Jono, Ben & Megan - The Podcast - The Secret Tunnels Underneath The World's Most Famous Mansion

Episode Date: June 6, 2024

Welcome to the untamed realm of the world's Wild Wild Web!  Today we talk about these surprising celebrities who had underground tunnels to the playboy mansion...     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Coming up on the Wild Wild Web, secret tunnels under one of the world's most famous houses. Welcome to the untamed realm of the World Wide Web. A swirling vortex of weirdness, bullying and self-obsessed social media posts. In this digital jungle, Jono and Vienna are your fearless guides. Leading you through the wildest parts of the wild, wild web. This is the wild, wild web. Hey, welcome along to another edition of the wild, wild web, where we like to talk about something that's gone viral on the internet, a story that everyone's talking about.

Yeah, but tired out there at the Radio Awards last night, the New Zealand Radio Awards. How did we go? Sorry, how did we go? Awards and How did we go? Sorry, how did we go? Yeah, how did we go? If you were there, you remember it Can we play the audio as well too for our podcast audience? We all had a big night but it was it's tough because it's a Thursday night as I said before, what monster puts on Thursday

night when we have a breakfast show in the morning that we couldn't get off. We tried to wangle that, didn't we? And I was like, it's not going to break my spirit. I will prosper. Good on you. You need to kind of have those nights. Yeah.

Good on you. And you pushed the boat out a little bit. I did. Which is all good. And you were trying to get into Producer Taylor's house. We had a sleepover at her house, Producer Grace and I. So Taylor went home earlier. She gave us the code to her house so that we wouldn't wake her up.

And this was us trying to get into her house. You get your shit together, Grace. I'm a mob wife. Ouch. I think that's a thistle. Grace, can you just... I'm trying to pick up my shoes. Grace's left me.

It's also only 10.30. I almost fell in the garden. Louis, let us in. I'm so sorry. Louis, let us in. Louis! It's bedtime. Miss it, I miss it.

I don't have a husband here. Give me a smooch. I love it. So Grace, yeah, producer Grace is with you. She's what, tween? Early 20s. And I love how she's the response yeah, producer Grace with you. She's what? Twin, early twenties. And I love how she's the response. I'm sorry,

Taylor. She's like, yeah, need to go to bed. She's telling you to turn off the light. I turn into an irresponsible child when I'm drunk. That's great. And I love how you found extra syllables and words that I didn't even know were there. And like really announce it.

Like, we've all done it. It's 10.30. We've all done it. We get a little bit booze. You're like really trying hard. And you all done it we've all done it we got a little bit boozed you're like really trying hard and you think

in your head you're like I am nailing this and then later you know it's like when you're the sober one at a party people talk to you

like oh my god they're really smashed but in your head when you're the drunk person you're like I'm fine I'm fine trying to wrap

your mouth around those words and try to talk quickly nearly fell in the garden oh I'm glad you had a good night though Megan I did that's the main thing that's the main thing Those words? Yeah, like, try to talk quickly. Nearly fell in the garden. Oh, I'm glad you had a good night, though, Megan. I did.

That's the main thing. That's the main thing. Now, listen, Wild Wild Web found some interesting plans. Underneath the Playboy Mansion, so Playboy Magazine, Hugh Hefner was the founder, wasn't he? Sort of like, it's really taken a turn, that whole, you know know for a while it was probably a prestigious thing the playboy mansion the more you find kind of find out about the way people were treated there and things like that over the years it's kind of and things that went on you're like oh it makes you feel a little bit like icky about the whole situation as glamorous as no but for a while there it seemed like you know people or the celebrities wanted to go it seemed from

the outside looking in like celebrities wanted to be all It seemed from the outside looking in, like celebrities wanted to be at all these parties there. But now you look back, you're like, maybe not everyone wanted to be at these parties. Well, some clearly didn't want to be seen going into the parties because there were secret underground tunnels to neighbouring properties which were owned by very famous movie star Sir Jack Nicholson. Back in his heyday, quite the pants man, Jack. Quite.

