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Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a ship canal, which crosses the Isthmus of Panama at its narrowest point, between the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. Opened on August 15, 1914, has had a generously proportioned to shorten the distance and time of maritime communication, producing economic and commercial developments throughout most of the twentieth century. Provides a transit route short and relatively barata1 between these two great oceans, has influenced to some degree on the patterns of world trade has boosted growth in desarrollados1 countries and has given the world many remote areas that need the basic impulse for economic expansion.

United States and China are the main users of the Canal

History The history of the Panama Canal goes back to the early explorers Europeans in America, as the thin strip of land, the Isthmus of Panama is an ideal place to create a passage for shipping between the Pacific and Atlantic.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, technological advances and commercial pressures were such that the construction of a canal became viable proposal. A first attempt by France failed, but managed to make a preliminary excavation after the U.S. used, leading to the current Panama Canal in 1914.

Canal is operating in Panamanian hands, by the Treaty "Torrijos - Carter" on September 7, 1977 by U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Gen. Omar Torrijos Herrera came into force on 31 December 1999, and is working on its expansion from September 3, 2007.

Scheme Panama Canal

Background

The strategic location of the Isthmus of Panama and the short distance between the oceans led to several attempts over the centuries to create a route through isthmus. While most of the first projects consisted of an overland route connecting the ports.

The idea of \u200b\u200bbuilding the Panama Canal again in the sixteenth century, after the survey carried out by Columbus and Hernán Cortés. Jose de Acosta wrote in 1590 a report on the difficulty of uniting the two oceans and wanted some sailors and English explorers, "Some people have talked to excavate this area of \u200b\u200bsix miles and a sea together with the other [...]. That would flood the land because the sea is lower than the other. "

The idea of \u200b\u200bthe channel will remain on hold for a while not to reappear until the early nineteenth century, after the Prussian naturalist tour, Baron Alexander von Humboldt, who prepared a project to dig the isthmus between Chagres and Panama. The engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps presented, ten years later, the excavation project of the Panama Canal.

[edit] First

routes The Isthmus of Panama and was used by Native Americans before the European invasion of the fifteenth century. The first European explorers discovered ancient roads that crossed the isthmus, used by ancient civilizations and peoples and Ngobe Wounan.

English Stage

In 1514, Basque Núñez de Balboa, the first European explorer to see the eastern Pacific, built a route used to transport their vessels from Santa Maria la Antigua Darien on the Atlantic coast of Panama to San Miguel Bay in the Pacific. This route was 50 to 65 km long, but was quickly abandoned.

In November 1515, Captain Antonio Tello de Guzmán found a road through the isthmus from the Gulf of Panama to Panama, near the abandoned town of Nombre de Dios. This route had been used by natives for centuries and was viable. Was improved and paved by the English and became El Camino Real. The road was used to transport the gold to Portobello and from there take it to Spain and became the first major route

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In 1524, King Charles I suggest you dig a canal in Panama would be somewhere The trip to Ecuador and Peru were more short and allow ships avoid Cape Horn and its dangers, especially for the transport of gold. A first draft was 1529, but the political situation in Europe and the technological level of the time made it impossible.

of Portobello Road to the Pacific had its first issues in 1533 and Gaspar de Espinosa advised the king to build a new route. His plan is to build a road from the City of Panama Pacific terminus of the Camino Real and the town of Cruces, on the banks of the Chagres River and 30 kilometers from Panama. Once in the Chagres River, carrying its cargo ships to the Caribbean Sea. The road was built and called Camino de Cruces and Las Cruces Trail. At the mouth of the Chagres River, the small town of Chagres is enhanced and the strength of San Lorenzo was built on a promontory overlooking the entire area. Chagres, treasures and other charges were transported to the warehouse of the king in Portobelo.

The route will run for several years and was once widely used in 1840 following the California gold rush.

Portuguese theories

The first Portuguese navigator who was interested in building a canal in Central America was Magallanes, who in 1520 showed that the path that was used was too dangerous and saw the need to find an easier way to reach Sur.8 Seas few years later, in 1550, another Portuguese navigator, Antonio Galvao, thought that the only way create a shortcut to the South Sea would be an artificial way and that the only possible location would be: Tehuantepec, Nicaragua, Panama and Darien

First trip across the Channel on 15 August 1914

The Scottish expedition

The Darien project is another attempt to establish a route between the oceans. In July 1698, five ships set out from Leith Scotland to establish a colony in Darien and build a route for trade with China and Japan. The settlers arrived in November to Darien and called Caledonia. But the expedition was ill-prepared for the adverse conditions they found there, were local diseases and poor organization. The colonists finally abandoned New Edinburgh, leaving behind them four tombs.

Unfortunately for them, another relief expedition had already left Scotland and came to the colony in November 1699. Found the same problems, as well as an attack and a blockade of the English. On April 12, 1700, Caledonia was abandoned last.

William III Attempted

In 1695 William Patterson acquired the right to build a canal in Darien English under the banner of William III. However, the project disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

Rail

In the nineteenth century, shows that the way to Las Cruces is not enough, it needed a faster and less expensive to transport across the isthmus. Given the difficulty of building a canal, a railway seemed the ideal solution.

studies began in 1827. Several projects were proposed and sought money. By mid-century shows other factors that encouraged the project: the annexation of California by the U.S. in 1848 and the movement of settlers to the West Coast, in ever greater numbers, it increases the demand for a quick route between the oceans. The California Gold Rush also makes further increase the movement of settlers westward.

The Panama railroad was built through the isthmus between 1850 and 1855, with 75 km long, from Colon on the Atlantic coast to Panama in the Pacific. The project represents an engineering masterpiece of its time, carried out under very difficult: it is estimated that more than 12,000 people died in its construction, the majority of cholera and malaria.

Until the opening of the canal, the railroad carried the largest cargo volume per unit length than any other railroad in the world. The existence of the railway is a key factor in the selection of Panama for the construction of the canal.

The French project

1888 German map showing the proposed route for the Panama Canal and the alternative route of the canal in Nicaragua.

The idea of \u200b\u200bbuilding a canal across Central America was suggested again by a German scientist Alexander von Humboldt, leading to a renewed interest in the early nineteenth century. In 1819, the English government authorized the construction of a canal and creating a company to build it.

The Republic of New Granada, now Colombia, in 1839 gave a grant for the first Once a French company, to establish a line of communication from Panama City to any point on the Atlantic coast. France conducted field studies and the results were positive enough for the French Prime Minister Guizot, to send an officer, Napoleon Garella, in finding that optimism. The officer found nothing on the ground that could confirm such optimism, but on the contrary, stressed the difficulty of the undertaking, which prompted the French government to lose interest in the channel, giving the company.

The project was in the air for some time. Between 1850 and 1875 were carried out many studies, which led to the conclusion that the two were more favorable ways: through Panama (then part of Colombia) and through Nicaragua; A third option was to build a road across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico.

