The Magnificent Golden Gate Bridge | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

[music] Welcome to Stuff You Should. Know, a production of iHeart Radio. [music]. Hey, and welcome to [music] the podcast. I'm Josh and there's Chuck and Jerry's. hanging with us, too. And it's stuff you. should know. And we are headed west. And. um yeah, that's all. >> Uh yeah, I mean, we're recording on the. Golden Gate Bridge. I guess this is uh. like two weeks.

uh wow two weeks to the day I think. >> What? >> From our live show in the city of San. Francisco. >> That's true. Cuz it's the 15th and our. show's on the 29th. >> That's right. On uh a rare Thursday. >> Oh, show. >> Yeah. Yeah. Oh, by the way, too, I meant. to mention and I hope this is okay with. you. I got booked to do a show on. Friday. Mhm. >> And I haven't mentioned that to people, but on Friday I will be performing in. the Hanging with Dr. Z show.

>> Do you know that? >> Dr. Zas. >> Yeah. Do you know about this? >> No. No. No. I don't know anything about. >> this is the one in which comedian Dana. Gould is he owns a professional like. fullblown Dr. Zas costume. and he's been doing this for years and. it's like a talk show with him as the. host is Dr. Zas. So, I'm on that. Uh, and I'm very excited because, uh, not. only is Janet Barney in it, uh, co-founder of Sketchfest. >> and dear friend, but, uh, Dave Foley, I.

get to like be on stage with a kid in. the hall. >> What? >> Man, that's going to be amazing. >> Yeah. And the great Andy Dailyaly. So, if anyone wants to see that on Friday. night, uh, just go to the Sketchfest. website and check it out. I think it's. at kind of one of the small comedy. clubs. >> Do you Oh, okay. So, is it a comedy. club? >> Yeah, it's one where I did Movie Crush. one year. I can't remember the name of. it, though. Well, do you remember how to. find your way back there, though? >> Boy, I hope so. >> I [laughter] hope so, too. That's. awesome, man. Congrats. And yes, I. second that. Everybody should go see it, whether you're in San Francisco or not,

because I'm sure that's going to be. awesome. >> Yeah. I mean, you can come. I imagine. you'll be on a plane home, huh? >> Yeah. >> Yeah. All right. >> Um, but thank you. I appreciate the. invite. I'll be there in spirit. supporting you. You text me immediately. after and be like, "It was a triumph.". [laughter]. >> Or, >> "No, it won't be anything but a. triumph.". >> All right. So, Golden Gate Bridge. >> Yeah. That's why we started talking. about California and San Francisco in. the first place because if you don't. bother to look at the titles of episodes. and you just let it roll one end to the. other, that's what we're talking about.

in this episode. The Golden Gate Bridge. There's a pretty good chance you know. what we're talking about. It's often. named as the most photographed bridge in. the world. I can believe that. >> Yeah, it's my second favorite. >> What's your first? >> Brooklyn Bridge, man. >> Okay. It's got to be the BB. >> Okay. All right. All right. >> What about you? >> Uh I don't know. I don't know that I. have a favorite bridge. I kind of like. the ones that look like sailboats. Uh. >> there's a few of those around.

>> Yeah, those are nice. Uh a Tower Bridge. in London is also quite magnificent. >> Sure. Um and then. I'm going to sound so obnoxious, but in. Budapest, >> it's not obnoxious. >> No, just being like, "What's your. favorite bridge?" Oh, mine's in. Budapest. >> Oh, no. But they have, I think, seven. different bridges and they went they did. seven different designs for all the. bridges that go through the city and. connect Buddha to Pest, right? And it it. really is like a city of amazing.

bridges. They're all just really well. done and they're just different. It's. cool. >> I agree. Uh I forgot about that. Well, also I mean since we're shouting out. bridges, we can't not talk about. Pittsburgh because I went to a baseball. game there and that beautiful stadium. and you get the those beautiful bridges. there. It's lovely. >> Yeah. It's like eight Bridges Stadium. >> Yeah, I think so. >> Is that right? >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Eight or 12, I think they call it eight. or 12 Bridges Stadium. [laughter]. >> The does. >> That's right. >> So, back to the Golden Gate. It's also.

check one of the seven wonders of the. modern world. >> I didn't know that. >> Yeah. And the American Society of Civil. Engineers named it uh one of the bridges. of the millennium in 2000. Wow. So, it's. a well- reggarded bridge. And um if. you've always wondered or always thought. like, "Hey, I guess the Golden Gate. Bridge is called that because the I. guess the weird orange color is roughly. Golden." I don't know. You would be like. me, probably like you, Chuck, and that.

would mean you were wrong. >> That's right. Uh because Golden Gate. very much predates the construction of. that bridge. >> And with that, we come to our first. story. >> Okay. Um, I'm going to make like a a. horse sound while you tell the story. So, this guy will be riding [laughter] a. horse. Okay. >> You got two ads of coconuts and you're. banging them together. Uh, 1846, uh, this is the Mexican-American wartime. It's going on. And there's a army. officer in the United States named John. uh Fremont who basically said without.

sounds like without even asking anyone, "Hey, California's independent from. Mexico." At one point he was crossing uh. the San Francisco Bay there from Soma to. San Francisco to fight the Mexican army. there. And he named that m boy, you're. really doing a great job. And he named. that mile wide straight that connects. the bay to the ocean. Uh what would that. be? Chris. >> Can't stop. >> Oh no, there he goes off into the.

