Top Stories

People Break Down Which Remote 'Off-Limits' Locations They'd Love To Explore

People Break Down Which Remote 'Off-Limits' Locations They'd Love To Explore
Photo by Kato Blackmore on Unsplash

These are all sorts of places that it would be absolutely fascinating to visit but you aren't allowed to without for various reasons.

But who would lie and say they don't let their imagination go a little wild every once in a while?

Nobody has ever been to the bottom of the ocean or to the furthest reaches of space, so all of humanity wonders about those things.

Redditor deep-steak asked:

"What's a creepy, remote, or otherwise 'off-limits' place you have or would like to explore?"

Here were some of those answers.

The Cold And Buried War

"First job when I was 15 had an offsite warehouse to store product. Boss takes me there to grab some stuff and tells me it used to be a missile silo."

"He then uses a knife to open a door to part of the building that we weren't supposed to have access to. Walk in and it's like an office setup with no furniture."

"Then we walk into the back and there's a long stairwell down. Go into a huge underground room with a giant round hole in the floor."

"Got to explore all kinds of heavy blast doors, lots of concrete, weird control rooms with some instrumentation still in place. We were able to explore two floors down but the lower levels were all flooded. Super creepy and super cool."

"After doing some research later in life, it was an old 50s Nike missile base."-crassbrewing

Incredibly Wicked Or Whatever

"I'm from Salt Lake City. It's been torn down now I think, but in high school kids would go to Ted Bundy's house. I wasn't allowed to go, and the older I get, the more grateful I am for that. 🙃"-Zestyclose_League_67

"For what it's worth, the 'Ted Bundy's Cellar' thing by the zoo is just an urban legend. You'll find a lot of blogs talking about it like it's a fact not ultimately he never lived there."

"I think the police checked out the area when looking for one of his victims but never found anything. Though it is a creepy spot on its own. The place he lived is in the avenues and it's just a regular looking apartment."-LordPizzaParty

The Ancient World

"The tomb of Qin Shi Huang, guarded by the famous Terracotta Army. It's thought to contain rivers of mercury and booby traps." -suedefalcon

"From what I remember from a Chinese Art History class I took in college, the Terracotta Army soldiers that have been uncovered are only a small portion of the total number of soldiers."

"I would love to see the grand scale of them all. There are probably so many ancient mausoleums and tombs that have been lost to the ages, never to be uncovered again."-KarthusWins

It's not just places you wish you could go, but times you wish you could see for yourself as well.

Ghosts? In My Town?

"Ludlow, Colorado is the most legit ghost town I've ever been to. Totally abandoned but many buildings still standing intact."

"It's the site of a massacre that occurred in the early 1900s during which the government attacked striking coal miners with machine guns, killing several."

"A bunch of women and children also suffocated to death in a cellar during a fire set by the National Guard. The cellar is still there, and you can go into it."

"Or at least it was when I visited like 10-15 years ago. It's in a gorgeous area right at the foot of some mountains but is pretty eerie."-[username deleted]

A Modern Nation

"My wife is from a city in China that borders North Korea. Last time we went to visit family there we went to hike around the Great Wall, which actually runs along the border."

"Parts of the trail take you right along the border fence, where there are guard towers and soldiers posted at intervals."

"We hiked along the border for a bit and I could hear guards in one tower yelling to another. A short while afterwards, a pretty impressive looking officer came to the fence and kindly asked us to stop taking pictures."

"When he got closer and saw that I was American, he got super giddy though and wanted to show off his English and wanted to know more about me."

"10/10 will go back there when we can get back into China."-arch_nyc

What About The Olympic?

"I would love to dive the wreck of the Britannic someday. It's an immensely difficult and dangerous dive at 400 feet deep in the Mediterranean. Not to mention it requires special permits from the Greek government."

"However, the Britannic is the sister ship of the Titanic and the two ships are essentially identical. Luckily, the Britannic is fairly well preserved and within technical diving depths."

"You can penetrate the wreck where the skylight shattered and float amongst the grand staircase—identical to the iconic Titanic grand staircase that lies 35,000 feet under the sea."

"I'm a huge f**king nerd. Ever since I was a little kid, I always thought this dive seemed like the best one on the planet."-IronHeart1963

Ah America During The Gold Rush

"Picher, Oklahoma. Something about that town is so interesting despite it now being almost obsolete."

"Especially since it still has chat piles and to know the chat was used in driveways, sandboxes, and anything they could find a use for."

"Next would probably be Poveglia, Italy because it's forbidden, is possiy full of human remains, and it has an abandoned mental hospital. Neat!"-MafiaMommaBruno

These are the places that human beings should probably keep their distance from--for their own good.

Relocated? Gulp!

"Diego Garcia. A British owned island in the middle of the Indian Ocean and all the locals were relocated decades ago."

"The only thing currently in the island is a US military base. Needless to say getting permission to visit is difficult."

"People make a big deal out of Area 51, and that would be a neat place to see, but if you're looking for the countries biggest and darkest secrets then you're going to have to look at places like Diego Garcia."-MadCapRedCap

POTUS Is Safe

"I'd like to see the 'undisclosed location' where they hide the POTUS in the event of a terrorist attack on Washington, or other military incursions on U.S. soil."

"I want to know where it is, and I want to see the inside of it to see what's there. For example, does it contain enough food and supplies to survive a nuclear attack?"

"Are there fancy presidential accommodations, or does the POTUS have to rough it in a crude underground bunker?"

"I also wouldn't mind seeing the White House, but not just the parts where you can go on a tour; I'd want to see everything. I'd especially like to see if there are any secret rooms and/or secret passages."-PM_MeYourSmilingFace

Haunted!

