Why use many streetlights when one will do?

[@TomScottGo]

And for anyone who remembers "Dazed and Confused": there's no way you'd fit a party up there!

[@blakksheep736]

Hi Tom.

[@db5094]

Allo Tom

[@Chumpchar]

I'm lost on how you posted this 7 days ago

[@eX1771]

That's immediately what I thought of when I saw your title haha

[@jh3021]

Alright alright alright alright

[@thermitebanana]

I love that Tom seems to have a checklist that he goes through for each video that includes an item "Ask if I can climb it/ride it/drive it because they might say yes"

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

When they say yes, it always pays off. When they don't, at least he can say he tried.

[@DanielTallon-cz7cn]

"Ask if he can push the Big Button," is also a classic (for good reason!)

[@CRMendez97]

the people living in that town can't even see stars because of this but I guess that goes with living in any city

[@WayStedYou]

you mean because it is an easy way to make the video more interesting than him just sitting at ground level?

[@babybluesky9238]

It still amazes me that Tom and his team have continued to find interesting things to cover for nearly 10 years now

[@jblob5764]

The world is an interesting place full of interesting solutions

[@bcharter8091]

Sadly, there are no more interesting things in the world at the end of this year!

[@cho4d]

there are more interesting things in this world than you could ever experience in one life time. the fact that you think a 10 year series covering interesting things is amazing should be a wake up call.

[@FMFvideos]

define interesting

[@babybluesky9238]

@@cho4d There aren't many entertainment equivilants that finish after 10 years of weekly airing that are at their most popular on ending - it's quite an achievement

[@drewmagoo1]

Thanks for featuring us Tom! The Austin Dam originally powered these lights, which was replaced by the Tom Miller dam. If you're still here, consider having a sunset dinner at Hula Hut. It sits right on the dam basin. The food is okay, but it's quite atmospheric albeit a little cold now!

[@sawyersprott]

I will not stand for this slander against Hula Hut. It’s a classic 👌🏻

[@Anewevisual]

Welcum bud!

[@BaileyMagikz]

he is probs already gone the video was uploaded 7 days ago on private (and was probs edited a week or two before) high chance he is back in the UK or somewhere else

[@NekoMouser]

God, I haven't been to that part of town in a long, long time. Is Mozart's still there? I spent many a morning out on that deck drinking a coffee, just taking it all in. And quite a few lazy afternoons or evenings at Hula Hut. I feel like there was something else there I went to occasionally, but that was maybe 2005ish? I can't remember what it was now. I should go back and check it out. Relive some old memories.

[@Waywoah]

@@NekoMouser Mozart's is still there! Always has a good crowd

[@PersonaRandomNumbers]

5:10 Speaking of light pollution, I lived in Austin during the big winter storm in 2021, and my entire apartment building and most of the surrounding ones lost power for the week. I remember going out to walk to the grocery store (one of the few remaining places with power) past sunset and just marveling at how you could see everything just because of the light pollution reflecting off the clouds at night, even with the power out!

[@BBJProductions21]

thats probably more so the phenomenon that happens with snow. As it reflects light and makes it oddly bright out.

[@quotient9974]

@@BBJProductions21yep! Snow reflects so much light that winter nights in the city and never really dark!

[@NaruSanavai]

@@quotient9974 It's like that in rural areas, too. If it's clear and there's snow on the ground, it's like having at least a crescent moon, just from the absorbed starlight. There's also snow's effect on sound; the silence is _so_ loud.

[@quotient9974]

@@NaruSanavai yes! It’s brighter but it’s MUCH quieter

[@pazsion]

well until fukushima ... and chinas largest nuclear reactor in the world... you could see the city lights and use them as a guide. after... we have nights with no moon but its as bright as day... just clouds... sometimes orange, sometimes blue... sometimes you cant explain it... you check google and the moon cycles... no.. some nights its not the moon

[@spirit5923]

I love how you interview people for these oddities and they seem so happy to talk about their thing.

[@philipjennings3490]

Speaking as an astronomer whose view of the night sky is being constantly diminished by light pollution, this is like finding that the Eye of Sauron has been preserved as a heritage site

[@JGnLAU8OAWF6]

I bet they emit less light upwards than modern LED street lighting.

[@Septimus_ii]

@@JGnLAU8OAWF6 I was thinking the opposite. By having to illuminate such a large area from so high up, I would expect there to be more upwards light

[@bastarddoggy]

I was thinking about the way artificial lights affect migratory birds and insects. I bet that some folks have tried to have these shut down based on that, or at least limit their use.

[@myclykaon]

@@JGnLAU8OAWF6as an amateur astronomer we wait for moonless nights. Having the moon permanently there makes it near impossible

[@frequentlycynical642]

@@JGnLAU8OAWF6 You would be wrong. Honest to goddess, just look at all the light going out horizontally and upward. No reflectors. And it doesn't matter if LED or tungsten.

