Why this "falling rocks" sign is more important than most

[@TomScottGo]

Update from June 2023: there was indeed a large rockslide, but it managed to miss most of the village! www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65926381

[@slimydroid]

I was just reading the report and wondered 'Is that where Tom went?'

[@StefanRadermacher]

I just saw that on the German news and immediately recognized the village.

[@Schwarztee87]

Tom would you come back for Part 2?

[@cykanahui]

@@Schwarztee87 What is he supposed to say. "The mountain was there, now its here." Doesn't make for the best video, does it?

[@Mat-eq8mk]

I recognised the town from the news report and came to check!

[@Martial-Mat]

I'm certain that that must be a relaxing village when you're in your bed at night and the weather is stormy with a chance of massive boulders.

[@zrspangle]

@@MaybeGodwillsaveMe it's not grammatically incorrect, in fact some argue it's better than one "that," which is why it hasn't fallen out of style.

[@highn00n]

@@MaybeGodwillsaveMe Thank Thank You You.

[@thap34nut66]

Cloudy with a chance of boulders

[@dalehalliday3578]

@@thap34nut66 low rumbling thunder....oh wait.

[@theyos88]

which 'that' would you remove? The 'that' that introduces the statement, or the 'that' that serves as the identifier of the object of the sentence?

[@JDsVarietyChannel]

Just imagine if this video was done in one take, and the rock fall started right on cue. Tom would have died of happiness!

[@PhilippeLarcher]

Did you mean cue?

[@michaelsmith4904]

Or possibly due to being hit by a boulder… glad that didn’t happen!

[@NeblogaiLT]

@@michaelsmith4904 Yes, then 'Tom would have died in happiness!'.

[@mika34653]

@@NeblogaiLT Hahaha

[@SandrA-hr5zk]

It would make up for his disappointing lava flow.

[@Baldwin880]

My GCSE German is really paying off, I understood "worst case scenario" without even trying

[@lianadoom]

HAHA xd This would be me with Spanish

[@samcooke343]

Right?! It's like it translated itself

[@kosinusify]

Even non-Swiss German speakers don't understand more than that from Swiss Germanophones

[@Beybladelouser]

@@kosinusify the language spoken in the video is not Swiss German, it is German with a Swiss accent

[@maxb.1302]

@@Beybladelouser yes, it is clearly understandable if you can speak german. A lot more understandable than something like bavarian or saxon...

[@minigigant9337]

As a swiss I'm deeply sorry our mountains didnt treat you with the right amount of respect to show you a little rockfall. We still hope you enjoyed your stay and will come back in the future.

[@oz_jones]

Maybe they were camera shy!

[@aloysiuskurnia7643]

Iceland's and Swizerland's geology (-y, not -ist!) are conspiring to not do anything whenever Tom arrives

[@rjung_ch]

As another Swiss, now nobody is allowed to be there. Feel sad for the people who used to live there.

[@XandarYT]

​@@rjung_chwhat? Where did they go?

[@rjung_ch]

@@XandarYT they are allowed back it seems.

[@bunnyrape]

That "worst case scenario" really caught me off-guard

[@hanswoast7]

Same with "Kindergarden" or "Schadenfreude" from a native German speaker's perspective :)

[@littleshinks]

Switched to scouse for a moment there 😂

[@otto_jk]

It's just an engineer speaking engineer

[@KevinHesp]

Bratwurst käse scenario

[@ThePixel1983]

@@KevinHesp The dreaded Wurst-Käse-Szenario!

[@ShortHax]

This wasn’t the Rolling Stones concert I paid for

[@ultragamerpro2332]

Lmao

[@LibanReactsTo]

1.5k subs before my birthday 🎂 Current: 1k

[@clancysleepovergetyourblankies]

No, you wont get 1.5 subs

[@MiceAndMinecraft]

The Rolling Stones should do a concert there

[@jimjamjon2285]

Better than the Travis concert

[@Dylbobz]

Let’s hope a rock doesn’t hit the traffic light

[@Pamimiii]

Because that would be terrific on the edge of time

[@Grane1234]

@@Pamimiii what about it being "Terraffic"?

[@7heMech]

Might save a car

[@drspangle13]

I think that also means stop

[@synexiasaturnds727yearsago7]

@@Grane1234 I was thinking about that

[@Ultimus31]

See, this is why engineers are incredible. If I were living there facing this problem, I'd throw my hands up and say "The mountain spirit is pissed off at us, we should probably leave."

[@gui874111]

To be fair, leaving works too.

[@sk8rdman]

@@gui874111 To be fair, the mountain spirit probably is pissed off anyway. =D

[@RosimInc7]

Studio Ghibli agrees

[@RS-ls7mm]

Last time I heard mountain spirits the Hawaiians were protesting a new telescope. Kind of lost respect for them.

[@DiaJasin]

I was just thinking that this is how most people would react and why the world is so terrible

[@krcb197]

I love the fact that "Worst Case Scenario" is still in English.

[@Ljubi12882]

I hate the fact

[@thestudentofficial5483]

No language better suited to describe something bad

[@valentinmoser4044]

Schlimmstenfalls

[@andiehyde3714]

Hey mate, no apologies were made for being the most versatile language on earth.

[@Tudsamfa]

It may sound that way, but it's actually "Worst Case *Szenario* "

[@trimonmusic]

Imagine the fear of being a pair of scissors in this village.

[@JuanCena365]

That’s why you build your house out of paper

[@thesauce1682]

Huh?

[@LanceGardenia]

@@thesauce1682 it's a rock paper scissors joke. in the game, rock beats scissors, therefore a pair of scissors would be scared of a village with falling rocks because of the rocks.

[@dang5874]

Lesbian villagers: [perpetual sweating]

[@justjulie1113]

@@dang5874 PAHAHHAHA

[@NotJustBikes]

Fun fact: some Dutch traffic lights use radar like this to detect if a person is waiting at the intersection, so that the system can stop the cars and let the pedestrians cross.

[@townazier]

Count on the Canadian to bring fun Dutch facts. Just look for Orange circle xD

[@VoidSixx]

I don't know if it's radar-based, but many traffic lights in the UK have a little box of tricks on top that can detect pedestrians and cars, and control the lights accordingly. Even some of the temporary traffic lights used in roadworks have them.

