We're digging a hole
November 27, 2016 2:24 PM Subscribe
Cards Against Humanity, the company that brought you a party game for horrible people and billboards mocking Donald Trump, have another holiday project for 2016. The holidays are here, and everything in America is going really well. To celebrate Black Friday, Cards Against Humanity is digging a tremendous hole in the earth. Behold: The Holiday Hole.
In 2013, they raised over $70,000 by selling nothing on their store for $5. Here's what they did with the money.
In 2014, they offered literal bullshit for $9 on their site, as well as 10 Days of Kwanzaa or whatever. Among the gifts: stickers, stories, comics, a donation to the Sunlight Foundation, and ownership of a square foot of an island named Hawaii 2
Last year, in 2015, they followed up with Eight Sensible Gifts for Hanukkah, which included: three pairs of socks, a small investment, membership in WBEZ, paid vacation for the entire staff of their printer, a small original Picasso, and a real Irish castle.
What the hole is going to be for remains to be seen.
Previously:
Buy Nothing Day
12 Days of Bullshit
In 2013, they raised over $70,000 by selling nothing on their store for $5. Here's what they did with the money.
In 2014, they offered literal bullshit for $9 on their site, as well as 10 Days of Kwanzaa or whatever. Among the gifts: stickers, stories, comics, a donation to the Sunlight Foundation, and ownership of a square foot of an island named Hawaii 2
Last year, in 2015, they followed up with Eight Sensible Gifts for Hanukkah, which included: three pairs of socks, a small investment, membership in WBEZ, paid vacation for the entire staff of their printer, a small original Picasso, and a real Irish castle.
What the hole is going to be for remains to be seen.
Previously:
Buy Nothing Day
12 Days of Bullshit
My favorite remark from the Reddit thread (of course there was a dedicated Reddit thread) was "This is where we're going to bury 2016 and never speak of it again."
I found this oddly hypnotic to watch, sort of like San Andreas Streaming Deer Cam with fewer shootouts.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 2:30 PM on November 27, 2016 [22 favorites]
I found this oddly hypnotic to watch, sort of like San Andreas Streaming Deer Cam with fewer shootouts.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 2:30 PM on November 27, 2016 [22 favorites]
This is beautiful. Like the chanting of monks, but with a backhoe.
posted by From Bklyn at 2:35 PM on November 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by From Bklyn at 2:35 PM on November 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
Are they stabilizing the soil?
I think the concept's delightful, but from watching the video, I am honestly worried for the backhoe operator. Trenching and excavation safety is serious business.
posted by asperity at 2:39 PM on November 27, 2016 [6 favorites]
I think the concept's delightful, but from watching the video, I am honestly worried for the backhoe operator. Trenching and excavation safety is serious business.
posted by asperity at 2:39 PM on November 27, 2016 [6 favorites]
I sort of get it, however, thinking about how that much money could help people and the environment just leaves me feeling pissed off.
posted by pipoquinha at 2:42 PM on November 27, 2016 [11 favorites]
posted by pipoquinha at 2:42 PM on November 27, 2016 [11 favorites]
"Great! Now pay people to fill it up." — John Maynard Keynes
posted by tonycpsu at 2:51 PM on November 27, 2016 [31 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 2:51 PM on November 27, 2016 [31 favorites]
People spend more money on fireworks, and no one begrudges them that.
Knowing their past endeavors, they're likely donating some portion of the excess to a charity, they likely did everything by the books, and the hole itself is probably going to have some decent purpose. All things considered, I think it's pretty funny and hardly awful at all.
posted by explosion at 2:52 PM on November 27, 2016 [28 favorites]
Knowing their past endeavors, they're likely donating some portion of the excess to a charity, they likely did everything by the books, and the hole itself is probably going to have some decent purpose. All things considered, I think it's pretty funny and hardly awful at all.
posted by explosion at 2:52 PM on November 27, 2016 [28 favorites]
From the FAQ:
Q: Why aren’t you giving all this money to charity?
A: Why aren’t YOU giving all this money to charity? It’s your money.
Which, like, I'm still not exactly in favor of this, but I imagine that's kind of the point.
posted by nebulawindphone at 2:54 PM on November 27, 2016 [141 favorites]
Q: Why aren’t you giving all this money to charity?
A: Why aren’t YOU giving all this money to charity? It’s your money.
Which, like, I'm still not exactly in favor of this, but I imagine that's kind of the point.
posted by nebulawindphone at 2:54 PM on November 27, 2016 [141 favorites]
Let's call the hole thing off.
I've considered the title "Cards Against Humanity" to be the last true example of Truth in Labeling.
IRONY IS DEAD PEOPLE. THERE'S ONLY CYNICISM.
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:57 PM on November 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
I've considered the title "Cards Against Humanity" to be the last true example of Truth in Labeling.
IRONY IS DEAD PEOPLE. THERE'S ONLY CYNICISM.
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:57 PM on November 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
I'd like to see it filled in with MAGA hats after Trump voters realize that nothing they were promised will materialize.
posted by machaus at 3:07 PM on November 27, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by machaus at 3:07 PM on November 27, 2016 [6 favorites]
Trite like this game.