I think he's publicly said he slept with thousands jack was he the one too also um that had to ban himself from using the internet or on his phone because he was like i was just looking at so much pornography i just i think so i'm gonna look he's like it's just yeah jack nicholson banned himself from sitting courtside Okay well maybe not After spilling Tupperware of homemade chilli Onto the Lakers court

Okay well maybe I've just made that up He takes their own Homemade chilli To the Lakers Well he loves the Lakers He Yeah

Yeah right Yeah so He was banned From sitting courtside Maybe I've just made that up That needs to be A phone in topic On the show

Yeah What are you taking? What are you sneaking in your Tupperware container? But, you know, so Jack Nicholson was in a neighbouring house and there were secret underground tunnels to his house. There's another actor, Warren Beatty. He was also quite the pants man, apparently. Secret tunnel to his house.

Straight through to the Playboy Mansion. That's dangerous, isn't it? I suppose it probably makes sense if you're a celebrity as well. Yeah. There's a whole... It's interesting, the tunnel situation. Have you ever seen that?

There's a doco in Las Vegas. There's a whole lot of people. I think they call them the moles or something like that. But there's like thousands of people live under the city of Las Vegas in tunnels. Do they? There's this whole underworld.

Are you joking? No, I've watched this whole doco on it. Yeah, it's actually really, there's the whole Vegas tunnel and there's like almost, there's like thousands, there's like probably 1,500 people or a couple thousand people.

Meet the mole people living beneath the Las Vegas strip. It's really interesting. They've got a whole little society there living under the tunnels. I think they were previous, from memory, they were like tunnels that are no longer being used for whether it's

sewage or water or whatever it is now. But, yeah, from memory. But, yeah, it's a really fascinating thing. They live all under this thing. But, like, don't you need light? Tunnel dwellers that live under there, yeah. It's a documentary. I watched it years ago.

But, yeah. I think, yeah, it sounds familiar. There's, like, dozens of them ago. But yeah. I think, yeah, it sounds familiar. There's like dozens of them. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, wait. They're like, you don't say homeless people. You say, it's homeless people.

Yeah, but they've kind of created their own little society under there. Yeah, right. And they're kind of, that's where they all choose to. A labyrinth of tunnels. Yeah, choose to live. Some of them are from memory work as well. And then they kind of just go down there for their accommodation and stuff they've created this whole thing it's sheltered people live under there like yeah is it some guy's got it yeah he's got a good little set up like the term mole people i

don't know yeah well yeah i don't know yeah now you've now you've got inside his head that was the coolest thing in marston for a while they had this amazing Queen Elizabeth Park they had this tunnel section which was cool these really cool tunnels you used to

play in but then very quickly ended up with teenagers pashing in there people peeing in there graffiti it went from the coolest thing

to like yeah and you never know as a kid I guess it was part of the excitement you'd be crawling around this tunnel these maze of tunnels you'd be like what am i going to

encounter yeah i'm going to see someone peeing or passing yeah what's going to happen here but yeah it was pretty cool i don't think they exist anymore in marston either i don't think anyone was living in there or anything but yeah it's one of the one of my one of the things i remember from my childhood take a quick break we'll be back after this. Welcome back. What's the coolest tunnel you've been in? Was it a cool tunnel? Yeah, it was a pretty cool tunnel. I quite like going, there's the tunnel at the end of the motorway. Oh, the new tunnel?

Yeah, it's a nice tunnel. The Waterview Tunnel. Yeah. It's a major... Oh, pick a better tunnel. Okay. No, that's very mainstream. Yeah, it is a mainstream tunnel.

What's the one in the South Island? Is it the Oteta Tunnel? Oh, yeah. Oh, that's a good... Yeah, it is a mainstream tunnel. What's the one in the South Island? Is it the Oteta Tunnel? Oh, yeah. Isn't it really long? I do like the Mount Victoria one in Wellington. You know, it sort of goes between me if you're going from the airport just towards the Basin Reserve there. It's one of the ones you go through.

Well, I like to. You toot your horn. But having walked through there to go to the cricket once, and when people toot their horn, Jesus, it's loud. Yeah. It's like freaking loud. And you think twice now about turning your horn. And so you do that, and you hope someone else will reply back.

Yeah, I'm trying to find audio. I took the kids through a tunnel at Christmastime. And, jeez, to tell you what, there was a lot of kids. There was about 10 kids. When you take kids into a tunnel, they're like, and it was in the Coromandel actually It was a good tunnel Massive tunnel

Gold mining town What was the gold mining town there? What's it called? On your way to Whangamata It starts with W Gold mining town Let me have a look Waihi

Waihi Waihi Is it? Waihi, yeah Nailed it You can go on a big tour of the old goldmines Okay, without googling Longest tunnel in the world The road tunnel

How long do you think it would take To pass through the tunnel? How many minutes? Ten Are you counting like by train? Train tunnels? Or is it a road tunnel? No, because I was thinking

Isn't that the tunnel that goes from Paris to London? No, this is one you can drive through. Yeah, because there's one through the channel something. I've been in it. It's dark for a very long time. The tunnel. Yeah. Okay, so were you 10 minutes?

