Everyone has their own way of preparing for Doomsday. Some people would rather not think
about it while the world burns down around them. Others have a spot reserved in one of the most
luxurious doomsday bunkers in the world. One family in a small New England town is
stockpiling honey bees. And at the very top of the planet, in the frigid temperatures of the arctic,
a select few maintain a vault that could contain humanity's last hope for survival.
Let’s start with the best of the best. Or at least the richest of the rich.
What do the super-rich get when they buy into the Oppidum complex in the Czech Republic?
The answer is: pretty much anything they want.
The architects of Oppidum have not only created a doomsday shelter, but a doomsday paradise.
The complex sits in a quiet valley protected by natural features and a solid concrete wall. The
walls are so high that the only way to see inside of the complex is by aerial view or
entering through one of the secret entrances. The property itself is 323,000 square feet in size,
but that doesn’t even count most of the living space deep underground.
There are plenty of things to do on the surface of the compound. But if the
outside world is irradiated from nuclear war or a supervolcano blocks the sun for hundreds of years,
the residents of Oppidum will spend most of their time in the two underground levels of
this doomsday community. Each of these levels is 77,500 square feet with 13 foot high ceilings.
So, how do the super-rich prepare for their doomsday scenario? By adding all
of the comforts they enjoy now to their secure underground community at Oppidum.
To keep their clients comfortable and ensure they have everything they would ever need,
Oppidum has added some key components to their underground facility.
There is a garden that is grown using artificial lights, which are programmed
to imitate the sun as closely as possible. Of course they needed to include a spa,
swimming pool, and library. But no doomsday shelter for the super-rich would be complete
without installing a theater complex complete with every movie ever made.
The underground compound will also contain the basics, such as a medical facility
and all the necessary supplies to keep the community healthy. But it also includes
custom vaults so that the residents can store their private art collections
and any other valuables they don’t want to lose during the end of the world. There will also be
a full-service restaurant and a fully stocked wine cellar to keep everyone happy and drunk.
The price tag for reserving a spot at Oppidum is not advertised, which means you’d have to contact
them directly to find out. And if you have to ask for the price, you probably can’t afford it.
Obviously, this is not how most people prep for doomsday, but when you have a ton of money,
you can go all out preparing for the end of the world. However, there are people
who do some pretty insane things to prepare for doomsday, even if they don’t have a huge budget.
One former high school teacher in Ontario named Bruce Beach
came up with an ingenious doomsday plan using recycled school buses.
He first started planning for doomsday in the 1960s during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
But even after we made it through the Cold War, he continued to build onto his doomsday plan.
Beach found the best way to utilize abandoned school buses from the school district he worked at
was to repurpose them as a doomsday bunker. He would purchase them from the town and bury them
underground. As Beach collected more and more buses, he connected them like LEGOs
forming a labyrinth of tunnels. In the 1980s, he finished his school bus shelter and named it “Ark
Two.” The whole complex is made up of 42 school buses that are completely buried
underground with a secure opening to enter the doomsday bunker. He was so proud of his
accomplishment he even rented out his school bus shelter for people to stay in like an Airbnb.
Ark Two has a kitchen, shower, and several bedrooms. One unique trait
that Beach has that many doomsday preppers don’t is generosity. He has even said that
people have called him up just to ask if he had space in Ark Two for them
if the world came to an end. He always responded that he did. This might be a uniquely Canadian
trait as it is very rare for someone to offer shelter to others in their doomsday shelter.
One man in China is taking a different approach using the “Ark” name.
Instead of reusing buses, he is taking a page out of the Bible.
Lu Zhenghai has spent $160,000 on materials to build a ship reminiscent of Noah's Ark—except a
better name in this case might be Zhenghai’s Ark. The reason he is spending so much money on the
ship is to protect his family from the worldwide flood he sees coming. To be fair, sea levels are
rising, and depending on where you live, there is a chance you could be flooded out of your home.
This is especially true for island nations and coastal communities. But Zhenghai wants
to make sure he and his family are prepared just in case the entire planet floods.
He is building a ship around 65 feet long that weighs 80 tons. His materials of choice are steel
and wood to construct the hull of the ship. The inside will then be split into different
rooms and sections that will turn the boat into a comfortable house in which his family can live.
Another man in China is preparing for the short-term impacts of doomsday.
He is doing this in a pretty crazy way by creating giant yellow balls.
Yang Zongfu has constructed several massive balls made out of steel that are 13 feet in diameter.
Each one supposedly can withstand pretty much any type of disaster. He calls these spheres an
Atlantis. They weigh around 3-tons and have been painted bright yellow. Zongfu claims the design is
optimal for surviving sudden global catastrophes such as volcano eruptions and earthquakes. The
way the spheres are shaped allows them to float, roll, or even withstand the force of an explosion.
One main problem with the Atlantis balls is that anyone inside would get tossed around.
