The Curse of Oak Island

[LTD]

This story is a bit like religion and UFO's -- people are willing to believe it on faith alone... without any real evidence of any kind. After 219 years of digging, not a single verified piece of what might be described as valuable treasure has been discovered by anyone. Not a single solitary one.

Here is a concise substantiated list of what has been found to date:
https://www.reddit.com/r/OakIsland/comments/5lpi45/comprehensive_list_of_artifacts_found_to_date/

Further down is a list of things that have be 'reported' to have been found over the years, but there is no evidence other than legend to prove that they actually existed.

A bit further are a list of 'Tales' or legends, none of which are substantiated.

It's the flood tunnel theories that are so preposterous to me. Smith Cove is reported to be approx. 170 yards from original pit. In the diagrams used on the program, the tunnels are shown sloping downwards from the ocean at 30 to 40 degrees to the bottom of the pit. They would have been dug by hand, being as how there was no machinery back in the 17th century. For men to work in the tunnel, it would have to be at least 5’ X 5’ for there to be room for shoring and to work and to pack out the rocks and soil as the tunnels progressed. You can check my math, but a tunnel 170 yards long, 5’ X 5’ will produce almost 500 cu. yds of gravel and rocks, weighing over 700 tons, that would fill at approx. 60 dump trucks.

According to the diagram, the tunnel slopes downward from Smith Cove at 30 to 40 degrees. The water table for some distance inland will be the same as the sea surface. How did they keep it from instantly flooding? How did they haul all the excavated gravel and rocks back uphill through the tunnel, to the beach? Or did they dig the flood tunnel from the bottom of the pit uphill to Smith Cove? And move the 700 tons of material downhill to the bottom of the pit and lift it out from there? There was no machinery back then -- it all would have been done by hand. And again, how did they keep it from flooding when the bottom of the pit is well below sea level?

It just defies logic and physics. When the original diggers got deep enough, the various pits flooded just like any well that’s ever been dug – that’s exactly what’s supposed to happen. The only way it could NOT flood, is if it was being bored down through solid rock.

But I could be wrong – I usually am...

it was done the same way everything else we cant explain was, like the pyramids, the aliens helped them

[OldIslander]

I seem to have ‘worked up a head of steam’ about this topic.

First, if anyone’s interested, here is the 1965 Reader’s Digest story that got so many people hooked on the Oak Island story. http://www.oakislandtreasure.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/readersdigest.pdf

Further to the flood tunnels, it is often suggested that there are several of them. In my previous post, I just calculated for one tunnel – multiply all the tons of gravel and rock and dump-trucks, by the number of flood tunnels you believe there are.

The beardless Lagina brother (Marty?) has stated on the program that he is not convinced of the flood tunnels either. Further...

[From Wikipedia...] At the invitation of Boston-area businessman David Mugar, a two-week survey was conducted by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 1995 (the only known scientific study conducted on the site). After running dye tests in the bore hole, the institution concluded that the flooding was caused by a natural interaction between the island's freshwater lens and tidal pressures in the underlying geology (refuting the man-made tunnel theory).

In the recent dye test, red dye was noted possibly running out of the rocks in Smith Cove, in the excavated area behind the cofferdam. This is easy to understand – they were pumping many thousands of gallons of water per minute down the shaft, causing considerable back-pressure on the underground water table. This would have caused it to flow backwards in the direction of least resistance – towards the beach. When they did their first dye test a few years ago, Smith Cove was not excavated.

Finally, you have to ask ‘why’?

If you were a pirate, why would you want to bury treasure? So you could come back and get it under more favourable circumstances. Maybe other parties are after you; it’s dangerous to have it in your possession. You might have more treasure than you can handle. Or your ship is in bad shape – there could be dozens of reasons. But the one thing that you must assume – you’d want to come back and retrieve it someday. So you’d haul it ashore, dig a hole – ten feet would be plenty – cover it over, and disguise it. To dig a pit over a hundred feet deep, with booby-trap tunnel(s) almost 200’ feet long to the ocean, would have taken many, many months -- maybe years -- with a huge crew of laborers to do the work and engineers to oversee them. Thousands of board-feet of timbers for shoring would have been required. Then years later when you returned, it would take months -- maybe years -- of work with a huge work-force to dig it back up. And if the booby-trap tunnels were triggered, you’d never be able to dig it back up. It defies logic...

So the flood tunnels have been an integral part of the legend. If they are ‘fake news’, what does that suggest about the rest of the legend?

Also bear in mind that the Lagina brothers are vested in having this show continue. They want you to watch all the ads for corn flakes and laundry detergent and pick-up trucks. If they didn't dream up all their weekly wild-assed theories, you wouldn't watch any more.

