Comments by "SmallSpoonBrigade" (@SmallSpoonBrigade) on "The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster | A Short Documentary | Fascinating Horror" video.

  1. It wasn't the cost cutting. They didn't understand harmonics at the time. The cost cutting measures likely wouldn't have been taken of they had a more modern understanding of harmonics. The more modern replacement bridges are designed to dissipate the energy.
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  2. Engineering is pretty much always about cutting as many corners as possible while still maintaining a safety margin. The problem here was that they didn't understand harmonics and as a result the bridge's resonance frequency was reachable by the wind. A bridge that was tuned for the location wouldn't have allowed itself to shake itself apart. But with the technology and knowledge of physics at the time, it want possible. To make matters worse, the insurance premiums were embezzled by a state employee because a bridge that new shouldn't need insurance. So the government had to pay to rebuild and clear up the mess rather than insurance.
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  3. The issue was that it was an unknown problem and the bridge was fine when it wasn't windy. They wouldn't have used that design if they had a more modern understanding of harmonics. Plus, doing retrofits at that time was much harder due to the lack of computers.
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