E: even if the hole turns out cool the game brings out the worst in a lot of people and seems fairly oppressive in its humor.
Really awful people don't require much prompting to demonstrate how awful they are, but imaginatively engaging euphemisms and taboos isn't "trite". Beliefs, ethics, priorities, their conflicts are not easy. It's not a game in the sense of a family's routine, like Trouble or Monopoly, but there's a range of why people play games and CAH requires and provides a mature engagement.
posted by lazycomputerkids at 3:10 PM on November 27, 2016 [9 favorites]
E: even if the hole turns out cool the game brings out the worst in a lot of people and seems fairly oppressive in its humor.
Really awful people don't require much prompting to demonstrate how awful they are, but imaginatively engaging euphemisms and taboos isn't "trite". Beliefs, ethics, priorities, their conflicts are not easy. It's not a game in the sense of a family's routine, like Trouble or Monopoly, but there's a range of why people play games and CAH requires and provides a mature engagement.
posted by lazycomputerkids at 3:10 PM on November 27, 2016 [9 favorites]
This is awful. Don't give them any money.
posted by ent at 3:11 PM on November 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by ent at 3:11 PM on November 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
This is AMAZING!
posted by wotsac at 3:12 PM on November 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by wotsac at 3:12 PM on November 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
This is.
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 3:20 PM on November 27, 2016 [35 favorites]
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 3:20 PM on November 27, 2016 [35 favorites]
This game company is the epitome of what I dislike about the "throw money at a thing I saw on my social media feed" mentality.
What if we took Apples to Apples and added... Hitler!
What if we took The Coup and added... Hitler!
They have no good ideas, but they are expert in extracting money from boring people who mistake a line item on their credit card statement for a personality.
posted by codacorolla at 3:20 PM on November 27, 2016 [25 favorites]
What if we took Apples to Apples and added... Hitler!
What if we took The Coup and added... Hitler!
They have no good ideas, but they are expert in extracting money from boring people who mistake a line item on their credit card statement for a personality.
posted by codacorolla at 3:20 PM on November 27, 2016 [25 favorites]
Well, now I have a new thing I can at when they ask me how dumb people can be.
Not, mind you, that I was ever in any danger of running out of said things.
posted by Mooski at 3:24 PM on November 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
Not, mind you, that I was ever in any danger of running out of said things.
posted by Mooski at 3:24 PM on November 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
What if we took Apples to Apples and added... Hitler!
What if we took The Coup and added... Hitler!
A2A already has Hitler. The point of CAH is to add a bunch of cards that are as awful as Hitler and that abundance means you have to actually be clever rather than relying on shock value. I've found that the "most awful" cards actually don't win among my friends very often. I think "Bees?" wins more than anything else.
Secret Hitler is more like The Resistance, and not very much like Coup at all, but it's an actual refinement of the genre, and plays very well.
I get it, these folks aren't everyone's cup of tea, but for those of us who enjoy their works, we're getting more than just puerile fun out of it, and we really don't need to have every CAH-related thread on MeFi be another rehash of whether CAH is okay or not.
posted by explosion at 3:37 PM on November 27, 2016 [54 favorites]
What if we took The Coup and added... Hitler!
A2A already has Hitler. The point of CAH is to add a bunch of cards that are as awful as Hitler and that abundance means you have to actually be clever rather than relying on shock value. I've found that the "most awful" cards actually don't win among my friends very often. I think "Bees?" wins more than anything else.
Secret Hitler is more like The Resistance, and not very much like Coup at all, but it's an actual refinement of the genre, and plays very well.
I get it, these folks aren't everyone's cup of tea, but for those of us who enjoy their works, we're getting more than just puerile fun out of it, and we really don't need to have every CAH-related thread on MeFi be another rehash of whether CAH is okay or not.
posted by explosion at 3:37 PM on November 27, 2016 [54 favorites]
They have no good ideas, but they are expert in extracting money from boring people who mistake a line item on their credit card statement for a personality.
[rolls eyes]
I imagined no such thing when I bought CAH. I just thought it was a funny-sounding game that I would enjoy playing with my friends while drunk.
It is, and it was. (I'm bored with it now.)
But, by all means, make sweeping characterizations of people who enjoy a board game that you don't as vacant suckers.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 3:43 PM on November 27, 2016 [33 favorites]
[rolls eyes]
I imagined no such thing when I bought CAH. I just thought it was a funny-sounding game that I would enjoy playing with my friends while drunk.
It is, and it was. (I'm bored with it now.)
But, by all means, make sweeping characterizations of people who enjoy a board game that you don't as vacant suckers.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 3:43 PM on November 27, 2016 [33 favorites]
Did they submit an environmental impact statement?
If they are on private land it's quite likely that there are no local, state, or federal laws that would trigger an environmental review. (God bless America!)
On the other hand, I would feel much better about this if I knew that an archaeological monitor was keeping an eye on the excavation to make sure they're not unintentionally destroying something.
