Absurd America Vol. I

The first installation in the series in an attempt to recall the absurd, bizarre and ridiculous in America.
Sometime in the mid-sixties in South Louisina an oil company, Texaco if I recall correctly, was drilling for oil underneath a lake. At the same time a team of miners were busy excavating a salt mine beneath the lake. Salt forms in dome like structures beneath the earth in this part of the world, and miners hollow them out for the salt, often using the remaining cavern for storage of various goods. These salt domes are usually associated with oil production and drillers pierce the perimeter of these structures in search of oil. On this occaison; however, the oil drillers missed the mark, and drilled a hole directly into the cavern created by the salt miners. Gravity took over and the water from the lake began to drain into the cavern. All of the miners got out quickly, but above the lake was being drained like a giant bathtub, sucking trees, boats, docks into the vortex. One old-timer recalls outrunning the whirlpool in his john boat, narrowly escaping being sucked down the drain. The lake was drained completely dry in a matter of minutes. It filled back up after some years, but the shoreline never was the same. There is some grainy black and white video of this event which I have seen, but unfortunately I cannot find reference to it on the web. Let me know if you find it, it is a wonder to see.