"There's a house that sits on the way to a local trail. A long gravel drive splits a weedy field full of hawthorn brush. Big sugar maple trees hide the house all summer."

"It isn't until winter that the place grabs your attention. The house is thin. Two stories. The roof is tin and looks to have been tacked on like an old hay barn. I think it was once a form of blue, but now is chalky gray."

"The fascia under the tin is a black line from the distance of the road. Even from far away you can see it's saturated. Rotten. There's an old 70's looking pickup truck parked on the slope of the drive just up front of the house."

"It's the only vehicle. It never moves. For years I thought the house was abandoned. Until one cold day I saw smoke hanging in the trees above it. I swear it's leaning. Sagging."

"It'll sound strange, but when I look at that house I feel something pulling at me. It's hard to put into words. My wife asked if I thought someone was tied up in the basement."

"It's not that at all. It just feels like a physical force points me towards the house. Like little hands made of wind, pushing."-N_o_B_o

Humans are curious creatures, and as such, sometimes we really let our curiosity get the best of us.

But take caution--the next time you get intrigued by an abandoned place, do your research for sure. But really decide if it's worth it to go inside.

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.

Things People Secretly Love But Would Never Admit To In Public

Reddit user sweet_chick283 asked: 'What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?;

Collection of VHS tapes
Bruno Guerrero/Unsplash

What makes us all unique is our passions and the things we love, whether it's singing in the shower, reading books, or listening to specific music artists.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where we are judged for our various tastes and interests thanks to social media, and it makes us consciously selective about sharing the things we love on the internet.

Curious to hear about people's personal desires under anonymity, Redditor sweet_chick283 asked:

"What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?"

These aren't really chores for the following Redditors.

Good Clean Fun

"Mopping, im a janitor and generally hate my work... but damn mopping is so good."

– MrDDog06

"When you have a great rhythm going it is something special. I get the same feeling while I vacuum, but won’t let my wife know I enjoy it."

– Bogus_34

Act Of Unwrinkling

"Ironing clothes. A dozen of them. Can’t explain how it relaxes me. I told one person and they looked at me like I’m crazy."

– eerie_white_glow

"My mum misses the days when dad would be out on a Friday night, my brother out with friends and me upstairs quietly playing PS1. She would pour herself a Bacardi & Coke and do the ironing while watching her TV shows."

"I'm sure she doesn't really miss it now that we've moved out and they've retired but it was her wind-down after a busy working week so I can see how people can find it relaxing."

– xdq

Our solo actions can spark joy.

Big Brother Is Watching

"pretending to be on the Truman show and whenever im in my house i act all inconspicuous so they dont know that i know that they’re watching me."

– Bec_121

"C’mon man, you’re not supposed to let him know. You signed a contract when signing up for live views. I’m reporting you."

– doeswaspsmakehoney

The Multi-Tasker

"Playing video games naked at home while eating cheese."

– thickening_agent

Releasing The Kraken

"I love the feeling when you've eaten good fibre and let out a solid long train log in the toilet. That feeling is heavenly."

– therapoootic

"Even better when it’s a clean wipe and not a poo crayon."

– TheWarmestHugz

Ultimate Comfort

"My (male 41) weekend routine is coming home from work, make hot chocolate, start a fire, dress in a ugly pink nightgown made for old ladies and watch forensic files."

– crazyloomis

Some people are obsessed with collecting things.

So Kawai

"Sanrio stationery stores. All those different multicolor pens, a thousand kinds of erasers, spiral bound notebooks galore... my kids sadly have absolutely no appreciation for this wonderland..."

– HavingNotAttained

It's A Staple

"Office supplies have a weird, special place in my heart ever since I was a kid. They don't even have to be 'cute' necessarily."

"Japan's legendary stationery stores is unironically a reason I want to go."

– _CozyLavender_

Not Caring Anymore

"The older I get the shorter that list gets. Not because I love less things, but because I don't care about hiding it."

– Bi-Beast

"YES!! I'm 53 now. I'm working my first job in public since 2006. Today is Halloween and we're allowed to dress up so I am sitting here waiting to go to work dressed as a VERY bad Wednesday Addams. My bf said I'd 'look stupid' because no one else will probably dress up and I'm like, 'WHO CARES!' My makeup looks horrible and not like I practiced, but I DO NOT CARE! I'm having fun with it anyhow and I don't care if my coworkers dress up or not. I'm bein' ME! :)"

– deanie1970

Honorable mentions start here.

The Savior

"Picking up worms from the street and sidewalks when it rains and moving them into the dirt so they don’t burn in the sun, every time it rains I do this."

– sky_kitten89

Hero Of The Moment

"Yoooo I scoot SO many snails and worms. I work as a tech/mechanic at an automotive shop, I had a peoject car towed to my house the other day and it was covered in snails. I saw them when the tow guy/coworker was unloading and I was like, 'oh! It comes with free snails!' and began moving them. He laughed then realized and said, '... Oh, you're serious. Uh... Okay.'"

"I don't care who knows it. These little things barely can look out for themselves, why shouldn't we if we can take a moment to help? I don't care what happens next, it probably doesn't matter overall but I can help this moment."

– chris14020

Why should some of the hidden desires mentioned above have to be secret?

Redditors opening up about some of these would make them a hit at parties–no shaming.

As a matter of fact, I'll totally be down for a Forensic Files viewing party where we all make hot chocolate, light the fireplace, and cozy up together in our respective pink ugly nightgowns for old ladies.

historical reenactors
Sigmund on Unsplash

We've probably all heard some variation of the saying "Truth is stranger than fiction."

Real life isn't just strange, it can also be downright ridiculous.

History is riddled with moments of absurdity.

So ridiculous that people have a hard time believing real life is, well, really real.

Keep reading...Show less