One of the most epic engineering feats in history - Alex Gendler

Dig into the history of the construction of the iconic Brooklyn Bridge and how John Roebling designed a hybrid suspension system to build it.
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In the mid-19th century, suspension bridges were collapsing all across Europe. Their industrial cables frayed and snapped under the weight of their decks. So when German American engineer John Roebling proposed building the largest and most expensive suspension bridge ever conceived, New York City officials were understandably skeptical. Alex Gendler details the building of the iconic Brooklyn Bridge.
Lesson by Alex Gendler, directed by Jeremiah Dickey.
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[@abthedragon4921]

History is full of so many extraordinary feats of engineering. It's nice that we get to see one of them like this.

[@abhyudaysinghparmar6055]

Study about kailash temple of India they sculpted a 100 feet three story giant temple out of a really giant rock from top to bottom 'no joints' in a spam of 135 years

[@afroamir8668]

Andrew Burton just thinking about the civil engineering required to do this with how limited their technology was is actually quite mind boggling

[@aidenpennington8513]

Andrew Burton you stole my icon D;

[@cioarasorin5137]

Yeah, these engineers should keep it up.

[@limerence8365]

Imagine being born when they started building the bridge, spending your childhood looking out a window at the bridge that never seems to be finished, but slowly progresses, until finally in your teens it's finished and you get all nostalgic.

[@MasterGhostf]

Happened to me. When I moved to my city, there was an extension on a bridge to make it wider, it slowly got built over the years, and we were losing hope that it was going to be finished. But, 8 years later and its finished, and that first time I drove over it, and there is a feeling of floating through the clouds. It made me happy.

[@ACasualCustomer]

I saw the Brooklyn bridge being built, I remember passing through it on my horse Lala on my way to my aunt's house in Brooklyn when I was a 17 year old fella

[@georgecawton5361]

Press Kevin To Continue and how old are you now? Like more than 150 years old?

[@smokeymcgee7585]

Yeah this takes me back to when i was a 13 year old Egyptian boy watching the pyramids being built. It was a good time.

[@Davanthall]

I was born in 1990 and I live in Boston. You basically just described how I saw the Big Dig.

[@squalltheonly]

It took them 14 years to build that bridge 200 years ago. But here in Miami they have been working on the 826 highway for the past 20 years and they still not done.

[@albertoaguilar9773]

@Simple Weirdo In my city they're "building" two extra lines for the city subway, 10 years they've on the making and I don't see them finishing it any soon.

[@JK-gu3tl]

Don't think city workers were unionized back then.

[@ryanhopper2854]

@@albertoaguilar9773 I’m almost certain we live in the same place. Obviously you could be talking about somewhere else but are you talking about the DC area?

[@philosopher1a]

Studies and unions

[@yokootersmellfunky]

you guys got some weird construction going. we were supposed to have a new amtrak thing by 2025 and we’re getting it later this year because they were so quick with the construction.

[@limerence8365]

The amount of research that must have gone into this, just for the animation alone. Like that last shot of New York growing up around the bridge, the animators would have to make sure the skyline matched the time frame, is phenomenal. Keep it up Ted Ed.

[@maciek_k.cichon]

Research like this is so much fun. For 19th century you have many source: newspapers, trade press (with drawings and pictures), memoirs. And the best part is, if you research one topic in different titles, you'll get many angles. Best kind of history!

[@--Paws--]

I guess it depends on where you grew up to know about knowing somethings more than others; as a New Yorker many school kids almost had an assignment or project learning about certain landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge. Not altogether or maybe just one specifically yet it becomes ingrained in memory, as a landmark should.

[@tommybro5313]

Ok...?

[@thehorsesnamewasfriday8695]

Love ted Ed their production is amazing

[@thehorsesnamewasfriday8695]

Wait whT

[@pretzelbomb6105]

Fun Fact: The tower on the Manhattan side of the bridge doesn’t rest on bedrock, instead sitting on a bed of sand above it. The bends were getting so bad that workers were struggling to make any further progress so Washington Roebling researched the fossils found in the already excavated dirt and found that the sediment there didn’t move very much, so digging was stopped and the caisson was filled 27 feet short of the bedrock. To this day, thousands of cars, bikes, train passengers, and pedestrians cross the East River supported by sand.

