1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:04,519 Speaker 1: Brought to you by the all New Toyota Corolla. Welcome 2 00:00:04,559 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: to you stuff you should know from House Stuff Works 3 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:16,360 Speaker 1: dot com. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark. 4 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 1: There's Charles W. Bryant. Noel is with us again. That's right. Really, 5 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:23,680 Speaker 1: it's just been a very short period of time since 6 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:26,080 Speaker 1: he was last with us. Well, who knows, we might 7 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 1: release these weeks apart just to throw people, you know, 8 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:33,440 Speaker 1: it's possible. How you doing fine? How are you? I'm 9 00:00:33,479 --> 00:00:36,800 Speaker 1: good man, I'm I'm great, I'm right. A tunnel through 10 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:41,400 Speaker 1: this show and get all up out of him. That's 11 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:46,040 Speaker 1: pretty lame. It was okay, Um, it worked though, because 12 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:49,240 Speaker 1: what we're talking about has to do with tunnels. Yes, 13 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:51,520 Speaker 1: I don't know if you caught that. Yeah, we covered 14 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:53,840 Speaker 1: a little bit of this in the Subways podcast. Yeah, 15 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 1: cutt and cover, cut and cover, But this is this 16 00:00:56,120 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 1: goes deep undercutting covering. You gotta stop. I don't know. Yeah, 17 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 1: we're talking about underwater tunnel specifically. That's right, which, by 18 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 1: the way, we should probably say for those of you 19 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 1: who are into semantics, um, the word tunnel is applied 20 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:23,560 Speaker 1: only to something that is bored entirely underground. Yes, if 21 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:26,720 Speaker 1: if you say, like we talked about with cut and 22 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 1: cover in subways, if you dig out a trench, put 23 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:34,679 Speaker 1: in your tunnel and then backfill over your tunnel, what 24 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:39,320 Speaker 1: you've created is a conduit. Yeah. And if you if 25 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:43,959 Speaker 1: you correct people when they talk about this kind of thing, 26 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:49,240 Speaker 1: you're so obnoxious or you're an engineer or sea. But 27 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 1: engineers don't even do that because they still want to 28 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:56,840 Speaker 1: be liked, you know, they don't want to be that guy. Um. Yeah, 29 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:00,280 Speaker 1: So we're talking about how and I think a lot 30 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 1: of people wonder how did you managed to get a 31 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:05,559 Speaker 1: tunnel under the water. We're gonna tell you it's really 32 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:08,240 Speaker 1: not that hard and there's a few ways. Yeah, I 33 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:11,079 Speaker 1: don't know if saying it's not that hard is correct. Well, 34 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:17,640 Speaker 1: not that um complicated in a engineering sense. Again, No, 35 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:20,359 Speaker 1: I think none of these Like I was like, what 36 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 1: they bore a tunnel under a river? Right? But just 37 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:28,239 Speaker 1: the this is the the overview. I mean, you can't 38 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:34,080 Speaker 1: read this article ago building underwater railway tunnel? Is that 39 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:35,680 Speaker 1: what you thought I was saying. No, No No, I'm just 40 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: saying like there's so much more to like just the details. Yeah, 41 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 1: I mean, but you weren't saying that there's particle physics 42 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: and there's digging a big hole under a river. You 43 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:46,760 Speaker 1: know what I'm saying, Man, we're going to hear from 44 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: some angry civil engineer. No. I think it's great. I 45 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:54,960 Speaker 1: think it's modern, modern marvel is what it is. It is. Yeah, 46 00:02:55,400 --> 00:03:00,280 Speaker 1: so chuck, Yes, it's not necessarily modern, and it's no. 47 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:07,280 Speaker 1: People have been digging under rivers um since the Babylonians. Yeah, 48 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: I was quite surprised by this. They managed to build 49 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 1: a three thousand foot bricklined, art supported tunnel twelve by 50 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:19,240 Speaker 1: fifteen feet under well, they diverted the Euphrates River and 51 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:25,080 Speaker 1: it was a pedestrian passageway. That's crazy, right, This is BC. 52 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:29,239 Speaker 1: And I think they diverted it temporarily. Well yeah, sure, 53 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: but even still it's still a tunnel. And they still 54 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 1: did this several thousand years ago, and they diverted a 55 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:37,600 Speaker 1: river which is in President's own. I'm impressed with them. 56 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 1: I'm glad to hear you are too. Um. Over the years, 57 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 1: people kind of I imagine, built and failed spectacularly and 58 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 1: trying to build underwater. Um. It wasn't until the nineteenth 59 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: century that people really kind of started to advance by 60 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:05,800 Speaker 1: leaps and bounds over say the Babylonian methods to come 61 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 1: up with some techniques that are still in use today. Yeah, 62 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:11,960 Speaker 1: as far as underwater goes, I mean, they were tunneling 63 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 1: all during the eighteenth and nineteen centuries. And in fact, 64 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:19,279 Speaker 1: the word undermine I thought it was fairly interesting. It 65 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:22,360 Speaker 1: came from the fact that there were miners who dug 66 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:26,360 Speaker 1: undercastle walls to collapse them. That's a pretty good idea. Yeah, 67 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:27,840 Speaker 1: it's a very good idea. And I don't think we 68 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:30,679 Speaker 1: covered that in our Castle podcast either. No, I wish 69 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 1: we had. Yeah, that would have been complete. That that 70 