unilad homepage
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • World News
    • Crime
    • Health
    • Money
    • Sport
    • Travel
  • Film and TV
    • Netflix
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Unbelievable moment man awakens a volcano after throwing something in

Home> News

Updated 12:31 22 Jul 2024 GMT+1Published 12:29 22 Jul 2024 GMT+1

Unbelievable moment man awakens a volcano after throwing something in

The bizarre experiment took place at the Erta Ale volcano in Ethiopia

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Photovolcanica

Topics: News, Science, Weird

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

X

@MrJoeHarker

Advert

Advert

Advert

There are - sadly - a lot of ways humans can impact the planet, but a volcano is one of the things we really shouldn't mess with.

They're literally mountains filled with fire. They're big, they're sporadic, and they're capable of burning and melting everything that gets in their path - we should really just leave them alone, right?

That's my opinion at least, but one guy had another idea.

Advert

In incredible footage shared online, two people can be seen standing scarily close the lip of a huge pit at the Erta Ale volcano in Ethiopia; a continuously active basaltic shield volcano.

That's their first mistake in my option, but rather than running in the other direction, one of them then threw something into the boiling substance.

The object dropped down into the pit and hit the bottom, where it broke through the hardened crust of the lava.

That was mistake number two.

After the object hit the crust, it opened up a hole which caused hot lava to spurt upwards.

At first there were just a few globules of the molten hot stuff, then the surface of the volcano started pulsing and more lava spewed upwards.

"Oh look it broke the surface, it's made a nice little hole." (YouTube/Photovolcanica)
"Oh look it broke the surface, it's made a nice little hole." (YouTube/Photovolcanica)

The impact of the object continued as the hole grew and began spitting out bigger and bigger globs of lava.

Within seconds, what had once been a silent and unmoving surface was a roiling pond of molten turbulence, and the volcano awakens all thanks to one little object being thrown into it.

Though the whole thing seems like a terrible idea, there was actually method to the madness.

The decision to throw an object into the lava came as part of a test by researchers who wanted to work out what would happen if a human being fell into a volcano from such a height that they could potentially break through the surface crust and punch a hole in the lava.

"The hole is much bigger and lava is shooting out of it, let's hope it stops doing that." (Photovolcanica/YouTube)
"The hole is much bigger and lava is shooting out of it, let's hope it stops doing that." (Photovolcanica/YouTube)

Since they couldn't get an actual human to test this idea, the researchers instead used a box filled with organic waste weighing about 30kg to take the terrifying 80 metre plunge into the lava.

They believe the sudden awakening of the volcano and the violent expulsion of lava is largely a result of the steam produced due to organic matter falling into the volcano.

Since humans are mostly water, a person into a volcano would probably have pretty much the same effect - though hopefully we'll never get to know for sure.

  • Shocking moment nuclear chemist 'ate uranium' to prove it was harmless
  • Teenager explains why he threw a dildo on WNBA basketball court in shocking moment
  • Unbelievable footage shows moment Elon Musk's SpaceX rocket explodes during test
  • Wife of man killed in tragic MRI accident recalls moment machine 'snatched' him

Choose your content:

20 mins ago
28 mins ago
an hour ago
  • Fox News
    20 mins ago

    Couple who sued clinic speak out after baby's biological parents are identified

    Tiffany Score and Steven Mills filed a lawsuit against the clinic

    News
  • Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
    28 mins ago

    New poll reveals the number of Americans who think Congress is doing a good job

    Last year marked the lowest level of legislative output on record in the first year of a presidency

    News
  • Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images
    an hour ago

    Leonardo DiCaprio sent Nikki Glaser bizarre gift after she mocked him at awards show

    The One Battle After Another star laughed with the crowd at the 2026 Golden Globes and sent Glaser a surprising gift afterwards

    Celebrity
  • Zamek/VIEWpress/Getty
    an hour ago

    How to claim your money from $425 million Capital One settlement

    It comes after customers were allegedly steered away from accounts that paid much higher interest

    News