[@marshm3llow467]

In Canada we just have buttons that you can press; is the radar superior to that system in some way?

[@ylette]

Another fun Dutch fact. There are no "falling rocks" signs in the Netherlands. I guess.

[@znx418]

@@marshm3llow467 Is the radar not superior than buttons?

[@TomScottGo]

This was a really difficult video to find a title for without giving away the story. I think it's fascinating, but sometimes it's really frustrating how everything has to be summed up into a single title and thumbnail!

[@terrifyingspoon3052]

How did you post this a week before the video was uploaded?

[@elijahbadgett2637]

A week ago?

[@Riemann_Zeta_Function]

Hi Tom

[@YHK_YT]

When will you cover the official talk show?

[@YHK_YT]

As in come to the official talk show

[@skrrskrr]

_"And, since installation, we've detected five and a half..."_ Oh, well that's not that bad. Although, I don't know what "a half" would mean- _"...thousand events."_ Oh, damn.

[@danjoseph9581]

Thank you! My mind thought the exact same thing

[@derekhale7426]

Exactly my thought process

[@abelis644]

😅😅😅 I thought exactly the same thing!

[@rodrigowestphalen7231]

Same

[@davidskidmore3442]

And that's just the last 3 years, or ~1100 days... so, like 5 times a day, on average, the lights come on and traffic stops for giant rocks.

[@gonun69]

I'd like to think that Tom stood there for many hours recording the same clip over and over again just to improve his chances of a rock falling in the background.

[@thundercat_pumyra]

Might have been easier to take a sledgehammer up there to knock a few loose

[@DoiInthanon1897]

I wouldn’t doubt that 😆

[@newname4785]

I absolutely believe this to be true. If not, it's head cannon.

[@steeledminer616]

"I was hoping a little rock fall- CUT!" *attempts 10 more times* Good ol' "The light will turn green.... NOW!.... NOW!.... NOWNOWNOWNOW!- YES! I'M PSYCHIC!"

[@Gilgwathir]

Update: The town of Brienz is now prepared for evacuation. The rocks have started moving more quickly and there's now a real danger to the town.

[@Yesat-Erday]

Evacuation order has now been given.

[@yesornah2925]

I remember watching this video. It seems crazy to me that the whole village has to leave now.😮 I really hope they will be able to return soon.

[@TheOobo]

The village is currently evacuated and a major landslide is expected within a month!

[@b1lleman]

The Landslide has happened...

[@CensoredMercy]

Earthquake…

[@T1M2000]

As a Swiss it's weird hearing someone talk english with an noticable Kiwi accent and then still having a bit of the Swiss german melody while talking. :) Great video Tom!

[@rachelcookie321]

Finally someone who recognises it as a kiwi accent. Everyone is calling it Australian

[@johnmccnj]

@@rachelcookie321 I'm an Aussie, and I thought I detected South Africa in a few words, but I think the melody threw me off.

[@suziel5817]

@@rachelcookie321 I thought I could hear a bit of both. Maybe a northern Queensland accent even?

[@michaelfisher9671]

No it’s Kiwi. It’s definitely not Queensland. Yours A Queenslander with Kiwi roots.

[@ailaG]

Oh, thanks! As someone who lives far from any of these, that person just had me confused. Are they central European? Yes. Are they British / Australian / something? Yes. Are they Swiss and grew up with enough English to develop an accent? And that accent not being American? Hmm. Now I know!

[@trianime]

"Beautiful hills and mountains that occasionally try to kill people" "Hmm, i roll for perception check"

[@pyroqwerty]

The barkeeper laughed, the party laughed, the hills laughed, we killed the hills. It was a good time.

[@voltsiano116]

The gang of thugs that was about to jump the party: "Oh, THEY killed the hills? Maybe let's... _not..._ mess with them..."

[@Stefan_Penninga]

nat 1

[@davygobel6214]

Everything appears to be safe :)

[@iwersonsch5131]

"The rocks roll for speed check"

[@pfefferle74]

I love the "No stopping for the next 480 meters" sign. It's weirdly specific and very obviously a very good advice.

[@thekinginyellow1744]

If that were in America, there'd be a whole line of cars parked in the middle of the no stopping zone with people hopping out to take a selfie with the hillside as the backdrop.

[@SalilingAway]

@@thekinginyellow1744 If youutravel like this in switzerland, you would never get nowhere becaus we switzerland is similar to the rocky mountain geographicly speaking.

[@RustyDust101]

Trust me, here in Hamburg we have 'no parking' warning signs during high water events. These fairly regular events are highly predictable. The region around the Fischmarkthalle, the Fish Market Hall, and some areas in the Speicherstadt, will then be flooded up to a meter or two in depth. More than sufficient to completely submerge parked cars. Yet it is astonishing how the city of Hamburg regularly recieves 'donations' of flooded parked cars in exactly those areas. The numbers of stupid people are staggering.

[@brookewestonctc]

I suspect the specific 480m number is chosen to highlight the importance. If it was 500m, then it would seem like a generic sign, and be taken less seriously. 480m makes it seem like the sign is bespoke, and therefore the danger is real.

[@Astronomynatureandmusic]

@@RustyDust101 I would think that in Germany people would heed the warning. Is this my problem of positive discrimination? 🤭

[@mikeparsons8280]

Update from 16th June 2023: Last night, a huge section of the mountain collapsed. The section of road shown in Tom's video is now several metres under rock

[@fritz46]

The traffic light survived, but the hut that can be seen at 3:17 didn't. In hindsight it probably wasn't the ideal spot to build a hut.

[@JoeBleasdaleReal]

Today I learned the German for “worst-case scenario”. And that is something you might not have known.

[@georgf9279]

Wurst-Käse Scenario - Sausage-Cheese Scenario.

[@NikolausUndRupprecht]

There is another, less Anglicised expression: GAU = größter anzunehmender Unfall = catastrophic failure

[@ANTREU96]

Would you prefer Schlimmstfallszenario?

[@georgehelliar]

Thousands of tonnes of sausages hurtling down the mountain would presumably be the Wurst case scenario

[@Xoron]

It's not. It's just a phrase that is commonly used.