[@1999hellboyable]

Sent Tom an email about these moon towers a few years ago cause I thought he’d find them interesting. He responded by saying that he and his team were already planning on doing a video on them! Some great turnaround on that, Tom 😂

[@SunriseWaterMedia]

His schedule is set so far ahead! 😄🤘

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Well, he had to wait until it was night.

[@JarkkoHietaniemi]

His email inbox is probably a sight to see.

[@gayahithwen]

I mean, he is UK-based, so he has to apply for a visa every time he goes to the US. Meanwhile (at least until Brexit, unsure about now) traveling around Europe was as easy as figuring out transportation.

[@pedrofelipekuhnvolz299]

Isn't this a relaunch of the video?

[@MichaelGeorge161]

Not many videos left, we will miss you Tom!

[@unloat1133]

​@mickay1970he's 'retiring' from making videos by the end of this year I think

[@SamSitar]

make videos like his to share.

[@Ivanfesco]

​@@unloat1133he's just not doing it weekly anymore, but the videos continue I believe

[@TroyRubert]

We didn't know how good we had it.

[@movingforwardLDTH]

I had forgotten his announcement. His Lateral podcast is continuing, correct?

[@Kehk-in-a-MiG]

The successors to moon towers are _high-mast lamps,_ which are typically used in North America to illuminate highway interchanges.

[@TheEighthWorld]

Tom, thank you so much for coming to Austin! As a resident and a long time viewer, it was so cool to see you talk about these monoliths right in my home town. It feels so special to see you here in a way that I did not expect.

[@rayoflight62]

The Moonlight towers produce an illumination of 0.1 lux. Per comparison, a standard room of 3 x 4 meters, illuminated with an incandescent 60 W light bulb (or a 9 W warm LED), has an illumination of 75 lux. Consider that 75 lux is enough to read, but to conduct minute work like sewing or writing with a pen for hours, you need 200 lux. The Moonlight of 0.1 lux is sufficient to walk, see trees or other static objects, or recognise the profile of a person. It is enough to feel safe if you already know the area. Thank you Mr. Scott. Greetings Anthony

[@derp777_]

thank you for your insight anthony

[@irregularassassin6380]

Given your username, I take it that you like light! Thanks for the expansion on the video. As a follow-up question, if the moonlight towers provide 0.1 lux at ground level, what do modern streetlights provide as a comparison? Likewise, if moonlight towers are designed to provide 0.1 lux, and are also designed to be roughly equivalent to a full moon, it seems oddly convenient that a full moon's light is 1/10th of a lux.

[@dominikmilien]

@@irregularassassin6380 Commenting because I would be very interested to hear more about the peculiarities of light and how streetlights compare to moonlight towers from mister Anthony

[@flubberdish1422]

​​@@irregularassassin6380its not what the light source is but the required specifications according to regional standards. On highmast installations you require atleast 0.5 lux where the light distribution overlaps in residential areas. Comparing HID to LED, you're looking at efficacy, how many lumens do you get per watt of power, the higher your lm/w, the more efficient the light source is, hence you could replace a 400W HPS with a 200W LED

[@MonkeyJedi99]

There is a stretch of highway in Worcester MA that has a large number of median light poles supplanted by less frequent, and MUCH taller poles suspending a ring of multiple lights. For maintenance, the ring mounting the lights can be lowered via a cable-and-pulley system hidden inside the poles. They work really well. The light is bright enough to improve visibility and safety in the most crowded and chaotic part of the highway, and their height keeps them from causing glare in drivers' eyes.

[@theophrastuscarnegie6242]

My understanding is that Austin purchased the towers from Detroit when that city electrified its streets with street lamps, so the towers were already old tech when Austin installed them. Back then, Detroit was rich and Austin was a backwater looking for the most economical way to get the most light for the lowest cost. That may explain why they were never taken down.

[@dkwolpert]

That's correct. Austin bought 31 of them from Detroit.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Turns out, the towers were just ahead of the humans in deciding to leave Detroit and come to Austin.

[@Benzinilinguine]

Wow. What a reversal of fates both cities have had.

[@blauer2551]

I lived in Detroit and never saw anything like those, wonder if they were ever used. That was 70’s through 2000.

[@SuperPickle15]

Considering they were installed at Austin in 1896... so unless your talking about the 1870s Detriot.

[@ranekeisenkralle8265]

I work nightshift in security and am regularly patrolling a bunch of properties outside of town. It keeps amazing me whenever there is a full moon in the sky just how much you can see in that light. So much so that in those nights I rarely need my flashlight at all. Most people have no idea just how bright a full moon really is.

[@brodriguez11000]

Enough to see a werewolf.

[@greggoog7559]

Most people seem to have ZERO light sensitivity these days anyway. I keep running into people burning my retina out with their huge bright LED flashlights while on a walk in the forest on a full moon night. Also, probably as a result, car headlights are now so bright that you literally go blind when you meet another car. It's quite worrying.