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:37,719 Speaker 1: episode is incomplete. But like you said, it was eighteen 71 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:40,560 Speaker 1: hundreds when we finally said, hey, let's try this underwater 72 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:43,880 Speaker 1: thing again because we think we can do it now. Yeah, 73 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 1: and they kind of had it licked. And again, like 74 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:48,360 Speaker 1: I said, some of the techniques that they came up 75 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 1: with at this time are still in use today. Yeah. 76 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:53,960 Speaker 1: I got a question for you, though, If it's dangerous 77 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:59,920 Speaker 1: and it's uh pricey, why do you tunnel at all? 78 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:02,760 Speaker 1: Why not just build bridges? That's a fantastic question, and 79 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:06,120 Speaker 1: I happen to have some answers. Okay, all right, I 80 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:08,760 Speaker 1: still thinking about this. You build a bridge, it makes sense, 81 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:11,239 Speaker 1: it's beautiful bridge works. We know how to build bridges, 82 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,120 Speaker 1: We've been doing it forever. But what if you have 83 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 1: a heavily trafficked shipping lane with ships that are taller 84 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: than your bridge. You can build a drawbridge, but it's 85 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:22,760 Speaker 1: gonna be up and down, up and now and up 86 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:25,480 Speaker 1: and down all day. And don't fool yourself. A drawbridge 87 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:29,400 Speaker 1: is pretty expensive too. That's one all right. Uh. If 88 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:34,479 Speaker 1: you are um an enemy of the United States, your 89 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:39,200 Speaker 1: bridge could be a target from air strikes. Yeah, that's 90 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:41,400 Speaker 1: a problem for you if you I mean, if you 91 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:44,960 Speaker 1: want to build it again afterwards, it could be struck 92 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:48,240 Speaker 1: down again and then again. You want your bridges to 93 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 1: remain intact. Yes, I'm gonna argue for tunnels here though, 94 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:54,040 Speaker 1: my friend and say that they will stand tides very 95 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 1: well and currents and storms. It's not out in the 96 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: open like a bridge is. Uh. You can go greater 97 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 1: distances with the tunnel, and you can carry like almost 98 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:07,160 Speaker 1: virtually unlimited amounts of weight. So score one for tunnel 99 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 1: and chuck yeah, because with the bridge you have to 100 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 1: worry about it collapsing with the tunnel. It's like, no, 101 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:15,640 Speaker 1: you're probably pretty firm against some sort of bedrock or 102 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:19,800 Speaker 1: seabed or something like that. You're you're you can put 103 00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:21,520 Speaker 1: as many trucks as you want on and it's not 104 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:24,760 Speaker 1: gonna break. Yeah, I guess we'd call seismic activity a draw. 105 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:27,839 Speaker 1: You have you ever seen? Why? Not good for either 106 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:31,240 Speaker 1: one the bridges? Yeah, that is nuts. Is that in 107 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:34,000 Speaker 1: Seattle or Washington? I don't know, man, but that's you 108 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:36,840 Speaker 1: look at that and think, how does that move like 109 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 1: that without just completely breaking apart? It does pretty scary. So, um, 110 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:44,840 Speaker 1: we're going to call that a draw though, because earthquakes 111 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:48,560 Speaker 1: are not good for either. Um. Well, cost you said 112 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:52,200 Speaker 1: that the bridges are costly. Well, bridges are get costly 113 00:06:52,279 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 1: or the bigger they are, whereas tunnels get cheaper the 114 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:57,320 Speaker 1: bigger they are. Yeah, the length. With the tunnel, it 115 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:00,400 Speaker 1: it starts, the cost starts to drop as it gets 116 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:04,200 Speaker 1: longer and longer. Not so with the bridge. So why 117 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:08,560 Speaker 1: then would city planners still use tunneling as a last 118 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:13,160 Speaker 1: uh sort of a last resort? I guess because they 119 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:17,520 Speaker 1: like bridges more. Okay, all right, so that wash and 120 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:22,480 Speaker 1: seen we were play acting. It's not very well either No, 121 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:27,360 Speaker 1: I thought it was pretty good. Oh, I thought was okay. So, uh, 122 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:29,200 Speaker 1: let's talk about some of the tunnels they've got going 123 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:32,600 Speaker 1: on these days that are pretty remarkable. Um, there's one 124 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:36,800 Speaker 1: that actually connects two islands in Japan. Um. It's called 125 00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:40,200 Speaker 1: the Well, you're the resident Japanese expert, have you pronounced that? 126 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: The Icon Tunnel, the Cicon Tunnel, And that is the 127 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 1: one of those two holds the record for the longest 128 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:50,600 Speaker 1: and deepest underwater rail tunnel. Um. And they did that 129 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:54,160 Speaker 1: in the nineteen fifties after a typhoon sank some ferry 130 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:58,680 Speaker 1: boats and the cigar us straight and killed like over 131 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 1: fo people. They said, you know what, maybe we should 132 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:04,280 Speaker 1: go underwater with this operation, and they did so. And 133 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:08,280 Speaker 1: it connects Hanshoe and Hokkaido, and Hokkaido is known for 134 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:11,640 Speaker 1: its uh sub factories. And you even have a tipit 135 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:16,000 Speaker 1: for me the Simpsons tidbit. Oh was that from the 136 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 1: Mr Sparkle episode man one of the best ever. So 137 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:24,840 Speaker 1: in they completed the Icon Sikan Tunnel. Yeah, I'm gonna 138 