[@GoHerping]

that has to be one of the coolest looking villages ever

[@gordon1545]

Most villages of that size in the Alps look something like that.

[@1schwererziehbar1]

it rocks

[@azuradawn5683]

Alex!!! Hi!

[@mrnice4434]

And the faste one with 1,5m per year

[@bIeaq]

... you're here

[@benbauer3426]

Reminds me of a Douglas Adam's quote: "The avalanche began. Stones, then rocks, then boulders which pranced past him like clumsy puppies, only much, much bigger, much, much harder and heavier, and almost infinitely more likely to kill you if they fell on you."

[@Fists91]

He's so good at playing with words to create something that is both intuitive and unintelligible at the same time, really works to shift the reader's perspective

[@Snabeltasse]

I want Tom to make a video on why all the grass in Swizerland is so perfectly mowed.

[@SnowTheGoon]

We don't have anything else to do

[@tookitogo]

Cows. The answer is cows. (And some sheep and goats.)

[@stahlschorsch]

@@tookitogo so the grass is mooowed, then...

[@aircastles1013]

@@stahlschorsch 😂😂😂😂nice one!

[@tigriscallidus4477]

Because farmera get money for it. As easy as that.

[@Arkensor]

As software engineer developing this I would have very very swaty palms every time it goes off ... A lot of responsbility for correctly judging such a complex envionment. Lots of respect for their seemingly working solution.

[@hi.241]

Hi

[@MrSaemichlaus]

If think if I lived there, I wouldn't mind the occasional false alarm honestly. Much better than false negatives.

[@fisch37]

As a software engineer developing this, I would always have sweaty palms because false negatives exist and people could be hit by rocks

[@DannySullivanMusic]

i know! _100%_ correct dude

[@henrikoldcorn]

It going off is fine, I’d worry all the time it’s *not* going off!

[@livia5771]

My family calls it the most athletic village of switzerland, because it moves so much.

[@XCHDragox115]

Tom: “mischievous kids throwing pebbles” Also Tom: throws a pebble Tom is still young at heart

[@Nadia1989]

Well, he flew a kite in a public place

[@rodakscreens]

I don't think it can be understated how good the pan over to the "heavy rock" was. Not only does it get the point across immediately, it also got a huge laugh out of me.

[@slosandwich7287]

“Roses are dead” “Violets are dying” “Outside I’m smiling” “But inside I’m crying” “I just wish people would give my content a chance”

[@Darthybuddy]

@@slosandwich7287 Thats rough. Go somewhere else.

[@charlestonianbuilder344]

@@slosandwich7287 its nor your a bot, or you havent thought of taking advantage of the algorithm yet

[@qtluna7917]

This village must be really grinding the dungeon masters nerves. He's giving them a lot of warning shots

[@nevermindthegermans6242]

Make a perception check

[@stateofflorida5082]

I rolled a -1

[@HaloInverse]

Rocks fall, everyone -dies- installs a calibrated radar network with warning lights

[@pegasBaO23]

world state dcs

[@paulgrant421]

In the US I've noticed a change in the signage in rock fall areas from the traditional "Beware Falling Rocks" to "Beware Fallen Rocks". If I had to theorize, I suspect drivers watching the hillsides for rocks actively coming down were running into rocks already in the road which would be a far more common event. Thus, "fallen" is statistically a much higher risk than "falling".

[@jasonreed7522]

Interesting, where I'm from (NY) there are a lot of road cuts where they blasted back the hill and frost definitely knows down lots of little pieces but fortunately the DOT actually pushed the cliffs far enough back to not need any of these signs or to clean up the road. I do notice 1 sign on the Mass pike though and can't remember if its fallen or falling. Obviously these are a different hazard to a large unstable gravel slope occasionally dropping massive boulders at 40mph (or however fast) like this town has or can be found in the Rockies.

[@giftofthewild6665]

We usually just have "Danger rock falls" in the UK. Covers both scenarios I suppose.

[@TheDukeOfWaltham]

@@paddor To this European it seems strange how much text there is in North American road signs. When do people find the time to read all that, while still driving?

[@heatherduke7703]

@@TheDukeOfWaltham I read automatically. Does that not happen for you? I don’t have to spend seconds peering at the sign, I see it and take in the information

[@TheDukeOfWaltham]

@@heatherduke7703 Sure, I suppose common words and even phrases are processed much like images by the brain… Just a grouping of lines and shapes, taken in as a whole rather than read letter by letter. Still, I would argue that proper images are more distinctive, and thus take up less of the driver's attention. Milliseconds count when it comes to reaction times. After all, that is why more countries nowadays seem to favour lowercase lettering in highway signage: capitals are blockier and look more alike.

[@jonistan9268]

As of 9 May 2023, the two million cubic metres of rock are moving too fast for the village to be safe. Because of that, the village is to be evacuated until Friday, 12 May at 6 p.m. and nobody (with a few exceptions, as some cows etc will stay for now) will be allowed in anymore. They've already stopped letting non-residents inside, the roads have been closed. It's very likely that there's going to be some sort of bigger landslide there in the very near future.

[@goffe2282]

What about the people who live there. Are they compensated? I would assume insurance companies would just refuse if you live in an area such as this. Still.... it's a small village, I would hope that those who live here could relocate and get similar houses elsewhere.

[@jonistan9268]

@@goffe2282 I asked my teacher this and he said insurance would have to pay. Brienz/Brinzauls is in the canton of Grisons (Graubünden), where property insurance (or whatever the correct term in English is) is mandatory. And that's the main purpose of said insurance.

[@goffe2282]

@@jonistan9268 I hope they get enough and that the property they owned is just not valued high enough.

[@eustache_dauger]

It happened!!!

[@heatherduke7703]

I hope the cows are ok

[@houdin654jeff]

The rocks are so bright, they occasionally look like they're added by CG and the lighting pass isn't quite done.

[@aumenarys]

They reminded me of Minas Tirith.

[@skachor]

The rocks are brighter than my future

[@luuketaylor]

The AO isn't RTAO, so it's understandable.