You're thinking, Jono, what are you guessing to go through? Longest tunnel to drive through? Did you say 10 minutes yeah 20 well done 20 minutes well done

it's in Norway you really took your time to think about that he did it takes 20 minutes to pass through the tunnel 6km it's like

how long it is it's the longest tunnel to drive through in the world marvel of engineering tunnels hang on 24 sorry 24.5km oh yeah tunnels. Oh, there's no... Hang on. Oh, no, 24... No, sorry, 24.5 kilometres.

Oh, yeah. Oh, sorry, the lights are... There's lights, bright lights every 6km. So, yeah, 24km. It's just a long tunnel. Here's the kids in the cave. Oh, yeah. No.

And that one, that one went for a kilometre. Yeah. You just want to make noise inside a cave or a tunnel. I know the Waterview Tunnel's really long, but down near the Southern Alps, the Oteara Tunnel that I talked about, it's 8,000, 8,566. That's 8,566.

It was a big night last night. But that's the one. It wasn't. It wouldn't have known. Have you ever been through that? You try and hold your breath, and you can't make it to the end. A lot of passed out children in the back six. Hold your breath over a bridge and over a tunnel well through a tunnel

wasn't the thing yeah some long bridges as well dad would always slow down just a little bit when me and my sister were doing it you're like i know what you're doing the tunnel the most recent tunnel we're talking about there they got a machine specifically made for it in europe yes Yes. And it dug the hole, automatically shipped the dirt out, and then would place the concrete

in the circular motion around the top of the tunnel. Wow. Incredible. Incredible. Is that kind of what they're doing

with the new rail system that they're building in Auckland? Is that kind of the same sort of thing? Alice, Waterview's tunnel boring machine. And I think it was only...

Boring. Boring. Boring. And it was only Boring Boring And it was only designed for that tunnel Can't do any other tunnels Oh Now what happens to Alice? Well, dismantled and

R.I.P. Alice Why do I feel bad for it? I don't know why you said that Because you're a little bit emotional and hungover That's why Did you You know when they opened that tunnel And like beforehand you could do a walkthrough

Even the one in the city What's the face one down there Did you do the walkthrough No I didn't do the walkthrough I don't love tunnels that much Did you No but I worked with I felt like you were about to say

No I worked with people who Actually Did I do I did a walkthrough of some engineering Because the people I used to work with Always did those walkthroughs There engineering because the people I used to work with always did those walkthroughs. Oh, sure, it's fine. There was hundreds of people.

Yeah, people love that. The nerds love that sort of stuff. It was boring as you can imagine. Alice is a boring machine. I was like, I will do it to appease you. It was boring. You've got to have a walkthrough of that. Yeah, it's funny.

It's better to just drive through, that's good. It's pretty good. It looks the same when you're driving. It takes a lot longer. Yeah. But yeah, I've banged on about this before, but I remember Dad saying, because we lived in the Wairarapa, you know, to Wellington,

you have to go through the Rimutaka, you know, like it's a windy road. It's horrible. And when my dad was late for a flight, Jesus, I would feel sick in the back because he's gone super fast. I feel sick just you talking about it. Oh, he'd be like, what? I'm the back of other cars.

I need to go, because we're running late. But Americans, back in the war, apparently they offered to build a tunnel through to Wellington. And for some reason,

we're like, no, we're good, we're good. We'll do it ourselves. Never done it. Really? Apparently. It was like, yeah, every time I was like,

man, we could have had a tunnel. Americans offered, guys. Yeah, they were like, we'll do it. And then we're like, no, no, no, no, we got it, we got it. No no no We got it No you don't Clearly they don't

The Americans wanted to do it How long ago was the war You know A long time ago We haven't done it It's like something Broke it in your house And your husband's like

Nah nah I'll get to it I'll do it I'll do it I'm still on What it up is to do list Build a tunnel Good life rule

When someone offers To dig you a tunnel Take him up Take him up Yeah It really is A windy road but yeah

thank you so much for listening to this podcast on tunnels go and have a great weekend