nPosted on September 14, 2018
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Key Points
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Yeah, I didn’t do enough of this (above). Or any of this! |
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nI didn’t do enough fiddling around with materials and construction sets as a kid, and I didn’t have a clue, for years, how bridges and arches and tunnels were made. Bridges, especially, used to puzzle me – how could they be built in deep water and especially in moving water. And really looooong bridges were that much more puzzling.
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Hikers still use super primitive, temporary bridges when necessary. |
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nOf course, early humans and other animals have always used and made simple bridges like a log placed so that it crosses a stream.
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nMore complex bridges have been built since ancient times; Ancient Romans, for example, used mortar and arches to build strong bridges.
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nHere is a video that shows three ways in which bridge supports are built in water.
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nToday is the anniversary of the opening of the Penang Bridge in Malaysia. It is is more than 8 miles long (more than 13 km long), and it connects a peninsula with an island.
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When your whole nation is a peninsula and islands, you’re going to have to build a few bridges! |
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Above and below: two views of the Penang Bridge. |
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nThere are longer bridges in the world – longer bridges, even, in Malaysia! The officially longest bridge in the world is the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in Louisiana. Many photos of this bridge look a bridge that goes from nowhere to nowhere – because you cannot see land at either end!
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nBut of course, the 24-mile (38-km) long bridge does go from somewhere to somewhere – it connects two sides of a lake.
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nHere is a video of some unusual and cool bridges. And here are a few pics of other assorted interesting bridges:
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Ahhhhhh – I NEVER want to travel on this ultra-high bridge! Found in France, the Millau Viaduct is the highest bridge in the world. |
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Oh, man, I went to Wuppertal, Germany, and I didn’t know to look for this cute LEGO bridge! |
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Cool – a nice LOW bridge. Found in the Netherlands – and much more my style! |
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I’m not sure whether the rolling bridge (in London, U.K.) or the wavy bridge (in Singapore) have any reason to be this weird, other than the weirdness itself? |
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nAlso on this date:
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nSan Jacinto Day in Nicaragua
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nAnniversary of the completion of the first North American lighthouse
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nAnniversary of the completion of Handel’s Messiah
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nAnniversary of the premiere of My Mother the Car
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nAnniversary of the premiere of The Waltons
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nPlan ahead:
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Check out my Pinterest boards for:
Check out my Pinterest boards for:
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nSeptember holidays
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nSeptember birthdays
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nHistorical anniversaries in September
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nAnd here are my Pinterest boards for:
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