Pull down the description for my sources on this video: if you'd like to know more, there's an hour-long panel talk discussing the bridge's history and refurbishment from Engineers Ireland!
The joy I felt seeing some adult jumping like a child in the middle of the bridge exactly when the guest was speaking about people having fun doing just that, good stuff.
as a cork girI I was devastated when I heard the bridge was going to be repaired. visited a couple weeks after it went back up and was thrilled at the bounce
So I was imagining something like: Engineering company: We will fix this bridge so that it will last another 100 years, AND we will fix the wobble Government: It's a heritage site mate, it has to be preserved in its initial condition Engg. Coy: Really? Is the wobble important? All the people: WE WANT THE WOBBLE
As a person who lives and grew up in Cork, I went to this park all of the time as a kid. It's really nice to see coverage of the much beloved shakey bridge when all we ever get tourism for is the Blarney Kissing Stone. Shakey bridge is honestly way more fun and genuine to the Cork experience. Thank you Tom :)
Kinda wholesome that the local residents got a say in the preservation of the bridge. A lot of them must've spent their childhoods boppin' up and down it. :)
Residents of towns and cities in Ireland have a bigger say than it might be in other countries. I remember one renovation project was supported by a bunch, but only 3 people complained and shut it down.
It wouldn't be the shakey bridge of a didn't shake. As somebody who lives in Cork and regularly walks on this bridge I can tell you that it's not as shaky as it used to be, to be expected with new suspension cables. And almost didn't reopen because the company behind restoring got into financial difficulty I believe so the opening of the bridge was delayed for quite a while during the pandemic. But it was a good day in Cork when it was finally opened again. It's an icon of the city.
Not just children. It is very close to the University so many of us jumped on it as children and as college students, especially after nights out. It was great to see it restored so faithfully.
As a structural engineer I loved this one and respected the community’s wish to keep their bridge behaving as it used to. Credit to the new engineers too!
Fun Fact: The restoration of that bridge cost 1.7 million euros, a full 34 times more expensive than the inflation-adjusted cost to build the original bridge.
Think about NYC Hudson tunnel costs 48MioUS$ in 1927, which are today 793MioUS$, now the nearly identical new one is an estimated 12300MioUS$, probably much more upon completion. The building industrie sucks. Other industries have learned how to deliver more economically, the building industry how to press more money out of the customer, at least politicans and tax payers.
I'm having flashbacks to the radio episode of TechDif where Gary talked about the Americans unpacking London Bridge at Arizona and Tom mused on the existence of an IKEA flatpack bridge and here we are with an actual bridge bought from an actual catalogue and delivered in cardboard boxes!
Meanwhile, I was reminded of that SS Bessemer Citation Needed episode when they were talking about movements in three directions that cause seasickness.
Haha, the circle around the guy jumping on the bridge got me! Though, to be fair, if I lived nearby to it, I'd probably do the same thing every time I cross it.
@@gojira_breathes_428 no encourage them. if they are jumping they can't or at least it's very hard to drink. I mean before and after sure but during the jump.
Current era: "We need to hire engineers, surveyors, fabricators, it's gonna cost about 10 million euros." A hundred years ago: "Dude, we can order a bridge from this catalog. 700 pounds."
The idea of picking a bridge from a catalog, and having it show up flat packed, Ikea style, blows my mind. 🤣 Way ahead of its time, and well built as well.
If you took the shake out of the Shaky Bridge you'd just have a bridge. I'm glad you gave this coverage, Tom, it's a rare example of Cork City Council doing something completely right. It's 5 minutes from University College Cork as well so generations of students have made the pilgrimage to come and bounce on it - myself included!
This makes me absurdly happy. Not only that it's a really high quality bridge, but that it was able to arrive in boxes from a catalog, that people embraced the shake, and that the engineers (under direction of the public) rebuilt it to keep shaking.
That bridge has a sibling in my home town of Shrewsbury! The bridge that goes over the river Severn from the quarry to the boathouse pub was built by the same company and wobbles possibly more than this one does. Looks almost identical too but ours is green (last time I saw it anyway)
Porthill Bridge. It even has its own Wikipedia article, which says: "Porthill Bridge experiences significant vibration, even when few people are crossing it - and has done since it was installed. Local pedestrians mostly accept this eccentricity as part of the bridge's charm."
It's a more expensive, and wider, model but otherwise very similar. According to the Wiki the Shrewsbury bridge cost almost four times as much as the Cork bridge - 2,600 pounds in 1922.
As someone who grew up in Cork it's surreal to see a Tom Scott video on the Shaky Bridge, there's a park right next to it called "Fitzgerald's Park" well worth a visit when in Cork
In a world of constant bad news and horrible beings, I am more than thankful to you Tom for this bit of lighthearted warmth. Even if only in relation to a refurbishing of a bridge, it's still a piece of delight to learn and hear about. Thank you
of all structures, really. Forces cause stresses, and stresses can cause strains (and thus) displacements. Rigid boundary conditions that restrict these displacements can result in even higher stresses, possibly in excess of a materials compressive or tensile strength.
@@VeraTR909 I haven't the faintest idea how one would go about doing an in-depth comparative costing, but someone will know and I'd love to see it. The details of how relative costs change over the long term is fascinating and can provide insights into both economic and social history that headline figures for generalised inflation don't even hint at.
If you are selling enough bridges to need a catalog you are probably making multiples of the same components which means that tooling costs are spread over many bridges. Also that is the cost of materials only, not the on site installation including the foundations.
