoshopped. But, now that I see that it's real, I'm going to go visit it tomorrow. Ah, the things you can do when you don't have a job. Thanks!
posted by greasepig at 10:08 PM on July 11, 2005

Wow! That is totally wicked!
posted by dg at 10:08 PM on July 11, 2005

Always heard about it but never looked into it and never visited and now I really really wish I had. Too cool! Thanks, rubin.
posted by shoepal at 10:14 PM on July 11, 2005

Bring us pics greasepig.
posted by stbalbach at 10:16 PM on July 11, 2005

Will do.
posted by greasepig at 10:19 PM on July 11, 2005

I was sure the first pic was a photoshop. crazy.
posted by delmoi at 10:20 PM on July 11, 2005

wakko, I thought the same thing when I saw the post. Of course, quickly followed by mosch's thought. Recently, I was talking to a woman about glass blowing classes and she kept talking about getting her gloryhole set up and I got mental images that made it too difficult to focus on the conversation.
posted by shoepal at 10:21 PM on July 11, 2005

I thought it was a fake, too, at first.

I can see why these have not been used everywhere. While very cool, it makes the reservoir completely useless for anything but water storage. If you let people on the water, I think caddis is right about this being a lawyer's dream.

In Colorado the reservoirs are recreation spots for fisherman and boaters and such. These things would not work.
posted by teece at 10:22 PM on July 11, 2005

And absolutely nobody has photoshopped a pair of hands pulling it apart? What kind of bizzaro-world intarweb have I fallen into here?
posted by George_Spiggott at 10:23 PM on July 11, 2005

here is quite a bit less [nsfw]
posted by bud_fles at 10:24 PM on July 11, 2005

I bet the engineers had boners the day they got that approved.
posted by fenriq at 10:28 PM on July 11, 2005

Yes, one must wonder at the original intent behind the google search that provided rube's linkage....oh well, at least it's third on the list. NSFW
[good]
posted by HyperBlue at 10:43 PM on July 11, 2005

Actually, Teece, Lake Berryessa is used for recreation. The area by the spillway is roped off.
posted by slimslowslider at 10:45 PM on July 11, 2005

Seeing a giant hole in the water, even in a photo, scares the hell out of me, bringing back my elemental fear of large bodies of water.
posted by NickDouglas at 10:47 PM on July 11, 2005

They all appear like they're looking for the President who of course has disappeared up his own fundament.
posted by peacay at 11:01 PM on July 11, 2005

That's pretty cool, but I'm going to have to wag my finger at you for false advertising, you wag you.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 11:07 PM on July 11, 2005

"Clean as a whistle and ready for business."

*haha*
posted by fungible at 11:08 PM on July 11, 2005

Should I be flagging bud_fles' post for that link? It's nasty and not safe for work, with no warning, but it certainly is in the discussion for a topic entitled "Glory Hole" so one has to expect it. I'm conflicted.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 11:08 PM on July 11, 2005

In Chicago, the glory hole is quite popular. *NSFW
posted by Bighappyfunhouse at 12:07 AM on July 12, 2005

Should I be flagging bud_fles' post for that link? Joined today, first post. Is that what bud_fles joined for?
posted by tellurian at 12:10 AM on July 12, 2005

The sight would provoke instinctive fear in me. I seem to have a phobia of whirlpools and similar, yet I've never seen one (whirlpool) or even know if any exist.

Is there such a thing as a naturally occurring whirlpool that doesn't destroy itself almost as soon as it forms?

Cartoons and games and stuff when I was growing up depicted them as permanent features of the landscape. Is there such as a thing as a permanent whirlpool? Or is it a fiction like mermaids and seamonsters?
posted by -harlequin- at 12:29 AM on July 12, 2005

That is awesome. I had no idea anything like this even existed.
posted by LeeJay at 12:33 AM on July 12, 2005

Harlequin, 'whirlpools' do exist naturally, subterranean. They pose a considerable danger to spelunking divers.
posted by tgyg at 12:59 AM on July 12, 2005

My head exploded when I clicked the first link
posted by Dean Keaton at 1:25 AM on July 12, 2005

Here's a nice site about whirlpools.
posted by dhruva at 1:36 AM on July 12, 2005

Wikipedia has the derivation of "glory hole": originally a cupboard of odds and ends (you know, I think I remember this usage from childhood, actually), then a wildcat mining technique, and eventually open-pit, funnel-shaped mines.
posted by dhartung at 2:01 AM on July 12, 2005

In Chicago, the glory hole is quite popular:
Pull out cock, insert, cum and leave. No names

This is a brilliant plot by lesbians.
posted by missbossy at 3:34 AM on July 12, 2005

Glory Hole amusment park! open till 3 AM! "I love playing with strangers!"

//playing too much GTA:SA
posted by Mach5 at 4:29 AM on July 12, 2005

I saw one of these at a reservoir in Germany. I was seeking a real lake for swimming. No swimming there, just fences and water.

Of course I wonder, has anyone ever put together a trip down the glory hole, and lived to tell about it? Surely, its just begging for some jackass to try!
posted by Goofyy at 6:13 AM on July 12, 2005

[added nsfw to bud_fles' post]
posted by jessamyn at 6:54 AM on July 12, 2005

Of course I wonder, has anyone ever put together a trip down the glory hole, and lived to tell about it? Surely, its just begging for some jackass to try!