sunset. [laughter]. I guess Chrisale uh which means golden. gate. And later on, rather than the. Greek version, he went with the English. And that that passage was called the. Golden Gate. >> That's right. So, this is the bridge. over the Golden Gate, >> right? >> Did you know that? >> Uh, no, not I was yesterday years old, as they say. >> Yeah. So, uh, yeah. And the Golden Gate. in particular is pretty neat. Not just. because it's like the it connects San. Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean, but.

geographically it's like 300 ft deep. right there. But on the shelf in the. Pacific side, it's much shallower. And. then in the bay, I saw the bay's like an. average of 14t deep or something crazy. like that. So, um it's just suddenly. goes like this huge depression. And this. is what they needed to cross like a 300. foot depression through the Golden Gate. with a bridge. And I think the first. person to ever suggest it was a guy. named Charles Crocker. And one of the.

reasons they needed a bridge truck in. the first place is because if you ever. look at a map of San Francisco, it's. actually a peninsula. >> So it's connected to the south to the. rest of California, but there's a lot of. stuff to the north of that. To get to. the north, you have to cross the Golden. Gate. So people were like, "We've got to. get here to there." You know, we like. Marin County. We like uh Pedaluma. We. like to say Paluma at least. >> Yeah. Salo. >> Salelo is another fun one to say. Um so.

they started with fairies and that. worked just fine. But as more and more. people showed up, San Francisco was a. magnet for immigrants, especially after. the gold rush of 1849. Um they were. like, "We might need something better. than just fairies, like especially if we. want to run railroad cars.". >> Yeah. And Jack, that ferry was. expensive, man. Uh they were they were. actually just um. >> like tanker boats, >> but they would double as fairies and. say, "Yeah, sure. We'll take you. across." It was $2 ahead, which is. almost $70 today.

>> Yeah. And you got Yeah. I saw $77 even. >> Wow. That's even more outrageous. >> And they gave you saltines and grape. Kool-Aid. That was the only food you had. on board. >> Just like uh Southern Baptist Communion. That's what I had in nursery school. It's actually a winning combination. >> It was pretty good, especially if you're. in church and you're like hard up for. snacks. >> So, um Oh, there was finally one called. the Princess. It was a sidewheel paddle. wheel steamer. I guess that was the.

first official ferry that happened in. 1868. But that guy, Charles Crocker, all. the way back in 1872, he said, "We need. a bridge." And the reason why he said, "We need a bridge is because he was a. railroad guy." and he's like, "We need. to get railroads up there. We need to to. get people. We need to move lumber. We. need to do all sorts of cool stuff. So, let's let's get a bridge, guys.". >> Yeah. And uh people are like, "There's. no way. That's two miles. No one's ever. built a suspension bridge that long.". And in 1916, there was a San Francisco.

Sun journalist who used to study. engineering named James Wilkins. He. said, "No, I think we can build a. suspension bridge. Um it'll be 3,000 ft. and it'll cost in those days dollars. $und00 million. which is almost I'm sorry it's more than. three billion today. So everyone said. that's probably not going to happen. either. Mhm. >> So eventually it took a city engineer. named Michael Oshana to uh be on the. lookout to say we do need a bridge but.

we got to get this cost lower and. enlisted a guy in 1921 from Chicago. named an engineer named Joseph Strauss. who said here's what we do everyone it. is possible but it can't be a straight. suspension bridge all the way over and. it can't be uh just a cantal levered. bridge uh the suspension will be too. flexible and flexy with those winds and. the cantal lever would be way too heavy. So, if we do a combination of the two, I. think that's the winning um idea. And. it'll cost you only $17 million.

>> Yeah, that was much more in line with. what the the city engineer knew that the. city of San Francisco would be willing. to pay for something like this, right? >> Yeah. >> Joseph Strauss, he became the central. figure of the Golden Gate Bridge. He's. often credited as the man who built the. Golden Gate Bridge. That's a genuinely. unfair thing to say because so many. people contributed so much to it. But he. was um he was not a shy person. He he. could work with just about anybody. Um.

he knew how to work the system and he. was not a self-promoter, but he. definitely was after the the a claim of. being the man who built the Golden Gate. Bridge. So just kind of put that in your. in your pipe for later, >> right? Don't smoke it yet, though, right? >> No, no, don't don't spark it. But he um. enlisted a guy named Charles Ellis who. is like the. >> I I don't know how you would describe I. can't think of an analogous movie. character, but I feel like we can get. him across a little bit. He was obsessed.

with making sure that this bridge was. not going to collapse. >> Yeah, I would describe him as a math. wiz. He was the guy uh. I think we did the when we did the New. York subways episode, we talked about. the tunnels that went under the Hudson. River. Mhm. >> He was the guy that came up with that. plan. And so, >> um, that's a pretty good dude to get if. you're trying to build a bridge that no. one thought could be built at the time, >> right? >> Like super super math guy. Just keep. math in your head because as we'll see,

math would end up being his undoing. >> Yeah. But he was not after a claim. He. did not, I get the impression, necessarily know how to work with. everybody or work the system. He just. wanted to do his math stuff, right? >> Yeah. So, he was a good guy to have in. that sense. And one of the reasons why. he was so good is because the design. process was so long. At one point, as. we'll see, they just completely scrapped. Strauss's idea and started over. >> Yeah. >> Uh financing was also a thing. I mean, Strauss had gotten it down to an.

estimate of 17 million. And I'm sure. anybody who was paying any attention was. like, "We should plan on probably at. least double that.". >> Just about right. >> Yeah. Uh but the state was interested. enough that in 1923 they passed the. Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District. Act of California, which basically said. to the people in the surrounding 21. counties, "Hey, uh you guys want to get. in on this and basically vote for a tax. district that can create debt that to. borrow money basically against our.

