
Giant Concrete Arrows Across the American Landscape - tyskis
http://www.core77.com/blog/transportation/what_are_these_giant_concrete_arrows_across_the_american_landscape_25236.asp
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anxrn
A Google Maps collection of these.

[https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?source=gplus-
ogsb&ie=UTF8&oe...](https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?source=gplus-
ogsb&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=213732418950957933334.0004e1e9dedbfbfa2281f&dg=feature)

~~~
dionidium
Any particular reason most of the locations on that map are in the West?

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jaredandrews
_> since navigation charts of the day were fugazi..._

OT but Fugazi is the name of one of my favorite bands. In interviews I had
read that the word meant "a fucked up situation" but until now I had never
seen it actually used that way. Interesting choice of words, interesting
article too!

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toddmorey
I heard it used that way from growing up on Military posts. It just means any
fucked up situation. I'm not sure it's known, but I was told it was made
popular by troops in Vietnam. The most interesting theory I've seen is that it
may derive from fougasse (“land mine”). All of that said, it makes one of the
best band names ever.

~~~
swalkergibson
My understanding is that it is an acronym.

Fucked Up, Got Ambushed, Zipped In.

~~~
raldi
My understanding is that acronym stories like that are almost always
apocryphal.

~~~
teddyh
Yes:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backronym](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backronym)

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jonah
We had a tower with light in my town. We're right on the Pacific coast to the
tower was inland and behind a hill so it couldn't be mistaken for a lighthouse
by passing ships.

The tower and shed are still there and are used for communication antennas.

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jlgreco
> _behind a hill so it couldn 't be mistaken for a lighthouse by passing
> ships._

I wonder why they didn't just put it on ship maps as an additional lighthouse.

~~~
jedc
Lighthouses are regularly used for navigation, so they need to have almost
guaranteed up-time. Don't think that would always be the case for these
particular kinds of lights.

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shabble
See also: Satellite imaging test patterns[1]

[1] [http://www.clui.org/newsletter/winter-2013/photo-
calibration...](http://www.clui.org/newsletter/winter-2013/photo-calibration-
targets)

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lostlogin
The link at the end to concrete recycling is fascinating - having demolished
100 ton of concrete and steel in the back yard in the last year, it sounds
great to have a largely mess free system.

~~~
duskwuff
Unfortunately, it's a student design concept, not an actual product. (This
means there are likely to be major functional flaws in the design, as
feasibility is generally not a consideration in these design competitions.)

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phreanix
I wonder what semi permanent structures we are building now that future
generations will be looking at in 80+ years and wondering about our archaic
technology.

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dclusin
The waste water storage tanks at the Fukushima nuclear plant will probably
still be around and contaminated 80 years from now. Although I suspect that
isn't exactly what you had in mind.

~~~
sitkack
Just fill them with grain and have the birds eat it all. Problem gone.

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pessimizer
If the problem was "How can I spread radiation throughout the environment?"

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madaxe
Release a large number of cats to catch and eat the birds. Solved once and for
all. ONCE AND FOR ALL.

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callmeed
This is so cool. I'm taking my kids on a road trip around the west soon.

Does anyone know of other cool, historical things like this we could hunt for?

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gdw2
Search the Twelve Mile Circle blog:
[http://www.howderfamily.com/blog/](http://www.howderfamily.com/blog/) . He
covers many cool geo-odities.

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HCIdivision17
Is there any plausible reason such arrows would be broken up on purpose? In my
mind, I would want more things like this to exist; large physical failsafe
markers seem like a great idea.

~~~
Sanddancer
These arrows, probably not so much, as they are pretty much all in the middle
of nowhere. However, general concrete recycling is useful because breaking up
existing, unused concrete for works projects tends to be cheaper than, and is
more environmentally friendly than, quarrying.

~~~
javert
I don't get it. Doesn't concrete crack and break in a messy way? How could it
be re-used?

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286c8cb04bda
_> How could it be re-used?_

To somewhat over-simplify, concrete is made from three things: Cement, large
aggregate (big rocks), and small aggregate (little rocks). Broken up concrete
works pretty well as large aggregate.

~~~
javert
Awesome, thanks!

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reneherse
But if the arrows only point east to west, how did the pilots make the return
trip?

;)

~~~
gdw2
This one's pointing East... ? [https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?source=gplus-
ogsb&ie=UTF8&oe...](https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?source=gplus-
ogsb&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=213732418950957933334.0004e1e9dedbfbfa2281f&ll=40.704617,-112.253657&spn=0.000836,0.002064&t=h&z=20&vpsrc=6&iwloc=0004e1e9e47c301dc9749&dg=feature)

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mynameishere
Even modern pilots (without GPS) use rivers and highways. Why couldn't 1920s
pilots use railroads?

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ChuckMcM
Modern joke "What do you mean by IFR" it means "I follow Roads"

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jff
With the extra joke being that following roads is actually VFR and that you
most likely couldn't follow roads in IFR.

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JshWright
If that's the extra joke... What's the primary joke?

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jff
"Haha IFR is a fancy-sounding term but you really mean you just find a road
and follow it to your destination as though you were in a car"

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kghose
If we had the government make concrete arrows like that today, they would be
cracked into rubble in three years because the contractor cut as many corners
as they could. (Sorry, My cynical, the past was so much better moment for
today)

~~~
patdennis
Yeah! The g'ubment can't build anything right!

 _Uses GPS system to get home_

