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.
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 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 :)
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.
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!
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!
@@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.
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."
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.
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.
@@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.
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.
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 :)
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."
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
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.
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.
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.
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!)
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
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 :)
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.
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.
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!
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.
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)
@@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.
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 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'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
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!
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 :)
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.
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
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.
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 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.
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!
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.
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'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.
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!
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!
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.
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
What's sad is we have a old rail bridge built in 1908 that was converted to a 1 lane vehicle bridge, closed in 2017 and scheduled to be destroyed this year :( I wish it could be saved as a walk bridge but the city ignored the people and will tear it down and the new bridge to replace it isn't even going in the same area
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!
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.
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.
