Is Poland's tap water really protected by clams?

There's a lot of articles written about how tap water in Warsaw is constantly tested by a small team of clams. It felt like a hoax to me: so I went to find out. ▪ Thanks to MPWiK Warsaw: www.mpwik.com.pl/
Producer: Marcin Krasnowolski polishfixer.com
Camera: Michał Opala
Editor: Michelle Martin / @onthecrux
🟥 MORE FROM TOM: www.tomscott.com/
(you can find contact details and social links there too)
📰 WEEKLY NEWSLETTER with good stuff from the rest of the internet: www.tomscott.c...
❓ LATERAL, free weekly podcast: lateralcast.com/ / lateralcast
➕ TOM SCOTT PLUS: / tomscottplus
👥 THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES: / techdif

[@TomScottGo]

I went to a lot of effort to prove this, but it's like Carl Sagan said: extraordinary clams require extraordinary evidence.

[@Rensune]

Booo

[@nikahmadfaris7542]

nice

[@KingKobra49]

Yo! I make entertaining videos as well. I know I am not the best rn but give me an opportunity,and I won’t fail to put a smile on your face! I appreciate you thanks❣️

[@ACR909]

this has been up for 4 days? cheeky.

[@SemiHypercube]

Heh

[@FrozenYoghurt2411]

I'm stupid, I started reading the subtitles for when the polish started and only 30 seconds later realised that I in fact do speak and understand polish fluently

[@AtanaaTheCurious]

Not stupid. Just not used to having Polish unexpectedly thrown at you when you were expecting English.

[@nikobellic570]

Habit

[@CL-go2ji]

God, the human mind is strange! (Not "your mind" - the same thing could totally happen to me with German.)

[@irbissniezny7570]

I did exactly the same xD

[@elemzs]

Ja też z opóźnieniem skumałem... Po 10 sekundach po czym też się chwilę nad sobą zastanowiłem ;DDD

[@violagreene4643]

The Polish scientist describing the clams as "colleagues" was such a sweet turn of phrase.

[@Haxior5506]

@R Hamlet No it's not :)

[@mineq4967]

@R Hamlet ale ona powiedziała "współpracowników"

[@piotrbazucki4080]

but the most acurate translation would be "coworkers"

[@alonalyy]

it means coworkers not colleagues

[@alonalyy]

@R Hamlet głuchyś?

[@ThatOneBlackGuy]

The analogy of it being another layer in their security, like a bomb sniffing dog in an airport, was wonderfuly said.

[@TurtleKwitty]

"Because we take care of our coworkers" is the best line ever and shes so proud of that fact so wholesome

[@xianicarus8770]

I was really glad to hear that the welfare of the clams was important to them. Using animals to help the human race is smart, but too often we do so at the cost of their safety and happiness.

[@doxielain2231]

Everyone is people, after all, human or clam, insect or bird. We're all just different folks.

[@AnimeSunglasses]

Agreed!

[@aceg81]

@@xianicarus8770 "I was really glad to hear that the welfare of the clams was important to them." You might say you're happy as a clam :)

[@lewisirwin5363]

@Justin Lukas Very unshellfish of them!

[@PinkoLP]

"So I worked in water quality assurance once..." All the other clams: "Oh, shut up Jerry!"

[@Finat0]

Jerry the clam

[@Electrk]

That would get him to clam up

[@amadeosendiulo2137]

*Jeremiasz

[@yoursleepparalysisdemon1828]

dirty water

[@bluemonstrosity259]

Jaroslaw

[@miriam4235]

Her calling the clams 'colleagues' is just the best! 😊

[@SunroseStudios]

was coming down here to say that!

[@A3Kr0n]

I like fried colleagues.

[@justusP9101]

@@A3Kr0n Fried clams!? I only liked them boiled or steamed.

[@WanderTheNomad]

@@A3Kr0n The clams are good too

[@mistformsquirrel]

They're the mussel behind the project >_>

[@benjicool2808]

"we take care of our colleagues" when talking about the clams safety is gold

[@muchanadziko6378]

we're all in this together

[@andrehinds4804]

Clams.. have feeling too.. 🎶

[@TomaszKasiak-p2s]

It's like someone working in whiskey company checking all batches of distilled product to find out if it contains poisonous methanol :D

[@dahgnzg5508]

Finally a topic I already know something about, in Poland schools they taught us that clams require a very specific enviroment which allows clams to be a tester for water as they are very vurnerable to enviroment changes, unluckily they can only live in healthy bodies of water which gives us the ability to determine in what state the water is.

[@holdmacat9932]

My poland school have never taught me that..

[@dahgnzg5508]

@@holdmacat9932 for my class it was bonus work for interested people

[@TonyWhitley]

Burn! 😁

[@bluethunder212]

bro how did you write this in 9min 💀

[@junkim2789]

This was really cool! Love to Poland from 🇰🇷!

[@Ntmoffi]

As someone who works for a water district I find this absolutely fascinating.

[@CookingWithCows]

Is that like a water nation, but way smaller?

[@Ntmoffi]

@@CookingWithCows 💯✅

[@GamesFromSpace]

Maybe be careful how you bring this up to your coworkers. You could get fired for being a wacko, or lose your job to some clams if they believe you.