[@Walter_Mitty_ingame]

Very cool! Thank you! 👍

[@Inkyminkyzizwoz]

A very brave decision, because otherwise the tower could've collapsed and he would've been held responsible

[@dannyn6036]

Pretzelbomb that’s not a fun fact

[@dannyn6036]

Crest Raizn ok boomer

[@ThinhTran-lk1ms]

Civil engineer here: Sand is good, it’s clay that you need to worry about. It absorbs water to swell and releases water when applied load to cause settlement

[@jinl1127]

Fun fact : Emily Warren Roebling ( Washington Roebling's wife ) was also the first person to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge while holding a rooster a symbol of victory and good luck

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

The mere fact that this bridge still stands today signifies how marvelous it was made

[@Sean-sh6om]

Good thing we now have vaccines against tetanus

[@AB-dc9te]

Sean Serrano we just need one for corona as well

[@thespaceace8164]

@@AB-dc9te What we need is for people to actually take the ones we have for flu, measles, etc.

[@Moo-fb2kb]

@SANS______ The irony of attacking others for mis education & pseudo science, while you yourself spit made up false facts. Most anti vaccers are wealthy white males & uneducated poor men, not the middle class white women yall find any excuse to vilify. If you actually looked at the facts & statistics, rather than just parrot fallacies like the people you hypocritically criticise, youd realise that

[@sirshrooma]

@@Moo-fb2kb There's not a census running a proven study on the population of non-vaccinators. So while I don't agree with SANS's statement, you have yet to cite a source just the same. So neither of you are very good at citing research, but quite adept at placing blame.

[@marciaosullivan3200]

@@Moo-fb2kb cite a source

[@akshaychauhan4346]

This bridge acted as the alan turing's machine in the history of bridges. Remarkable engineering.great work

[@Alex-cw3rz]

No it didn't

[@akshaychauhan4346]

@@Alex-cw3rz it was a metaphor.

[@Alex-cw3rz]

@@akshaychauhan4346 I know what a metaphor is, it is just completely incomparable, this bridge tried and discovered nothing new it was just going to be the biggest and when it was finished was not even the largest anyway, which was the only thing that was going for it.

[@crayz707]

😂😂

[@akshaychauhan4346]

@@Alex-cw3rz My metaphor was directing towards the emotion of trying for the first like alan turing did.

[@Housewarmin]

Talk about family Goals! My family just yells from one room to the other, and can never understand each other.

[@Bas_Lightyear]

Ha haa! Salah McCoy my good boy

[@Chris-lz6ci]

My stepdad used to beat my mom

[@gabrielcameraeacao6653]

4:47 Everyone:*Flashbacks of 2001*

[@sirshrooma]

@imoto san they didn't put 9/11, they showed a skyline pre 2001 and then one that was post 2001. They didn't depict a a damn plane crashing into it.

[@foty8679]

@Kenneth Kuper Thats actually crazy. People born 2004 are now allowed to drink alcohol (here at least). Wow. I feel old now.

[@cartermiller853]

4:46 The specters of the towers, big feels man. Hard to believe they’re gone

[@cliffsousa4184]

A big salute to those workers who built this bridge. I can't even imagine the hardships faced by those men working on the sea bed under a cover of darkness and extreme heat with a permanent feeling of dread hanging above them.

[@danielwininger1750]

I heard that process went much longer than expected. They were digging through mud for bedrock, which was much lower than they had anticipated.

[@nthgth]

Yeah that must have been hellish. Those men definitely deserved a beer after work! And their names on a plaque or something.

[@albertoaguilar9773]

Respect to the men who built America. For me, that's what makes America a great country, the hard working people who came.

[@osse1n]

Then: engineers do everything from idea to execution Now: emails, rapports, meetings

[@Tikki-Minaj]

True man.

[@mdimranhossen2223]

সিভিল ইঞ্জিনিয়ার পড়ছি আমার জন্য আন্তরিকভাবে দোয়া করবেন যাতে আমি সারাবিশ্বে ফার্স্ট ক্লাস ফার্স্ট ক্লাস ফার্স্ট বিশ্বসেরা সিভিল ইঞ্জিনিয়ার হতে পারি বা হতে চাই ইনশাআল্লাহ অনেক চিরস্থায়ী ভাবে আশির্বাদ করবেন ইনশাআল্লাহ। আমৃত্যু এই মহাবিশ্বের ফার্স্ট ক্লাস ফার্স্ট আধ্যাত্তিক সিভিল ব্যারিষ্টার হতে চাই ইনশাআল্লাহto

[@johndawson6057]

Just start your company dude

[@kunstwunderkammer6163]

I really love these historical figures, who also have great family members of friends who inherit the architects works and promises to complete them. Great feats are rarely achieved in a single generation.

[@JohnathenSweeney]

Fun fact: John Roebling was the architect for the Roebling Bridge in Cincinnati/Covington and even used it as inspiration for the Brooklyn Bridge!