[@ranekeisenkralle8265]

@@greggoog7559 agreed on the headlights. Especially when people can't use the right settings for them, so they are pointed up more than anything. And don't get me started on high-beam assistants.. those take way too long to turn them off automatically. Thankfully I don't run into many people with flashlights though, so I am being spared at least that. I do have one for my job, however.

[@greggoog7559]

Heh, good to know it's not "just me". And I didn't even know that something like a "high-beam ASSISTANT" (!!!) existed! WTF? (the newest car I ever had was from 2006). I did notice people taking way longer than 10 years ago to turn their brights off. So THAT'S why? Insane!@@ranekeisenkralle8265

[@eMercody]

The moon passes by my window, can be quite difficult to sleep…

[@RustinBlack]

"Party at the Moon Tower... full keg, everybody's gonna be there"

[@weezergb]

Alright alright alright

[@Meechy5280]

"Say, you need a ride?"

[@DaveTexas]

When I saw the title of the video, I knew you must’ve visited us here in Austin. I learned the history of these not long after I moved to Austin in the 1980s. During the warmer part of the year, you can enjoy two of Austin’s icons at once - stand out under a moonlight tower at night and you’ll see our bats flying around, eating all the insects that are attracted to the lights. It’s very cool to watch!

[@BradiKal61]

Back then when the entire city wasn't electrified this was a practical but LARGE solution. We take the ambient light from houses and buildings for granted but back then it would have been DARK without these towers. I know the carbon arc electrodes from certain movie lights needed to be changed every hour or less. Thats how the expression "lights, camera, action" originated - you didnt burn movie lights constantly and only turned them on just before the camera started rolling so that they would last longer before needing to be replaced and adjusted

[@andreww2098]

same for the projectors they also used arc lamps originally

[@TheFrogfather1]

@@andreww2098 A fair number of projectors still do although they're xenon arc lamps and don't have the problem with electrodes burning away.

[@squirlmy]

idk, gas lamps in other parts of the country were very common. Gas "streetlights" in East Coast cities lined streets at this time, as well as indoor lighting. There were a fair number of kerosene lamps everywhere as well. Surely there was no shortage of natural gas in this part of Texas? I think the issue had as much to do with large spaces and large roads (I've been in small towns in Texas that have mainstreets as big as multilane highways.) I think there's good reason Austin keeps these as uniquely Austin landmarks, despite towers being elsewhere for a little while. Not to mention they also have more sunlight for longer in the winter than northern US.

[@Mister_Brown]

@@squirlmy natural gas wasn't used until the 30's anywhere and wasn't widely used into the 40's, the gas of gaslights from the late 1800's was coal gas

[@achim8239]

Apart from usage of bulbs, film lighting creates a terrific amount of heat turning the studio into a sauna in a few minutes. So sparing the bulbs also meant making work more comfortabel for everybody.

[@MarisaClardy]

I grew up in Austin, and people I knew always called them "moon towers", but until this video, I never noticed they don't exist elsewhere. They were such a default backdrop in the city, passing by the regularly, that I stopped even really noticing them. 😅 That's soooo cool

[@thefirebuilds]

I remember reading when Detroit decommissioned theirs that Austin bought them and installed them down here.

[@richiehoyt8487]

​​@@thefirebuilds They probably thought, "We dunno why those rubes down in Texas are willing to pay top~dollar for a load of scrap, but if that's what they want to do, who are we to stop them?!"

[@BaileyMagikz]

As someone who is British but visits austin regularly especially the areas tom was in 😂 I still didn't notice these 😂 so I probs thought they was cellaur towers or something and looked straight past them (so you ain't alone in not noticing them or thinking it was some regular tower thing 😂)

[@letheas6175]

That's such a US thing to say, that you didn't realise they don't exist elsewhere. It's one of the reasons why groups like ''thank god I'm not from the US'' (or ''What in the US education system is going on'' are so popular on facebook)

[@ThreadBomb]

@@letheas6175 Putting people down for fun is not a nice thing to do.

[@automotivetales]

Is anyone else sad these amazing little videos are slowly reaching the end after 10 years? Short, well scripted, and a reassuringly unchanged format that is beautifully simple. These will be missed Tom…!! ❤

[@frequentlycynical642]

Yes, I see many interesting suggestions on my YT feed and then I see the video is an hour or more on some minor topic. I appreciate Tom's format!

[@jkk244]

It’s always great to see Tom in a red T-shirt.

[@TheFatwelder]

If it aint broke, don't fix it.

[@HailHydra27]

Its not ending, only slowing down from "weekly" to "when its done"

[@nope24601]

Not when woke is part of the equation.

[@DoingItOurselvesOfficial]

I’m on vacation in Austin right now. We drove past that moonlight tower yesterday and because I had seen this video I knew exactly what it was.

[@sturek]

There's a lot of things I love about living with the technology we have now....but even living in a rural area when I go out at night to look at the stars I wonder what the sky would have looked like in the 1700's.... I wish people cared about light pollution as much as they do all the other types we try to reduce.

