News That Sounds Like a Comic Book #5: Door to Hell on Earth!

Oh, all right, this isn’t really news but it was news to me.

There is a fire pit from Apokolips on earth!

Well, not quite, but it’s not far from it.

The "Door to Hell"

Derweze underground is rich in natural gas. In 1971, during a drilling, geologists accidentally found an underground cavern filled with natural gas. The ground on which the drilling rig was placed collapsed, leaving a large gaping hole exposed with a diameter of about 50-100 meters. To avoid poisonous gases coming out of the hole, it was decided to let the gases burn. As of 2009, gases in the underground cavern are still burning without interruption. Locals have named the cavern The Door to Hell.

So there is a rational explanation for the place, but don’t you half wish there wasn’t? If the dolphin’s foiling a pirates was the comic booky thing I’ve ever seen, this eternal fire pit is the most comic booky place. Of course, if this place was out of a comic book, we’d be seeing demons climbing out of it or our heroes being thrown into so maybe it’s all for the best.