This led to Zongfu equipping each metal ball with seatbelts. He even claims that the materials used
would help someone survive a nuclear blast from a distance. If you were in the ball right next
to where a nuclear device was detonated, the giant yellow ball would not save you. But if
you were a little ways away, it could protect you from the shockwave as it rolled to safety.
Zongfu has created a way to prepare for any disaster, but in a different way than many
preppers have. His plan is to survive the initial cause of doomsday and then leave his Atlantis
structure to try and survive in a post-apocalyptic world. This is different from many doomsday
preppers as he isn’t in it for the long haul, he just wants to survive in the short term.
Maybe his thought is that if his Atlantis balls couldn’t save him from whatever doomsday scenario
ends the world, there wouldn’t be much left in the apocalypse to look forward to anyways.
It is insane how much time and money some people spend on a doomsday plan. This couldn’t be more
true than one Australian man who has created his safe space high up in the mountains.
In Australia, a man named Robert Bast has spent over $350,000 on survival equipment
to make sure he is prepared for doomsday. That is a crazy amount of money to spend on
supplies if you are assuming the world is going to end. Most of what he stockpiles is expected,
such as food, water, and gas. But unlike many other doomsday preppers, Bast isn’t building
his shelter underground. Instead, he will be traveling into the mountains for Armageddon.
In fact, Bast has built a safehouse 1,500 feet above sea level. He makes test runs
periodically with his family to ensure they are ready in a worst-case scenario. Bast, his wife,
and his kids pile into a pickup truck and speed up the mountain to where safety awaits. So, it would
seem that in the Land Down Under, the doomsday safehouses are not always down underground.
Even more surprising than spending tons of money or living in school buses is what some
people collect to prepare for doomsday. You wouldn’t think that bees would be the animal
of choice when preparing for the end of the world, but one New England woman disagrees.
Kathy Harrison, also known as "Doris Day of Doom," is stockpiling honey bees for the end of the
world. She collects the bees with her husband and makes sure that they are kept happy and healthy.
The craziest part is what they plan to do with them when the world ends.
When asked this question, Harrison tells people that bees are an excellent source of food.
Their honey can be used to make all kinds of nutritious meals, not to mention in dire
situations the bees themselves can be eaten as a small source of protein. The bee’s wax can
also be used as a preservative, which can help keep vegetables and fruits fresher for longer.
But there is another more unique use that the Harrison’s have planned for their hives.
When the world comes crashing down, they plan to use the bees and their honey as a
commodity to barter with. Since money will have no value in a post-apocalyptic world,
food and other important resources will be key. The bees can replenish their own numbers
while simultaneously producing honey that can be bartered with. Basically, the Harisson’s are using
their bees as a cash cow. This will only work if the other people play nice after the world
comes to an end. If New England turns into a Mad Max scenario, the bees will not be very useful.
Some preppers around the world have created their doomsday plan to include no one else but
themselves and their immediate family. There will be no bartering and no communicating with others.
This led one man to make the basement of his Las Vegas home his own private indoor world.
This doomsday prepper has recreated a quiet neighborhood right under his house.
It comes with everything from an inground pool to a grassy lawn. To be fair,
this setup seems pretty relaxing, even if it’s intended for the end of the world.
The tiny houses in the bunker are just a single room, but they have lovely sliding glass doors,
and inside is everything someone could need to ride out the apocalypse.
Even if the housemates don’t get along from time to time, they can escape each
other by wandering through the small park and staring up into the fake sky. Honestly,
if the world has to end, this might not be the worst place to spend the rest of your life.
The only thing better than preparing for doomsday with a small village in your basement is by
making your entire house a bunker. And that is exactly what one architect did in Poland.
The home is called The Safe House and is located just outside of Warsaw, Poland. It was
created by Robert Konieczny of KWK Promes as an impenetrable fortress to protect whoever is inside
from whatever doomsday befalls the world—including a zombie apocalypse. This structure looks more
like a giant concrete block than an actual house when it is in lockdown. It has no windows or doors
and is completely isolated from the outside world. But when the coast is clear, and doomsday is over,
the walls slide back, allowing anyone inside to have a beautiful view of the property.
However, even when the walls are open, the house is protected by a
solid concrete wall that lines the entire property. The cool thing is that if at any
point the people inside of The Safe House feel unsafe, they can put the structure
back in lockdown with a touch of a button. Inside is everything someone would want to
keep them busy during the apocalypse. This may be the holy grail of doomsday homes.
If you thought the previous preppers were crazy, you haven’t seen anything yet.
A company called Vivos XPoint has an insane plan for some open land in South Dakota.
Vivos XPoint doesn’t plan to build just one bunker, or even a few bunkers,
to prepare for the end of the world. Instead, Vivos XPoint is building an entire
underground city of 575 bunkers to house the last remaining survivors of doomsday.
