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The bridges portrayed on Euro banknotes aren't fictional anymore
- 082349872349872 6y agoIf you ever get lost in the galaxy and need to find your way back home, use the handy table on a 20 CHF bill to adjust your location until you are the proper light-distance from everything. Once you're back on earth, use google maps or something. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_franc#/media/File:20_CHF_banknote_(2017).jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_franc#/media/File:20_CHF...
- xwdv 6y agoAny link to a demonstration
- sp332 6y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_Titanic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_Titanic / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Adams%27s_Starship_Titanic:_A_Novel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Adams%27s_Starship_Tit...
- jpmoral 6y agoFascinating! You'd have to do a bit more calculation though, as the distances were measured on a specific date: https://nccr-planets.ch/blog/2017/12/07/astronomy-in-your-wallet/ https://nccr-planets.ch/blog/2017/12/07/astronomy-in-your-wa... (Scroll to the last paragraph)
- jansan 6y agoNo problem, the issue date is printed on the bank note :)
- skrebbel 6y agoDoes the table get updated for later issued notes? That'd be pretty awesome.
- nneonneo 6y agoPer the article, the astronomers were able to determine that the distances were measured on 23 February 1987 at 8:52 CET (which was confirmed by the issuing national bank). This wouldn’t correspond with the issue date of the banknote, unfortunately.
- denysvitali 6y agoWhat's more fascinating is opening that link and realizing that the picture is the one I took and posted on Wikipedia. I'm honored! On a side note, if you are a photographer / love to take pictures, consider posting them with a CC0 license on Pixabay!
- windthrown 6y agoI'm curious, as a Wikipedia photo poster yourself why do you recommend Pixabay over Wikimedia Commons?
- denysvitali 6y agoI guess there it doesn't really make a difference, but Pixabay pictures are most of the time included in the search results of similar search engines: therefore I feel it is more easy to find them on the internet. In the end the platform (IMHO) doesn't really matter, but Wikimedia Commons doesn't always hold public domain pictures. I actually realized that the picture I posted was licensed CC-BY-SA on Wikimedia: I immeditely changed that to CC0 as soon as I noticed (:
- kzrdude 6y agoThe non-CC0 license at least dictates that your name should in some way follow the photo, and that's nice (though inconvenient and of course, ignored widely). Me too have been pleasantly surprised to see my images still in use, for example 10 years after uploading them to wikipedia. By the way, what kind of camera do you use for that kind of close-up?
- denysvitali 6y agoI love to see my pictures online! Sometimes my CC0 pictures are used for news articles and such and I'm really happy to help out with my pictures . I also apply the same ideas when I develop: I always try to use the most open license where applicable. I feel like sharing is caring - I use open source softwares myself and in turn I try to produce the same high quality software for the world to use. Btw, the camera is a Canon 70D with a 18-135mm, f/3.5-5.6 lens :)
- 7373737373 6y agoStill needs to include a way to get to know what a 'second' is, like the Hyperfine transition of neutral hydrogen on the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_plaque https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_plaque
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- anticensor 6y agoThanks for posting. I will not forget my 20 francs when I go to space.
- dmurray 6y ago"Anymore" = since 2013.
- ORioN63 6y agoThis. The article looks undated and its title seems to reflect a moment, so it's a bit weird. Could [2013] be added to the title?. NL Wikipedia [1] has some more info on them. It also provides a source for the bridges opening date. [1] https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spijkenisser_Eurobruggen https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spijkenisser_Eurobruggen
- tom_mellior 6y agoThe title is weird like that because Atlas Obscura is a clickbait site that tries to sensationalize everything.
- benrbray 6y agoTom Scott also did a short video on these bridges [1]! [1] https://youtu.be/S9E1wsxOSzM https://youtu.be/S9E1wsxOSzM
- spiderfarmer 6y agoGreat video. To the point. I liked it.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- bla3 6y agoWeird that all bridges on Euro bills are in the Netherlands, doesn't seem very impartial /s
- redis_mlc 6y agoWeird how those bridges will outlast the Euro, and also the EU. /s
- Cro_on 6y agoafaict the bridges were only designed for the notes (or unbuilt designs were used because they had a certain european aesthetic), and then the designs were used to build real bridges in the netherlands. it's just a tourist spot, similar to las vegas' wonders of the world.
- lima 6y agoThat being the joke :-)
- jansan 6y agoAfter reading the title I honestly expected to see photos from some Chinese fake European town. That would actually be quite funny. Actually, I find it quite embarrassing that Europe, who often refers to its "European culture" cannot decide on real life people or architectural landmarks to be printed on its bank notes, because some country may feel devaluated with it's national symbol only being on the 10 Euro note.
- gambiting 6y agoThat's such a weird perspective - I think you're adding a narrative where there isn't one. Of course Europe could have decided on a set of landmarks but decided that using non-existent landmarks represents us better - the currency is just that, currency. Why should it have landmarks or people? In fact I find it weird that some countries print their famous people on their money - it just seems so pretentious.
- conception 6y agoCountries have an ongoing PR/marketing angle often called patriotism to build their stockpile of goodwill for spending on questionable things.
