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Polaron posted:Nets/fences on bridges are proven to cut down on suicides. It's why San Francisco's refusal to put any on Golden Gate, a popular suicide hotspot, for reasons of aesthetics was so amazingly callous. Yeah, I believe pretty much every study on suicides has found that any kind of basic deterrent cuts them down significantly. As the majority are unplanned and if you stop them they just won't go through with it another way.
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Apr 21, 2015 15:22
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Polaron posted:Nets/fences on bridges are proven to cut down on suicides. It's why San Francisco's refusal to put any on Golden Gate, a popular suicide hotspot, for reasons of aesthetics was so amazingly callous. True in the past, but San Francisco approved a suicide barrier project years ago and finalized both the design and $76 million in funding last year. It'll still be several years before the barrier nets are ready, but they're coming.
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Apr 21, 2015 15:48
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ibntumart posted:True in the past, but San Francisco approved a suicide barrier project years ago and finalized both the design and $76 million in funding last year. It'll still be several years before the barrier nets are ready, but they're coming. Yeah, that's why I said "was". It still took them an unforgivable number of years of hemming and hawing.
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Apr 21, 2015 16:04
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ibntumart posted:True in the past, but San Francisco approved a suicide barrier project years ago and finalized both the design and $76 million in funding last year. It'll still be several years before the barrier nets are ready, but they're coming. Toronto did the same thing with an elaborate setup on a bridge that was a popular spot for people to jump off. It's been several years, and the City's suicide rate hasn't changed. Ours only cost about $5.5 million CAD though. Initially it was supposed to be lit at night but they cancelled that part of it as it was too expensive. It's being finished now, 12 years later, as part of the Pan Am preparations.
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Apr 21, 2015 16:10
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3 posted:I was just reminded of a documentary from a couple of years back where a group of researchers jammed a Boeing 737 full of sensors and crash dummies so they could fly it remotely into the Sonoran desert and get some real experimental data on what goes on at the point of impact. Interestingly, this kind of test has only been done twice, the first time in 1984 by NASA and this: This video is a great watch just for the fact that they fly the plane into the ground with a tiny remote control made for hobby planes. I also found a playlist on youtube that has (what looks like) most of the episodes of Air Disasters/Air Craft Investigation/ Mayday for anyone who wants to catch up on the ones they missed. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIQysra_ezMZh3cNGeBAnxKNrtsAuzMwW
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Apr 21, 2015 18:04
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_Skyway_Bridge This wiki article led me to this  (apologies for the Cracked watermark, largest version i could find)   http://www.sptimes.com/News/050700/TampaBay/Horrific_accident_cre.shtml quote:...Anthony Gattus didn't like what he saw at all.
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Apr 21, 2015 18:35
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Cracked actually recently had a halfway decent user submitted list of unsolved mysteries. Many of them were already covered in this thread, but hey it's something to introduce people to a bunch.
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Apr 21, 2015 19:48
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Nckdictator posted:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_Skyway_Bridge Stuff like this goes through my head pretty much every time I go over a bridge. And will continue to, thanks to the country's "Pay for infrastructure? Wha?" attitude.
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Apr 21, 2015 23:01
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effervescible posted:Stuff like this goes through my head pretty much every time I go over a bridge. And will continue to, thanks to the country's "Pay for infrastructure? Wha?" attitude. To be fair it wasn't that the bridge was poorly built or maintained, it was more of the fact that a ship crashed into it. quote:At 7:25 a.m. on May 9, 1980, with the Greyhound approaching Pinellas Point a few miles from the north end of the Sunshine Skyway bridge, Capt. John Lerro tensed at the helm of the freighter Summit Venture, a ship as long as two football fields. Lerro, 37, an experienced harbor pilot from Tampa, shouldered the responsibility of guiding the Summit Venture from the Gulf of Mexico 58.4 miles up Tampa Bay to the Port of Tampa. It is one of the longest shipping channels in the world, and one of the most treacherous, given the shallow waters of the bay and the ambush style of Florida weather.
