Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/09/12/bizarre-story-of-a-millionaire.html
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Of course, 4chan and Shkreli and Thiel come up tangentially the story, like faded wayfinding marks on trees in a dark and mysterious forest.
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This is so weird! A couple things stand out to me. First, the correlation between hoarding behavior and advancing paranoia and psychosis. Added to delusions of exaggerated self-importance, and an increasing disconnect from any sense of perspective, which go hand in hand with self-seclusion and a retreat into an online fantasy world.
It sounds like the Mother may have had her own significant mental issues which led to the home schooling and family reclusiveness. I wish they had answered the question of how Mom managed to accumulate 2.5 million to pass along to her son.
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Obsessive tunneling is not all that uncommon a behavior. This isn’t even the only case in the DC area. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/bizarre-tale-tunnels-trysts-and-taxa-smithsonian-entomologist-180959089/
Some people do manage to do a prettier job on the interior, though. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/temple-of-damanhur
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A bizarre story indeed, and a sad one. 
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One of those situations where “stop digging” is literally the best advice.
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Under some farms farmers started to dig tunnels under cellars and called them infernot literally tiny hell, and stored wine and moonshine into the tunnels.
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One of my favourite cases, carried out in a rather grander manner, but under mysterious circumstances, are the Williamson Tunnels in Liverpool. I’m thinking it was all secretly connected to Sacred Geometry and C’thulhu. 
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Lot of rich people in DC area. Housing prices keep going up, some people inherit a house or two they can sell for a million or so and soon you’re talking real money. Just a guess.
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But only after “don’t even start!” has failed to work.
There was one neighbour from hell video where someone in England did something similar, and compromised the safety of surrounding homes. (Too many NFH videos to find it easily.)
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Read the story and its pretty sad all around, the kid that died and his parents seemed to be taken by some who just never cared. I’m curious as to what Daniel Beckwitt’s thoughts are as far as his role in everything was, may never know. This also reminds me of the graphic novel My Friend Dahmer
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My 2-cents worth of amateur psychology: a lifetime of home-schooling, and little or no contact with neighborhood kids, standard childhood playtime, left him with a profound disregard for other human beings. Compound that with being young, unemployed, and having a fortune at his disposal-- a perfect storm.
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Three additional factors, which turns the storm into a hurricane.
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As a beer homebrewer, this sadly resembles my own basement to a great degree.
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OMG so guilty for not going off and reading the linked story first, but have your Khafras 100% on the underground construction safety and rescue planning, if not only an amazing flex permit and remote operation agreements. You might want to flip a few 4-story Golden-Age cult bungalows for senators on the part of state actors while you’re at it to kit things out (and be able to plan tun washout in DC.)
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What? No! I just meant that my (completely constructed and concrete re-enforced) basement is crammed with dusty bottles of various vintages. I have no need or desire of a hand-dug bunker.
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Good place to get some thinking done…
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I’m checkin’ it out.
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I think they said the bulk of the money was actually life insurance, so Mom didn’t exactly accumulate the bulk of it (unless you count dieting while an active life insurance policy exists as work I guess).
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“4chan and Shkreli and Thiel, oh my!”
“4chan and Shkreli and Thiel, oh my!”
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