We have completely transformed our world through the immense amount of buildings we have constructed, leaving only a few places untouched by man. While many buildings exist for the purpose of serving food, selling things, or living in, there is actually a very rare yet interesting type of building that has been designed to keep people out. The specific purpose of these areas varies drastically, from prisons, to bank vaults, to military sites, but each has their own story to tell. These buildings are a great display of working as a team, and showing what we can do as people if we have a common goal. Today we’re going to learn a bit about some of the most heavily guarded places on Earth, why these places are so secure, and hopefully uncover some of the secrets that they hold.

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10 Cheyenne Mountain Complex

 

Starting off we have the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. It is located in Colorado and has a deep history as a base of operations in the 1950’s during the cold war. It was at this time where the threat of soviet bombings were high, so proper action needed to be taken in order so that everything was safe, which is why it was built inside of an entire mountain.

While it may seem a bit overkill, it certainly gets the job done. Since then, its use has declined substantially, still being maintained by the Air Force but at a much lower function. It’s weird to see such a huge construction not being used much and it makes you wonder if it ever will be prominent again.

9 Fort Knox

 

Next up we have the infamous Fort Knox. While many of you have probably heard this name before, you may not know all there is to it. You see, Fort Knox, located in Kentucky, is the USA’s famous long lasting Military base. It was around all the way back in the First World War and played a large role in the harboring and training of troops. Since its creation, over one million troops have graduated here, further showing how important it has been. In addition to being a military base, it is also the largest depository for “precious metals” a.k.a GOLD! Now how much gold are we talking about? Just about 147 Million Ounces of gold, or around $10 Billion dollars of gold. It makes a lot of sense for such an important stash to be guarded at a military base of all places. You definitely wouldn’t want to push your luck here, that’s for sure.

8 Haven Co

 

Continuing on, we have Haven Co, a rather unheard of yet very interesting story. The idea of Haven Co was essentially a place where you could use their servers in order to host just about anything. For example, if online casinos were banned in your country, you would be able to go through Haven Co in order to bypass some restrictions, it worked as a sort of loophole. The only content banned were things of very malicious nature such as using it to hack.

The reason this place was so guarded is because it actually has its own country—Sealand. It was this structure that was built out of the sea with its main goal to contain the servers to Haven Co. Since 2000, its goals have changed quite a bit and mainly offer cold storage of encryption keys or data, instead of hosting. It sure was a wacky idea, and it is a surprise that it came to life in the way that it did. No doubt thanks to cancel culture, digital “book burnings” and the extremist attacks on free speech, it is set to thrive in the current political climate!

7 The Korean Demilitarized Zone

 

Now we have the Korean Demilitarized Zone, also known as the DMZ. The DMZ is a very long stretch of land that cuts right across and divides Korea into its Northern and Southern parts. It is a 250km long and 4km wide path that is constantly under watch. The border is closed and because of this, it means that no one is allowed to cross, it is so heavily guarded in fact that casualties have occurred on either end by people trying to cross. The only way to get from North to South Korea or vice versa, would be to travel to an intermittent country such as Russia and then go to your desired destination. It’s a shame that tensions are so high, but hopefully there is a brighter future where it may be safe to cross.

6 Air Force One

 

Air Force One is a special case, while you may think it’s the name of a military base, it is in fact the name of a plane! To be more specific it’s the President’s plane. The President has to be able to fly at any time so of course he is going to have his own private plane. It is very important that no one tampers with this plane, so it is on lock down at all times except to those maintaining it. With cargo as precious as the president, people have to be extra careful so that everything runs smoothly.
The plane also has many interesting features, it is able to refuel in the air, has defenses against EMPs and can even function as a Base of Operations if necessary. Additionally, it has plenty of places to prepare food and an operating room with a full time doctor. It sure is the supreme mode of travel to go to just about any golf course in the world!

5 Woomera Prohibited Area

 

Continuing we have the Woomera Prohibited Area, this is a Special zone that is under control by the South Australian Army. Now it isn’t always illegal to be in this area, in fact it is only sometimes subject to exclusion periods. The reason for this is, this site is actually an area for the testing of “war materials” or bombs and whatnot. In advance of testing, messages will be sent out to evacuate and no one will be let in, merely for their own safety. It is very interesting to see what one of these places looks like, we know that weapons testing must happen very often but it is very rare that you know of any of these locations.

4 ADX Florence

 

“Locking up” 4th is ADX Florence, one of the most heavily guarded jails in all of the U.S. ADX Florence is a Maximum Security penitentiary, which means only the worst of the worst are contained here. There are around 400 inmates here and the living conditions are awful. While prisoners do have the basics such as food and a bed, they are also alone up to 23 hours of the day.

It is definitely not the place for growing as a person, but instead as a way to keep you away from the world. Although it does seem pretty bad in here, it’s not very easy to get in, you genuinely have to deserve to be here in order to get within these walls. It is an incredible facility that is the ultimate jail.

