[HN Gopher] How engineers straightened the Leaning Tower of Pisa...
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       How engineers straightened the Leaning Tower of Pisa [video]
        
       Author : geox
       Score  : 27 points
       Date   : 2024-03-11 20:35 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.youtube.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.youtube.com)
        
       | charcircuit wrote:
       | They failed as it's still leaning. They need to try again and
       | make it actually straight this time. It could be interesting to
       | try and also straighten the upper portions too since it wasn't
       | built totally straight.
        
         | elliottkember wrote:
         | I'm pretty sure they don't want to actually straighten it due
         | to the immense cost of renaming it
        
         | seeingnature wrote:
         | No, they actually succeeded because it's still leaning. The
         | tower was known for leaning and they wanted to preserve that
         | famous lean while still increasing safety, which they
         | increased.
        
         | fourteenfour wrote:
         | I don't think many people would visit a straight tower.
        
           | duskwuff wrote:
           | "The Upright Towers of Pisa: quietly celebrating competence."
           | 
           | (From this T-shirt: https://topatoco.com/products/og-upright)
        
         | pmontra wrote:
         | Superman straightened the leaning tower in the third movie in
         | 1983.
         | 
         | That action wouldn't be well received in Italy in real life. We
         | have a zillion of straight towers but everybody talks about and
         | goes to see the odd leaning one.
         | 
         | Superman eventually restored the original leaning angle.
        
       | thechao wrote:
       | @dang -- this is just a thin wrapper around a _great_
       | engineering-related YouTube channel.
       | 
       | The direct link is:
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZhHoyqQEhA
        
         | krisoft wrote:
         | Also Practical Engineering also publishes their content as
         | blogposts for those who like reading better than watching:
         | https://practical.engineering/blog/2023/12/19/how-engineers-...
        
         | cwillu wrote:
         | @dang doesn't do anything, but he'll respond to emails to
         | hn@ycombinator.com
        
         | dang wrote:
         | Ok, I've changed the link from
         | https://www.openculture.com/2024/03/how-engineers-
         | straighten....
         | 
         | openculture.com is usually pretty good and has been the source
         | of a lot of good HN submissions but I agree that this one was a
         | thin wrapper.
         | 
         | p.s. cwillu is right - i saw this because someone emailed, and
         | @dang in comments is a no-op...just so people know.
        
       | thechao wrote:
       | We visited Pisa, briefly. One thing to note is that _everything_
       | in the plaza, including the surrounding walls, is leaning.
       | _Everything_. The ground must be like mud.
        
         | IncreasePosts wrote:
         | Another thing to note is there is pretty much nothing to do or
         | see in Pisa besides the tower. Probably better to spend an
         | extra day in Florence if you're in the area rather than take
         | the trip to Pisa. Or, if you must, go to Pisa, but then pop
         | over to Tirrenia and enjoy a half day at the beach if weather
         | permits.
        
           | fellowniusmonk wrote:
           | Seeing the leaning tower in person was one of the funniest
           | things I've ever seen in real life, I can't believe how hard
           | it made me laugh.
           | 
           | It was cathartic to see it and think of all the projects I've
           | worked on in the past that were poorly run.
           | 
           | Also while Pisa isn't much to see you can also walk the quite
           | long Tunnel Di Pini and it makes for quite a lovely day of
           | picnics and nature.
           | 
           | Though to be fair, Florence in general is hard to beat.
        
           | apsurd wrote:
           | Uninspired comment. The tower is worth the trip. It's absurd!
           | I didn't think i'd be into it that much, i've seen the
           | pictures. It's leaning. I get it.
           | 
           | It's unbelievable in real life. It's hilarious, it's fun,
           | it's simple. Everyone is having a good time.
           | 
           | One of my favorite memories in Italy, and i've been to all
           | the heavy hitter stuff in Rome.
           | 
           | It's its own thing. Please don't let this comment discourage
           | anyone.
        
             | IncreasePosts wrote:
             | Well, Rome is a whole other can of worms. World class
             | historical sites, but the crowds can be extremely off
             | putting (for me at least).
             | 
             | But really, my comment was targeted at the typical English
             | speaking Italian vacationer, who might have to prioritize
             | the whole country for a 7 day travel period.
        
               | bombcar wrote:
               | Always visit historical sites b in bad weather
        
           | the-rc wrote:
           | Don't spend more than the bare minimum in crowded tourist
           | traps Florence and Pisa. Say, no longer than two days and
           | half a day, respectively. Rather, wind down in places like
           | Lucca and Siena. Except the latter for a few days in July and
           | August, when it becomes one of the craziest places on the
           | planet. That's one of the few times when it might be actually
           | ok to chase loud crowds that are totally losing their minds.
           | (That's for an ancient and, from the outside, rather bizarre
           | horse race. You won't get it until you're there.)
        
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       (page generated 2024-03-12 23:01 UTC)