I'm an Irish engineering student with an upcoming exam in mechanical vibrations and keeping the shaky bridge shaky goes against everything I have ever learned. I wish I could have been involved.
It's not so much against everything you learnt as you're only going against the "reduce oscillation" part of it. All structures have harmonics and resonance, which you calculate. You then don't fix it, just make sure it won't break :)
Shaky bridges are great. I remember many years ago when I was at school going across a suspension bridge in Scotland with a few friends. We decided to see what would happen if we walked in step. I think we managed about 3 steps in unison before realising just how bad an idea it was. It's really amazing how quickly the feedback builds up if you manage to match the resonant frequency of a bridge.
Not sure if you're aware, but a French bridge collapsed after soldiers marched across it. Every army then ordered troops to break step as they went over bridges.
@@MandolinMagi You probably mean the Broughton Bridge collapse, which while the marching contributed to the collapse, the bridge was poorly constructed and failure was actually found to be inevitable. That led to breaking step when crossing bridges in the British and French armies. In France, marching at the Angers bridge's resonance frequency is only partially the cause of collapse too. The soldiers were actual already ordered NOT to march in cadence when crossing. But the bridge was poorly maintained and there was heavy winds. The various loads were the primary reason why Angers bridge collapsed so in both cases it was multiple contributing reasons.
@@thecornfieldiii2069 can confirm you still can, but less as an entire bridge and more as components, such as Banagher Concrete have a manual of precast concrete beams for bridge design.
I'm imagining the engineer jumping up and down on the bridge before and after repair to characterize and validate the historical shakiness of the bridge. "Sorry, can't attend your meeting. I'm scheduled to jump on a bridge in Cork at that time."
My friends older brother was a structural engineering student 2 years ahead of us in CIT, now MTU and was with the company RPS' bridge department and worked on this project, ultimately doing his final year project and I believe his masters project on it too. Also it is the Shakey Bridge no one in Cork calls it Daley Bridge unless they are being formal for some reason.
Great to see Tom visiting my second home! The Shakey Bridge is a Cork landmark. I've been on the bridge both before and after reconstruction, and the shake has remained constant. Thanks for shining a light on this lovely little idiosyncracy in bridge building :)
subtitle error at 3:56, it should be "shake" not "shape, just so anyone who is using the subtitles knows. (also good job whoever subtitles, as i have watched so many tom scott videos and so far this is the only one i have noticed an error on, so keep up the good work!)
This bridge is a staple of the history of cork. As a child, going into Fitzgerald's park all I wanted to do go to the shakey bridge and jump on it, forget the swings or slides, make it shake. In a small city it's this thing that stands out the most. And of course we are the rebel county.
Good to see Cork in Tom's video this week. I've lived in Cork all my life and the Shakey Bridge is definitely one of the best attractions in the city. The view from the bridge is lovely and the shaking is obviously a huge novelty. Would definitely recommend it to visitors!
Used to jump off this bridge during the summer when I was younger, even climbed to the top of one of the towers and jumped in to the river, good fun, thanks for showing it to the world Tom👍
I love how Tom keeps the video straight to the point and short. It is much more concise than many other channels trying to lengthen the video to earn more money.
I mean, it's not like it's completely impossible today. It's just you can't buy bridges off a catalogue anymore, probably because everyone knows that the government will overspend
@@mkontent Governments overspent back then too. It's just that most bridge aren't super narrow, pedestrian only bridges. Like that's a rather narrow selection of bridges.
Many years ago I was involved with ensuring the safety of a somewhat similar bridge. (A similar span but much wider, built for use by ponies and traps.) It was reported that it was bouncing to the extent that some pedestrians were concerned, so I calculated its natural frequency of vibration, as part of my investigation. The number I got was about two Hz (cycles per second), which is about normal footfall frequency for someone walking. This meant that someone walking at a steady pace that closely matched the natural frequency would set the bridge bouncing in just the same way as someone repeatedly pushing a child on a swing to make them go higher. Anyway, I could report that there was nothing to worry about, as long as a platoon of people marching in step didn't try to cross it.
Hey I'm from Cork and I was shocked and delighted to see you made a video in my hometown. Thank you! If you're still around I'll get you and the crew a pint!
I love these little gems which showcases how people enjoy the little things and how much due diligence engineers take in their craft/work, great video as always tom
There is a bridge in Warrington, Cheshire, England called the Howley suspension bridge which spans the river Mersey, built in 1912 by the same company and jumps up and down very much like the bridge in the video, cool to see that there are multiple similar bridges.
That is so cool, that they kept it the way it was! A big thank you to the workers and engineers that restored this bridge to it‘s former glory! Keep up your great work!
Thank you. I know it's nothing but a silly little bridge I'll never see (or care to visit) but it made me smile. Getting a wholesome story like this in the middle of my news feed of scams, war and economical turmoil feels good.
Fun fact: I live near this same bridge, but just in a different location! It must have also been orderd from the bridge catalogue. Look up Ilkley Suspension Bridge, and you can see it's almost identical, just in different colours! (It is also just as bouncy)
As a student of conservation of heritage, I never could have thought you, or anyone would make a video about it. I had been watching these videos to learn about the fields I had no knowledge about.
I find it amazing to see just how good historians the Irish are. Here in Australia you'd be lucky to find any material on the entire region I live in before the 1960s.
I lived in England as a child and in Western Canada now. I wouldn't exactly say that Canada 'has no history', but it's so different. Canadian history as a country doesn't start until so late in English history, and so much was built so recently. Certainly no Roman roads or Stonehenge.