counties. What do you think?". >> Yeah. And they said, "Well, what does. that mean? That sounds weird." and they. [clears throat] said, "Well, it means. that all the businesses and all your. homes in your county are going to be put. up as collateral uh jointly against that. that loan." And surprisingly, maybe six. out of the 21 counties said, "We're in. Uh we see this progress as something. that we need." Um as far as the. remaining counties that weren't into it, you know, some of the obvious reasons is. they just didn't want to do that. A uh. so I'm worried about the cost overruns.

and like, hey, this isn't even going to. be enough. other people didn't. You. know, this was the uh early 1920s, so it. was still, you know, kind of a I mean, it was a a bustling city for 1920s, but. there were areas of of rural um you. know, uh ruralness. >> Sure. >> AC across the other side. And like they. were like, we don't want this bridge. Like we've got livestock over here and. uh we're cutting down our lumber. And. even back then they had conservationists.

agitating against stuff like this. uh. notably the Sierra Club was like, "We. don't want a a bridge in that beautiful. bay." Uh and there were a lot of other. people that that came out uh with a lot. of good reasons um to bring up lawsuits. like, you know, earthquakes. There was. one in 1906 that was recent enough to. where like what what about this. earthquake thing? Like what if that. happens? >> Yeah. The first big one. >> Yeah. >> Um shippers were like, "Well, you know, we can make it through the Golden Gate. to the Pacific pretty easy right now. We're a little worried that just.

building this bridge is going to hamper. our ability to make mad cash. Um the. Department of War, uh which had a heavy. presence in that area, was like, "Look, we we run like really important warships. in and out of this harbor. Um we're. worried that this this bridge is going. to block our progress, but then also. we're worried that it's going to become. a real target for saboturs and that they. will blow up the bridge and block the. harbor with the debris." And then the. Southern Pacific Railroad stepped up and.

said, "We run the fairies. Like, we're. gonna lose a bunch of money if you guys. build a bridge." So, all these people. together were either parties to or had. their own lawsuits against the bridge. authority saying like, "No, you can't. you can't do this." And against all of. those odds, um the people in favor of. the bridge managed to overcome that. >> Yeah. And before we break, I do want to. mention uh before we get some email, uh. we mentioned Department of War, not in. uh bended knee to Pete Hegathth. That.

was the original name that later became. the Department of Defense. >> Oh yeah, I forgot that's called again. now. >> Yeah. Is now uh to the tune of what I. just read was going to cost $125 million. to change that name back to the. Department of War. >> and another 125 to change it back to the. Defense [laughter] Department again. eventually. probably. So, so, uh, just want to point. that out. Let's take a break and we'll. be right back. [music].

So, the first design, this hybrid design. was pretty ugly. Uh there was a critic. that said it looked like an upside down. rat trap. So they said, "All right, we. got to redesign this thing because it's. got to look good." Uh Ellis gets. together with consulting engineers Leon,

I guess that would be Moyes and Oh. Amman, and they got together with. Strauss and they said, "All right, let's. go back to this old idea, but a new. design of a full suspension bridge.". >> Yeah. um the the longest one ever and. it'll end up being the tallest one ever. at the time at least because you know. all the winds and the in the water and. the boats and everything. This thing. need to be tall and super long. >> Yeah. And it also needed to be tall. because the angle of the cables to hold.

up such a long deck had to come down at. a crazy angle. >> Yeah. >> Which meant that those towers had to be. really tall. So this is going to be the. tallest bridge in the world, the longest. suspension bridge in the world. And. they're like, "Let's let's do that. Let's make the impossible happen. And. it's worth pointing out, Chuck, like. these guys aren't using CAD. They're not. using any sort of computer. They do not. exist yet. They're not using. calculators. They're doing all of these. calculations by hand using their. noodles, >> paper, >> slide rules,

>> slide rules, pencils. Like that's how. this bridge was designed. That's how. they calculated the stresses on it. That's how they figured out how to. engineer it. All by hand and using their. heads. Yeah, amazing. Uh they they did. all kinds of testing obviously some some. pretty impressive stuff as you'll see. They created a model that was 156 scale, took it to Princeton University there in. New Jersey and uh did a scaledown. equivalent of 120 million pounds of. vertical load to test to make sure those.

towers could take that. >> Passed that test. >> Uh and like I said, there was so much. math going on. Eventually Strauss got. irritated. So the guy Ellis that they. hired because he was great at math got. fired because he the math was so. irritating to Strauss. >> Yeah. Ellis later recorded that Strauss. said that the structure was nothing. unusual and didn't require the um time. that Ellis thought necessary for it. >> Oh man. >> I also saw elsewhere somebody say that.

Strauss was envious of or resentful of I. guess the respect that Ellis got from. the board whenever he went and spoke to. them. I could see that. >> So yeah, this is and I also think that. Strauss was getting leaned on. He was. the one that was getting pressured to. meet the time and Ellis was like, "No, it's going to take six months more than. that.". >> So finally Strauss fires Ellis in the. most like cowardly way a person can. >> He forces him to take vacation and then. before his vacation's over, he sends him.

a telegram saying, "You're fired.". >> Yeah, that's pretty bad. Uh Ellis didn't. receive a lot of credit at the time. And. in fact, he didn't get a lot of credit. until after he passed away in 1949. >> So, we're taking our hat off to you uh. Mr. Ellis for your for your great work. and your great math because we are both. math wizes ourselves and we have a lot. of respect for maths. >> That's right. He also um he didn't have. anything to do. He couldn't really find. much work because this was during the. depression and he was fired. He went.

back and he went over all the figures. again, all the calculations to make sure. they were right. He was spending like 70. hours a week and it took him months. >> Gez. >> And he did and he was like, "Yep, this. is going to work." Even though no one. was listening to him. He wasn't being. paid for it. He just wanted to make sure. that this thing was going to work. >> That's great. So in 1928, uh they kind. of mired their way through uh or got. their way through the mire of the legal. activity and all the protests and. everything. Uh the state government of.