[@atherapists3331]

@@skachor that isn't a huge accomplishment

[@JeremiCzarnecki]

There are only two questions that remain to be answered: 1. How does a geological radar specialist in Grisons end up with an Australian accent? 2. Is it alright to wish the residents of Brienz "Guten Rutsch" ahead of the new year?

[@the_reto5195]

Australia is a popular destination for young Swiss people to travel to (as in: taknig a year or so off in your 20ies and travel around Australia for a while) or to study in. There's a surprising amount of Aussie accents around here.

[@felixml919]

Backpacking high school graduates is Germany's+ Switzerland's biggest export to Australia

[@ИнтерпретаторБК]

> Susanne holds an MSc in climate sciences from ETH Zurich and a postgraduate diploma in risk, disaster and resilience from UCL London. +6 months in New Zealand 15 years ago.

[@FF-pv7ht]

1. probably did a work & travel year in australia while not having refined english before, very popular in ger, alternatively might be raised bilingually by an australian parent 2. yes, since they are not germans but swiss, these people do posess humor

[@Asptuber]

@@ИнтерпретаторБК Do you know, or are you guessing re 6 months in New Zealand? (I also thought it sounded more like NZ than AUS) Trying to place the accent was very distracting, I should watch the video again.

[@kellyrowe4075]

That footage of the really big boulders rolling down the hill is honestly terrifying! Wild to think that something that large and heavy would roll in a way that makes it look like a toy almost.

[@nowone666]

my thoughts exactly, a few meters to the side and that shack would have been vaporized

[@vomm]

Ever heard of gravity? Round things + gravity = rolling. Regardless of it's heaviness.

[@mertaliyigit3288]

@@vomm ever heard of being stupid? I assume you didnt. You can always look into mirror if you are curious about what it is

[@williamd1891]

@@mertaliyigit3288 😂😂

[@nowone666]

@@vomm yes, I'm sure everyone who went to school heard about gravity👌

[@xxmagfracerxx4697]

This is one great example for setting a safety mechanism BEFORE an accident happened.

[@JohannFlies]

Villagers: *Literally live next to a mountain where rocks come raining down.* Geologist: "It's not life-threatening, just unpleasant."

[@slosandwich7287]

“Roses are dead” “Violets are dying” “Outside I’m smiling” “But inside I’m crying” “I just wish people would give my content a chance”

[@pauldzim]

I can't imagine having your house sliding down a mountain at 1.5 meters per year.

[@ZT1ST]

Geologist: "On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being safe and pleasant, and 10 being Pompeii, it's a 3. It's fine."

[@Konzertheld]

Kinda like Icelandic people living next to an active volcano that actually produces lava sometimes. "We have warning systems, it's fine"

[@jacobr8063]

Even simpler, they could have just told everyone to bring paper with them whenever they drive down this road.

[@teemusid]

I'm always trying to do things my own way, and now I've decided to find a way to cut rock with scissors. If that doesn't work, I'll bash it with a sledgehammer, purely out of spite.

[@reapix6430]

**20 ton rock travelling at 40 mph off a mountan side towards me** Me: **pulls out piece of paper** Me: Checkmate!

[@drkrypton4410]

LMAO!!

[@redbirdsrising]

Until the rocks bring scissors with them on the way down.

[@pills-]

Indeed. Just fencing the area with paper would have been much simpler. None of this complicated "radar" stuff... ;)

[@clemenswalter1984]

also interesting point: that village won't exist for "long" as it's moving down the hill (as mentioned in the video) the buildings are taking damage. I beleive the current plan by the government is to abandon the village at some point. but of course that's not really well recieved by the inhabitants.

[@teewithmarie694]

Agtualy the movement stabalised at 1.8m/j And there are plans to make a drainage tunell to get thw water out of the slip zone It was done bevore but i dont know on top of the head right now where

[@Tjalve70]

If the government wants to abandon the village, I'm sure the inhabitants aren't going to mind. As long as they're allowed to stay.

[@fischX]

@Vojtěch Kareš They just want to see where it's going. On a serious note, we have entire Citys in quake zones. This waterslide movement is quite comparable.

[@jackielinde7568]

If you want to see how this might take place, just look up Centralia, Pennsylvania, USA. It's the town with coal fire burning under it. Those that wanted to move out were paid for their houses, and those who didn't want to leave are under an agreement that once they pass away, those houses go to the government. Also, the story on HOW the fire started and HOW the efforts to stop it when it was still possible to do so always came up a day late and dollar short are dark, grim, and comical.

[@TomDufall]

@Vojtěch Kareš probably because people like their homes and so want to leave at the last minute rather than when it no longer is statistically financially viable. It's understandable that a village has more value to it's inhabitants than the pure financial value.

[@TheMusicGuard]

On the 16th of June, a big rock slide happened! It barely missed the town. The slide stopped just before the little parking space on the left and the stop light on the right you see at 3:06. It did destroy the shed and those five flagpoles. They closed the entire town just hours before the slide.

[@jonistan9268]

No, the entire town had already been evacuated more than a month prior to this. People haven't lived there since the 12th of May and you weren't (and still aren't) allowed to go there.

[@MrMegaManFan]

It was quite jarring to suddenly hear him say "worst case scenario" in English, but not nearly as jarring as if you were driving down the road and got hit by a car sized boulder at 20 km/h!

[@SeanBZA]

Imagine telling your insurer the reason your car is totalled, is because a rock hit it. Not that you hit a rock, but the rock hit you.

[@GumSkyloard]

@@SeanBZA Poetry in motion, Sean.

[@mammutMK2]

Imagine how massive that wall would have to be to stop such a boulder

[@termitreter6545]

Good ol' denglish

[@Steets]

I think a "DANGER: Rock Crossing" sign would have better comedic value, but Rock Light, Green Light seems safer.

[@herlescraft]

surelly a traffic light for the rocks would be the best solution, they approach the road, press a button, wait for traffic and then cross, no need for fancy radar just some manners and a bit of patience

[@theslappingbox6302]

I think the major concern is in fog/heavy snowfall makes seeing an incoming bolder difficult in many cases, and given it's the Swiss we're talking about, this much infrastructure is worth preventing a potential accident with an overconfident driver in the snow.

