A subculture of “moles” has appeared on the Internet - fans of digging tunnels (4 photos)

“There’s a subculture of people around the world who like to dig tunnels as a hobby.” Adherents of the new fashion spend all their free time digging holes. They dig them as a hobby - often in defiance of local laws. How do you spend your free time?





The community of “tunnel digging enthusiasts” has emerged in part thanks to TikTok user Tunnel Girl. A woman from Northern Virginia began posting videos of herself digging a 22-foot-deep (almost seven meters) tunnel under her home.

The number of participants in tunnel-digging communities on Reddit has grown by more than 325% since January 2022, Bloomberg reports. The number of users of the “tunneling as a hobby” forum increased by 4800% over the same period.

Users of such groups exchange tips on tools and techniques, share videos of excavations and comment on the achievements of other hobbyists.





Another tunneling enthusiast, environmental restoration specialist Brian Ritchie, 58, from New Zealand, told Bloomberg that he became addicted to the hobby by accident. According to him, digging helps fight stress.



Richie spends his Sundays with his worn-out shovel, pursuing his favorite hobby: tunneling. Its burrow goes 16 feet underground and extends 82 feet from the shed to the far end of the garden.

If I could, I would do it every day,” he said.



However, fans of tunnel digging in an interview with Bloomberg note that when choosing such an activity, they often encounter bureaucratic red tape, since excavations usually require permission from the authorities.

The President of the International Tunneling and Underground Construction Association, Arnold Dix, is completely convinced that such a hobby should be considered illegal, because it involves risks to life.

Hazards include hitting a water pipe and drowning, exposure to poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide, and falling rocks on the head.