How Chicago Reversed Its River: An Animated History

See how Chicago defied the odds and pulled off one of the greatest engineering feats in U.S. history. In a herculean effort to save the city from the ravages of typhoid, cholera, and other waterborne illnesses, engineer Sylvester Chesbrough suggested Chicago reverse the direction of its river away from the lake and toward the Mississippi River. Explore more of the River at wttw.com/river

[@reply_guy]

As the old saying goes: Chicago sent its nasty water down to St. Louis, who returned it to Chicago in bottles of beer.

[@hopatease1]

And that is why I drink Milwaukee beer .

[@1from31]

No more ultra for me. 🤢

[@TeslaBoy123]

Uhhhh maybe I drink all then ☹

[@thomassmith5548]

@@hopatease1 Moooooki k k k k(the kkkkk m may, m

[@bombboys]

Omg. I just spit out my St. Lois beer! 🤣

[@TheWizardGamez]

Chicago: Uno reverse cards river St. Louis, Memphis and New Orleans: WTF DUDE

[@christycullen2355]

I like how this bloke is basically bragging about how Chicago took a big shit on Missouri. Literally and metaphorically

[@natewilson111]

...and metaphysically 🔮🪄

[@alexsmith-ob3lu]

XD

[@KawaiiFireMoon]

Yeah im pretty upset now. My pa alwase told me the Mississippi was way to nasty to ever think about swimming and now i know why damn chicago

[@rrawat02]

I’ve wondered for years how Chicago reversed the glow of the river. Now I know. Thank you for creating this excellent video.

[@Jive33]

It was very glowy. Now it’s not. They reversed its glow.

[@natewilson111]

He meant to say "slow". So now it's really fast 🚤

[@polliwog79]

The title of the background music in the credits is ''St Louis Blues''! LOL

[@ih8thinkingofnames1]

"Its someone else's problem now!"

[@nietzschesghost8529]

St Louis: "WTF, man?" Chicago: "Sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of my plumbing providing me with _clean_ water."

[@jordanschwamb5078]

@Dutch Van Der Linde no Dutch it’s damn Illinois politicians to their residents.

[@MattKrack]

Based on the timing, this sorta helps support the great, ancientCubs/Cardinals rivalry.

[@RanochVTX]

Great video and great animation. Thank you. This is exactly what I was looking for. A quick and fun display of how it was done. Cheers.

[@craigweaver5671]

While I learned some good history about the project, for me the animation explaining the physics/geography of the actual engineering feat (what I came for) was a miss. For one, the words "Chicago River" are nowhere - in any maps in the whole video even. They say, "If you can't explain something simply, you don't understand it yourself". I'm left thinking the production team didn't fully understand themselves. Given the title of this video starts with "How" not "Why" I give it 2 out of 5 stars.

[@simon6495]

Now this is something that impresses the shit out of me

[@zacharyf.9936]

This was cool to learn and love the animations :)

[@alistairtomsonkoc8624]

This helped me with a history project. Thanks

[@zova8255]

@@hull_k0gan641 same lmaoo

[@lordflaco9798]

So they sent the nasty contaminated water down stream?!? 😕

[@NA-ck6cz]

The Mississippi is nasty anyway

[@thomasfoss9963]

That's correct--And they pulled a fast one by opening it before St Louis etc could sue---

[@patrioticwhitemail9119]

@@NA-ck6cz bacause of this

[@j.mc.8773]

They dumped sewage in the river not the lake so the lake water cleaned the river basically

[@j.mc.8773]

@Peace Frog Yea 😆 😆😆 but it worked for Chicago ...

[@8avexp]

You can almost hear St. Louis saying, "I don't think so, Tim."

[@aaronaaron6424]

One of the greatest crimes in Chicago history.

[@rikiishitoru8885]

How come?

[@id10t98]

Some Indians would like a moment...

[@laralucy17]

Finally a good & quick video for school

[@ChrisKrzentzPresents]

Great video. Thank you.

[@aldrinmilespartosa1578]

The most efficient way to dispose your shit is to immediately give it to others.

[@thediplomasta5891]

A hundred years later, dilution is STILL the "answer" to pollution. 😖 Aren't we so advanced?!

[@danielbackley9301]

No now its treated and the pollution ends up being sludge out at Stickney . Well most of the time.

[@kellyleathers3722]

I love chicago's history especially when Geoffrey bare is the narrator....

[@rnman99]

Just another way Chicago totally acts for its own benefit to the detriment of everyone else downstate

[@josephmackela8466]

Says a lot about many other things!!

[@rnman99]

Better a boomer than a basement dweller...

[@criops]

Chicago is to Illinois, as The United States are to the world.

[@JMully57]

Yep and all you can do is get over it

[@ryanbauer3261]

*redirects polluted water to another state w/ hastily made trench* Rosevelt to Canal Workers: Connecting these oceans is mere child’s play compared to what we’ve been doing in Chicago.

[@jonnydanger7181]

And no mention of what involvement the army corps of engineers had.

[@sunbee5834]

Thank you.

[@ronsattar]

so whats the story down river and in saint louise ? What happened there short term and long term? is there a link to another story?