California said the Golden Gate Bridge. and Highway District is now a thing. uh. they're going to pull off every facet of. this build. And in November 1930, the. district issued $35 million in bonds to. finance this thing. Uh which was a. problem at the time though because it. was during the Great Depression. obviously. And they couldn't find any. buyers for these bonds and all these. legal matters were scaring people away. And so they turned to uh kind of one of. the heroes of this whole thing in 1932,

a guy named Amio Geianini. the president. of Bank of America. >> Yeah. One of the most revered and. respected banks in the world. Um, everyone loves Bank of America. They're. basically a mascot here in the US. >> That's right. Uh, and he was also just a. California hero. He kind of kickstarted. the Hollywood uh movie industry, the. California wine industry. So, he was a. guy to go to and he was like, "I got. you. I got a big room with $6 million. over here and I'll buy those bonds and.

you can get started on your project.". >> Yeah. which is pretty cool. Um and he is. one of the heroes for sure. So they got. started um they uh started during the. depression as we saw and on the one hand. that meant financing it was difficult. On the other hand it meant that they had. a huge uh pool of laborers to tap. because there were a lot of out of work. people. So they got everyone they needed. basically immediately to get started. >> It started on January 5th, 1933. And. there were a lot of issues that.

construction faced that made this a. unique construction job. Every day, four. times a day, so two times in and two. times out, the tide brings in and takes. out 390 billion gallons of water through. the Golden Gate. While these guys are. trying to build their bridge, there's. tons of fog. There's a lot of storms. There's high winds. It was not just like. a walk in the park like apparently the. Bay Bridge was to build. Yeah. I mean, apparently the Bay Bridge is more.

impressive in some ways and was built. and finished before, but it didn't get. nearly the press because it was just a. an easier job overall. >> Right. It's like 8 miles long, which is. the exact distance from downtown Detroit. to Eminem's house. >> Oh man, I didn't see that coming. When. you said Detroit, I didn't even see it. coming. Nice work. >> Thanks. >> All right, so it's a difficult job. super super hard because of the the. terrain and the water and the wind and. the fog and everything going on. Uh the.

north tower was built on the Marin. County side on the coastline there uh. into a very strong layer of basalt and. sandstone and that's great. So they were. like the north side is fine because this. stuff is um very very sturdy to build. into. The south tower was about a. thousand feet offshore and a bed of. serpentine rock and they went this side. is is a little trickier so we're going. to have to take our time a little more. Yeah, they got this guy named Andrew C. Lawson. He's a great example of how many. people were thoroughly involved in this.

because every person you mention uh in. this story, just imagine there's dozens. or maybe hundreds of people working. beneath them in coordination with that. person. He was a geologist and he. basically took to test the bedrock. He. I'm I'm not exactly sure how he did it, but he put the equivalent of a railroad. box car fully loaded that amount of. weight and force onto a 20 square inch. area and it held up fine.

>> That's incredible. >> It is. I I could not find out how he did. that exactly. It's just such a a. spectacular way to put it that I guess. everyone's like, "No one cares what. actually happened.". >> Yeah. Just tell them he did it. >> right. And then he um put on an oldtimey. diving suit and diving bell and went. down to the bedrock and hit it with a. hammer. And apparently if it makes this. sound like a dinging sound, that's what. you're looking for because not only is. it strong, but it's also flexible, which.

is going to come in handy whenever the. San Andreas gives California the big. one, the 8.6 magnitude earthquake that. everyone says is inevitably coming. someday. >> Yeah, for sure. Um, in order to ensure. that, you know, stability, they had. workers dive 90 ft down to put. explosives down, uh, to blast out even. more rock so they could go even deeper. They had to get rid of those fragments. uh, to even get out to that tower. You. know, they have all these materials. So, a lot of big construction like this is.

constructing things so you can do the. construction. >> And that was the case here. So, they had. to build a a road basically on a trestle. just to get out to that tower. Uh, and. then they had to protect this thing from. like being bumped into by a ship. >> Yeah. If you look at the um concrete. foundations that the towers are built. on, you'll notice that they're like um. oval. And those were designed to. basically act as fenders. Kind of like.

uh if you play bumper bowling, >> okay? >> It's basically like that. And imagine. the bowling ball is a ship that that's. being captained by somebody who's not. paying attention. >> Uhhuh. probably on his phone. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> And um they will hit that that fender, the bumper, and it will keep them from. running into the actual tower itself and. because of the oval shape, hopefully. kind of push the ship away from the. fender itself. >> Yeah. While the captain says, "What was. that?" [laughter].

>> Yeah. They weren't uh I think they said. that it looked like a giant bathtub is. what they referred to it. Um, but you. know, they filled that thing once it was. peeking above the surface partially with. concrete, pumped out the water, reinforced it with steel, more concrete, and all of a sudden you've got a a. protected tower with that um that. billiard's bumper bowl. Bumper bowl. >> Mhm. >> Is that what you called it? >> Bumper bowling. >> Oh, okay. I thought you were talking. about like bumper billiards.

>> No, no, no. Bumper bowling where they. put those guard rails down in the. gutters. Yeah, we went bowling last week. and and Ruby still uses those. >> I I do too sometimes. >> I can still manage to miss pins, bumper. bowling, but. >> Oh, okay. I thought you meant just roll. a gutter ball. I was like, man, who who. can't? >> No, I'm saying even even bumper bowling, I can miss the pins still. >> I I did the usual. I know I mentioned. this before, but with bowling uh usually. for and I think the other day I hit like. a like a 140 and then like a 70.