[@khalilahd.]

It’s so cool

[@ScottieContact]

Same here

[@johnchessant3012]

imagine being one of those clams returned to the water after three months ... it'd be like they got back from an alien encounter, absolutely wild

[@Inquiringmind0]

Yes, they even have their own conventions where they talk about their experiences.

[@kubagornowicz]

But most normal clams don't believe them.

[@TheBlacktom]

And what did they do to you? Well, I was a sensor.

[@TheMitchellExpress]

Lmao. Now I want to write a short story where a guy is abducted to become an air monitor for an alien race.

[@p1rgit]

@@kubagornowicz i caught 5 brown trouts from puddle where they were trapped when creek dried (normally puddle is big enough for fish to survive summer, at least knee deep and metres wide and with autumn rains river returns but this summer was extra dry) and released into river proper. maybe they formed cult and are talking about alien kidnappers... fishnappers. and nobody believes them. - this is actually underground river here. Jõelähtme, Estonia. summertime only underground, except this puddle, autumn to spring both, under and above.

[@Hotlooksamerica]

People used to keep a canary in the coalmine, Warsaw water department keeps clams in the turbine.

[@Jordan-sy7my]

Clam the dam! Clam the dam!

[@stas1eq20]

this is far more important and professional

[@annetakubiak3374]

Canaries were used in mines

[@stas1eq20]

@@annetakubiak3374 thats what he said

[@pyglik2296]

It's so weird to be watching Tom Scott's video and have to switch from English to your native language! Nice to see you in Poland!

[@meks3920]

Same feeling but I'll be damned if onion in my heart doesn't start to grow.

[@graullas8981]

rel

[@ICountFrom0]

The air quotes gesture was on "coworker" right?

[@MitoTomakawa]

@@ICountFrom0 Yes

[@234yh4]

i know polish but started reading subtitles, my brain was so confused!

[@qubusieq8694]

Dziękujemy Tomku Szkocie za ten edukacyjny materiał

[@1pawelgo]

Tomku Szkocie, haha.

[@JOLLY-10]

@@1pawelgo czy masz napad, ponieważ polski szczerze nie ma sensu i jest bardzo skomplikowany do mówienia?

[@snowmews]

@@JOLLY-10 tzn?

[@pavelthescvm]

@@JOLLY-10 what u mean

[@edziofilipek]

xd

[@TheVagolfer]

Tom, you willingness to be humble and occasionally admit you're wrong , makes you a rare and likeable entertainer. Thank you.

[@khalilahd.]

Agreed ❤

[@tolep]

That's why he does it.

[@caliphax70]

In fairness, if someone told that to me I think I wouldn't believe it either.

[@oldvlognewtricks]

Clams also tested his sensitivity to misinformation

[@josmith4531]

On a side note, In my experience it's generally the smartest and most knowledgeable people that are the fastest and most willing to admit when they are wrong.

[@tribblefluffer]

I love that you are willing to go through all the effort and research and hard work to prove to us that Poland is indeed testing their water with clams! Such an interesting story, i'd never heard of it before but it does make sense. Thank you for taking the time and effort to create this and know that you and your work is loved and appreciated!

[@andrzejbroniarek9256]

I live in Warsaw, and I think I was told about those clams in school, and it never occured to me, that this is something weird. So I interpret this video other way around: I just found out, that this thing that I just knew and accepted as a fact might be weird to someone :)

[@JakubKas]

Polish engineering at its best. Although I don't think it will help if Odra 2.0 happens

[@TrveIrrlicht]

@@JakubKas Why shouldn't it?

[@assassingamer1879]

siema

[@wiktoriarynkun3673]

Same here! During the intro I thought "Wait, so that's not like a standard thing used worldwide???"

[@MBkufel]

@@JakubKas I would help with keeping the contaminants from entering the water system.

[@EASSIMVAMOS]

I've been living in Warsaw for 4 years and always wondered what happens inside this building! Thanks, Tom XD

[@az1z91]

Me too! But the more important question now is - how does this lady get to this building?

[@grzesieks345]

@@az1z91 there is a tunnel

[@davidiverson5928]

Tom SPECIFICALLY said that there were things that he was not allowed to film. 504 Battery Place in NYC is a building that provides ventilation to the Brooklyn-Battery tunnel, but it's also the entrance to the MIB headquarters.

[@Pressplay_Media_EU]

Li'l Yachty says wazzap 🥤He took the waaaaalllllllllllllk (To Poland)

[@largol33t1]

I'm glad the city didn't keep its mouth clammed shut. 😁

[@emilyjanet455]

The line "we take care of our colleagues here" was so genuinely sweet? I love that. I love these clams.

[@vinsanity488]

And not only can they help protect us from potentially contaminated drinking water, but they also are very important natural filters for freshwaters worldwide, helping to clean our rivers and streams. Unfortunately freshwater mussels are one of the most endangered group of organisms in the world and they need our help to prevent extinction of species of mussels. The more we help protect them, the more they can help protect/clean the waters we rely on!

