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Back in 1972, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the Broward Artificial Reef Inc. proposed the idea to create an artificial reef using car tires. Tires were difficult to get rid of on land, and it would make a great potential reef to lure more game fish to the area.
Sounds like a horrible idea, right?
Well, apparently no one at the time thought so. The idea was endorsed by the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the community.
On a spring day in 1974, along with big cargo ships containing tons upon tons of tied-up tires, 100s of privately owned boats joined in on the project to dump their own tires, and assist with the project.
As “a great marketing campaign”, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company provided equipment for the project, and also dropped the first tire of the day, a golden tire, from one of their famous marketing blimps.
All-in-all, over 2 million tires were dropped. People were also legally allowed to keep dropping tires off at the reef as they passed by on their boats for a time.
Due to a lack of foresight, the cable ties that bound the tires together in groups, made of either nylon or steel, began to rust and weaken over time. As a result, the tires, which weigh only about 2 pounds each, became scattered across an area as large as 36 acres on the ocean floor!
These now-loose tires, at the mercy and whim of high winds and tropical storms (we are in Florida if you recall), began to ram into and damage natural coral reefs nearby.
Overall, this idea backfired, royally. Some tires were even found on the coast of North Carolina!
Cleanup efforts have been underway for decades, but removing 2 million tires is no easy feat; there’s no real way to get the job done quickly. Some efforts included offering a training program for US military trainees, who used the tires to practice their training. This effort removed approximately 10,000 tires in total…
In addition to these efforts, in 2015 the state government has contracted with the Industrial Divers Corporation to remove between 2000 and 5000 tires per week, resulting in the removal of over 250,000 tires to date. However, approximately two thirds of the tires still remain to be removed.
As of 2021, 4Ocean announced it would retrieve tires in a 34-acre area. The funding would come from selling bracelets made out of the reef’s tires.
Want to know more about the epic fail of the US government dropping millions of tires into the Florida coast? Check out today's Wikipedia article for the juicy details!
Click here for today’s Wikipedia article of discussion.
Today, Feb 13, in history
1880 – Thomas Edison observes Thermionic emission.
1914 – In New York City the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers is established to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members.
1961 – An allegedly 500,000-year-old rock is discovered near Olancha, California, US, that appears to anachronistically encase a spark plug.
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I’m “tired”. 😄