Check out Newgrange in County Meath... its one of this the oldest structures in the world constructed in 3200BC - Older than the pyramids and stonehenge.
There's a bridge that did this in my hometown in rural New Zealand! It was also a protected structure with virtually the same rules as this one. It was made to wobble on purpose and it's been loved by all ages for decades :)
There's multiple of these bridges in Inverness in the Highlands, you've given me a throwback to my childhood walking across these and walking with the wobbles making them as big as possible. I always remember at least a few people hating it and we always did it more because of that. Good times
I'm still taken with the 'Bridge Catalog' from a century ago. Reminds me of the Sears catalog where in you could buy a house or a tomb stone or cloths for the family.
Thanks for the video Tom! I grew up in Cork and spent many a Sunday afternoon jumping on the bridge. Have since moved to England and haven’t seen the refurbishment. It’s looking fantastic!
Brilliant video. As an Irishman myself, I’d love to see more videos of cork and Ireland as a whole. Even though I’ve crossed this bridge before, I didn’t know much of what was explained in the video.
@@mmseng2 Well... In this case, you probably should. So it's less vulnerable and doesn't have to be repaired as often. But, humans and their traditions.
Tom Scott: Here's this cool bit of engineering/architecture, isn't that neat? Also Tom Scott: I'm gonna set myself on fire, go 0g, ride in a race car, and do some parkour running.
I can literally walk there in about 45 minutes. This bridge used to be part of my daily commute in 2018. I had no idea it was disassembled back in 2017
My grandmother lived only a few minutes walk from the Shaky Bridge, I remember we used to go for a trip across every time we were in Cork for a visit. I'm so happy that they preserved the shake when doing the refurbishments
I love how you get to learn and understand the important difference between repair and preserve. Repair usually brings improvement but preservation means maintaining the status quo. Nice to see they made sure to preserve and not force the bridge to be repaired to modern specs and standards!
Having a catalogue for bridges sounds very silly if it were to exist today. “Hmmm, honey, what do you think of this one?” “Oh, I don’t know dear, I think the one underneath it is more shapely, don’t you think?”
I mean, it makes sense if you're mass-producing bridges. You can for example buy pre-built houses, in Norway we call them brakkebygg (baracks-building/construction) or modulbygg (modular building/construction), and other than the internal seams they're fine (and cheap because of labor-costs).
Thing is, they still do exist. A few seconds on Google found me several. And that makes a lot of sense. Unless you need a bespoke solution buying a tried and tested model from a catalogue is much cheaper than having an architect developing a new bridge. Precast mass manufactured concrete parts are much cheaper than bespoke ones, same applies to metal struts.
In Missoula, MT we have a marching band that combines the local highschool bands. One of the proudest successes of each year was that the students, when marching together in unified step, they were able to give the Higgins St bridge a sine wave wobble that students could feel marching across during our annual homecoming parade for the local college. Just a fun note if you feel like visiting from a (multi-year) marching band member!
Buying a cheap bridge off a catalogue which shakes would have been a good story. But the fact that they repaired it and ensured that the shake didn't go away is what makes this amazing!
Catalogue bridges were popular in the US from the 1880's to the 1920's. They were commonly known as 'tin bridges' because of how light weight they were, most being designed for a 10 ton load
We've a very similar, if shorter, wooden suspension bridge in my Maine hometown. The bounce in the center is quite strong and I remember my friends and I daring one another to cross. To this day, I can't cross it without a little shiver of thrill... And fear.
I love how an oblivious bug has become a feature that absolutely enriches peoples everyday live ^^ Usually a bridge which such a massive shake does indicate a certain danger of overextending but it seems that despite the shake the bridge itself is over-engineered enough that the humans on it wont bring it down.
There used to be a little suspension bridge like this one in my hometown that had a similar rebuilding program, unfortunately they strengthened the towers so it doesn't shake anymore.
There's a bridge like this in one of the community gardens I used to live near, it's much shorter and is over a shallow, slow canal rather than a river, but it's also deliberately made bouncy. I think it's either to slow foot traffic down, or a byproduct of making it durable against the wind. Incredible that this can also be achieved safely on a much larger scale.
Hi Tom, Myself and my girlfriend met you briefly in the park just after you shot this. I feel like we gave you a bit of a fright actually: "OMG ARE YOU TOM SCOTT???!! YOU'RE A CELEBRITYYYYYY!!" Apologies for distracting you from your editing. Hope you enjoyed your stay in the real capital!
Objection. Bridges can be fascinating. The vast majority of things that people make are less exciting than the coolest bridges. Maybe you have to be a bit of a nerd.
Pull down the description for my sources on this video: if you'd like to know more, there's an hour-long panel talk discussing the bridge's history and refurbishment from Engineers Ireland!
Yo
Just if your confused, Tom Scott will unlist / private his videos for a-few days before they goes public.
Ty for this video Tom
These videos are unlisted for a set time berofre publishing
Hi
The joy I felt seeing some adult jumping like a child in the middle of the bridge exactly when the guest was speaking about people having fun doing just that, good stuff.
That adult was a scientists - we spend all our lives having fun like that.
2:53 you can tell they’re having fun
I'm so glad they circled that lmaoo
@@frogandspanner p
Anything that can remind an adult how it feels to be a child is a force for good & should be preserved!
I love the idea of a bridge catalogue. I need one in my life
Suddenly, the phrase "I have a bridge I'd like to sell" seems totally legit.