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:29,360 Speaker 1: go with Sikan okay um and it stretches thirty three 139 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:33,440 Speaker 1: and a half miles. Yeah, the whole tunnel does. Yeah, 140 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:37,319 Speaker 1: that's impressive. It is, but then, um, only fourteen and 141 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:40,079 Speaker 1: a half miles of it, only fourteen and a half 142 00:08:40,160 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 1: miles of it are under water. Yeah, but it goes 143 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:46,480 Speaker 1: close to eight hundred feet deep, which is that's sort 144 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:49,320 Speaker 1: of the remarkable part. That's a long way down. Yeah. 145 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:51,480 Speaker 1: You have to pop your ears when you're on that train. Oh, 146 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:55,200 Speaker 1: I'm sure. The Chunnel, which we were laughing about before 147 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:59,120 Speaker 1: we hit record. Just the name, and we should say 148 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:01,760 Speaker 1: it's called the tunnel because it's actually the Channel Tunnel. 149 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:04,800 Speaker 1: It goes under the English Channel to connect the UK 150 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:07,280 Speaker 1: in France. Yes, and that was finished in the mid 151 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:11,280 Speaker 1: nineties and uh, twenty four of its thirty one miles 152 00:09:11,679 --> 00:09:18,559 Speaker 1: or underwater, but it only goes about two six ft down. Yes. Yeah, 153 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:21,000 Speaker 1: it's so funny to use words like only with stuff 154 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:24,160 Speaker 1: like this or just yea yeah. Um. And then the 155 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:29,720 Speaker 1: newest member to the underwater tunnel family is the Marmaray 156 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:33,640 Speaker 1: Tunnel that in Istanbul that connects the Asian portion of 157 00:09:33,679 --> 00:09:37,719 Speaker 1: Istanbul and the European portion of Istanbul, which means it's 158 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:41,160 Speaker 1: the only underwater tunnel or the first to connect two continents. 159 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:45,000 Speaker 1: That's right, And The name comes from d c. Of 160 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:49,080 Speaker 1: Marmara and the word ray which is Turkish for rail, 161 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 1: because it is another rail tunnel, meaning train. And uh, 162 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:56,360 Speaker 1: it's pretty cool when they were when they started digging it, 163 00:09:56,559 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 1: this thing, this project went slow as molasses, not just 164 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:04,520 Speaker 1: because a construction, but because they came upon the port 165 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:12,520 Speaker 1: of Theodosius. Theodosius I think, is that right? Sounds good 166 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:14,880 Speaker 1: to me. So it was um it was a port 167 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:20,040 Speaker 1: in Istanbul. Back then it was constantinople Um for that 168 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:23,800 Speaker 1: was the busiest port in the world for about a 169 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:28,079 Speaker 1: thousand years, and it was lost and they came upon 170 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:33,280 Speaker 1: it while digging this tunnel, and the archaeologists were like, okay, stop, stop, stop, turn. Yeah, 171 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:36,640 Speaker 1: they found forty artifacts from this. They didn't turn, they 172 00:10:36,679 --> 00:10:40,719 Speaker 1: went through it, but they documented everything and grabbed it 173 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:43,400 Speaker 1: for the museum. Well, if it hadn't been for the tunnel, 174 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:46,760 Speaker 1: maybe they would have never found that stuff, you know. Uh. 175 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:48,880 Speaker 1: So that was an immersion tunnel and it was the 176 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:52,959 Speaker 1: longest and deepest immersion tunnel ever built. Immersing tunnels are 177 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:55,640 Speaker 1: my favorite. Yeah, that's the one that I didn't think 178 00:10:55,679 --> 00:10:59,240 Speaker 1: was super complicated. I saw a couple of videos and 179 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:02,760 Speaker 1: I'm telling you it is. There's a lot to it, 180 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:06,160 Speaker 1: just the pontoons alone or yeah, but it's like the 181 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:08,920 Speaker 1: kind of thing you can replicate in your bathtub, That's 182 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:13,400 Speaker 1: what I mean. But uh so we're gonna get into 183 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:18,760 Speaker 1: what that all means, because, um, there are quite a 184 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:23,040 Speaker 1: few ways to build tunnels and three. Yeah, and there 185 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:25,880 Speaker 1: wells three and use. I bet there's other dudes out 186 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:29,079 Speaker 1: there trying to figure new stuff out. Um, but one 187 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:31,880 Speaker 1: of the oldest that is still in use. It's called 188 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:38,160 Speaker 1: a tunneling shield thanks to a remarkable, remarkable dude, a 189 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:42,960 Speaker 1: Frenchman named Mark Isombard Brunel, who was eventually knighted for 190 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:48,200 Speaker 1: his work as inventing the tunnel shield. Understandably, so yeah, 191 00:11:49,320 --> 00:11:52,479 Speaker 1: pretty amazing. He got the idea from watching a shipworm, 192 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:56,680 Speaker 1: which is like a naked clam because these little shells 193 00:11:56,720 --> 00:12:00,520 Speaker 1: on one end. It's basically yah, it's like the termite 194 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:02,320 Speaker 1: of the sea is what they call it. Because this 195 00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:06,600 Speaker 1: thing bores into docks and boats and basically tunnels into 196 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:11,280 Speaker 1: wood and uh leaves saw dust in his wake. And 197 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:13,600 Speaker 1: this guy saw this things like, hey, that's a pretty 198 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:17,640 Speaker 1: good idea. I think we'll make a tunneling feel exactly. Yeah, 199 00:12:17,679 --> 00:12:19,520 Speaker 1: So he came up with the Brunell shield, which is 200 00:12:19,559 --> 00:12:22,840 Speaker 1: actually rectangular, but the best way to think of what 201 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:26,760 Speaker 1: a modern tunneling shield looks like. Um, there's a description 202 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:28,880 Speaker 1: given in this article that makes sense if you add 203 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:31,800 Speaker 1: one extra sentence. You take a coffee can. Imagine a 204 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:36,400 Speaker 1: coffee can't without its lid, and the bottom part of 205 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:39,880 Speaker 1: the