Soviet Stupidity

 The doorway to Hell

Never forget the Science 

In 1971, in a bid to win the war, for the deepest drilling, with the USA, scientists from Russia dug a hole so deep it became known as the Doorway to Hell, for several reasons.

They forgot the basics of Science, they didn't take into consideration the further from the support, they greater the sway. Try holding a ruler at arm's length, and note the ammount of sway.

So, they didn't only FAIL to beat the record, because of the depth of the drill it snapped. Now, you have bits of broken drill so deep they can never be retrieved.

To add to the level of stupidity, without knowing what was in the pit, they throw a flare down. The pit was a Sulphur deposit. You now have a burning sulphur pit exposed to air, that glows so hot, it can be seen from space. In one way, they did win, they created a disaster far greater than the fire in Centralia, Pennsylvania. Centralia could burn out, as it is underground, the one the Russians created in Turkestan won't burn out.