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Apr 22, 2015 00:21
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They beat up and pissed on his dog?  
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Apr 22, 2015 00:36
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canyoneer posted:They beat up and pissed on his dog? They beat up and pissed on his lawyer's dog.
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Apr 22, 2015 00:40
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gently caress that choked me up. What a hopeless feeling.
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Apr 22, 2015 00:40
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PresidentBeard posted:Cracked actually recently had a halfway decent user submitted list of unsolved mysteries. Many of them were already covered in this thread, but hey it's something to introduce people to a bunch. Except the part where half of the ones on the list were solved or have perfectly reasonable explanations they forgot to mention.
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Apr 22, 2015 00:42
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RCarr posted:gently caress that choked me up. What a hopeless feeling. Yeah, the poor guy didn't have a chance.  Video with audio of mayday call here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMjBGLxMdP4
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Apr 22, 2015 00:56
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El Estrago Bonito posted:Except the part where half of the ones on the list were solved or have perfectly reasonable explanations they forgot to mention. Hence halfway decent. Cracked is never 100% decent.
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Apr 22, 2015 04:11
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Thankfully, they rebuilt it as a suspension bridge so the main span can't fall into the bay and the piers are reinforced enough that a container ship could hit them going full speed and not damage them. 
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Apr 22, 2015 04:30
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Luigi Thirty posted:Thankfully, they rebuilt it as a suspension bridge so the main span can't fall into the bay and the piers are reinforced enough that a container ship could hit them going full speed and not damage them. I still know people who won't drive over the new bridge, though.
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Apr 22, 2015 04:31
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Nckdictator posted:Terrible Jesus Christ
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Apr 22, 2015 14:30
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JibbaJabberwocky posted:This video is a great watch just for the fact that they fly the plane into the ground with a tiny remote control made for hobby planes.  at the bit about why they chose the 727: "can't parachute from normal airliners because the doors are right in front of the engines." while showing a tight shot of the rear side door of a 737. It's actually because other airliners have plug doors that physically can't be opened in flight -- they have to be pulled in against cabin pressure and then pushed out, even at sea level the slipstream would prevent the latter. And there's the possibility of wrapping one's neck around the horizontal tail -- one type of plane my dad jumped from when he was in the army required a longer static line (i.e., parachute ripcord tied to the airframe), because the standard length opened the 'chute in time for it to get stuck on the tail.The reason these guys (and Dan Cooper) chose the 727 is because it has the stairs in back that can be opened in flight (after disabling the Cooper vane). Also, dismissing the first several rows as instantly fatal when they encountered a mere 12G? COL Stapp proved that a person can walk away from taking 46G. It's certainly unpleasant -- he broke his wrist twice and detached a retina in the course of testing -- and to be fair, he had a better seatbelt arrangement, but even with a lap belt 12G is survivable. 12G will kill you in a sustained turn via no blood (if feet toward the outside of the turn) or too much blood (if feet inside) to the brain, but a couple milliseconds of it would just leave you sore for weeks. A 30mph car crash is 20G, and that's plenty survivable. Thinking of Stapp strapping himself into the rocket sled is pretty worthy of this thread -- that's some Aperture Science poo poo. Dude volunteered to be a crash test dummy. 
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Apr 22, 2015 16:08
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Bad Angus! Bad!
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On bridge talk: I remember, when I was much younger, a barge hitting the Three Mile Bridge in Pensacola. During the reconstruction they opened two of the four lanes with nothing more than a few spaced out concrete barriers and a few safety barrels allowing you to see the water five stories below as you drove past while clenching your rear end.
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Apr 22, 2015 21:00
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Delivery McGee posted:Also, dismissing the first several rows as instantly fatal when they encountered a mere 12G? COL Stapp proved that a person can walk away from taking 46G. It's certainly unpleasant -- he broke his wrist twice and detached a retina in the course of testing -- and to be fair, he had a better seatbelt arrangement, but even with a lap belt 12G is survivable. 12G will kill you in a sustained turn via no blood (if feet toward the outside of the turn) or too much blood (if feet inside) to the brain, but a couple milliseconds of it would just leave you sore for weeks. A 30mph car crash is 20G, and that's plenty survivable. Pretty sure it's more the entire nose of the plane detaching violently while spewing debris and also chunks of the earth into first class rather than G-loading in this specific instance.