It would be great for asking the best icebreaker question: what's your favorite bridge?
They have them in farmer's catalogs.
I have a comprehensive catalogue of 20th century telegraph poles, that you might find of equal importance and as enjoyably interesting. A,R
Didn't Sears at one point sell prefab homes through their mail catalogue?
as a cork girI I was devastated when I heard the bridge was going to be repaired. visited a couple weeks after it went back up and was thrilled at the bounce
Hello fellow Cork person.... Did the same and wasn't disappointed. 🇮🇪
I heard that cork girls like a bounce😁
@@johntheball OR... do Cork girls bounce nicely... (Said in a respectful manner.)
@@Golfnut_2099
Always respectfull ...😁...
So I was imagining something like:
Engineering company: We will fix this bridge so that it will last another 100 years, AND we will fix the wobble
Government: It's a heritage site mate, it has to be preserved in its initial condition
Engg. Coy: Really? Is the wobble important?
All the people: WE WANT THE WOBBLE
Daly's Brige patch notes:
-Fixed corosion
-New cables and overall updated graphics
-"Bouncing bug" now officially a feature.
They got Valve to do it, apparently
Thanks engineers very cool
apparently epic games said they would pay Daly Bridge to add toxic nine year olds
Rocket Jumping.mp4
- updated localization files
I love the fact that the engineers took effort and ran simulations to make sure that the wobble stays as close to the original bridge as possible.
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As a person who lives and grew up in Cork, I went to this park all of the time as a kid. It's really nice to see coverage of the much beloved shakey bridge when all we ever get tourism for is the Blarney Kissing Stone. Shakey bridge is honestly way more fun and genuine to the Cork experience. Thank you Tom :)
Agreed, Fitzgerald park altogether is such a big part of my childhood and needs more recognition, especially the shaky bridge
I also completely agree
Shaky Bridge > Blarney Stone > Anything that Dublin has to offer tbh
@@conormaccarthy249 as somebody in Dublin, agreed
Thanks for sharing! 🙏
Kinda wholesome that the local residents got a say in the preservation of the bridge. A lot of them must've spent their childhoods boppin' up and down it. :)
Cork is actually the biggest county here in Ireland so there's tons of us that have always known and loved the bridge for its shake
Residents of towns and cities in Ireland have a bigger say than it might be in other countries. I remember one renovation project was supported by a bunch, but only 3 people complained and shut it down.
It wouldn't be the shakey bridge of a didn't shake. As somebody who lives in Cork and regularly walks on this bridge I can tell you that it's not as shaky as it used to be, to be expected with new suspension cables. And almost didn't reopen because the company behind restoring got into financial difficulty I believe so the opening of the bridge was delayed for quite a while during the pandemic. But it was a good day in Cork when it was finally opened again. It's an icon of the city.
Not just children. It is very close to the University so many of us jumped on it as children and as college students, especially after nights out. It was great to see it restored so faithfully.
I live in cork (Kinsale for anyone who’s wondering) and I’ve been on this bridge many times, it’s very fun
Ooooh Tom Scott does Ireland. Looking forward to seeing what you make
Should be called Tom Scott does the People's Republic of Cork!
hopefully more people do Ireland stuff
@@CptDoot
The company Apple does Ireland stuff
I think the world could do with a Real Engineering Tom Scott crossover video
Colab comming? Nudge nudge wink wink 😁
As a structural engineer I loved this one and respected the community’s wish to keep their bridge behaving as it used to. Credit to the new engineers too!
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Ok... and thanks for the previous Oks
Fun Fact: The restoration of that bridge cost 1.7 million euros, a full 34 times more expensive than the inflation-adjusted cost to build the original bridge.
Which only means they lie about rates of inflation.
Fun Fact: A full restoration of nearly anything, if done properly, is always more expensive than the original. It's all a matter of degree.
Think about NYC Hudson tunnel costs 48MioUS$ in 1927, which are today 793MioUS$, now the nearly identical new one is an estimated 12300MioUS$, probably much more upon completion. The building industrie sucks. Other industries have learned how to deliver more economically, the building industry how to press more money out of the customer, at least politicans and tax payers.
It’s almost like, it’s harder to fix some things things than it is to build new ones, huh.
this is the same with classic cars etc. some cataloged mass produced item becomes a unicate where every piece is special made with the passing of time
I'm having flashbacks to the radio episode of TechDif where Gary talked about the Americans unpacking London Bridge at Arizona and Tom mused on the existence of an IKEA flatpack bridge and here we are with an actual bridge bought from an actual catalogue and delivered in cardboard boxes!
Link?
Meanwhile, I was reminded of that SS Bessemer Citation Needed episode when they were talking about movements in three directions that cause seasickness.
Jeff Bridges' jet bridges
@@sundhaug92 Gannon?
Probably wooden boxes.
“This bridge doesn’t feel very safe. It feels wobbly.”
“Good. That’s the point.”
Toga pfp W
It's good that it doesn't feel safe...?
Galloping Gertie has entered the chat
Alice from Well There's Your Problem disagrees with you. Make it more rigid.
Bridges, buildings, even airplanes are designed to flex and sway. If they didn't, they would snap off.
Haha, the circle around the guy jumping on the bridge got me!
Though, to be fair, if I lived nearby to it, I'd probably do the same thing every time I cross it.
I live in Cork and yes I sometimes cross the bridge to jump on it just for fun.
