Wednesday, February 03, 2016

Curse of Oak Island -Season 3 Final or "Why I decided to come back next year when I haven't found anything yet."

Well, we’ve had the season finale and we now know more than we did which is not to say that the episode wasn’t disappointing or that we learned much. (Spoilers Ahead) We got the final report from the diver who made what I think was an incredible journey down the Bore Hole 10 X to stand on semi-solid ground. He wandered around down there, telling us that the ground was “silty” and that it was uneven. He said that he saw no marks on the walls to suggest it was man made and said that the roof was uneven as well as the floor. It was his impression that it was a natural void they had tapped into when they drilled 10 X and that he found nothing down there to suggest human activity other than that which had happened after they bored the hole.

The pillar or post that had been seen on the sonar was apparently some of the debris left by modern men in their attempts to discover what was hidden down there. Or, in other words, it seemed to be a length of pipe that fell down and stuck in the mud. The body was an impression in the floor of the void and the box was a large rock that had one side with a nearly perfect right angle on it. None of the things that they believed were down there, and kept them coming back, turned out to be what they thought they were. Wishful thinking and an interpretation formed by their preconceived notions caused them to see things that weren’t there. To be fair, the video that had been made, what, forty or so years before, wasn’t very good anyway. No matter how often they aired it with their overlays to show us the various artifacts and body it didn’t change the outcome. Those things were not there.

Next the Lagina boys were visited by three McGinnis sisters who were direct descendants of one of the boys who originally found the “money pit” (I put that in quotes because I don’t think there is any money down there but all these treasure hunters have thrown a great deal of money into the pit). They certainly had a story to tell. First they mentioned a family legend that neither they nor anyone else in the family had ever revealed. According to them, the three boys found three chests with treasure in them. Each of the boys got one of the chests. Think of all the time, money and lives that could have been saved.

Here’s why I’m dubious of that story. In 1803, those boys, along with others, formed the Onslow Company and invested more time and money into digging deeper in the pit. If the boys had already removed three chests, they might have gotten it all and there would be no reason to look any deeper. Oh, I know what you’re thinking. If they found the chests buried each one deeper than the last, they might believe there was a fourth or a fifth, but to this point there is no evidence of that…

Which makes me think that tablet found at the 90 foot level was a hoax created by one of the land owners to increase the value of his land or by an investor to keep people interested in providing more money and coming back to the island. That tablet no longer exists though there are pictures of it but no photographs.

Second, the sisters had a small wooden box they kept in what looked like a velvet bag. Inside the box was a small golden cross that was said to be part of the treasure found by McGinnis so long ago. The Lagina boys thought that this was the first tangible evidence that there was treasure hidden in the “money pit” but all it really proved was that someone in the family had this cross that had been handed down through a couple of generations. There was nothing to attach it to the “money pit” other than family legend which could have been nothing more than family legend… or in other words, we don’t really know that it was found in a box of treasure removed from Oak Island. The Lagina boys didn’t seem to consider this. They accepted the story at face value but given their reactions to other important discoveries that isn’t much of a surprise.

After the sisters left the war room, the Lagina boys and their pals returned to the hole they had bored a couple of weeks earlier and by that I mean it was a couple of weeks for the show but might have been more time for them. Anyway, they brought out a guy with a small, HD video camera that he used to inspect pipes for damage. They lowered the camera into the hole and into the void their drilling had found. In the end, they saw some glints in the murky water that seemed to have a golden glow to it. This, they thought, was evidence of treasure down there, in the original “money pit” that had been buried too deep for the boys with only shovels to get in 1795 or too deep for the others who had been digging there because of the water that suddenly flooded the pit at about the 90 foot level.

And let’s not forget that when they drilled this hole they pulled up a bit of metal that excited them but looked more like a tiny piece of shrapnel than anything else. It didn’t seem to be made of a precious metal. Just a tiny bit of debris that could have easily been the result of other attempts to find treasure.


In the end of the show and the end of the season, they were sitting in the war room, trying to decide if it was worth the effort and money to attack the main money pit. They talked about throwing in the towel, but why do that when History was ready to fund another season. Although they tried to draw out the suspense but to no one’s surprise, they all voted to return next season… I mean next year to dig up the money pit. It is a fun summer vacation and you have the bonus of being on TV. What I don’t understand is why they wasted all this time and effort to explore Bore Hole 10 X when the treasure was allegedly in the “money pit.” Well, it did make for some dynamic television if nothing else.

10 comments:

  1. I think you were spot on with your observations...Hope the new season reveals something of substance!

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  2. Regarding the 'cross', we don't really know any of the discussions that took place off camera. There are experts who can often deduce information from photos of jewelry. If, for example, the design is known to be from the 1900's, that might affect the 'pirate treasure' theory. Scientific analysis may determine the composition of the metal, which could indicate origin. I like the shows where the owners refuse any kind of analysis of an artifact, even non-destructive methods. Did the producers consider any of this, or did they think it might detract from the plot? And yes, these shows _are_ scripted. Lots of behind-the-scenes planning, too. Are the Lagina boys being disingenuous, or are they following the script?

    In other series that -do- feature 'scientific' analyses, there are almost always obvious problems with the methodology, not to mention conclusions.

    . .. . .. --- ....

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  3. My thoughts were the same. I'm surprised at least two of the men are STILL interested in now draining Ten X next season to "be certain" nothing is down there. Why didn't they just drain it in season one? Obviously History needs more TV material from the Ten X story...

    On the money pit, I submit the "gold chain" found long ago could be from anything (like a diggers bracelet), and as stated, the "stone tablet" nothing but a probable hoax.

    Hard to imagine the Lagina boys concluding next year's season with these words, "Well I guess there was no treasure after all....just legendary rumors...nothing more."

    Poor Blankenship - he spent his life and all his money chasing an empty cavern at Ten X!

    I wonder how many people are doing the same when it comes to chasing aliens.....?

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  4. here's what I just don't understand.
    IF the five box culvert drains are KNOWN to exist, why not send a video camera into THEM to see where THEY lead to?

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  5. Do we REALLY know the box drains exist? No. What I recall is they did a DYE test and found dye dumped down Ten X oozed out and found its way off shore.

    No surprise really...the diver said there was current in the cavern and I would suspect that like many caverns there are various water current channels that flow towards the ocean.

    We've never seen the box drains. They should escavate those as means to verify their true existance.

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  6. Brian -

    I was under the impression that the dye thrown down 10 X did not reappear. They thought they found some of it but it was an alga growth and not dye. I do believe some of the boxes were found near one of the beaches that have the coconut husks on them. So, I think we have seen some of the boxes...

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  7. Then I stand corrected. It all happened too many television seasons ago....

    In any case they should escavate the box drains then...far more interesting and it would probably help them accurately date when they were created.

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  8. I agree Brian, Follow the "flood boxs" trail to the pit , it would lead directly to what everyone is looking for.Reverse engineering.There must be something left of them.

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  9. Having been in online sweepstakes publishing business a long time, History Channel doesn't need the brothers to find anything to make money. Part of the entertainment value with their viewers is the "hope" the brothers find anything of value. People love to see others either win things or find things. I have hundred of thousand members on our website. The attitude is if I don't win, I want to another member to win. The same attitude is true with the Oak Island Show. People who watch the show want to brothers to find anything even if it is a 500 year old paper clip.

    The other part to this is the future remarketing (rerun market) for the show. Each additional show adds value.

    Last, History doesn't have another replacement show for the time slot would be my guess that could produce the ad revenue. Most shows takes a year or more just to get to the test stage.

    So, ask the business questions side first and this will make more sense about why another season.

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