[@Mikemcjr]

Not complicated enough

[@reold]

@@Mikemcjr guess so

[@MGSLurmey]

@@Alex-cw3rz The number of people here not getting the joke is too damn high! Let me just reiterate the punchline... _ahem_ *ROCK CROSSING* As in, a crossing for the rocks. They deserve rights too!

[@dylanzwering2255]

"Mischievous kids would set it off" *Mischievous kid proceeds to toss rock into the air*

[@starstencahl8985]

@@ragnkja Mischieveously

[@Humulator]

a verified yotuber copyed you bruh

[@mthu5454]

"KZbinr" copied you

[@blu0x7d12]

Arrrr...!

[@skrimper]

@@Humulator Imagine being so dumb that you didn't consider that 2 different humans are capable of coming to the same conclusion

[@VMDSonia]

Hi! Thanks for the great video! Update about this story, they are evacuating the village this week! It's now moving more than 1m per year and they are expecting a large rockfall anytime soon in the coming weeks. Greetings from 🇨🇭 Switzerland!

[@FF-pv7ht]

an actual german phrase resembling "worst case scenario" would be the commonly used "im schlimmsten fall", meaning "in the worst case". Unfortunately there is no commonly spoken german noun (to my knowledge) for "worst case scenario", which is why the anglicism "worst-case-szenario" came into existence and is commonly used in german speaking countries today.

[@pacisking]

Gau?

[@FF-pv7ht]

@@pacisking I retract my statement! Gau and Combinations like "Horrorszenario" and "Katastrophenszenario" or "Desaster" could all work. Thanks!

[@pacisking]

@@FF-pv7ht exactly.. there are just too many german words I guess

[@ThrottleKitty]

Cultural symbiosis! The same way we say phrases like Schadenfreude, because there is no English version of that specific phrase.

[@Dan_Kanerva]

@@leonhood914 "you _are getting enjoyment by watching someone suffer_ b" WAIT, that's Twitter users in a nutshell then...

[@MarcoGruber]

As a Swiss guy, I really appreciate those well made videos about our little country. Thanks Tom! One could say rock solid work... I'll see myself out...

[@aknopf8173]

The pun quality has hit rock bottom..

[@Liam_The_Great]

@@aknopf8173 that's a stone cold fact

[@Coldcloves]

You profile picture rocks!

[@samsamsamuelsamsamsamtheio8445]

Agreed

[@scythal]

You're rocking those jokes

[@stuffmorestuff6647]

Tom: "I feel like heavy rocks isn't getting the point across" Tom: "This is one of the rocks" Tom: *Shows boulder* Me: "I think Tom forgot the word boulder"

[@telecorpse1957]

I think I forgot it too. What was it again?

[@HolyKhaaaaan]

Or rather, if that is a rock up there, I would hate to see what a boulder is!

[@kosinusify]

A large boulder the size of a small boulder

[@spankasheep]

@@kosinusify How much is that in terms of hamburgers? Oder Fussballfeldern?

[@BradNakken]

I like that boulder. That's a nice boulder.

[@pjotrtje0NL]

0:15 that road with the installation Tom’s talking about? Buried under tons of rubble. And today the entire town needs to be evacuated as there’s a sever risk os more rubble coming down, crushing houses. Time for an update!

[@thepoglin8479]

I love the random boulders dotted about the hill, they seem really peacefull even if they got there by rolling down a hill with enough force to tear down the walls of a house or pancake a car

[@glpxt]

If somebody happens to wonder: The "Brienz" in this video is not the better known Brienz in the canton of Bern, but Brienz-Brinzauls in the canton of the Grisons, a tiny village near the Albula pass.

[@elazarpimentel5340]

I know not what you are talking about, but thank you for the info, I'll google it and be wiser now.

[@Quetzalcoatlv3]

Thank you :) They made me look 230 km away from the point of interest. I thought "/" meant different spelling or dialect in " Brienz/Brinzauls" while it is in fact Brienz-Brinzauls.

[@glpxt]

​@@Quetzalcoatlv3 The "-" does indeed mean different languages. Brienz is German, Brinzauls is Romansh.

[@antonrnik]

Loving the Germany/Austria/Switzerland content, Tom!

[@TheR971]

DACH

[@Yesat-Erday]

Update, the village has to be evacuated right now due to the mountain threatening the village itself.

[@danielaengel3675]

True ! .

[@spaceshiplewis]

Here you see the wild ancestors of your pet rocks making their, oftentimes, once in a lifetime relocation journey. As you can see, humans have moved in on these majestic form's land and have created a road across the boulder's path. A lone car has ignored the warning signs, the large boulder doesn't care. It flattens the small car as it continues along its downward journey.

[@MeCooper]

It's so sad how people domesticated rocks and bread them into little tiny pet rocks. They're a mere shadow of their great ancestors.

[@DerBierSchmeisser]

Tyrannostonus Rock 🗿

[@AudieHolland]

The rocks are not the ones trespassing

[@GrandAudio]

Tom Scott sure brings information I never knew I would know.

[@1978Maedhros]

And never knew I needed

[@depthcharge123]

"The hills are alive... with the sound of boulders"

[@dominikbeitat4450]

*Rock'n'Roll

[@LARAUJO_0]

2:14 "If [the traffic light] is RED, there is an acute risk of falling rocks" I don't know why but I really like this wording

[@Sam_995]

It’s always annoying when you have to wait for rocks to cross the road so you don’t hurt one of them

[@Statusinator]

At least they tend to be quick about it.

[@milan4632]

Theres a road in switzerland where you regularely have to let airplanes pass, cause it's dividing a factory from it's landing strip

[@DanielBerke]

Rocks are like deer, or moose, or kangaroos: they tend to do *at least* as much damage to you as you do to them. Let those rocks pass in peace!

[@slosandwich7287]

“Roses are dead” “Violets are dying” “Outside I’m smiling” “But inside I’m crying” “I just wish people would give my content a chance”

[@BrandonFrancey]

I don't mind waiting for the odd rock, it's when a whole family is crossing the road at the same time that I get annoyed.

[@YuliaFok]

there should be a light facing the hill, so that when there's a rockfall, there's a green light for the rocks to cross the road

[@Oldtanktapper]

Well, these are sensible, law abiding Swiss boulders, so that’d probably work!