[@mareksicinski449]

i don't like the term 'sweet' her, just interesting, in a postive sense

[@watarod]

Yes me too!

[@KobiSheero]

I've actually completed studies in Łódź, Poland with Biomonitoring specialization, our country slowly but surely implements those kinds of enviroment monitoring in various places

[@DawidSikora]

As a Pole I heard this story so long ago it never occurred to me it even could be false. More: I assumed this is a standard procedure worldwide

[@mareksicinski449]

well it is based on the style of article and scpeticism due to looking for interesting claims a lot

[@michalwojtylo8929]

Kiedyś widziałem to w tv, nie pamiętam jak dawno temu. Ale logicznie myśląc uznałem to za tani i świetny sposób na badanie wody i nie byłem tym zdziwiony.

[@bubblewrapstargirl]

It's should be standard imo. This is adorable! You can have all the fancy gadgets you want but Nature always knows best 💖😊

[@bigporkcity420]

We do stuff like this is NA, just with fish (LD50 test), and it's not continuously monitored onsite, but is rather a test done at a lab using samples that are sent in once a month (for wastewater, not sure if this is required for drinking water). Drinking water will be regularly measured for coliforms and chlorine residual, which should ensure the water stays disinfected.

[@marcofloresmfcs1]

In American the water is crap

[@ninjoshday]

I never realized water treatment was so clamplicated. Thanks for the great work

[@cf453]

You really musseled your way through that joke.

[@ninjoshday]

@@cf453 Maybe I was a little shellfish there

[@KoRbA2310]

get out xD

[@belverdemotorsports2410]

Ahaaaaaa

[@WouterWeggelaar]

@@KoRbA2310 thats my trout!

[@HalfShelli]

The most delightful (and surprising, tbh) part of this for me is that they don't hurt the clams, and that they return them to their lake homes after three months for working so diligently in a stressful job. 🥰

[@vinsanity488]

It is very nice to see the water managers take good care of the mussels that are taking good care of us

[@strzalek]

The clams are from the river itself, so they catch them like around water tower and move them just like a few dozen meters from their natural habitat. And after 3 months they come back to the river.

[@mareksicinski449]

i don't know how much the clams notice the change in environment, i guess it helps and prevents some distortion i guess

[@davidmartensson273]

3 month of consultant work :D And I bet the lake they come from gets all the protection it can get in return

[@watmfw]

@@strzalek In the subtitles its says the clams are caught in a "very clean lake". Is it mistranslated?

[@angelinasurzhyk6655]

As a Ukrainian speaker, watching the Polish interview was a delightful mix of “oh, I can understand that!” and “huh-” It does not help that Polish for “contaminated water” is literally Ukrainian for “crazy/rabid water”😂

[@missquprison]

"skażona woda"?

[@mabciapayne16]

@@missquprison może скажений

[@Kriae]

I can relate, this happens to me with some Russian words that sound Polish

[@felixfelix9219]

lmao ikr

[@ZanHellish]

@@Kriae there is no such things

[@PetrHosek]

Wow, listening to Polish (which I as a Czech can sort of understand) while reading English subtitles nearly broke my brain :)

[@thebiggestcauldron]

Cześć, Czechu! Fajne macie znaki diakrytyczne.

[@PanLukash]

Szukaj drogi, a ją znajdziesz! ;)

[@hypnoskales7069]

Čeśť, Čechu! Fajne matě znaki diakrytyčne.

[@Morrov]

@@thebiggestcauldron tak zwane háčky, haczki

[@lolipka]

Podobnie, chociaż ja z Polski

[@TheStefanoMA]

This is possibly the most Tom Scott video title of all Tom Scott video titles.

[@handlesrtwitterdontbelivethem]

@@Cristiano_km shut up

[@khalilahd.]

Lmfaoo you might be right 😅

[@MrLipp24]

@@Cristiano_km stop spamming

[@TheStefanoMA]

@@khalilahd. Random country? Check. Random industry? Check. Random problem solution? Check.

[@esverker7018]

I live in Minnesota with the other bio-monitering system! The city of Minneapolis is the only city in the USA that monitors the water with mussels (not clams), it's been going for like 15 years. We get our water from the Mississippi and contamination is always a concern. I remember learning about it in school. I had no idea it was a unique concept before watching the video

[@MegaTpeck]

From Rochester, this is news to me. That's absolutely fascinating! Sometimes the world feels unusually small 😆

[@strehlow]

Ah, I live in Minneapolis too and was wondering. I asked the question, then scrolled down a bit and found this. Cool, thanks!

[@AmyC28713]

Rose Lindström Nylund and the city of St. Olaf Minnesota must be so proud . . . . . . . . . . . . . (and yes - this is a joke for those who can not grasp the allusion)

[@strehlow]

@@AmyC28713 That allusion is golden!

[@NothernSide]

If the mussels in Minnesota die in two days, the water is considered passable. (I joke.)

[@jansz1589]

It's actually not only Warsaw that uses clam-based detectors. In Toruń we have exactly the same solution.

[@ravenwarjoy]

Tom Scott finally came around to Poland, how nice. Hope you didn't just come here for some clams, looking forward to more videos on cool stuff from the region.