It is fascinating that after centuries have passed, and fortunes and several lives have been lost, the money pit is finally making money through advertising revenues, thanks to a reality TV show that has tickled many folks’ fancies.

[LTD]

I seem to have ‘worked up a head of steam’ about this topic.

First, if anyone’s interested, here is the 1965 Reader’s Digest story that got so many people hooked on the Oak Island story. http://www.oakislandtreasure.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/readersdigest.pdf

Further to the flood tunnels, it is often suggested that there are several of them. In my previous post, I just calculated for one tunnel – multiply all the tons of gravel and rock and dump-trucks, by the number of flood tunnels you believe there are.

The beardless Lagina brother (Marty?) has stated on the program that he is not convinced of the flood tunnels either. Further...

[From Wikipedia...] At the invitation of Boston-area businessman David Mugar, a two-week survey was conducted by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 1995 (the only known scientific study conducted on the site). After running dye tests in the bore hole, the institution concluded that the flooding was caused by a natural interaction between the island's freshwater lens and tidal pressures in the underlying geology (refuting the man-made tunnel theory).

In the recent dye test, red dye was noted possibly running out of the rocks in Smith Cove, in the excavated area behind the cofferdam. This is easy to understand – they were pumping many thousands of gallons of water per minute down the shaft, causing considerable back-pressure on the underground water table. This would have caused it to flow backwards in the direction of least resistance – towards the beach. When they did their first dye test a few years ago, Smith Cove was not excavated.

Finally, you have to ask ‘why’?

If you were a pirate, why would you want to bury treasure? So you could come back and get it under more favourable circumstances. Maybe other parties are after you; it’s dangerous to have it in your possession. You might have more treasure than you can handle. Or your ship is in bad shape – there could be dozens of reasons. But the one thing that you must assume – you’d want to come back and retrieve it someday. So you’d haul it ashore, dig a hole – ten feet would be plenty – cover it over, and disguise it. To dig a pit over a hundred feet deep, with booby-trap tunnel(s) almost 200’ feet long to the ocean, would have taken many, many months -- maybe years -- with a huge crew of laborers to do the work and engineers to oversee them. Thousands of board-feet of timbers for shoring would have been required. Then years later when you returned, it would take months -- maybe years -- of work with a huge work-force to dig it back up. And if the booby-trap tunnels were triggered, you’d never be able to dig it back up. It defies logic...

So the flood tunnels have been an integral part of the legend. If they are ‘fake news’, what does that suggest about the rest of the legend?

Also bear in mind that the Lagina brothers are vested in having this show continue. They want you to watch all the ads for corn flakes and laundry detergent and pick-up trucks. If they didn't dream up all their weekly wild-assed theories, you wouldn't watch any more.

It is fascinating that after centuries have passed, and fortunes and several lives have been lost, the money pit is finally making money through advertising revenues, thanks to a reality TV show that has tickled many folks’ fancies.

the laginas already have more money than most small countries theyre doing this because they truly believe in it like so many before them have, money is not the motivation for them its the thrill of the hunt

[mexi cali]

I have been following Oak Island for years. There is nothing there. Never was. It is a fanciful story started by a young boy and latched on to by thousands of believers.

I was one for a long time but after years, decades of nothing and the best they could come up with were theories and speculation and conjecture with nothing of any real value, I gave up.

The island is very small, I have been there and after centuries of digging and blasting and shoring and hoping, if there were anything there to find, it would have been found.

It was a great story for a long time but now it is being perpetuated for profit.

[the truth]

I have been following Oak Island for years. There is nothing there. Never was. It is a fanciful story started by a young boy and latched on to by thousands of believers.

I was one for a long time but after years, decades of nothing and the best they could come up with were theories and speculation and conjecture with nothing of any real value, I gave up.

The island is very small, I have been there and after centuries of digging and blasting and shoring and hoping, if there were anything there to find, it would have been found.

It was a great story for a long time but now it is being perpetuated for profit.

but they are finding very very interesting items

[GordonH]

I know the show is honest and real because it's devoid of any hot women. No diversity... no political correct anything.
The producers had a choice...add female eye candy, or add 'Billy' - the excavator operator. (For some reason every excavator operator named Bill that I've ever met in my life is middle aged, overweight and balding.)
Hey, maybe some may think he is sexy eye candy.

Not sure who’s making money on the series, they are dragging it out 7 seasons and counting.

[Boosted632]

one doesn't dig a pit and hide treasure without going back to get it later the only money pit is the big holes they keep pouring money into

[OldIslander]

[quote="oldtrucker"...Just the 300+year old human bones alone is enough to justify continuing.[/quote]

Okay, let’s talk about those bones.