For example, what is that whitish streak in the soil that's being dug right now?? Better not be bone dust...
posted by cosmologinaut at 3:45 PM on November 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
If they are on private land it's quite likely that there are no local, state, or federal laws that would trigger an environmental review. (God bless America!)
On the other hand, I would feel much better about this if I knew that an archaeological monitor was keeping an eye on the excavation to make sure they're not unintentionally destroying something.
For example, what is that whitish streak in the soil that's being dug right now?? Better not be bone dust...
posted by cosmologinaut at 3:45 PM on November 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
//we really don't need to have every CAH-related thread on MeFi be another rehash of whether CAH is okay or not.//
Every thread on Mefi is a rehash of whether or nor something is ok.
I find the game fun, and if people want to throw their money in a hole - so what? It's their money, or was, until they threw it in the hole.
posted by COD at 3:46 PM on November 27, 2016 [15 favorites]
Every thread on Mefi is a rehash of whether or nor something is ok.
I find the game fun, and if people want to throw their money in a hole - so what? It's their money, or was, until they threw it in the hole.
posted by COD at 3:46 PM on November 27, 2016 [15 favorites]
Re: all the folks wondering about environment and safety,
They did a survey first. They hired professionals to run the machines. They paid the professionals overtime union pay. They fed the workers. They will fill the hole in this week.
History: https://twitter.com/c_frieds among other Twitter feeds.
posted by phlyingpenguin at 3:47 PM on November 27, 2016 [40 favorites]
They did a survey first. They hired professionals to run the machines. They paid the professionals overtime union pay. They fed the workers. They will fill the hole in this week.
History: https://twitter.com/c_frieds among other Twitter feeds.
posted by phlyingpenguin at 3:47 PM on November 27, 2016 [40 favorites]
It didn't take long for the war on Christmas to include trench warfare.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 3:49 PM on November 27, 2016 [58 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 3:49 PM on November 27, 2016 [58 favorites]
> Heaven forbid someone does some performance art without a heap of knee-jerk scorn, snark, and internet points-scoring to put 'em (and anyone who likes what they're doing) in their place.
It's interesting you mention "performance art", because that phrase always makes me think of one scene in Se7en — "Like one of those guys who pisses in a cup on stage and drinks it. Performance art."
As I described my problems with CAH (the company, but also the game and also especially Max) to a friend earlier: "Not everyone can be Andy Kaufman, and why is that even your goal in the first place?"
posted by cardioid at 3:51 PM on November 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
It's interesting you mention "performance art", because that phrase always makes me think of one scene in Se7en — "Like one of those guys who pisses in a cup on stage and drinks it. Performance art."
As I described my problems with CAH (the company, but also the game and also especially Max) to a friend earlier: "Not everyone can be Andy Kaufman, and why is that even your goal in the first place?"
posted by cardioid at 3:51 PM on November 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
Heaven forbid someone does some performance art without a heap of knee-jerk scorn, snark, and internet points-scoring to put 'em (and anyone who likes what they're doing) in their place.
Remember that woman who threw bugs on people and then pissed herself for good measure? Remember how unequivocal condemnation of her behavior was problematic due to racism / sexism / undiagnosed mental illness?
Right.
This is stupid. This is fine.
posted by steady-state strawberry at 3:52 PM on November 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
Remember that woman who threw bugs on people and then pissed herself for good measure? Remember how unequivocal condemnation of her behavior was problematic due to racism / sexism / undiagnosed mental illness?
Right.
This is stupid. This is fine.
posted by steady-state strawberry at 3:52 PM on November 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
Well, like they say, there's no place like hole for the holidays.
I'm much less upset over a few hipsters throwing spare change in a hole, than I am over the half the country enthusiastically voting in favor of vicious hatred and willful ignorance.
posted by panglos at 3:55 PM on November 27, 2016 [20 favorites]
I'm much less upset over a few hipsters throwing spare change in a hole, than I am over the half the country enthusiastically voting in favor of vicious hatred and willful ignorance.
posted by panglos at 3:55 PM on November 27, 2016 [20 favorites]
Where is the hole?
America. And in our hearts.
Why aren’t you giving all this money to charity?
Why aren’t YOU giving all this money to charity? It’s your money.
If this is nihilism, nihilism gets a bad wrap. This is cathartic, human, and makes me feel a lot better. We could all use a little psychotherapy by backhoe right now.
posted by ~ at 3:56 PM on November 27, 2016 [47 favorites]
America. And in our hearts.
Why aren’t you giving all this money to charity?
Why aren’t YOU giving all this money to charity? It’s your money.