[@ravenwarjoy]

@@ragnkja I know, that's why I'm hoping.

[@matnovak]

For this video, Tom hired a guy who's a specialist at finding locations for professional movie and video production. I really hope that they have some more stuff that could be explored

[@wingshad0w00982]

I can completely understand both why you were very suspicious, and why this would be a good indicator. Clams are sensitive creatures in terms of pollutants, and if they find something is wrong, something is probably wrong. While I’d prefer to have a few other backups if I ran something like this using a systems that’s not too expensive to maintain, and provides a fairly straightforward answer is always nice to have on hand. I’d put a ‘happy as a clam’ pun in there, but that’d be shellfish of me.

[@leadpaintchips9461]

Last line absolutely worth clicking 'Read more'.

[@Hallonbot]

You were really flexing your pun mussels there!

[@Salt_Master_Queue]

I'm not one to clam up when it comes to a good pun.

[@jbrou123]

They do something similar to test rivers and lakes her in Louisiana. Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries will collect several fish, then send them to LSU med labs to check levels of mercury and lead and other chemicals. High levels may indicate that a refinery or chem plant upstream is releasing toxic chems into the water.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Well, the clams probably aren't too happy to be used as poison sensors.

[@surfing_yoda]

in switzerland we used to use trouts but now we use daphnia because they use less space and are easier to reproduce in a lab setting. i used to work in QA for a water treatment facility and it is super facinating

[@tangiers365]

Are you rich

[@chilanya]

yes i was told about the trouts as a child, that they were used for this purpose in the Netherlands (where i grew up) and many different places as well. i thought it was normal. i probably misremembered it being the NL, though.

[@cheddars2426]

@@chilanya No you remembered right. In the Biesbosch in the Netherlands they used to use a certain fish species, not sure whether it was trout. Nowadays they also use daphnia because the reason mentioned. And they are much more sensitive to pollutants than fish.

[@moos5221]

In Germany we used dolphins to check the water quality, but now they've all been eaten by free roaming water elephants.

[@veramae4098]

Daphnia. Googled it. WATER FLEAS.

[@AltimaNEO]

Man, watching these older videos makes me realize how much I miss Tom Scott already...

[@oleopathic]

Civil engineer, here. I work with water projects and am fascinated by this cross-section of synthetic/designed infrastructure and biological infrastructure. Never heard of clam use in PL before but now glad that I did. Thank you for your investigation ! "Bio-monitoring" I'll keep this concept on my radar.

[@ballyhigh11]

Bio-monitoring has been famously used by miners for centuries.

[@oleopathic]

@@ballyhigh11 the canary in a coal mine? tell us more.

[@greenanubis]

One could say that a dog in the backyard is bio-monitoring.

[@SaheeliRai]

You don't have to use clams. In germany daphnia are used

[@Sir_Bucket]

In France, we used to have trouts to check water purity in some instalations. Idk if they still are in service tho'

[@heavyarmor2446]

What I really like, and is a returning feature of these videos, is that the speakers are allowed to speak in their native languages. In my perspective it enhances the cultural importance of a lot of topics. Furthermore, has it something to do with the speaker ability to explain it as natural as possible? It feels like it anyway. Thanks again for the video

[@ApprenticePL]

I'm more inclined to think they just didn't find anyone qualified + fluent + camera-ready enough among the water plant staff 😅

[@1203fild]

Another good thing was i as a Czech could listen to the Polish language and try to make out the meaning of the spoken words :D

[@marsjaninzmarsa]

@@ApprenticePL you will always be more fluent in native language

[@olekj8665]

@@ApprenticePL It wasn’t just in this video, in many others in the past the speakers were talking in their native language

[@WhammeWhamme]

@@olekj8665 - sure, but Tom has also made videos (especially in France and Germany) where people spoke in accented English. So I think he just leaves it up to the interviewees to answer however they feel most comfortable, which is of course the best way to do it. :)

[@vinterbjork4128]

While being critical infrastructure I really like that they allow some small amount of controlled filming, it really brings the story to life!

[@clray123]

The question is why there would be any issue with filming inside an object like this at all. After all, the enemy already knows where to drop the bomb to get rid of this piece "critical infrastructure". And they will do it if they intend do (see Ukraine)...

[@paweldembowski]

@@clray123 could be sabotaged instead of bombed

[@edwardhuggins84]

@@clray123 while that is true for a conventional war/enemy however it is protection from sabotage or terrorism

[@Milten130]

@@clray123 you could see what kind of access control system they are using for doors, where is security, cameras, valves, computers etc. To get in and out unnoticed

[@Failzz8]

@@clray123 Giving the public a blueprint for the one piece of infrastructure with which a single bad actor could instantly poison a city of millions is kind of a bad idea.

[@youseck]

Love from Poland. I'm old fan excited to see you in Poland!!

[@smartereveryday]

This is awesome

[@QingChina1]

Indeed it is

[@suchyzgr]

Even smallest towns like Legionowo are using that. And i think like you - it's freaking cool!

[@kartoffelbrei8090]

No u. or more like you included

[@JesusFriedChrist]

I bet you were losing your mind with all the *turbulent flow* happening in the river eh?