[@michaelstanton3600]

This is so frickin sad for so many reasons.

[@TheOzzyMartin1]

I’m here watching this at the mouth of the gulf like 👁👄👁

[@moosefactory133]

Okay, since Lake Michigan now drains into the Mississippi drainage basin, wouldn't that profoundly change drainage basin map of the Mississippi? The maps I have seen still separates these two water sheds.

[@caveredecorator5310]

now lets hear about how hammond indiana's sewage treatment plant backs up and releases into lake michigan, closing chicago beaches.

[@MegaMantim]

Nope, its the Green Bay Wisconsin and all the Packer fans...Theres a big toilet up there they flush downstream to Chicago every summer...That is right after they shit all over the Bears in the winter....

[@kevinb1986]

Got a citation on that cholera outbreak?

[@anthonyscott3847]

This story explains how screwed up and corrupt Chicago has always been. Lets not make wise choices to fix a problem. Lets show the world how far we will go to take our corrupt ideas so we can push our problems on others.

[@thomasfoss9963]

Boy--Did you hit it on the head!!!!!!

[@AMPdotcom]

If you were there, how would you remove the waste

[@christycullen2355]

@@AMPdotcom filtration plants like most normal countries

[@jewelsucks8113]

@@christycullen2355 just outside of chicago in stickney has the largest filtration plant in the world

[@patrioticwhitemail9119]

@@AMPdotcom "the only way to avoid the consequences, is to -1) prepare for and accept the consequences,- -2) prepare, as to negate the consequences,- -3) not Fing doing it- pushing the consiquenses onto others so that I can get the sociopathic satisfaction of knowing I got away with it. :)"

[@JackCobalt-pf5ox]

So. Where do the lake shore cities up north of Chicago dump their sewerage?

[@danielbackley9301]

The lake

[@Nirvezz]

Too bad this can’t be done for the Tijuana River

[@davesilver5493]

Way down the list of greatest in history.

[@daniellekreviazuk]

MUSIC'S TOO LOUD !!

[@jonnydanger7181]

Lake Michigan is so polluted we never eat a thing out of the Lake Superior is crystal clair compared to.

[@AlexGarcia-ze4yg]

What would happen if a huge "Drink Off" was held on the river edge where hundreds of people stuck straws in the water and drank like it was a big a** milkshake? Would some people die from pollution?

[@ceonikhilpande]

Funny how I got here after seeing Elon Musk's Chicago Loop project and hearing about this crazy project Chicago did way back. Impressive stuff

[@_Goober_official]

Bc just not dumping shit in water wasn’t an option

[@rednecksuburbanidiot3230]

So is this divide also the new Madrid fault line???

[@nakedzebra67]

no different places

[@jamesS1986]

Think about this. Soo chicago sends its water downstream. Eventually the water hits st Louis! What is in st louis?! THATS RIGHT BUDWEISER! keep drinking Budweiser chicago so we can keep sending it back again and again! Lol

[@jacasoasheland6815]

great vid

[@brianspohn5982]

on so thats why st. lou stinks like new york . st.’lou got used to the stench . see we said you would be ok with just got to adjust my friend 😂

[@MegaMantim]

And for revenge the Cardinals have been shittin on the Cubs for prit near a century now...lol....

[@ericthered1140]

Sh ..flows downstream...🤔🙄🤭😷💩

[@deanc.5984]

Don't mess with nature, when man is gone who will open all the damns?

[@thejman8734]

Who cares

[@KawaiiFireMoon]

Elvis Sylvester Chesburo is going on my list of worst men in history. Seriously the first idea was pretty crafty but those resources would be ridiculous nowadays. His second idea was downright ret@rted 3 years of labor for naught and we all know how stupid it is now to poison the land you live on. Lastly shitting on St louis and just passing the problem on is just sickening I wana know what happend to the lawsuit sure it might have been too late to plug it, but i hope STL got some massive retributions. At the least there better be some massive filters in place now.

[@KawaiiFireMoon]

Thanks for the sweet animation anyhow but now im all fired up over it

[@rangerbs08]

We should take the pollution, and push it somewhere else.

[@TheM1ghtyBear]

We should take Chicago and push it somewhere else.

[@dayman888]

So there isn't a reason to have this damn there anymore right? If not, they should reverse the river again.

[@Overthought7]

Okay, but doesn't this drain Lake Michigan?

[@shalonnajones22]

Bingo

[@danielbackley9301]

Not now as there are locks at the mouth of the river. BTW this is why the riverwalk had to get flooded before they drained the river into the lake recently as the river is lower then the lake level usually.

[@tadroid3858]

And Chicago has been crapping on the rest of the state ever since.

[@ChildePC]

The chicago river maybe the book of mormons sidon river

[@ariasmataleno2823]

and taking the big chunks of garbage out of the lake as part of the solution never occured to this engineer or city officials.... lol how "geniously" lazy to participate in elaborate schemes, do everything except actually pick up garbage

[@bassboostedmodz9466]

I'll guess i Will be THE one saying... WHO IS WATCHING IN (2020)!!!!🥳

[@jamest4659]

2021!