coffee can is pointed somewhat with some holes in it, 206 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:43,080 Speaker 1: And when you dig it into the ground and then 207 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:47,280 Speaker 1: turn it on its side to bore horizontally, what you 208 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:50,520 Speaker 1: have is something like a tunneling shield. So at the 209 00:12:50,559 --> 00:12:53,720 Speaker 1: front end, what part did they miss? They're going straight 210 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:56,240 Speaker 1: down and it just completely confused me, the fact that 211 00:12:56,280 --> 00:13:00,160 Speaker 1: it wasn't going to the side. Oh, I couldn't right 212 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:02,480 Speaker 1: at my head around until I finally was like, oh, 213 00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:06,240 Speaker 1: I see what they're saying, So that that coffee can't 214 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:10,360 Speaker 1: imagine it jammed horizontally underground. Yeah, let's go in and 215 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:14,440 Speaker 1: explore it. Right in the front, there's holes and you 216 00:13:14,559 --> 00:13:17,559 Speaker 1: have different kind of compartments where people stand there called 217 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:22,800 Speaker 1: muckers and they dig out the dirt in front of them, right. Yeah, 218 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:26,319 Speaker 1: And in Brunel's case. Um, they were cast iron shutters, 219 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:28,720 Speaker 1: and they would just open these shutters one at a 220 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:31,840 Speaker 1: time and just dig a few inches out. And back 221 00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:37,480 Speaker 1: then they used screwjacks, but now they use hydraulics and 222 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:40,439 Speaker 1: just inch inch away forward a little by little, little 223 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,280 Speaker 1: by little, and the reinforcing them building the sides as 224 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:45,520 Speaker 1: you go right, And that coffee can in the meantime 225 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:50,120 Speaker 1: is holding that tunnel shape right, because it's the exact 226 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:53,120 Speaker 1: shape of the tunnel shield. While the guys in front 227 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:57,600 Speaker 1: are digging, the coffee can is giving them all support. 228 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:01,000 Speaker 1: And then right behind it are mac and steel workers 229 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:04,960 Speaker 1: who are reinforcing the tunnel. And then the the reinforced, 230 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:08,839 Speaker 1: finished concrete tunnel provides the stability for those hydraulic checks 231 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:11,920 Speaker 1: that slowly and little by a little inch the whole 232 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:15,200 Speaker 1: thing forward. Yeah, I mean, it's the It's like every tunnel, 233 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:17,840 Speaker 1: although actually the emergent tones aren't. But when you're digging 234 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:21,840 Speaker 1: a tunnel, it goes back to the Babylonians. You dig, 235 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:26,800 Speaker 1: support advance, dig support advance, just like Charles Bronson in 236 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:30,680 Speaker 1: The Great Escape? Oh yeah, was that his mantra? No, 237 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:34,040 Speaker 1: this was just I'm gonna go tunnel in this tunnel 238 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:37,080 Speaker 1: and build the frame. You're doing a good Bronson. Well 239 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:38,800 Speaker 1: it's sort of Bronson, but it's also sort that the 240 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:43,040 Speaker 1: guy from The Simpsons who was based on Bronson Pankas area. 241 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:47,600 Speaker 1: Is that who does that? Sure? Okay, sure, yeah, I 242 00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:50,800 Speaker 1: don't know that for sure, but is it? Okay? Um, 243 00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:56,120 Speaker 1: it's Simpsons reference number two. Oh yeah, nice. Uh but 244 00:14:56,240 --> 00:14:58,920 Speaker 1: remember in The Great Escape too, they needed uh and 245 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 1: of course we'll see this too. It's very dangerous job 246 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:04,760 Speaker 1: and they needed air. So they had them I think, 247 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:09,240 Speaker 1: uh fire billows, bellows, uh something pumping bellows, just to 248 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:11,880 Speaker 1: pump fresh air in there, because when you're hundred feet 249 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:14,080 Speaker 1: in a tunnel underground, especially the size of one the 250 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:16,560 Speaker 1: Great Escape, just like big enough for your body, you're 251 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:18,640 Speaker 1: gonna run out of air. Yeah, and well that's something 252 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 1: that they ran into. We talked about. I don't remember 253 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:23,360 Speaker 1: what episode it was, but we were talking about building 254 00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:28,480 Speaker 1: the Brooklyn Bridge. Um. They had these basically uh an 255 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:33,240 Speaker 1: upright coffee can that they dug the the the posts 256 00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:36,960 Speaker 1: out of. Um. This is the same they ran in 257 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:39,800 Speaker 1: the same thing when they were building the the the 258 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:43,800 Speaker 1: tunnel underneath the Thames River. Thanks to Brunel, he built 259 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:47,640 Speaker 1: it with his son. Yeah, very shortet, but it took 260 00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:50,880 Speaker 1: about eight or nine years. Um, and it was there 261 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:53,080 Speaker 1: was a shutdown for seven years because it ran out 262 00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:56,480 Speaker 1: of money. But um, it was deep enough so that 263 00:15:56,560 --> 00:15:58,960 Speaker 1: you had to pump compressed air in to keep the 264 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:01,480 Speaker 1: water out. And since there was compressed are you had 265 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:04,000 Speaker 1: to go through a series of airlocks or else you 266 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:08,120 Speaker 1: get the venture. And UM, I don't know if we've 267 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:10,400 Speaker 1: said this, it seems obvious, but the reason you're doing 268 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:14,520 Speaker 1: all of this is because digging into soft earth is 269 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:17,880 Speaker 1: problematic because you're leading edge is going to continually want 270 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:20,920 Speaker 1: to collapse on top of you unless you have pressurised 271 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:23,520 Speaker 1: there to keep the water at bay, and you have 272 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:28,440 Speaker 1: guys digging out through a support structure e g. A 273 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:33,000 Speaker 1: tunneling shield, sand hogs. That's messive method one, yes, and 274 00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:34,800 Speaker 1: it's an old one and it's a good one. It's 275 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:37,640 Speaker 1: still in use today. Um. It has to be softer. 