In May 1879, the Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps who had completed the excavation of the Suez Canal, presented at the Society of Geography of Paris his draft canal without locks, which would connect the Atlantic with the Pacific Ocean by the Isthmus of Panama. Lesseps draft was accepted and purchased the rights to the grant of ten million francs. The cost of the works was estimated at 600 million francs, and founded a company the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interoceanique of Panama, which raised the funds necessary to run the project. On December 30, 1879 Ferdinand de Lesseps arrived in Panama with his family and some time later went to New York, where he was received politely, but U.S. leaders did not hide the fact that they would oppose by all means, in enterprise.

Work began in 1881, face several challenges: ground accidents, epidemics, malaria and yellow fever, high mortality among staff, etc. The work was delayed, and Lesseps called small investors through business men as Baron de Reinach and Cornelius Herz, who did not hesitate to bribe the press, corrupt ministers and MPs to get public funding. The case was discovered and led to the scandal of Panama, while Gustave Eiffel, consulted on the project, he questioned its design and concluded that the channel should include locks to fit the topography of the region. This decision was made particularly since the bulk of the Culebra was the main obstacle in the path of the canal.

Ferdinand de Lesseps

initially chose the option of a sea level canal as he did with the channel Suez, however, make a project of this kind in Panama meant having to go through the Massif de la Culebra and therefore be forced to dig a huge trench in a field made up of different layers.

Another problem occurred in September 1882 when an earthquake shook the isthmus and had to stop work and railway traffic for some time. This event led to a drop in company stock in Paris.

Despite these setbacks, in 1886, during his inspection, Ferdinand de Lesseps was very pleased with the progress. Spending a lock canal enabled the company save a lot of money then, success was almost certain. However, since 1886, opponents of Lesseps not left in peace and during this time, in Paris the intrigues against the company became increasingly open and affected public opinion, which proved disastrous because the money ran out and in 1888 the coffers were empty. Lesseps was forced to stop all work and abandon the project, this will be the end of the "French Channel." Fall

bankruptcy on February 4, 1889, the company de Lesseps was assumed by the chief engineer of the construction of the canal, Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla, who was carrying out further work Eiffel according to the draft. Without financial support, Bunau-Rod goes to the U.S. government, which decided to assign the operation and construction of the Panama Canal and control of the area around it. The Hay-Varilla Bunau-validated this operation and was signed on November 18, 1903, almost immediately after the revolution that led to the separation of Panama from Colombia.

Jobs in the Massif de la Culebra in 1907

U.S. administration and return control Panama canal

The new republic of Panama, represented by Bunau-Varilla, U.S. grants the perpetual right channel and a large area of \u200b\u200b8 kilometers on each side of it in exchange for a sum of $ 10 million and an annual income of $ 250 000 [citation needed].

The Hay-Bunau-Varilla, however, it is answered in the following decades. Panama wants to regain control of the Canal Zone. Negotiations began in 1970 between the U.S. government and the Panamanian authorities. On September 7, 1977 President Jimmy Carter and the Chief of Government Omar Torrijos of Panama signed the Torrijos-Carter Treaty, returned to Panama complete control of the canal on December 31, 1999.

On 7 January 1914, the floating crane Alexander La Valley made the first complete transit through the Canal. However, it was not until August 15, 1914 when the steamship Ancon officially opened the Panama Canal. The channel began operating 24 hours a day in May 1963 with the installation of a new fluorescent lighting in the court Gaillard or Culebra Cut and the three locks.

The channel is currently administered by the Panama Canal Authority.

Model of the Corozal Draga, who participated in the construction of the Canal since 1912, exhibited at the Museo del Canal.

Chronology to 1999

1880: First attempt at building a canal to Panama by a French company.

1902: Signature of the Spooner law by President Roosevelt. U.S.. UU. agreed to resume construction of the Panama Canal, after the failure of the French company.

1903 (January): Preparation of the Hay-Herran Treaty on the Law of the construction of the Panama Canal by the U.S.. UU.

1903 (August): The rejection of the Hay-Herran Treaty by the Congress of Colombia.

1903 (November): Proclamation of the separation of Panama from Colombia. The Independent Republic of Panama is recognized by the U.S. Congress. UU.

1903 (November): Signature of the Hay-Varilla Bunau by the new governor of Panama, Philippe Bunau-Villa. U.S. now have the authorization to continue construction of the Panama Canal. Also, the territories on both sides of the channel and full sovereignty in the Canal Zone.

1904: Reopening of the works of the Panama Canal by the U.S.. UU. Establishing Isthmian Canal Commission for its construction.

1914: Completion of construction of the Panama Canal, symbolized on 15 August 1914 by the passage of the steamer Ancon. Ceases to exist Isthmian Canal Commission. Start the Governor of the Canal Zone as a new entity manager.

1999: The Panama Canal Commission ceases to exist and initiate the administration through the Panama Canal Authority

Miraflores Locks

Administration

The Republic of Panama assumed full responsibility for the administration, operation and maintenance of the Panama Canal at noon on December 31, 1999. The government agency called the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) established by the Constitution of the Republic of Panama, organized by Act 19 of June 11, 1997 is responsible for the administration of the canal.

Under the constitution of Panama, the canal is a birthright of the nation, which can not be sold, transferred, or mortgaged, or in any other way encumbered or transferred. The legal regime established for the ACP's main purpose is to preserve the conditions of operation of the Panama Canal.

is invested annually about ten million dollars in staff training programs on the operation and maintenance of the Canal.

Chronology since 1999

1999: Starts the administration through the Panama Canal Authority

2005: Implemented a new system of tonnage measurement based on the TEU.

2006 (April): We present the proposed expansion of the Panama Canal through construction of a third set of locks.

2006 (October): Approved by referendum the proposed expansion.

2007 (September): Initiate the expansion work in Paradise Hill.

2009 (July), is awarded the main contract extension program to Consorcio Grupo Unidos through the Canal, led by Sacyr Vallehermoso.

Tolls

The highest toll paid normal transit the canal is U.S. $ 317,142, paid on May 7, 2008 by the cargo ship MSC Fabienne15 previous record was 16 cruise Norwegian Pearl, Norwegian Cruise Line company, tax paying U.S. $ 313,000 on 7 October 2007.17 The record for the lowest toll was established in 1928 by Richard Halliburton, who swam the Channel paying a toll of only $ 0,36.18 His journey 10 days began on August 14 and ended on 23 of the mes.19 The average toll rate is about $ 54,000.

In order to improve the quality of service offered to its customers, and because of the congestion that is suffering the channel until the expansion is completed in 2014, the Panama Canal Authority implemented a reservation service that offers traffic quotas for maximum of 24 ships per day who want to ensure that transit time and a journey of 18 hours or less. The quotas are available via Internet booking up to a year in advance, and the applicant must pay a special rate in addition to normal toll. Also available is the fit number 25 that is allocated by auction to the highest bidder. The record for the highest rate paid by the booking system of quotas and auctions of the Panama Canal was U.S. $ 220,300 and occurred on August 24, 2006. The client was Erikoussa Panamax tanker, 20 that averted a row of 90 ships was formed due to maintenance of the Gatun locks, thus avoiding a delay of seven days. The booking fee would normally have been only U.S. $ 13,400

Ship Panamax in the Miraflores Locks

Infrastructure

During the construction of Canal were removed more than 183 million cubic meters of material originally excavated that if you put on a train platform, I would travel around the world four times.