[@vincedibona4687]

You must really hate the sun… 🙄

[@weaksause6878]

I went camping out in central Nevada and it was shocking to see the milky way. I remembered seeing it once as a kid but forgot what the night sky is supposed to look like.

[@elisam.r.9960]

If you go to places like Duluth, MN, you will find people that actively campaign to address policies that would increase light pollution. On the other hand, these kinds of things have to be decided somewhat locally. There are places where you need street level lighting in order to safely walk around (as dimly lit streets plus ice is a very reliable recipe for injuries).

[@natescode]

​@@vincedibona4687you must really hate the dark 🙄

[@mnbgt101]

​@@vincedibona4687 if nobody else will say it I will: screw the sun. What did it ever give us except heat and light and all life on the planet? I'll take a dark night any day over that arrogant ball of hot air.

[@instakillgaming]

Im gonna cry the day we don't get frequent uploads. Tom is a literal treasure, thanks for everything

[@instakillgaming]

@FeedsNoSliesMusic seriously haha

[@mytube001]

@FeedsNoSliesMusic It's hard to imagine a more private person with such a large following. There is virtually no information about Tom online, apart from what little has been shared in videos over the years. Good luck finding his house...

[@AquilaSornoAranion]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@mytube001 I do see your point, and Tom is the best, but CGP Grey surely takes the cake for most private person with the largest following 😉

[@mytube001]

@@AquilaSornoAranion I'm not so sure. He's been more reclusive, and Tom is probably more well known anyway. Tom has always shown himself and has spoken a lot about interests and his education, but zero about anything specific or contemporary. I think it's fascinating that he has managed to keep the walls intact.

[@A1937CX]

The most I can think of is one of the computer videos where he mentions having to get tested for chlamydia. Even with all of the park bench videos, there is very little to distinguish Tom the presenter from Tom as a person and, honestly, good for him. There aren't as many people nowadays who are as vigilant about internet footprint as they should be.@@mytube001

[@readysetdrone]

Really great work with you in Austin! The video turned out fantastic! Thanks for letting us be a part of it. Who knew that a 🌙🗼 could be so cool!

[@nfboogaard]

Nice droning! 😊

[@Starchface]

Oh that was you. Good job you didn't hit anything with all those trees and wires around.

[@NakedTrashPanda]

"Kept running because the people of the city of Austin likes them" We need more of this attitude. I live next to Austin and wish we could have stuff like that over here. It makes the city feel "home-y" or just cozy and nice to live in.

[@Werewolf_32]

As an Austinite myself, I can say that we truly love the moon towers, they’ve become a symbol of Austin, and something to brag about

[@SpicyTexan64]

Austin is becoming the San Francisco of Texas and that's not a good thing.

[@AdhamOhm]

​@@SpicyTexan64 Your dad's house is the San Francisco of Texas.

[@rileygladue3979]

@@SpicyTexan64 If you'd like to live in a corporatocracy then go ahead buddy

[@tomsixsix]

In a modern form, you can see similar tall lighting structures used along the M621 motorway in Leeds, UK. They're known as high mast lighting. They have since been upgraded to LED lighting, but are otherwise as originally installed. They were installed in the 70's, and have been preserved by the council as a landmark of the city. One reason they were installed is to avoid lighting up just the roads they were on - it was thought that 'general' lighting of the area would be preferable.

[@caesarisared1320]

They are used in quite a lot of places. We have quite a few in Preston there are a few in Skelmarsdale too. They are used as an option on complex junctions. Another downside is they are very expensive to maintain and specialist companies need to be brought it to service them.

[@JoePCool14]

In America, Illinois DOT also uses this method of lighting interchanges and certain wider highways.

[@sparksight]

It's so great to see the Austin Moon Towers from your perspective. Thanks for letting us be a part of making this video. We really enjoyed working with you!

[@jaredj631]

I live and work in Austin, I was doing a job on the roof about two years ago across from one of these towers, job was not going well and it was going to get dark soon, but thankfully the tower light turned on. I was able to finish the job without having to set up lighting. The funny thing is I didn’t even know the tower was there until it was illuminating my workspace!

[@ules5799]

Sam O'Nella made a really fun remark in his video where he mentions those. The lights are so dim, they had to stick the "Moon-" on it to compensate for its poor lighting perfomance.

[@Xophistos]

I enjoyed his mercury vapor lamps joke more. About how you could get all the lighting of the moon and all the vision damage of the sun.

[@peteranon8455]

I was just trying to remember where I'd heard about the moonlight towers! Good ole Sam!

[@nycbearff]

It's enough light to keep pedestrians safe, not so much light that it keeps the inhabitants awake. It's a good level of light.

[@smalltime0]

@@peteranon8455 Same, I thought it was from the Rick and Morty episode. But it wouldn't have stuck like a sam joke

[@ohsweetmystery]

⁠@@nycbearff At night I prefer dark. It annoys me when I see lights on all night long. How does enabling criminals enough light to perform crimes make people safer? If you need light to walk, bring your own flashlight.