If this is nihilism, nihilism gets a bad wrap. This is cathartic, human, and makes me feel a lot better. We could all use a little psychotherapy by backhoe right now.
posted by ~ at 3:56 PM on November 27, 2016 [47 favorites]
how can we brick up trump and his entire admin in this hole
do we tell them there are cable tv ratings at the bottom
posted by poffin boffin at 3:58 PM on November 27, 2016 [22 favorites]
do we tell them there are cable tv ratings at the bottom
posted by poffin boffin at 3:58 PM on November 27, 2016 [22 favorites]
2016: we get the hole we deserve
posted by standardasparagus at 4:04 PM on November 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by standardasparagus at 4:04 PM on November 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
Holiday Hole is probably more like Summer Pool. Nice crowdsourcing.
posted by feloniousmonk at 4:05 PM on November 27, 2016
posted by feloniousmonk at 4:05 PM on November 27, 2016
Holiday hole: A monument for the times; a pilgrimage for the ages
posted by standardasparagus at 4:05 PM on November 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by standardasparagus at 4:05 PM on November 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
2016's Spiral Jetty
posted by standardasparagus at 4:06 PM on November 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by standardasparagus at 4:06 PM on November 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
The Spiral Jetty that 2016 deserves, in any case
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 4:08 PM on November 27, 2016 [16 favorites]
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 4:08 PM on November 27, 2016 [16 favorites]
Qounsar the Smock posted this in another thread, boy howdy this is cool, like shale cool.
posted by clavdivs at 4:13 PM on November 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by clavdivs at 4:13 PM on November 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
how can we brick up trump and his entire admin in this hole
do we tell them there are cable tv ratings at the bottom
Get them all jester hats first.
posted by dinty_moore at 4:13 PM on November 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
do we tell them there are cable tv ratings at the bottom
Get them all jester hats first.
posted by dinty_moore at 4:13 PM on November 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
I just want to say that it makes me incredibly happy that the workers were fed and paid appropriately. Not that I'd expect anything different, given how CAH chose to spend the money they made selling «nothing».
posted by TheNewWazoo at 4:18 PM on November 27, 2016 [12 favorites]
posted by TheNewWazoo at 4:18 PM on November 27, 2016 [12 favorites]
This amused, provoked and stimulated me, as did the previous deleted FPP about The Hole.
Not as much as dickfingers though.
posted by comealongpole at 4:24 PM on November 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
Not as much as dickfingers though.
posted by comealongpole at 4:24 PM on November 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
Speaking of stimulation, there's Hole Fiction (NSFW), your fanfic source for Holiday Hole stories.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 4:32 PM on November 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 4:32 PM on November 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
The stream chat was pretty amusing — about equal parts confused people, "BEEP" spam whenever a vehicle reversed, and people rating each scoop out of ten.
posted by lucidium at 4:42 PM on November 27, 2016 [16 favorites]
posted by lucidium at 4:42 PM on November 27, 2016 [16 favorites]
…One can see at once, however, that the hole is originally presented as a nothingness "to be filled" with my own flesh, the child can not restrain himself from putting his finger or his whole arm into the hole. It presents itself to me as the empty image of myself. I have only to crawl into it in order to make myself exist in the world which awaits me. The ideal of the hole is then an excavation which can be carefully molded about my flesh in such a manner that by squeezing myself into it and fitting myself tightly inside it, I shall contribute to making a fullness of being exist in the world.Sartre, The Hole
posted by standardasparagus at 4:42 PM on November 27, 2016 [15 favorites]
I find this to be grimly funny and cathartic after most of a horrible year. I watched the feed for a while, then I gave some more money to Doctors without Borders.
posted by double block and bleed at 4:44 PM on November 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by double block and bleed at 4:44 PM on November 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
Mod note: All right, guys, if you don't like Cards against Humanity and you don't like pointless holes and construction vehicles, consider your opinions registered and find yourselves another thread.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 4:48 PM on November 27, 2016 [23 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 4:48 PM on November 27, 2016 [23 favorites]
This is my hole. It was made for me.
Also, Diggy Diggy Hole.
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:50 PM on November 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
Also, Diggy Diggy Hole.
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:50 PM on November 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
That's about as effective as most activism.
posted by jpe at 4:58 PM on November 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by jpe at 4:58 PM on November 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
See also K Foundation Burn a Million Quid.
posted by Nelson at 5:01 PM on November 27, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by Nelson at 5:01 PM on November 27, 2016 [8 favorites]
You call it a hole. I call it a jobs initiative.
posted by LucretiusJones at 5:08 PM on November 27, 2016 [12 favorites]
posted by LucretiusJones at 5:08 PM on November 27, 2016 [12 favorites]
This is awful. Don't give them any money.
I agree! The jobs created by the digging of this hole should revert to unemployment at once!
(I do not, in all honesty, agree.)
posted by Sys Rq at 5:10 PM on November 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
I agree! The jobs created by the digging of this hole should revert to unemployment at once!
(I do not, in all honesty, agree.)
posted by Sys Rq at 5:10 PM on November 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
Wow. Pave over the sandpit, and take away the Tonka trucks. Don't you know you're turning little Billy into a cynical nihilist with that stuff?
posted by adept256 at 5:14 PM on November 27, 2016
posted by adept256 at 5:14 PM on November 27, 2016
"BEEP" spam whenever a vehicle reversed, and people rating each scoop out of ten.
The last one was a nine.