[@moos5221]

You are awesome!

[@cleverusername9369]

I realized I've never heard Polish spoken aloud before, what a lovely language! Written out it looks like someone trying to write a series of sneezes but spoken, it's very beguiling.

[@Hollyweed1]

Series of sneezes 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@rcollyer77]

Polish is a lot like English in that it too has Latin roots. I found this out when I saw the Polish word for library: biblioteka.

[@BruceNJeffAreMyFlies]

@@rcollyer77 It seems like a bizarre one to me. Not often you hear a language with such strong slavic roots that also has strong latin roots!

[@redgamer821]

@@BruceNJeffAreMyFlies Almost like Poland is situated in between Latin and Slavic dominated regions

[@rcollyer77]

@@BruceNJeffAreMyFlies it was a complete surprise to me, too. I know only a couple of words from friends, so the language was almost a complete mystery. It was an interesting surprise.

[@SmallGuyonTop]

I lived in Poland 7 years. They are quite ingenious and they purposefully seek creative and out of the ordinary solutions to their way of living.

[@retroelectrical]

They just have to avoid their natural enemy, the light bulb. :)

[@m1515]

@@retroelectrical 100% sure you've never been to Poland

[@GabeNotNewell]

Well, Just check how many stuff Polish people invented For example Kerosene Lamp

[@Shadow38PL]

@@retroelectrical The "Osram" light bulb?

[@nikodembiniek7103]

@@m1515 Oj tak ziomeczku

[@mursalinmosaddeque8999]

I realised how much I miss Tom’s weekly videos. Life just isn’t fair. :(

[@royalninja2823]

I remember years ago a photo going around of one of those clams with the spring and magnet glued on top. It makes me so happy that that is exactly how the sensors actually work

[@natsunoneko]

As a longtime fan I'm beyond excited that you not only came to my country but taught me something about it! I also appreciated the reminder at the beginning of the video to be skeptical about such extraordinary clams (I stole your joke)! And props to the translator, they did a great job. Love from Poland!

[@MidnightTheKitten]

Bruh I see you have a KZbin video from 10 years ago- what a time capsule Love from America 😁

[@suchlimk]

Ta to niezła Polska osoba z chińskim nickiem😐

[@natsunoneko]

@@suchlimk rany, nawet już nie można lubić chińskich bajek 🙄

[@Exchromer]

@@natsunoneko potwierdzam, moja koleżanka jest na japonistyce i jak nauczyła się kany to stała się japonką

[@AkenoXD]

@@suchlimk Czemu nie? Wiesz, że ludzie mogą znać więcej niż 2 języki xD

[@Rosa-xg8tb]

Been waiting for an episode from Poland for years and it finally came true! Great video

[@tomrogue13]

I can watch a Tom Scott video and practice my Polish at the same time!

[@amadeosendiulo2137]

@@tomrogue13 Well, we have some advanced vocabulary here

[@krysstefan2505]

Was in Poland few years ago my coffee was testing so good ….bring same coffee too London GB was disappointed coffee tastes totally different now I’m shocked and amazed the secret off Poland is doing amazing job polish granny from Canada

[@kontanaizumi]

I never thought it was a weird claim i always thought it was along the same line as using birds to check for deadly gases

[@blackiceocto9229]

You are probably thinking of canaries, a type of song bird. They were used just as you described by miners.

[@TheBirchCreek]

Some water treatment plants, AFAIK, also use fish that require very clean water, like trouts, for example.

[@dorol6375]

That exists???

[@Person01234]

@@dorol6375 The phrase "the canary in the coal mine" (to mean someone or something forewarning of a disaster) is derived from the very real (outdated) practice of miners taking canaries (or other small birds) down into the coal mines with them and if there were dangerous gas buildups (like carbon monoxide) the birds (being smaller and less resiliant than the miners) would die and the miners would gtfo. There was actually some special cages that they could use to keep the bird alive if it fell unconscious from the gas too.

[@vez3834]

@@Person01234 Yo! I never realized that saying was from a real-world example. That's cool, although sad that those birds had to die.

[@Szymmon614]

Poznań also have clams monitoring system. I was in there several years ago, and I didn't realize that other cities have it too. And it was nice to hear my language in your video.

[@zelekk86]

Company setting up this monitoring systems is set in Poznań, and its providing SYMBIO devices all over the country. Whats funny Poznań's Aquanet is not using said divice, they have their own bit different solution.

[@snowmews]

​@@zelekk86 I suppose it's probably 'cause Poznań's Aquanet was using this before SYMBIO has been created?

[@davemoore7442]

In north east England the water authority used a trout in a tank with the mains water flowing through. The fish's vital signs were monitored electronically. Came across this in 1999 while doing millennium compliance testing.

[@Nuskrad]

don't tell half a tale, was the trout Y2K compliant?

[@Skilly42]

Fish monitors were used in North West England as well in the 80s and 90s. Stopped being used I think due to too many false alarms and a lot of maintenance/attention required.

[@SB-jt2vx]

I was involved in using a particular breed of Chinese carp for this. Very sensitive to water quality, a little too sensitive in the end!