[@germanjimenez5336]

Building these amazing structures requires ingenuity, passion, perseverance and funding. We can see a marvel of past years because someone dared to challenge time and succeeded.

[@Baxtexx]

This was very interesting, thank you.

[@rap_tor2213]

A big salute for those.. personals for their dedication 🙏💓

[@AtariiWave]

4:40 that part reminds me to the final scene of Gangs of New York

[@dennynikaj]

As an Architect I am amazed by the Human mind, i have a lifelong fascination with the way we think, we divide things, create things, the way art is part of us, the way we build, and respect the buildings and builders. Thanks for the amazing content, i always watch your videos, they make my day and brain so much brighter.🇦🇱🇽🇰❤

[@kryptonytz5343]

The dedication and hardwork of the Roebling family have been stayed on this day..

[@tacosforlife5743]

Im so proud of the engineers and workers who gave their lives for this project i actually cried..

[@naveenraj2008eee]

Hi ted-ed Another great and interesting video.. Thanks..🙏

[@Touristmodel]

Another piece of my knowledge! Thank you for all the videos!!!

[@erictheepic5019]

Another of John Roebling's bridges connects Pennsylvania and New York over the Delaware River. Originally, it acted as a aqueduct, but has since been retrofitted into a car and foot bridge. The company for whom the bridge was constructed established an office a short distance away from where the bridge was constructed. Today, that small, quaint house has been converted into an inn, and is run by my Aunt!

[@darrellborland119]

😀

[@projjwalray-6341]

Next topic to look up: "Decompression Syndrome"

[@albertoaguilar9773]

Wouldn't be bad for TEDED to make a video on it.

[@PianoCatProductions]

Bit sad that you didn’t mention how John Roebling built a practice model across the Ohio River to test his design across a smaller span.

[@TheRobAndres]

We still enjoy Roebling’s prototype for the Brooklyn Bridge in Cincinnati. It wasn’t exactly an unprecedented design. He’d already bridged the mighty Ohio River with the same conceptual design, if a bit shorter.

[@theamericandream5917]

Amazing human engineering. This family's life work to build the Brooklyn Bridge could be made into a thrilling movie. Most people have no idea what it took to build these bridges that we humans take for granted everyday just mindlessly driving over as if it's nothing. These bridges were built to last centuries.

[@tigresstia325]

Between the Brooklyn Bridge and London’s underground metro, it seems like back then we did so much with so little. Now I feel like we do so little with so much.

[@SnoopyDoofie]

Thought we were going to get a Skilshare ad on how to build bridges.

[@rocky951]

Roebling from my hometown of saxonburg PA!

[@Rex_The_Mouse]

"Fuhgeddaboudit" -Streetsign directed at motorists leaving Brooklyn WHAT ARE YOU TEACHING ME

[@sebastianelytron8450]

Engineer and Anti-vaxxer come to a bridge Anti-vaxxer asks the engineer: Is it safe to cross the bridge? Engineer: It is 99.97% safe to cross that bridge. Anti-vaxxer: I'd rather swim.

[@alanman2288]

They might also just be scared of the tetanus.

[@zyaicob]

@@alanman2288 I'm not scared of tetanus... ya wanna know whyyy?

[@supremoburritotorres3156]

bilendbabystrong.link/QPw6xjwAlHf

[@Inkyminkyzizwoz]

@@bobsemple7660 *lose

[@mr.sarcastic4572]

Sebastian Elytron Lol I saw that in a thumbnail

[@KushagraSharmaTrackRecord]

4:47 the original World Trade Center! A deep, palpable melancholic feeling...the Brooklyn Bridge gelled so well with the towers in the backdrop!

[@Strik.9]

So glad I came across this channel. Your content is informative and inspiring.

[@silentj624]

Human ingenuity is amazing. It's so sad that we're so cruel to each other.

[@boris2997]

I have crossed that bridge and passed underneath it 100's of times in the past 30 years. Brooklyn bridge is a Icon

[@muhammadadil5698]

What a family, so determinant and persistent!!!

[@praguru13]

Pure respect for the ingenuity and shear perseverance 🙏🙏

[@sucharithan]

I usually tell this lesson to my students as an example of perseverance and struggle to achieve one's dream. Now, I can show them animation too. Thanks much for the wonderful video ❤️

[@reezuuu]

Your video is best to watch before sleep… that calm voice make my sleepy every time

[@ilikemathematics1590]

4:47 the transition between the twin towers fading in then out was truly a tragedy

[@Ratigan2]

more like great attention to detail

[@Queen1001N]

In 1884, doubts about the bridge’s strength still lingered. In order to prove the bridge’s strength, P. T. Barnum was allowed to march 21 elephants across the bridge, dispelling remaining doubts.