Pointless hole gets approval from me...unless they hit groundwater. Then lets see them keep their pointless hole. Water always wins.
posted by Benway at 5:15 PM on November 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
The last one was a nine.
Pointless hole gets approval from me...unless they hit groundwater. Then lets see them keep their pointless hole. Water always wins.
posted by Benway at 5:15 PM on November 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
The backhoe can live in the basement and the operator will come visit!
posted by maxwelton at 5:19 PM on November 27, 2016 [21 favorites]
posted by maxwelton at 5:19 PM on November 27, 2016 [21 favorites]
It really bugs me that they've got a Deere backhoe and a Cat dumptruck, and it bugs me even more that I could tell that just from the slightly different shades of yellow on the machines before I even saw the badging. WHAT EVEN IS MY LIFE.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:34 PM on November 27, 2016 [25 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:34 PM on November 27, 2016 [25 favorites]
I do not care for CAH at all, but their promotional/charity stunts have always been surprisingly pleasant and uplifting. I enjoyed this despite having qualms about its source.
posted by Scattercat at 5:34 PM on November 27, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by Scattercat at 5:34 PM on November 27, 2016 [5 favorites]
Is there a $/[empty unit of volume] metric available?
posted by sammyo at 5:38 PM on November 27, 2016
posted by sammyo at 5:38 PM on November 27, 2016
I think this pointedly stupid stunt is great! What better way to mock capitalism than to participate in it with vigor while saying 'I'm a moron'
posted by beerperson at 5:42 PM on November 27, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by beerperson at 5:42 PM on November 27, 2016 [5 favorites]
I'd like a 1/2 price rate for 1/2 a hole.
posted by lazycomputerkids at 5:45 PM on November 27, 2016
posted by lazycomputerkids at 5:45 PM on November 27, 2016
OK so it's cathartic for those who recognize we are in deep shit. So? And?
posted by pipoquinha at 5:47 PM on November 27, 2016
posted by pipoquinha at 5:47 PM on November 27, 2016
I've spent my entire life believing Very Deeply in Things and trying hard to do Something Positive for The Community. At this point in 2016, a hole is as good as anything to believe in I suppose.
MAKE THE HOLE GREAT AGAIN AMERICA!!!
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 5:52 PM on November 27, 2016 [6 favorites]
MAKE THE HOLE GREAT AGAIN AMERICA!!!
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 5:52 PM on November 27, 2016 [6 favorites]
Shovel ready!
posted by clavdivs at 5:54 PM on November 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by clavdivs at 5:54 PM on November 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
So? And?
Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it.
A true artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others.
-- Salvador Dalí
posted by lazycomputerkids at 5:55 PM on November 27, 2016 [5 favorites]
Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it.
A true artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others.
-- Salvador Dalí
posted by lazycomputerkids at 5:55 PM on November 27, 2016 [5 favorites]
Something's been bothering me ever since this whole campaign started.
The site clearly states that as long as we keep giving money, they'll keep digging the hole. And yet the whole time there was a mysterious tailing off where each successive dollar bought less and less dig time. Then there's the oddly suspicious final tally of about $100,000.
What I want to know is this: what's the name of the sweet skate park that is clearly going in the hole?
posted by chrominance at 6:00 PM on November 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
The site clearly states that as long as we keep giving money, they'll keep digging the hole. And yet the whole time there was a mysterious tailing off where each successive dollar bought less and less dig time. Then there's the oddly suspicious final tally of about $100,000.
What I want to know is this: what's the name of the sweet skate park that is clearly going in the hole?
posted by chrominance at 6:00 PM on November 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
I'm sort of reminded of that scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind with the mashed potatoes.
Well I guess you've noticed, there's something a little strange with dad.
posted by adept256 at 6:01 PM on November 27, 2016
Well I guess you've noticed, there's something a little strange with dad.
posted by adept256 at 6:01 PM on November 27, 2016
There wasn't a HOLE here. It's not gone now.
hashtag justpyramidheadthings
posted by FatherDagon at 6:08 PM on November 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
hashtag justpyramidheadthings
posted by FatherDagon at 6:08 PM on November 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
You were the sort of kid who'd dig a hole in the backyard and then cry because you couldn't bring it inside.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 6:13 PM on November 27, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by Confess, Fletch at 6:13 PM on November 27, 2016 [7 favorites]
People spend more money on fireworks, and no one begrudges them that.
Do you even Metafilter bro?
posted by ActingTheGoat at 6:21 PM on November 27, 2016 [18 favorites]
Do you even Metafilter bro?
posted by ActingTheGoat at 6:21 PM on November 27, 2016 [18 favorites]
I had a hole in my backyard because that's where my burrow owl lived.
