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[-] Sarla@lemmy.world 100 points 5 months ago

Americans will literally do anything except build trains

[-] uis@lemm.ee 18 points 5 months ago

4 kms across the ocean:

[-] pyre@lemmy.world 14 points 5 months ago

now that we have this river across the whole country, we can finally introduce swimming cars!

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[-] argh_another_username@lemmy.ca 80 points 5 months ago

Well, the Panama Canal is exactly that, built mostly that way.

[-] Rayspekt@lemmy.world 32 points 5 months ago

Panama Canal is the biggest NIMBY project ever

[-] Serinus@lemmy.world 23 points 5 months ago

Because it was built at the thinnest part of the content and used existing lakes?

Pretty sure Omaha would have loved an East\West canal across the continent.

[-] Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 10 points 5 months ago

Because it wasn't done for or with the approval of locals

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[-] HootinNHollerin@lemmy.world 13 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

It connected several lakes in the narrowest part of the continent. Not ‘exactly that’ at all

[-] JohnOliver@feddit.dk 54 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

If they could do it in ancient Greece then Americans can do it today for sure!

Stolen from !topview@lemmy.world

Also: although planned over 2000 years ago, it wasn't really made by ancient Greeks. They gave up and made a road to transport ships on it instead of actually digging. Only in modern time did they actually finish the canal

[-] jet@hackertalks.com 15 points 5 months ago

Wait... They had a movable pool that they rode the ships into and then horses dragged to the other waterway? That sounds awesome

[-] JohnOliver@feddit.dk 31 points 5 months ago

They more or less put wheels on ships or rather loaded them on trailers and simply dragged them over land. Funny thing is that Thucydides (460 BC–395 BC) wrote about this, and described it as an ancient practice!

https://www.amusingplanet.com/2018/09/diolkos-ancient-trackway-that-carried.html?m=1

[-] AAA@feddit.de 9 points 5 months ago

Better even. They made the movable pool quite long. So while the horses dragged the pool the ships could still sail in it. That way the horses didn't need to drag the pool the whole way!

[-] JohnOliver@feddit.dk 10 points 5 months ago

I dont think so. Not in this case at least. They gave up digging in the hard rock and instead made a limestone road to drive them on dry surface.

This is the Corinth canal but before it was made the paved road for transporting ships was called Diolkos

[-] AAA@feddit.de 14 points 5 months ago

I know. I was just expanding on the other persons joke (I assume he joked). :)

You are a good person for being this patient and sharing your knowledge.

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[-] JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works 33 points 5 months ago
[-] DaPorkchop_@lemmy.ml 16 points 5 months ago

I love the 1950s, the solution to any problem was just "idk, have you tried nuking it?"

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[-] bdonvr@thelemmy.club 29 points 5 months ago
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[-] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 28 points 5 months ago

"I get my kicks... on Canal 66."

[-] ArgentRaven@lemmy.world 27 points 5 months ago

You might need to account for an extra day or two to dig down low enough in the rocky mountains. Unless you're working with a friend and they brought their own shovel.

[-] bobs_monkey@lemm.ee 14 points 5 months ago

Just get some pickaxes and dig a tunnel

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[-] Rhaedas@fedia.io 23 points 5 months ago

My first thought was if this was remotely possible on this scale, how many things would be disrupted and changed from the water movement alone. The Panama canal has to have locks because of the ocean differences, but no way would you have locks spanning a few hundred miles across. This thing would have tides back and forth.

[-] Neato@ttrpg.network 22 points 5 months ago

Panama canal has to have locks because of the ocean differences

It's actually mostly due to the landscape of Panama, including the lake it uses to traverse and the mountains. The Pacific and Atlantic oceans don't different that much, maybe a few feet. And mostly due to tidal differences.

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[-] Addv4@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago

Plus literally chopping down a large stretch of both the Appalachians and the Sierra Nevada would be insane.

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[-] knightmare1147@lemmy.world 19 points 5 months ago
[-] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 32 points 5 months ago

Actually, guys, maybe we should hear them out?

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[-] Kit@lemmy.blahaj.zone 17 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Assuming the river would be identical in depth and breadth to the Panama canal, if every man, woman, and child in the US picked up a shovel they would need to move 305 cubic feet of dirt each. So if we all just moved 1 cubic foot of dirt per day, we could pull this off in a year.

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[-] Zehzin@lemmy.world 16 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Do it small scale first and turn Florida into an island.

[-] s_s@lemm.ee 14 points 5 months ago
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[-] variants@possumpat.io 16 points 5 months ago

it could solve the water crisiseses

[-] MasterNerd@lemm.ee 24 points 5 months ago

Dude all you need is 4 square meters and 2 water buckets

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[-] KISSmyOSFeddit@lemmy.world 15 points 5 months ago

I feel like there has to be an easier way to solve the homeless problem in San Francisco.

[-] son_named_bort@lemmy.world 15 points 5 months ago

This will require more bridges, which creates more jobs. It's genius!

[-] Sabata11792@ani.social 14 points 5 months ago

I don't trust anyone South of the Mistersippi river.

[-] Andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.com 14 points 5 months ago

In which direction would it flow?

[-] Sphks@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 5 months ago

From the center to the borders, due to rain.

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[-] SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca 13 points 5 months ago

A lot of the canals in the world (the majority I think, but please fact check that) were built in the 19th century. So yeah... with shovels.

[-] jackhp95@lemmy.world 13 points 5 months ago

Literally described the Mississippi river.

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[-] turbowafflz@lemmy.world 12 points 5 months ago

With the low resolution I can't quite tell if I would suddenly live on the beach or underwater

[-] fatal_internal_error@lemmy.world 12 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Depends on if you can outrun a shovel.

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[-] Floshie@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 5 months ago
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[-] FiniteBanjo@lemmy.today 10 points 5 months ago

I would need a study on if this would negatively impact desert ecosystems or introduce invasive species, but otherwise it sounds pretty cool if we limit the size until it's about as big as the new Panama Canal expansions.

[-] meowMix2525@lemm.ee 16 points 5 months ago

Nevermind any communities you'd separate or destroy by dropping a big ol' river through the middle of them

[-] uis@lemm.ee 10 points 5 months ago

Americans don't mind building highways, so it is not a concern to them.

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[-] fubarx@lemmy.ml 9 points 5 months ago

Most cost-effective would be to use the Photoshop eraser tool.

[-] MonkderDritte@feddit.de 9 points 5 months ago

But a bit more south would be easier. Oh, wait.

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this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2024
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