[@jorgeamadosoriaramirez8953]

this needs a movie.

[@ChanwooPark-me1wc]

이 동영상을 보고 그 당시에 이렇게 커다란 다리를 짓는다는 것이 얼마나 힘든 일 이였는지 알게 되었습니다. 굉장히 흥미로운 영상이었고 이 영상을 보면서 다리를 짓는 과정에 대해서 더 알게 되었던 것 같습니다.

[@notgonnahappen8074]

How come TED-Ed has 10 million subscribers but only around 300k views on average?

[@TroyzBleedles]

Anonymous KZbinr probs a lot of old accounts or People dont find the video interesting

[@feero9680]

Yeah thats like 0.3% of its subs

[@Re-ii4gb]

Feer O 3%

[@farikkun1841]

the title aint specific??

[@feero9680]

@@Re-ii4gb Oops sorry. Youre right. 3%

[@mjstory1976]

Awesome and informative video as always

[@youcefbayou5293]

Thanks for the history . Thanks for the Roblins

[@CJHElectro]

No sleep, til Brooklyn!

[@crow2989]

Such a crazy 19th century megastructure

[@redhead_bebs]

Such an interesting history. I live close to a small town called Saxonburg, PA, so I know all about it. John Roebling and his brother founded it as a German farming town. 😅

[@matej.m.rejsek8537]

I read David McCullough's, "The Great Bridge" last year and to my recollection the book never mentions the fact that the cable stays also work to transfer load from the the anchorages and the support cables, and onto the the support towers. Mostly they are discussed in terms of further constraining the roadway's movements in high wind conditions, reducing resonances etc. Thanks for the addt'l insight.

[@kobfish2559]

All these bridges, but I still can't bridge the gap between me and my crush :(

[@laundrybasket5613]

You'll find one that fits, or, you can try and take the initiative and build it yourself

[@sebastianelytron8450]

Did you say hi yet?

[@vertyisprobablydead]

@@sebastianelytron8450 He didn't.

[@bullymaguire6168]

Not the type of bridge

[@ahmadrahimisudin8364]

Thank goodness for the Roeblings. Because of this bridge Ted Mosby could go and meet Robin Scherbatsky in Brooklyn to give the blue french horn.

[@CDexie]

Don't forget those who died building this so they could feed their families. Don't dismiss them, don't blindfold yourself to those unjust deaths. Feel it deep, and marvel at *their* work.

[@talhasajid1299]

amazing engineering

[@Inkyminkyzizwoz]

The BBC did a series in the early 2000s of the Seven Wonders of the Industrial World and this was one of them, with each episode reenacting the construction of one wonder

[@labdhisharma5396]

Wow such a cool bridge the biggest and also the one which took 3 lives to complete!

[@CH3RRYxB0MBx]

That intro quote tho 😂

[@er.shaanofficial3594]

Marvelous! Thank you for uploading this video @TED-Ed

[@padmanjalisrinivasan3636]

Great video thank you Ted Ed

[@somethingthatexists4797]

the animation is so cool in this one!!

[@darrellborland119]

Nice short synopsis. Thanks!😀

[@jadenyuki3138]

What about the golden gate bridge story?

[@alihaidarshah1255]

I have never seen this popular brigdge in real life but I have seen it getting destructed In so many movies I can't even remember the numebr

[@amehak1922]

The designer also designed the bridge to handle 6x more weight than they ever expected it to, that's why it can still handle the weight of cars now.

[@joeybader8342]

I wish we could all focus on this incredible side of humanity and create an amazing future together.

[@beterbomen]

Me, partway through the video: "Oh. They mean _that_ definition of epic."

[@simranbansal9303]

1. Suspension bridges were collapsing all across Europe. The cables frayed and snapped under the weight of their decks. 2. So when a German-American engineer, John Roebling proposed the largest and the most expensive suspension bridge on NY's East River, everybody was understandably susceptical. In February 1867, the govt. approved this bridge. 3. this bridge had something different than normal bridges. Roebling designed a hybrid bridge. He used large cables from cable bridges to be supported by large pillars anchored at each bank. But Roebling's model also drew from b cable stayed bridges. He suspended diagnol structures that ran directly to support the main pillar. This immensely improved the stability of the bridge. 4. This was the largest bridge to be made of a similar plan. it was 1.5 times larger than them all. about 408 m. 5 . Standard hemo rope would tear under the deck's 14800 tons, so he used metal wires to support his bridge. To support all this weight, the tower had to be 90m above the sea level. Making it the tallest structure in westerm hemisphere. He was surveying site in 1869, a boat crushed hhis foot and he dies of tetanus in a month. But his son, Washington was also an engineer, so he took upon his job and started working again. The next year, construction began again. The tower foundation were being laid.

