Comments on: Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse "In Color"

By: Alex

Alex — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 07:30:38 +0000

That's why we don't build things in natural frequency of winds anymore ... I've seen the clip several times in college, and every time it still moved me. Terrifying!

By: Haley

Haley — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 23:36:09 +0000

Yay! Tacoma! I live there. My grandma lived literally a minute away and she said it was the scariest thing she's ever seen.

By: Skipweasel

Skipweasel — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:07:38 +0000

I would expect if you looked closer at the tarmac you'd see it was indeed crazed all over. It's just that the bits would be likely to stay in place as there was no compelling reason for them to move sideways, being locked in by their neighbours.

After all, the actual twist in degrees per meter length of bridge is quite small. It looks much more dramatic in some shots because of the compression of perspective from the telephoto lens.

By: avraamov

avraamov — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 20:48:50 +0000

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

By: Chad Cloman

Chad Cloman — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:27:08 +0000

Also from the Wikipedia entry: "Tubby, a black male cocker spaniel dog, was the only fatality of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge disaster. Leonard Coatsworth, a Tacoma News Tribune photographer, was driving with the dog over the bridge when it started to vibrate violently. Coatsworth was forced to flee his car, leaving Tubby behind. Professor Farquharson and a news photographer attempted to rescue Tubby, but the dog was too terrified to leave the car and bit one of the rescuers. Tubby died when the bridge fell, and neither his body nor the car were ever recovered."

By: BeX

BeX — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:35:35 +0000

When I was a kid I would have nightmares where I was on very high fire escapes and they moved around like that.

By: Chad Cloman

Chad Cloman — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 10:14:09 +0000

From the Wikipedia article: "Elliot's original films of the construction and collapse of the bridge were shot on 16mm Kodachrome film, but most copies in circulation are in black and white because newsreels of the day copied the film onto 35mm black and white stock."

By: ~Emma

~Emma — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 08:55:53 +0000

I hate to be a 'Debbie Downer', but the doggie didn't survive.

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/TNBhistory/tubby.htm

I grew up in a tiny Oklahoma town during the black and white era. Once, the newspaper did a story on my family because my dad rented a color tv so we could watch the Rose Bowl Parade in color.

I'm not old...really...:)

By: red

red — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 07:37:07 +0000

I wonder how that must have sounded, twisting in the wind like that.

By: ted

ted — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 04:45:53 +0000

How suspicious we've become, that even this familiar piece of film stirs up doubt in some minds.

Bridges are built to move a little, after all. This one just moved a little too much.

By: skreidle

skreidle — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 03:36:57 +0000

Fran: Fortunately, civil engineers have learned a lot about the aerodynamics and oscillations of bridges since then. (Actually, engineers realized the cause of the problem before the bridge collapsed, but not in enough time to do anything about it.)

By: Agnes

Agnes — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 02:44:23 +0000

I'm suspicious of this video.
Maybe I don't know much about suspension bridges, but is it really possible for the bridge to warp that much and not immediately crack the paved road surface? It looked like rubber in some of the longer shots. Weird.

By: AbbyJoy

AbbyJoy — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 01:47:50 +0000

At the 4:00 mark it looks like he's carrying a dog. Whew!

By: avraamov

avraamov — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 01:02:34 +0000

but what about the dog? 0_o

By: donna

donna — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 23:17:59 +0000

I used to tell my kids about when the world was black and white, Ed. It only turned color during the filming of "The Wizard of Oz", a wonderful documentary. ;^)

By: Ed Hands

Ed Hands — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 22:18:18 +0000

Lies!!! All Lies!!!

Everyone knows that before 1970 everything was in black and white...

By: Justin

Justin — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 22:07:47 +0000

What I find amazing is how long that bridge could bend and twist into the wind before it broke apart!

By: Courageous Grace

Courageous Grace — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 20:41:10 +0000

I used to live in Puyallup, my grandmother had lake front property in Shelton. We'd cross the Narrows bridge every time we went to the lake. It was always an adventure...

By: ann

ann — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 20:06:44 +0000

I have never been able to calmly quietly cross long bridges...and it's sure to be worse now. I hate heights and stuff like this- it's the stuff of nightmares.

By: Sasha

Sasha — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 19:01:50 +0000

I used to live in Tacoma, and ride my motorcycle across that bridge frequently..even though the bridge is strong now, it is still a hairy ride. The winds are so strong, I would find myself leaning 30 degres into the wind the whole way across, trying to keep a straight track. It was a great skill exercise!

By: Fran

Fran — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:00:25 +0000

That was horrifying. I'm so glad I didn't see this before my trip to Seattle last year.