Everytime I'm near the bridge or Fitzgeralds Park which is adjoining. I must jump on the bridge. I'm married. 2 kids. 39 years old. 😁
@@barryryan14 “Ryan! Please stop jumping on the bridge, you aren’t a kid anymore!”
Ryan: “I must…keep…bouncing…”
@@barryryan14 There's no reason for adulthood to be the absence of fun. Bounce on, Ryan...
@@gojira_breathes_428 no encourage them. if they are jumping they can't or at least it's very hard to drink. I mean before and after sure but during the jump.
Current era: "We need to hire engineers, surveyors, fabricators, it's gonna cost about 10 million euros."
A hundred years ago: "Dude, we can order a bridge from this catalog. 700 pounds."
Ships in boxes: ikea bridge
you can still do that for your standard highway overpass and stuff alike, in any case you need engineers to check suitability and plan foundations
I was aware of mail-order houses (Sears & Robuck had those), but bridges being sold thing was is new to me
@@csmith8503 As they were delivering a bridge, I'd cut them some slack on the delivery schedule.
Ikea did too for a while
The idea of picking a bridge from a catalog, and having it show up flat packed, Ikea style, blows my mind. 🤣 Way ahead of its time, and well built as well.
i wonder if they had the same aount of surplus parts and screws ....always happens to me, if i get something from ikea...:)
With a single, six-foot-long hex wrench.
@@gilde915 what are all these extra cables for? never mind just chuck them in the river.
Love to see people "testing" the bridge as the interview goes
They won’t be testing it, they know it shakes. They’ll be doing it for the fun of it
@@theleesidesnowman1127 Never hurts to double check! 🌍
If you took the shake out of the Shaky Bridge you'd just have a bridge. I'm glad you gave this coverage, Tom, it's a rare example of Cork City Council doing something completely right. It's 5 minutes from University College Cork as well so generations of students have made the pilgrimage to come and bounce on it - myself included!
If you took the shake out of it you wouldn't have a bridge at all.
Tom jumping on a bridge is something I didn't know i needed in my life.
@@EEEEEEEE F
It is very much worth it
> A Corkman
This makes me absurdly happy. Not only that it's a really high quality bridge, but that it was able to arrive in boxes from a catalog, that people embraced the shake, and that the engineers (under direction of the public) rebuilt it to keep shaking.
That bridge has a sibling in my home town of Shrewsbury! The bridge that goes over the river Severn from the quarry to the boathouse pub was built by the same company and wobbles possibly more than this one does. Looks almost identical too but ours is green (last time I saw it anyway)
Porthill Bridge. It even has its own Wikipedia article, which says: "Porthill Bridge experiences significant vibration, even when few people are crossing it - and has done since it was installed. Local pedestrians mostly accept this eccentricity as part of the bridge's charm."
It's a more expensive, and wider, model but otherwise very similar. According to the Wiki the Shrewsbury bridge cost almost four times as much as the Cork bridge - 2,600 pounds in 1922.
Awesome
Ok, so there are 2 more bridges like this.
@@Moloxer Given that they ordered them from a catalogue, I would assume, that there are/were a few more.
As an Irishman, I’ve been to this bridge. It’s very unnerving, especially when you don’t know beforehand that it shakes.
That bridge is one of the funniest thing to see tourists leaving the park by it not realising it's shakey.
If the bridge wobbles more than you the solution is more Guinness 👍
@@SlyerFox666 how many pints until you cancel out the shake? and can you get a drunkenness - bridge shake resonance?
@@liamholcroft7212 My hats off to you sir🎩
The best thing ever though is diving into the water off it, the shake makes it so much more fun.
As someone who grew up in Cork it's surreal to see a Tom Scott video on the Shaky Bridge, there's a park right next to it called "Fitzgerald's Park" well worth a visit when in Cork
Fitzgeralds like my my a nice place a go with your cousins now and then as a kid
In a world of constant bad news and horrible beings, I am more than thankful to you Tom for this bit of lighthearted warmth. Even if only in relation to a refurbishing of a bridge, it's still a piece of delight to learn and hear about. Thank you
As someone who grew up in Cork I've been delighted as a child and adult by the shake. Do more videos about Ireland please Tom.
The idea that "If is doesn't shake, it will break" is also true for wooden roller coasters.
Steel roller coasters too. Just with very different frequency and amplitude.
every structures shakes if there is a dynamic load or a sudden load
of all structures, really. Forces cause stresses, and stresses can cause strains (and thus) displacements. Rigid boundary conditions that restrict these displacements can result in even higher stresses, possibly in excess of a materials compressive or tensile strength.
As a Cork person, I can say that yes, the bridge is shakey. Also Cork has a butter museum.
There must be a cork museum in Cork?
My favourite item in the butter museum is the bog butter that's "probably" mediaeval
Conversely, if the balance of the universe is to be kept, there must have to be a cork museum in Butterley!
I'm always amused at strangely-specific museums, I'd love to see what all was in a butter museum!
Can’t believe I missed Tom Scott in Cork
50,000 euro for a bridge that held up for 90 years before needing refurbishment? Kieran McCarthy's right, that bridge WAS good value.
And the refurb cost over €1.7m.
The price of labour has increased a lot, but we have cnc machines, calculators, and other computery thingies now so that's cool.
@@VeraTR909 I haven't the faintest idea how one would go about doing an in-depth comparative costing, but someone will know and I'd love to see it. The details of how relative costs change over the long term is fascinating and can provide insights into both economic and social history that headline figures for generalised inflation don't even hint at.
