@Sal_Ammoniac (Sal Ammoniac) posted a new topic, subject "Uh-oh...". It read:

   I post this because I know some of us like to worry…
    
    Yellowstone is going to blow!
    
    Maybe.

So @Blaster_Master (Blaster Master) replied

    Sal Ammoniac:
    
    > I post this because I know some of us like to worry…
    > 
    > Yellowstone is going to blow!
    > 
    > Maybe.
    
    Uh oh is right! 2 million years ago, 1.3 million years ago, 642,000 years ago… that means it's due to blow and second now… give or take a few tens of thousands of years.

@brewha (brewha) replied

    The first time I heard that Yellowstone was going to blow, I was a bit surprised to find that there was any volcanic activity in the middle of Wisconsin.
    
    Then, of course, I realized they were talking about Yellowstone National Park - not Yellowstone State Park
    
    :smack:

@Inigo_Montoya (Inigo Montoya) replied

    Dammit Blaster Master, I was going to post the same observation. But I live in Colorado so I still get to worry more than you! I have it on very good authority that should this thing blow, it would most definitely suck.

Then @MLS (MLS) said

    It's that global warming thing, I tell you…

So @Zebra (Zebra) replied

    I hope Boobo will be OK.

Then @Sal_Ammoniac (Sal Ammoniac) said

    Inigo Montoya:
    
    > Dammit Blaster Master, I was going to post the same observation. But I live in Colorado so I still get to worry more than you! I have it on very good authority that should this thing blow, it would most definitely suck.
    
    Hey, I never even knew Armageddon was online! Thank heaven for small mercies!

Then @Chefguy (Chefguy) said

    Yellowstone will have to get in line behind Mt. Ranier, which will blow up unannounced and kill everyone in Tacoma, much to the delight of everyone in Seattle.

To which @Astroboy14 (Astroboy14) replied

    Not to worry, my friends! We have an early warning system in place.
    
    My father lives in Wapiti, Wyoming. Yes, that's really the name. Wapiti (pronounced “whop-ity”).
    
    Anyways, Wapiti is about 18 miles outside of Yellowstone, and Father is under strict instructions to call me before dying horribly in the case of any huge eruptions.
    
    I promise I'll post here upon getting the call.

Then @Sunspace (Sunspace) said

    Could they drill down and check the magma level in the chamber?

To which @Miss_Woodhouse (Miss Woodhouse) replied

    But if it does blow, it will go off at 2:40pm and 2:40am.

@Boyo_Jim (Boyo Jim) replied

    Zebra:
    
    > I hope Boobo will be OK.
    
    Yea, Yogi's an asshole, let him burn, but Booboo is a sweetheart.

Then @garygnu (garygnu) said

    Astroboy14:
    
    > …My father lives in Wapiti, Wyoming. Yes, that's really the name. Wapiti (pronounced “whop-ity”).
    > 
    > Anyways, Wapiti is about 18 miles outside of Yellowstone, and Father is under strict instructions to call me before dying horribly in the case of any huge eruptions…
    
    Cool! I've been to Wapiti. My family stayed at the Crossed Sabers Ranch outside of town during the big fires in 1988. Best vacation ever.
    
      * 
    
    
    The title on **Inigo Montoya** 's link:  
    “Armageddon Online - Yellowstone Park is a Super Volcano - an eruption would destroy America”
    
    Why does Yellowstone hate America?

@koeeoaddi (koeeoaddi) replied

    Astroboy14:
    
    > Not to worry, my friends! We have an early warning system in place.
    > 
    > My father lives in Wapiti, Wyoming. Yes, that's really the name. Wapiti (pronounced “whop-ity”).
    > 
    > Anyways, Wapiti is about 18 miles outside of Yellowstone, and Father is under strict instructions to call me before dying horribly in the case of any huge eruptions.
    > 
    > I promise I'll post here upon getting the call.
    
    Hey **Astroboy** , I lived in Wapiti, too – across from the Wapiti Lodge. Don't you worry, though, Dad's much more likely to meet up with a grizzly bear, or a bison in the middle of the road at dusk, or a pick-up flying around the Buffalo Bill Reservoir, in the wrong lane.

