The Summer Gerbil Photo Contest

Wait a minute. Why wasn’t I the one being invited on awesome subterranean adventures? What is this special power James Rice possesses?

This trip was partly a research mission to get me photos for my other other webcomic, Smithson, which has scenes set in underground campus tunnels much like these. My original inspiration was my own alma mater, Vassar College, which has old steam tunnels as well as other odd semi-secret passageways. The restroom on my floor in sophomore year had a tunnel that went under the roof to a restroom on the opposite end of the building, which was exciting if you were me. But I guess Caltech’s steam tunnels have a rich and storied history, so James leapt at John Wells’s kind invitation.

My turn next!

7 thoughts on “The Summer Gerbil Photo Contest

  1. I can’t believe James photographed Speedy beneath a crudely etched sign pointing to a “Fucking Machine” and then neglected to capture said machine.

    Also, I’m wondering what the full spraypaint message is.

  2. There are no steam tunnels under Carnegie Mellon.  And if there were, I would not have been in them, because it would be against the rules.  I certainly have not been lost in them at 3:30 in the morning, with three of us navigating solely by the light of two digital watches because the rest of the group, which we lost, had the flashlight.

    • Of course not. Just as I was never inspired to go looking for tunnels to play live-action D&D in after reading Mona Jaffee’s Mazes & Monsters.

      Because of course doing such things would be criminal tresspassing and grounds for being expelled from school, right? -_^

  3. Which dorm were you in?  ‘Cause while the basement of Strong was nifty from a “This feels like a horror film!” standpoint, I never found any bonafide secret bathroom tunnels.

  4. I recognize the lyrics [however parodied] I believe the song is “I don’t believe in love” by the band Queensryche. The chorus goes like this: “I don’t believe in love. I never have and never will. I don’t believe in love. It’s never worth the pain that you feel.” But, “Ed” is a good name anyway.

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