[@lewiszim]

Rocks aren't known to obey traffic signals, so you could raise some good revenue for the town if you put a red light camera there too.

[@marvindebot3264]

@@lewiszim Na, these are SWISS rocks, they wouldn't dare run a red light!

[@dibudabug8099]

@@lewiszim the think is, this would be a perfect advertisement for that small village and the valley it is located. (toursim)

[@legendarygary2744]

This is another example of something I’m like “Why would you live there?!” And they’re just totally used to it. Kinda like some friends I made from California who didn’t understand why when the weather sirens went off I wanted to go for a drive and see what was going on.

[@bearwynn]

well if you own a house there, imagine trying to sell it to move. If you're renting there, then I imagine there's a VERY good reason why you would need to be there

[@MZ-iu9yh]

houses do be expensive in switzerland. If you own a house there you cant afford another one closeby or anywhere in switzerland sadly. Except when ur rich af, but then you would have probably another house anyways.

[@TheYakusoku]

Conversely, I live in California and some people are amazed that I would still live here, when they hear about how we get (small) earthquakes all the time.

[@MrCh0o]

I was under impression that the problem appeared rather suddenly

[@ulukai_555]

Like people living on a volcano.

[@seanhannan5176]

DM: You enter the town of Brienz. Players: We're going to continue down the road and look for tavern and shops. DM looking at notes, looks to players: What were your dex saves again?

[@LordofGold]

Am Austrian - can confirm: Other countries may have bears and wolves - in the alps you don't want to turn your back on the rocks

[@sonbulan1425]

“Winter of Avalanches?!” What’s next? The “Spring of Meteor Impacts?” The “Summer of Hail Boulders?!”

[@stylis666]

Just a matter of time :p

[@theHotpointHoodlum]

Watch out next for the election of idiots! As old as time!

[@Booksds]

The Fall of Rocks… no, wait

[@KptnHaddock_]

Welcome to switzerland :)

[@steemlenn8797]

There are rain seasons, tornado seasons, taifun seasons, why not avalanche season?

[@liamwatson5125]

“Falling rocks” signs should never ever be ignored.

[@ineednochannelyoutube5384]

Most of the time their installation is pointless, which dilutes their severity. Falling rocks signs should never be posted in areas where they are safe to ignore.

[@BrianBell4073]

What do you do when you see a falling rock sign? Slow down so you don't crash into one that has fallen or speed up so you are somewhere else when it lands on the spot where you would have been if you had slowed down?

[@eyemoisturizer]

@@BrianBell4073 get off the road

[@namenoname3871]

@@eyemoisturizer well at that point you just close the road entirely if that’s the signs message

[@skachor]

@@eyemoisturizer I hope you aren't in charge of teslas autopilot

[@m.a.6478]

I was never aware of the fact that "the other Brienz" has massive geological challenges too. I know the village called Brienz in the canton of Bern and there the mountains are also quite alive. Parts of the village have been destroyed in 2005 by massive mud flows. I hope the people in Brienz / Brienzauls are safe for the years to come and that the worst case scenario is not coming true.

[@ylette]

I hope someone takes a picture from the same spot every year, so in the future it will be possible to see a timelapse of the village sliding with 1.5 meters/frame.

[@dolebiscuit]

But the spot that the picture is taken from would also be sliding alongside the village.

[@beatall3]

@@dolebiscuit So then you do it with a drone

[@fiddlesticks179]

@@beatall3 you do it with a high res camera from a spot that's far away enough to not be affected by movement

[@IHateUniqueUsernames]

You could try to see if Google Earth Timelapse is able to capture precisely this. My line is hiccoughing at the moment, and isn't rendering the maps.

[@johnmccnj]

@@beatall3 And tether that drone to a specific set of coordinates, which should mean that it will be taken from the exact spot every time.

[@ezekielmartin4323]

"Winter of Avalanches" is my favorite Norwegian metal band.

[@TheRavenir]

As a Swiss person, I can always appreciate when Tom Scott makes a video about Switzerland! I've never been to that particular village, though.

[@festivebear9946]

Yes same! Not Swiss but expat there for a few years, it gets me so excited to see it featured.

[@SalilingAway]

Same here

[@wohlhabendermanager]

If you wait long enough (and live in the right place) the village will come to you.

[@krisselissan6539]

Update: The residents of Brienz have today been told to evacuate their homes by this Friday and seek accommodations with friends and family in different villages.

[@pizzacuthd7559]

"Ground meteors are not real, they cant hurt you" Ground meteors:

[@NotSomeOrdinaryGuy]

Ah yes, a funny copy and paste joke I've been seeing for the last 3 years. Peak comedy!

[@hugodc1225]

Ground meteors doing barrel roll to avoid fall damage!

[@Dexaan]

As someone who lives in the Rocky Mountains, ground meteors are indeed real.

[@fisch37]

At least they won't kill the dinosaurs again... I hope

[@slampest]

@@NotSomeOrdinaryGuy i never read this joke before thiu

[@PregnantOrc]

I like that the easiest solution was to develop top of the line boulder detecting radar equipment rather than redirecting the road away from or around the dangerous area

[@v.sandrone4268]

how about just moving the road?

[@ThreadBomb]

Or dynamiting the cliff.

[@Dan_Kanerva]

@@ThreadBomb LMAO you are the easy solutions type of guy

[@HansLemurson]

There's nothing like a massive boulder next to the road to lend some seriousness to a "Danger: Falling Rocks" sign.

[@htal6301]

oh wow, A video about a place I've actually visited! Last winter while driving home from skiing I actually had to stop infront of the red light and actually saw some rocks falling down of that site. Was quite terrifying but hearing that 5500 events were recorded this incident is apparently not even noteworthy ^^

[@cagedREmix]

Most People: Ah the sound of rain falling The Swiss: AHH, the sound of rocks falling

[@oasis1282]

Its not the rocks that are scary its the lakes. Especially when simple thunderstorms become hurricanes because of wind flow through the Jura.

[@mzak5204]

Ah the sound of yet another car get obliterated by some rocks

[@yannickp.2430]

4:12 "Since its installation we detected five and a half... THOUSAND events." What a nice and peacefull place to live.

[@soaringvulture]

Yes. That little delay between "half" and "thousand" let me try to figure out what half an event would be.