From a technical standpoint, the Panama Canal is one of the greatest achievements of modern engineering. Atlantic to the Pacific is 80 miles long, has a depth of 12.8 meters in the Atlantic and Pacific 13.7 meters, the width is from 91 to 300 meters. It has two port terminals, one in each ocean, three sets of twin locks, Miraflores, Gatun and Pedro Miguel, and one of the largest artificial lakes in the world, the Gatun, which covers 425 square kilometers and is formed by an earthen dam built through the channel of the Chagres River.

Canal Locks.

Canal Expansion

On 24 April 2006 former President Martin Torrijos Espino formally announced the proposal for the expansion of the Panama Canal through the construction of a third set of locks and navigation channel expansion. This project is based on the construction of new locks, one on the Atlantic side and another on the Pacific side of the canal, to allow passage of Post-Panamax size vessels, which, since beyond the Panamax size, currently can not surf the waterway. The approximate cost of this operation according to the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) will be 5,250 million dollars. Recent

adaptations internal regulations ACP and the National Environmental Authority of Panama (ANAM) eliminate bureaucratic hurdles in order to plan to build a third set of locks.

The future of this project has been decided by a national referendum, which was announced on July 24, 2006 by President Martin Torrijos and held on 22 October 2006. The results of the referendum gave a 76.83% of the votes in favor of the expansion project and 21.76% against.

works Panama Canal Expansion kicked off on Monday, September 3, 2007, with the detonation of Cartagena hill located on the banks of the canal. It is intended inaugurate the new locks on 15 August 2014, date will mark the first anniversary of the Panama Canal.

Conceptual view of the third set of locks currently under construction

Traffic

Most of the traffic that crosses the channel moves between the Atlantic coast of the United States and the Far East, while traffic between Europe and the West Coast of the United States and Canada are the second major trade route of the waterway. However, other regions and countries, including neighboring countries in Central and South America depend proportionally much more of this vital artery to promote its economic advance and increase trade.

The main products passing through the canal are: grain, cargo containers, oil and derivatives.

Since its opening on August 15, 1914, the Canal has provided a quality transit service more than 700,000 boats. Although in recent years has been an increase in the number and size of ships passing, through the implementation of enhancements designed to meet traffic demand the average time a boat in the waters of the Canal is still less than 24 hours.

Traffic through the Panama Canal (years 1980-2005, text in French).

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dreams carriers and cold She


street I saw a little girl frozen and shivering in their light clothing and with little prospect of getting a decent meal. I grew angry and said to God: "Why do you allow these things? Why not do anything to fix it? "

For a while, God was silent. But that night, suddenly, he replied: "Certainly I've done. I've done to you. "

(Anthony de Mello)

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wings to fly

eagle nestling gently pushed to the edge of the nest. His heart raced with conflicting emotions at the same time he felt the resistance of children to their insistent pushing.

Why the thrill of flying has to start with the fear of falling?, She thought.

The nest was placed right at the top of a rocky peak. Below, only the air gap and to support the wings of the children.

What if this does not work right now?, They said.

Despite the fear, the eagle knew that this was the time. Its mission was given to be completed, yet remained one final task: the push. The eagle was filled with courage.

While children found no its wings would not have purpose in their lives. While they do not learn to fly not understand the privilege I was born an eagle.

The push was the best gift she could offer. It was her supreme act of love. Then, one by one, she plunged into the abyss.

And then flew!.

(Author unknown)

Sometimes in our lives, circumstances dictate the role of the eagle. They are the ones that push us toward the abyss.

And who knows ... maybe they are the very circumstances, which make us discover that have wings to fly ...

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Legend has it that a teacher walked the roads with his apprentice.

One day, arrive in a poor house by the road and come to ask for food.

With good will, the humble inhabitants offer them what little they had.

seeing them as poor, the Master asked: "How do they live?" And the landlord tells him: "Well you see, we have that cow that gives milk. We had a drink and the rest do cheese sell in the village and, with what we get from the sale, we buy what we can. We are poor, but thanks to the vaquita we live. "

After a nap on one side of the house and while it is still night, the Master awakens the learner to monitor progress. As soon as we moved away from the house, he said, "Go back to the house, took the cow and throw it over the cliff."

The boy was frightened, but, true to his vow of obedience, complied with the orders of the Master. His sentiment was horror, and could never overcome the trauma caused this cruel instruction in spirit.

Years later, this young adult learner already having abandoned the Master, took the lot to go through the same path. His spirit could not but overwhelm me to recall the terrible deed he had done and looked for the poor house to learn what had been the fate of the humble family. It cost

find ... where before had been the humble home was now a beautiful house with a landscaped garden, a garden, flowers and various barnyard animals.

"Poor people," he thought to himself "... with my blind obedience, to kill his cow caused them irreparable harm and had to go ...." He walked over and clapped his hands for attention of the residents.

An older man came towards him, her face showed happiness and his clothes were neat and nice ... I was vaguely familiar.

"Lord" he asked, "I could tell what was the family who lived in this house years ago?"

"Well ... You see ... we live in this house forever, never belonged to another family"
Surprised young
insisted: "But, here lived a humble family to which I had the chance to meet many years ago, perhaps they are the same family who knew?, how much progress made for?"

"Ohhh ... I do not remember ... but I have no problem asking to tell ... we lived in a cow that gave us milk and with it we made do for a living. One day, the cow died Rumbled in the Ravine and had to sharpen our wits to survive
. My sons started a garden and its products fed us and allowed us to supply the local market, I learned the arts of pottery and became a famous craftsman, today come from afar to buy my pieces, my wife took up their sewing and garments are also required to thrive miles and hardships of poverty over for us ...

Do you think that if this family still has his cow, where would be today?

Many of us also have cows in our lives. Ideas, excuses and justifications that keep us bound to mediocrity, giving us a false sense of being good when compared to us is a world of opportunities to discover. Opportunities that we can only appreciate once we have "killed" our "cows."

(author unknown)

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Cow Brahmins and the lion

In one village there were four Brahmins who were friends. Three had reached the edge of what men can know, but lacked sanity. The other disdained to know, just had wisdom. One day they met. What good clothes, they said, if we do not travel, if we fail the favor of kings, if not make money? Above all, travel.

But when they had come a distance, said Major:

"One of us, the room is a simple, no more than sanity. Without knowledge, with mere sanity, one obtains the favor of kings. Therefore, we will not share with him our earnings. Let him return home.