>> I don't remember. Are those good? I. mean, 140 for someone who doesn't bowl. much, I feel like, is a pretty strong. number. >> Is that dude or Jesus level good? >> Oh, no, no, no. Like 300 is a perfect. game. Uh, but I mean, 140 means you've. hit plenty of strikes and spares. Uh, and probably had a good last frame out. >> I don't know if that's what they call. it, but but 70 is bad. My whole point. was though is I'm good for one game and. then my my game really drops off. >> Okay. Well, were you drunk by the second.

game? >> No, no, no, no, no. I had I had but one. beer, a PBR draft. It was delicious. >> Oh, okay. Yeah, sometimes those are the. best ones, the really cruddy ones. >> I don't do that much anymore, but it was. super refreshing and delicious. >> Great. >> Yeah. >> Um, >> that's Chuck Goes Bowling. >> Yeah. And PBR. >> Uh-huh. >> So, you want to take a break? >> Oh, yeah. We Yeah, we're there already. Let's do it. >> Okay. [music].

>> [music]. >> So, Chuck, they've got the foundation. poured. It's a nice fender, a bumper. around the towers. Apparently, once they. got that foundation done, they erected. the south tower, which was the more. difficult of the two towers, the one. closest to San Francisco, they erected.

in like six months, which is really. amazing, especially as you find like. that added up. That was not an anomaly. for this project. It kept like hitting. milestones ahead of time. >> Uh, and they used quite a bit of steel. thanks to Bethlehem Steel Corporation of. Pennsylvania. And as we know from our. Christmas episode, the reason it is. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is thanks to our. Moravian friends who moved there in the. 18th century. >> That's right. New Jersey chipped in too. Gotta got to shout out New Jersey. >> for sure. I don't believe the Moravians.

had much to do with naming New Jersey. >> No, no, no. But as far as the steel. goes. >> Okay. Yes. And so Bethlehem Steel. provided 44,000 tons of steel for each. tower. That was each tower. And this is. not like a quick thing. They. pre-fabricated them, put them on a. barge, and then sent them to San. Francisco, down the East Coast, past. Florida, um through the Panama Canal, and then up to San Francisco. That's how. every single piece of steel uh. pre-fabricated steel made its way to to.

the Golden Gate project. >> Yeah, that's right. Uh via the Panama. Canal. They get there, they obviously. use these giant cranes to lift these. steel sections into place and start kind. of just putting this thing together like. a kit at this point. Uh, and at this. point they haven't even, you know, eventually they had temporary elevators. built so people could get up and down. quicker, but before that it would take a. worker 20 minutes just to climb a. ladder. I can't imagine how terrifying. that would be. Uh, just to be climbing a.

ladder that high that takes 20 minutes. to climb. But that's how they got to the. top. >> Uh, and then we get to the color. Um, like we mentioned before, it's not named. Golden Gate Bridge because of the color. because it's really not golden in color. Uh it got there um like we said prefabed. then it was painted with an orangest red. lead primer uh just to kind of make sure. it made the journey there okay without. getting rusted out. And once it got. there consulting AR architect Irving.

Marorrow said, "Man, that looks pretty. darn good. Everybody, what do you. think?" And everyone went bully bully. And so they started searching for sort. of related colors and ended up landing. on what is now known as Golden Gate. Bridge International Orange. >> I would have kept my mouth shut, but I. would have been looking around like, "You guys think that looks good? [laughter] That's the color we're going. to paint the print.". >> I'm into green personally, but. >> um Okay. So, one of the things that is. great about that particular color.

orange, and I think one of the reasons. people said bully for it, um was because. it didn't it didn't um well, it. harmonized with the surrounding area. It's nice, hilly, shrubby. Um it it like. it was a good choice for sure for that. And I think it also kind of placed a lot. of people too. They're like that. actually kind of goes with everything. Doesn't stick out like a sore thumb. So, it was a good idea. And that. international orange is still used. today. Um you can thank international. orange for the color of your life vest.

if it's orange. >> That's right. Uh that is just regular. international orange. The Golden Gate. Bridge international orange is a little. different. It's like a variation on. that. But um like you said, it blended. in well and it also did, you know, the. job that it was really supposed to do. was stand out for for ships and boats. there in the fog. Uh rejected colors. included silver uh black and then black. and yellow which was suggested by the US. Navy uh like you know stripe black and. yellow because that was the best color. for visibility to them.

>> It's the best color for Christian metal. too. >> That's right. It's funny cuz I can that. striper the stuff looks so good but I. can't picture a bridge in yellow and. black stripe. It just looks too safety. industrial, you know, >> or cliffs notice. >> Yeah. Yeah, true. >> Um, didn't the dude, the drummer from. Striper have black and yellow striped. drumsticks even? >> I I think he had a black and yellow. striped everything, if you know what I.

mean. >> Oh, I see. He had a black and yellow. striped gnome on. [laughter]. >> Uh, let's keep going. >> Oh, boy. That's good. Uh, all right. So, Marorrow, we mentioned Irving Marorrow. He's the consulting architect who said. like, "I like this color." He also. obviously played a part in a lot of the. aesthetic uh aesthetic aesthetic. decisions. That's tough. Good band name, but also bad. >> Aesthetic. >> No one could ever say it. Who you going. to see tonight? Aesthetic decisions.