If you are selling enough bridges to need a catalog you are probably making multiples of the same components which means that tooling costs are spread over many bridges. Also that is the cost of materials only, not the on site installation including the foundations.
No that bridge will remain a good value until the end of time.
I'm an Irish engineering student with an upcoming exam in mechanical vibrations and keeping the shaky bridge shaky goes against everything I have ever learned. I wish I could have been involved.
@bouytt guyt The funniest part is the common modern joke "I got a bridge to sell you" used to be reality.
I'm glad you weren't involved. I don't want you engineering in ways that go against everything you have ever learned.
It's not so much against everything you learnt as you're only going against the "reduce oscillation" part of it. All structures have harmonics and resonance, which you calculate. You then don't fix it, just make sure it won't break :)
Alice? More rigid bridge?
Shaky bridges are great. I remember many years ago when I was at school going across a suspension bridge in Scotland with a few friends. We decided to see what would happen if we walked in step. I think we managed about 3 steps in unison before realising just how bad an idea it was. It's really amazing how quickly the feedback builds up if you manage to match the resonant frequency of a bridge.
Did you get it to bounce or swing?
@@iamdave84 it bounced so much it threw us in the air. Amazing just how quickly it built up.
Not sure if you're aware, but a French bridge collapsed after soldiers marched across it.
Every army then ordered troops to break step as they went over bridges.
@@MandolinMagi You probably mean the Broughton Bridge collapse, which while the marching contributed to the collapse, the bridge was poorly constructed and failure was actually found to be inevitable. That led to breaking step when crossing bridges in the British and French armies. In France, marching at the Angers bridge's resonance frequency is only partially the cause of collapse too. The soldiers were actual already ordered NOT to march in cadence when crossing. But the bridge was poorly maintained and there was heavy winds. The various loads were the primary reason why Angers bridge collapsed so in both cases it was multiple contributing reasons.
I love that you could buy bridges from a catalogue at one point.
Flat-packed bridges!
Shopping for your new town at IKEA.
You probably still can, you just don't know about it.
@@thecornfieldiii2069 can confirm you still can, but less as an entire bridge and more as components, such as Banagher Concrete have a manual of precast concrete beams for bridge design.
I'm disappointed it's not still an option. Though nowadays, you'd probably shop on Amazon for them, instead.
Love how people wrote in to make sure the repaired bring still shook, little things like that really make the world more fun and interesting!
I'm imagining the engineer jumping up and down on the bridge before and after repair to characterize and validate the historical shakiness of the bridge. "Sorry, can't attend your meeting. I'm scheduled to jump on a bridge in Cork at that time."
My friends older brother was a structural engineering student 2 years ahead of us in CIT, now MTU and was with the company RPS' bridge department and worked on this project, ultimately doing his final year project and I believe his masters project on it too. Also it is the Shakey Bridge no one in Cork calls it Daley Bridge unless they are being formal for some reason.
the Cork city government probably has to call it Daley Bridge when they're actually talking about it
Great to see Tom visiting my second home! The Shakey Bridge is a Cork landmark. I've been on the bridge both before and after reconstruction, and the shake has remained constant. Thanks for shining a light on this lovely little idiosyncracy in bridge building :)
subtitle error at 3:56, it should be "shake" not "shape, just so anyone who is using the subtitles knows. (also good job whoever subtitles, as i have watched so many tom scott videos and so far this is the only one i have noticed an error on, so keep up the good work!)
This bridge is a staple of the history of cork. As a child, going into Fitzgerald's park all I wanted to do go to the shakey bridge and jump on it, forget the swings or slides,
make it shake. In a small city it's this thing that stands out the most. And of course we are the rebel county.
Thats my home town! Thanks for visiting!
Mine too lad, theres no place like it.
Good to see Cork in Tom's video this week. I've lived in Cork all my life and the Shakey Bridge is definitely one of the best attractions in the city. The view from the bridge is lovely and the shaking is obviously a huge novelty. Would definitely recommend it to visitors!
Agreed, the shakey bridge is one of the best parts of Fitzgeralds park!
Used to jump off this bridge during the summer when I was younger, even climbed to the top of one of the towers and jumped in to the river, good fun, thanks for showing it to the world Tom👍
I'm imagining it would work like a diving board.
wow. jumping off from one of the towers looks sketchy af
I love how Tom keeps the video straight to the point and short. It is much more concise than many other channels trying to lengthen the video to earn more money.
I agree but there’s been a couple of videos I could of watch for a lot longer
There's something honestly very sweet about a preservation that keeps the piece of history as it was, faults and all.
What an outstanding story and bridge. I love the history of why things are where they are.
50k Euros for a bridge that's worked for nearly a century. Damn, that's value for money.
It does help that it is only for pedestrians and perhaps a lost bicycle or motorbike...
50k / 90 = 555 /year.. yup.. real good value fir money :-)
I mean, it's not like it's completely impossible today. It's just you can't buy bridges off a catalogue anymore, probably because everyone knows that the government will overspend
@@mkontent Governments overspent back then too. It's just that most bridge aren't super narrow, pedestrian only bridges. Like that's a rather narrow selection of bridges.
@@DarkDutch007 Be interesting to try that one with the Garda! "Honestly, officer, I had no idea I was no longer on a road." 😁
2:52 I love how as he is explaining it, it's happening behind him haha
Also at 2:21 xD
Many years ago I was involved with ensuring the safety of a somewhat similar bridge. (A similar span but much wider, built for use by ponies and traps.) It was reported that it was bouncing to the extent that some pedestrians were concerned, so I calculated its natural frequency of vibration, as part of my investigation. The number I got was about two Hz (cycles per second), which is about normal footfall frequency for someone walking. This meant that someone walking at a steady pace that closely matched the natural frequency would set the bridge bouncing in just the same way as someone repeatedly pushing a child on a swing to make them go higher.