[@Lucina..]

@@Nuskrad 🤦🏼‍♀️ everyone knows that was just invented to scare people. In reality, the onboard clock on the trouts was perfectly fine to continue for at least another thousand years. I bet you fell for the hype hook, line and sinker. I’ll see myself out.

[@ammo2222]

Fish Monitors were also used in a Chemical Plant in Austria to Test the used Cooling Water.

[@lyagushkha8490]

Im polish and I didn't even know it was a thing. More Poland videos please! (if there are any interesting topics, that is)

[@averagemoth]

I used to live in Warsaw. I had no clue that clams tested the water that I drank, thank you clams for your service.

[@TheBlacktom]

Did you drink tap water? Is it safe now? I remember it wasn't safe 10-20 years ago. You had to boil the water to use it, or buy bottled water or water from special wells.

[@jakubniemczuk]

@@TheBlacktom It's safe.

[@bartekmarze1863]

@@TheBlacktom it is now completely safe to dring water from taps in major cities

[@krzysztofmikoajczyk1415]

@@TheBlacktom it is safe and it was safe 10-20 years ago for sure.

[@clray123]

@@TheBlacktom The boiling was necessary more like 40 years ago.

[@benjaminmatheny6683]

I think one of the best parts of your videos is the interviews with the unsung heroes that keep our world running. people are ignorant of what all goes into make the modern world work.

[@maxicx75v]

You mean the clams?

[@CatsMeowPaw]

As someone who was born in Poland but has lived their entire lives overseas, I found this video fascinating. Great to see a novel approach to water quality and safety being implemented in real world use.

[@maddummel]

I don't think it's very new, I've learned about it at school 15 years ago and it's been a thing for a while then

[@Gringottone]

Great video, really appreciate how wholesome you made the whole thing. Keep it up!

[@That_Chemist]

Someone had commented about these clams a while ago on my channel - I'm glad to see that you were able to cover it!

[@awli8861]

Pozdrowienia z Polski!

[@Gorrgrim]

There's tubers who never leave their house just copying and pasting stories they hear from the internet, then you got Tom Scott who actually goes out there and creates stories for the internet

[@jakistam1000]

Love to see a video from my country! Also, it was a really weird feeling to read the English subtitles and listen to Polish speech (I have some experience with the reverse, from movies, but not this way). But I can assure everyone that the translation was very good!

[@jobal3278]

In Poland, the small municipality of Zmigrod also tests water purity this way

[@ringosis]

"We take care of our colleagues" in reference to clams might be the most adorable thing anyone has ever said.

[@mareksicinski449]

i wouldn't say adorable, it is abit of a different vibe, jsut interesting diffent hinking possitve

[@Xenoxvvv]

@@mareksicinski449 wholesome

[@gonerator]

Awesome to see that you arrived in my country! I hope you enjoyed it and we can expect few more videos from Poland :)

[@Draconicrose]

What surprised me most about this is that the clams are caught wild and returned to nature after a while. I would have guessed that they'd be bred for this and "used" until they died.

[@matasa7463]

Probably to prevent the clams from being changed or adapted to dirty water. They are caught in a known clean lake and changed frequently to keep the samples stable.

[@Bettinasisrg]

Only in America, but we'd never do this because there's not enough profit in it. Imagine if this was implemented in Flint Michigan

[@redwitch12]

@@Bettinasisrg Do you want rampaging mutant death clams? Because that's how you get rampaging mutant death clams.

[@_de_reve]

"using them until they die" is such a capitalist idea. the eu has strict animal safety regulations, thank goodness

[@maleficent3333]

breeding freshwater clams requires fish as they are parasites and live on fish before they turn into actuall clam, and takes years, so not fizzible.

[@306Geni]

As a specialist I can confirm that there are a lot so called bio indicators that can be considered as a contamination detection systems beside of modern online and laboratory monitoring of physical and chemical parameters. Our ancestors for centuries used their smell and taste, but also a behavior of animals and plant vegetation as a indicators of safe environment, water and food resources.

[@Nickula]

You always open my eyes to questions I've never even thought about, and your videos are always so cool!

[@handlesrtwitterdontbelivethem]

@@Cristiano_km nein

[@arbitraryconfusion]

I am so happy to learn about calibrating a clam.

[@GrzegorzSobkowicz]

Now what about overclocking lobsters?

[@theleva7]

@@GrzegorzSobkowicz Thankfully lobsters are already liquid-cooled, no problem there.

[@BWGPT]

Can tuna fish. But should we?

[@Mandanara]

@@GrzegorzSobkowicz Undervolting my electric eels made them run much more efficiently, I go through way less used car batteries to recharge them than I used to.

[@SirMarq]

Damn, i see this building almost everyday for over 20 years, i have always wondered what is inside, but never enough to do research on my own. Thanks Tom, it really suprised me you visited my hometown, i wish i knew earlier so i would find you hehe

[@oxybrightdark8765]

I have had the exact same experience! For me , it was a Coca Cola bottling plant.