So @Astroboy14 (Astroboy14) replied

    koeeoaddi:
    
    > …a pick-up flying around the Buffalo Bill Reservoir, in the wrong lane. 
    
    The driver of that pickup is likely to be my dad!

@Xema (Xema) replied

    From the OP's link:
    
    > The volcano at Yellowstone produced massive eruptions 2 million, 1.3 million and 642,000 years ago, all larger than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.
    
    No kidding.
    
    From this site
    
    > At the other extreme is the Yellowstone eruption of 2.1 million years ago, which is described on the VEI [Volcano Explosivity Index] as an eight [out of eight]: mega-colossal, with a towering ash cloud 10 miles high that pours out at least a thousand cubic miles of ash. That Yellowstone eruption had 10 times the ejected material as a VEI 7 volcano, which modern humans have never seen either.
    
    On the VEI scale, Mt. St. Helens was a 5 - the Yellowstone eruption was 1000 times as powerful.

@Xema (Xema) replied

    Astroboy14:
    
    > My father lives in Wapiti, Wyoming.
    
    “Hippity, hoppity, there goes the Wapiti”
    
    (poem by Ogden Nash)

To which @Kythereia (Kythereia) replied

    America, please.
    
    At least _you_ haven't built a nuclear reactor on a fault line.

So @Chefguy (Chefguy) replied

    Xema:
    
    > From the OP's link:
    > 
    > No kidding.
    > 
    > From this site
    > 
    > On the VEI scale, Mt. St. Helens was a 5 - the Yellowstone eruption was 1000 times as powerful.
    
    Novarupta, in 1912, was a VEI 6 and was the strongest recorded in this century. It buried Kodiak Island under 3 feet of ash. I've hiked into Valley of 10,000 Smokes where the ash is up to 700 feet deep. I can't imagine what an 8 would be.

To which @Encinitas (Encinitas) replied

    Sunspace:
    
    > Could they drill down and check the magma level in the chamber?
    
    They would need a really long dipstick.

After which, @Inigo_Montoya (Inigo Montoya) added

    I'm a dipstick!

To which @Mindfield (Mindfield) replied

    Inigo Montoya:
    
    > I'm a dipstick!
    
    You're a wiener.
    
    Can't they do an infrared or sonar survey or something to check the levels? Wouldn't that give them some idea?

@Johnny_L.A (Johnny L.A.) replied

    Encinitas:
    
    > They would need a really long dipstick.
    
    Inigo Montoya:
    
    > I'm a dipstick!
    
    ‘Man, that magma is really hot!'
    
    ‘Yeah, and deep!'
    
    ‘I'm touching bottom.'

So @Inigo_Montoya (Inigo Montoya) replied

    Just don't be touching my bottom with your wiener! :eek:

Then @Morgyn (Morgyn) said

    Sunspace:
    
    > Could they drill down and check the magma level in the chamber?
    
    Lately, I've started to wonder if they couldn't make several bore holes and relieve the pressure that way—sorta like popping the Earth's pimple, you know?
    
    But I expect there's a really good reason that can't be done. Who's our vulcanologist, again?

To which @Inigo_Montoya (Inigo Montoya) replied

    It would seem that, if there's any kind of pressure in that thing at all, you'd create a lava geyser which would flow for…er…for a long time.

So @Morgyn (Morgyn) replied

    Inigo Montoya:
    
    > It would seem that, if there's any kind of pressure in that thing at all, you'd create a lava geyser which would flow for…er…for a long time.
    
    Well, yes, and that is a problem. Although it would probably still be better than a full-pressure eruption, don't you think?

So @Mindfield (Mindfield) replied

    Old & busted: Panning for gold.
    
    New hotness: Trepanning for lava.

@Scuba_Ben (Scuba_Ben) replied

    Miss Woodhouse:
    
    > But if it does blow, it will go off at 2:40pm and 2:40am.
    
    Plus or minus three hours – “We only predict, we don't schedule!”


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