>> Uh, one of the things that he designed uh. aesthetically was um to make it look a. little taller was those tower panels. decrease in size from bottom to top. >> Pretty good idea. Yep. Um and the while I guess Lawson was. like, "Let's do this and let's add a. little bit of this and maybe put bows on. the top kind of thing." Um Strauss, who. again is the man at the center of all of. this, he was um way ahead of his time as. far as safety goes. Apparently the. Golden Gate project was the first one.

that required hard hats on site, >> which is now fairly ubiquitous. >> Yeah, good little fact. Uh, and yeah, and then um he also created a safety net. that was movable. So I think the people. who were in the highest risk of falling. to their deaths got to use the safety. net while they were up there working. >> Yeah. And use it they did because that. thing uh ended up saving the lives of 19. construction workers. They became known. that those 19 became known as the.

Halfway to Hell Club, >> which is pretty funny in a way. Uh but. there were some deaths in February of. 37. Uh scaffolding collapsed due to an. accident. Uh 13 men on it. Uh the net. failed and 10 of them died. And but in. the end, 11 people uh died from this. project, which is pretty good. I mean, it's awful that 11 people died, but for. the time they would say like for every. million dollars of a project, you can. expect one death. And this thing came in.

at like 35 million or so. So, uh, they. expected, you know, 30 to 40 deaths and. there were only 11. So, that was that. was, I guess, a win for safety for the. time at least. >> Yeah, for sure. I find that a really. strange rule of thumb. For every million. spent, you can expect a death. Like, I I. I guess what that's based on is just the. complexity increases by the price, maybe, >> the height, something. >> Yeah, probably just that means it's it's. big and difficult and complex. I think. you're right.

>> Okay. But but it's definitely a weird. way to calculate something. >> It really is. >> Um so yeah, there's 34 people dead and. one one person's like, "How much is this. bridge going to cost?" Like 35 and. you're next. >> There's cost overruns and you know what. that means. [laughter]. >> Um so they completed the towers, both. towers in 1935. Remember they started. this whole thing. I think they started. building that temporary roadway to the. first foundation in 1931. They're moving.

along. >> And after the towers were complete, it. was time to create those four iconic. cables that are the actual things that. hold up the the road deck. The bridge. itself, the point of the bridge is held. up by these cables. And if you see one. of those cables in person, you will find. that it is three feet one meter 36 in. let's see 300 cm.

>> in uh let's see it would be uh. >> a third of a decameter. in width or in diameter. Um and it's. actually made of 25,000 wires each of. those cables are all twisted together. >> Yeah. And uh to get that done, they. hired uh John A. Robing's son's company. is the name of the company. And they had. worked on the Brooklyn Bridge. So they. were obviously great people to call for. that. Uh but like you said, I think you. said it was completed ahead of schedule.

Uh this was April 19th, 1937. Uh about a. million3. uh under the $35 million budget. >> Just a little housekeeping here. It's. 1.7 mi long, 90 ft wide, holds six lanes. of traffic, uh two sidewalks, 746 ft. high towers with the main span between. them being 4200 ft. And at his midpoint, uh the span hangs 265 ft above the. average height of the water below. And.

people were really excited to get on. this thing. >> They were on opening day. The first day. they let pedestrians across, the next. day was cars. And at the grand opening, I think this kind of gets across the. type of person Joseph Strauss was. >> He [snorts] read a poem that he wrote. for the uh day. And he was a poet, so. it's not bad. I like the um the rhythm. of it, the. >> the meter. Sure. Is that correct? >> Yeah, I think so. >> I would say um go look it up and read it. yourself. I'm not going to read it, but.

it's called The Mighty Task Is Done by. Joseph Strauss. The thing that bothers. me, aside from a couple of clunky lines, he says essentially like um that all the. people who were involved of this are. glorified and that no selfish urge. stains its life. No envy, greed, intrigue, or strife. >> And I'm like, dude, he specifically. didn't mention Ellis, Charles Ellis, at. this whole thing. And then he goes to.

the he has the audacity to say that. that's not being done here at this this. grand ceremony. >> Yeah. And they and they built a trellis. So you had a word there in the bag. >> That's [laughter] right. Good point, Chuck. >> Man, I don't know about Strauss now. >> I Yeah, I He's not really talked about. like that from what I can tell. I just. kind of put this together from different. [laughter] different places, but there's. a there's a bronze statue of him in. Golden Gate Park, I think. And there's. books about him and his amazing feet.

And it's just I don't like people like. that who take full credit for something. that hundreds or thousands of people. have done and that they did like. backbiting along the way with. It's just. I don't I don't like people like that. >> I'm with you. He actually had a trellis. line. He was like, "What rhymes with. trellis?". I got nothing. Yeah. [laughter]. >> And he scratched it out. >> Like Ellis is outside the window holding. up a sign. The math checks out. >> I saw that. Um, no one can say for. certain whether Ellis ever saw the the.

Golden Gate Bridge himself. >> Uh, I'm sure sure that he went and saw. it at some point because he died uh. decade or two. Yeah. A good decade after. it opened. So I I would guess unless he. had like a horrible aversion at just the. thought of the bridge, I'll bet he went. and visited it. >> Yeah, I bet you're right. Uh so we can. compare it to other suspension bridges. in a few ways because I think that's. fairly interesting. It's got a lighter. roadway than most. Uh it does not have.

uh train tracks on it, but it seems like. that was one of the original ideas is. they wanted a train to be able to run. across that thing. Uh but they realized. that the winds were a real problem uh in. 1940 after the Tacoma Narrow's Bridge. disaster and they saw those things in 40. mph winds twisting around. >> They're like we need to cuz we get winds. up to like 75 miles an hour so we need. to stiffen this thing up. So they added. horizontal uh trusses to stiffen the.