Also a big lizard.
posted by delfin at 6:21 PM on November 27, 2016 [10 favorites]
Also a big lizard.
posted by delfin at 6:21 PM on November 27, 2016 [10 favorites]
Friday night, I'm watching Gilmore Girls, and I keep hearing BEEP BEEP BEEP of trucks backing up, and thinking, WTF are my neighbors doing with all their damn trucks?! I finally go to look out the front window, but it's not outside- it's my husband at the table, watching this.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:24 PM on November 27, 2016 [60 favorites]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:24 PM on November 27, 2016 [60 favorites]
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.
posted by jenkinsEar at 6:56 PM on November 27, 2016 [11 favorites]
posted by jenkinsEar at 6:56 PM on November 27, 2016 [11 favorites]
If up from the ground come a bubblin' crude, can we have a sitcom about a bunch of cynical hipsters being invited to write energy policy for the White House?
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 6:58 PM on November 27, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 6:58 PM on November 27, 2016 [8 favorites]
"Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away" - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
posted by blue_beetle at 7:11 PM on November 27, 2016 [15 favorites]
posted by blue_beetle at 7:11 PM on November 27, 2016 [15 favorites]
I don't even know what to think about this.
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:11 PM on November 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:11 PM on November 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
See also K Foundation Burn a Million Quid.
WTF: A 2004 listener poll by BBC Radio 6 Music saw The KLF/K Foundation placed second after The Who in a list of "rock excesses".
The Who did something more wasteful than this?
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:31 PM on November 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
WTF: A 2004 listener poll by BBC Radio 6 Music saw The KLF/K Foundation placed second after The Who in a list of "rock excesses".
The Who did something more wasteful than this?
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:31 PM on November 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
Well, The Who did do "Tommy"...
posted by rmd1023 at 7:46 PM on November 27, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by rmd1023 at 7:46 PM on November 27, 2016 [6 favorites]
*pitches rmd1023 into the Hole*
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:50 PM on November 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:50 PM on November 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
I would have preferred an ending where the excavator sinks into the hole and everyone gathers around looking at it and shaking their heads, decide it's irretrievable, and then start shoveling the dirt on top of it.
But on the other hand, now they've got a totally rad hole in the ground.
posted by indubitable at 8:16 PM on November 27, 2016
But on the other hand, now they've got a totally rad hole in the ground.
posted by indubitable at 8:16 PM on November 27, 2016
Surely you meant:
When you go down to America
be sure to go down in the cellar
of the new town hall
There they'll be,
Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne . . .posted by ~ at 8:23 PM on November 27, 2016 [6 favorites] Nihilism is always the new black.
IRONY IS DEAD PEOPLE. THERE'S ONLY CYNICISM.
Where is the hole?
America. And in our hearts.
Why aren’t you giving all this money to charity?
Why aren’t YOU giving all this money to charity? It’s your money.
If this is nihilism, nihilism gets a bad wrap. This is cathartic, human, and makes me feel a lot better. We could all use a little psychotherapy by backhoe right now.
I'm really enjoying this thread.
A thought: the cynics and nihilists (aided and abetted by the obligatory ship of fools) are the gang about to take over the White House, whereas this feels more like an exercise in negation, which I define rather differently than nihilism -- more of a cleaning house so something fresh can be put in place as opposed to the demolition of said house.
And if I was putting together an appropriate playlist, I'd kick it off with PIL's The Order of Death.
posted by philip-random at 9:37 PM on November 27, 2016
IRONY IS DEAD PEOPLE. THERE'S ONLY CYNICISM.
Where is the hole?
America. And in our hearts.
Why aren’t you giving all this money to charity?
Why aren’t YOU giving all this money to charity? It’s your money.
If this is nihilism, nihilism gets a bad wrap. This is cathartic, human, and makes me feel a lot better. We could all use a little psychotherapy by backhoe right now.
I'm really enjoying this thread.
A thought: the cynics and nihilists (aided and abetted by the obligatory ship of fools) are the gang about to take over the White House, whereas this feels more like an exercise in negation, which I define rather differently than nihilism -- more of a cleaning house so something fresh can be put in place as opposed to the demolition of said house.
And if I was putting together an appropriate playlist, I'd kick it off with PIL's The Order of Death.
posted by philip-random at 9:37 PM on November 27, 2016
I think this is just the origin story of a fantastic country song.
posted by FatherDagon at 9:40 PM on November 27, 2016
posted by FatherDagon at 9:40 PM on November 27, 2016
Surely you meant:
When you go down to America
be sure to go down in the cellar
of the new town hall
There they'll be,
Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne
Okay! Okay okay okay.
This is neither the time nor place, but I've wanted to tell this story for a long time. The author of Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, Virginia Lee Burton, had two sons by her husband George Demetrios, Aristides and Michael. Michael Demetrios is who the book was written for and about, with "Mulligan" substituting in for the more difficult to market "Demetrios."
Well, later in life, Mike Demetrios went on to be president of the "Marine World Africa USA" theme park, which started out in Redwood City, but relocated in the 1980's to the town where I lived - Vallejo, California.
And when we went for the grand opening, Mike Demetrios was there, shaking hands at the gate. And I, a lad of 11, got to shake his hand and tell him how much I'd always enjoyed his mother's books. And he said thank you.
