The Three Gorges Dam: The Most Important Strategic Target in the World

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[@warographics643]

Thanks to Keeps for sponsoring this video! Head to keeps.com/SIMON to get a special offer.

[@Normal_macdonald]

You're not a good example of keeps working my dude

[@ignitionfrn2223]

Well i'll be dammed !

[@thedoctor0496]

Idk bro, i'll buy some if you can prove it works :)

[@1cipheradam]

Why you still bald then ?

[@ignitionfrn2223]

@@1cipheradamNo hair should soil the chrome dome of the Whistler !

[@JohnGuzik]

Three Gorges Dam is holding back all the rocket fuel.

[@Coins.com.]

😂😂

[@ssark9187]

Those who don't follow current affairs won't understand this Joke 😅.

[@alexhennigh5242]

​@@ssark9187If they're here, I think it's safe to say they get the joke 🤦

[@Normal_macdonald]

Is the dam made with steel beams?

[@SamtheIrishexan]

So true lol

[@Have_A_Nice_Day242]

I saw a documentary once on attacking heavily defended targets and this one young pilot was successful by ignoring all the electronics targeting information and using a power he called the Force.

[@spambot_gpt7]

The Force Multiplier

[@Deyas786]

Luke Skywalker is a lever and nothing can change my mind now.

[@ganndeber1621]

How did he get on?

[@CharlesShopsin]

Is that the only time in the movies someone actually refers to a computer by name?

[@themacker894]

The accuracy of the information provided in that documentary is close to (but better) than info provided in this one. ;)

[@attobuoy]

As the old joke says, mechanical engineers build weapons; civil engineers build targets.

[@tjroelsma]

Mechanical engineers might also say: "whatever you can build, we can tear it down." Mechanically speaking it's a relatively simple equation of doing enough damage to critical points and the construction WILL collapse.

[@derekhamel2991]

Lol, never thought of this juxtaposition

[@jeffreydallas6047]

How the hell did China keep the scammers from selling them bunk concrete and rebar? I'm most worried about the dam taking itself out.

[@ashishkumarsarma5359]

And then comes the Computer Engineers 😎

[@James-hw1gk]

Then bio engineers 😮

[@Sintrania]

The best attack plan for the dam is “wait” 😂

[@Samookely]

Chinese infrastructure will take it out faster than any american weapon could 💀💀

[@justmyopinion8395]

You will believe anything

[@mich5924]

An F-16 making it from Taipai to Three Gorges sounds like the plot of the new Top Gun sequel.

[@hughmungus2760]

yeah sure, a non stealthy aircraft fighting its way through thousands of PLAAF fighters and hundreds of SAM sites.

[@Backdaft94]

More like Iron Eagle

[@domcamp3313]

@@hughmungus2760he said it sounds like a plot of a movie😂 you really thought he was serious lmao

[@topcat43truffles15]

Come on, everyone knows Tom Cruise could do it all by his lonesome….🤣

[@topcat43truffles15]

Matter of fact, just let them know Tom Cruise is on his way and they might just surrender right there… Sorry, just can’t help myself…lol. I think I’ll just go crack open another cold one….🍺😎

[@IlluminatiBG]

"In 2005, NASA scientists calculated that the shift of water mass stored by the dams would increase the total length of the Earth's day by 0.06 microseconds". While the energy of a nuclear weapon is powerful, I think the potential energy stored in the water reservour is on par.

[@thesjkexperience]

Surfers agree. Few understand the power of water.

[@SimonMester]

Any engineer worth their salt, or anyone with basic scientific literacy should understand the power of water.@@thesjkexperience

[@besomewheredosomething]

@@thesjkexperience The Rocket Force of China knows. They use it to fuel their missiles!

[@GhostFox_69]

Mother of God…

[@lowqualityshitposts8860]

yea but its 34 meters of concrete, or more

[@mooonpaw]

The flood mentioned warped the dam quite a lot, too. It may not have to be destroyed at all. Looking at the before and after pictures, it's ...worrying, to say the least.

[@adamkaufman724]

Yeah I saw that. Given all the reports on Chinese building quality, I don't think it lasts the decade

[@Samookely]

i think this is a tipping point thats leading to so many middle class chinese people fleeing to america through the mexican border. Watching history unfold is both horrifying and fascinating. Very critical part of our lives right now

[@hyzhang2064]

Actually, if you check google earth now you will find the dam still straight like before. Maybe google optimized their algorithm.

[@johnteets2921]

Concrete does not bend. Those pictures were photo shopped.

[@adamkaufman724]

@johnteets2921 concrete isn't supposed to bend. But if you don't mix it correctly, or use substandard materials, it'll do all sorts of things it shouldn't.

[@RyGuy13]

Simon may be making a great series about warfare, but in reality it's just a bunch of really good logic against war. And he does it masterfully!

[@graham7478]

Yeh, but humans are impervious to logic so we're f####d

[@viewsandreviews180]

I wonder if anti-war messages like this are okayed for circulation in China by the CCP.

[@Waverlyduli]

But just in case, special assets are important.

[@phaslow4393]

There are several dams on the Yangtze above the Three Gorges Dam. They are much smaller, but still quite considerable in size. If one of them was to go for whatever reson it would result in a domino effect taking the others downstream with it.

