10 Places You're Not Allowed To Visit

Today it feels like the whole world has been explored, but there are still a handful of places around the world that are off-limits to humans. Today let's look at 10 places you're not allowed to visit.

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TIMESTAMPS -
0:00 - Intro
2:05 - Lascaux Cave
3:05 - North Sentinel Island
4:24 - Poveglia, Italy
5:32 - Vatican Secret Archives
6:29 - Snake Island
7:29 - North Brother Island
8:22 - Room 39
9:02 - Metro 2
10:03 - Surtsey Island
11:02 - Chapel of the Ark of the Covenant
12:48 - Sponsor - Displate
14:19 - Patreon Supporters

[CamJamSoundInc]

I’ve gone to two of these places actually ! One stone for two birds : I did my PhD on the sanitary management during medieval pandemics, especially the bubonic plague :) as part of my research I managed to get credentials to consult a folder in the Vatican Apostolic Archives concerning the “Lazarettos” or “Pest Houses” ! Hence, one of the most famous ones is Poveglia that I’ve had the chance of visiting !
Thanks for your content Joe you’re an absolute legend :)

[Historical_Vagabond]

My late friend had access to the Vatican Secret Archives in the 1970's for a book on St. Francis. She said it was kind of a strange place - one day she was working on a particular volume of documents but the next day when she asked for it again she was told that it didn't exist.

[OncleClara]

Joe worrying about doing too many places in one video would be too long, whereas I would happily watch a two hour long Answers with Joe video no problem.

[commieTerminator]

My father has gone very close to the sentinel island as an Indian coast guard personnel to survey if the tribe is still alive after facing a tsunami. He told that he was in a helicopter and they need to take a closer view to look for the tribe but as the helicopter descended a bit, freakin spears started flying out from the trees and one hit the helicopter's bottom (no serious damage tho) so he pulled back. A warm welcome indeed from the tribe conveying "u thought a puny tsunami can take us out huh?"

[RichHeimlich]

Funny story: My wife and I were looking to see "unusual" places on a trip through Virginia. I searched online for such odd places and found a website that hyped the best spy museum in the country called the CIA Spy Museum. They showed pictures of artifacts and listed hours and such. It has a Facebook page. So we drove there and when we got to the address we ended up at the CIA at gates that were entirely empty. Hmm. Next door there were other gates for a neighboring building and we asked the attendant there. She said, "Oh, you've come to the wrong entrance. Just go and gave us the correct directions to the right entrance. We followed those and there was the ominous sign saying that it was off-limits if you go straight, but visitors should stay right. This is the CIA so we obviously stayed right. We got to what looked like a ticket kiosk and I rolled down my window and after a few long moments a voice said, "What are you doing here?" I said, "We're here to see the Spy Museum which we read about on this website." (Yeah, I know, at this point we sound batty, but in for a penny, in for a pound, right?) The silence returned and then, after about a minute he came back and said, "Please drive directly forward to the officer on the right by the pylons. Do not drive anywhere else." Uh, okay. So we drove forward and it was then we noticed a lot of firepower trained on us from various locations and as we moved towards the pylons new round barriers came out of the ground and trapped our car in the spot it was in. A heavily armed officer came up and asked us again why we were there. We explained everything. They had us open all our windows, give them ID, explain again and again and again. Then more officers showed up in more gear and walked all around the car including looking under it with mirrors (uh oh). Finally the baddest-ass woman officer I've ever seen came out and started the whole process again, but she seemed to understand. We explained exactly how we found the location and how it was presented as a tourist spot. She told us not to move and then went off. While we were in the car, alone, we talked about how incredible this all was and how screwed we were by this website entry. It was just another "unusual" place to visit in Virgina, literally, like #6 on a list of 30, or something similar.

So then the woman officer returned and as she was explaining the situation she clearly referenced elements of the conversations my wife and I had while alone in the car. Obviously they had acoustic mics aimed at the car and heard everything. Cool. She then mentioned my being a vet and said they had quickly verified my story and let me know, to my TOTAL SHOCK, that they'd actually been trying to get that website to stop listing the museum as an attraction. It turns out it IS a thing and IS there, but it's JUST for select CIA employees. She also made two final points CRYSTAL clear. 1. Never, EVER return there again, that they certainly were recording this transgression and this was our single mistaken foray. 2. As we drove out follow the path she described to the absolute last detail without wavering in any way, shape or form. We did exactly that. As we left, we realized that, in the end, we actually had likely experienced a better story than if we had just gotten into the museum. So, do NOT go there. We contacted the website after our experience and pleaded with them to make changes and they finally amended the entry to point out that you're not allowed there and can get into serious trouble if you show up.