[@sweeflyboy]

We use these in townships (Informal settlements and slums) in South Africa. The ones we use are like the floodlights used for sport stadium lighting, but much larger. Still very much in use here, mainly because smaller, typical streetlamps would get stolen.

[@JonathanLeeRulz]

Alright alright alright!!! I got to see an outdoor screening under the moon tower at Zilker park of Dazed and Confused. Richard Linklater spoke for a while and Wiley Wiggins was there.

[@ozarkmedia]

I grew up in Austin in the 1960s and 70s. The towers were always a part of the fabric of the city. I'm glad they still exist.

[@OctopusEight]

The moonlight towers are one of the best real world examples of the inverse square law I’ve ever seen, they light the ground next to them about as well as my phone’s flashlight can, but at the actual lights are like staring directly into a cars high beams

[@Backslasherton]

The Moonlight Tower Christmas tree at Zilker park was a symbol of my childhood in Austin. These things are super cool and it's fun randomly running into one of them in downtown/Central Austin. Great video!

[@sawyersprott]

Same, very cool that they’re still around

[@Sesadre]

I always remember walking through the trail of lights and also the little zilker park train :) some core memories right there

[@resourceress7]

Wow, I didn't actually know that the Trail of Lights tree was made of a moon tower. Video would have benefitted from a soluced-in image of what it looks like at night.

[@NekoMouser]

I haven't been to that in 15 years. I want to go back this year, though. I'm just afraid getting there will be a nightmare. I still love Austin, but man do I miss the days you could just drive up to something you wanted to do and find available--AND cheap or free--parking so you could easily do it. Sigh.

[@sladeb6036]

Same.

[@DustyGamma]

Would be cool to see a VR recreation of a city only lit by moonlight towers.

[@tcjdv]

As a native Austinite, I so appreciate you telling the story of one of our beloved local icons!

[@hallamhal]

I love when we get just the right knowledge crossover between Tom Scott and Sam O'Nella

[@thomasherena6956]

Why have many cheez-its when you can have one cheez-them? (patent pending)

[@MaggieGraceWebb]

I was wondering where I'd heard of these before, I was like "Didn't Tom already make a video about these?" Thank you!

[@queefcheif9306]

Reminds me of what a big rural town would have looked liked from above with just gas street lamps but now it must have been so cool to see a town lit exclusively by moonlight towers

[@anotheraggieburneraccount]

Im surprised to see tom visit my hometown for one of his last weekly videos. Thanks for all your hard work, Tom

[@Renville80]

One of the earliest lighting installations in Dakota Territory was a pair of moonlight towers in downtown Fargo in 1882. They lasted only about ten years or so until incandescent lights became generally available.

[@Blueyeswill]

We have these in Crewe Cheshire, they're very high up and very bright. They're used to illuminate the vast Railway sidings at Basford

[@mrjack8849]

When I saw the picture of the video before clicking on it, I thought that has to be Austin...and it was! I remember seeing these towers around town when I lived in Austin in the past, but don't recall seeing them lit up. I suppose I didn't think about them much 20 years ago. It's interesting to note that in many large cities now, the shorter and more frequent light poles along major highways are being replaced with fewer, but taller light poles that look similar to these Moonlight Towers (except much taller and brighter). I personally despise the taller lights, because it washes out the night sky, but it does brighten the highways more at night. I do miss seeing the shadows pass by on the older short highway lights though.

[@squirlmy]

I think this may also have to do with LED lights being brighter and using so much less electricity.

[@djemergency512]

Tom is in my hometown! Hope you enjoyed stopping by Austin, Texas!

[@tycarper6330]

Was going to say the same. Would've been awesome to see him randomly around town.

[@mitchhilger5394]

These towers are so awesome. I learned about them while staying at a BnB in Austin in the mid 1990's. Even then, I had to ask several locals before someone finally knew what they were and about their rich history. Very iconic and interesting.

[@gatty.]

I'm becoming quite fond of your videos Tom. Thanks for sharing about the Moonlight Towers.

[@Dr.Fluffles]

Because of the way they're angled, I'd think these are actually a good replacement for modern systems in order to reduce light pollution. (Combined with other systems to prevent upward casting)

[@BradThePitts]

Keep in mind that modern street lights point the light in only the direction that it's needed, for example, the street - and not onto someone's front lawn or into their bedroom wondows. A light like this might be good for a prison yard or a military installation, but that's about it. The teardrop lenses also put light up into the sky. EDIT: An advantage is these lights don't have the glare like from most modern LED street lights.

[@pabloata4708]

Not mi case...... all of my house and yard is WHITE thanks to LED lights 😒😮‍💨@@BradThePitts

[@ettcha]

In Zimbabwe, Bulawayo, we have tower lights in some suburbs. It's been a while since I saw one lit as I moved, but they were awesome. They were a deep yellow compared to these moon towers. We could push our luck a bit and stay out playing longer thanks to them.