You guys, I shook Mike Mulligan's fucking hand.
posted by Myca at 10:16 PM on November 27, 2016 [51 favorites]
When you go down to America
be sure to go down in the cellar
of the new town hall
There they'll be,
Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne
Okay! Okay okay okay.
This is neither the time nor place, but I've wanted to tell this story for a long time. The author of Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, Virginia Lee Burton, had two sons by her husband George Demetrios, Aristides and Michael. Michael Demetrios is who the book was written for and about, with "Mulligan" substituting in for the more difficult to market "Demetrios."
Well, later in life, Mike Demetrios went on to be president of the "Marine World Africa USA" theme park, which started out in Redwood City, but relocated in the 1980's to the town where I lived - Vallejo, California.
And when we went for the grand opening, Mike Demetrios was there, shaking hands at the gate. And I, a lad of 11, got to shake his hand and tell him how much I'd always enjoyed his mother's books. And he said thank you.
You guys, I shook Mike Mulligan's fucking hand.
posted by Myca at 10:16 PM on November 27, 2016 [51 favorites]
I guess it counted as art when Michael Heizer dug a hole in Munich all those years ago.
posted by Standard Orange at 10:27 PM on November 27, 2016
posted by Standard Orange at 10:27 PM on November 27, 2016
Myca, that comment made me very happy. I have always loved Mike Mulligan.
posted by RakDaddy at 12:36 AM on November 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by RakDaddy at 12:36 AM on November 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
For example, what is that whitish streak in the soil that's being dug right now?? Better not be bone dust.
Clay most likely.
posted by fshgrl at 12:57 AM on November 28, 2016
Clay most likely.
posted by fshgrl at 12:57 AM on November 28, 2016
I love this because "A giant hole in the middle of nowhere" is one of those white cards that sound completely useless until they're paired with something else on a black pick 2/3 card.
Of course, how good this is going to turn out depends on what the other card is.
posted by lmfsilva at 1:02 AM on November 28, 2016 [4 favorites]
Of course, how good this is going to turn out depends on what the other card is.
posted by lmfsilva at 1:02 AM on November 28, 2016 [4 favorites]
See also K Foundation Burn a Million Quid.
Or more recently, Son of Sex Pistols manager sets fire to £5 million worth of punk memorabilia.
posted by effbot at 2:15 AM on November 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
Or more recently, Son of Sex Pistols manager sets fire to £5 million worth of punk memorabilia.
posted by effbot at 2:15 AM on November 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
Metafilter: Do you even Metafilter bro?
posted by XtinaS at 2:41 AM on November 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by XtinaS at 2:41 AM on November 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
Mod note: A few deleted. As EM mentioned, this isn't really a spot for fighting over the card game. This is a post with a different topic, so fight about the hole.
posted by taz (staff) at 2:54 AM on November 28, 2016 [13 favorites]
posted by taz (staff) at 2:54 AM on November 28, 2016 [13 favorites]
Counting these things as art made sense back when high culture was differentiated from low culture, and one could see consumerism as vulgar without immediately recognising that observation as snobbery and/or hypocrisy. Nowadays, digging a hole as art and putting out a statement in International Art English about how it “interrogates our relationship with spaces and spatiality” or something would be a bit trite and few people would pay attention to it. (Also, there is the question of funding; in the age of austerity, governments aren't throwing art grants around, and the global super-rich prefer art that can be stored in secure, climate-controlled airside warehouses in Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates.) If you're in the business of making Art, you're really making high-denomination currency for oligarchs. Either that or you're committing petty crime, or working at an ad agency.
If Marcel Duchamp were around today, his urinal would be a crowdfunded collectible on Kickstarter, with the second-lowest tier getting a 3D printable source file.
posted by acb at 3:12 AM on November 28, 2016 [5 favorites]
If Marcel Duchamp were around today, his urinal would be a crowdfunded collectible on Kickstarter, with the second-lowest tier getting a 3D printable source file.
posted by acb at 3:12 AM on November 28, 2016 [5 favorites]
Myca: "You guys, I shook Mike Mulligan's fucking hand."
Ewwww.
(Love the story though, love Mike Mulligan!)
posted by chavenet at 3:22 AM on November 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
Ewwww.
(Love the story though, love Mike Mulligan!)
posted by chavenet at 3:22 AM on November 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
For all you haterz out there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKfO1DuiegE
posted by merlynkline at 3:33 AM on November 28, 2016
posted by merlynkline at 3:33 AM on November 28, 2016
I have no strong opinion on this, but I feel a great need to let you all know that this is the case.
posted by Too-Ticky at 4:13 AM on November 28, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by Too-Ticky at 4:13 AM on November 28, 2016 [5 favorites]
I think this just makes me feel really, really old.
posted by corb at 4:43 AM on November 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by corb at 4:43 AM on November 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
I like the card game. It amuses me. We played at Thanksgiving, actually. The hole does nothing for me, but Im OK with people having opinons about it
posted by WalkerWestridge at 5:28 AM on November 28, 2016
posted by WalkerWestridge at 5:28 AM on November 28, 2016
Yeah Corb, I'm having a "kids today, with their holes, " moment myself. That said, I'm not the target demographic for the game or the stunt, so.... shrug.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 5:39 AM on November 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 5:39 AM on November 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
Shovel ready!