[@willdean-stobie5730]

Smaller ones potentially being not as well defended? Try to hit a few at the same time to increase the chances of causing a tsunami that hits the Three Gorges? As dark as it is, I would all but guarantee such a plan exists somewhere in top secret military planning files.

[@silverhawkscape2677]

Bruh 😅

[@fatbuttbassett4732]

This!!!

[@marcelomarcelo514]

There are almost 100 dams in that line, literally it will be the worst catastrophe in the history of mankind

[@nhatho1723]

You know dams are designed to be able to release more water if there’s too much for it to handle right? It’ll allow the downstream to flood a bit more to protect the integrity of the damn

[@Mike-hu3pp]

If the Hoover dam was breached Mexico would see the Colorado river for the first time in almost a century.

[@Douge11]

The Colorado river is as much as 60% overdrawn. When the surveys were done to determine how much water each state is allowed to pull from it, they messed up the calculations and everyone is pulling too much

[@12345anton6789]

And no more water for California

[@ericwright6672]

That's been rerouted dude comes out in San diego

[@bnadit1949]

The calculations were fine, the problem was the timeframe referenced that the calculations were based on was one of the wettest periods the Colorado River has ever seen.

[@nikopawlowic6557]

The one weapon system you failed to mention was Rapid Dragon, basically imagine a C-130 loaded up with around 5 pallets of cruise missles each pallet carrying 6-9 cruise missles that get yeeted out the back of the plane and have a range of about 450 miles and are nigh impossible to both detect and stop and are loaded with JDAM style munitions. Basically if the United States Airforce decided to say screw the PRC all they would have to do to destroy the Three Gorges dam would be to send up a few cargo aircraft and cause a war crime from a safe distance away.

[@erichelmick1087]

THANK YOU! Nobody knows about the rapid dragon yet.

[@oblivionshadow9453]

You probably wouldn't want to use rapid dragon for this sort of attack though. While C-17's and C-130's would allow you to get the volume you would need to ensure hits on target easier, it would probably be better to launch these from stealth platforms to minimize the reaction time of air defenses.

[@nikopawlowic6557]

@oblivionshadow9453 to quote Fat electrician "Buh!" How dare I say something that is actually smart strategically, not saying that it is moral to condemn all of those who would be suffered in its wake by such is war. God help us that such an instance remains in our imaginations and not become a reality.

[@tylergarrett4498]

You'd have to to suppress enemy air defense half way into Jiangxi

[@ezas533]

ironically, JASSM-ER has a maximum range of just about the distance from the edge of the east china sea to the dam

[@mharr]

It was nice to see Grandpa Buff make a cameo in this video!

[@RAS_Squints]

Simon's social credit score went down 100 points

[@Coins.com.]

😂

[@kevinmahaley4916]

Nahhh.....atleast 450

[@KonradvonHotzendorf]

Didn't call Xi ping Winney the Pooh

[@01oo011]

He’s been on the “detain if ever seen in China” list for a long time now.

[@gabbyt98]

Naughty naughty fact boy

[@shawnamell3069]

I grew up in Lake Havasu City, below the Hoover Dam. I never gave a second thought about what would happen if it was destroyed. Very eye opening!

[@douggaudiosi14]

Situational awareness is paramount above all else. Not paranoia but having knowledge and plans about potential incidents that could effect your life. Like living under a massive dam or always knowing where all exits to a building are and reading people

[@branraisin684]

Just look at what happened a little over a decade ago the Parker dam had to be opened up and flooded most of housing along the river. Just 45 minutes south of you -havasu native as well

[@iamunknowable]

Did you not pay attention in school when they talked about what to do and where to go when something like that happens? They taught us about what to do and where to go during a natural disaster...

[@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem]

You live near the New Vegas dam! I wonder if the dam gets any tourism from that game. I know the town Goodsprings does.

[@branraisin684]

@@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem Vegas does Hoover does hell even surprise does

[@mufasachainbreaker7757]

I don't know who needs to know this, but out of the stock footage he used for the flooding, there is a scene at 6:17 that includes a dinosaur fleeing from the flood. The More You Know

[@rhov-anion]

I have a friend who was affected when a dam near her broke. She didn't just lose her home; she lost her entire town. Her job, her children's schools, her church, her favorite grocery store. Everything, gone. And this was only a small town. I can't imagine a mega-metropolis like Wuhan being wiped out. I mean, just look at inflation after China partially shut down due to Covid, how we now struggle to afford graphic cards, laptops, even food. Imagine if it all NEVER REOPENED because hundreds of millions were dead and all the industries wiped off. Simon is right, it's human destruction that would surpass literally EVERYTHING IN HISTORY, and an economic catastrophe with global ramifications. You don't need a nuclear arms race when you have a dam and hundred of millions of lives hanging in the balance.

[@ashleyobrien4937]

meh, America is the process of building new fabs to eliminate that very weakness, and on U.S. soil. So the world is going to run out of fake knockoffs and fidget spinners...I think we'll cope....

[@d.c.8828]

If you are not a citizen of the People's Republic of China, then China is not responsible for your nation's currency being devalued.

[@myblacklab7]

Which dam? Which town?

[@kevinmcconnell3641]

I’ve actually seen an article saying that the Three Gorges dam is in peril of failing.

