# Must See! Video taken from the front of a cable car in 1906 SF. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2010, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381 "2010-05-14T02:24:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381/21 "2010-05-14T04:17:35Z")
Wow. What a clear window into another time. I wish that could’ve had sound. ---
**Author:** ![Zulema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381/22 "2010-05-14T04:43:44Z")
Look on the right in the other video list, there’s a post earthquake video on a cable car following the same path. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381/23 "2010-05-14T05:08:26Z")
Here’s another thread on the video, that I’m posting, not to point out that it’s another duplicate, but because it has some good links. > **[San Francisco in 1906](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb//showthread.php?t=551361)** > > Shot from front of a streetcar This fascinating bit of film was shot from a San Francisco Market Street trolley car and it’s believed to have been taken just a few days before the 1906 earthquake. Some comment from a local historian: This film was... Around halfway through the ‘Berkeley’ link, two people get off the cable car and start a scuffle with someone who won’t get out of its path. ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381/24 "2010-05-14T05:10:37Z")
I hate to be pedantic, but this is not a video…it’s a film. There is a difference, and it’s a difference worth preserving. The word “video” didn’t even exist until 1935. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381/25 "2010-05-14T05:15:06Z")
> [@DChord568](#): > > I hate to be pedantic, but this is not a video…it’s a film. I hate to be tongue-in-cheek pedantic, but is it not a film now in video form? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381/26 "2010-05-14T05:22:07Z")
The most amazing thing about this video is that it is in _slow motion_. You can see several people clearly running, but [running at a walking pace](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NINOxRxze9k#t=4m0s). There is a horse clearly [galloping at 3:35](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NINOxRxze9k#t=3m35s) I’d say it’s roughly 1/2 to 2/3 speed of reality, which makes the people standing in the tracks and the car practically grazing the camera towards the end of the film even crazier. I need to download it and adjust it to real time, so the running people are actually running. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381/27 "2010-05-14T05:47:46Z")
> [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > Around halfway through the ‘Berkeley’ link, two people get off the cable car and start a scuffle with someone who won’t get out of its path. I read somewhere they were actors use to spice up an otherwise uneventful video film. ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381/28 "2010-05-14T05:49:05Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > I hate to be tongue-in-cheek pedantic, but is it not a film now in video form? We’re looking at streaming video of something that was originally shot on film. What it is _not_ is “video taken from the front of a cable car in 1906.” That would be like saying “West End Blues” is “a CD recorded by Louis Armstrong and the Hot Five in 1928.” ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381/29 "2010-05-14T05:58:50Z")
> [@DChord568](#): > > We’re looking at streaming video of something that was originally shot on film. What it is _not_ is “video taken from the front of a cable car in 1906.” Well, I wasn’t sure who or what you were responding to, seeing as the word “video” was used about a dozen times throughout. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381/30 "2010-05-14T06:25:34Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > It’s a common theme in books set in, say, New York City a decade or so earlier how dangerous it is to cross a major street, and how people were constantly getting knocked down by carriages or streetcars. > > The trope of “helping a little old lady across the street” dates back to these days when an elderly or infirm person really **needed** somebody actively guiding them to make it across a street in safety! While doing local research that covered the year 1903 I was amazed at how many people got mowed down by interurbans. They were certainly faster than the cable car in the video which was moving just above walking speed. cool video ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381/31 "2010-05-14T14:21:49Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > Well, I wasn’t sure who or what you were responding to, seeing as the word “video” was used about a dozen times throughout. I’m not sure, either, to whom you’re ascribing “was used,” but the term “video” has been used liberally in this thread by many posters as well as the OP. In the world of broadcasting, where I spent many years, “film” and “video” were two distinctive entities – different technologies, and different results when using them. Using the term “video” in close proximity to something that was made in 1906 just doesn’t make sense. Now back to your regularly scheduled program. (It is a very cool film!) ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381/32 "2010-05-14T17:02:20Z")
Video Shmideo, Film Shmilm, who cares? If I had called it a film someone probably would have complained that what we’re looking at is actually a video. It’s a video made from a film that was originally filmed from the front of a cable car. Do I have to try to fit all of that into the subject line? ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381/33 "2010-05-14T17:11:01Z")
Holy crap! That is amazing. Thanks for sharing, I wish I’d caught it the first time around! ---
**Author:** ![FlightlessBird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/cdc98d/32.png) [@FlightlessBird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlightlessBird)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381/34 "2010-05-14T17:20:58Z")
The first time around?! in 1906? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381/35 "2010-05-14T19:54:49Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Video Shmideo, Film Shmilm, who cares? > > If I had called it a film someone probably would have complained that what we’re looking at is actually a video. > > It’s a video made from a film that was originally filmed from the front of a cable car. Do I have to try to fit all of that into the subject line? I had no intent to offend, and I don’t now. It’s not a big deal, and I never intended it to be. I just think that precision in language is a good thing. It can never be wrong to use the correct word. Judging from a couple of concurrent threads, though, I feel as if I’m in an increasing minority these days. “Originally filmed” would have worked perfectly, in fact! In any case, I’m glad you posted the link…I enjoyed the film. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381/36 "2010-05-14T20:11:17Z")
I guess Google StreetView really wasn’t all that revolutionary. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381/37 "2010-05-14T20:15:23Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > I guess Google StreetView really wasn’t all that revolutionary. There’s an option in Google Earth where you can see historic aerial photos. Be very cool if they do the same thing with street view where available. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381/38 "2010-05-14T20:26:22Z")
Neat video. The thing that really stuck out to me everyone\* is dressed in black and there are no\* women! \*Slight exaggeration. Get over it. ---
**Author:** ![Jihi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jihi/32/17768_2.png) [@Jihi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jihi)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381/39 "2010-05-14T21:04:44Z")
This video is truly amazing! Thanks so much to everyone who’s shared it as I’m another who missed previous threads on it. Not much to add except what others have already said. Everyone appears to be so very well dressed and in dark suits. And the traffic! Around the 4:20 mark a pedestrian nearly gets hit by a car before dodging out of the way. And he doesn’t even turn around to look at the car! ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381/40 "2010-05-14T21:05:45Z")
**davidm** , that whole bit with Jay Anway made me wonder if he was at all involved in the making of the film. His car shows up five or six times throughout the trip, and at several points he can be clearly seen pulling over and waiting for the cable car to pass, or crossing the street to turn around. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/must-see-video-taken-from-the-front-of-a-cable-car-in-1906-sf/539381.md?page=3)