# Skyscraper Melts Car **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 3, 2013, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscraper-melts-car/667846 "2013-09-03T01:29:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscraper-melts-car/667846/1 "2013-09-03T01:29:48Z")
[I guess when you’re too old to enjoy frying ants with a magnifying glass, this is what you move up to](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23930675). > [@](#): > > A new London skyscraper dubbed the “Walkie Talkie” has been blamed for reflecting light which melted parts of a car parked on a nearby street. > > Martin Lindsay parked his Jaguar on Eastcheap, in the City of London, on Thursday afternoon. > > When he returned about two hours later, he found parts of his car - including the wing mirror and badge - had melted. That’s one heck of an ugly building, too. ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscraper-melts-car/667846/2 "2013-09-03T02:17:31Z")
I’ve seen vinyl siding melted more than once from the neighbors reflecting windows. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscraper-melts-car/667846/3 "2013-09-03T02:32:43Z")
It almost looks like there’s a number of architects out there who never heard of what concave mirrors do with sunbeams. This is a reprise of Las Vegas’ [Vdara “Death Ray”](http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/vdara-visitor-death-ray-scorched-hair). ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscraper-melts-car/667846/4 "2013-09-03T02:48:32Z")
When the Disney Hall (designed by Frank Gehry) was first built in downtown L.A., [it reflected light in a parabolic manner that caused problems, too](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_Concert_Hall#Reflection_problems), but nothing like this. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscraper-melts-car/667846/5 "2013-09-03T02:52:02Z")
I’m dubious about these reports, especially the scorched hair one. Hair burns at far too high a temperature. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscraper-melts-car/667846/6 "2013-09-03T12:51:56Z")
What’s that type of solar energy plant that uses mirrors to make steam? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscraper-melts-car/667846/7 "2013-09-03T12:55:51Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > What’s that type of solar energy plant that uses mirrors to make steam? [Concentrated solar power](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentrated_solar_power). ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscraper-melts-car/667846/8 "2013-09-03T12:56:34Z")
I was walking through Sydney’s Darling Harbour recently on a cold winter’s day when my girlfriend and I noted that we were suddenly getting quite warm. Looking at a near by curved building with full length glass windows we were presented with several hundred reflections of the sun, all aimed at us. We stayed there for a few minutes till we got too hot then moved on. I can believe that in the height of summer the effect would be several times worse. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscraper-melts-car/667846/9 "2013-09-03T14:12:42Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > [Concentrated solar power](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentrated_solar_power). Thanks. That is surprisingly accurate and low-tech. I think they could invest in a catchy name if they want to expand. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscraper-melts-car/667846/10 "2013-09-03T14:17:14Z")
Conversely, it looks like a helluva place to park your solar powered car. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscraper-melts-car/667846/11 "2013-09-03T15:09:49Z")
I just love the utter British-ness of it. “Your car’s buckled. Could you give us a call?” If that happened near a building in the US, I’d expect the response to be “What melted car? I don’t see no melted car, and you didn’t see one either.” ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscraper-melts-car/667846/12 "2013-09-03T15:17:36Z")
I wonder if the building’s insurance covers this. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscraper-melts-car/667846/13 "2013-09-03T17:41:34Z")
Well, now Jaguar has made a car you can’t drive during the day or night. This is the height of innovation of the British automotive industry. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscraper-melts-car/667846/14 "2013-09-03T19:44:22Z")
I’ve been doing some work near this building, of which construction is still in progress. The comparatively small footprint between Fenchurch Street, Rood Lane and Philpot Street means they try to expand their floorspace as the building gets higher (not the only building in town doing this). ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscraper-melts-car/667846/15 "2013-09-03T22:28:29Z")
In the architect’s defence, who could have foreseen enough sunlight in London to do such a thing? ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscraper-melts-car/667846/16 "2013-09-03T22:37:05Z")
Across the street from my building is one which is shaped like a rather open “C”. Within the arms of the C is a lawn, and you can see a scorched pattern on the grass which tracks the focus point of the reflected sun as it moves during the course of the day. Once or twice a year they replace the poor burnt grass with new sod. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscraper-melts-car/667846/17 "2013-09-03T22:39:16Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Across the street from my building is one which is shaped like a rather open “C”. Within the arms of the C is a lawn, and you can see a scorched pattern on the grass which tracks the focus point of the reflected sun as it moves during the course of the day. > > Once or twice a year they replace the poor burnt grass with new sod. I wonder what would happen if they decided they spent enough on replacing the sod and put in a plaza. Or a reflecting pool. ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscraper-melts-car/667846/18 "2013-09-03T22:50:17Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > I wonder what would happen if they decided they spent enough on replacing the sod and put in a plaza. Or a reflecting pool. Or a solar collector. To heat the [del]reflecting[/del] lap pool! ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscraper-melts-car/667846/19 "2013-09-04T00:32:24Z")
> [@tellyworth](#): > > I’m dubious about these reports, especially the scorched hair one. Hair burns at far too high a temperature. Well, obviously the sight of the damage to his Vaunted Jag (and the realization that he paid How Much for… Plastic…!?) caused his hair to burst into flames. > [@AaronX](#): > > I think they could invest in a catchy name if they want to expand. Hmmm. How about… ‘Broadcast Power’ ? [No. That’s probably what started all this in the first place…](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=SmY3PnKD91g#t=9) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscraper-melts-car/667846/20 "2013-09-04T17:03:08Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > In the architect’s defence, who could have foreseen enough sunlight in London to do such a thing? In the architect’s, um, offense(?), since it’s [the same jackass who designed the building that gave us the phrase “Vdara death ray”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Vi%C3%B1oly), he prolly should have come up with a new schtick. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscraper-melts-car/667846.md?page=2)