A man named Bruce Beach left Chicago in 1970, where he lived, and moved to a small village two hours from Toronto, Canada. So he took the first step of the crazy idea in his mind.
After 10 years, he started to realize this idea. He bought a piece of land in Ontario, a small Canadian town, and gathered equipment for his project. From 1980 to 1985, he bought 42 school buses for $12,500.
He started digging a 4 meter deep hole on the land he bought.
He placed the buses in this pit, covered it with a thick layer of concrete and earth. He did not do these alone, volunteers who heard his idea helped him (you will understand that these aids are actually a conflict of interest later in the article).
Let’s face it, what was the reason for burying so many buses underground?
Because in the late 1970s the world was still living in fear of the possibility of nuclear war. The possibility of the Cold War turning into a real war was not to be underestimated. In many parts of the world, people were preparing for the possibility of a devastating war.
Bruce Beach was one of them, but this bunker he built was far more unusual than the others.
Bruce, who did not want to sit with his hands tied against a possible war, preferred to go to Canada and set up a giant shelter instead of digging a simple shelter in the backyard of his house like other families in the USA. .
He named the refuge Ark Two, inspired by the story of the Great Flood.
After arranging and burying the buses with fine craftsmanship, according to a certain plan, he arranged a complex and protected labyrinth.
One of the reasons why he preferred buses was that steel floors were very suitable for building shelters.
As he was an electrical engineer, he also took care of the plumbing of the shelter himself.
managed to provide autonomous electricity supply to the bunker using electric generators running on diesel fuel.
He also built a heating, hot water and ventilation system.
Thanks to these systems, the food and water resources in the shelter would have been enough for people for decades.
He almost built an underground city on an area of approximately 1,000 square meters.
designed the shelter for 500 people, 80% of which is for children only.
Inside, there are children’s rooms, bathrooms, kitchens, sleeping quarters, dentist, conference hall, disinfection rooms, and even a laundry room.
Bruce Beach and its well-thought-out shelter resist both time and pressure from the local government.
Local government has filed more than 30 lawsuits against 80-year-old Bruce because they thought the shelter was dangerous. This crazy man is now fighting for justice in this bunker he built as a precaution against nuclear war.
Locals call Bruce “crazy”, but he still continues to believe that sooner or later this bunker will be useful to people, protecting them from any possible threat. Today, unfortunately, the danger of nuclear war still continues.
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5