“The gaping flame-filled crater has been this way since 1971, when Soviet geologists tapped into a cavern of natural gas, and decided to burn it off so it wouldnt poison anyone. They thought it would take a few days. Four decades later, locals refer to this pit as the Door to Hell. In Turkmenistan, many people leave their gas ranges burning all day and all night: why bother turning them on and off, when gas is inexhaustible?”