[@Christian-Syndicate]

Read about the Johnstown Flood. Then scale it up

[@jimtalbott9535]

I grew up in a small town in the 1980s in Eastern Washington state. Every Saturday at noon they’d test the air-raid sirens - because Grand Coulee Dam upriver from is was a known target for Soviet Nukes - if ruptured, it was expected to inundate our town with about 200 ft of water. We were downstream by about 80-100 miles from Grand Coulee.

[@brianbishop4753]

Not to mention it would then be radioactive water. Spreading its joy everywhere it touched after the flood damage was done.

[@madsocsci]

They tested air raid sirens weekly where I grew up as well. My friends and I would joke that "the Russians could attack (then,) and nobody would pay any attention."

[@NanoDeer]

that's a very real phenomenon with alert systems. Town I lived in tested the tornado siren weekly, and one day a tornado actually hit our town. It's believed that one of the victims didn't evacuate or take shelter because they ignored the siren.

[@brianbishop4753]

@@NanoDeer the fun of living in the Midwest or plans states

[@Lutherson1962]

And in the 40s-50s people used to man air raid towers to record and report all airplanes flying

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:40 - Chapter 1 - Biggest in the world 3:15 - Mid roll ads 4:40 - Back to the video 5:25 - Chapter 2 - Potential for catastrophe 11:30 - Chapter 3 - Attack & defense 18:45 - Chapter 4 - Deterring china ; china deters

[@Mmouse_]

Ads.. Where? Oh yea... I don't see those.

[@SimonsAuntPhyllis]

@@Mmouse_ Right. You skip to when he's done talking about his sponsor too. Just like everybody else.

[@phucyuho2807]

​@@SimonsAuntPhyllisspeak for yourself

[@TexRex6352]

Calling the dam virtually indestructible is a joke. We know there have been serious structural integrity issues with plenty of cracks and the government would have a tough time repairing them because the dam is eternally being used. China regularly chooses to flood certain cities to avoid letting favored cities take damage from natural disasters. That's not a sign of strength and stability.

[@criticaltheories5222]

It might collapse on its own......

[@chrischan4936]

If Simon comes out with a video, praising the achievements of the three gorges dam, i know what happened.

[@CrackedCandy]

What happened?

[@KyleV00]

Good thing he doesn’t live in China? This fear of them is crippling to the weak minded, the chinaman can’t hurt you, don’t worry. Unless you’re stupid and actually willingly visit that ‘country’.

[@Bitchslapper316]

This is an amazing engineering marvel and it's also scary. Just a year or two back there were images of parts of the dam bending and cracking during a rather active rain season. I believe they repaired it. Thankfully.

[@za7v9ier]

just satellite image stitching glitch i believe. Same effect can be seen on a smartphone camera when taking panorama mode

[@Iselas181]

@za7v9ier you can Google what happened bro, it was in 2020 they found some bending but fixed it, pretty normal for this to happen so I don't see what all the fuss is about.

[@za7v9ier]

@@Iselas181 that kind of warping no engineering solution can fix it. It's as good as a crack in glass. No matter how much you fix it, it can be structurally sound. That's the other dam that is old in Europe which is structurally failing has a solution of building another dam in front of the old dam

[@Gfysimpletons]

Water can move mountains, the TGD is held in place by gravity! 😂😂😂😂

[@user-wz9wj8eo8f]

I saw a U Tube video last week where the subject dam has over 80 serious cracks and may destroy itself in a short time.

[@deltarno7502]

I remember hearing back in the early 00's. Back then, people were talking about how there were micro fractures throughout the foundations. Frankly, and in the revelation about tofu dreg construction, I always expected it to fall on it's own.

[@MrAdamArce]

There was a very brief time when modern China actually did construct things properly. Obviously, that's now a thing of the past for a least the last decade. But it did happen for a split moment lol

[@codyaragon93]

Did I hear him right when he said it’s on a fucking fault line?? So the next global catastrophe could be another result of Chinese incompetence…

[@KookyBone]

​​@@MrAdamArce You really believe what you are saying... Are you from the 50 cent army which posts Chinese propaganda... Just Google or search on KZbin for China tofu buildings collapse.... You will find hundreds or thousands. Even the newly build Chinese monorail in Thailand, had two incidents because of bad quality in the first 6 months... Chinese building quality is still about the worst in the world.

[@zehechen920]

And yet 23 years later nothing has fallen on its own😂 ofc a little ynk will come out of the woods with zero knowledge of dam building thinks that a perfect damn has no cracks Every dam have cracks😂 but hey what can you expect from someone who live in a prime example of what a failed society and a failed race is. How dose it feel seeing food in grocery stores locked behind bulletproof glass, how dose feel seeing mass homlessness on the streets, how dose feel seeing mass shootings Every month boast about infrastrure are you how dose feel traveling around on those stone age half broken subways in rundown tunnels remind again how fast your train gose? Dose it go 1000km a hour oops that is chins😂 you infrastructure is so good new york is sinking into the ocean but who am I just the country with the most skyscrapers oops are you gonna say that they are going to collpsse too😂 wanna wait another 23 years and tets out your theroy I'm afraid your failed society will collpsse before any chinses building will😂

[@joeleonard9965]

Guessing it was around the same time they had pro-democracy movements.

