6 ms·

The article states that the purpose of this is "lost to time". I can image that by now its function is equivalent to a "brown M&M clause".

iainmerrick 1y ago
I'm a bit bemused at that "lost to time", as immediately before that it says: The law requires a bale of straw to be hung from a bridge as a warning to mariners whenever the height between the river and the bridge’s arches is reduced, as it is at Charing Cross at the moment. That seems clear enough! OK, the reason why it specifically has to be a bale of straw isn't obvious, but apart from that it seems very reasonable, just outdated. Edit to add: straw does make sense as a makeshift crash barrier -- you'll notice if you hit it, but hopefully won't actually damage your ship. It seems like you would always just plough through and hit the actual bridge, though.
- raverbashing 1y ago
  Yeah it's amazing (in a bad sense) how those bridge too low warnings are ignored most of the time Well of course when you get stuck then it's too late.
  - potato3732842 1y ago
    They get ignored because there's a fudge factor built into them. Some states (IL in particular) have absurd fudge factors, so you have 14ft spaces signed as 12.xx and 13'6" trucks drive under them all day every day like it's nothing which basically trains them to ignore the signs. And that's before you consider all the drivers who can't read english at road speeds so anything that isn't the standardized yellow sign right on/beside the object is going to go unnoticed to them a large amount of the time.
  - tomxor 1y ago
    Similar to how people will read a temporary hand written sign on a door, but filter out a (newly placed) professionally made sign, because the latter looks too permanent. If something has changed, using something out of place or temporary in appearance seems to be the most effective way of getting human attention... A bale of straw feels like it fits the bill.
    - mnw21cam 1y ago
      Absolutely. A straw bale hanging from a bridge over a river is an anachronism. It doesn't normally belong there, and it's more likely to be noticed than a literal notice.
- tlb 1y ago
  Bales of straw are a cheap, large, soft object you could always find nearby in the pre-motor car days. I can't think of a better object to require.
- bombcar 1y ago
  Why does everyone think it’s something to run into? At night it’s a light. It’s obviously a notification system. You visibly see the bale of straw before you get to the bridge and you know to slow down and stop and investigate what the clearance issue is.
  - woleium 1y ago
    Yes, a bale of hay used to be a warning of something to look out for on the road ahead
guerrilla 1y ago
In case anyone else forgot what that means. > The "brown M&M clause" was a specific contract requirement by Van Halen that demanded all brown M&Ms be removed from a bowl of M&Ms provided backstage before their performances. This clause was not a frivolous demand but a way to test if the concert promoters had read the entire contract carefully. If brown M&Ms were found, it indicated that other important technical details might have been overlooked, which could pose safety risks for the band and the audience.
- theshrike79 1y ago
  And an additional note: The Van Halen show wasn't a few dudes with guitars and a set of drums going around in a van. It was a massive display of pyrotechnics and staging - the requirements in the rider weren't there for fun, it was for actual safety.
  - guerrilla 1y ago
    Are you young? I would think that is common knowledge. No offense, genuinely curious. Sounds like I must be getting old.
  - red_admiral 1y ago
    Didn't they also specify something like a 20 ampere widget plugged into a 10 ampere cable or something? If no-one questioned that, they'd hire or bring their own electrician to check absolutely everything with a cable near it. (That might have been another band, it was a long time ago I read this.)
- gcanyon 1y ago
  There's a further aspect (supposedly): the brown M&Ms was listed in the pre-check conditions, and the contract stated that if any of them were found to not be in compliance then the Van Halen team had the right to force checks on any/all of them for compliance. So if they found the brown M&Ms it gave them the contractual right to demand that other, more impactful, requirements be (re)checked for compliance.
- CPLX 1y ago

iainmerrick 1y ago

I'm a bit bemused at that "lost to time", as immediately before that it says: The law requires a bale of straw to be hung from a bridge as a warning to mariners whenever the height between the river and the bridge’s arches is reduced, as it is at Charing Cross at the moment. That seems clear enough! OK, the reason why it specifically has to be a bale of straw isn't obvious, but apart from that it seems very reasonable, just outdated. Edit to add: straw does make sense as a makeshift crash barrier -- you'll notice if you hit it, but hopefully won't actually damage your ship. It seems like you would always just plough through and hit the actual bridge, though.

raverbashing 1y ago
Yeah it's amazing (in a bad sense) how those bridge too low warnings are ignored most of the time Well of course when you get stuck then it's too late.
- potato3732842 1y ago
  They get ignored because there's a fudge factor built into them. Some states (IL in particular) have absurd fudge factors, so you have 14ft spaces signed as 12.xx and 13'6" trucks drive under them all day every day like it's nothing which basically trains them to ignore the signs. And that's before you consider all the drivers who can't read english at road speeds so anything that isn't the standardized yellow sign right on/beside the object is going to go unnoticed to them a large amount of the time.
- tomxor 1y ago
  Similar to how people will read a temporary hand written sign on a door, but filter out a (newly placed) professionally made sign, because the latter looks too permanent. If something has changed, using something out of place or temporary in appearance seems to be the most effective way of getting human attention... A bale of straw feels like it fits the bill.
  - mnw21cam 1y ago
    Absolutely. A straw bale hanging from a bridge over a river is an anachronism. It doesn't normally belong there, and it's more likely to be noticed than a literal notice.
tlb 1y ago
Bales of straw are a cheap, large, soft object you could always find nearby in the pre-motor car days. I can't think of a better object to require.
bombcar 1y ago
Why does everyone think it’s something to run into? At night it’s a light. It’s obviously a notification system. You visibly see the bale of straw before you get to the bridge and you know to slow down and stop and investigate what the clearance issue is.
- woleium 1y ago
  Yes, a bale of hay used to be a warning of something to look out for on the road ahead

guerrilla 1y ago

In case anyone else forgot what that means. > The "brown M&M clause" was a specific contract requirement by Van Halen that demanded all brown M&Ms be removed from a bowl of M&Ms provided backstage before their performances. This clause was not a frivolous demand but a way to test if the concert promoters had read the entire contract carefully. If brown M&Ms were found, it indicated that other important technical details might have been overlooked, which could pose safety risks for the band and the audience.

theshrike79 1y ago
And an additional note: The Van Halen show wasn't a few dudes with guitars and a set of drums going around in a van. It was a massive display of pyrotechnics and staging - the requirements in the rider weren't there for fun, it was for actual safety.
- guerrilla 1y ago
  Are you young? I would think that is common knowledge. No offense, genuinely curious. Sounds like I must be getting old.
- red_admiral 1y ago
  Didn't they also specify something like a 20 ampere widget plugged into a 10 ampere cable or something? If no-one questioned that, they'd hire or bring their own electrician to check absolutely everything with a cable near it. (That might have been another band, it was a long time ago I read this.)
gcanyon 1y ago
There's a further aspect (supposedly): the brown M&Ms was listed in the pre-check conditions, and the contract stated that if any of them were found to not be in compliance then the Van Halen team had the right to force checks on any/all of them for compliance. So if they found the brown M&Ms it gave them the contractual right to demand that other, more impactful, requirements be (re)checked for compliance.
CPLX 1y ago