[@TimothyWhiteheadzm]

South Africa often uses similar bright lights on towers in shanty towns and for sports stadiums. My guess is its harder to steal the bulbs and when you have lots of small irregular streets it makes more sense than street lights.

[@LeCharles07]

Then they do a rolling blackout and people steal the wires powering the tower. [Sad price is right music]

[@Meg_A_Byte]

I thought he's gonna talk about the inverse-square law. That's one of the main reasons why these are not a thing anymore.

[@hammerth1421]

Yeah, it has lot's of intensity in the center but then falls off very quickly. Distributed lighting is much better than centralized lighting.

[@stuart2642]

how would that help? @@burt591

[@GLUBSCHI]

@@burt591Or, you know, you could just give up on centralized lighting...

[@bcubed72]

Not really. What the inverse square takes away in intensity, it gives back in area coverage. Unless it's unreasonably foggy or sooty, you get the same overall illumination: you just need fewer, brighter towers, versus less intense towers, but they're everywhere.

[@PhoenixClank]

@@burt591No, that would literally do the opposite. Then you'd be lighting not a small area around the tower, but only a single pebble.

[@nomadMik]

I've visited Austin nearly every year since the late 1990s, and I had no idea these were a thing. Thanks, Tom!

[@AuraMaster_7]

Saw moon tower and clicked instantly. Love Austin

[@Club-kc9wl]

“Why have one cheese it when you can have one cheese them?” - Sam O’Nella

[@movezig5]

I learned about these from Sam O'Nella, and I didn't know there were any left! Thanks for making this video.

[@Bempes3477]

Sam’s video directly mentions this one as being the last remaining one in America.

[@squirlmy]

@@Bempes3477 he says they are in Austin, nothing about "one" being the "last one". If you're going to correct someone, make sure you are getting it right yourself! 😁

[@IOSALive]

Tom Scott, This is amazing! I can't stop smiling!

[@Ario533]

Tom is not gone yet but knowing he will end this soon im already a bit sad! Man you have given me so much information that i would never get anywhere else in a good manner! Big love from Norway! Hope that you wont be gone gone after stopping making weekly videos!

[@Rubensgardens.Skogsmuseum]

Our home is more or less unelectrified during winter because we live off grid. It was very, very dark before electric lighting. Sure, they had gas lamps and all kinds bit these towers really helped people to get around the city. I can imagine rooms and buildings being partialy lit up from the inside, then dark patches that could be a building or the street you are heading to. On the other hand the starlight was enough to see the road when I lived in Africa. If there is no other light the eyes get used go it. Hizzing snakes made me allways carry my Maglight around. It was a life ensurance to see the ground.

[@HannibalMax]

If you go to some third world countries, you still find them in use to light up infoormal settlements that are not connected to the power grid (e.g. in Windhoek, Namibia)

[@CTCTraining1]

As Tom finished and looked at his phone did anyone else think he was going to switch off the light? Keep going Tom ... not long now 😀👍

[@TXMEDRGR]

I've been to Austin dozens of times and I've never heard of 'Moon Towers.' You learn something new every day.

[@dominateeye]

I was born and (mostly) raised in Houston, and I'd never heard of these! Hope you enjoyed your time in Texas, Tom.

[@fkdvdsowiesoai5511]

„Why have many Cheese-It‘s when you can have one Chess-Them?“ - Sam o‘Nella

[@Croz89]

In a way they're essentially 360 degree stadium lights, and their effect is very similar, albeit a little dimmer.

[@norfolkdragons866]

They were resurfacing a supermarket carpark a few years ago and did it at night to avoid having to close the park to customers. So they brought in some tower units with a generator in the base and a lighting unit at the top. The amount of dead moths littering the ground each morning was amazing at the beginning. By the end of the month long project there weren't many at all - they'd effectively wiped out most of the population for about a square mile. I'd imagine Austin lost its moths a long time ago.

[@TrecherousMonki]

White lights are terrible for the environment, especially if they're not shielded from the top. You want dim, warm coloured lights facing down to prevent light pollution

[@zeruzio1345]

@@TrecherousMonki You have no idea what I want.

[@firefly2472]

​@@zeruzio1345Well, good thing then. It's not about you...

[@Alexander_C69]

​@@TrecherousMonki It is not as simple as just using dim warm lights, using overly warm/dim lights for a given use leads to excessive groupings of lights which causes light clutter, and for construction and other similar uses you can't use lighting that changes the apparent colour of safety-related items (Which effective means illumination by white light only.), and some nocturnally migrating are more negatively impacted by lights with greater amount red light while bats are least effected by negative impacted by lights with greater amount red light.

[@NaruSanavai]

@@TrecherousMonki Here's the thing about warm, dim lights: they're not good to _work_ under.