There are entire towns with less than 575 structures meaning this
underground doomsday city will be bigger than many other South Dakota communities.
This will be a no-frills underground city providing only the necessities.
However, they do build to suit their customer’s needs. Vivos XPoint has drawn up four different
floor plans that a resident can choose from, so there is something for everyone.
It would seem that the people in this region of the United States take doomsday very seriously,
and now they can be surrounded by like-minded individuals in Vivos XPoint underground city.
Somewhere between a single hidden bunker and a full-blown city of doomsday preppers,
there is the Survival Condo.
This behemoth underground structure looks like a reverse skyscraper.
The building descends 201 feet into the Earth and can house thousands of people
when the end of the world comes. So, this may be a good opportunity for many doomsday
preppers in the region to explore their options about post-apocalyptic living.
The structure itself will be housed in a missile silo that was constructed during the Cold War.
It will have fifteen floors with all of the amenities someone could hope for at the end
of the world. The plans include a dog walking area, a shooting range, and rock climbing walls.
Of course, there will be indoor pools with a water park. There will also be restaurants
and bars as well as medical facilities to care of everyone in the Survival Condo.
The architects plan to create several redundant power storage systems and
water filtration systems. The hydroponics system will grow plants using artificial
lights to create a long-lasting supply of food. The plan is to be able to sustain
the inhabitants of Survival Condo for five years without opening the hatch.
This would be a much more bougie doomsday setup than your average bunker.
This structure won’t be for everyone, though. Doomsday preppers who have signed on for the
project must share their underground condo complex with others. So, it is not for preppers who are
solely concerned about only saving themselves. On the plus side, the Survival Condo will be
built deep enough and surrounded by the silos protective covering, allowing it to survive
a nuclear blast 100 times more powerful than the atomic bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki.
There is a less expensive option for doomsday preppers in Indiana
if they want to be surrounded by a small community of like-minded individuals
but can’t afford the expensive costs of an underground condominium.
Vivos Indiana is a communal doomsday bunker that feels much more like a large office with
some bedrooms than a luxurious bunker. It houses 80 people and is supposed to be able to sustain
them for about a year. Everything is shared in this bunker, so it will be imperative everyone
gets along. The bedrooms are separated, but the only thing that fits in them is a bed.
The common room serves as the main area of the complex where meals are eaten, and entertainment
is enjoyed. What makes Vivios Indiana different from other bunkers and doomsday facilities
is that everything is shared. Like other doomsday communities, this could lead to problems,
but the small size and lack of privacy of the Vivos Indiana could exacerbate those issues.
This is just another example of crazy ways people are planning to
live out their remaining days after doomsday. Everyone is different,
and everyone will want something different at the end of the world.
Most people find planning for the apocalypse crazy and not worth doing since there is a decent
chance they won’t make it. For doomsday preppers who want to live in a community but don’t have
the money to afford some of the uber-expensive options, Vivos Indiana may be the perfect fit.
For those people who are constantly afraid of doomsday happening even when they’re on vacation,
there is a special hotel just for them.
The Felsenhotel La Claustra is located inside of a mountain. That’s right,
for doomsday preppers and adventurers alike, there is a hotel that is within a mountain.
This is appealing for anyone who thinks Armageddon might be just around the corner.
In the eyes of doomsday preppers, Felsenhotel La Claustra is a much safer
option than a Four Seasons or Marriott during the end of the world. The structure
used to be a Swiss military fortress built specifically to keep the people inside it safe.
However, this military base has been completely remodeled into a luxurious hotel with rock walls
and comfy rooms. For people who want a vacation away from prepping but still want to be secure,
they can sleep at Felsenhotel La Claustra, eat in their main dining room located in a large
cavern in the mountain, and walk around the property using subterranean tunnels.
In the winter, the entrance is covered in snow, which is beautiful but also a reminder
of how remote this hotel can be. Ideally, if the world was about to end and you were on vacation,
this is where you would want to be staying.
Perhaps the most impressive and important doomsday preppers of all are those who work
at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. This facility houses a backup supply of all the
different plants that humans rely heavily on. This means that if all of the crops
were wiped out around the world by a global catastrophe, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault
would be able to restart these food stores by using the seeds contained within their facility.
This vital bunker is located at the furthest northern point that commercial airlines can fly,
making it both remote and accessible. The vault itself is located 100 meters into the side of
a mountain to ensure everything inside is secured. The environment in Svalbard
also has low humidity and is not near any fault lines, which means it is safe from earthquakes.
The entranceway and the vault are located well above sea level to help protect it from rising
sea levels. And, of course, being that far north means the region is incredibly cold. In fact, the
permafrost located in the region creates a natural freezer to keep the seeds frozen for future use.
