the confined nomad

The second portion of our double-barreled blast of Confined Nomad  weekend fun came just hours after leaving Menahata, the disco we hit up as part of our quest for Bulgarian food.  We fell asleep around 5, woke up late the next day and got in the car, heading to New Jersey via the Holland Tunnel in Manhattan.  This was a mistake.

The Deadly Mantis (1957) attacks the Holland Tunnel

The Holland Tunnel is a marvel of modern engineering, at the time it was built it was the longest tunnel ever engineered for the movement of vehicular traffic.  Its designers confronted enormous challenges, including how to diffuse the lethal buildup of carbon monoxide gases and how to alleviate the symptoms of nitrogen poisoning that tunnel workers suffered as a result of their labors in the highly pressurized tunnel.  In order to solve these problems, a ventilation system, consisting of 42 blowing fans and 42 exhaust fans, running at 6,000 horsepower, was created that replaces all of the air within the tunnel, continuously, in just 90 seconds.  In addition, a system of airlocks was constructed so that workers could properly acclimate to working underwater.  Absolutely amazing stuff. read more »