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 / mrsmmartin
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[@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

[@Ruthavecflute]

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.

[@rhamlet5290]

I'd say that term is almost more like "friends" in English

[@Haxior5506]

@@rhamlet5290 No it's not :)

[@rhamlet5290]

@@Haxior5506 In Polish, "Koledze" is almost always "Friends" in English

[@mineq4967]

@@rhamlet5290 ale ona powiedziała "współpracowników"

[@piotrbazucki4080]

but the most acurate translation would be "coworkers"

[@benjicool2808]

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

[@muchanadziko6378]

we're all in this together

[@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?

[@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

[@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!

[@Hotlooksamerica]

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

[@ThatOneBlackGuy]

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

[@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 >_>

[@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.

[@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!

[@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

[@Apacheman37]

Your entire opening monologue explains why people like you need to exist, real info coming from someone who is interested and committed to finding out how

[@fang_xianfu]

I also appreciate that Tom makes the "I researched this thing and actually it turns out it's not true" video and the "well I did all the research I could and the jury's still out" video sometimes as well

[@morosis82]

Don't forget trusted. The trick is having people that you trust will tell the truth, warts and all, even when the ultimate answer is "we don't know".

[@Lucien86]

@@morosis82 So many times when scientific theories or ideas are put out that are wrong its down to people not wanting to admit that 'we don't know.' Not having an answer yet should always be a valid scientific position.

[@morosis82]

@@Lucien86 it's also because mainstream media is hopeless at science reporting and present every study with an interesting result as The Truth.

[@hannahk1306]

@@morosis82 Yes, if the scientists conclude "X may increase the cancer risk in this very specific group of people by 1%", then the headlines will say "X causes cancer".

[@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.

[@jobal3278]

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

[@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!

[@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.

[@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

[@youseck]

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

[@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

[@Gringottone]

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

[@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)

[@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

[@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

[@_oleslaw_4235]

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

[@bharkbh]

fr haha

[@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

[@TheStefanoMA]

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

[@handlesrtwitterdontbelivethem]

@@A.F.1 shut up

[@khalilahd.]

Lmfaoo you might be right 😅

[@MrLipp24]

@@A.F.1 stop spamming

[@TheStefanoMA]

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

[@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.

[@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 ;)

[@jessicafrost7579]

The really whimsical bit for me isn't that they use clams, it's that someone's job description includes clam calibration.

[@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. 😁

[@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

[@nibelungvalesti]

Thanks for keeping it succinct, Tommy!

[@tomekl119]

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

[@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!

[@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!

[@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.

[@Schattendragonfly]

Yep :) Thank you for the visit and showing some of the amazing things that take place here :) Cheers

[@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.

[@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!

[@AmyC37217]

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]

@@AmyC37217 That allusion is golden!

[@NothernSide]

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

[@DavidJamesHenry]

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

[@Jake-bt7ig]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@AgentGilded]

The color filter used on this video looks amazing!

[@abcdef8915]

I like how he gets to the point and the research is thorough.

[@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

[@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?

[@katekyy7]

@@JOLLY-10 tzn?

[@pablx9944]

@@JOLLY-10 what u mean

[@edziofilipek]

xd

[@diablo1271]

Short, brief video. Great job @TomScottGo

[@sagacious03]

Neat analysis video! Thanks for uploading!

[@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

[@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. :)

[@ausdingchu24]

Shor, informative and straightforward. Good video!

[@neilsiebenthal8696]

Always learn something new when you put out a video.

[@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.

[@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.

[@Aemirys]

I absolutely love videos like these!

[@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

[@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'

[@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.

[@SherlockPL]

Oh hey thanks for coming to our country! I live here in Poland and I honestly have never heard of this 😯 cool as heck. If you wanna visit us again, we would be thrilled! ❤️

[@szakurobifilmy7866]

Wasn't expecting to ever see my house in one of your videos, but it's super cool

[@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.

[@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

[@joepschoenmakers8599]

I love it when the experts in your videos speak in their native language

[@Chaun1998]

You are rapidly approaching XKCD levels of always having a relavent comic/video

[@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

[@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

[@JuanJNieto]

Here in Colombia they do the same thing in each water plant, just that they use fishes swiming in there

[@MattyW5321]

Clam returning from 3 months tour of duty to the lake: Ooof finally home Clam VA: Your shell pain is not service related e.e

[@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?

[@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.

[@ex_deus4250]

I have once visited Wroclaw water plant and as i remember the tour around facility it was the same warning system. Those clams react faster that any electronics.

[@WrzesinskiMarcin]

Thank You Tom for visiting my country.

[@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

[@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

[@HoTiiiii]

jakbym wiedział, że Tom Scott przyjedzie do Warszawy szukałbym go cały dzień

[@piotrwszoek9387]

Przyjechał na rokse i przy okaxji nagrał film na yt 😁

[@PanRobak.]

Właśnie dlatego cię nie powiadomił

[@SKO_PL]

So happy to see Warsaw featured in your video! Kinda sad I didn't get to see you here 😭

[@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

[@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.

[@katekyy7]

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

[@SMarcey]

When you think about it logically and from an engineering standpoint it makes a lot of sense. Very cool video.

[@garfield10011]

These comments are like a breath of fresh air. Thank you for the kind words.

[@atlas132]

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?

[@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.

[@irkallaxeynoxshen8777]

I was just learning about investigative journalism in Gov class, this is it!

[@MadDogGiraffe]

Thanks Tom, fascinating.

[@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!

[@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 😁

[@suchymk]

Ta to niezła Polska osoba z chińskim nickiem😐

[@natsunoneko]

@@suchymk 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]

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

[@adam108]

really nice drone footage of the city at the end off video :)

[@maciejzbrowski]

IN Poznań, when I was on a trip to the Aquanet company. We were also shown such mussels that take care of water for the city.

[@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.

[@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

[@damiansmigielski]

Few years ago I worked for TV station and make reportage about tap water system in Warsaw. That was amazing experience.

[@gacek5036]

Nice to see you in my home town!

[@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

[@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!

[@ones_flow5652]

Over 30 years ago, we've been at one of our water companies of this kind in the south of Germany and they had two trouts swimming in constantly refreshed test water. I have no idea, how popular this was or still is.

[@hhKJgf1M8a0rzt8hP]

What a sweet people, they consider these clams as their colleagues and return them to their home lake after their job is finished. The more I hear about Poles the more I'm impressed.

[@Rokomarn]

They glue them down for 3 months bro

[@hhKJgf1M8a0rzt8hP]

@@Rokomarn Clams don't seem to mind

[@siema14123]

@@Rokomarn the glue is safe and not painful for them, they sit in place all day in their natural habitat too