# Searchlights! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 18, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchlights/433974 "2008-01-18T03:34:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchlights/433974/1 "2008-01-18T03:34:27Z")
You used to see them at grand openings, movie premiers. big sales, and just about any event. They were large, mirrored, carbon arc lights which projected a bright beam far into the sky. I know my family would often follow one (or more) to see what was going on. Gone now, huh? Lotsa [pictures](http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=%22searchlight%22&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2) here. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchlights/433974/2 "2008-01-18T03:41:50Z")
I seem to have posted this jewel in the wrong trousers, I mean forum. If a moderator would be so kind as to move it to MPSIMS, that would be cool. Thanks, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchlights/433974/3 "2008-01-18T03:54:56Z")
I remember them as a kid. I was once told that they were mostly WW2 surplus items - though inherently rather expensive, you apparently could buy them cheaply for some while after the war. I think their numbers started to dwindle seriously in the '70s. ---
**Author:** ![Lynne\_kilii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lynne\_kilii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynne_kilii)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchlights/433974/4 "2008-01-18T04:10:29Z")
I still see them from time to time. There was one lighting up the sky a month or so back that I could see from my apartment. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchlights/433974/5 "2008-01-18T04:32:21Z")
They still exist. I saw one as recently as a year ago that turned out to be at a car dealership. Searchlight trivia: the [cathedral of light](http://www.skylighters.org/searchlights/nazibeams.jpg) was designed by nazi architect Albert Speer. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchlights/433974/6 "2008-01-18T05:28:15Z")
The [Tribute in Light](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribute_in_Light) was a temporary art installation installed near the site of the World Trade Center in 2002 and again every year on the anniversary. It’s made up of 88 searchlights (and, I think, is a much better memorial than anything else I’ve heard suggested, especially given its ephemeral nature). ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchlights/433974/7 "2008-01-18T07:06:13Z")
I saw searchlights earlier this evening. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchlights/433974/8 "2008-01-18T15:51:21Z")
They’re very popular out here. They come in a 4-light setup, mounted on a trailer. Each light pivots independently to provide a mini lightshow in the sky. ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchlights/433974/9 "2008-01-18T16:11:28Z")
We have searchlights mounted on one of the local sports arenas (the ACC Centre, home to our NBA and NHL teams). I always know there’s a game on if I can see the beams in the distance. Hell, they even incorporated them into the logo. [See?](http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/2/2d/150px-Air_Canada_Centre_logo.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchlights/433974/10 "2008-01-18T16:12:51Z")
While I was taking out the trash for work on a cloudy night about twenty years ago, I saw four disks shoot across the sky. After believing for a full thirty seconds that I had seen four UFOs, I realized they were searchlights. I’ll never forget that _WTF?!_ feeling, though. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchlights/433974/11 "2008-01-18T16:18:37Z")
[QUOTE=Mahna Mahna] We have searchlights mounted on one of the local sports arenas (the ACC Centre, home to our NBA and NHL teams). I always know there’s a game on if I can see the beams in the distance. Hell, they even incorporated them into the logo. [See?](http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/2/2d/150px-Air_Canada_Centre_logo.gif) [/QUOTE] Oh, you guys play hockey up there? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchlights/433974/12 "2008-01-18T16:20:11Z")
[QUOTE=beowulff] They’re very popular out here. They come in a 4-light setup, mounted on a trailer. Each light pivots independently to provide a mini lightshow in the sky. [/QUOTE] I remember those. They can make them “dance”. ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchlights/433974/13 "2008-01-18T16:23:12Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] Oh, you guys play hockey up there? 😉 [/QUOTE] Depends on who you ask. Me, I think they just pretend at playing hockey. 😛 Sorry, gotta go… the police are here to drag me kicking and screaming to the city limits for being a bad Torontonian. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchlights/433974/14 "2008-01-18T16:51:48Z")
[QUOTE=beowulff] They’re very popular out here. They come in a 4-light setup, mounted on a trailer. Each light pivots independently to provide a mini lightshow in the sky. [/QUOTE] I can see them on any given night because either the Aurora or Elgin IL casinos will have them running, or it’s the grand opening of something else. I’ve driven past them while they’re doing their thing, and I swear if you looked right at one you’d cook your eyeballs. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchlights/433974/15 "2008-01-18T16:57:59Z")
I see them at car dealerships and sometimes at sporting events. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchlights/433974/16 "2008-01-18T16:58:25Z")
[QUOTE=beowulff] They’re very popular out here. They come in a 4-light setup, mounted on a trailer. Each light pivots independently to provide a mini lightshow in the sky. [/QUOTE] The “Sky Tracker” xenon spots seem to be the only surviving style now, and they’re a pale imitator to a real carbon-arc searchlight being swung around by hand. ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchlights/433974/17 "2008-01-18T17:49:21Z")
I saw searchlights over my town last week. I don’t know what they were there for, though. I didn’t drive into town to see what was up. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchlights/433974/18 "2008-01-18T17:53:47Z")
I see them fairly often here in San Francisco. When the Castro Theater has a huge event, they bring in the searchlights, and I remember going to the grand re-opening of the Metro Theater, they had searchlights. Stuff like that is neat, but honestly, I see them so often they’re not special anymore. Maybe every other weekend I see one or two sets. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchlights/433974/19 "2008-01-18T18:09:19Z")
It seems that either I live in a searchlight-poor area, or I need to get out more. Or both. ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchlights/433974/20 "2008-01-18T18:47:40Z")
They’re in my night sky fairly often; I live near car-dealer row. The arena near my office uses them, too. They’re not that impressive in the Colorado night sky, in my opinion. Just not enough water vapor to scatter the light and make a good visible beam, I figure. They’ve got to light up the pollution instead. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searchlights/433974.md?page=2)