[@stevee5]

Speaking as a streetlighting electrician, i live these . Keep them going

[@KylePolansky]

I live in Austin, have passed these towers dozens of times, and never noticed them. I'll be going to check one out tomorrow!

[@davidquirk8097]

At Otopeni (Bucharest International Airport) the flood lights for the apron are floor mounted and project a focussed beam of light up onto a series of shaped mirror reflectors at the top of lighting standards. The advantages are ease of access for maintenance of the lamps and a really good distribution of light on the apron itself. I've never seen that type of light anywhere else.

[@jonc4403]

You could probably only get away with that at an airport. Anywhere else the lights being on the ground unattended would be a vandalism target.

[@TheOtherSlideYT]

And we get a fresh Tom Scott video, as a treat 👌

[@djtlh7335]

enjoy it! we only get 3 more videos before the hiatus

[@TheOtherSlideYT]

Don't remind me 🥲@@djtlh7335

[@SETX_Sirens_and_Rail_02]

We still have something of modern "moonlight towers" along many major freeways in cities here in the States in the form of large high bay street lights lining the freeway. They didn't really come about until the last 20-30 years and originally all used high pressure sodium lights with most being converted to LED now

[@Myzelfa]

I live in Austin and had no idea these things were so unique.

[@crabby7668]

Fascinating, never heard of these before. It makes sense having just a few, if you have arc lights. Also less wiring required initially, but once every street is wired anyway they have less advantage.

[@TheLandFinana6044]

There's something similar to one of these at Upminster Train Depot, Essex! Very cool commuting through there in the winter and seeing the huge floodlights on the tower lit up

[@dmitripogosian5084]

Industrial areas are often lit like that

[@StickmanHatena]

This makes me wonder about the specific kinds of streetlights that are currently used in LA highway junctions. They're extremely high, have a circular arrangement of bulbs, and flood light downwards in a massive cone that covers wide areas of the highway. Compared to the dimmer highway streetlights, you can really tell when you enter the vicinity of one.

[@RazanaArcclaw]

The idea of an entire like small old town lit by these is so fascinating, to anyone from out of town they would look like a futuristic alien encamptment, its insane.

[@wolf1066]

Now *_that's_* a cool idea! I hate street lamps - perspective ensures that there are some constantly within my line of sight, dazzling me with their glare and ruining my night-adjusted sight. Rarer and mounted higher so they aren't right in your eyes? Sign me up for that!

[@blond98]

I think this is my favorite “Things you might not know” Great video Tom! This was intriguingly cool!

[@ashleyhamman]

Another point about how well lit the city probably was is that not only were buildings likely shorter, but a lot of big trees were probably younger and smaller, or perhaps not planted yet.

[@LeCharles07]

I can just picture it. "To keep the streets safe at night we need to cut down all the trees!". 🤦‍♂️

[@fitty50two2]

I've lived in Austin most of my life and the moon towers are one of my favorite things about this city.

[@Arc125]

Hey Tom, I ran by while you were filming and was surprised to see you there. I awkwardly said hi, possibly interrupting a take you were in the middle of - sorry about that!

[@TristanGross]

I had to pause this at the start Tom. The tower you selected is literally on my way when walking to the pool. Thanks for the videos and welcome to the neighborhood Y'All!

[@vinzenzfreigassner8660]

Yesterday I thought: I really do miss those 5min Tom Scott videos popping up on my feed. Somehow KZbin knew what I needed. Thank you so much 😢

[@raymondhuygen4551]

These are still extremely common here in South Africa, especially to light up informal settlements!

[@michaeldschutte]

Super interesting, I've lived here my whole life and never seen one

[@dropassassinofficial]

Yup, they look like Monopoles. you open hatch at the bottom and the winch down the entire light assembly and then winch it back up, whole assembly comes down on the outside of the tower

[@Neddyfram]

That’s interesting! are the towers put up by the people who live in the settlements or are they put up by the local council for them?

[@dropassassinofficial]

@@Neddyfram Put up by the Government. Some of the Light Towers are also used by Cell Companies as Cell Towers

[@LibertyMonk]

They're a fantastic way to light a large area with minimal infrastructure. Just one cable/generator, and the entire area is lit up. But for an area where electricity is already everywhere, street lamps are used for good reason. I have seen some poles that are significantly higher than "normal" street lamps, but not half as high as these ones before, set up with a dedicated generator for events.

[@felixokeefe]

Right there at 3:00 in the real reason we have street lights at all. Keeping busineses open after dark. It's never really been about safety. Street lighting creates a feeling of safety but not actual safety.

[@janLipija]

as somone who has walked places without street lighting, it’s definitely also for safety. you could argue that the reason that safety feature is used is so that people feel safe enough to shop after dark, but arguing that they don’t increase safety is just wrong. even if you want to say that they have no impact on crime or animal dangers, you’re much less likely to trip and hit your head on the ground if you can see the ground in front of you

[@Ang3lUki]

I've seen similar towers in Anchorage, Alaska, but they're all near highways and flat industrial areas. There's no historical significance to them, as you said in the end, it sometimes is best to just stick a bunch of lights on a big tower.