3 Area 51

 

A classic, Area 51 is up next as one of the most heavily guarded places on Earth. Area 51 as we all know is “where the aliens are at”, a place shrouded in mystery and only a few elite people know its secrets. Besides being the elusive place that it is, it is also an Air Force base, responsible for the training of many troops every year. It is a 38,000 acre stretch of land located in Southern Nevada which is essentially in the middle of a desert. It is a wonder as to what truly lies within its boundaries, but maybe it is just an Air Force base after all.

2 Pionen Data Center

 

Next on this list is the Pionen Data Center. While it sounds rather boring at first, it is quite the opposite! Pionen is probably the world’s only data center that is located within an old Nuclear Bunker! Bahnhof is an extremely large service provider, and with all of that excess money, there is really no reason not to do such a creative act. The inside looks incredibly futuristic yet retro at the same time!

It is truly a work of art and is something more people should be aware of. Even though a data center is pretty boring, being at the heart of a Nuclear Bunker makes it way more interesting. It is a wonder if Bahnhof will do anything like this again.

1 The Greenbrier

 

Lastly, is “The Greenbrier”, a state of the art spa facility for only the most elite. It is located in West Virginia and is sitting on just around 11,000 acres of land. It is a massive building that has been around since the old days of 1778. It sure has stood the test of time and has some amazing guests, for instance 26 presidents have stayed here. What makes this so guarded though is its underground bunker. Not only is this a luxury spa but back in the days of the Cold War, a bunker was installed in order to protect the members of Congress just in case anything were to happen. It’s a good thing that it wasn’t used in a serious capacity, but you can never have too many bunkers, that’s for sure.

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Capitalism is at the core of our society; businesses and corporations produce consumer goods. This system breeds innovation. However, with a competitive free market, a company cannot create just one product in the same way and continue to be successful indefinitely. As time passes, products must be revamped, upgraded, and improved.

Sometimes, the public loves a new version of an old favorite. Other times, not only do the people not like it, but the product falls so far from the mark that stores can’t give the stuff away. Frequently, a company will spend millions on advertising campaigns and marketing, whether a new twist on an old favorite or an entirely new item. When a well-known company does so and can still not move the product, it is deemed a “dud.” These are the ten biggest duds of all time.

Related: Top 10 Bizarre Cancelled Food Products

10 Crystal Pepsi, 1992

In 1992, not for the first time, Pepsi tried to push a new version of its classic cola. Crystal Pepsi was sold in the U.S., Australia, and Europe for two years. The product failed due to branding issues, corporate sabotage from archrival Coca-Cola, and overall consumer dissatisfaction with the flavor of the product.

These factors culminated in one of the most well-known product flops in history. The YUM! Corporation took over operations for Pepsi Crystal and received many complaints that the product didn’t taste enough like Pepsi; they did nothing about it. Despite an attempted reboot in 2016, the product has never justified the millions spent on ad campaigns and is still considered an epic fail.^[1]

9 Apple Newton, 1993

The Newton is a series of personal digital assistants (PDAs) developed by Apple Inc. It was technologically innovative, but it had early issues with its handwriting recognition software, and combined with ridiculous prices, the product ultimately failed. Apple originally started development on the Newton in 1987. The device hit the shelves in August 1993, and production ended in February 1998.

According to former Apple CEO John Sculley, the company invested approximately $100 million to develop the device, and the term “Personal Digital Assistant” was first coined in reference to the Newton. While Apple did profit from the Newton, other companies developed their own, more affordable PDAs, causing sales to spiral. The product was discontinued after five years and is still considered a monumental flop.^[2]

8 RJ Reynolds’ Smokeless Cigarettes, 1989

RJ Reynolds is the producer of cigarette brands such as Newport and Camel. The company has been pushing tobacco for well over a hundred years. While under pressure from anti-smoking campaigns throughout the 1980s, Reynolds put over $300 million into a new product, “The Smokeless Cigarette.” The scheme was just as laughable as it sounds. This product allowed the tobacco to be heated but not ignited; the taste and scent produced were not the same as a lit cigarette.

The smokeless cigarette was only tested in a handful of cities in Arizona and Missouri. In addition to a substandard flavor, the cigarette was difficult to light and did not actualize the task of creating a carcinogen-free cigarette. After only five months, the product was pulled from shelves. According to a March 1, 1989 issue of the New York Times, Reynolds discontinued the cigarette because consumers had decisively rejected it.^[3]

7 McDonald’s Arch Deluxe, 1996

McDonald’s has been adding to its menu for decades, and in 1996, the fast food giant introduced the Arch Deluxe. It targeted a sophisticated demographic and was just as successful as one would think. After spending over $150 million on marketing campaigns, the burger was removed from the menu before the decade was up. Despite recruiting fine dining chef Andrew Selvaggio to create the sandwich, sophisticated suburbanites weren’t interested. It consisted of a quarter pound of beef on a split-top sesame seed potato bun, topped with a circular piece of peppered bacon, leaf lettuce, tomato, American cheese, onions, ketchup, and Dijonnaise sauce.