276 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:40,240 Speaker 1: You can't dig through bedrock because you know this thing 277 00:16:40,760 --> 00:16:45,360 Speaker 1: moves through hydraulic jacks and there's guys digging. Um. If 278 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:48,600 Speaker 1: you run into like some serious rock, the best thing 279 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:53,440 Speaker 1: to use is called a tunnel boring machine. Yeah, if 280 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:56,960 Speaker 1: you've ever seen die Hard three? You get a good glimpse, 281 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:01,680 Speaker 1: Jeremy ir Yeah, which is a pretty good one. Um 282 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:05,600 Speaker 1: in fact, well actually yeah, one of only two good ones, 283 00:17:05,840 --> 00:17:08,400 Speaker 1: Sam Jackson. Yeah, the first one and that one were 284 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:10,800 Speaker 1: pretty good. The second one and I didn't. All the 285 00:17:10,840 --> 00:17:14,080 Speaker 1: other ones are just terrible. The second one, it wasn't 286 00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:16,520 Speaker 1: so bad. It was all right. I like to see 287 00:17:16,600 --> 00:17:19,600 Speaker 1: it was at the airport, Yeah, it was okay. I 288 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:23,480 Speaker 1: love any kind of airport disaster flick. Oh yeah, man, 289 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:30,400 Speaker 1: I'm crazy for those movies. Airport, airport, airport two, whatever, airplane. 290 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:33,160 Speaker 1: I love him. What about that bad Tom Hanks movie 291 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:35,159 Speaker 1: where he played the foreign guy that lived in the airport? 292 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:37,680 Speaker 1: I never saw that, But did you know Terminal? Yeah? 293 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:40,920 Speaker 1: Did you know that it's based on a real guy. Yeah, 294 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:44,040 Speaker 1: I didn't know that. I haven't seen the movie. That 295 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:46,879 Speaker 1: wasn't very good. The I think the fact that it 296 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:51,520 Speaker 1: was like kind of lighthearted and warm, that's not what 297 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:54,600 Speaker 1: the guy was like. Yeah. Well Spielberg plus Tom Hanks 298 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:59,480 Speaker 1: doing accents. Man, have you seen him doing Walt Disney? Yeah? 299 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:01,960 Speaker 1: I thought that It's okay in the preview, now I 300 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:04,560 Speaker 1: can't tell I did. I managed to get through only 301 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:09,240 Speaker 1: about twenty minutes of Cloud Atlas the other night. I 302 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:13,919 Speaker 1: just can't see Tom Hanks is like this Cockney rough ruffian. Well. 303 00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:16,680 Speaker 1: I love the guy. He's an amazing actor. But it's 304 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:18,720 Speaker 1: just it didn't work. No, why did they do that? 305 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:24,000 Speaker 1: To know? Hodgman's got some good stories about Tom Hanks, 306 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:25,680 Speaker 1: by the way, I don't know if you should be 307 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:28,040 Speaker 1: telling people that. No, I'm not gonna tell the stories. 308 00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:34,040 Speaker 1: I don't even know if you yes, all right man, 309 00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:39,560 Speaker 1: that was a nice hank Sean sidebar. Tunnel boring machines 310 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:43,280 Speaker 1: Die Hard two three. Yeah, so these things are like 311 00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:47,560 Speaker 1: a couple of stories tall. Yeah, they're amazing. They're they're 312 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:50,760 Speaker 1: tunnel boring machines is the right word for him. They're 313 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:57,280 Speaker 1: all inclusive machines. They cut, they support, and they build 314 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:01,840 Speaker 1: as they go along. They're magnificent as far as as 315 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:06,040 Speaker 1: mechanical engineering goes. Yeah, they have a spinning cutting head 316 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:11,800 Speaker 1: and he's basically huge giant steel wheels that twist and 317 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:15,800 Speaker 1: turn in different directions and then that whole thing turns 318 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:21,400 Speaker 1: and it's just a destructo mobile that goes straight ahead 319 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:25,520 Speaker 1: and uh lifts that pummels that rock and shoots it 320 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:28,880 Speaker 1: out on a conveyor behind. Yeah, just like a five 321 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:32,200 Speaker 1: valve a ship worm. And then uh, this is the 322 00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:34,360 Speaker 1: part I didn't get that they're actually building it with 323 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:38,080 Speaker 1: an erector as it goes. Man, that's crazy. Yeah, it's 324 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:41,320 Speaker 1: all this one big machine that's you just basically pressed 325 00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:45,159 Speaker 1: start and it goes forward. And they actually used tunnel 326 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:49,720 Speaker 1: boring machines, a pair of them for the chunnel construction, 327 00:19:50,480 --> 00:19:52,679 Speaker 1: one from one side and one from the other side. 328 00:19:53,119 --> 00:19:58,240 Speaker 1: And thanks to GPS, Yeah, good GPS um, they were 329 00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:00,520 Speaker 1: able to keep them on a course for one another. 330 00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:03,760 Speaker 1: First I thought missing, Yeah, the first thing I thought 331 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:06,920 Speaker 1: was I would end up like ten ft above. Oh man, 332 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:09,240 Speaker 1: I wouldn't even end up that close. Yeah, and you'd 333 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:11,040 Speaker 1: be screwed. You'd have to start all over. I would 334 00:20:11,119 --> 00:20:16,959 Speaker 1: end up in Scotland. Well, it'd be great. We'd be 335 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:22,439 Speaker 1: like just tunnel up and get drunk distilleries. Uh. But 336 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:24,520 Speaker 1: luckily they had a lot smarter people than us working 337 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:29,359 Speaker 1: on the channel. Right. Um. They drive forward, Uh at 338 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:32,280 Speaker 1: a rate of about two and fifty per day. That's 339 00:20:32,359 --> 00:20:36,640 Speaker 1: significant because we're talking like bedrock, you know, like if 340 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:39,240 Speaker 1: you if you were able to take away