# The darker side of the bridge collapse **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 29, 2024, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-darker-side-of-the-bridge-collapse/999569 "2024-03-29T17:01:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-darker-side-of-the-bridge-collapse/999569/1 "2024-03-29T17:01:37Z")
I wonder if terrorists have taken note of the past several bridge collapses. A shaped charge or two on the right beam could bring as much havoc as an airliner. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-darker-side-of-the-bridge-collapse/999569/2 "2024-03-29T17:08:17Z")
It’s not that easy. Look at Crimea: A group of people with the resources of an entire nation, and with an organized military, have been trying for years to collapse a bridge, and they’ve had only one partial success. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2024, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-darker-side-of-the-bridge-collapse/999569/3 "2024-03-29T17:14:20Z")
I think you are underestimating the power of the giant container ship. It was 95,000 Tons, or about 1/3 to 1/2 the mass of the empire state building. The force put into the bridge was in the ballpark of a [Saturn rocket launch](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/28/upshot/baltimore-bridge-ship-force.html). This is a lot more energy then you are going to get from a few shaped charges. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-darker-side-of-the-bridge-collapse/999569/4 "2024-03-30T13:21:46Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > I wonder if terrorists have taken note of the past several bridge collapses. I’m rather surprised that conspiracy theories are not already circulating that the recent event was caused by covert terrorist action. On reflection, perhaps they are… I don’t read the sort of channels that carry that junk… ---
**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:** [March 30, 2024, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-darker-side-of-the-bridge-collapse/999569/5 "2024-03-30T13:51:55Z")
One very annoying person I know, that always has trouble getting jobs (I wonder why. /s) said out-loud to all people in the lobby at my workplace that: “FBI agents had been replaced and new ones in the Baltimore area assigned to now hide any evidence that it was a terror attack” I said that there was no evidence for that, but there it was, _now happily wondering_ why it never gets a break. It could be because what others allegedly do. What I observed is that it is not just conspiracies what people like that use to get into others nerves, they do it to validate “the world is against them” point of view that I notice some people reach for when bad things happen to them. They not only need to assign blame to others, but justify why they are not doing much to improve their bad situations. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Undeposable\_Hand](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_undeposable_hand/32/8502_2.png) [@The\_Undeposable\_Hand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Undeposable_Hand)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-darker-side-of-the-bridge-collapse/999569/6 "2024-03-30T13:53:52Z")
Boston? ---
**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:** [March 30, 2024, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-darker-side-of-the-bridge-collapse/999569/7 "2024-03-30T13:55:53Z")
Sorry, correcting… corrected. (Coffee has not kicked in, and the other thread about Boston Market chicken got in my mind…) ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-darker-side-of-the-bridge-collapse/999569/8 "2024-03-30T14:15:05Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > A shaped charge or two on the right beam could bring as much havoc as an airliner. Yeah that’s the thing right “a shaped charge or two on the right beam” is a lot easier said than done. Even making an effective shaped charge is probably beyond the skill level of your average internet-radicalised jihadist (or nazi or whatever). The chance of them making several of them, and sucessfully planting them where they need to go to destroy a bridge without getting caught is pretty low, especially in America where the option of “buy a semi automatic assault rifle, shoot a bunch of people” is right there. Its even dubious how much ISIS, etc. even want to cause economic disruption nowadays. They are much more interested in having a big body count on the evening news and lots of disturbing internet videos, than any kind of economic damage to the governments of the countries they are attacking. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-darker-side-of-the-bridge-collapse/999569/9 "2024-03-30T14:16:51Z")
Regarding the force of the impact, there’s an image of the ship in the breaking news thread at around post 290 that shows the incredible number of containers it was carrying. Each one of those seemingly tiny boxes is about the dimensions of a semi-trailer, only typically a little shorter, and is full of product. That’s in addition to the massive ship’s empty weight and whatever ballast it may have been carrying. It’s almost impossible to get your head around how massive that thing is. Once it gets moving it’s about the closest thing we have on earth to an unstoppable force. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-darker-side-of-the-bridge-collapse/999569/10 "2024-03-30T14:31:39Z")