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Apr 22, 2015 22:45
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While not involving death the fact that this almost became a thing is fairly scary. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney%27s_America http://www.disneydrawingboard.com/DA%20Haymarket/DAHaymarket.html quote:Disney's America Theme Park would have been built on 3,000-acres in Haymarket, VA. The project was officially announced on November 11th, 1993. The park would have been centered on the history of the United States. The park would become Michael Eisner’s, Disney’s CEO at the time, dream project. Eisner loved the idea and rallied support of the then outgoing Governor of Virginia, L. Douglas Wilder and the incoming Governor, George Allen. Although the local government could have been won over, citizens would not be. They did not agree a Disney could represent the history of the United States, as well as their own town and eventually because of this and other financial reasons Disney’s America was canceled   
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Apr 23, 2015 04:13
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Nckdictator posted:While not involving death the fact that this almost became a thing is fairly scary. I think it sounds fun.
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Apr 23, 2015 04:22
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Solice Kirsk posted:I think it sounds fun. I lived within field trip distance from there, and am very disappointed that it wasn't a thing.
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Apr 23, 2015 04:32
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Nckdictator posted:While not involving death the fact that this almost became a thing is fairly scary. I kept waiting for the description of the park area based on plantation fields with cast members dressed as slaves or a trail of tears monorail tour or something, but… it just seems like a regular theme park? Other than being a big theme park what's the scary part?
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Apr 23, 2015 04:33
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Sounds like an even more boring epcot, but still not terrible.
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Apr 23, 2015 04:36
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Double Plus Good posted:I kept waiting for the description of the park area based on plantation fields with cast members dressed as slaves or a trail of tears monorail tour or something, but… it just seems like a regular theme park? Other than being a big theme park what's the scary part? Look at the location. It's not the park itself (I would have loved to visit it) but building it so close to a battlefield really upsets the preservationist in me.
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Apr 23, 2015 04:36
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Nckdictator posted:Look at the location. It's not the park itself (I would have loved to visit it) but building it so close to a battlefield is really skeevy. Antietam is basically surrounded by outlet malls, and the city of Gettysburg is a giant tourist trap. At least this would have had *something* to do with history. Crow Jane has a new favorite as of 04:41 on Apr 23, 2015 |
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Apr 23, 2015 04:38
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Nckdictator posted:Look at the location. It's not the park itself (I would have loved to visit it) but building it so close to a battlefield really upsets the preservationist in me. If I died on some God-forsaken field, nothing would bring me better joy than the horror of that place being forgotten.
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Apr 23, 2015 07:13
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Nckdictator posted:Look at the location. It's not the park itself (I would have loved to visit it) but building it so close to a battlefield really upsets the preservationist in me. It's a few miles away. If it were actually on the battlefield, that would be different. And Solice Kirsk is right: it does sound fun. The Alamo is surrounded by all kinds of huge buildings.
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Apr 23, 2015 07:28
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Khazar-khum posted:It's a few miles away. If it were actually on the battlefield, that would be different. And Solice Kirsk is right: it does sound fun. the alamo is a monument to the failure of slave owners and should be preserved forever
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Apr 23, 2015 07:29
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Dr. Benway posted:On bridge talk: The creepiest part about the Sunshine Skyway is driving over and being able to see the decaying wreckage of the old bridge parallel to your route. The hit that finally wrecked it was not the first hit it took, but it was the one that made the biggest mess. On top of the boating incidents, the Sunshine Skyway is the fourth-busiest suicide bridge in the country. I've always loved that bridge, though. The Peace River Bridge connecting Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda is another favorite of mine. I am a sucker for big hump-back bridges with great views.