- Shared404 6y ago> Countries have an ongoing [propaganda] angle often called patriotism to build their stockpile of goodwill for spending on questionable things. Let's call it what it is. Just because propaganda is a scary word that "We would never do!" doesn't make it not propaganda. Edit: I should be more clear. Patriotism is not in and of itself bad. However, when it crosses from "I am proud of my country" to "My country is always right", that is no longer a good thing.
- 082349872349872 6y agoI'm under the impression that propaganda was the original term, and after it got burned by overuse in WWI[1], the commercial side rebranded itself as "public relations" during the 1920s. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23895444 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23895444
- Theodores 6y agoMeanwhile, in the UK we get Winnie The Pooh 50p coins. Take that, Europe, with your lofty ideals of building bridges! Bridges are for burning if you want to live in a tax haven small island!
- mhh__ 6y agoI voted for brexit because I've always wanted a inland border in Kent. Remoaner!
- c0nfused 6y agoAs an american, this seems like the sort of thing that would spark a bridge building contest between states. Oh they built the bridges in jersey? Hell yeah we can do it in NYC
- jjuhl 6y agoYeah. I can see a stupid thing like that happening.
- swimfar 6y agoWhy would that be stupid? I actually think it's kind of stupid for only one country to have the bridges shown on EU currency. I was just thinking it would be cool if a bunch of the EU countries each started building these bridges. You could see it as a symbol of unity. Maybe they could do something interesting with it like each country adding their own personal touches to the design. Or using the bridges to bring attention to lesser-known, interesting cities in the country.
- astrobe_ 6y agoActually at least in France the cathedrals became taller and taller exactly for that reason.
- jefe_ 6y agoInteresting concept, I would have considered leaving the bridges their natural colors and installing small, tinted panes of glass at photo spots along the walkway. Would allow photos to show a more immersive 'banknote world,' while maintaining design consistency for area residents.
- mensetmanusman 6y agoReminds me of Agloe, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agloe,_New_York https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agloe,_New_York There are many fake towns that became real because it was imagined on paper (usually to catch copyright) :)
- bane 6y agoWhen a metric becomes a target, the organization will optimize towards maximizing the metric.
- AniseAbyss 6y agoI haven't seen a banknote in months and certainly never anything above €50- hell I think the only they ever accepted are the €10 and €20 bills. Which is just as well because damn are they ugly. Thats globalism for you. Can't celebrate people, buildings or even animals for fear of giving offense to someone.
- notatoad 6y agohere's the side-by-side comparison i was hoping to see in this article: https://cdn.iwastesomuchtime.com/12172014223692.jpg https://cdn.iwastesomuchtime.com/12172014223692.jpg
- ChrisArchitect 6y agoprevious discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12193352 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12193352 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8769509 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8769509
- mattmanser 6y agoWorse stil, the submitter posted virtually the same conte t 21 hours ago. Even HN isn't immune from Karma farmers.
- cblconfederate 6y agogreat so now we have to print new banknotes because it s not fair that the bridges are all in Netherlands
- Animats 6y agoPictures of the bridges.[1] Some look OK, some are kind of silly in small scale. The suspension bridge looks like something from a miniature golf course. [1] http://www.robinstam.nl/#/bruggen-van-europa/ http://www.robinstam.nl/#/bruggen-van-europa/
- euroderf 6y agoA bit of forgotten history is that the first set of bill designs were supposed to be fictional but in fact the designer(s) had copied existing bridges. Oops. AFAIK the EU never pursued the matter, they just forgot about the fraud and paid for the set of definitely-fictional designs that are now on the bills.
- tom_mellior 6y agoInteresting. Do you have a source? EDIT: For whatever it's worth, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_banknotes#Design https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_banknotes#Design says "The initial designs by Robert Kalina were of actual bridges, including the Rialto Bridge in Venice and the Pont de Neuilly in Paris, and were subsequently rendered more generic.", citing https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/03/news/etching-the-notes-of-a-new-european-identity.html https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/03/news/etching-the-notes-of.... This is a much weaker claim than what you wrote, and even this isn't supported by the article. The relevant parts of the NYT article are: "For his central motif, Mr. Kalina chose a bridge — not Pont Neuf in Paris or Venice's Bridge of Sighs. Mr. Kalina's was a bridge that no European had ever crossed. The ground rules for the design strictly prohibited displaying any recognizable national monuments or heroes that risked giving greater prominence to one country over another. So Mr. Kalina took bits and pieces of Europe's great bridges and with the help of his computer melded them into a neutered bridge presumably acceptable to all. "Hopefully," Mr. Kalina said with a grin, "no one will recognize the old places" incorporated in the design." and "He began the design process by scanning in architectural images from library books and toying with them on his Apple Macintosh. The initial landmarks included known sites such as the Rialto bridge in Venice and Pont de Neuilly just outside Paris. But Mr. Kalina, guided by the need to stress a European identity over any national loyalties, painstakingly eradicated all recognizable vestiges of each image, pixel by pixel." This doesn't sound to me like "the initial designs were of actual bridges", like Wikipedia says. And especially not like "copying" and "fraud" like you said.
- toyg 6y agoThe Netherlands being one of the major exporters of EU capitals towards Caribbean tax havens, this is... apt.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]