I can’t explain why I enjoy tuning into shows like Gold Rush and Curse of Oak Island, yet season after season I find myself captivated. Obviously, there’s the intrigue of finding buried treasures and the risk of spending money to make money. These ventures also involve the need for heavy equipment to bulldoze, dig, and move soil and rock. Most importantly, it’s the patience of treasure hunters like this that I admire. Nothing seems to deter them from their quest. I would be frustrated and would have given up long ago. I do, however, have the ability to frequently cuss like they too have mastered, and the producers are forced to bleep out. 

Every week on Curse of Oak Island, the Lagina brothers believe that they’re about to hit the mother load. Instead, it’s another dead end, equipment malfunction, legal jurisdiction hassle, or mother nature getting in the way. Occasionally, they find a tid-bit after spending millions on just research, scientific support, lab work, carbon dating, and consultants. This doesn’t include the labor or mining equipment required to reach the depths where the treasure is supposedly buried. The appeal of the show is the history that’s slowly uncovered and the speculation that ancient organizations like the Knights Templar are involved. Fortunately, no one has died lately of anything but natural causes, but the “curse” claims that more lives will be lost before the treasure is found.

When it comes to hard work, nothing compares to searching for gold. Teams travel to remote areas to  deal with rusty equipment and muddy conditions. They’ve often crafted crude contraptions to extract the precious metal from underground, forging icy creeks and surviving on little sleep. It’s a mechanical nightmare keeping the massive equipment running while they move and sift through tons of dirt and boulders. It’s probably the last thing you would ever find me doing to make a living, but I enjoy watching their struggles. At the end of each show, each group weighs their gold take that on occasion is little nothing. Some of the prospecting teams are heavily financed while others are simply rag-tag hopefuls. I find myself rooting for the underdog, while enjoying the comforts of the couch. 

I’ve learned how to change an 8-foot tire on a dump truck and what to look for when searching for gold. None of these skills will personally ever be used, as will the survival techniques that I’ve acquired by watching Alone. I don’t enjoy the rigors of the outdoors but somehow I am fascinated by seeing others suffer or succeed on TV. Oh, the retirement life of a couch potato.