Anything and everything can come crashing down at any moment.
We have to stay aware of that.
Of course, it's not healthy to dwell on it.
But sometimes we have no choice.
Fear of something collapsing is a real thing.
That's why I try to avoid bridges... and love.
So many things need some serious fixing.
I'm tired of seeing stories about train derailments.
Even our airplanes are falling apart, not just out of the sky, but apart.
Doors are flying off.
Jesus take the wheel... before it falls off!
Redditor _Fossy_ wanted everyone to reveal life's most fragile structures, so they asked:
"Whats a thing that is dangerously close to collapse that you know about?"
It's Terrible
"Most municipal water supplies in the US, especially in Florida and New Orleans. I work in the industry. It’s terrible."
- Rude-Objective-8553
"There’s a boil water advisory about once every two weeks in New Orleans now. It’s unbelievable."
- Pure-Butterfly-7697
Scared 30 Rock GIF by HULUGiphy
A Bad Grove
"The Florida citrus industry -- specifically oranges. There is a fungus that is spreading and infecting groves across the state. Unfortunately, we have no way to kill the fungus. The only solution is to cut down all citrus trees within a certain radius of an infected tree. Many farmers are choosing to sell their farm rather than try to start all over."
- halleberryhaircut
Under the Surface
"The Colorado River as the main water supply for 3 states with major cities."
- ImprovementFar5054
"Don't forget the volume of water from that river that the US is obligated to let get to Mexico. That's why there is an entire valley in AZ with tile just under the surface. It's so that they can recoup the water that doesn't get taken up by the plants and send it back to the system or into Mexico. In case you're curious, this valley is just outside Yuma, and provides North America with the bulk of its lettuce during the winter months."
- Kraden_McFillion
It's Endlessly Happening
"Publicly traded companies constantly being like 'We did good, not great. More money next quarter. Oh that's good not great. Even more money next quarter,' in the 4 years I've been with my company, my production quota has tripled and it's unsustainable. Every quarter has to make more money than the last otherwise it's failing. This is almost every single publicly traded company. Corners being cut, profits maximised, employees compromised. It's endlessly happening."
- 16RabidCats
Flooded
"The Rio Grande levees in El Paso's Upper Valley are old and need repair, and will fail in a major flood. The low-lying suburbs in the Upper Valley were recently deemed to be in a FEMA flood plain."
- oddlotz
Fire This Is Fine GIF by MOODMANGiphy
For the Kids
"The young childcare industry. Increased regulation to make facilities safer (a very good thing!) had the unintended consequence of increasing costs for owners. You now need more teachers who have training and certification, not to mention the patience and stamina to work with young kids all day."
"The pay is comparable to fast food without the benefits. Owners have to find a way to pay teachers enough to retain them while keeping costs down so parents can afford to send their kids. It's damn near impossible without an infusion of government investments."
- gpedp
It's All a Mess...
"Literally all infrastructure in North America. The majority of underground infrastructure (pipes, water lines, sewer systems) has been completely ignored in terms of maintenance, and has been TOTALLY ignored in terms of budgeting replacing the assets."
'There are towns that have coming bills of 10s-100s of millions (not even mentioning larger cities) that have saved approximately 0% of the required amount by constantly pushing out the lifetime estimation of the assets."
"Lots and lots of bills are coming due shortly if the engineering estimates are accurate and very few towns have saved anything for this scenario. We're basically living in a world where no one wants to be the person to say that we need to save money for long term planning, and instead everyone hopes things don't fail while they are leading and they can pass the buck."
- spinmove
Dust Bowl 2.0
"The Ogallala Aquifer. Do you know how Kansas and Nebraska are known for essentially being endless fields of wheat and corn? Well, they do that by drilling wells in one of the world's largest aquifers deep under the Midwest. There isn't enough consistent rainfall in those areas for all those crops, so well water makes up the difference. But, we're draining it and it can't be replenished. Once it's drained, it's Dust Bowl 2.0 and no more large-scale farming in the Midwest."
- Judge_Bredd3
Towers
"The Garisenda -- one of two remaining 12th-century towers in Bologna, Italy."
"I saw them in April. It looks pretty ridiculous, to be honest. They have the area blocked off by some shipping containers because that tower probably going to fall any day. It looks like there are some half-hearted restoration attempts happening but no idea what their plan is."
- doodle_rooster
Bad News
"Antibiotic effectiveness."
- Crafty_Bad_6232
"Real. People have no idea. Also poisons and pesticides. Resistance in general."
- Timmyval123
"This is exactly what I came to say. More terrifying than most are aware of."
- DiabolicalBurlesque
Antibiotics GIF by NETFLIXGiphy
We've Lost
"I don't know, but every time I go to a drugstore it feels like we lost a war."
- Tryingtodosomethingg
"Worked for CVS for the better part of 15 years. Around 2008/9 the og leadership retired and a bunch of former executives from Macys and JC Penney’s were brought in to run the front store side of the business. Their philosophy was that the only way to control profitability was to control payroll. Went from a store that at one time was budgeted 700 payroll hours per week to 230 per week several years later all while doing the same sales volume year over year."
- Capable_Sir_219
6 to 24 hours away...
"Without human intervention, your local energy grid is only about 6 to 24 hours away from complete collapse, depending on how greedy the utility company is in terms of automatic backups. The electricity grid will likely fail first and within hours. Other energy sources like city heat or natural gas will take longer because those rely less on active human inputs."
"You remember in The Last of US TV show how Nick Offerman is in a Home Depot, the power goes out, and he remarks 'That was fast?' That bit was much more accurate than anyone not involved in utilities would ever care to know about."
- ConstableBlimeyChips
Concrete Concern
"There's a waste product of burning coal called fly ash. We use it in concrete. It makes the concrete better and cheaper. Nobody is building new coal power plants, and old ones are shutting down. It's getting harder and harder to source the ash. If we have to source it from far away, like China, the transportation costs erase the cost savings. We can get the same concrete with just cement and added chemicals but it's more expensive. In ten years we probably won't be using it at all."
"It's a really minor thing that will have far-reaching consequences. Architects and engineers will probably look at ways to reduce concrete in their buildings as the costs increase. It's not likely to impact residential, but big downtown architecture is sure to be affected."
- -im-your-huckleberry
Grade : F
"Honestly, the education system feels like it's barely holding on."
- nerdy99
"I know so many teachers who are noping out of that field. What the heck happens when we run out?"
- thambio
Fail Black And White GIFGiphy
I have no idea how we'll get the infrastructure back on track.
Which makes me wonder about where my tax dollars are going.
But that is another story.
We really need to step it up, people.
We are in danger girl!
@kileywrestling/Bluesky