Residents have moved out of a south London estate … One type of building in Britain that’s become notorious for its design defects … More tower blocks were built in the same way as Ronan Point. ibid.
The Grenfell fire became Britain’s worst tower block tragedy killing 72 people and injuring at least 70 more. ibid.
The Clifton Suspension Bridge showcased Brunel the engineering radical. Rob Bell, Brunel: Building a Great Britain, Channel 5 2020
So how did they build them? … Staggering tales of innovation, epic adventure, and danger. Rob Bell, Lighthouses: Building the Impossible s1e1: Eddystone Lighthouse, Channel 5 2021
Britain’s unluckiest lighthouse: three towers smashed by the sea, consumed by fire and defeated by jagged rocks. How did one finally stand up to the when so many had failed? This is a story of audacious engineering and geniuses who achieved the impossible. All in the midst of Britain’s most unforgiving seas. ibid.
In 1698 the light was lit on the world’s first rock lighthouse. ibid.
On 16th October 1759 the light was lit on Smeaton’s tower. ibid.
The success of Smeaton’s tower can be measured by the number of rock lighthouses that sprung up around the British Isles. ibid.
On a deadly reef in one of the most hostile locations on Earth … 11 miles offshore lies one of Britain’s most deadliest reefs, the Bell Rock, a jagged cluster of stubborn sandstone. Rob Bell, Lighthouses: Building the Impossible s1e2: The Bell Rock
At high tide the whole thing can be 16 fee underwater. ibid.
Robert Stevenson was a young and ambitious engineer. ibid.
The industrial revolution meant more ships than ever braving these stormy waters. ibid.
Ireland’s Guardian of the Atlantic. It’s the last of the great rock lighthouses. Built in terrible conditions that engineering struggled to conquer. Rob Bell, Lighthouses: Building the Impossible s1e3: The Fastnet Rock
In the 19th century dozens of lighthouses were built around the coast of the Emerald Isle.
The iron-and-brick Fastnet Lighthouse was completed in 1854. ibid.
The Rock Lighthouse, one of the most heroic feats of engineering in maritime history. Built to save the lives of thousands at sea. Drowned in epic storms. So how did they build them. And how do they stay standing. Rob Bell, Lighthouses: Building the Impossible s2e1: Wolf Rock, Channel 5 2022
This is Penzance … to warn ships away, strong enough to withstand the battering from the Atlantic, and they built right on top of the rock. ibid.
It would take a gruelling three years just to dig the foundations. ibid.
On a deadly rock far out at sea. An enigmatic designer risks his life. To bring hope to one of Britain’s most extreme locations. This is a story of the uncanny, the unpredictable and the inspirational. Here at The Smalls lighthouse. Rob Bell, Lighthouses, Building the Impossible s2e2: Smalls Lighthouse
The middle of the Irish sea in the winter of 1801. Around 20 miles off the coast of Pembrokeshire is one of the remotest lighthouses in the world … Today that very same spot is watched over by a wonder of Victorian engineering. ibid.
The Rock Lighthouse: one of the most heroic feats of engineering in maritime history. Built to save the lives of thousands at sea drowned in epic storms. Rob Bell, Lighthouses: Building the Impossible s2e3: The Longstone
This is Northumberland, the north-east coast of England where lonely beaches look out on a constellation of rocky islands. ibid.
The proportions of these structures are just immense … This is the story of Britain’s North Sea oil rigs … A monumental piece of heavy engineering. Rob Bell, Building the Impossible s3e1: Oil Rig
Back in 1965 Britain’s first offshore rig called the Sea Gem was making its way out into the North Sea on its maiden voyage. ibid.
The almighty bang was the sound of two of the Sea Gem’s legs snapping. The 5,500 ton rig began to lurch into the freezing cold sea … It took half an hour for the entire rig to disappear beneath the waves. ibid.
These days as many as 11,000 people can be working out in the North Sea. ibid.