Apparently, it happens:

During the not raining season, when the water level is well below the glory hole rim, skateboarders sometimes canoe out to the spillway for an interesting "half-pipe" experience

posted by ksmith at 7:14 AM on July 12, 2005

Will Wheaton's glory hole.
posted by WolfDaddy at 7:24 AM on July 12, 2005

You city folk crack me up.
posted by keswick at 7:24 AM on July 12, 2005

In Arkansas we have a natural formation called The Glory Hole. ..So named, evidently by mountain men in search of the most glorious hole.



(from the Tim Ernst cloudland journal)
posted by thisisdrew at 7:26 AM on July 12, 2005

My favorite Dysfunctional Family Circus cartoon included the caption "It's called a 'glory hole,' Jeffy." Sadly, I can't find it anywhere.
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:49 AM on July 12, 2005

In Arkansas we have a natural formation called The Glory Hole

I didn't know that existed. *adds to list of places to visit*
posted by weretable and the undead chairs at 8:15 AM on July 12, 2005

teece, Dillon reservoir was in Colorado last time I checked and it does indeed have a Glory Hole Spillway
posted by cmdnc0 at 8:18 AM on July 12, 2005

For those planning a trip, note that they changed the water levels and the whole thing is now deep under water (and apparently non-functional) so you cant actually see it anymore.
posted by rubin at 8:22 AM on July 12, 2005

I'm curious about how the local wildlife would have dealt with that thing. When the water level was high enough, I would imagine that the suction would have been strong enough to take fish right over the edge.
posted by event at 8:28 AM on July 12, 2005

teece, Dillon reservoir was in Colorado last time I checked and it does indeed have a Glory Hole Spillway

So odd. I've been to Dillon. Numerous times. Never noticed this rather imposing looking structure. I'm going to have to go find it.
posted by teece at 8:39 AM on July 12, 2005

I wonder if anyone's let ol' Paul Bunyan know there's a hole big enough to accomodate him?

teece, one of the links up there says the hole's not visible anymore because its under the water's level (which indicates that its probably not running anymore). But I'd still want to check it out if I were close.

The one in Davis is close enough to cruise up to check out one of these weekends.
posted by fenriq at 9:17 AM on July 12, 2005

rubin: For those planning a trip, note that they changed the water levels and the whole thing is now deep under water (and apparently non-functional) so you cant actually see it anymore.

I found this 2002 rehabilitation project summary on a civil contractor's site. I wonder, after spending so much money, why they would have decomissioned it, and what they would be using as a spillway in its place?
posted by Popular Ethics at 10:07 AM on July 12, 2005

The last link was re the Davis dam. The Bureau of Reclamation's Monticello Dam site still gives operational details for its "glory hole", and it was updated in 2005. So... is the internet lying to me? (gasp)
posted by Popular Ethics at 10:20 AM on July 12, 2005

Is there such a thing as a naturally occurring whirlpool that doesn't destroy itself almost as soon as it forms?
The one below Niagara Falls is an impressive site. Here's a guy kayakiing it. And here's a pair toasting it, possibly before exploring the Niagara Falls Glory Hole.
posted by sixpack at 10:35 AM on July 12, 2005

Holy cromoly. That first picture is just surreal. So serene, so uncannily natural, so deeply wrong.

Great post!
posted by five fresh fish at 10:53 AM on July 12, 2005

Dey's a hole in de bottom of de sea,
Dey's a hole in de bottom of de sea...
posted by alumshubby at 12:17 PM on July 12, 2005

I'm glad I'm not the only one with a rather strong reaction to the first photo. It seems so alien for some reason.
posted by deborah at 2:19 PM on July 12, 2005

OK, as I said I would, I took a trip out there today (to the one on Lake Berryessa) and here are some pictures (self link). The hole itself was kind of anticlimactic, and it's hard to get a good look at it with all the chain link fence around, but the motorcycle ride up route 128 to get there was fabulous, making it worth the trip.
posted by greasepig at 2:56 PM on July 12, 2005

Greasepig, thanks for the update and pics, good to know about the ride up too!

Now, since its been discussed for two days, its time for someone to Goatse-ize the glory hole. But I've yet to see a shot of it from above so I'm not sure how it would be done but I'm sure it can be done!
posted by fenriq at 4:40 PM on July 12, 2005

Bring us some pics mosch.
posted by theperfectcrime at 5:00 PM on July 12, 2005

Alien, but plausible.

Which reminds me, I've seen this sort of thing in real life!

Down in the Crowsnest Pass area of BC/Alberta are a bunch of decommissioned coal mines. The entire area is swiss-cheesed.

During one hike we came across a stream that, in part, disappeared down an old mineshaft. It created an impressive set of little sucking whirlpools. The largest was perhaps a six inches across.
posted by five fresh fish at 5:05 PM on July 12, 2005

Thanks, greasepig!
posted by shoepal at 9:38 PM on July 12, 2005

yeah, reminds me of goatse :D

shloooop!
posted by kliuless at 3:23 PM on July 13, 2005

I grew up in Davis, and remember visiting that as a child. That sucker gave me nightmares. I even knew people who would climb down to the horizontal section to skateboard. Crazy fuckers!
posted by Eekacat at 11:21 PM on July 29, 2005