Wherein I walk 8 miles in ill-fitting shoes and get a little dizzy.

June 30th, 2008

Have you heard about Olafur Eliasson’s Waterfalls exhibit in New York? Some people seem to love them, and some people think they are $15 million scaffolds with water pouring off of them. People on the NY Times City Room blog are all in a tizzy over it, here are a few comments I enjoyed:

The Brooklyn Bridge is throwing up.
If only it could jump off itself.
— Posted by Dan

Well put, Dan. Bravo to you, sir!

As stated in the article, 2.1 million gallons are pumped every hour between the four waterfalls ranging from 90? to 120? (so take 100? as a conservative average). Calculating the total energy used in one hour is therefore (you can plug the following into google):

(2100000 gallons/hour)*(1000 kilogram/(meter^3))*(9.8 meter/second^2)*(100 feet)*(1 hour) in kilowatt*hour

= 660 kWh

If electricity costs 15 cents per kWh in NYC, then you’re looking at about $100 per hour. For a 15 hour operating day (7am - 10pm), you’re looking at $1500 per day. Not to mention the fact that this entire analysis is assuming 100% efficiency of the pumps. If they are only 60% efficient, then you’re talking about $2500 per day just to pump the water.

And I thought my electric bill was high…
— Posted by Greg

From Greg, who hasn’t gotten laid in 14 years.

And finally,

How lame it is!
— Posted by gianduio

Lame, indeed, Gianduio!

Anyway, I woke up Saturday on my Premium-grade air mattress with not a whole lot planned for the day, and decided that I’d knock out a problem and walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, and also see the Waterfalls while I was at it. I took my iPod, and two pair of shoes (because basically every pair of shoes hurts me eventually) and headed out. The Brooklyn Bridge is only 2 miles from my house, so I figured after crossing it and getting on a train, I’d walk a total of about 3.5 miles. But once I crossed the bridge, I just kept going. Maybe it was the beauty or the “lameness “of it all, or the high cost of electricity to run the waterfalls, but something just kept me going.

Here you can see my route, it was 8.25 miles total. I think it took me 4.5 hours. The dizzy feeling hit on the W-burg Bridge. Next time I need to pack snacks. And if you’re wondering what that detour is at the end, Built by Wendy is having a sale. And I was so dizzy that I bought a few things.

I ate like a horse when I got home, had a glass of wine and then passed out.

Here are a few photos from the journey, and my deep thoughts on the waterfalls:

Here is a photo on the BK Bridge walking towards Manhattan.

On the BK Bridge I could see 3 waterfalls at once, and I thought it was pretty. They’re very calming and it’s really beautiful to have something organic and moving in grey, still surroundings. God, my Art History teachers would be horrified at that sentence.

Walking under the Manhattan Bridge…

This way to the falls!

And then…

Eh. Scaffolding with water coming off of it. Just like the nay-sayers nay-said.

And finally to the Williamsburg bridge.

In conclusion: Keep your distance when viewing the Waterfalls. Don’t walk 8 miles and then go shopping. A glass of wine leads to a good nap. And another problem solved.

Entry Filed under: Problem Solved, Uncategorized