[@sargepent9815]

It's already known they used inferior concrete and steel in its construction and the architects that tried to sound warning were silenced. That dam is unstable and WHEN (not if) it fails, will cause the biggest humanitarian disaster in history

[@ganndeber1621]

Good

[@stephaniepotts8256]

​@ganndeber1621 you realize I'd that happens they'll probably blame another country and drag the US,Japan, or Taiwan into war. Probably all three.

[@Canada-_]

@@ganndeber1621 bro what ur fckn sick in the head, screw the CCP but to want 10s if not 100s of millions of people to die. I hope you never have children talking like that.

[@gagemattingly6706]

@@ganndeber1621not good, the average Chinese citizen is just a normal person, they don’t deserve to pay for corrupt officials actions

[@ganndeber1621]

Lol they are Chinese first communist second. If you believe your drivel you know nothing about China or the Chinese@@gagemattingly6706

[@theadventuresofbrockinthai4325]

I am an American living in Thailand and I had a conversation with an engineer that worked on building the 3 gorges dam. He told me that it is full of tofu. It is just a matter of time before it will have major cracks and will ultimately fail and kill millions.

[@bangbanglee_]

十九年前你的父亲也是这样说的😂

[@Fujhipngff]

@@bangbanglee_go look up the hundreds of videos on buildings collapsing. It’s frankly insane it’s that often. It’s not surprising when you have 0 regulations on material quality and percision with the added benefit of contractors building without even a worry for demand, you breed the culture of doing stuff quickly not well and you cut every single corner you can. It’s the exact reason any company that needs to source parts with high accuracy they don’t go to china.

[@yli3697]

You can pass this story on to your grandson.

[@zaccariareino6732]

Battlefield 4 anyone?

[@tobycatVA]

Targeting the dozens of dams upstream of The Three Gorges Dam in a domino attack to overtop it would exacerbate the damage and is nearly impossible to defend against.

[@user-qd4td7yb8e]

India has the stink of the Ganges as their defense. Mongols didn't even get close.

[@wenchan8098]

Did you watch the last 5 minutes of the video?

[@Phethario]

"Using dirty mini nukes so the tsunami would be highly radioactive, would also help :P" They are small enough to be smuggled in and deployed as an underwater drone without anyone noticing

[@SamRalls-ti1be]

A good mind working there. Maybe just incorporate that move, as part of the overall strategy?

[@lajoyalobos2009]

One bit of arsenal that might make sense that wasn't mentioned specifically was the US's quicksink. When used against ships, it is terrifying to behold, with ships sinking in almost less time than it takes to read this sentence. It uses a cavitation effect which if used against a dam like this, the blast would initially rupture the entire structure, using a "water hammer" effect (water doesn't compress.)

[@adenkyramud5005]

I didn't even think about using the quicksink against anything other than ships... dear god that would be one hell of a boom wouldn't it 😂 there really is no country in the world that can compare to the us when it comes to putting warheads on foreheads...

[@windsorSJ]

That theory was pioneered by Barnes Wallis creator of the dambuster bomb in WWII. You should watch the movie about it, great old war movie.

[@kahlzun]

@@windsorSJ the bouncing bomb or the earthquake bomb?

[@basrengangetch.2042]

​@@kahlzunbouncy one. Earthquake bomb was used mostly on submarine pens

[@darkgelfling]

Great video. I would like to add that the three gorgeous damn might not need to be attack. It might collapse on its own. More than a few sources have said that structurally the damage showing signs of cracking and weakness and we all know Tofu, construction is a Major problem in China.

[@justmyopinion8395]

You will believe anything.

[@pauls3204]

It’s falling down , no one need destroy it ! It’s already swelling outwards in the middle .

[@user-ct5md9yl8i]

Still? I haven't heard it collapse yet. Did you also watch a KZbin video saying "China will collapse in 30 days!" 6 years ago?

[@ch1m3r4c0mpl3x]

This was a great dam episode, with a lot of dam facts. There's a lot of potential for massive dam devastation if anyone ever took it out.

[@marshallsupply9188]

except no one is gonna take it out. this is some weird pipe dream that any serious military analyst would never consider

[@ch1m3r4c0mpl3x]

@@marshallsupply9188 /woosh

[@raygarcia-pg7wr]

Dam good comment

[@raygarcia-pg7wr]

@@marshallsupply9188unfortunately

[@ForageGardener]

​@@raygarcia-pg7wr*good dam comment

[@nylarnameless1759]

Great analysis....I hadn't known the dam was such a monolith in China and represents such a strategic interest.

[@marshallsupply9188]

it's not strategic at all. no one is seriously thinking about blowing up a purely civilian infrastructure even in war. if they did, it would have to be with nukes but at that point, wed already be in a nuclear holocaust

[@lynn6799]

​@@marshallsupply9188its so poorly built, you don't need nukes. Fireworks will do the trick.

[@douggodfrey6521]

If the Great Dam of China fails - it's back to a 1924 . Economy.

[@Kriss_L]

@@marshallsupply9188If you are at war with China, that dam is a strategic military target as it powers the Chinese economy which builds and supports the Chinese military.

[@Devilishlybenevolent]

It's not really a "strategic interest" more of a mass terrorist attack if anyone attacked it since it would cause mass innocent civilian casualties.

[@edward9232]

I couldn't imagine Simon with hair. The bald head and beard is an iconic look, and a good look.