structure against twisting and that's. what brought the total weight of the. deck um too high basically to where they. could not end up putting railroad tracks. down. >> No, like they were close to the limit of. it I guess, right? >> Yeah. Couldn't do it. >> Okay. So, uh the Golden Gate, it was the. longest suspension bridge um until 1964. when the Verzano Narrows took over that. for a while. And um like we said, there's Golden Gate Park that's that. predates the bridge, but Golden Gate. National Recreation Area was created on.

either side of the bridge after the. bridge was um already around for a. while. >> And there's some pretty neat things. about it. One of the things uh we. remember we talked about how um people. were worried about earthquakes. Well, it. actually survived the Loma Prietta. earthquake, the 1989 earthquake that. took place when the A's and the Giants. were playing each other in the World. Series and just killed a lot of people. Uh, the Bay Bridge apparently a section. of that collapsed. And the Golden Gate.

survived with no damage whatsoever from. what I could tell or very little of it. >> Yeah, pretty good. Um there and this is. something I heard early on in my life. was that uh the Golden Gate Bridge. basically is in in constant um paint. mode basically. >> So like it's always being painted. apparently like it takes so long to. paint and and sort of you know take care. of the corrosion because of all that. salty fog and salty air and water. >> that it's just it never stops. It's not.

like all right we're done and we're. going to take a few months off. It's. continuously being uh kept up. >> Yeah. And one other thing about the uh. earthquake thing, they they somebody at. some point figured out that the San. Andreas could produce at most a 8.6. magnitude earthquake and then they went. and figured out that the Golden Gate. would probably not be able to withstand. that. So they started I think back in um. well after the LMA Prietta earthquake in. 1989, they started a bit of a retrofit. to try to make it earthquake proof up to.

8.6 magnitude. And one of the things. that they were having to shore up, Chuck, was that they didn't bolt the. towers to the foundation because they're. like, "These are so heavy. We don't even. need to waste the time or money on. bolts." In an 8.6 earthquake, they. realized if you stand stiffly with your. legs stiff and then you kind of fall to. the side and one of your feet comes off. the ground. When you go back to center. again, your feet comes down. And imagine. one of the towers doing that. when it. comes back down on that foundation, they're like that foundation is not.

going to hold that up. So that's what. they're trying to retrofit now. >> Yeah, that's a big foot stomp is what. they said. >> for sure. >> Uh so we have to close now with some. sort of darker uh stuff. Uh because the. Golden Gate Bridge, if it's known for. it's known for many things, but one. thing it's very much known for is that. there have been many many suicides uh. attempted and completed over the years. Um they averaged about 20 per year. uh for a very long time. Um hundreds of.

others had been stopped by obviously uh. volunteers that are stationed there to. watch for this sort of thing. Bridge. workers, cops, sometimes just random. people like you see in a movie. >> Uh and they took a very long time to. eventually get a safety net. Uh even. though it was possible, it they really. dragged their feet getting that thing. up, didn't they? >> Yeah. I saw that there was opposition to. it that included it will be ugly. >> Oh god. So every um every I think since the.

first guy who who um died by suicide, his name was Harold Wobber. He was. walking on the bridge all the way back. um just a like a few months after it. opened. And um he was walking with a. friend. He said, "This is as far as I. go." And he became the first person to. jump to his death from the bridge. That. was in 1937. >> Yeah. What a thing. What a last line, you know. >> Yeah. Imagine being that friend and. being like, "Wait, what?" And then Yeah. I can't imagine that. Um, since then, at. least 2,000 people, maybe a little more,

probably more because I think they. assume that there's plenty of people who. have jumped and their bodies were never. found, right? But at least 2,000. confirmed people have jumped to their. deaths from the Golden Gate Bridge. And. in 1995, the California Highway Patrol, which had been keeping an official. count, stopped their official count at. 997 because they were worried that there. was going to be a rash of suicides um to. become the 1,000th person to die by. suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate. Bridge. So, officially the count's 997,

but um I think most credible sources put. it at over 2,000 now. >> Yeah. And what a thing to think about. Uh, what an awful thing to consider. But. like, thank God they thought of. something like that because they're. probably right. You know, >> what the security nets? >> No, the the stopping the public count. because. >> Oh, yeah. >> You know, I would never have thought of. something like that. So, I'm glad they. thought of that. Uh, there was a a. really uh I don't know what to call it.

Interesting and and and awful. documentary from 2006 called The Bridge. >> Uh, I saw it. I'm not sure. Did you see. that one? Mhm. >> Yeah. There's a lot to it. It was, you. know, the the point was to drive. awareness about this and about um. suicide and suicide prevention, but it. was very controversial in that they. captured footage. They had cameras, you. know, trained on the bridge from the. mountains nearby. Uh and they captured. footage of 23 suicides, uh including a. survivor, um and they, you know, filmed.

um family members and interviewed them. about their loved ones. It's it's a very. moving and upsetting documentary uh from. when did I say 2006. >> Yeah, it is. >> So yeah, that definitely raised public. awareness and kind of I think amplified. the public outcry about this and made. people be like, "Yeah, we probably. should do something about this because. um 20 to 30 people a year were taking. their own lives at this time, right? They finally finally in 2020 the. beginning of 2024 they finished putting.

up these safety nets essentially that. stick out from the side of the bridge so. that if you jump off the side of the. bridge you're going to land in this. steel net. Um the whole thing cost $224. million and um completed suicides. dropped by 73% yeah after they were. installed. And even more amazing than. that, I think there were 200 attempts. and 30 completed suicides a year on. average. After the nets were installed, that fell to 132 and eight in 2024. And.

there were no suicides in the last seven. months of 2025. So these nets are. actually preventing people from. completing suicide and also deterring. people from attempting suicide there. >> Yeah. And you know, they've done studies. uh where they've interviewed people who. did survive. Um, most of them uh don't. ever try again, which is like very. encouraging to know. I think there was a. study in the 1970s by a guy named. Richard uh Seiden, and he followed up on.

