Did you know that there have been three major London Bridges? The first one was built in 1176. It took 33 years to build, was about 26 feet wide and around 900 feet long, but after the stores and houses were built on top of it (some up to seven stories high and hanging over the water up to 6.5 feet!) there was a mere 13 feet of circulation space to accommodate people, livestock, horses, and carts and it could take up to one hour to cross! Traitor's severed heads were displayed on the bridge for all to see, the first is said to be that of William Wallace (Braveheart).
The nursery rhyme "London Bridges: had the words "my Fair Lady" added as a dig to Queen Eleanor for misusing bridge funds.
After several fires (one fire killing over 3,000 people) and parts of the bridge collapsing, it was time to replace the bridge. It was finally dismantled in 1831, having been used for over 600 years!
The nursery rhyme "London Bridges: had the words "my Fair Lady" added as a dig to Queen Eleanor for misusing bridge funds.
After several fires (one fire killing over 3,000 people) and parts of the bridge collapsing, it was time to replace the bridge. It was finally dismantled in 1831, having been used for over 600 years!
The final London bridge was completed in 1973 in the same location of the second London bridge.
Now it was time to build our own bridges. First, we had to decide what type of bridge we wanted to build. There are five that we could choose from: arch, beam, truss, suspension, and cable. Each one is good but we had to choose one that would hold the most weight.
We chose a truss and an arch bridge. Now it was time to design the bridges on paper. Once it was all drawn out, we received our supplies: wide Popsicle sticks, regular Popsicle sticks, square thin sticks, and wire.
Once they were built, we needed to test them. Outside we went!
The truss bridge held a whopping 74.25 lbs!
The teacher placed the arch bridge on the blocks incorrectly. It should've gone BETWEEN the blocks, not on top. The bridge still successfully held 25 lbs! Imagine what it would've held if we had placed it correctly!
This was a great project to finish up our bridge lesson!