[@craftycri]

Love the Dr Strangelove secret "dooms day weapon"... ;) What you didn't mention, however, is the structural issues the 3 Gorges Damn has already, its a cracked cup just aching to blow. I seriously doubt it would take much to take it out. If it were to happen, I would expect a Nord Stream surprise... a "gee I wonder who" event where no one saw nothin!

[@HH-dd2xq]

I'd love to see a video about how this dude singlehandedly mastered the youtube algorithm. Guy's got like 7 different channels pumping out videos daily of completely random clickbait shit, with everything from the title to the channel names to the thumbnails all perfectly crafted to maximize engagement for ad revenue and being recommended to me constantly, even though I have never watched anything from this channel.

[@teamcybr8375]

He's not primarily a writer, he's hired as a narrator because he's a great narrator.

[@PositionTheory]

The irony of Simon’s video being sponsored by an anti-hair loss product is not lost on me 😂

[@richardhammonds6907]

You're funny

[@legaliseme]

The level of environmental and human cost caused by the destruction of the three gorges dam would be carte blanche to go straight to the MAD conclusion.

[@thewildfolk6849]

As an American who lived in China this is honestly something I never considered. Great video!

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

Destroying the Three Gorges Dam has been a tactic discussed and debated in Taiwan since the early 1990s, when the dam was still in the planning phase.

[@enolopanr9820]

Ferb, I know what we are going to do today

[@fantabuloussnuffaluffagus]

You would have to be a moron to miss the potential of attaching a target like 3 Gorges. You would have to be a war criminal to do it.

[@philognosis6409]

It sounds like a plan for getting nuked.

[@Scoubidou-if1of]

Debated in the UK you mean.

[@starmnsixty1209]

👍👍👍

[@zogar8526]

I don't think America would actually target it if we could avoid it. Though I do think we'd make China think we were. Stage multiple attempts, all I intended to fail, but all still drawing massive amount of chines resources to defend the dam. Make them focused on its protection so much they are left with less elsewhere. And hit another target for real while they think we were trying for the dam. That would be my bet.

[@proy3]

Not to mention that it would pretty much guarantee a nuclear response.

[@joshuakern2762]

Tiawan might

[@etienne8110]

The thing is, if you target their dam and millions of lives, it makes it fair game for them to target yours, your nuclear plants etc... It s not a game anyone sane would want to play. Even the russians arent stooping that low.

[@muninrob]

@@etienne8110 Already forgot about the Kakhovka dam that the Russians blew to prevent the Ukrainian counter attack?

[@tyler3201]

@@muninrob That's a little different.

[@johndc2998]

Loved this style of video. Good layout.

[@jludo]

Whys it assumed nukes are off the table but hitting the dam is a valid target? Sounds like destroying the dam would cause more damage than a single nuke could.

[@Hillbilly001]

Holy Algorithm! Two Warographics in less than 24 hours! Simon, did you finally feed the denizens of the basement something other than mushrooms? Allegedly. Cheers from Tennessee

[@kirinrias6912]

simon run out of magic spoon so they got normal ones with sugar....

[@Hillbilly001]

@@kirinrias6912 Better than the mushrooms. Depending on the mushroom though. Allegedly. Cheers

[@bestfails5283]

This is giving me some star wars, deathstar 1 vibes... Imagine luke taiwanwalker firing his torpedo into the weakpoint of the dam

[@Shrouded_reaper]

Your brain is damaged by television.

[@conductingintomfoolery9163]

It’s a damn, they don’t have structurally weak points

[@basrengangetch.2042]

​@conductingintomfoolery9163 it's a chinese dam. All of it is a weak point

[@Geordiicus]

Your first monologue had me going, oo im bloody interested. Thanks bruv

[@user-zb9lv3gh8s]

The company i worked for made the wicket gate bearings for that dam. The packaging specs they gave us said so much... We were not allowed to use any newspaper packaging, in fact no writing was allowed on any thing inside the crates. They did not want any word from the outside world getting into china... Not. One. Word.

[@hyperboreanforeskin]

Chinese people have the internet and bypassing the Great Chinese Firewall is as easy as getting GoogleFi...

[@RogueReplicant]

Yep, the money-grubbing face-saving copycats are terrified that their herd of dumb sheep will know what a crappy system they live in, lol

[@Fujhipngff]

Do you know how close were the tolerances for it were?

[@user-zb9lv3gh8s]

@@Fujhipngff i believe we had a pretty nuts NDA on that job, so...

[@user-ct5md9yl8i]

You think China is completely closed off or something? That's ridiculous. McDonald's everywhere and half the people here have Facebook. It's not north Korea

[@Elongated_Muskrat]

Recent Military scandals, economic weakness, demographic crisis, the weakness of the Straight of Malacca as a global chokepoint, this and countless other things that make me believe China going to full scale war is basically national self-oofing.

[@loocro]

Historically, war has been proven to be a great distraction from internal issues, to keep leaders in power, at least temporarily

[@dynasty0019]

Never underestimate an autocracy's willingness to use war to whip a patriotic frenzy from its population to distract from its own failures.

[@mind-blowing_tumbleweed]

That never stopped anyone from waging a war. Kinda the opposite.