6th July 1988 about 120 miles off the coast of Aberdeen, the world’s deadliest offshore oil field disaster: Piper Alpha was the first production platform for the Piper Field … The Piper Alpha disaster claimed the lives of 167 men. ibid.
The engineering wonders of the world didn’t always look this way. For years many lay abandoned, derilect and decaying. Rob Bell’s Engineering Reborn s1e3: Sky Garden & Liberty Hotel, Channel 5 2022
How the cutting-edge innovations of today were combined with the ingenuity of past to build the superstructures of the future. ibid.
In South Korea visionary engineers imagine a new life for an old underpass turning it into a park to help green the capital city. In America, Boston’s most notorious jail is saved from demolition and recycled into a glamorous new hotel with an unusual prison theme … In Amsterdam a crumbling concrete symbol of the past is miraculously rebuilt into a modern workspace. ibid.
At any given moment roughly 10,000 Boeing aircraft are in service in more than 150 countries. Downfall: The Case Against Boeing, 2022
2018: And then two planes drop out of the sky. ibid.
Boeing Withheld Information on 737 Model, According to Safety Experts & Others. ibid. The Wall Street Journal
Boeing would not publicly consider that something was wrong with the design of the aeroplane. ibid.
‘We are going to be issuing an emergency order of prohibition to ground all fights of 737Max8 and the 737Max9.’ ibid. Trump
‘Expecting more with less … We saw the company change before our eyes.’ ibid. ex-employee
‘Over time the lazer focus on safety that had been traditional was compromised.’ ibid.
‘Boeing whistleblowers have said that anybody who reported a problem at the South Carolina plant was either fired or let go or moved on.’ ibid.
‘Widespread pattern inside Boeing of deceitful behaviour.’ ibid.
Stone cut with amazing precision. Acoustic chambers designed for inter-planetary communication. And architecture configured to harness cosmic energy. Are these dramatic examples of advanced technology, or are they simply the astounding achievements of ancient engineers? Ancient Aliens s3e6: Aliens and Ancient Engineers
Peru, Ollantaytambo: 9,000 feet above sea-level in an area the Inca people once called the Sacred Valley like the ruins of the ancient city of Ollantaytambo. ibid.
But how could the earliest humans on Earth have produced such astonishing stonework where massive interlocking blocks fit together with such precision? ibid.
‘These six giant slabs of red granite have stood here for thousands of years.’ ibid. comment
Mexico, Teotihuacan: Here on a highlands plateau lies the enormous archaeological site of the ancient city Teotihuacan … One of the largest cities in the ancient world. ibid.
The ruins of a vast temple complex of Vijayanagara … The temple of Vijayanagara was built using ancient geometric and mathematical formulas. ibid.
Vadic literature contain multiple references to flying objects of various shapes and sizes. ibid.
Luxor, Egypt: Here along the east bank of the Nile River lies the archaeological remains of the vast Karnak Temple complex. ibid.
Ancient Astronaut theorists suggest that early Egyptian builders might have had access to extraterrestrial knowledge and technology. ibid.
A tiny island in the middle of the Mediterranean sea: Malta … Stone structures on the Maltese island of Gozo are considered by archaeologists to be among the greatest achievements of ancient engineering anywhere in the world. ibid.
The sheer scale of construction and the use of vertically arranged monolithic stones weighing over twenty tons. ibid.
‘Cart-ruts’ found all over the island. ibid.
A mysterious underground sanctuary dating to 2,500 B.C. It’s called the Hypogeum. ibid.
The greatest civilisations of antiquity running on electrical power. Energy-generating microwaves produced at the Great Pyramid of Giza. And a wireless energy grid that crossed the globe. Could our ancient ancestors have mastered the ability to harness and create power? And if so, where might this knowledge have come from? Ancient Aliens s5e3: Alien Power Plants
All over the world ancient sites reveal feats of engineering that mainstream archaeologists believed were achieved with slave labour and simple tools. ibid.
How did our ancestors move huge monoliths? ibid.