The Arch Deluxe was the greatest failure in McDonald’s marketing history. Through ad firm issues, a disinterested demographic, and a lack of support from franchisees, this product has become known as “A hell of a burger and a hell of a flop.” Prior to launch, the Arch was projected to bring in $1 billion to McDonald’s; needless to say, it fell short of the mark. In 2018, the company tried to reboot the product with the Arch Burger, a similar sandwich with a similar result, compounding McDonald’s most epic failure.^[4]

6 Cosmopolitan Yogurt, 1999

Cosmopolitan magazine has existed since the 1880s and is widely regarded as the standard in fashion and family magazines. For unknown reasons, the company produced a yogurt line in 1999. The late ’90s and early 2000s saw an overly saturated yogurt market, and the product was discontinued after only 18 months. The tasty snack was overpriced at over a dollar per unit. Combining sex and dairy was a long shot, and “Cosmo” readers were not impressed.

The brand extension Cosmopolitan employed is called piggyback marketing; it accounted for an underwhelming product launch and was the only marketing the product saw. “While there is not a lot of information on the details of Cosmo’s failed venture, it is clear that the product faced a significant lack of connection to the Cosmo brand and its other products. In the end, the brand extension (or piggyback marketing) attempted by Cosmo was too much of a long shot.” Cosmo had created an overpriced product in a saturated market and had ignored a potential demographic, leading to its most epic fail.^[5]

5 Google Glasses, 2012

Project Glass is a “Moonshot” technology developed under the Google (GOOG) X initiative. The product was mismarketed, giving the public a distorted view of what to expect from Glass. Initially, it was to be promoted as a futuristic prototype, but the hype built up around the launch, coupled with a high price tag. Glass subsequently failed to meet expectations.

Google spent hundreds of millions of dollars rolling out this product between research, development, and marketing. Unfortunately, they spent little to no money explaining it. The product was not intuitive and did not deliver what consumers felt they were promised. In just three years, Google discontinued the product; the marketing team had dropped the ball. There was no actual launch, explanation of the product, or mainstream advertising, and it was difficult to purchase. While this product had potential, it turned into an epic fail.^[6]

4 Mobile ESPN, 2006

Introduced in January 2006, ESPN Mobile was a short-lived “mobile virtual network operator,” or MVNO. ESPN’s idea was to sell phones exclusively offering ESPN content and video, leasing network access from Verizon Wireless. But ESPN had only one phone at launch, an overpriced Sanyo device. No one bought the product, even after ESPN sunk $150 million into it, including a reported $30 million on a Super Bowl ad. Despite the investment, the project reached only six percent of its sales projection.

The idea was scrapped by the end of 2006, less than a year after its launch. Mobile ESPN may be the biggest failure in the company’s history, but it also set the stage for ESPN to dominate the industry. Although the service was considered overpriced and a failure, in retrospect, the actual data and audio-visual backbone and software behind the service would be re-adapted successfully for the smartphone age several years later, untied to a specific carrier.^[7]

3 Gerber Singles, 1974

In 1974, Gerber Foods decided to innovate the baby food industry with food targeted to… adults. They produced small jars of beef burgundy, Mediterranean vegetables, and blueberry delight. As Gerber has been making baby food since 1927, it seemed the 1970s were the perfect time to move into adult food. One small problem: No one wanted a spoonful of creamed beef.

While the logic is sound, something about eating dinner out of a small glass jar turned out to be unappealing to even the most solitary people. Gerber’s marketing team believed the product would work based on the lower birth and marriage rates at the time. They saw 40 million singles, representing roughly $205 million in unsold profits. While it was a valiant effort, Gerber Singles was an epic fail.^[8]

2 Ford Edsel, 1957

Bill Gates cites the Edsel as his favorite case study. Even the name “Edsel” is synonymous with “marketing failure.” Henry Ford was the original car maker, and Ford Motors created some of the most classic automobiles in history. In 1957, they introduced the Edsel, an expansion of the Lincoln-Mercury Division to three brands: the Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln Division. The model was named after Ford’s son, Edsel Ford.

Americans wanted smaller, more economical cars. However, Ford Motors execs failed to define the model’s niche in the car market. Most Edsel models’ pricing and market aim were too high for a product that consumers did not want. It was taken off the market in 1960.^[9]

1 Betamax, 1975

Back in the 1970s, there was a massive rivalry between home video formats, VHS vs. Betamax. Beta was released in 1975 and allowed consumers to record up to one hour of television footage, while the VHS equivalent released in 1977 allowed for two, and the war between the two began. This feud lasted more than a decade, and while both recording formats have their unique qualities, they are very similar, which caused the format war to drag on for years.

In the end, VHS won despite Betamax having a higher resolution. VHS became preferable to most consumers due to its affordability and recording time. Despite being somewhat popular for nearly a decade, today, many people have never even heard of Betamax; it is the greatest epic fail of all time.^[10]