[@widodoakrom3938]

Well china has Eurasian railways and pipelines mallaca straits isn't important and do u thinks country like Malaysia Singapore and Indonesia will keep silent?

[@hughmungus2760]

Which is why china is massively building out its nuclear stockpile. Its learned that the US wouldn't dare actually attack a nuclear armed state if theres a reasonable chance a decent number of nukes hit the US mainland.

[@MrAnonymous1515]

You're very good at making very informative videos

[@johnhogan3810]

Remember a small attack on the dam can be done to prove resolve and ability to destroy the dam. He who can destroy something controls that thing.

[@Ed_Stuckey]

_nice dam you have there, it would be a shame if it fell down_

[@MrFelipeJB]

No one talking about how this would be a war crime.

[@leihtory7423]

these people are not at war with the CCP. they are at war with Chinese people. lol.

[@Chroniclerope]

So are nukes, but if China thinks it can attack a nuclear defenses nation without a disaster whether from the damn or a nuke, then they really need to rethink it.

[@garytnew7504]

And do you honestly believe that would be a deterrent,,,I don’t think so

[@RogueReplicant]

What? The Chinese would annihilate us in an instant if they could. See what the effing Japanese did with modern military power, they went insane.

[@jberg3447]

Oh it's coming down that's for sure ❤

[@emp0rizzle]

Don't forget Treebeard's attack on the dam at Isengard.

[@domcamp3313]

“Hold on little hobbits”

[@michaelhowell2326]

Isn't the Three Gorges Dam a victim of Chinese construction?I don't remember where I read/heard but the dam is already starting to crumble in places.

[@mattylaa5070]

Its been falling apart for a while. Crappy dams fail all the time all over china killing many buy information is supressed or ignored.

[@Kooster69]

@@wolfrickthedesigner4748 Considering the rampant corruption in China and China's sub-standard steel, I wouldn't be surprised that the Three Gorges Dam is a ticking away to become the worst human disaster in history.

[@FoquroC31]

I've heard similar claims but never sources. Can you provide a link to pictures of those cracks?

[@Fatallydisorganized]

can't put links in youtube comments, they'll remove the comment.@@FoquroC31

[@besomewheredosomething]

@@wolfrickthedesigner4748 Sources? It's a good story and I've seen it parroted by many people and channels, but are there any direct e.g. non-KZbin or Social Media sources?

[@donchaput8278]

Attacking a dam is like attacking a ship or submarine, you detonate the ordinance underwater, and at the base. The cavitation and pressure effect is devastating since water doesn't compress. Surprisingly everyone always talks about trying to attack the dam directly, that's stupid.

[@kenthanna]

That's how the orcs blew up the dam in Ukraine.

[@toospooky051]

I was thinking of a combination of both; attack the base with shaped explosives on one side while dropping depth charges into the basin to crack away at the other side.

[@bthsr7113]

In the even that this dam would be attacked, there is a considerable chance of using nuclear tipped missiles, which don't need to worry as much about penetration.

[@eriq54321]

An underwater drone

[@Matt-yg8ub]

@@kenthanna That was Ukraine…. The loss of the dam harmed the Russians trying to attack , not the defenders

[@Ulrich_von_Jungingen]

I find this really interesting as I have thought the 3 Gorges dam would be a priority target if war was to break out.

[@matt-eu-poland]

I just subscribed to your channel. Thank you for interesting videos!

[@henryskalitz9094]

One thing to consider also is that China's airforce, and military in general, have never been tested. The US military has a lot of experience so they know what can go wrong and how to fix it. China has no idea how their military will actually do against another military. A lot of people thought Russia had a strong military, only to find out they struggled against a Ukrainian army that should of been defeated in a week.

[@yufeination]

all the more reasons for them to use nuclear. if the dams been targeted and destroyed you think will give a crap about using nuclear lol?

[@silverhawkscape2677]

Exactly. Everyone was saying Ukraine would be crushed in a Month prior to the conflict.

[@Kriss_L]

People with security clearances were not surprised by the now public exposure of Russian corruption.

[@only_fair23]

The US isn't going to fight China directly, it'll just do it by supporting Taiwan

[@mitchhifi9192]

No they got tested recently in a UN peacekeeping mission, they abandoned post and ran away lmao.

[@Shoelessjoe78]

Back when I first saw a video this being constructed on the History channel when the History channel did history. My first thought was that would be one hell of a target to take out it would do way more damage than any nuke.

[@emmiewhite1356]

With the shifting it’s done via satellite images, it won’t be more than a decade.

[@TS-jm7jm]

​@@emmiewhite1356here's hoping

[@etienne8110]

So are nuclear plants, mines etc... But no one would do it because they d face accusation of crime against humanity because of the huge number of casualties.

[@monkeynator1000]

@@etienne8110atleast you understand that attacking that dam would lead to nuclear war

[@loocro]

It would also trigger a nuclear answer from China

[@johnhoffmann1565]

Nice work!

[@osamabinlaggin3281]

China: You're gonna die over an island? Taiwan: Someone is.

[@andrewphillips8341]

6:20 You left out that the officials DIDN'T WARN people down stream of the dam that they were opening the flood gates (AT NIGHT), many people died as a result.

[@lucass9328]

So glad I watched this til the end! Very informative, much appreciated!

[@tankueytryn]

I hink you're the only one!

