That's what they have touting on the online sports talk radio shows I have been listening to over the last week. To be honest, it really went in one ear and out the other, my being of the TV age where I've learned to tune out the adverts until the regular show came back on. Still, I understood it was to be some big concert in Monahans, Texas (Facebook page for the event).
Just as that information seeped into the far reaches of my brain, something else rose to the forefront of my consciousness; I had read about the Million Barrel Museum several years ago, even taken some screen captures of overhead imagery in both Google Earth and Bing Maps and meant to make a post about it. You can read more about it at RoadsideAmerica.com, but in a nutshell, it was a huge oil storage tank built in 1928 during the height of the oil boom in that part of Texas. Here's the Google Earth screen shot: (click images for larger view)
That's the direct overhead imagery; here's the Bing Maps view from an angle:
According to the Roadside America article, the tank soon cracked under the weight of its own 315 million lbs. of concrete and most of the oil leaked out; the facility was abandoned until a local man filled it full of water to use as a small lake. Apparently the tank was no better at holding water than it was oil, so the structure was again abandoned and sat unused for decades, full of tumbleweeds and marked with graffiti.
The article also mentions that "Texas crude is about 30 percent gasoline, which means that 200 million gallons of 1920s vintage leaked gas may still be in the ground beneath the Million Barrel Museum."
I don't know about anyone else, but there's been something in common with EVERY concert I've ever been to, no matter if it was in a coliseum, an auditorium or open-air venue like this one, namely that there has ALWAYS been...well, let's say "flammable substances consumed". I'm not sure I'd really want to go to that particular concert, especially sitting on top of 200 million gallons of gasoline.
(Edit to add: As I mentioned in the comments, that was a joke. I really don't think there's "200 million gallons of gas" underneath the the old tank. Depending upon how quickly they sucked up the oil after the tank cracked - and I'm sure they did, that was a valuable product just lying on the ground - most of the volatile part of the crude oil evaporated into the air. I've never read of any environmental disasters in regards to the area and online water quality tests for the city of Monahans show nothing more in the water that isn't in most other city water supplies)
Be that as it may, here's some more information on the site:
TexasEscapes.com
Overall View of the Million Barrel Oil Tank
Fan Page of the Million Barrel Museum
Just as that information seeped into the far reaches of my brain, something else rose to the forefront of my consciousness; I had read about the Million Barrel Museum several years ago, even taken some screen captures of overhead imagery in both Google Earth and Bing Maps and meant to make a post about it. You can read more about it at RoadsideAmerica.com, but in a nutshell, it was a huge oil storage tank built in 1928 during the height of the oil boom in that part of Texas. Here's the Google Earth screen shot: (click images for larger view)
That's the direct overhead imagery; here's the Bing Maps view from an angle:
According to the Roadside America article, the tank soon cracked under the weight of its own 315 million lbs. of concrete and most of the oil leaked out; the facility was abandoned until a local man filled it full of water to use as a small lake. Apparently the tank was no better at holding water than it was oil, so the structure was again abandoned and sat unused for decades, full of tumbleweeds and marked with graffiti.
The article also mentions that "Texas crude is about 30 percent gasoline, which means that 200 million gallons of 1920s vintage leaked gas may still be in the ground beneath the Million Barrel Museum."
I don't know about anyone else, but there's been something in common with EVERY concert I've ever been to, no matter if it was in a coliseum, an auditorium or open-air venue like this one, namely that there has ALWAYS been...well, let's say "flammable substances consumed". I'm not sure I'd really want to go to that particular concert, especially sitting on top of 200 million gallons of gasoline.
(Edit to add: As I mentioned in the comments, that was a joke. I really don't think there's "200 million gallons of gas" underneath the the old tank. Depending upon how quickly they sucked up the oil after the tank cracked - and I'm sure they did, that was a valuable product just lying on the ground - most of the volatile part of the crude oil evaporated into the air. I've never read of any environmental disasters in regards to the area and online water quality tests for the city of Monahans show nothing more in the water that isn't in most other city water supplies)
Be that as it may, here's some more information on the site:
TexasEscapes.com
Overall View of the Million Barrel Oil Tank
Fan Page of the Million Barrel Museum
4 comments:
I can assure you the tank is completely safe and non-flammable as many smaller events have been successfully pulled off without any flames spontaneously sprouting up. Thanks for the word about the concert. We hope to see you there.
Dawn Foreman
Scott Wilson
Promoters of The Million Barrel Blowout
Scott, I don't know if you'll get this in your inbox or not, but that was said tongue-in-cheek. Of course, you wouldn't know unless you went back through the 7+ yrs. of my posts, that I often write things like that.
I really didn't believe all that about the gasoline, but was trying to make a "funny" about stoned people blowing themselves up...but I just didn't go that far w/ the "joke".
Anyway, thanks f/ posting and f/ the invite, but I'm way too old to be going to concerts. The last one I went to, I took my then-teen nephews to a Loverboy concert. I sat at the very back of the stadium where the music wasn't quite so loud and I had to use binoculars to see the bands. I sat next to some other old fogies; I shared my binoculars w/ them and they shared...well, let's just say they shared. -grin-
I edited the post. Maybe I need to insert a little smiley face icon when I make a joke that isn't readily apparent.
Mike,
The old fogies in the back....sharing is what life is all about, my friend. (ha!)
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