The second said:

"My intelligent friend, you lack wisdom. Go home.

The third said:

"This is not so proceeding. As children we played together. Come, my noble friend. You'll have your share of our profits.

continued on the road in a forest and found the bones of a lion. One said:

-Good opportunity to exercise our knowledge. Here's a dead animal; resucitémoslo.

The first said: "I know

compose the skeleton.

The second said: "I can provide

skin, flesh and blood.

The third said: "I know

spice.

The first composed the skeleton, the second provided the skin, flesh and blood. The third was about to breathe life when the wise man observed:

"It's a lion. If you raised, we will kill them all.

"You are very simple," said the other. I will not be that frustrated the work of wisdom.

"Then," the man looks sane, I get on this tree.

When he had done, they revived the lion, he rose and killed all three. A prudent man waited to put out the lion, to lower the tree and go home.
(Panchatantra)

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A climber took three days to climb a mountain, but to reach the top and see the beauty of the landscape, considered paid for their efforts ... A helicopter driver laughed

"I just run my machine in a minute without getting tired I am up to no avail.

did so. When he was next to the climber, said:

- do not know why this bland landscape are beautiful!

(Alejandro Jodorowsky)

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mountaineer empty tea cup

A monk was always a cup of tea beside her bed. At night, before bed, put it upside down and in the morning, I turned. When a novice asked puzzled about the practice, the monk explained that every night symbolically emptied the cup of life, as a sign of acceptance of his own mortality. The ritual reminded him that day had done what they should and therefore was prepared in the event of death surprised him. And every morning put the cup on his back to accept the gift of a new day. The monk lived life day by day, recognizing each morning which was a wonderful gift, but also was ready to leave this world at the end of each day.

(Lou Marinoff)

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The Blind

was once a blind woman who was to visit a healer.

- What's the matter, beautiful woman, I asked the healer.

"For God did not give me the hearing, said the blind.

"Take this ointment and put it in his eyes, said the healer, because it is not fair for me to see everything and you with those beautiful eyes but see nothing.

The blind put the ointment in the eyes and within minutes he began to see.

- God bless you, healer, because you helped me see! To see this beautiful sky full of stars, to see this beautiful moon, to see these beautiful trees, this beautiful sea view, to see these beautiful flowers so many times I've smelled and imagined, to see these wonderful people, to see this beautiful land. Thanks for sharing the beauty of your world and love to you live! Stunned

remained the healer to behold the beauty around him and described him blind he replied:

"Truly I tell you, dear blind, more blind you I was ... And did not know!

(Juan Latorre Navas)

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The two brothers


Two brothers traveled together, around noon spread themselves in the woods to rest.

When they awoke, they saw near them a stone with an inscription, the decoded and this was what they read:

"To whoever finds this stone walk through the woods to the east; find their way into a river it crosses, to the other side will see a bear with her cubs, who take the cubs and escape to the mountain without looking back. You'll see a house, and find the happiness that house. "

Then said the smallest to largest:

" Come together, maybe we can cross the river, take the cubs, taking them to the house and find both joy.

But the biggest replied: "No

go in search of bears, and I advise you to do so. First, because no proof of the veracity of the inscription, which perhaps is a joke, and second, because it is very possible that we have misread, and third, while admitting that's the truth, spend the night in the forest, the river will not find us astray. And even if Hallasan the river, can we pass? Perhaps it is too wide and swift current. But, as you pass, you think easy thing to take over the cubs? The bear we slit her throat and instead of happiness, find death. Moreover, although consiguiéramos seize the cubs, we would not be possible to escape without descansásemos only after having reached the mountain. Finally, there is what happiness is found in that house, perhaps it is a happiness than anything we can do.

And the younger brother said:

"I'm not your opinion, no object that was not written on this stone. The meaning of the inscription is clear and precise. Of course, do not run as much risk. Second, if we can not let another discover this stone, find the joy in our place and we do not get anything. On the other hand, nothing gets in the world without effort. And besides, I do not want to spend a coward.

To which the elder brother said:

"You know the proverb:" The greed breaks the sack 'or the other one: "A bird in hand than a hundred in the air."

the child replied:

"And I've heard:" Nothing ventured nothing gained " and again: "Under a stone still no water flows." But I think it's time to leave.

marched the child and the other was.

Further afield, in the forest, the child found a river, he went through, and along the shore saw a bear sleeping, took the cubs and without turning his head, ran up the mountain.

As he reached the top, a crowd of people came to him and transportole to the city, where he was appointed king.

reigned five years, the sixth, another sovereign stronger than him, declared war, seized the city and expelled him.

So younger brother missed again and returned to the house of the eldest, who lived peacefully in the country, rich or poor.

Both brothers felt much like telling your life.

"Well see," the Major said to him that I was right. I've lived without incident, and you, you were king, think how your life was troubled.

the child answered: "No regret

my adventure in the forest, certain that now I am nothing, but I have to embellish my old age, a heart full of memories, while you do not have them.

(Leo Tolstoy)

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Two numbers less


A man walks into a shoe and a friendly salesperson is about:

- How I can serve you, sir?
- would like a pair of black shoes as the showcase.
- Why not, sir. Let's see: the number you want to be ... forty-one. Right?
- No. I want a thirty-nine, please.
- Excuse me, sir. Twenty years ago working on this and their number should be a forty-one. Maybe forty, but not a thirty-nine.
- Thirty-nine, please.
- Excuse me, allow me to measure your foot?
- Measure what you want, but I want a pair of shoes of thirty-nine.

Seller drawer pulls this strange device used shoe salesmen to measure feet and welcome, proclaim "See? What I said, a forty-one! ".

- Tell me who will pay for the shoes, you or me?
- You.
- Good. So what brings me thirty-nine?

The seller, between resignation and surprised, to search for the pair of shoes in the number thirty-nine. Along the way he realizes what is happening: the shoes are not for humans, but which are surely to make a gift.

- Lord, here they are: the thirty-nine, and black.
- Can I have a shoehorn?
- Are they going to get?
- Yes, of course.
- Are for you?
- Yes! Can I bring a shoehorn?

The shoe is essential to get that foot into that shoe. After several ridiculous attempts and positions, the customer gets to put the whole foot inside the shoe.

Between moans and grunts walking a few steps on the carpet, with increasing difficulty.

- Okay. I take them. The seller

hurt their feet only imagine the client's fingers crushed in the shoes of the thirty-nine.

- Is the wrap?
- No, thanks. I take them places.

The customer leaves the store and walk, as it may, the three blocks that separate it of their work. Works as a cashier in a bank.

At four in the afternoon, after spending more than six hours standing in those shoes, his face is contorted, his eyes reddened and tears fell copiously from his eyes.

mate next box has been watching all afternoon and is worried about him.

