Why Can't Anyone Dig Up This Buried Treasure?

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Thoughty2 (Arran) is a British YouTuber and gatekeeper of useless facts. Thoughty2 creates mind-blowing factual videos about science, tech, history, opinion and just about everything else.
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Writing: Steven Rix
Editing: Jack Stevens

[antonsimmons]

I'm pretty certain the treasure has already been found long ago, and the person who got it was bright enough not to tell anyone.

[lunar]

Anyone else have the feeling this may have all started because someone dug a small hole then left it due to the rain, then someone else dug up that hole to figure out why that patch of earth was disturbed, then the next person with the same brilliant idea thought that “well if someone dug a hole it must be for an important reason”....and here we all are several brilliant ideas later on an epic adventure to understand the meaning of the hole

[bearforce]

I live in the neighbouring province to Nova Scotia, very nice to see a story so close to home on this wonderful channel. As for the treasure, I think it is an ingenious way to increase tourism.

[ubergnu]

I visited Nova Scotia a few years back! I wasn't actively treasure hunting but I found some anyway. The beautiful nature, great seafood and wonderful, friendly people. Love you guys!

[jumemowery]

You had your chance to drag this out for 10 years or so, but I guess the history Channel already did that. Thanks for condensing the story into a manageable time frame.

[Deoxys]

As a person who lives in a coastal region that's at sea level my first thought upon hearing that they started digging as deep as they could on a fairly small island was "I'm surprised the hole didn't flood." Now having seen what happened next I'm just confused as to why everyone was apparently surprised that it flooded. Seriously, what did they expect?

[sauravrao]

Perhaps the real treasure was the hole we dug along the way...

[StuckOnAFireHydrant]

Kidd's real treasure is the amusement he gets from every person who starts digging again. He's probably got a couch setup with a bowl of popcorn where he puts his feet up to have a good laugh

[alm]

As a Canadian, I love this legend, whether true or not.

[Veklim]

Ironically, it's pretty likely that most of the finds which have come out of OI originated from previous excavation parties. It's a bit like a self-fulfilling prophecy, enough time and effort digging there will eventually lead to a fortune in discarded and lost stuff from all those previous visits, thus creating the very horde those people are looking for. Personally I find it hilarious, and oddly serves as a good abstract definition for all of human endeavour, spend long enough doing something pointless and you might learn something valuable.

[jackrangaiah]

nothing compared to the hole ive spent the last 20 yrs of my life digging myself into

[Tardxan]

If that area is prone to sinkholes, isn’t it possible that the wood/coins/jewelry were just pieces of the treasure that was originally buried a reasonable depth, but then a sinkhole opened up underneath it and scattered the bits?

[K-W]

The Curse of Oak Island show is still going on. Recent seasons have had pit water tests with gold and silver results in the money pit area and other evidence (hundreds of years old cut tunnel timbers and more). Archeologically speaking they've also uncovered gravel road system, the swamp near the pit showing evidence that it was most likely a ship mooring spot for unloading/loading cargo and various other things. Not to say the show doesnt sensationalize but it does mean the activity on the island certainly was more than once otherwise believed.

[derpderpus]

The problem with buried treasure, most especially when it's buried in a constantly flooding pit, is that it becomes *sunken treasure, * which makes Captain Kidd's buried treasure the ultimate *sunk-costs fallacy.*

[h.m.]

This here: "We've been leaving our crap around" got me laughing. Can you imagine in 1000 years people digging up some Pokemon figures and cards somewhere and trying to make sense why people were worshiping monsters.

[mafiousbj]

It's amazing that none of the excavators seems to have consulted with a geologist, who might illuminate them on the concepts of water table levels, soil movement and migration and the issues with digging close to the coast.

And assuming that 18th century pirates had the engineering know-how and tools to build that floodong channel "booby trap" is also insane. ^^

[Blasikov]

Even if (though) there is no treasure trove, the work that the Laginas and many contributors have done has uncovered a really large amount of archeological finds. The have found stone roads, wharfs, mooring anchors, the man made swamp, wooden ship era repair facilities, and evidence of heavy industry. Much more was happening on and around Oak Island than most people know.

[Nick-Scott]

This skips out on the farmer that started to buy land across the island although his crops weren't worth nearly the amount, he could have located the treasure years before

[reclawyxhush]

There are so many stories of hidden treasure chests throughout the whole history of literature, with The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Treasure Island being the epitomes of such daydreaming-inducing tales. And yet I consider Peter Duck by A. Ransome to be the best of this kind, a novelette that in genuinely masterful way creates a unique synthesis of childish fantasy and down-to-earth brutal realism. Nice narrative style of the video reminding me somewhat that strange ambience of that not so infantile piece of good adventure literature.

[dabajabaza]

This is a really great video. I'm glad you went into the supposed existence of the planks and stone tablet, highlighting how they've 'disappeared' and if they can't be found then they're really just another part of the legend.
Great work Thoughty2. I've been watching you for years.