[@dylanjones5408]

I could listen to Addison Anderson all day and never get tired of him

[@JoziMr]

This is a lesson on family unity.

[@timphillips3971]

I bought this bridge years ago!

[@MilciadesAndrion]

This incredible project was completed thanks to the effort and heroism of many unknown heroes and despite fraud and work accidents.

[@johnfarris6152]

Great video

[@bradenperry1216]

Before he built the Brooklyn bridge, he built the “Roebling Bridge” in Cincinnati as a proof of concept. It is smaller than the Brooklyn bridge and if it failed, it was only Cincinnati not New York 🤷‍♂️.

[@dmm3124]

The Roebling Bridge has been closed several due some of the stones falling off of the towers. On the tower on the Cincinnati side is a net wrapped around the tower to catch falling stones. So be on guard New York.

[@DiviAugusti]

There’s a wooden Roebling bridge on the NY/PA border somewhere too.

[@cameleyez]

Seems like this video should've been longer. It was just getting good when it ended.

[@MrRufusRToyota]

The technology of pneumatic caissons wasn’t untested or novel. It had been invented to build the recently completed Eads Bridge across the Mississippi River in St. Louis. The Eads Bridge was also was the first steel bridge. These technical advancements in St. Louis revolutionized bridge and building construction worldwide, including the soon-to-be constructed Brooklyn Bridge and Eiffel Tower.

[@lw.rap_3668]

I recommend you to read José Martí chronic: "Brooklyn Bridge", it's really brief and beautiful.

[@OnyxFire408]

Do the golden gate bridge next!

[@REzado63]

I love this story. You really need to see it on Modern Marvels though that go into a lot more details. Still a great job from Ted

[@djb903]

Amazing

[@phoenixsspark6150]

I love your work!

[@kushalkumargupta718]

Thank god it is not 'Brooklyn bridge is falling down'😏

[@brainiton8044]

If they had used those faulty wires then we would be reciting Brooklyn bridge is falling down

[@someoneontheinternet1317]

I'd prefer Brooklyn Bridge Is Falling Down over London Bridge.

[@jogb9515]

Wouldn't the wooden casings rot over time? Great explanation of the construction.

[@kyleredzinak5206]

This is a magnificent video!

[@haritmehta3642]

I had watched this video a few days before my English exam and the unseen comprehension was about Brooklyn Bridge

[@atasha2928]

never knew it was opened on my birthday cool

[@clvsidy]

Who’s watching during quarantine ?

[@GyeonghunPyeon]

우리는 지금 21세기에 살고 있고 주변을 둘러보면 많은 높은 건물들이 있습니다. 하지만 19세기에도 이러한 건축물들을 짓는 것은 쉽지 않았을 것입니다. 한 사람의 인생을 소비하면서 지어진 브루클린 다리를 보며 건축가들의 희생에 대해서 공감할 수 있었던 좋은 영상이었습니다.

[@evansisgreat]

1:31 the bridge spans 480m (between the central pillars) , it isn't 480m long. Your drawing is not to scale. You've done the same with the Cincinnati-Covington Bridge.

[@aivingast]

Would make a nice film

[@hellogoodbyeandallinbetween]

I just read about Emily role in the construction of the bridge in Bygone Badass Broads. Highly recommend it!

[@Alkalus]

*London Bridge is falling down*

[@zyaicob]

You win

[@Macrocompassion]

It was rebuilt shortly after the second world war using for the first time pre-stressed concrete in its spans. Its pillars sink into the Thames river mud and every year have to be jacked up with more material being added.

[@peeweeallen517]

Fuhgeddaboudit is the best phrase ever.

[@0901강민재]

역사적인 브루클린현수교 건축물에 대하여 배웠습니다. 역사에서 유명한 건축물은 참으로 대단한 것같습니다. 130년이 넘었지만 아직 잘 서있는 브루클린현수교의 건축방법이 흥미로웠습니다. 좋은 영상 감사합니다.

[@spycookie6174]

4:46 Never forget

[@strxkereye]

My great grandfather slept under the Brooklyn Bridge for his first week after immigrating from Ireland

[@Orthodox1911]

This would make a great movie