Oreo's Global OREO Vault built into the permafrost of Svalbard, Norway.
 

We’ve all left out cookies and milk for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. But have we ever left out cookies and milk for the survivors of a future apocalypse? Well, now we have. Oreo has created a massive bunker containing nothing but Oreo cookies and powdered milk in preparation for the future people of mankind. In other words, they have constructed a large cookie jar for the survivors of an apocalypse to stick their hands into. 

The famous chocolate cookie with vanilla filling has created a massive bunker that, under normal circumstances, could and should be holding supplies for survivors. But set with higher priorities, Nabisco has designed it to hold thousands and thousands of Oreo cookies. This project takes heavy inspiration from the Global Seed Vault, a bunker constructed entirely of concrete and made to store mass quantities of seeds and plants. Both the Seed Vault and the Oreo Vault are located in Svalbard, Norway. However, while the Seed Vault was made so humanity could rebuild society if it were to fall, the Oreo vault’s purpose is a mystery.

Oreo claimed to have created this bunker to protect their stash of cookies from an incoming asteroid. For further context, Asteroid 2018 VP1 was predicted to collide with the Earth this year on November 2. The catch, however, is that there’s only a 0.4% chance for the asteroid to actually make contact with the Earth. While it is a real chance, it’s also small and unlikely. 

To gain further exposure and publicity, Oreo released a video on their YouTube channel named, “GLOBAL OREO VAULT – FOR ALL HUMANKIND.” The video is only 3 minutes, and it showcases the effort that went into creating the bunker. It also shows off the features of the vault and how it looks. It also shows the coordinates to the vault at the end of the video, while jokingly adding, “You’ll see it. It’s the one down the road from the Giant Seed Vault.” 

Obviously, the asteroid has virtually no chance of affecting us, and this is just a ploy to gain exposure and publicity. But, it is nice to think that somewhere out there in this chaotic world is a stockpile of Oreo cookies, waiting for us.

by Nathan Park