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Apr 23, 2015 08:21
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Nckdictator posted:While not involving death the fact that this almost became a thing is fairly scary. I was living in that area at the time, and it was a huge controversy, especially over what impact it would have on the actual battlefield sites and countryside around it. Thank the living gently caress it wasn't realised.
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Apr 23, 2015 11:57
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Nckdictator posted:Look at the location. It's not the park itself (I would have loved to visit it) but building it so close to a battlefield really upsets the preservationist in me. Dude literally everywhere is close to something historic.
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Apr 23, 2015 12:59
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This Disney theme park talk has got me shaking in my boots! A theme park built near something? Terrifying!
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Apr 23, 2015 13:19
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RCarr posted:This Disney theme park talk has got me shaking in my boots! A theme park built near something? Terrifying! If that makes you angry, just wait till I tell you about that mosque near Ground Zero....
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Apr 23, 2015 13:57
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Speaking of theme parks, I'm sure this has been posted before but it's always good for a mindboggle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_Parkquote:The park's popularity went hand-in-hand with a reputation for poorly designed, unsafe rides; under-aged, undertrained, and often under-the-influence staff;[3] intoxicated, unprepared visitors; and a consequently poor safety record. At least six people are known to have died as a result of mishaps on rides at the original park. It was given nicknames such as "Traction Park",[3] "Accident Park", and "Class Action Park"[4] by doctors at nearby hospitals due to the number of severely injured park-goers they treated. Little action was taken by state regulators despite a history of repeat violations. In its later years, personal-injury lawsuits led to the closure of more and more rides and eventually the entire park. quote:Park officials said this made the injury and death rate statistically insignificant. Nevertheless, the director of the emergency room at a nearby hospital said they treated from five to ten victims of park accidents on some of the busiest days, and the park eventually bought the township of Vernon extra ambulances to keep up with the volume.[3] quote:A skateboard park briefly existed, near the ski area's ski school building, but closed due to poor design after a season. Bowls were separated by pavement, which in many cases did not meet the edges smoothly. Former park employee Tom Fergus was quoted in the magazine Weird NJ saying that the "skate park was responsible for so many injuries we covered it up with dirt and pretended it never existed".[23] quote:Super Go Karts: The karts were meant to be driven around a small loop track at a speed of about 20 mph (32 km/h) set by the governor devices on them. However, park employees knew how to circumvent the governors by wedging tennis balls into them, and they were known to do so for parkgoers. As a result, an otherwise standard small-engine car ride became a chance to play bumper cars at 50 mph (80 km/h), and many injuries resulted from head-on collisions.[3] Also, the engines were poorly maintained, and some riders were overcome by gasoline fumes as they drove.[3] quote:Super Speedboats: These were set up in a small pond, known by staff to be heavily infested with snakes.[3] They were supposed to be driven around a small island in the middle at 35-40 mph (56–64 km/h). While, unlike the land vehicles, there was no way to tamper with them and increase their speed, many riders nonetheless used them to play bumper boats, and one seriously inebriated rider had to be rescued by the attendant lifeguard after his boat capsized following a collision.[3] quote:In the mid-1980s GAR built an enclosed water slide, not unusual for that time, and indeed the park already had several. But for this one they decided to build, at the end, a complete vertical loop of the kind more commonly associated with roller coasters.[27] Employees have reported they were offered hundred-dollar bills to test it. Tom Fergus, who described himself as "one of the idiots" who took the offer, said "$100 did not buy enough booze to drown out that memory."[23] That's not even everything. showbiz_liz has a new favorite as of 14:56 on Apr 23, 2015 |
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Apr 23, 2015 14:01
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Alouicious posted:the alamo is a monument to the failure of slave owners and should be preserved forever How would you feel about monuments to the other rebellions against Santa Anna, like the Republic of the Rio Grande and the Republic of the Yucatan?
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Apr 23, 2015 14:33
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13Pandora13 posted:Dude literally everywhere is close to something historic. Not in America 
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Apr 23, 2015 15:25
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House Louse posted:Not in America racist
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