# About the bridge in "Mothman Prophesy" \[spoiler\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 25, 2005, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-bridge-in-mothman-prophesy-spoiler/323386 "2005-09-25T22:34:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BluePitbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-bridge-in-mothman-prophesy-spoiler/323386/1 "2005-09-25T22:34:43Z")
Spoiler alert Is it true that the cause of the bridge collapsing is still unknown? Were there any cultures that have “Mothman” in their mythology? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-bridge-in-mothman-prophesy-spoiler/323386/2 "2005-09-25T23:39:10Z")
This time the IMDB comes to the rescue: > **[The Mothman Prophecies (2002) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0265349/goofs)** > > The Mothman Prophecies (2002) Goofs on IMDb: Mistakes, Errors in geography, Spoilers and more... > [@](#): > > Factual errors: At the end, a title card announces that the cause of the Silver Bridge collapse has never been determined. In reality, the reason for the disaster was determined after several years of detective work: metal fatigue in one of the eyebar chains that held up the bridge, caused by a hairline fracture. When the real Silver Bridge collapsed, the towers fell as well as the span. In the movie, the towers remain standing. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-bridge-in-mothman-prophesy-spoiler/323386/3 "2005-09-26T00:04:40Z")
A fairly detailed account of the Silver Bridge collapse can be found [here.](http://www.wvculture.org/history/wvhs1504.html) Basically, the IMDB has it right: a structural element cracked, and the crack grew over time. Couple to this the fact that cars had gotten heavier in the forty years since the bridge was built, and the extra Christmas-season rush hour traffic, and its fate was sealed. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-bridge-in-mothman-prophesy-spoiler/323386/4 "2005-09-26T00:19:32Z")
The Silver Bridge, pre-collapse. From a postcard. [http://www.rootsweb.com/~wvwags/silbr.jpg](http://www.rootsweb.com/~wvwags/silbr.jpg) Silver Bridge Collapse page [http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/Bridges/Silver-Bridge.htm](http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/Bridges/Silver-Bridge.htm) ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-bridge-in-mothman-prophesy-spoiler/323386/5 "2005-09-26T03:45:33Z")
> [@BluePitbull](#): > > Were there any cultures that have “Mothman” in their mythology? Disclaimer- I have not seen the movie. I was a big fan of the ufo/esp/cryptozoology section of the library as a teenager, and suspect that I’d spend a lot of time shouting at the screen. Nobody who saw the whateveritwas\* said it looked like a moth. The description was a grey humanoid figure with large wings, no visible head or neck, and glowing red eyes set in its chest. Early stories tried various names-birdman, big bird, batman etc. Mothman was settled on despite no description of the whatever having insectoid qualities. To answer your question- What do you mean by Mothman? If you mean creatures with similar appearance, then some cultures do. If you mean creatures whose appearance portends coming disaster, then plenty of cultures do. - Going by descriptions, many scientists concluded it was actually some kind of crane which wound up far out of its usual habitat. There is a verified case of lake monster sightings turning out to be an elephant seal who was far from home.