[@yannickp.2430]

@@soaringvulture It could have been five and a half hundred events, which is aproximately one event every three days. With five and half thousand events, now your talking about almost four events per days.

[@desaturated-firefox]

Imagine your whole village being hunted down by a hill that also throws rocks at you.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

That's a fairytale premise right there.

[@Arkylie]

A very *slow* hunt, too. The slower hunts are usually the more horrifying. Can you imagine a glacier hunting down your great-great-great grandchildren over some slight you did decades ago?

[@Wayrail]

I like how there’s this small hut right in the firing path of the landslide, whoever lives in that must have guts of steel

[@fxrm]

You always find "random" things to talk about and make it very interesting, keep it up!

[@drussell_]

The town of Frank, Alberta, Canada didn't think they were in danger until April 29, 1903 when over 100 *million* tons of rock from the face of Turtle Mountain slid down and obliterated much of the town. I've been there. It is a *lot* of rock! It might supposedly be more stable, but I'm not so sure I would want to live right there in Brienz/Brinzauls, Switzerland, personally. 🙂

[@oliviersavard8676]

damn you're lucky to be still alive 118 years after having witnessed that rockfall

[@VeginMatt]

Well legend has it that one of the few survivors was an unknown baby found crying on a boulder...so maybe a witness is still alive. Hmm at least this place isn't an active mine site, even without the radar detection im assuming it's a lot safer then Frank Slide.

[@danieljensen2626]

Somehow I suspect our ability to analyze geology like this has improved since then.

[@lordbertox4056]

If you are afraid of the possibility of rocks falling from the mountain side you wont live in 80% of Switzerland

[@oasis1282]

@@lordbertox4056 just go to Ticino

[@kaaazzi3365]

3:09 I see the backup safety system for the village has been implemented well, if you hear sheep screaming it's probably a good idea to start running.

[@soaringvulture]

So you would then be looking forward to the silence of the lambs.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

The sheep have been protecting this village for generations. They ward off all kinds of evil.

[@loganchambers2944]

I saw today's article about the landslide and knew the village looked familiar from this video. I'm so glad this worked so well!

[@MrOwenmorg]

Surely the light should be permanently green unless there’s a rock fall. My concern would be passing the completely unlit signal and wondering whether the system wasn’t working at all.

[@Vousie]

Absolutely. It's something that some companies have learnt the hard way - eg a "kill switch" needs to be continuously sending "don't kill" and pressing the button just stops sending it. That way if the thing breaks or the wire gets chopped of, the system returns to a safe state...

[@sjokomelk]

Traffic signal lights are third «in command» after police hand signals and signs. If the light is off, you are on your own and have to follow the signs and watch out. The fail safe is that the lights are out. Since it is always danger ahead, the green could indicate that there is no danger, and that could be catastrophical.

[@DeathnoteBB]

@@sjokomelk It would also be catastrophic to not alarm drivers. Though I assume they have regular tests just like storm alert tests in America

[@cameron7374]

@@sjokomelk Not sure if it applies here as there's no intersection but isn't an unlit traffic light to be treated as a stop sign?

[@eechauch5522]

@@cameron7374 not entirely sure about Switzerland, but in Germany an unlit traffic sign means you default to th signs and if there aren’t any, it’s right before left.

[@dodgydruid]

There's an excellent rockfall protection system on one of the far north Scottish railway lines, utilises cables that when broken forces a railway signal to hit red, there is also a "shed" over the road and railway that allows the smaller screed to just bounce over.

[@massivepileup]

I'd guess the cables would need to be replaced too frequently to work here.

[@TheSeppentoni]

Those "sheds" are all over the place in Switzerland

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

@@massivepileup probably, but the Scottish system was introduced in 1882 and covered over 1,000 yards of line. By 1913 it covered over 7,000 yards of the line the Pass of Brander. It's only failed twice, once in 1946 when the rock fall occured too late to stop the train and again in 2010 when the rock fall occured below the detecting wires. Not bad for a purely mechanical system.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

Similar systems are used in the Rockies, butbthe Scottish one is purely mechanical and needs no power source, unlike radar.

[@barrieshepherd7694]

The sheds also serve to protect the line from snow slides/drifts

[@marc8886]

Coming from the french-speaking part of Switzerland, it almost feels weird to understand every word in german in these videos but to be clueless when a Swiss speaks in any of the various dialects we have over here lmao

[@Kyrelel]

Try living in England. It's (comparatively) small and the dialects are vastly different that sometimes you can only understand half of what someone from the next village is saying.

[@Slithermotion]

@@Kyrelel bruh...trust me swiss german dialects are a different level.

[@LucaPasini2]

@Alfred Wedmore Italian dialects work in a similar way: people from different parts of the country speak different and mostly not mutually intelligeble languages. This is probably due to the fact that both Italy and Switzerland have a mostly mountainous terrain that used to make it difficult for people to meet each other until the mass-media age. Unlike Swiss dialects, though, the Italian ones are in many cases gradually falling out of use, especially in urban areas, as they mostly don't have any form of State recognition and support.

[@LucaPasini2]

@Alfred Wedmore You may be right to some extent, but if you consider how the Italian languages are located on a map, you can clearly see their distribution doesn't match the pre-unification political subdivisions, but instead follows geographical barriers. For example there is a continuum between Romagna, that used to be part of the papal states, Emilia, divided into different political entities, and ex-Austrian Lombardy, which follows the big Po plain. Meanwhile the dialects and accents of Romagna are completely different from those of Marche, Abruzzo or Umbria which all used to belong to the papal states. The same goes with culture: each region has its own distinctive features, but as internal borders have been volatile for centuries, whoever was politically in charge of a certain region at some point is usually not used to define its specific identity. Even if they used to be part of the same kingdom, Sicilians and Neapolitans will never feel as if they were the same.

[@dibudabug8099]

@@Kyrelel swiss is on another level😂😂 you don‘t even know.

[@Nanomaroni]

I love it when Tom talks about Switzerland, the country I live in. It’s such a small country and it gets unnoticed all the time. But it has some very interesting things going on!