When they do this does anyone respond with any variation of “That is a fear-mongering lie and you should be ashamed”…or is everyone a “good person that does nothing”? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-darker-side-of-the-bridge-collapse/999569/11 "2024-03-30T15:21:10Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > or is everyone a “good person that does nothing”? Most people avoid engaging with people like that. There are so many now, it’s just too exhausting. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-darker-side-of-the-bridge-collapse/999569/12 "2024-03-30T15:49:01Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > When they do this does anyone respond with any variation of “That is a fear-mongering lie and you should be ashamed”…or is everyone a “good person that does nothing”? A bit of a sidetrack (maybe worthy of its own thread) but I’m not sure this would be appropriate in a work environment, and definitely not required. If its just plain conspiracy theories, they aren’t claiming the jews are trying to wipe out the white race or any such BS, there is no moral obligation to try and shame them into sense. I mean maybe some to point out the actual facts, but we all know how much good that will do. IMO it’s perfectly Ok to just shake your head, and change the subject to whatever work you need them to do for you. They aren’t your friend, or relative, they are your co-worker you have no responsibility to debunk their conspiracy theories unless they cross the line into hate speech. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-darker-side-of-the-bridge-collapse/999569/13 "2024-03-30T15:53:25Z")
Sigh … There has rarely been more evidence that something was just bad luck, and not terrorism. I think you need to be really invested in finding a terrorist explanation to attribute it to terrorism, so i doubt anything you might say in response is likely to dissuade them. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-darker-side-of-the-bridge-collapse/999569/14 "2024-03-30T16:21:28Z")
Shortly after 9/11, The Atlantic had an article discussing the terribly easy low-tech ways terrorists could have tremendous impact on our economy. They don’t need access to airplane cockpits, or specialized charges on bridge supports. My personal opinion is that the fact that we have not seen more such attacks says more about the low incidence of people wishing to take such actions, rather than the effectiveness of our security theater. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-darker-side-of-the-bridge-collapse/999569/15 "2024-03-30T16:35:16Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > There has rarely been more evidence that something was just bad luck, and not terrorism. I think you need to be really invested in finding a terrorist explanation to attribute it to terrorism, so i doubt anything you might say in response is likely to dissuade them. And not only that if there is something nefarious going on it is certainly not a “ISIS terrorists planting shaped charges” type thing (or a “deep state agents conspiring with DEI” type thing wtf that means) it is the “multinational company decides to stop servicing the generators on their container ships every six months to save a few bucks” type thing. Like I would safely bet 100 bucks right now that any dodginess involved in this incident is that kind of thing rather than anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-darker-side-of-the-bridge-collapse/999569/16 "2024-03-30T16:44:30Z")
Speculating about this sort of thing being terrorism is harmless, and even reasonable until the evidence comes in otherwise. Saying that the FBI is suppressing evidence of it being terrorism, though, that has the potential to be every bit as dangerous as “the Jews are out to get us”, or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-darker-side-of-the-bridge-collapse/999569/17 "2024-03-30T16:51:53Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > “multinational company decides to stop servicing the generators on their container ships every six months to save a few bucks” type thing. Sure, it might be that. But that’s not what “conspiracy” usually means. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-darker-side-of-the-bridge-collapse/999569/18 "2024-03-30T17:02:15Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Sure, it might be that. But that’s not what “conspiracy” usually means Yeah but it should IMO. It’s not a bonkers conspiracy theory, literally most bad things in society right now (be they terrible disasters, on going systematic injustices, or petty annoyances) can be traced to some large company (typically recently acquired by conglomerate or VC fund) trying to increase profit by a couple of fractions of a percent. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-darker-side-of-the-bridge-collapse/999569/19 "2024-03-30T17:13:01Z")
The terrorists are probably observing our crumbling infrastructure and lack of congressional action about it and have decided to focus their energy elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-darker-side-of-the-bridge-collapse/999569/20 "2024-03-30T17:15:03Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > The terrorists are probably observing our crumbling infrastructure and lack of congressional action about it and have decided to focus their energy elsewhere As always there is an onion article (or to be a bit more nuanced, if there isn’t an XKCD there is an onion article 😉 ) > **[FBI Uncovers Al-Qaeda Plot To Just Sit Back And Enjoy Collapse Of United States](https://www.theonion.com/fbi-uncovers-al-qaeda-plot-to-just-sit-back-and-enjoy-c-1819576375)** > > WASHINGTON—Putting the nation on alert against what it has described as a “highly credible terrorist threat,” the FBI announced today that it has uncovered a plot by members of al-Qaeda to sit back and enjoy themselves while the United States... Though I think in this case I don’t think you can even blame the state of US infrastructure. It did pretty well here and [the system worked and probably saved a lot of lives](https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/ntsb-dali-had-764-tons-of-hazardous-material-before-francis-scott-key-bridge-collapse/). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-darker-side-of-the-bridge-collapse/999569.md?page=2)