all of 341 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:43,000 Speaker 1: the Dirk and all of the water on Earth. What 342 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:46,480 Speaker 1: you would have is rock. That's the mantel, and that's 343 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:49,680 Speaker 1: what you're digging through. Is this rock it's made to 344 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:53,800 Speaker 1: support the earth exactly. Heck, it is the earth. Yeah, 345 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:56,639 Speaker 1: and um, this is what these machines dig through at 346 00:20:56,680 --> 00:20:59,880 Speaker 1: a rate two fifty ft a day. That's impressive. Yeah, 347 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:03,399 Speaker 1: in they work, Apparently they're uh something this violent is 348 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:06,560 Speaker 1: prone to breaking down. So I guess when you have 349 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:09,639 Speaker 1: them up and running, that's a good thing. When they're down, then, um, 350 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:11,800 Speaker 1: you're obviously gonna be losing time. Did you see how 351 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:14,040 Speaker 1: the author of this article put it? I did. I 352 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:19,080 Speaker 1: didn't even want to comment. You want to go ahead? Well, 353 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:21,639 Speaker 1: he just says that they breakdown more often than he 354 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:27,080 Speaker 1: used jaguar, except he probably said jag earra jar. I 355 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:31,240 Speaker 1: didn't know that, or jaguars. Are they famous for not working? Yeah? 356 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:34,560 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I really didn't know that. The older ones 357 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:38,240 Speaker 1: are well, that's like any old car, right, I think 358 00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:41,919 Speaker 1: they they? And like if you w rabbits had like 359 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:48,000 Speaker 1: real bad track records. Remember the rabbit mhm or the cabriolet? Yeah, 360 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:55,040 Speaker 1: every story girl's favorite car, right? What else? Remember Looker? Yeah? 361 00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:57,720 Speaker 1: It even said look car on the side. Yeah, it's 362 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:03,560 Speaker 1: French for the car, is it? Alright? So UM, did 363 00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:06,080 Speaker 1: you know Josh that they are have been banning about 364 00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:10,679 Speaker 1: the idea of a transit plant tunnel for decades. It's 365 00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:13,720 Speaker 1: pretty awesome. I don't think it will ever happen though. No. 366 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:16,600 Speaker 1: They would be very costly because it would be the 367 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:20,119 Speaker 1: um It would be an immersion tube. But they wouldn't 368 00:22:20,119 --> 00:22:21,800 Speaker 1: be able to go to the sea floor obviously, because 369 00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:25,679 Speaker 1: that's just crazy. It would be tethered, floating essentially at 370 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:28,760 Speaker 1: about a hundred and fifty ft below the water, right 371 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:34,320 Speaker 1: dangling from a pontoon on the surface, and uh fifty 372 00:22:34,359 --> 00:22:38,080 Speaker 1: four thousand football field side size sections. And that's how 373 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:39,320 Speaker 1: we're going to get into that in a minute. But 374 00:22:39,359 --> 00:22:41,800 Speaker 1: that's how they work with these immersion tunnels. They do 375 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:44,720 Speaker 1: it one section at a time. It's just too much 376 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:48,639 Speaker 1: money and too much stuff. There's well, there's actually an 377 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:53,560 Speaker 1: immersion tube tunnel UM that's proposed in Norway across the 378 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:58,160 Speaker 1: Sogna Fiord. That sounds much more manageable than the Atlantic Ocean. Really, 379 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:00,760 Speaker 1: I mean, just the idea of this this ontoon getting 380 00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:06,760 Speaker 1: pummeled by UM by cyclones and and just bad weather 381 00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:09,280 Speaker 1: in general. Plus why do it these people who just 382 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:12,320 Speaker 1: want to drive to England from New York. I don't know. 383 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:17,480 Speaker 1: I don't know that the logic behind any advantage behind 384 00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:19,560 Speaker 1: something like that. It just seems like it would just 385 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:23,199 Speaker 1: every every foot of it is a potential for it 386 00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:27,199 Speaker 1: to just break and the whole thing's trashed. But the 387 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:29,199 Speaker 1: one in Norway is that an I T T an 388 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:32,040 Speaker 1: emerged tube tunnel. It is dangling from a pontoona bu 389 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:37,680 Speaker 1: that one's dangling, right, So that technology exists. Uh well, 390 00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:40,520 Speaker 1: it's it's in proposal stage. And like the thing I saw, 391 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:42,879 Speaker 1: it was still probably kind of an overview, but they 392 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:45,320 Speaker 1: seemed pretty confident about it. They had like you know, 393 00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:48,120 Speaker 1: titled charts and all that kind of stuff. But it's 394 00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:52,320 Speaker 1: it's it's only something that's um like twenty kilometers or 395 00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:54,440 Speaker 1: thirty kilometer or something like that. It's not all the 396 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:58,399 Speaker 1: way across the Atlantic Ocean, you know. All right, So 397 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:00,520 Speaker 1: I guess we should fully explain in the I T 398 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:03,159 Speaker 1: T then, which is our final way that you can 399 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:06,520 Speaker 1: tunnel underground and again my favorite, But before we get 400 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:15,600 Speaker 1: to it, let's do a message break and chuck now 401 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,720 Speaker 1: we finally get to talk about my favorite type of tunneling, 402 00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:22,520 Speaker 1: the immersion tube tunnel. That's right. So these rubber seals 403 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:26,119 Speaker 1: have gina gaskets actually is what they're called. And you 404 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:29,359 Speaker 1: winch the two together and you pump the water out 405 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:33,720 Speaker 1: and these gaskets and seals the change and water pressure 406 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:38,879 Speaker 1: creates compresses them and creates an airtight seal. But it's underwater, 