Tougher than Fort Knox

Everyone has heard the expression ‘harder to get into than Fort Knox’ but what and where is Fort Knox and why is it so hard to get into?

Fort Knox is the United States Bullion Depository and as bullion relates to gold, you can see why they would want to make it hard to break into. The official gold reserves are held there and other precious items, including documents, are stored here too. The building itself is a fortress but the vaults that hold the gold are situated below in a vault of granite walls and protected by a blast proof door that weighs 25 tons. If you can get through that then there are more smaller compartments to prevent you getting any further.

You are highly unlikely to even make it inside the complex as it is surrounded by fences and protected by the United States Mint Police. The area is also a US Army post so this just adds to the huge guarding presence surrounding the depository. There are security alarms, video surveillance, listening devices, mines, barbed razor wire and electric fences. You are not getting into this place hence the famous expression. Add to this heavily armed guards and unmarked Apache helicopters circling overhead and you just know that what is inside that vault is not leaving anytime soon.

The army divisions and battalions that are based here total 30,000 soldiers with all their associated tanks, armoured personnel vehicles and artillery. No member of the public is allowed in but if a member of staff should somehow get locked in then there is an escape tunnel so that’s a relief.

There is 4,582 metric tons of gold inside the vault worth approximately $180 million. The United States holds more gold reserve than any other country in the world with about 8,133 metric tons altogether. In popular culture, Fort Knox is a symbol of the unattainable and impenetrable. Our homes are more security conscious than ever before so if you’ve ever locked yourself out, you might find that your home becomes harder to get into than Fort Knox, as the saying goes. For a Belfast Locksmith, visit http://www.belfastlocksmiths247.co.uk/.

It is said that the Fort could withstand an attack by an atomic bomb. The windows are sealed from the inside and out and the glass is fire-proof, bullet-proof and blacked out to prevent peeping. The building’s foundations are made up of multiple layers of cement with 10 feet of granite on top. This helps to prevent underground infiltration. It is thought that outside the building is an area that contains land mines, surface-to-air missiles and even motion sensored automatic rifles.

There is much speculation about what is held in the Fort with some theories even suggesting that it is protecting aliens recovered from the Roswell UFO crash site. Others believe that the site is stockpiling advanced biological weapons and it is common knowledge that during the Cold War the Fort held stockpiles of more than $23 million worth of morphine and opium in case of future war.