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Used ICBM Silo For Sale, "Cheap"

sprzepiora writes "An Atlas ICBM silo is for sale on E-Bay. Place your bids now, because it's only $1.5E6! Includes such amenities as: 1100 gallon hot tub, sauna,3 finished baths, 47 ton garage door, 66,000 lb. bank of batteries, chemical and bioligical air filtration, and more!" This is cool just to lust after. Of course its in Kansas (yeah I know, I'm in michigan, whats the difference, right?)

9 of 258 comments (clear)

  1. The one time... by ekrout · · Score: 4, Funny

    that a reply of ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US might actually apply. Schweet ;-)

    --

    If you celebrate Xmas, befriend me (538
  2. Somewhere in the former Soviet Union... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...is a silo in the ground, complete with a missile dialed in to your new home! This is one thing the Real Estate agent will conveniently forget to mention.

    On the other hand, I guess that's the purpose for the 47-ton garage door.

  3. Kansas? Who Cares? by torpor · · Score: 5, Funny

    Dude, it's underground. It could be in Iceland for all I care - that is some *private* mad-scientist lab space...

    The only problem with the place is that it's not nearly as secret as it once was. I'd pay twice what the going price for this thing is, if only it *wasn't* plastered all over EBay. It's a bit hard to make plans to rule the known universe when everyone and their dog is coming by just to see "that mad rocket guy that lives in a bunker in Kansas".

    Of course, there's always price-of-admission revenue for signed photo's. Oh, and I suppose there'd be a plentiful supply of fresh human brain matter to plunder for the "MegaBrain Computer" experiment.

    Well, off to feed the kitty ...

    --
    ; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
  4. Good secure hosting site by gbnewby · · Score: 4, Interesting
    I was in the Netherlands for HAL2001 this summer, and got to visit a NAP right across the street from the U. Twente campus (where HAL was held). A NAP is where different networks peer, and in this case is also where at least one ISP provided co-lo space and other ameneties.

    The cool part: it was in a retired federal bank. Literally a fortress: fully bulletproof, tempest-shielded, multiple sub-basements, iron gates and fully enclosed by fences or walls, the works.

    The ICBM silo gets me thinking about the same thing. They have on-site power generation and battery backup and an obviously pretty damn secure setup. So, why not open a secure hosting facility? It's not HavenCo/Sealand, but it's not bad.

    The main problem is it's in the middle of nowhere (Mapquest link ), about 50 miles from Topeka. Paying the local loop charges for dedicated (and redundant) Internet access is probably going to cost a fortune.

    • Greg
  5. Alternative uses for the silo by Zen+Mastuh · · Score: 4, Funny
    • Install a *huge* fan (with a steel grate above the blade...) near the bottom for indoor acrobatic action. Whee!
    • Grow a lot of pot! As if any sheriff can kick in a 47-ton door.
    • Fill the silo with H2O & get out the ol' scuba gear.
    • Vertical artificial rock climbing. The bonus is that once you climb to the top, you're done.
    • Buy 50,000+ old boxen & make the Beowulf Cluster from hell!

    This silo is screaming for an entrepreneur. Now if I can only get in the Corporate Welfare line for some of that $70 Billion action...

    --
    "What is the sound of one belly slapping?"
  6. Re:Kansas? Who Cares? by MarkusQ · · Score: 4, Funny
    The only problem with the place is that it's not nearly as secret as it once was. I'd pay twice what the going price for this thing is, if only it *wasn't* plastered all over EBay.

    I, on the other hand, would pay extra to make sure that everyone knew which silo it was that no longer held an ICBM.

    Especially the people who might have loaded silos of their own.

    -- MarkusQ

  7. Formerly a drug factory. by dox · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Here is a story about it.


    There is also an article in Rolling Stong from July 5th, 2001 titled "The Acid King" about Leonard Pickard. The missle silo was owned by Todd Skinner, a shady bussinessman(drug dealer) who laundered money, trafficed drugs, and who knows what else. He made deals with the DEA to save his own ass many times, getting many of if friends imprisoned for life. Another example of America's idiotic war on drugs.

  8. What one looks like before it's all dressed up by CleverNickName · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Here is a pretty interesting photo tour that was made by some guys who, by their own admission, "violated federal law" to get inside and tour around one of these silos, when it was just a bunch of abandoned cold war concrete. It's nice to compare the this with the eBay photos...makes that 1.5 million opening bid seem a bit more reasonable. Oh, and you'd better hurry...there's only an hour left to bid on it.

    Incidentally, I lived in Topeka for some time, and I got to go to one of these abandoned silos, back around 92 or 93...there was a freaky survivalist dude living there, surrounded by all his guns and barrels of water...and I got to go stand where, at one time, there was a ICBM, ready to go...remembering the cold war dominated world that I grew up in, it was very, very surreal.

  9. Only on Slashdot... by Nate+Fox · · Score: 5, Funny

    ..would this be labeled as 'News' and not 'Its funny. Laugh'.