407 00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:43,440 Speaker 1: so you would go in, say we want an underground 408 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:46,919 Speaker 1: tunnel going from this part of land that part of 409 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,040 Speaker 1: land under here, So we're just gonna go in. We're 410 00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:54,159 Speaker 1: gonna dredge and dig and create a trench where we're 411 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:58,119 Speaker 1: gonna eventually put the tunnel. But we're gonna make the 412 00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:01,480 Speaker 1: tunnel an individual piece of is here on dry land, 413 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:04,720 Speaker 1: usually at some sort of shipyard, and they're going to 414 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:08,080 Speaker 1: use the amount the equivalent of stealing concrete to make 415 00:25:08,119 --> 00:25:13,679 Speaker 1: an average size ten story building. So just tip it 416 00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:15,919 Speaker 1: on its side, and that's what your section looks like. 417 00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:20,080 Speaker 1: That's one section um and then once the concrete cures 418 00:25:20,119 --> 00:25:22,520 Speaker 1: after a month, we'll take it out to see in 419 00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:25,440 Speaker 1: a pontoon crane, which is exactly what it sounds like 420 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:29,159 Speaker 1: that they're gigantic um. We seal it up first so 421 00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:33,439 Speaker 1: that it floats and right. And then once we do 422 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:35,520 Speaker 1: get it over the site roughly where we want it, 423 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:37,600 Speaker 1: we will kind of start to sink it a little bit. 424 00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:40,679 Speaker 1: Or I've also seen they'll weight it down, uh, and 425 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:44,280 Speaker 1: then they'll sink the thing and eventually they'll link it 426 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:47,919 Speaker 1: up to another segment, so they use winches to to 427 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:51,600 Speaker 1: pull one segment to another UM. And then these rubber 428 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:56,880 Speaker 1: gaskets hold the seal. And in this this bulkheads, these 429 00:25:56,880 --> 00:26:01,879 Speaker 1: temporary bulkheads that are keeping the two um the two 430 00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:05,720 Speaker 1: segments separate like inside the tunnel, you couldn't go through them. 431 00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:08,760 Speaker 1: Yet you pump the water out, that changing air pressure 432 00:26:09,119 --> 00:26:13,040 Speaker 1: compresses the rubber gaskets, forming a watertight seal. Then you 433 00:26:13,119 --> 00:26:17,840 Speaker 1: remove the steel bulkheads. Bam, there's two connected segments of 434 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:20,159 Speaker 1: the tunnel. And you just keep adding and adding and 435 00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:25,920 Speaker 1: adding and adding until you've created your prefab underwater tunnel. 436 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:29,560 Speaker 1: It's beautiful. Then you cover that up backfillet or something 437 00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:32,760 Speaker 1: with rock. And we have a guy named W. J. 438 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:35,760 Speaker 1: Wilgas to thank for this because he invented it way 439 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:38,639 Speaker 1: back in the early nineteen hundreds. There's in early nineteen 440 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:43,160 Speaker 1: hundreds name w J. Wilgas look at my immerse tube 441 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:47,720 Speaker 1: tunnel where the world's fast, and everyone said, this is 442 00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:50,600 Speaker 1: a pretty good idea. Yeah, and it um. He pioneered 443 00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:53,920 Speaker 1: the technique when he built the Detroit River Railroad tunnel 444 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:59,800 Speaker 1: connecting uh Michigan to Canada. So technically the first immersed 445 00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:04,359 Speaker 1: to tunnel is a sewer line in Boston in and 446 00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:07,760 Speaker 1: when he built that railway line, that was like, Okay, 447 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:11,520 Speaker 1: this thing works because we've been shuttling poop in exactly 448 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:13,359 Speaker 1: and this is like, now we can do it with trains, 449 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:15,760 Speaker 1: and you are now the man of the hour, w J. 450 00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:18,119 Speaker 1: Because what is a train except a lot of poop? 451 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:22,840 Speaker 1: You know, there's a similarity in but that has been 452 00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:24,719 Speaker 1: the go to since then. Then there's been more than 453 00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:27,040 Speaker 1: a hundred of these built in the twentieth century alone. 454 00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:29,600 Speaker 1: Uh and that didn't even count the twenty first century. 455 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:31,560 Speaker 1: So I don't even know what's been going on the 456 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:34,240 Speaker 1: past thirteen years. I saw like an engineering thing that's 457 00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:37,199 Speaker 1: that referred to him as rare. But I don't have 458 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:39,520 Speaker 1: the impression that they're rare at all, you know, I 459 00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:42,120 Speaker 1: think they're kind of like the go to technique for 460 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:47,160 Speaker 1: any well as many as possible. Yeah. Well, the one 461 00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:51,560 Speaker 1: advantage is, um, is that they you can make them 462 00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:53,119 Speaker 1: any shape. You know. It's not like when you have 463 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:56,800 Speaker 1: a tunnel boring machine. Um, it's gonna have the shape 464 00:27:56,800 --> 00:28:00,520 Speaker 1: of the tunnel borer or the same with the tunnel shields. Well, yeah, 465 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:02,399 Speaker 1: I guess it's the same. It's the size of the 466 00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:04,639 Speaker 1: giant coffee can. But you can make a tunnel in 467 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:07,760 Speaker 1: the shape of a diamond if you wanted to. Well, 468 00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:10,760 Speaker 1: maybe not diamond. Well you could be kind of crazy, 469 00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:13,040 Speaker 1: be a big waste of money. But yeah, you can 470 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:16,800 Speaker 1: take any shape, and um, you will also have to 471 00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:19,080 Speaker 1: use some of those other methods eventually, because this is 472 00:28:19,119 --> 00:28:22,120 Speaker 1: just for the what's along the bottom. To get down 473 00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:24,919 Speaker 1: to that section and then out the entrances and exits, 474 00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:26,920 Speaker 1: you're gonna have