- What is it? Are you sick?
- No. These are the shoes.
- What happens to the shoes?
- I pinch.
- What happened? Have you wet?
- No. There are two sizes smaller than my foot.
- Who are they?
- Mine.
- I do not understand. Do not your feet hurt?
- I are killing your feet.
- And then?
- I'll explain, "he says, swallowing. I do not live a life of great satisfaction. In fact, in recent times, I have very few nice moments.
- And?
- I'm killing with these shoes. I suffer terribly, it is true ... But within a few hours, when it comes to my house and remove them, can you imagine the pleasure you feel? What a pleasure, man! What a pleasure!

(Jorge Bucay)

How Much Should My Dachshund Sleep

Rollercoaster

The roller coaster is named after the amusement developed during the winter in Russia, where there were large wooden toboggan sled descended sliding on snow. Ironically, the Russians called Amerikánskiye Gorki (Russian: Американские горки) or "American mountain." They were also known in France, where train cars added to roads in disuse, and finally came to the U.S. where they are called Roller coaster and are a popular attraction designed to fairs, amusement parks and theme parks. It is essentially a rail system, which form a track or (via) (or several) that rises and falls in specially designed circuits, sometimes with one or more investments (including the broad range of investment the best known is the loop) cabezabajo travelers leaving briefly. The track does not have a complete circuit (when open circuit is "shuttle"), although Some purists insist that there is a real roller coaster. (Note that not all the attractions that are passed through a roller coaster track). Most coasters have cars (cars) for two, four, six, eight or even 20 passengers each, where they sit to travel around the circuit. The set of all cars (cars) together is a train.

Diagram of a typical roller coaster fair, ascend with chain.

Dragon Khan roller coaster, Port Aventura, Spain.

Mechanics

Wheels is also important to maintain good lubrication, both bearings, and sometimes on the road, as this is done to overcome friction, and losing too much speed on the course.

Control

Some roller coasters can operate two or more trains at once. These sights use a braking system that prevents collisions between trains. Locking systems work by dividing the track into sections or sections. Allow only one train each way to turn, will have pieces of track half way where you can stop the train if necessary. This can be done in multiple ways, including the stop at the station, stopping at the hill climb, or using intermediate or final stages of the circuit. Sensors at the end of each section detected when the train passes, and the computer knows which runs the attraction stages are occupied by a train. When the computer (computer) detects that a train will enter a stretch that is being used by another train, using the best available method to prevent it from normally stop the train to come. This can cause a cascade effect when multiple trains are stopped at the end of each section due to the delay of one of them.

In order to prevent such problems, operators of attraction are the appropriate procedure to release the train from the station, taking into account waiting times. A common model used in attractions with two trains, is to stop the train No 1, who just finished the tour, just before the season, throwing the train number 2 (which has been charged for the trip No. 1), allowing No. 1 entering the season, losing to travelers, and climb to new travelers. That is, while a train makes the journey, the other is in the station carrying passengers. The animation explains this graphically.

Braking

A roller coaster built under engineering design perfect, you have enough kinetic energy, or motion, or energy to complete the whole circuit and with good speed, the final brakes completely stop the train leaving the station. A stop at the end of the tour is the most common method to stop a roller coaster. There are several types of brakes, tires and magnetic, tires, brake pads squeeze a passing train and the van stopping friction. The magnetic, more advanced, is a magnet located on the brakes, the train is a copper plate in the bottom that passed between them, produce electric currents, friction magnetic (eddy current, eddy current) are gently stopping the train, they act in direct proportion to speed, without electrical input, so they are softer and insurance.

History The first prototype coaster with gravity trains were many changes in elevation in 1880. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first roller coaster on January 20, 1885. These primitive coasters were used by the railway companies to offer entertainment on weekends, when there were fewer passengers. By 1912, the first coaster designed lower friction by John Miller, also called the Thomas Edison of roller coasters. Then, roller coasters spread across America and around the world. Possibly the best known historical roller coaster, Cyclone, was opened at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York in 1927. As Cyclone, all the former were made of wood. Many old wooden roller coasters, are currently operating in parks such as Kennywood near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Big Dipper at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, England, UK.

The Great Depression marked the end of the first golden age of roller coasters and parks. Amusement parks in general, fell into a crisis not recovered until 1972, when they built Racer at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio (near Cincinnati). Designed by John Allen, Racer instant success followed by a second golden age that lasts until today.

In 1959, the newly opened Disneyland theme park introduced one of the greatest innovations of this world: tubular steel. Matterhorn Bobsleds, was the first coaster to use a track with rails of tubular steel. Differently from traditional wooden rails, these tracks can be bent into any direction, which allows to incorporate loops, corkscrews, and many other elements in their designs. Most modern roller coasters are built with steel, but no construction has been abandoned in wood, in fact, good parks usually have at least one wooden coaster.

Some of the greatest innovations of today's roller coasters are due to changes in the design of the cars (wagons). In some consist only of the harness (just as if it were reversed, but it is not), have no ground with passengers legs dangling in the air and allowing an unobstructed view of the ground (many meters) and route ( at high speed), which gives more excitement. In others, it travels up. In other sitting traveling in the opposite direction to the advancement of backward (also called backwards) with what the adventurers do not know in which direction the train will move at the next corner. Another innovation beyond the roller coasters are flying, where walkers are lying face down (most of the way) and are only restrained by a harness, which gives a feeling of flying.

In 1992 he opened the first inverted roller coaster, Batman The Ride at the amusement park Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. This type of roller coaster is currently very popular, almost every park has one. The current tendency to make increasingly complex designs.

In 2004 was built on a Hyper Six Flags Mexico Roller Coaster manufactured by Chance Morgan, this mountain made history as the construction of foundations and the complete installation was carried out by Mexico, in a record time of 24 weeks, led by Mr. Carlos Romano, one of the only Latino Engineers and perhaps Only in Mexico with extensive experience in Maintenance and Construction of Roller Coasters and generally specialized in large parks.

Colossus in Thorpe Park, UK, is currently the roller coaster with more investment, ten in total, exceeding the previous record held by the Dragon Khan.

Security

coasters are designed to feel risk, besides speed, air-times and strength G. That's why when accidents happen, attract public attention, as happened fatally on September 5, 2003 in the seemingly mild attraction Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland California Adventure, which alarmed the whole U.S..

Statistically, roller coasters are very safe. The Committee for Safety of Consumer Products U.S. (Consumer Product Safety Commission) estimates that 134 park guests required hospitalization in 2001 and deaths in the general leisure attractions are about two per year. According to a study by Six Flags, there were 319 million visits in 2001. The study concluded that the visitor had a chance of one of more than two hundred fifty million died in the park, and injury rates in children's attractions, golf and flying chairs is greater than that of the big rides. In short, it is more dangerous to travel by car to the park to stay in it or enjoy its attractions.

