February 17, 2026
We dig this drama
So You Want to Build a Tunnel
From Colin Furze hype to “Tunnel Girl” tears—fun, fear, and memes battle it out
TLDR: A civil engineer breaks down the risks and rules behind the internet’s DIY tunnel craze, name-checking viral projects and legal pitfalls. Comments swing from heartfelt therapy-by-digging confessions to Furze/Kala fandom, plus a mini revolt over the no-subheadings transcript—proof the hype is real, and reality checks matter.
DIY tunnels are trending, and Practical Engineering’s latest video leans in hard on the thrill—and the risk. The host name-drops viral diggers like Colin Furze, “Tunnel Girl” Kala, and even an old Toronto mystery tunnel, then calmly explains the unsexy stuff: safety, laws, and the fact that land ownership goes vertical too. The comments? A whole subterranean soap opera.
The strongest voice came from the heart: one user shared that digging became therapy during his wife’s cancer fight, drawing a wave of empathy and turning the thread unexpectedly intimate. On the other end, the hype squad showed up yelling “Colin Furze ftw!” while others rallied behind Kala—one commenter even posted her channel and immediately confessed, “reading is hard,” after realizing she was already mentioned. Meanwhile, the usability warriors demanded subheadings and pictures because the transcript felt like spelunking without a map.
Humor kept bubbling up: someone dropped a totally off-topic tunnel soundtrack link, and the crowd ran with jokes about “underyards” and secret pub passages. Underneath the laughs, a real split emerged: the romance of carving your own hidden world versus the boring-but-true reality of permits, shoring, and not tunneling onto someone else’s property. Verdict: the internet wants tunnels—but also guardrails.
Key Points
- •The article highlights a surge in hobby tunneling content, citing multiple high-profile DIY subterranean projects documented online.
- •Underground construction is dangerous and involves unique engineering challenges; the author plans to outline modern tunnel methods and their relevance to hobbyists.
- •A Toronto tunnel discovery in a public park was traced to an individual enthusiast, not a malicious plot, according to a Macleans interview.
- •Land ownership typically extends below the surface; underground trespassing is possible, and major projects secure subsurface easements.
- •The author advises only digging where permitted and frames the piece as informational, not professional advice.