[release]
[URL="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-24/indian-commuters-on-the-howrah-bridge-in-kolkata-pass-one-of-th/3691542"][IMG]http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/3691400-3x2-700x467.jpg[/IMG][/URL][URL="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-24/indian-commuters-on-the-howrah-bridge-in-kolkata-pass-one-of-th/3691542"][B]PHOTO:[/B] Pedestrians chewing paan regularly spit on the bridge. (AFP: Deshakalyan Chowdhury)[/URL]
[URL="http://maps.google.com/?q=22.577242,88.357315(India%20)&z=5"][B]MAP: [/B]India[/URL]
[B]The Howrah Bridge in the Indian city of Kolkata is at risk of collapsing because the steel at its base is being corroded by human saliva.[/B]Pedestrians who have been chewing betel leaf, areca nut and slaked lime have been spitting on the bridge's steel hangers, causing them to weaken.The red stains left by the paan mixture - a mild stimulant chewed throughout India - are caked around the metal casings of the bridge.Authorities say the paan-laced spit has reduced the thickness of the bridge's hangers from six millimetres to three millimetres.In an attempt to save the bridge, port engineers have come up with the idea of covering the steel with fibreglass.Several years ago authorities were forced to begin regular clean up of bird droppings which were also corroding the bridge.It has also been damaged before from a number of car and boat accidents.The cantilever suspension bridge opened in 1943 and spans more than 450 metres across the Hooghly River.It is thought to be the busiest of its kind in the world, with more than 100,000 vehicles crossing a day and more than 150,000 pedestrians pounding its walkways daily.[B]ABC/BBC[/release]
[URL]http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-24/human-spit-build-up-could-cause-bridge-collapse/3691468[/URL]
China better take note of this.[/B]
hahaha what
Ew.
Out of all the things a bridge could collapse from, you wouldn't expect saliva or bird droppings.
That's fucking disgusting.
That's fucking nasty.
I'll give someone twenty bucks if they lick that support beam and live.
Well, technically the spit from chewing all those stuff is quite acidic, so yeah its an accident waiting to happen. Disgusting and dangerous
they are on a bridge. why cant they spit off the side?
[QUOTE=ac/14;33828847]they are on a bridge. why cant they spit off the side?[/QUOTE]
Why can't they just not chew this disgusting shit in public
£5 for anyone who will lick that. :dance:
I'm thinking these are just lemon-lime terrorists slowly destroying this bridge. Soon it will be considered an act of terrorism to spit and anyone caught will be detained by US officials.
[QUOTE=ac/14;33828847]they are on a bridge. why cant they spit off the side?[/QUOTE]
They're in public, why do they have to spit?
[QUOTE=Within;33828922]They're in public, why do they have to spit?[/QUOTE]
It's like one of the most common and legal drugs in india. In the same way you can ask why do people smoke in the public and similar. Yeah it's disgusting from our point of view, but normal there.
To be honest, you can easily tell who takes betel just by looking at their eyes normally.
spitting drugs now collapses bridges?, what you on about kit?
still a cause for concern, they should get to repairing right away
Well shit, predestrian streets. It was nice knowing you.
Indian food always gave me fire shit, never knew it could give me fire spit
To be honest, if bird shit is a danger to your bridge, there's definitely something wrong.
It'd be like having an airplane at risk of corroding due to clouds.
Only in India.
Half the people i know spit just for the hell of it, not because they use chew. It's really fucking nasty since sometimes they do it inside.
Spitting can actually be addictive, especially if you smoke.
[QUOTE=Crpto2007;33831404]Spitting can actually be addictive, especially if you smoke.[/QUOTE]
They have to spit because the shit they chew should seriously never be swallowed. It's not the water that's damaging the iron, it's the acid. Swallowing that shit would most likely kill you if done often.
Im surprised its not in china... But india is a disgusting place too so
[QUOTE=Walrus.;33830865]Half the people i know spit just for the hell of it, not because they use chew. It's really fucking nasty since sometimes they do it inside.[/QUOTE]
They spit inside? What.
From an engineering perspective, this is fascinating. Imagine of all the things you have to take into account when planning a bridge, who would have thought saliva and bird shit was one of them?
[QUOTE=Downsider;33834269]They spit inside? What.[/QUOTE]
I think he means inside buildings
[QUOTE=carcarcargo;33834933]I think he means inside buildings[/QUOTE]
Yeah, that's what I meant. Who the fuck spits inside? I spit outside when I'm doing a sport or something, but I never fucking spit on the floor inside.. What the fuck.
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