515 people who had been stopped. Uh, these aren't people who jumped and. survived, but they they were stopped. from jumping uh in the 35 years prior to. the study. And he found that only 35 of. the 515 went on to die by suicide. So, uh, that's that's really great to know. that if you can be an EMT or or a police. officer or a random passer by who can. get someone out of that dire situation, that there's a very very good chance. that that that will be uh not something. they go on to complete. >> Yeah. And you mentioned those volunteers.

that are stationed along the bridge just. for that very purpose. I would wager. that um there's at least one Stuff You. Should Know listener who does that, and. I would love to hear from them. >> I bet you're right. And I hope someone. comes to our live show and stands up at. the end and tells everybody that they do. that. I bet you that happens. >> Yeah, they will get thunderous applause. >> That's right. >> I feel like we should end on a high. note. And the high note is the Gongay. Bridge uh was where uh James Bond.

successfully defeated Christopher. Walkan, >> saving Tanya Roberts in the bargain. >> That's right. A view to a Kill. >> Probably the best Bomb movie ever. >> Interesting. All right. I mean, that was. the one I grew up on, so that's probably. why I like that. But there's no kid who. grew up on like the living daylights and. was like, "That's the best one ever.". [laughter]. Good stuff. Chuck said, "Good stuff.". Which is where I was trying to push him. because that unlocks listener mail.

>> Uh, all right. This is a chance to plug. Friends of the show here. Hey guys, just. finished the episode on the radio uh the. National Radio Quiet Zone. found it very. fascinating. And by the way, we got a. few emails from people pointing this. out. I wanted to reach out with a. recommendation of one of the Maroy pods, the Maroy brothers. Justin Griffin and. Travis Maroy have long done my brother, my brother and me. And I've known those. guys for a long time. Super cool dudes. >> Uh and then they do a show with their.

dad called the Adventure Zone, which is. where they play uh D and D. And that's. become hugely popular. >> That's awesome, man. What a cool thing. to do. >> Yeah, it's super cool. But the second. season of Adventure Zone is called. Amnesty, and it is uh well, it's a. tabletop role playing game, so I don't. know if it's always D and [music] D. Uh. but Griffin has set it in the Greenbank. area. So So the folks in that area that. it attracts and the lack of. communication, uh is a plot device and. really drives the story. It's one of my. favorites that they've done. >> Uh I hold Stuff You Should Know Dearly.

in my heart. Thanks for doing what you. do. Uh and PS, I loved hearing a few of. the Maroys on Movie Crush. Uh, I loved. hearing Josh on Behind the Bastards and. so on. All of my favorite podcasters. crossing paths now and then really. drives those parasocial bonds. So, go listen to Josh on Behind the. Bastards, your past episodes. You were. on a couple of times, right? >> Yes, I was. And on Daily Zeitgeist. No, I was on Behind the Bastards once. I was. on Daily Zeitgeist a couple times. >> Zeitgeist a couple times. And then I had.

uh Griffin on Movie Crush and his. favorite movie, which he claims is not. his favorite movie only, but also the. best movie was Groundhog Day. >> It is a good movie. >> And I had Justin on. And Justin, I I. think I can remember every single guest. in their movie still. Uh his was With. Nail and I. >> I've never seen that. >> Isn't that a Moresy album? >> I don't know, but it's a a British. independent film, so it wouldn't. surprise me. Oh, his is Voxall and I. Oh,

>> okay. Whitnail and I Richard Eye Grant. Uh, it's [music] it's really good. I. think you and Yumi would both like it. >> All right, we'll watch it then, Chuck. >> It's from like the indie movie. revolution of the '9s and from England, and it's really really great. >> You know, I think I was talking [music]. smack not too long ago about PT. Anderson. I don't know if it was on the. podcast or not. >> Uh, and that I basically hadn't liked. anything of his since Boogie Nights. Oh, okay. >> Maybe Magnolia. >> Okay.

>> Then I saw one battle after another and. I'm like, >> this guy is back in my estimate. Not. only did he direct it, he wrote it, too. It's a good movie. >> Yeah, he writing directs all his movies. He Yeah, I loved [music] loved loved One. Battle After Another. I think it was my. favorite movie of the year. That that. and Sinners were probably tied. >> I've not seen Sinners yet. Is it It's. pretty good. >> It's. >> all right. I'll check it out. Don't tell. me anything. That's fine. All I needed. to hear was Oh, man. >> Capital G. Great. and it's right up your. alley. >> Okay, cool. Great. >> Uh, and that, by the way, is from Ryan.

Pinto, who's coming to see us in Denver. And I'm sorry, Ryan, but we're not doing. it on the Pinto. We've already done that. live show. >> That's a shame. You can go back and. listen to it and imagine that you're. there because we did release it. eventually as an episode. >> and he might have been. Who knows? Thanks, Ryan. We'll see you in Denver. If you want to see us in Denver or. Seattle or um San Francisco, where you. can also visit the Golden Gate Bridge, you can go to stuffyou should know.com. and get tickets. And in the meantime, if. you want to email us like Ryan did, uh.

you can send an [music] email to. stuffodcast@ iheartradio.com. Stuff You Should Know is a production of. iHeart Radio. [music] For more podcasts, iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio. app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. listen to your favorite shows.