I find it appropriate that within the “Notes from the Man Cave” blog there be some notes on the cave itself. A man cave is defined by Urban Dictionary as a place that is “reserved for a male person to be in a solitary condition, away from the rest of the household in order to work, play, involve himself in certain hobbies, activities without interruption.” Typically the room of a man is in the basement or a least underground so the natural light can’t get in. The benefit of being without natural light is that you always have the option to turn the lights off and sleep. The negative side of this is that you will almost never know what time it is, so you may wake up in the morning with a dead phone and think it’s still night time.

It is important to have a TV, pool table, dart board, Jenga, ping-pong, chinese checkers, Lord of the Rings Monopoly, or any kind of game really will do. Brian Delany ‘17 suggests that you purchase “a Playstation 4 and a microwave” as well, and I would have to agree with Delany as these are necessities. You need games for the entertainment, otherwise you’re just hanging out in a basement.

A bed and bath are also ideal for the full experience of immersing one’s self in the cave dwelling life. Good hangs can, and often do, last up to 24 hours, and you don’t need to be running up and down those stairs every time you’ve got to use the loo. On the topic of avoiding stairs, there should also be a mini-fridge down there with at least something to drink. Brendon O’Connor ‘16 strongly states that it “can’t be a man cave without women, and…a coffee maker.” O’Connor seems to have fully grasped the importance of hydration. He knows that you can live up to 3 weeks without food but only 3 days without water.

Ian Anderson ‘16 is the proud owner of what he calls his “lounge” and says that “comfortable furniture” is a must have. Having comfy couches or a bed will provide places for you and your guests to sleep at night or nap during the day. Sometimes you have to gain back those hours you lose on late nights and recharge in the pitch-blackness of the cave.

There is a feeling of safety within those concrete basement walls that probably stems from our roots as cavemen. It’s a good thing knowing that the saber tooth tigers can’t maul you if you’re hiding in a cave. It may not be a tiger nowadays, but we men still need to escape from time to time. If not to the forest we will take to our caves to avoid responsibilities, relax, and just chill in general.