posted by clavdivs at 5:54 PM on November 27
and in the end, aren't we all.
posted by eustatic at 5:45 AM on November 28, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by clavdivs at 5:54 PM on November 27
and in the end, aren't we all.
posted by eustatic at 5:45 AM on November 28, 2016 [6 favorites]
Next time I see someone claiming that capitalism is a good system for efficiently allocating resources, I'll just point them at this.
posted by Dysk at 5:53 AM on November 28, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by Dysk at 5:53 AM on November 28, 2016 [4 favorites]
I spent a lot of time with that hole. The hole just GOT me.
posted by Theta States at 6:04 AM on November 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Theta States at 6:04 AM on November 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
"Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away" - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
posted by blue_beetle at 7:11 PM on November 27 [11 favorites +] [!]
I thought that was Colin Chapman talking about how he designed any given Lotus.
posted by skyscraper at 7:44 AM on November 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by blue_beetle at 7:11 PM on November 27 [11 favorites +] [!]
I thought that was Colin Chapman talking about how he designed any given Lotus.
posted by skyscraper at 7:44 AM on November 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
To symbolize 2016, CAH will dig a hole and fill it with ____________.
posted by rocket88 at 8:22 AM on November 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by rocket88 at 8:22 AM on November 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
Surely a negation playlist should include Nothing and Negativ Nein.
posted by mubba at 8:39 AM on November 28, 2016
posted by mubba at 8:39 AM on November 28, 2016
This morning I also spent some time with the replay of the hole and pretended it was live.
I'm fascinated by how cathartic it felt. Sure why the heck not just dig a totally pointless hole. People are giving money for a pointless hole? Sure why not.
Probably helps that I have a weird sense of humor.
posted by Jalliah at 8:43 AM on November 28, 2016
I'm pretty sure this must be art because I can't settle on a single feeling about it. I'm seeing what will likely be twice my annual income figuratively tossed down a hole. It's a waste, but that's the point. But it's still a waste, but that's still the point. Etc.
posted by charred husk at 8:47 AM on November 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by charred husk at 8:47 AM on November 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
I thought that was Colin Chapman talking about how he designed any given Lotus.He did. But then he cut out all the words to make the quote lighter.
posted by fullerine at 9:20 AM on November 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
To symbolize 2016, CAH will dig a hole and fill it with ____________.
Bees!!!
Yeah, it works...
posted by WalkerWestridge at 9:47 AM on November 28, 2016
Bees!!!
Yeah, it works...
posted by WalkerWestridge at 9:47 AM on November 28, 2016
What's really going on with the Hole.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:47 AM on November 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:47 AM on November 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
MetaFilter: fight about the hole.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:49 AM on November 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:49 AM on November 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
"Why aren’t you giving all this money to charity?"
"Why aren’t YOU giving all this money to charity? It’s your money."
I don't get why this is meant to be be clever. The people asking the question aren't the people pissing their money away. It seems like it has the form of a witty and insightful comeback, but without any of the actual content.
posted by howfar at 11:01 AM on November 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
"Why aren’t YOU giving all this money to charity? It’s your money."
I don't get why this is meant to be be clever. The people asking the question aren't the people pissing their money away. It seems like it has the form of a witty and insightful comeback, but without any of the actual content.
posted by howfar at 11:01 AM on November 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
I have no idea if the money they've been getting for the hole is part of this, however, I will note that CAH have been donating money to various Donor's Choose projects recently. They've been small amounts, but my wife has seen a couple of donations from them on a couple of her projects over the weekend. So there's at least some potential that they're donating this money they've raised.
posted by piper28 at 11:27 AM on November 28, 2016
posted by piper28 at 11:27 AM on November 28, 2016
Nuts. I misidentified what the company did last year in my sermon on Sunday (I'll use anything for a sermon illustration.)
posted by Stynxno at 5:36 PM on November 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Stynxno at 5:36 PM on November 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
I could think of about 100 objectively less "productive" ways to waste any arbitrary amount of money -- and that's just the ideas that involve recreational drugs of some sort.
So what I'm sayin is -- CAH please hire me for your next performance art project lead. I could waste that money SO GOOD.
posted by some loser at 3:39 PM on November 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
So what I'm sayin is -- CAH please hire me for your next performance art project lead. I could waste that money SO GOOD.
posted by some loser at 3:39 PM on November 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
The hole was dug in Oregon (the city), Illinois, and was covered back up afterwards.
The final shot of the dug hole from CAH's Claire Friedman, the "hole mom".
posted by numaner at 8:36 AM on December 23, 2016 [3 favorites]
The final shot of the dug hole from CAH's Claire Friedman, the "hole mom".
posted by numaner at 8:36 AM on December 23, 2016 [3 favorites]
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This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
Still and all, I can't dispute that this is a perfect memorial to America's 2016.
posted by Countess Elena at 2:30 PM on November 27, 2016 [48 favorites]