[@DavidJamesHenry]

Never before have I looked at a clam and said "good boy" but I guess today's the day

[@leowaltenspuel]

In Zurich (Switzerland), they actually do something similar. A small portion of drinking water passes water fleas/daphnia for quality control. The movement of these fleas is tracked by software. Since these are very active and sensitive, even small impurities are noticeable in the movement pattern. Biomonitoring is everywhere :D

[@tookitogo]

Actually, they use water fleas to test the well water, but trout to test the lake water! :P

[@sektionneun3199]

I know Austria is also using fleas

[@glubone]

we are dependent on other living creatures

[@Deadpoet132]

In Poland that object we use to call it "Gruba Kaśka " Thank you Tom for visiting our country!🥲

[@irippiri2847]

It's a shame, good video title but had the wrong person reporting it. Tom Scott is too boring

[@michals9929]

@闘将ダイモス It is a Warsaw thing. Only this specific object is called Gruba Kaśka.

[@Glownyszef]

Just Default City things

[@gkasprow]

@闘将ダイモス it's in Warsaw, and we call this particular building that way.

[@marvindebot3264]

@@irippiri2847 Several million people beg to differ. Why are you even here?

[@Brian-bp5pe]

Fresh water clams are amazing creatures, unappreciated for their contributions to their local environment. Once abundant in the many rivers and streams of North America, today they are not as easily found. As prodigious filter feeders, they effectively kept the water clear and can be used to do the same in aquariums. The trouble is, mollusks are unusually sensitive to chemical pollution, often dying after exposure to concentrations that won't harm fish.

[@dustinbasurto7371]

I live on the Oregon coast and near a river with a declining population of fresh water mussels, eel, and craw-fish in my lifetime. They are still here luckily. The ocean tide pools are not as fortunate . In my opinion it was declining as well and then the Fukushima accident wiped out 90% of the tide pool life.

[@tomekl119]

Imagine aliens abducting people just to use them as a smelly fart detector for a few months

[@jakub.anderwald]

If you happen to live in Warsaw, then you can visit the water filtration facilities. They host annual open door event plus smaller events for groups. If you get to join them, you can see much more than Tom was able to show on video.

[@ChristianBehnke]

This is incredible, and I love that they call them "colleagues"! 😂

[@lmesen1873]

We used to have a different word for workers that don't consent to being there... hmm.

[@kubaGR8]

@@lmesen1873 A slave is a person (physically, since I assume actual slave owners might think otherwise), a clam is not a person.

[@soundscape26]

@@lmesen1873 You wanted to ask the clams?

[@pequodexpress]

The translation should have been "our workers."

[@piotrpodolski1589]

@@pequodexpress co-workers

[@Deflas]

I have never heard about this so far despite of beeing from Poland. Its insanely good idea! Thanks for an excelent and educative video Tom ;)

[@insevanhouts]

You're still the absolute best KZbinr out there. No unnecessarily long videos, great fact checking and overall super clear and interesting!

[@khalilahd.]

I love that I never know what you’re going to talk about but I’m never disappointed ❤. Such a fascinating video

[@StudentInFrance]

More videos from Poland please! :) There's so much to explore!!!

[@Mike-or2cv]

You can always visit us! :) Hugs from Poland.

[@aleks6809]

There is a lot. Theres „wieliczka salt mine” near krakow and that has a good history defenitelly something tom would would go look at

[@Ratiosaurus]

I think Crooked Forest is a perfect place for Tom's video, because it's where weird and unique meats the interesting history of technology (possibly, according to the main theory at least).

[@r00tw00t]

Poland is great. I have had such good times visiting

[@nowymail]

@@Ratiosaurus Meats? Yum! Beef, please!

[@_oleslaw_4235]

great feeling when i'm polish and i don't have to read subtitles.

[@bharkbh]

fr haha

[@malusignatius]

Medeka (a small toothcarp also known as a Ricefish) are used in Japan for biomonitoring water supplies as well.

[@mareksicinski449]

is it the same way or just studying their presence in habitats?

[@2eanimation]

Germany uses minnows(Elritze/phoxinus phoxinus) :)

[@matthewzaczeniuk4892]

As someone with a Polish background this is super fascinating! Also its nice to hear Polish, not very common on KZbin.

[@HuatengChen]

Really Matthew?? Poland has nearly 40 million citizens and KZbin as everywhere is the most popular video platform. There are millions of Polish videos out there and hundreds of Polish channels... Just type anything in Polish into search bar and set your VPN to Warsaw to find out 😁

[@stayhigh66]

@@HuatengChen shhhh dont tell him

[@mareksicinski449]

eh deps which part

[@DoctorStrange01]

It is not if you're not on Polish youtube, yes :D

[@maddinek]

@@HuatengChen "set vpn to warsaw" says it all.

[@hjalfi]

I live in Zurich, and got a tour of the water refinery here; they use shrimps for the same purpose. I can recommend the tour as they're also a bunch of insane overachievers who use, essentially, _all_ the ways to purify water, simultaneously. They say that it's unfair to compare Zurich tapwater with bottled mineral water, as the tapwater is substantially better.

[@kiko.Poland]

W polsce też niektóre badania wskazują że woda z kranu jest lepsza niż kupiona w sklepie. Ogólnie w Polsce większości miast można pić wodę prosto z kranu.