In 1999, a passenger weighing over 180 kg could not close properly harness (safety bar) and was thrown from Superman coaster at Six Flags Darien Lake, with serious injuries. Besides this, there was a similar accident in 2004 when a man over 100 kg with cerebral palsy went to Six Flags New England and in the last corner of the route, was thrown and died in the accident or that recently occurred at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville KY this. where a 13-year-old lost both legs when a brake cable broke off impacting people on board the accident causing the girl who lost limbs. Also in recent months also a man shot out of the attraction Stampida in Port Aventura, a theme park that is north east of Spain in the province of Tarragona in the town of Salou. The victim, a male canary, 32, not obey the warnings that limited the use of this roller coaster attraction of obese people over a certain weight. The investigation concluded that excess weight of the victim could be the cause of the failure of the handrail. The victim died of multiple injuries by falling head. The strange thing was that when the pull came into place, everything was in perfect order, the bar below the belt as well and everything normal. Critics maintain that, apart from good security there, there are still accidents and many of them avoidable. Most attractions accidents due to reckless behavior by users.

In recent years, controversy has focused on the safety of some attractions increasingly wild and extreme. There are suspicions that speed (both in turns as linearly) the passenger can cause slight changes in the brain. In 2003 the Brain Injury Association of America concluded in a study that "There is evidence that roller coasters have some risk to the health of some people at some point. Equally evident is that the vast majority of travelers will not have problems." Anyway, most parks warn with no health problems which should be mounted to avoid risks such as heart problems or back neck, being pregnant, or having surgery recently.

An inverted: Jerudong Park Playground, Brunei.

Riding Expedition GeForce, a megacoáster in Holiday Park, Germany.

CI Yoseph BUITRAGO 18257871 CRF

Davcom Cnet Cn200 Pro Fast Ethernet Adapter

The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay Into the Pacific Ocean. As part of Both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, it connects the city of San Francisco on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula to Marin County. The Golden Gate Bridge the longest suspension WAS bridge span in the world when it was completed during the year 1937, and has become one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco, California, and of the United States. Despite its span length being surpassed by eight other bridges since its completion, it still has the second longest suspension bridge main span in the United States, after the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York City. It has been declared one of the modern Wonders of the World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The Frommers travel guide considers the Golden Gate Bridge the "possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world" (although Frommers also bestows the most photographed honor on Tower Bridge in London, England).

History

Ferry service

Before the bridge was built, the only practical short route between San Francisco and what is now Marin County was by boat across a section of San Francisco Bay. Ferry service began as early as 1820, with regularly scheduled service beginning in the 1840s for purposes of transporting water to San Francisco. The Sausalito Land and Ferry Company service, launched in 1867, eventually became the Golden Gate Ferry Company, a Southern Pacific Railroad subsidiary, the largest ferry operation in the world by the late 1920s. Once for railroad passengers and customers only, Southern Pacific's automobile ferries became very profitable and important to the regional economy. The ferry crossing between the Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco and Sausalito in Marin County took approximately 20 minutes and cost US$1.00 per vehicle, a price later reduced to compete with the new bridge. The trip from the San Francisco Ferry Building took 27 minutes.

Many wanted to build a bridge to connect San Francisco to Marin County. San Francisco was the largest American city still served primarily by ferry boats. Because it did not have a permanent link with communities around the bay, the city's growth rate was below the national average. Many experts said that a bridge couldn’t be built across the 6,700 ft (2,042 m) strait. It had strong, swirling tides and currents, with water 500 ft (150 m) in depth at the center of the channel, and frequent strong winds. Experts said that ferocious winds and blinding fogs would prevent construction and operation.

Golden Gate with Fort Point in foreground, circa 1891

Conception

Although the idea of a bridge spanning the Golden Gate was not new, the proposal that eventually took place was made in a 1916 San Francisco Bulletin article by former engineering student James Wilkins. San Francisco's City Engineer estimated the cost at $100 million, impractical for the time, and fielded the question to bridge engineers of whether it could be built for less. One who responded, Joseph Strauss, was an ambitious but dreamy engineer and poet who had, for his graduate thesis, designed a 55-mile (89 km) long railroad bridge across the Bering Strait. At the time, Strauss had completed some 400 drawbridges—most of which were inland—and nothing on the scale of the new project. Strauss's initial drawings were for a massive cantilever on each side of the strait, connected by a central suspension segment, which Strauss promised could be built for $17 million.

Local authorities agreed to proceed only on the assurance that Strauss alter the design and accept input from several consulting project experts.[citation needed] A suspension-bridge design was considered the most practical, because of recent advances in metallurgy.

Strauss spent more than a decade drumming up support in Northern California. The bridge faced opposition, including litigation, from many sources. The Department of War was concerned that the bridge would interfere with ship traffic; the navy feared that a ship collision or sabotage to the bridge could block the entrance to one of its main harbors. Unions demanded guarantees that local workers would be favored for construction jobs. Southern Pacific Railroad, one of the most powerful business interests in California, opposed the bridge as competition to its ferry fleet and filed a lawsuit against the project, leading to a mass boycott of the ferry service. In May 1924, Colonel Herbert Deakyne held the second hearing on the Bridge on behalf of the Secretary of War in a request to use Federal land for construction. Deakyne, on behalf of the Secretary of War, approved the transfer of land needed for the bridge structure and leading roads to the "Bridging the Golden Gate Association" and both San Francisco County and Marin County, pending further bridge plans by Strauss. Another ally was the fledgling automobile industry, which supported the development of roads and bridges to increase demand for automobiles.

The bridge's name was first used when the project was initially discussed in 1917 by M.M. O'Shaughnessy, city engineer of San Francisco, and Strauss. The name became official with the passage of the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District Act by the state legislature in 1923.

Preliminary discussions leading to the eventual building of the Golden Gate Bridge were held on January 13, 1923, at a special convention in Santa Rosa, CA. The Santa Rosa Chamber was charged with considering the necessary steps required to foster the construction of a bridge across the Golden Gate by then Santa Rosa Chamber President Frank Doyle. On June 12, the Santa Rosa Chamber voted to endorse the actions of the "Bridging the Golden Gate Association" by attending the meeting of the Boards of Supervisors in San Francisco on June 23 and by requesting that the Board of Supervisors of Sonoma County also attend. By 1925, the Santa Rosa Chamber had assumed responsibility for circulating bridge petitions as the next step for the formation of the Golden Gate Bridge

Design

Strauss was chief engineer in charge of overall design and construction of the bridge project. However, because he had little understanding or experience with cable-suspension designs, responsibility for much of the engineering and architecture fell on other experts.

Irving Morrow, a relatively unknown residential architect, designed the overall shape of the bridge towers, the lighting scheme, and Art Deco elements such as the streetlights, railing, and walkways. The famous International Orange color was originally used as a sealant for the bridge. Many locals persuaded Morrow to paint the bridge in the vibrant orange color instead of the standard silver or gray, and the color has been kept ever since.

Senior engineer Charles Alton Ellis, collaborating remotely with famed bridge designer Leon Moisseiff, was the principal engineer of the project. Moisseiff produced the basic structural design, introducing his "deflection theory" by which a thin, flexible roadway would flex in the wind, greatly reducing stress by transmitting forces via suspension cables to the bridge towers. Although the Golden Gate Bridge design has proved sound, a later Moisseiff design, the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge, collapsed in a strong windstorm soon after it was completed, because of an unexpected aeroelastic flutter.