Anyway, I could report that there was nothing to worry about, as long as a platoon of people marching in step didn't try to cross it.
But what if a platoon of people marching in step *insisted* to cross the bridge?
@@Constantine_Cvl8 Then we call that natural selection
@@Constantine_Cvl8 this is an experiment we need...for science of course.
@@Constantine_Cvl8 You'd hope that the bridge was designed to handle xtreme numbers of people including during resonance;p
@@Constantine_Cvl8 Platoons are generally ordered to break step when crossing bridges of all kinds, because of what can happen if they don't :)
Hey I'm from Cork and I was shocked and delighted to see you made a video in my hometown. Thank you! If you're still around I'll get you and the crew a pint!
I live in Cork, and that bridge is actually very fun to walk on for certain! Didn't think it'd ever make a video like this though!!
I love these little gems which showcases how people enjoy the little things and how much due diligence engineers take in their craft/work, great video as always tom
There is a bridge in Warrington, Cheshire, England called the Howley suspension bridge which spans the river Mersey, built in 1912 by the same company and jumps up and down very much like the bridge in the video, cool to see that there are multiple similar bridges.
Company must have been specialists in shaky bridges...
I mean, they ran a bridge catalog. I bet there are a lot of bridges like this all over the region.
One in Inverness too.
I have walked over both!
@@oraach Bridge Building was a shakey business back in the 1900s
That is so cool, that they kept it the way it was!
A big thank you to the workers and engineers that restored this bridge to it‘s former glory! Keep up your great work!
Thank you. I know it's nothing but a silly little bridge I'll never see (or care to visit) but it made me smile. Getting a wholesome story like this in the middle of my news feed of scams, war and economical turmoil feels good.
I need a full one hour video of Tom frolicking around on that bridge, it‘s priceless :D
What a sight to behold
Fun fact: I live near this same bridge, but just in a different location! It must have also been orderd from the bridge catalogue. Look up Ilkley Suspension Bridge, and you can see it's almost identical, just in different colours!
(It is also just as bouncy)
There's one in Langholm, Dumfries and Galloway too.
As a student of conservation of heritage, I never could have thought you, or anyone would make a video about it. I had been watching these videos to learn about the fields I had no knowledge about.
I find it amazing to see just how good historians the Irish are. Here in Australia you'd be lucky to find any material on the entire region I live in before the 1960s.
I lived in England as a child and in Western Canada now. I wouldn't exactly say that Canada 'has no history', but it's so different. Canadian history as a country doesn't start until so late in English history, and so much was built so recently. Certainly no Roman roads or Stonehenge.
Check out Newgrange in County Meath... its one of this the oldest structures in the world constructed in 3200BC - Older than the pyramids and stonehenge.
@@hairlessape5107 Same with America & for the same reason.
There's a bridge that did this in my hometown in rural New Zealand! It was also a protected structure with virtually the same rules as this one. It was made to wobble on purpose and it's been loved by all ages for decades :)
There's multiple of these bridges in Inverness in the Highlands, you've given me a throwback to my childhood walking across these and walking with the wobbles making them as big as possible. I always remember at least a few people hating it and we always did it more because of that. Good times
😂😂
Of course thou would try to make those persons miserable. It is the sensible thing to do.
@@dannypipewrench533 Seeing their terrified faces, what a joy.
There's one in Langholm, Dumfries and Galloway too.
@@Robbiefleggers Always fun.
One of the rare times a red circle was of use. Amazing.
Love this, brilliant that the local consultation rested on keeping the shake as well. Thanks Tom!
As a Corkonian and a big fan of your videos it's amazing to see you visit our city.
I love the timing of how things happen as you or your family guests are talking about them.
I'm still taken with the 'Bridge Catalog' from a century ago. Reminds me of the Sears catalog where in you could buy a house or a tomb stone or cloths for the family.
The fact that this bridge's repair was able to be funded for the work they wanted to do is truly heartwarming.
During my time studying in Cork we loathed every crossing of the shaky bridge... This brought back many a memory
Thanks for the video Tom! I grew up in Cork and spent many a Sunday afternoon jumping on the bridge. Have since moved to England and haven’t seen the refurbishment. It’s looking fantastic!
Brilliant video. As an Irishman myself, I’d love to see more videos of cork and Ireland as a whole. Even though I’ve crossed this bridge before, I didn’t know much of what was explained in the video.
"We have the technology and the science to build a more stable bridge"
"No."
Humans are awesome.
Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
Am I using it right?
@@mmseng2 yes
@@mmseng2 Well... In this case, you probably should. So it's less vulnerable and doesn't have to be repaired as often. But, humans and their traditions.
"keep the shake. keep the shake."
@@ShroudedWolf51 I actually agree, but that's why I thought the application of the phrase was humorous.
I've been loving the new era of clickbait arrow thumbnails. Tastefully subtle, but still attention-catching!
Keep the shake: a political slogan we can all get behind.
I think a good slogan would be something like "My bridge shake brings all the boys to the yard"
2:53 that moment is so genuine, I love it
I'm a long term viewer and Cork native! This made my day!
Now that's a quality preservation. If I ever get to go visit Ireland, I must check out this bridge.