[Zappygunshot]

The use of a "keep out" sign isn't in stopping people getting in, it's stopping them suing you when they inevitably hurt themselves.

[renerpho]

I've been to Lascaux II. I know, it's not the "real thing", but still a cool place to visit. The reconstruction is very well done!

[FravelBagel]

It's important to note that the Sentinelese weren't always so hostile. They only started immediately killing visitors after someone kidnapped four of them. Two kids and two elders. After the elders died the kids were returned, likely with all sorts of things the Sentilenese have never had a chance to build up immunity towards. Now they kill on sight, and frankly I don't blame them. One outsider passing on a disease, virus, or bacteria could wipe out an entire people that deserves to live just as much as anyone else.

[commanderable]

"stalkers" (urban explorers) have found many of Metro-2s tunnels. these exist in other cities in Russia as well, notably in Samara where it's a museum.

[raylea]

I definitely vote for an in-depth series about off-limits places. Maybe not straight through but, once a month or something? A deep dive into a few similar places...either here or over on Nebula would work!!!

[darthtaterhater]

Hey Joe, long time lurker on your channel. I'm an urban explorer and have paid a visit to North Brother (outside of the protected bird season if you were worried.) Many of the historic hospital buildings are extremely beautiful but dear god are they dangerous to navigate. My foot went through the floor a couple of times and many of the stairwells and floors are partially collapsed. The island is also covered in poison ivy. You also have to contend with the proximity to Rikers, which is a few hundred meters away, and occasional NYPD patrols.

[muskyoxes]

That's typical.
"We don't like the word secret, so we're calling it apostolic."
"Oh cool, can we see it?"
"No, it's secret."

[rd]

Lascaux cave is relatively recent when compared to the cave paintings that were found at Juukan Gorge in Western Australia.
The sacred site in Western Australia  showed 46, 000 years of continual occupation and provided a 4, 000-year-old genetic link to present-day traditional owners has recently been destroyed by Australia most corrupt government for the expansion of an iron ore mine.
Sad.

[CharlesBosse]

As a former transit worker, there are definitely more tunnels than are used in any city with a rail transit system and likely tunnels people have forgotten about in most larger/older cities, and that doesn't even include "unofficial" tunnels. Also, it's almost certain that if you live in a place with a transit system with a base of operations larger than a dentist office, there is a "bunker" that can be used for operations in/after disasters.

[An-Islander]

I've been to Stalin's secret bunker in Moscow, which is basically four parallel metro tunnels with a command center, living quarters, life support systems etc. It was built during the construction of the Moscow metro using the same technology and was so secret that even the workers thought they were just building the metro. The bunker had tunnel systems linking it to the main metro and we could hear trains zooming by, but the tour guide said nothing of Metro II

[GenLiu]

I'm French with a father born in the Dordogne department so, I've been to the Lascaux cave when I was a kid.
I just learned much later that it wasn't the real thing and was quite disappointed about it but from what I recall, even the replicas of the cave are worth the look. In fact, the Dordogne is a beautiful department.

[stardustluvsu]

I love the guest stars and podcast clips but it feels like forever since we've had a genuine answers with Joe video and I'm really happy you're back in action

[lauramuse]

I have a friend who has a PHD in history and has been to the Vatican archives. There was a particular letter he wanted to see and he had to apply for permission, there was a process he had to go through, and he was only allowed to see that one thing. He said it was cool.

[nerfherder]

You know how I know you make some of the best content ever Joe? Because no matter how long or short your videos are, they're always over way too fast. They say time speeds up when you're having fun and I have so much fun when you're teaching all of us schlubs! 😁

[katevgrady]

I'm not religious, but imagining standing seeing Lascaux, a place so important to anthropology, art, sociology, and so many other subjects, is just moving. It's a testament to humanity on a timescale that we can barely fathom, and it's beautiful.