Awesome Tunnels

The theme music from The Lord of the Rings is permanently ingrained in the minds of many a fantasy fan. Now hear it like it was meant to be played, thanks to flutist Paul Harvey, who performed the tune inside of a mile-long tunnel along a trail in Wisconsin. The acoustics add the perfect air of mystery.

Spanning 23 miles, the English Channel Tunnel has the longest undersea section of any tunnel. TED-Ed’s Alex Gendler takes a look at the political and logistical challenges and engineering feats that led to the construction of the tunnel between 1988 and 1994.

Red Bull stunt pilot Dario Costa is now the first person to ever fly a plane through two tunnels back-to-back. His flight only lasted 43.44 seconds, but the 1.4-mile flight between Istanbul’s Çatalca Tunnels is truly a thing of beauty. The fact that he took off from inside of the first tunnel is equally mind-blowing.

Several years back, inventor Colin Furze built an awesome underground bunker. He’s always wanted a way to get from his workshop into the bunker, so he decided to build a steel-walled underground tunnel to connect the two spaces. He’s been working on the project for a long time, and it’s finally complete. Watch the full build here.

If you’ve ever lived in a big city, you’ve probably spent a meaningful amount of time wandering underground tunnels on your way to or from subway trains. In Return’s engrossing short film takes us on a hypnotic ride through the public walkways of the London Underground.

Start out with a 360º ride through Switzerland’s Gothard Base Tunnel, then take a tour of the myriad platforms, elevators, and walkways that surround the 35.5 mile long tunnel that runs through the base of the Alps. The video is narrated in German, but it’s self-explanatory.