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Tech

Now This Is How You Blow Up a Dam

Kaboom.
GIF: YouTube

Few things embody the wonders of modern engineering like a giant fucking dam. So, it makes sense that the utter destruction of one would be equally as impressive.

A video uploaded to YouTube in 2013 of what appears to be the explosion of a dam or seawall in the port of Risavika, Norway recently surfaced on Reddit, to the delight of demolition enthusiasts everywhere. It's still unclear as to why this enormous monolith was unceremoniously blown to smithereens, but it's possible the dam merely served as a temporary barrier intended to balance the harbor's water levels.

As you can see, a sequence of timed pyrotechnic charges make swift work of the Norwegian dam. One commenter pointed out that a shock tube lined with explosive powder was likely used to destroy the dam with such precision, which is evidenced by the series of flashing lights that go off before the eventual blast.

Back in the US, aging dams all over the country are seeing the end of their lives. Tens of thousands of dams in North America are being slated for destruction due to faulty engineering and river damage. Often, the cost of maintaining some of the nation's older dams just isn't worth the risk to public safety and the environment. According to the documentary DamNation, it takes approximately 800 pounds of explosive to completely bring down a big one, and a record-setting 72 dams were removed across the US in 2014 alone.

Hopefully, no fish were harmed in the making of this video.