Obviously, these seeds could only be used if the planet wasn’t irradiated by nuclear fallout
or completely flooded like in the Noah’s Ark story. But if a global catastrophe occurred and
we needed to start from scratch, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault would have the tools to get
our farming going again. When you think about it, Svalbard may not be the ideal location for every
doomsday prepper, but it is perfect for storing the seeds for all of the plants on the planet.
A good indication of how crazy preppers can be in an area is found at the local
survival surplus store. Owners of these outlets have heard and seen
pretty much every insane doomsday prepper in their general vicinity.
In Quebec Canada, one survival store owner noticed that whenever there is political conflict,
even if it is just during a divided election, people start to stack up on doomsday supplies.
This isn’t surprising as it would only take one nation with nuclear
capabilities to start an all-out war ending in a nuclear holocaust. But other events can
trigger the insane tendencies of doomsday preppers, even if it is nowhere near them.
For example, when the Fukushima nuclear disaster occurred in Japan, people in Quebec started to
prep for the end of the world. This is interesting because Quebec is very far away from Japan.
However, the shop owner noted that people almost immediately started buying anti-radiation pills,
gas masks, and chemical protection suits after the news broke about the disaster. Loading up
on all of these things because of nuclear reactors melting down on the other side of
the world seems extreme, but nothing could have been more normal to the Quebec doomsday preppers.
Florida is a unique place. The beliefs of people who live there can vary, but some are wildly
different from the rest of the United States. This is why an interesting pattern emerges in
the doomsday prepping community whenever a Democrat has a chance of getting elected.
Survival store owners notice that when it isn’t an election year and business seems to go on as
usual. There aren’t many strange purchases in the store, and customers tend to buy regular doomsday
equipment like fire starters, water purifiers, and first aid supplies. But whenever there is a chance
that a Democrat will become president, there is an increase in a rather unsettling commodity.
Gun purchases increase drastically at Florida survival shops whenever an election cycle favors a
Democratic candidate or if the race is close. This is surprising because regulars at survival stores
who buy a lot of equipment tend to be doomsday preppers, not anti-government revolutionaries.
Then again, sometimes those things can go hand in hand depending on where you are.
One store owner who noticed this crazy tendency chalked it up to an odd idiosyncrasy in the
region. For the most part, doomsday preppers in Florida seem to be similar to those in many other
parts of the world. They buy a lot of supplies during hurricane season or if there is a conflict
between major countries in the world. But for some reason, U.S. politics is a driving force behind
doomsday preppers loading up on firearms, which is not seen in many other regions.
This is a slightly scary thought as if you put together all of the preppers and their firearms;
they would have a decent-sized militia. Luckily the world is still turning,
and there is relative peace in the United States.
But who knows what will happen next election cycle if the Floridian preppers get angry.
Surprisingly Canadian doomsday preppers tend to be influenced by politics as well.
Except it isn’t their own politics but those of the U.S.. Except in Canada, the doomsday preppers
don’t go out and buy a bunch of guns. Instead, they load up on food. There seems to be more fear
of economic collapse by Canadian doomsday preppers than war during United States election cycles.
Also, Canadians don’t appear to be as interested in building concrete bunkers to ride out an
apocalypse. Survival store owners admit that their customer base increases when things get
tumultuous in the United States or a catastrophe somewhere else in the world. However, there is a
very low demand for a fallout shelter buried deep underground compared to other parts of the world.
Maybe this is because there is so much undeveloped land that it is super easy
to just escape into the wilderness. Or perhaps Canadians just feel secluded
cabins on the fringes of civilization work as well as anything dug under the ground.
In France, doomsday prepper stores sell slightly different supplies. This is
because their end of the world fears are different than those in North America.
Over the past ten years, more and more Europeans are embracing the survivalist lifestyle.
This is slightly different from doomsday prepping, but some see it as complimentary.
According to survival shop owners, politics tend to play less of a role in what preppers buy than
fears around the damage done to our planet by pumping greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.
These fears influence what doomsday preppers buy in this part of the world. They focus on
purchasing water purification systems and wilderness supplies over firearms. This
is probably due to the fact that you can’t shoot climate change or wage war against it using guns.
This brings us to somewhat of a conundrum. People who take doomsday prepping seriously
would not want to divulge their secrets. One of the key tenets of doomsday prepping is not telling
people where your supplies are or how you plan to ride out the apocalypse. This is especially
true if you have a hidden bunker somewhere filled with all the things you need to survive.
So, there are probably hundreds, or even thousands, of serious preppers that fly
below the radar. Maybe they buy their supplies from different places, so they aren’t seen
as a regular anywhere. Or maybe they have other people they trust buy them supplies. One thing
is for sure though: true professional preppers are not broadcasting their location or doing
interviews about their end of the world plan if they are trying to outlast everyone else.
Now watch “How To Build A World War 3 BOMB SHELTER.”
Or check out “This is How the World Ends.”