Ellis was a Greek scholar and mathematician who at one time was a University of Illinois professor of engineering despite having no engineering degree (he eventually earned a degree in civil engineering from University of Illinois prior to designing the Golden Gate Bridge and spent the last twelve years of his career as a professor at Purdue University). He became an expert in structural design, writing the standard textbook of the time. Ellis did much of the technical and theoretical work that built the bridge, but he received none of the credit in his lifetime. In November 1931, Strauss fired Ellis and replaced him with a former subordinate, Clifford Paine, ostensibly for wasting too much money sending telegrams back and forth to Moisseiff. Ellis, obsessed with the project and unable to find work elsewhere during the Depression, continued working 70 hours per week on an unpaid basis, eventually turning in ten volumes of hand calculations.

With an eye toward self-promotion and posterity, Strauss downplayed the contributions of his collaborators who, despite receiving little recognition or compensation, are largely responsible for the final form of the bridge. He succeeded in having himself credited as the person most responsible for the design and vision of the bridge. Only much later were the contributions of the others on the design team properly appreciated. In May 2007, the Golden Gate Bridge District issued a formal report on 70 years of stewardship of the famous bridge and decided to give Ellis major credit for the design of the bridge.

Finance

The Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District, authorized by an act of the California Legislature, was incorporated in 1928 as the official entity to design, construct, and finance the Golden Gate Bridge. However, after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the District was unable to raise the construction funds, so it lobbied for a $30 million bond measure. The bonds were approved in November 1930, by votes in the counties affected by the bridge. The construction budget at the time of approval was $27 million. However, the District was unable to sell the bonds until 1932, when Amadeo Giannini, the founder of San Francisco–based Bank of America, agreed on behalf of his bank to buy the entire issue in order to help the local economy.

Construction

Construction began on January 5, 1933. The project cost more than $35 million. The Golden Gate Bridge construction project was carried out by the McClintic-Marshall Construction Co., founded by Howard H. McClintic and Charles D. Marshall, both of Lehigh University.[citation needed]

Strauss remained head of the project, overseeing day-to-day construction and making some groundbreaking contributions. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati, he placed a brick from his alma mater's demolished McMicken Hall in the south anchorage before the concrete was poured. He innovated the use of movable safety netting beneath the construction site, which saved the lives of many otherwise-unprotected steelworkers. Of eleven men killed from falls during construction, ten were killed (when the bridge was near completion) when the net failed under the stress of a scaffold that had fallen. Nineteen others who were saved by the net over the course of construction became proud members of the (informal) Halfway to Hell Club.

The project was finished by April 1937, $1.3 million under budget.

Opening festivities

The bridge-opening celebration began on May 27, 1937 and lasted for one week. The day before vehicle traffic was allowed, 200,000 people crossed by foot and roller skate. On opening day, Mayor Angelo Rossi and other officials rode the ferry to Marin, then crossed the bridge in a motorcade past three ceremonial "barriers", the last a blockade of beauty queens who required Joseph Strauss to present the bridge to the Highway District before allowing him to pass. An official song, "There's a Silver Moon on the Golden Gate", was chosen to commemorate the event. Strauss wrote a poem that is now on the Golden Gate Bridge entitled "The Mighty Task is Done." The next day, President Roosevelt pushed a button in Washington, D.C. signaling the official start of vehicle traffic over the Bridge at noon. When the celebration got out of hand, the SFPD had a small riot in the uptown Polk Gulch area. Weeks of civil and cultural activities called "the Fiesta" followed. A statue of Strauss was moved in 1955 to a site near the bridge.

Description

Specifications

The center span was the longest among suspension bridges until 1964 when the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was erected between the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City, surpassing the Golden Gate Bridge by 60 feet (18 m).The Golden Gate Bridge also had the world's tallest suspension towers at the time of construction and retained that record until more recently. In 1957, Michigan's Mackinac Bridge surpassed the Golden Gate Bridge's total length to become the world's longest two-tower suspension bridge in total length between anchorages, but the Mackinac Bridge has a shorter suspended span (between towers) compared to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Structure

The weight of the roadway is hung from two cables that pass through the two main towers and are fixed in concrete at each end. Each cable is made of 27,572 strands of wire. There are 80,000 miles (129,000 km) of wire in the main cables. The bridge has approximately 1,200,000 total rivets.

Traffic

As the only road to exit San Francisco to the north, the bridge is part of both U.S. Route 101 and California Route 1. The median markers between the lanes are moved to conform to traffic patterns. On weekday mornings, traffic flows mostly southbound into the city, so four of the six lanes run southbound. Conversely, on weekday afternoons, four lanes run northbound. Although there has been discussion concerning the installation of a movable barrier since the 1980s, the Bridge Board of Directors, in March 2005, committed to finding funding to complete the $2 million study required prior to the installation of a movable median barrier. The eastern walkway is for pedestrians and bicycles during the weekdays and during daylight hours only (6:30 am to 3:30 pm), and the western walkway is open to bicyclists on weekday afternoons (after 3:30 pm), weekends, and holidays (3:30 pm to 6:30 am).

The speed limit on the Golden Gate Bridge was reduced from 55 mph (89 km/h) to 45 mph (72 km/h) on 1 October 1996.

Aesthetics

Despite its red appearance, the color of the bridge is officially an orange vermillion called international orange. The color was selected by consulting architect Irving Morrow because it complements the natural surroundings and enhances the bridge's visibility in fog. Aesthetics was the foremost reason why the first design of Joseph Strauss was rejected. Upon re-submission of his bridge construction plan, he added details, such as lighting, to outline the bridge's cables and towers. In 1999, it was ranked fifth on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects

Paintwork

The bridge was originally painted with red lead primer and a lead-based topcoat, which was touched up as required. In the mid-1960s, a program was started to improve corrosion protection by stripping the original paint and repainting the bridge with zinc silicate primer and vinyl topcoats. Since 1990 Acrylic topcoats have been used instead for air-quality reasons. The program was completed in 1995 and it is now maintained by 38 painters who touch up the paintwork where it becomes seriously eroded

Fog at the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

The Golden Gate Bridge by night, with part of downtown San Francisco visible in the background at far left

Current issues

Economics

The last of the construction bonds were retired in 1971, with $35 million in principal and nearly $39 million in interest raised entirely from bridge tolls.

In November 2006, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District recommended a corporate sponsorship program for the bridge to address its operating deficit, projected at $80 million over five years. The District promised that the proposal, which it called a "partnership program", would not include changing the name of the bridge or placing advertising on the bridge itself. In October 2007, the Board unanimously voted to discontinue the proposal and seek additional revenue through other means, most likely a toll increase.