Tom Scott: Here's this cool bit of engineering/architecture, isn't that neat?
Also Tom Scott: I'm gonna set myself on fire, go 0g, ride in a race car, and do some parkour running.
And that's why it's on 2 separate channels 😁
I can literally walk there in about 45 minutes. This bridge used to be part of my daily commute in 2018. I had no idea it was disassembled back in 2017
Give it time, we all get one.
Mine was the linby video
The public consultation was in 2017 it was rebuilt during the lockdown
My grandmother lived only a few minutes walk from the Shaky Bridge, I remember we used to go for a trip across every time we were in Cork for a visit. I'm so happy that they preserved the shake when doing the refurbishments
I love how you get to learn and understand the important difference between repair and preserve. Repair usually brings improvement but preservation means maintaining the status quo. Nice to see they made sure to preserve and not force the bridge to be repaired to modern specs and standards!
Having a catalogue for bridges sounds very silly if it were to exist today.
“Hmmm, honey, what do you think of this one?”
“Oh, I don’t know dear, I think the one underneath it is more shapely, don’t you think?”
I mean, it makes sense if you're mass-producing bridges. You can for example buy pre-built houses, in Norway we call them brakkebygg (baracks-building/construction) or modulbygg (modular building/construction), and other than the internal seams they're fine (and cheap because of labor-costs).
Thing is, they still do exist. A few seconds on Google found me several. And that makes a lot of sense. Unless you need a bespoke solution buying a tried and tested model from a catalogue is much cheaper than having an architect developing a new bridge. Precast mass manufactured concrete parts are much cheaper than bespoke ones, same applies to metal struts.
Great to see you out and about in Ireland . You should visit the mono rail in cork and how Ireland intruded down aeroplane pilots in ww2.
Very similar to the three bridges in Inverness - also very wobbly. Thanks for another upload Tom!
In Missoula, MT we have a marching band that combines the local highschool bands. One of the proudest successes of each year was that the students, when marching together in unified step, they were able to give the Higgins St bridge a sine wave wobble that students could feel marching across during our annual homecoming parade for the local college. Just a fun note if you feel like visiting from a (multi-year) marching band member!
Buying a cheap bridge off a catalogue which shakes would have been a good story. But the fact that they repaired it and ensured that the shake didn't go away is what makes this amazing!
In Kirstenbosch, Cape Town, there’s a bridge called the Boomslang which is intentionally designed to wobble
That translates as tree snake. Is it curved or s-shaped as well?
@@egbront1506 Yes. It's a treetop canopy walkway and it does indeed curve around the trees.
Mooie namen
I've walked on this tree canopy bridge walkway, thanks for the reminder, it was very cool!
Catalogue bridges were popular in the US from the 1880's to the 1920's. They were commonly known as 'tin bridges' because of how light weight they were, most being designed for a 10 ton load
Interesting, thanks
I love that preservation is an important consideration in some projects =)
Not everything needs to be "fixed"
I really appreciate that this one unintended feature was significant enough to be preserved.
I visited that bridge years ago, I didn't even realise there was a story, nor did I know that it was supposed to be shaky. Cool video Tom.
We've a very similar, if shorter, wooden suspension bridge in my Maine hometown. The bounce in the center is quite strong and I remember my friends and I daring one another to cross. To this day, I can't cross it without a little shiver of thrill... And fear.
2:41 That is exactly what I would be doing if I lived there. Glad that "Wobbly bridges are fun" is a popular opinion
I love how an oblivious bug has become a feature that absolutely enriches peoples everyday live ^^ Usually a bridge which such a massive shake does indicate a certain danger of overextending but it seems that despite the shake the bridge itself is over-engineered enough that the humans on it wont bring it down.
"I love how an oblivious bug has become a feature that absolutely enriches peoples everyday live"
You don't work for Bethesda by any chance?
Each and every video of yours puts a smile on my face
Great video. James Daly was my great grandfather's brother. I'm glad he financed this!
Where I grew up there are multiple suspension bridges that cross the river. Naturally they are referred to as the swinging bridges.
Only tom can make me sit on the edge of my seat for a video about a pedestrian bridge
The pedestrian bridge wasn't pedestrian, it was quite interesting!
There used to be a little suspension bridge like this one in my hometown that had a similar rebuilding program, unfortunately they strengthened the towers so it doesn't shake anymore.
There's a bridge like this in one of the community gardens I used to live near, it's much shorter and is over a shallow, slow canal rather than a river, but it's also deliberately made bouncy. I think it's either to slow foot traffic down, or a byproduct of making it durable against the wind. Incredible that this can also be achieved safely on a much larger scale.
I have lived in co.cork for 10 years, from Suffolk England and have never heard of this bridge. Thanks Tom
Hi Tom, Myself and my girlfriend met you briefly in the park just after you shot this. I feel like we gave you a bit of a fright actually: "OMG ARE YOU TOM SCOTT???!! YOU'RE A CELEBRITYYYYYY!!" Apologies for distracting you from your editing. Hope you enjoyed your stay in the real capital!
This is why I love Tom Scott videos, even something as mundane as a bridge has ab interesting story to be told
Objection. Bridges can be fascinating. The vast majority of things that people make are less exciting than the coolest bridges. Maybe you have to be a bit of a nerd.
The random guy jumping during the interview was hilarious
Fantastic to see a video on such an iconic place in the City I've lived my whole life in. I hope you enjoyed your stay, however short, in the region.
I don't know why this made me smile so much, but it's just a delightful story to hear at the end of a long day.