[@judahrice1870]

So cool to see Tom filming a video literally down the street from where I grew up!

[@sparkywilson1405]

Happy to see them so invested in keeping them going, just as a tradition.

[@DiCasaFilm]

Those arc lamps sound like a particular type of film light called an HMI - which is a trademark that stands for Hydrargyrum (Hg: Mercury) Medium-arc Iodide. This was the standard way to achieve daylight balanced (blue) light on a film set before LEDs came along. The high wattage bulbs (lamps) themselves look awesome, too, having a central glass globe with two glass cylinders diametrically opposed. The cylinders contain the electrodes and the globe houses the arc.

[@LimBo3500]

Long time the presentation beamers used UHP lights, which were also an Arc light. Nowadays it's either LED or laser.

[@frequentlycynical642]

You describe a very different technology from carbon arc lamps. In fact, no bulb needed.. B&W film doesn't care. After the advent of Kodachrome ca. 1935, color balance was achieved indoors in the studio via tungsten balanced film. Still the same today.

[@DiCasaFilm]

That's very interesting. Although, I was talking about motion picture films, and HMIs are in fact still used on sets today as some cinematographers prefer their CRI and overall color profile/spectrum to that of LEDs. The most popular ones I've used are called "jokers". @@frequentlycynical642

[@mbryson2899]

One of my favorite memories is when the city I lived in lost power at night for about three hours. It was a waxing crescent moon, eventually. Until it rose we all simply gawked at the stars; they seemed so close! When the moon rose we were in further awe.

[@siennak4306]

imagine sitting in your living room at night and you just see Tom Scott filming in your front yard 3:37

[@torche72]

They are continuing to install similar towers along interstates. You don't have to climb to the top any more as there is a winch to lower the light head, which has 3 to 10 lamps.

[@brookeking8559]

Only some turn on every night. It used to be cool to look out and see them when I had a place high with a balcony and view on both sides of the building. The nearest one - 15th and San Antonio - doesn’t get turned on, but enough do that it was always cool to look out and see some history. I moved a year and a half ago and haven’t the view, but I did happen to be at 15th and San Antonio this evening with a family member talking about that tower while we awaited a pizza outside in the cool evening air. Good timing on the video release, Tom Scott!

[@uropig]

I can't believe Tom Scott Mooned us!

[@Devon7839]

We use something like a modern version of these in Regina SK for lighting up large sections of roadway around interchanges. Why have a bunch of street lamps going around a cloverleaf interchange, when one in each loop lights up with whole 500x500m area? Slight problem is ours still use Sodium lamps and several have like 2 or 3 working bulbs left because we are still transitioning to LEDs here.

[@pfg_pedals]

Very similar towers are being used for interchanges. One near me has four of them, they are easily 100’ high and have a ring of metal halide floods around them. They even have a winch system that lowers the heads to the ground for maintenance. In places where they used to put a number of single pole lights about 36’ tall along the side of the roadway that ultimately become another thing to be hit, they are switching to a modern moonlight tower. One tower in the center of the jug handle(loop, interchange, ramp) that dimly lights the whole area vs a bunch of smaller lights. It’s the same technology, simply serving a slightly different purpose.

[@Alex-lh9tz]

Certainly going to miss the Tom Scott uploads.

[@Booksforthewin]

As an Austinite I can confirm that the Moonlight Towers are cool.

[@trolley13]

Thank you Sam O Nella for teaching us about the burning light of the moonlight towers

[@ytbpromeneur]

Very interesting. In 1880 (about) there were a competition to build a tower of 1000 feet. In France in 1881, Mr Jules Bourdais (architecte) et Mr Sébillot (engineer) wanted to build a "tour du soleil" (sun tower) to floodlight whole Paris with mirrors to drive the light in any streets. Finally Gustave Effel won the competition. Eiffel added a maritime lighthouse at the top of his tower.

[@Liggliluff]

1000 Paris feet?

[@JerryFlowersIII]

How many holidays use a tree?

[@Lalita_Luna]

Painful avoidance

[@Joe-ij6of]

Highway intersections can sometimes have lights at or close to the scale of these. Ones near me are a single pole without supports, and have a cable system internally that allows you to lower the light rigging to change/maintain the lights at ground level.

[@Daehawk]

Never heard of them before. But I LOVE them! That is a great find. Glad they keep them preserved an working. WOW! Nice.

[@FlyingCIRCU175]

If that simulates moonlight, would it work on werewolves?

[@TitanChromeE]

That would be revolutionary

[@michellemcgowan2017]

just simulated werewolves I believe

[@AsparagusEduardo]

Would it work on Sayians?

[@MajorTanya]

Only on Werewolf Towers

[@rmdodsonbills]

I never saw any werewolves in Austin in the 25 years I lived there, so obviously, yes! ;)