On 2 September 2008, the auto cash toll for all southbound motor vehicles was raised from $5 to $6, and the FasTrak toll was increased from $4 to $5. Bicycle, pedestrian, and northbound motor vehicle traffic remain toll free. For vehicles with more than two axles, the toll rate is $2.50 per axle

Congestion pricing

In March 2008, the Golden Gate Bridge District board approved a resolution to implement congestion pricing at the Golden Gate Bridge, charging higher tolls during peak hours, but rising and falling depending on traffic levels. This decision allowed the Bay Area to meet the federal requirement to receive $158 million in federal transportation funds from USDOT Urban Partnership grant. As a condition of the grant, the congestion toll must be in place by September 2009.

The first results of the study, called the Mobility, Access and Pricing Study (MAPS), showed that a congestion pricing program is feasible. The different pricing scenarios considered were presented in public meetings in December 2008 and the final study results are expected for late 2009.

Suicides

The Golden Gate Bridge is the most popular place to commit suicide in the entire world. The deck is approximately 245 feet (75 m) above the water. After a fall of approximately four seconds, jumpers hit the water at some 76 miles per hour (122 km/h). At such a speed water has been determined to take on properties similar to concrete.[citation needed] Because of this, most jumpers die on their immediate contact with the water. The few who survive the initial impact generally drown or die of hypothermia in the cold water.

An official suicide count was kept, sorted according to which of the bridge's 128 lamp posts the jumper was nearest when he or she jumped. By 2005, this count exceeded 1,200 and new suicides were averaging one every two weeks. For comparison, the reported second-most-popular place to commit suicide in the world, Aokigahara Forest in Japan, has a record of 78 bodies, found within the forest in 2002, with an average of 30 a year. There were 34 bridge-jump suicides in 2006 whose bodies were recovered, in addition to four jumps that were witnessed but whose bodies were never recovered, and several bodies recovered suspected to be from bridge jumps. The California Highway Patrol removed 70 apparently suicidal people from the bridge that year.[47]

There is no accurate figure on the number of suicides or successful jumps since 1937, because many were not witnessed. People have been known to travel to San Francisco specifically to jump off the bridge, and may take a bus or cab to the site; police sometimes find abandoned rental cars in the parking lot. Currents beneath the bridge are very strong, and some jumpers have undoubtedly been washed out to sea without ever being seen. The water may be as cold as 47 °F (8 °C).

The fatality rate of jumping is roughly 98%. As of 2006, only 26 people are known to have survived the jump. Those who do survive strike the water feet-first and at a slight angle, although individuals may still sustain broken bones or internal injuries. One young woman, Sara Birnbaum, survived, but returned to jump again and died the second time.[citation needed] One young man survived a jump in 1979, swam to shore, and drove himself to a hospital. The impact cracked several of his vertebrae.

Engineering professor Natalie Jeremijenko, as part of her Bureau of Inverse Technology art collective, created a "Despondency Index" by correlating the Dow Jones Industrial Average with the number of jumpers detected by "Suicide Boxes" containing motion-detecting cameras, which she claimed to have set up under the bridge.[49] The boxes purportedly recorded 17 jumps in three months, far greater than the official count. The Whitney Museum, although questioning whether Jeremijenko's suicide-detection technology actually existed, nevertheless included her project in its prestigious Whitney Biennial.

Various methods have been proposed and implemented to reduce the number of suicides. The bridge is fitted with suicide hotline telephones, and staff patrol the bridge in carts, looking for people who appear to be planning to jump. Iron workers on the bridge also volunteer their time to prevent suicides by talking or wrestling down suicidal people. The bridge is now closed to pedestrians at night. Cyclists are still permitted across at night, but must be buzzed in and out through the remotely controlled security gates. Attempts to introduce a suicide barrier had been thwarted by engineering difficulties, high costs, and public opposition. One recurring proposal had been to build a barrier to replace or augment the low railing, a component of the bridge's original architectural design. New barriers have eliminated suicides at other landmarks around the world, but were opposed for the Golden Gate Bridge for reasons of cost, aesthetics, and safety (the load from a poorly designed barrier could significantly affect the bridge's structural integrity during a strong windstorm).

Strong appeals for a suicide barrier, fence, or other preventive measures were raised once again by a well-organized vocal minority of psychiatry professionals, suicide barrier consultants, and families of jumpers after the release of the controversial 2006 documentary film The Bridge, in which filmmaker Eric Steel and his production crew spent one year (2004) filming the bridge from several vantage points, in order to film actual suicide jumps. The film caught 23 jumps, most notably that of Gene Sprague as well as a handful of thwarted attempts. The film also contained interviews with surviving family members of those who jumped; interviews with witnesses; and, in one segment, an interview with Kevin Hines who, as a 19-year-old in 2000, survived a suicide plunge from the span and is now a vocal advocate for some type of bridge barrier or net to prevent such incidents from occurring.

On October 10, 2008, the Golden Gate Bridge Board of Directors voted 14 to 1 to install a plastic-covered stainless-steel net below the bridge as a suicide deterrent. The net will extend 20 feet (6 m) on either side of the bridge and is expected to cost $40–50 million to complete. However, lack of funding could delay the net's construction

As a suicide prevention initiative, this sign promotes a special telephone available on the bridge that connects to a crisis hotline.

Wind

Air show over Golden Gate Bridge

Since its completion, the Golden Gate Bridge has been closed due to weather conditions only three times: on 1 December 1951, because of gusts of 69 mph (111 km/h); on 23 December 1982, because of winds of 70 mph (113 km/h); and on 3 December 1983, because of wind gusts of 75 mph (121 km/h)

Seismic retrofit

Modern knowledge of the effect of earthquakes on structures led to a program to retrofit the Golden Gate to better resist seismic events. The proximity of the bridge to the San Andreas Fault places it at risk for a significant earthquake. Once thought to have been able to withstand any magnitude of foreseeable earthquake, the bridge was actually vulnerable to complete structural failure (i.e., collapse) triggered by the failure of supports on the 320-foot (98 m) arch over Fort Point. A $392 million program was initiated to improve the structure's ability to withstand such an event with only minimal (repairable) damage. The retrofit's planned completion date is 2012

Air show over Golden Gate Bridge

Doyle Drive replacement project

The elevated approach to the Golden Gate Bridge through the San Francisco Presidio is popularly known as Doyle Drive. Doyle Drive, dating back to 1933, was named after Frank P. Doyle, director of the California State Automobile Association. The highway carries approximately 91,000 vehicles each weekday between downtown San Francisco and suburban Marin County. However, the road has been deemed "vulnerable to earthquake damage", has a problematic 4-lane design, and lacks shoulders. For these reasons, a San Francisco County Transportation Authority study recommended that the current outdated structure be replaced with a more modern, efficient, and multimodal transportation structure. Construction on the $1 billion replacement, known as the Presidio Parkway, began in December 2009 and is expected to be completed in 2013.

Selected Photos

CI Yoseph BUITRAGO 18257871 CRF