In 1959, a cement mixer with a full load of cement, wrecked near Winganon, Oklahoma 🇺🇸
By the time a tow truck came to haul it away, all of cement had hardened inside of mixer. Tow truck was not able to remove all wreckage at same time because of weight, and decided to haul only cab/frame and would come back for detached mixer later, which never happened.
Today, 67 years later, it still sits where it fell. Locals have painted it and added "rocket thrusters" to make it look like a space capsule.
@archaeohistories That is one for @sundogplanets 😁
@archaeohistories Honestly, this is what a space capsule should look like.
@archaeohistories A spaceship, not capsule. The capsule had no thrusters on it.
@isaackuo @archaeohistories except the capsule had no thrusters on it.
Cute, but a big hazard if a vehicle has to leave the road. I would move this thing off.
Or at least further away from the road. A crane could do this in less than four hours. Much cheaper than having a vehicle plow into it.
@LanceJZ @archaeohistories They added fake thrusters to it.
@davevolek That would likely require someone to pay for it. Given the little bits I've gleaned about local governance in the U.S. I can easily see no one having any spare budget for it.
I suspect it has stayed on the ground for 67 years because of its novelty and notoriety more than the expense of removing it. Locals probably like talking about it--------------until one of their own plow into it.
Renting a crane for four hours and a truck to haul it away is not a big expense. Municipalities use these machines a lot.
@LanceJZ @isaackuo @archaeohistories
That's a piece of Art, and congratulations to the locals for maintaining it.
(Actually the capsule would have had thrusters: there would be Capsule:Flotation Bag:Heat Shield:Thruster Pack, with the thruster pack held on by straps so it could be jettisoned after deceleration but before hitting atmosphere. On one mission they re-entered with the thruster pack attached because the flotation bag light had come on and they were concerned about the heat shield.)
@davevolek That's definitely more likely but I am a little jaded by hearing about places where local government's get stuck because they need almost line item approval for stuff. The street my aunt lives on in a rural California community is an absolute wreck because they can't get enough people to vote to repave it.
@archaeohistories Lt. Google Streetview liegt der heute noch da
I would need more info to proffer any perspective on your California situation. But it sounds like a situation where local governance is ineffective. I can see several possible reasons for this.
Maybe another sign that American democracy is failing?
BTW, I am an inventor of a new democracy. Check out my byline if interested.
I'm pretty sure this new democracy would find a way to pave that road.
This is about four miles from my brother's farm.
@davevolek it's a really small town population of about 500 and it's not even in town...probably a lot of other things than that to worry about causing a car accident. Looking at the map, might be a struggle to get a crane out there cheeply.
The photo looks like a rural highway to me. This means fairly high speeds. If a car "hits the ditch," a bumpy ride turns into a fatal accident.
I suspect the jurisdiction belongs to whoever owns the highway. It could be the state or it could be the county.
A couple of heavy tow wreckers could move this machine. Less than $5000.
But there may be political pressure to keep the machine in place. It does look cute.
@Cadbury_Moose @isaackuo @archaeohistories there has never been a capsule with thrusters on them from Apollo on.