[@basrengangetch.2042]

​@@tankueytrynno

[@flipmode45]

Shoof, super interesting topic and great video. I reallllllly hope it never happens though!

[@404-UsernameNotFound]

10:43 Talking about Hoover Dam whilst showing an image of Glen Canyon Dam 😂

[@mattyktatermattyktater796]

Talking about the porcupine defense and showing a hedgehog. 😂

[@randyj4452]

I noticed that too! Stock footage from river level is Glen Canyon Dam!

[@Hession0Drasha]

Seems like it'd be the prime target, for space based rods from god. Due to being near imposible to intercept.

[@jakes6023]

I thought they shit canned those? You're right though

[@Hession0Drasha]

@@jakes6023 banned by international treaty, but technically very possible

[@hughmungus2760]

they'd be unable to hit anything smaller than a city. Think about it. Unguided kinetic projectiles coming in from orbit? They'll be as accurate as 1st generation ballistic missiles.

[@RogueReplicant]

​@@hughmungus2760Why would they have to be unguided?? t f

[@hughmungus2760]

@@RogueReplicant sensors and control surfaces don't survive ballistic re-entry at orbital speeds. Stuff like space shuttles and space capsules have to perform a glide trijectory to not completely burn up. Whereas a dense rod won't be able to glide and plunge through the atmosphere melting off any kind of guidance system. ICBMs with guided warhead are still very much sub-orbital.

[@omirrrr]

Never thought I'd see the day Simon promoted hair loss treatment

[@willproctor2276]

He leads others to the gift he himself, can no longer possess. Poetic, really.

[@KonradvonHotzendorf]

It seems like a waste for Simon 😂 He look silly with hair

[@davidfranklin3180]

I love the random dinosaur 🦕 in the flood waters at 6:18. Didn't see that coming for sure.

[@chadlyles5444]

Theoretically you don't have to hit that damn hit the Damned above it

[@Lynxajb]

Excellent. Well presented and many good points. Nice to see logic instead of emotions & rhetoric all the time. Thx

[@Unb3arablePain]

Well luckily for us, it will take itself out on its own sooner or later.

[@munnakhan8961]

Dream

[@shotybumbati]

Jeez Simon how many channels are you hosting?!?

[@RockCorley-im1si]

The Dam is crumbling apart!

[@benb8898]

Would destroying that dam, even in a war, be the most evil deliberate act in the history of humanity?

[@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem]

Suppose it depends on circumstances, but I think those which it would be justified are highly, EXTREMELY unlikely. The only way I think it could be justified would be a situation like Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where it was decided that simply using the nukes would result in less casualties for both sides than an invasion of the home islands. However, without a nuclear war (which could conceivably be caused by this anyways), I don't see how a conventional invasion of mainland China could result in 50 million casualties, even counting both sides.

[@cole2561]

Nahhh

[@hughmungus2760]

@@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem the only reason the US could carry out Hiroshima and Nagasaki was because the japanese couldn't nuke the US back. China absolutely would nuke the US in retaliation.

[@KitsuneKiera]

Absolutely, If attacking a civillian is a war crime then that would be what 400 million war crimes? It is literally Rule 1 in the laws of war. Plus its kind of ironic for countries like the US to high horse countries like Russia regarding their indiscriminate attacks on civillians and then even consider an even more indiscriminate attack on civillians.

[@bobrenner7213]

This dam has been the subject of several books in the past. One from 1997" The River Dragon Has Come!: Three Gorges Dam and the Fate of China's Yangtze River and Its People. Also, I remember a war story novel about bombing the dam but I wasn't able to locate the title quickly.

[@teamcharcoal1554]

At 6:17 thought I was tripping there with that dinosaur for a second.

[@grantshingoose810]

Excellent!

[@KanesTrades]

It'd be cool to simulate all this in a hyper-realistic video game.

[@quincydread5204]

well given the possibility we are already living in a simulation maybe we are already INSIDE teh game.

[@osamamarouf1177]

HI Simon, as usual perfect episode, you never disappoint us, but dude how in the seven hells did you land that sponsor ?

[@CrazyBrick30]

They thought his beard was just hair that migrated south from his head for the winter.

[@jacobsir1320]

Hes wearing a whig

[@jacobsir1320]

Hes wearing a whig

[@jacobsir1320]

Hes wearing a whig

[@Fyctional]

Sponsors love a cautionary tale

[@chadrossiter156]

2 bunk busters = game over

[@Jabberstax]

2 bunker busters + 1 MOAB

[@w_a_b_b_i_t2781]

"Come on fact boy, everyone's got dams" I was dead 🤣🤣🤣

[@msclrhd]

For some reason, I've got the Dam Busters theme stuck in my head :).

[@Aravan242]

Not only am I pretty sure this is a work crime. I'm also pretty sure that any attack on the three gorges damn on that scale would justify the use of nuclear weapons and retaliation, so it's a great way to take your war from conventional to nuclear in record time

[@JoelSolomons8]

"a work crime" yep I'm pretty sure you'd get fired for blowing up the dam!

[@Moarb1d]

I agree. China could state (if they haven't yet) that any attack on the TGD would be considered similar as a nuclear attack on one of the cities and would be responded in the same way.

[@thepax2621]

"work crime"? Or "war crime"? 😅

[@esense9602]

​@@thepax2621in West, they call it collateral damage.