Columbus arrived in 1492 -- carbon dating suggest the bone fragments could be as late as the mid 1700’s. That’s an approximate 280 year spread. During that time, how many thousands of ships traveled from Europe to the west coast of North America? And during all of those voyages, often years long, how often do you suppose crew died during the voyage (of disease, accidents, war, murder, execution, etc. etc. etc. It was almost 1800 before the cause of scurvy was discovered.)? Finally, how do you suppose all those ships’ captains dealt with the unfortunate crewmen’s remains? Over the side they went.

Over the centuries, the remains of thousands of them likely washed up on north American beaches. The first thing to discover them would have been animals. Parts of their remains would have been dragged up into the bush leaving fragments scattered throughout the area.

A hole is dug near a beach. As the hole gets bigger to go deeper, the edges slough in. The bigger the hole, the more material from around the edges falls in. The hole is filled in and another dug nearby. Over the next two and half centuries, countless more holes are dug in the same area, and filled in. The site becomes a homogeneous porridge of materials from different eras, locations around the site, and depths.

Now in modern times, new holes are dug down thru this mess. It is now impossible to know where ANYTHING found in the new hole came from, including bone fragments.

Those two bone fragments so touted as proof of a money pit, are meaningless.

[Urban Cowboy]

It HAS to pay out.
Just one more spin.
If I walk away after throwing all that money into in and not winning anything back-...it will haunt me.
I can't walk away ...not this far in.
C'mon! Pay out you...
I know the money will run out.
Do I stop now, walk away, and save some of it?
No! One more spin...it HAS to pay...soon...
Just one more spin...

^^^ That could be a addicted gambler sitting in front of a VLT in a bar in AB, SK, or a slot machine at a casino. I thought about it last night... I have had a few people in my life with gambling addictions, so I've seen this before. Oak Island is in a lot of ways not much unlike a casino. Each part of that island is a different game, and has different payout potential.
This island is a gamblers ultimate dream casino with ultimately huge 'richest men on the planet because they found religious artifacts' potential payouts.
It's also could be and most likely is a gamblers last and final game.
They all know it, and they fear it, but they can't stop.
They get little wins, like bone , book parchment, a boat ramp, little artifacts...

Just enough enough to justify- one more spin....

Let's not forget that they have made a successful TV show out of this, as well as a spin-off, so I'm of the mind that this project is also generating revenue for them, and giving exposure to their vineyard business.

[OldIslander]

Has 'The Curse of Oak Island' finally jumped the shark?

Apparently in the last episode, their 'wild-ass theories' rose to a lofty new level. They now believe that the famous French artist--Nicolas Poussin--painted a number of clues into one of his paintings, which if solved will provide the precise location of the treasure.

Fans of 'Oak Island' are not buying it.

One wrote, "I’ll take 'S--t That Makes no Sense & No one Can Prove' for $1000, Alex."

[Jonrox]

I really hope these guys aren't putting up their own money for this. I hope it's the Discovery Channel funding everything.

It's at the point (and has been for a long time) where they're like the poor saps on Dragon's Den that pour their life savings into a terrible idea and need to be told by the Dragons to "please stop putting money into this" because of how pathetic and sad it is.

If they're not being funded by Discovery and aren't just acting the part of treasure hunters at this point, it's embarrassing and cringe-worthy.

[Loki2u]

They seem to have amped up the production this year and are really starting to find some interesting structures.

I think they're starting to clue in that fans are getting tired of them just finding rusty nails and bobby dazzlers so they're pulling out all the stops this season. I agree, the last theory about the painting is ridiculous.

They better start finding some sort of treasure, I'm starting to get bored as well and tired of being strung along for all these seasons. Hard not to watch though

[typhoon44]

I really hope these guys aren't putting up their own money for this. I hope it's the Discovery Channel funding everything.

It's at the point (and has been for a long time) where they're like the poor saps on Dragon's Den that pour their life savings into a terrible idea and need to be told by the Dragons to "please stop putting money into this" because of how pathetic and sad it is.

If they're not being funded by Discovery and aren't just acting the part of treasure hunters at this point, it's embarrassing and cringe-worthy.

I believe a large portion of the funding comes from the Nova Scotia government.

[1791]

I really hope these guys aren't putting up their own money for this. I hope it's the Discovery Channel funding everything.

It's at the point (and has been for a long time) where they're like the poor saps on Dragon's Den that pour their life savings into a terrible idea and need to be told by the Dragons to "please stop putting money into this" because of how pathetic and sad it is.

If they're not being funded by Discovery and aren't just acting the part of treasure hunters at this point, it's embarrassing and cringe-worthy.

I believe a large portion of the funding comes from the Nova Scotia government.

Ttansfer payments from Alberta no doubt

[OldIslander]

Important Update!!!

The treasure has been discovered -- here it is...

My favorite...