Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/11/02/derailed-dutch-train-saved-by-a-whales-tail-with-the-perfect-name.html
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What a fluke!
Bravo!!
That side-on photo, though, really looked like the train was way further away than the sculpture. Made no sense until the video was viewed. Even then, the picture still looked wrong.
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It’s almost hard to believe that this isn’t some sort of weird movie set-up.
Also “plastic materials”… wow. Impressive that the structure is able to support that kind of additional weight.
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I see that our construct’s settings have been set to “just fuck with them.”
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What a fluke!
I love Fluke!
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Does the sculptor get a reward?
If anybody plays Dungeons & Dragons Online, doesn’t it kind of remind you of a certain feature in Gianthold?
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Well, they are the go-to name in load bearing sculptures now.
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And here I was trying to figure out how someone’s exposed underwear elastic could possibly have enough tensile strength to support a locomotive.
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Spiderman Underoos maybe?
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Technically I think it only counts as a “Whale Tail” if it’s a thong.
…which is actually what Tom Holland says they made him wear under the costume.
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That would account for the “frog in his mouth” expression, then. /s
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Yes, wow! Did it bend the structure or was it originally that shape?
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Yeah, although I suppose the train car is still pretty firmly attached to the rest of the train, so the sculpture doesn’t have to fully support its weight. Still, though… that sculpture must have been seriously over-engineered for the sake of durability.
Yeah, it was. It hasn’t been deformed at all, from what I can see, based on pictures from before the crash.
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OK, now I want to hear a dutch Mountain cover band pen
Spijkenisse Train ride
Goodbye, little Robin-Marie
Don’t try following me
Don’t cry, little Robin-Marie
'Cause you know I’m coming home soon
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In my humble opinion, this is too good to change. They should leave the one train car resting on its perch, as it is now part of the art exhibit.
Obviously, take some precautions to strap it down or weld it into place, but I feel it completes the namesake of the artwork so well it would be a shame to remove it.
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Art Saves lives!
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Only one? Must be a mono whale!
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I don’t know where the rumour about the sculpture being called ''Saved by a Whale’s Tail" comes from. Dutch news articles call it simply Walvisstaarten, or “Whale tails”.
(The original idea from the artwork came from the fact that in Dutch, the end of a railway line is referred to as its “tail”).
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This was quite the good news story in the Netherlands on Monday. “Art saves lives” almost became a bit of meme. That was especially apt as the Dutch philistine government is on the cusp of announcing plans to close museums, theatres and cinemas. Which is weird, as they are about the safest places you can be right now due to social distancing being strictly observed there, something that cannot be said of many shops or even streets.
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