[@thepax2621]

@@esense9602 In the east they call it: politics

[@JessWLStuart]

Well presented.

[@joeyspaghetti5723]

I'm sure it's been hypothesized to strategically drop an ordinance into the reservoir itself where it can make its way to the interior of the structure and then be either remotely donated or utilize a pressure switch or something of the like.

[@mattmatt6572]

I was kinda thinking torpedo be the best tool for the job

[@garyfrombrooklyn]

My friends: “Hey man, what’s going on?” Me: “Have you heard of the Three Gorges Dam and its significance? I’ll stop you there, you haven’t. Let me tell you what’s going on”

[@Skyhulk95]

This dam makes Taiwan a automatic nuclear power with the building of the three gorges 39 billion cubic meters of water will easily affecting 400 million Chinese

[@hughmungus2760]

taiwan doesn't have anything with the yeild to actually damage it

[@skateordie27xx]

Hey thanks for informing me, just exactly where to detonate my homemade nuclear device ☺️

[@FredGCopping]

Very interesting analysis!

[@systemshock869]

Seems like a quickly placed tungsten telephone pole from space would make quick work of it

[@cameronspence4977]

You know that doesn't actually exist right

[@systemshock869]

@@cameronspence4977 How could you possibly know that? kzbin.info/www/bejne/bp2Ykmx4gt6raKs

[@user-pk9im2kp5e]

I saw a timeline photo video and it’s bending under the pressure it’ll break by itself

[@hughmungus2760]

you saw distorted satellite photos as a result of image stitching artifacts. Thats its also why you see big straight things like bridges and runways all over the world bent as well.

[@samuraishonan4706]

I traveled through the three gorges before the damn. Was beautiful

[@ke7eha]

The original 5000lb bunker buster was made using an old 8" gun barrel. If a country can make artillery pieces, they can make bunker busters without problems. Barnes Wallace had it right, though. More effective to go after the upstream face of the dam, or go with a burrowing weapon. The mass of the material surrounding the bomb acts as a tamper, makes the explosion much more effective.

[@FrankLeeNacty]

Excellent topic. It’s an amazing target to destroy with a interesting history of how it was approved to be constructed. I’ll say it, 1 million subscribers soon.

[@KingAlanI]

Sounds somewhat like a large scale version of the Mount Morris Dam on the Genesee. Rochester used to flood like crazy and when a dying hurricane hit the area in the 70s, a bit of water had to be released to avoid a total overflow (like that 2020 flood in China)

[@audiofun1]

How many channels does this guy have. Every day it's a new one

[@bgold2007]

What a great video! So US and Allies should monitor the height of the Yangtze River and reservoir?!

[@MsTyrie]

I have to ask whether attacking upstream dams would be more strategic. The flooding above the 3-gorges dam would be severe and could make flooding below the 3-g dam less severe. A shot over the bow, if it were.

[@sammycampbell1654]

Yeah, it's a good theory on paper until you put it on a map. Those upstream dams are also further inland, and make them even more difficult to attack than the 3G

[@HarryWHill-GA]

An extremely well presented and balanced dissertation on the possible destruction of the 3GD. I think that if the 3GD ever fails it will not be because of enemy action. An inherent weakness for any dam located in a gorge is that the gorge is there because the rock is weaker there than the mountains surrounding it. The pressure of the impounded water only ensures that the water will find any weakness, whether in the rock or the dam. There is also the problem with the low quality of Chinese construction in general. I am sure there is more than a little tofu dreg quality materials used in the construction within the dam. I don't know this for certain but that is how I would bet. If you ever see the PLAN suddenly sortieing from Shanghai and not from other ports, you will know that the CCP believes that the 3GD is not long for this world.

[@20chocsaday]

Like the one in California. But that amount of people downstream is only a pimple.

[@hughmungus2760]

you know the dam could be drained in as little as 6 months right? If there were serious structural issues china would simply open the valves and run the dam to deadpool level then repair it.

[@HarryWHill-GA]

@@hughmungus2760 Yes, but then they would have to admit that they had made a mistake. The Party must be perfect. The Chinese are notorious for cutting costs in construction and NOT doing preventative maintenance. There is also the loss of all the power generation which they badly need.

[@hughmungus2760]

@@HarryWHill-GA uhhh no. If there were genuine problems with something that serious they'd shut it down to fix it. The party isn't democratic where they can just kick the can down the road and let the next guy who gets elected deal with it. If the dam actually had a failure because it ignored it, it wouldn't stay in power for very long. The know full well what Chernobyl did to the USSR and want to avoid that fate.

[@HarryWHill-GA]

@@hughmungus2760 They might well shut 3GD down for repairs but you can bet that they would wait until the last possible moment to do it. I really think they are not all that competent.

[@owenkasaboski6902]

The 3 Gorges Dam has been interesting to me since the original World War Z book released. In the novel, due to the Chinese government allowing the dam to be overrun and then abandoned, the dam eventually collapsed. The utter devastation caused by this utter failure caused a Chinese civil war, in the midst of the Z war. Only ending when the original governments Bunker was nuked by their last remaining nuclear sub to end the war so they could focus on the Z's with what assets remained.

[@robertstearns1235]

No ones going to mention the dinosaur walking along at 6:18