[@sandy-lo]

Yes same i live one town over from there. The people of Brienz are very stubborn and (somewhat understandably) dont want to abandon their village, even though its looking like they’ll just have to in the near future.

[@gian-marco6047]

@@sandy-lo Salüüüü zämmmäääää

[@thursoberwick1948]

Unnoticed? You folk seem to be running the world nowadays. Or at least some people who meet in a Swiss resort beginning with D. and ending in S. are.

[@AudieHolland]

In fact, Switzerland was discovered by some intrepid British explorers in 1893.

[@sturniboy]

"A radar, and a stop light!" Don't know why, but that made me giggle.

[@HanabiraKage]

Same energy as "Well we've got two drums, a cymbal, and a cliff!"

[@stahlschorsch]

but what if the rocks don't stop at the stop light?

[@a11danny]

Waiting for rocks to fall is a real cliffhanger

[@ChannelName66]

I can relate to this, living in Colorado. Seen boulders fall and almost crush cars multiple times. No super big rocks though. It’s usually rocks that won’t kill you if they hit, but I’ve seen them falling.

[@BelatedBlade]

Yooo! I was in Estes park driving up the peak in a thunderstorm and a boulder smashed the road in front of us xD Also saw a bear! Colorado's wild sometimes!

[@ilihcsydnew6870]

The pioneers used to ride those babies for miiiiiiiiles.

[@aryanbhaskar6502]

Do you live in Boulder?

[@diymicha2]

Heard in the news a few days ago that the village is to be evacuated, and thought "That could be the village Tom Scott was about a yerar ago". Yepp. It is.

[@mhood4274]

I’m happy you pointing this out my brother died recently from a incident like this while driving home in Colorado.

[@SMTRodent]

I don't know you, but I'm sorry for your loss. Losing someone suddenly like that is really awful.

[@grim-upnorth]

Hi Tom, I know you've been doing this for a long time and you're more of an expert than me on such matters... but is there any chance you could put something at the end of your videos so that when the suggested video/links/card at the end doesn't obscure stuff that's still going on in the video? cheers 👍

[@Coccinelf]

I totally agree, sometimes it hides subtitles.

[@DugWagner]

+1 If only they could wait until the video is over to post those links.

[@LHyoutube]

Christ yes. Exactly this!

[@litapd311]

it's a huge problem with youtube. youtube should give us an option to disable it...but until then, creators could simply add a longer end-screen to deal with this issue

[@colmx8441]

@@litapd311 I think you used to be able to disable it - so maybe YT doesn't want people disabling it now.

[@goreoproductions6955]

Tom Scott is easily the best part of my mondays

[@bravewagster]

Just an idea, in uni we learnt about a town 'Rissa' that had quick clay underneath it that became liquefied due to the excavation of only 1 barn. It seems like a topic you may want to make a video on

[@douro20]

Rissa is no longer a town/municipality on its own. A law signed in 2018 reorganized it so it is part of a larger municipality.

[@matteofalduto766]

a traffic light-regulated boulder crossing. This must be one of the most Swiss things I've seen or heard of in a while...

[@Swisswavey]

Nah, the preferred Swiss solution would have been to build a tunnel under the road for the boulders to go through. This is just cheaper, which is not normally the Swiss way

[@RoScFan]

@@Swisswavey Even cheaper would have been a normal "rocks might fall" sign and let everyone take their chances. Survival of the lucky. I think that's the MO in most other countries of such situations.

[@matteofalduto766]

@@Swisswavey True, but this way they can place a police officer there to issue tickets to (obviously non-Swiss) cars and boulders passing by which do not respect their turn to cross, recouping the entire cost. Imagine then the surprise of an unsuspecting French boulder that went rolling down the Swiss Alps on vacation…

[@sebastianbaynes9452]

Don't think I've ever heard a Swiss-German/Australian accent before but it's magnificent

[@oasis1282]

Cool i got a Russian Swiss Italian (Ticinese) accent.

[@slosandwich7287]

“Roses are dead” “Violets are dying” “Outside I’m smiling” “But inside I’m crying” “I just wish people would give my content a chance”

[@Adam-lh9gj]

@@slosandwich7287 I did, but it sucks...

[@SullySideUp]

"the town here is safe" *Sweats nervously in Aberfan*

[@vincentlevarrick6557]

I only recently learnt about this, maybe two weeks ago? (Despite knowing the BeeGees song, but not realising its subject matter was real life based). It had an anniversary recently, right? When this video mentioned the town was safe, it immediately made me think of the Aberfan disaster.

[@Ethan_and_Astra]

1:24 Im starting to learn the language, i fully understood "worst case scenario" - Thanks Tom Scott

[@snowwonder9814]

Thanks! I missed this and was looking for a timestamp.

[@Jonathan_Doe_]

‘Hey guys, our village is literally going downhill, and huge rocks keep nearly killing drivers, do you think we should abandon the village or relocate?’ ‘Nahhhh, don’t be soft’

[@alkoyyy]

Well, I mean... it's kinda relocating itself...

[@josugambee3701]

There goes the neighborhood...

[@Vousie]

Reminds me of How to Train Your Dragon - "most people would leave. Not us. We're Vikings. We have... stubbornness issues."

[@MCPhssthpok]

Interesting that "worst case scenario" seems to have been taken on as a loan phrase from English rather than being translated

[@kleinschrader7164]

It's being used more and more in recent years, the german language obviously has a native translation "Im schlimmsten Fall" but english phrases seem to be used more and more.

[@killbotter6998]

Im schlimmsten Falle...but "worst case scenario" just rolls better off the tongue imo

[@skrimper]

Apparently Koreans use it a lot instead of translating it as well

[@globalincident694]

I guess "größter anzunehmender Unfall" is a bit of a mouthfull

[@armadillito]

I’m sure language purists the world over see the adoption of whole English phrases as something of a worst case scenario.

[@sunvieightmaster88]

Tom has informations many people didn't know they needed.

[@sparky4878]

I had to come back here. Remembered the video but couldn’t remember if was the same village that’s been in the news. Nature is a scary thing.

[@RegularJoe419]

When I was a kid my dad would tell me that “falling rock ahead “ signs meant Falling Rock the Indian was somewhere coming up and to keep an eye out for him

[@cameron7374]

Indian or native American?