It gets so hot in the Australian town of Coober Pedy that the birds sometimes literally fall out of the trees.
With temperatures reaching 125 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade, living above ground isn’t really a livable option, so residents have taken to living in homes underground that they call dugouts.
Why not build a home with air conditioning? It would be too expensive given the heat. The 1500 or so homes underground can be quite elaborate and sophisticated, like one that has an indoor swimming pool.
People live in the area because of the mining industry. Coober Pedy is the world’s largest provider of the precious stone, opal.
As miners were digging in the earth already, they converted the holes into living spaces as it was the cool place to live.
As the opal mining grew, so too did the number of dugouts. It’s a pretty smart solution, given all the holes they have to dig to find opals!
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