to use some other methods, right, you 475 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:30,200 Speaker 1: might have to tunnel through through some sort of rock 476 00:28:30,359 --> 00:28:33,840 Speaker 1: or whatever. But yeah, when you put these tunnel segments 477 00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:36,639 Speaker 1: in and you pump the water out of the the 478 00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:40,800 Speaker 1: the chamber that connects the two, you take the bulkheads off, 479 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:43,200 Speaker 1: Like there's your finished tunnel right there. I mean, you've 480 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:46,320 Speaker 1: got the floors, the walls, the ceiling roadway. You go 481 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:48,280 Speaker 1: in and put the wiring in and the lighting and 482 00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:51,760 Speaker 1: all that stuff afterward. But your tunnels set. Yeah, I 483 00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:54,640 Speaker 1: just think it's neat. I think it's very neat. Um 484 00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:57,520 Speaker 1: what else you got? I got nothing else. There's one 485 00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:00,720 Speaker 1: proposed right now that will be the long gus immersed 486 00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:02,920 Speaker 1: tube tunnel in the world when it's finished in two 487 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:07,040 Speaker 1: thousand sixteen. There's a fifty kilometer bridge that connects or 488 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:10,680 Speaker 1: will connect Hong Kong to Macau, and part of it 489 00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:13,480 Speaker 1: is a six point seven kilometer long immersed tube tunnel 490 00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:19,200 Speaker 1: which will probably be real nice, awesome. Yeah, I guess 491 00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:22,719 Speaker 1: that's it. All right, Go forth and build tunnels, Go 492 00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:27,480 Speaker 1: forth and build underwater tunnels. Let's see. If you want 493 00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:29,720 Speaker 1: to learn more about underwater tunnels, you can type that 494 00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:33,200 Speaker 1: word into the search bar at how stuff works dot com. Uh. 495 00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:35,360 Speaker 1: And since I said search part, that means it's time 496 00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:40,960 Speaker 1: for listener mail. All right, I'm gonna call this another 497 00:29:41,040 --> 00:29:43,840 Speaker 1: chess email, and this is gonna be it on the 498 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:46,120 Speaker 1: chess emails. But thank you to everyone who wrote in 499 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:49,240 Speaker 1: about your chess strategies and stuff. It's pretty great. Hey, guys, 500 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:51,240 Speaker 1: thanks for doing the podcast on chess. It's a great game. 501 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:55,000 Speaker 1: Here are a few things that you sort of missed jumping. 502 00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:59,920 Speaker 1: Josh implied or maybe even outright said that a night 503 00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:02,840 Speaker 1: only appears to jump over other pieces, it really just 504 00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:05,960 Speaker 1: goes around them. Nights actually can jump over other pieces. 505 00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:08,720 Speaker 1: For example, if you were so inclined on your very 506 00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:11,080 Speaker 1: first move, you could jump your Night over your ponds 507 00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:13,160 Speaker 1: and place it in front of the rest of your pieces. 508 00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:16,400 Speaker 1: There aren't any empty spaces to take your Night around 509 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:21,000 Speaker 1: your islands in the stream, So that's jumping baby. A 510 00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:23,640 Speaker 1: little more on castling a couple of things. As you said, 511 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:27,720 Speaker 1: you cannot castle if it either if either piece involved 512 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:30,520 Speaker 1: has moved during the game. You also can't do it 513 00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:33,120 Speaker 1: if the king is in check or has to move 514 00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:36,920 Speaker 1: through check to castle. So the opposition queen is attacking 515 00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:38,880 Speaker 1: a square that the king has to go through the 516 00:30:38,960 --> 00:30:42,720 Speaker 1: castle it it cannot be done. Yeah, yeah, you got that. 517 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:46,400 Speaker 1: You should probably all go back rewind that and listen 518 00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:50,400 Speaker 1: to it again. That's right, and um that's from Matt 519 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:54,560 Speaker 1: in Pittsburgh. I'm sorry in l A via Pittsburgh, but 520 00:30:54,720 --> 00:30:56,280 Speaker 1: I did want to point out someone else in in 521 00:30:56,560 --> 00:31:01,240 Speaker 1: um another correction. I think we we got them pawn 522 00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:03,800 Speaker 1: promotion right, like if you make get your pawn all 523 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:07,640 Speaker 1: the way to the other end of the table. But um, 524 00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:10,680 Speaker 1: I don't think we pointed out that you can only 525 00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:14,040 Speaker 1: promote it to a piece that you've already lost. Oh no, 526 00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:15,840 Speaker 1: we definitely did not. In other words, you can't have 527 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:19,280 Speaker 1: two queens. But if you specifically said you have two queens, 528 00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:22,400 Speaker 1: oh did Yeah, Okay, I genuinely didn't know that. I 529 00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:24,480 Speaker 1: thought that. I didn't catch that. I knew that, but 530 00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:26,760 Speaker 1: I didn't catch it. So that was from someone else. 531 00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:31,800 Speaker 1: But thank you Matt in l A via Pittsburgh. Yeah, 532 00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:34,240 Speaker 1: he also described on poissant, but I think we've already 533 00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:36,560 Speaker 1: taken that up in another listener mail. So yeah, thanks 534 00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:38,800 Speaker 1: for all the corrections on Chester. Yeah, everybody, thank you 535 00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:41,040 Speaker 1: very much. If you want to get in touch with us, 536 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:43,960 Speaker 1: tweet to us. Our Twitter handle is s y s 537 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:48,400 Speaker 1: K Podcast, our Facebook dot com pages slash Stuff you 538 00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:50,840 Speaker 1: Should Know. Ah, you can send us an email to 539 00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:54,000 Speaker 1: Stuff Podcast at Discovery dot com and as always, joined 540 00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:55,720 Speaker 1: us at our home on the web, Stuff you Should 541 00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:57,480 Speaker 1: Know dot Com