Korva rescues the ideas worth keeping from podcasts. Each one becomes a Card.

Practical Engineering

80 Cards across 6 Sources·Added to Korva by @mirabaines, @theoalden and @leahormond

What's Under Your Feet in New York City?16 Cards

New York once delivered mail through a 27-mile pneumatic-tube network that closed in the 1950s.

@theoalden added

New York’s orange street smokestacks divert steam from leaks or groundwater-heated pipes away from pedestrians until repairs are made.

@theoalden added

The Mind-Blowing Flaw That Flooded New Orleans14 Cards

At the 17th Street Canal, water sat several feet below the wall’s top when a 450-foot section shifted open.

@theoalden added

New Orleans’s three most consequential flood-defense breaches occurred while surge remained below the floodwalls’ design capacity.

@theoalden added

Are Beavers Actually Good at Dams?13 Cards

In 1889, a relatively modest flood overtopped a modified Pennsylvania dam, killing more than 2,000 people.

@theoalden added

Beaver dams push water sideways across floodplains, creating interconnected wetlands where slow flows help process pollutants.

@theoalden added

The Grid That Doubles the Strength of the Ground13 Cards

A very small amount of plastic completely transformed the granular system when its geometry provided effective confinement.

@leahormond added

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pioneered geocell technology in the 1970s for roads and landing strips on Vietnam’s soft soils.

@leahormond added

Bridge Demolition is Complicated13 Cards

On the I-74 bridges, workers cut each main cable at four locations until only 7 of 37 strands remained.

@mirabaines added

Demolition explosives do not pulverize structures. They sever structural members precisely and start a controlled fall.

@mirabaines added

How Does the Power Grid Work?11 Cards

Electricity generally must be used as it is produced. Unlike many utilities, it cannot simply wait in storage.

@theoalden added

In North America, grid voltage and current reverse direction 60 times every second.

@theoalden added

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