The Incredible Story of London Sewers

Comments · 258

• CA

  @canaan5337 · 4 years ago (edited)

  John Snow: &quot;guys, it&apos;s not bad air that&apos;s making people sick, its bad water.&quot;<br>19th century scientists: &quot;you know nothing, John Snow&quot;

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• MI

  @missyd0g2 · 4 years ago

  Simon I wanted to share my sewer experiences in the 1970’s under Detroit. &nbsp;Like your video parts of the storm sewer was bricked and very large. I was in college for concrete engineering. So my main job was surveying the sewer system and anything else helpful. &nbsp;The brick work of the masons back 80 years before was a work of art. No brick was wasted. Patterns of small bricks were creating amazing designs in the brickwork. Unfortunately we’re 50 below the surface of Detroit. &nbsp;The oldest part of the storm sewer system. Was made of rough cut large oak planks. Our job was to place wire mesh and rebar on the oak walls and spray with a hydraulic concrete. &nbsp;The ceiling had old giant telephone lines attached so we left them alone.<br>At one large intersection we had lunch tables and work desks. All built due to the access hole of 4 x4 feet wide. The sewer rats were big like cats, but never seen humans before. &nbsp;The some rats befriend the workers and during breaks and lunch would dance for food. &nbsp;Our survey rat friend we called floppy due to a floppy ear. &nbsp;The sewer was blocked off so no water would flow during a rain. Our work took over 7 months but I experience the underground world. &nbsp;I changed my college studies to computer and networking. <br>Great video. I rarely comment but wanted to share.

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• SE

  @sebastienpaquin4586 · 4 years ago

  Wait, 500M$ in today&apos;s dollar to build, from scratch, by hand, the entire brand new sewer system for the largest city in the world? Man today for that price you barely get 1 new subway station!

  76

• KE

  @keyholes · 4 years ago

  I&apos;d love to see a SideProjects about the abandoned bits of the Tube; like Aldwych, where the British Museum&apos;s collection was stored during the Blitz. I know you&apos;ve done a MegaProjects on the Tube as a whole but it&apos;s a massive rabbithole of video ideas.

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• PR

  @pragmaticsteve6149 · 4 years ago

  I literally just wrote a paper on John Snow and Chicago raising the entire city so the sewage would run into lake Michigan.

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• ST

  @stevoplex · 4 years ago

  As a licensed wastewater treatment engineer, I have profound respect for &nbsp;such a vast and complex system whose functional operational success is evident by its sheer invisibility &nbsp;from public notice, yet becomes obnoxiously apparent only in failure.

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• TH

  @the-chillian · 4 years ago

  I was prepared to hear that the Prince of Wales had inaugurated the new sewer by ceremonially flushing down the first log, but I suppose Victorians didn&apos;t do things that way.

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• AN

  @andyginterblues2961 · 4 years ago

  Seems like &quot;Bazzle Jet&quot; would be a perfect name for a bidet...

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• DH

  @dh-c1717 · 3 years ago

  As a Civil/Structural Engineer, this man is magnificent.

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• DA

  @dawnpalmby5100 · 4 years ago

  London Ontario had pipes made of hollowed out trees for over 100 years in the oldest parts of the city up until this decade; now, they have been replaced

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• JU

  @JustanOlGuy · 4 years ago

  Ancient public works speak more about humanity than any temple ever will!

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• BE

  @beagleissleeping5359 · 4 years ago (edited)

  My hometown (founded in 1873) just recently posted on their Facebook page of having to unclog several of the sewer lines because of flushable wipes. Yeah they&apos;ll flush, but they DO NOT DISSOLVE! &nbsp;Those that don&apos;t end up stuck in the pipes have to be scraped off the filters at the water treatment plant.<br>Trust me. The last thing you want is sewage backing up into your house because it has nowhere else to go.

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