[@hjalfi]

@@kiko.Poland Zurich water isn't just drinkable from the tap, it's so clean they don't even have to chlorinate it!

[@e5858]

You’re telling me a shrimp checked this water?

[@hjalfi]

@@e5858 Yes. They continuously run a sample of the water through a glass cell containing shrimp. Computer vision cameras monitor the shrimp's motion. They said that they can identify specific contaminants by the way the shrimp's swimming patterns change. All the shrimp are produced parthenogenically to ensure they're genetically identical, and they get swapped out before the become fully mature to prevent sexual reproduction.

[@wojtekpolska1013]

@@hjalfi yea, its the same in Poland. very proud of that, i can just drink as much water straight out of the tap without worrying about boiling or anything. feel bad for the people who have to go out to a store just to get some drinking water

[@nibelungvalesti]

Thanks for keeping it succinct, Tommy!

[@Phalgrin]

Can't underestimate how awesome it is that Tom still seeks out stories after somewhat dismissing them. Having seen a lot of the water infrastructure in my state I was thinking throughout this video that it seems like the kind of thing we would do, and then Minnesota is mentioned at the end XD

[@liquideq9287]

Dzięki za odwiedziny Tomek! Pozdrowienia z Polski

[@ps1hagridoufofcharacter]

Tomek haha. spolszczone brzmi zabawnie

[@adrianbik3366]

Tomek Szkot xD

[@orangecrow157]

Holy cow. I live near Warsaw and I never knew that. It's so cool to see my native language in one of your videos.

[@Jake-bt7ig]

Minnesota is my home! So cool to be part of a Tom Scott video.

[@AppleReviewsPL]

Great to see you in Poland and thanks for covering this super interesting topic!

[@VexSpawnEgg]

Dlaczego juz nic nie nagrywasz?

[@Miki_hero]

Just wanted to say that I am one of the people who met you while you were taking a break from filming this to go to Energylandia. I was wondering what the video you were filming was going to be about. I actually didn't know something like this existed even tho I live in Warsaw.

[@JeremiCzarnecki]

ZAZDRO

[@bartosz6515]

to nieźle

[@rybalan]

Meanwhile me who got used to watching with English subtitles, so even when they are speaking in my native language, I'm still watching with the English subtitles completely ignoring the audio

[@ordinarymaker5851]

Clams and other shellfish in lakes and rivers are actualy good indicator of water purenes because they are very sensitive to "bad" water. I used to have aquarium where fish lived for months and when I add few shrimps to it they literally wanted to jump out of the tank. I did some tests and it turns out it has higher level of NO3 in it! They feeled that in a seconds :D

[@kubak3381]

I was waiting for a video from Poland for SO long. Happy to finally see you make a video on something here :D

[@oliwierszady3797]

Finally a Tom Scott video i dont have to read the subtitles for, wish you make more videos in Poland :)

[@cowwzymoo]

dziekujemy tomek szkot za odwiedzenie polski, mam nadzieje ze produkt przywieziony przez malego jachta panu smakowal 👍👍

[@nal5965]

Tomek Szkot 🥳

[@M2rsh]

Tomek Szkot 🥵🥵

[@fangier0]

Tomek Szkot 😂

[@effbar2400]

Google translate says small yacht

[@czaro8006]

Proszę pozdrowić Grzegorza Florydę

[@walterlaydle8293]

We are stuck with our feeling of power at the steam engine stage. It seems that we consider the pinnacle of success to be that the flat has to get moldy and there is nothing that can be done about it, like the "signal problem" in the London tube system.

[@fabiankesler5032]

I have build an installation like that in the Netherlands. It works very effective in detecting small amounts of toxins. If the clams or mussels close their shells, the water is too polluted to handle it safely by humans.

[@malwazerek5311]

As a polish citizen I'm happy you did a video on this topic! I find it really cool!

[@katnax3059]

I live in Warsaw and I remember from a young age that i was looking at this building and wondering what does it do. Thank you very much!

[@2908Jarek]

Chyba kazdy z warszawy wie czym jest Gruba Kaśka.

[@tosiotosiowski]

Następny klasyk Tomasza Szkota!

[@dexeuromatprywatny388]

Wow. I actually did not know that we have such facilities in Poland. Great Topic and I hope to see more topics from Poland in your videos. Welcome to our country and I hope you and the crew enjoyed the stay :)

[@raydunakin]

Fascinating! It all seems very logical once it has been explained.

[@martakociolek]

It's so weird to listen to a Tom Scott's video narrated in my native language. It actually took a minute for my brain to start to comprehend what was being said.

[@NoelHein]

this awesome video and you didn't force it into a 10-11 minute video. hats off to you, sir. thank you for this, was very interesting.

[@mattbukovski92]

Wow, Tom Scott finally in Poland! 🔥 Can't believe you traveled here just to record those few minutes 😄

[@KingSizeUGP]

I'm hoping there will be more videos to come from Poland!

[@aurelspecker6740]

That is what I thought when there was a swiss clip. But the next few weeks, one after the other swiss clip got launched. So: all the best, that this is gonna be the same!