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Dance Floor Collapse (i.imgur.com)

submitted ago by jiblet84

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[–]Aquagoat 1232 points1233 points ago

23 people died.

[–]ikanobori 294 points295 points ago

More information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versailles_wedding_hall_disaster

[–]alle0441 342 points343 points ago

The engineer Eli Ron, inventor of the Pal-Kal method of construction, was arrested and subsequently indicted in August 2002 on the charge of manslaughter. Notably, Ron had not engaged in any part of the design or construction, but had sold proprietary elements necessary for construction that were installed in a deficient manner.

Eli Ron received a four year sentence,

That seems so wrong! Unless there's some pertinent details missing, I don't see how this guy could be even remotely accused of anything!

[–]dalkey 112 points113 points ago

A few weeks before the collapse, the wedding hall owners decided to remove the partitions [that support the third floor addition]. With the load path eliminated, the floor above began to deflect (or sag) several inches. Generally, engineers design a structure to fail in a controlled, ductile manner so that occupants have ample warning that a collapse is imminent and can evacuate. The owners failed to recognize this and viewed the sagging floor primarily as a cosmetic problem. Their solution was to level the floor with additional grout and fill. However, their approach not only failed to provide additional structural capacity, it also inadvertently introduced a new and significant dead load at the weakened area.

Let's not forget this. It was clear the floor wouldn't support people the way it should, and the owners didn't recognize this and tried to cover it up. I'd say this is where the real fault it.

[–]mknyan 43 points44 points ago

What the fuck... my 6 year old nephew has more engineering skills and common sense with his fucking legos. He knows when to throw the extra pillar of support when building a lengthy structure.

[–]ph34rb0t 4 points5 points ago

Really? How can you not understand that a rigid structure shouldn't just 'sag', and then go ahead and level it as a solution.

[–]goal2004 3 points4 points ago

Because of the technique used in the construction. It's bound to sag a little bit. It's also why the inventor of this technique was put on trial.

[–]DwightKashrut 4 points5 points ago

"Hmm this floor is sagging -- better load a couple tons of sand on top to fix it." It's amazing the thing lasted as long as it did with all the errors piling up on top of each other.

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    [–]goofymilk 194 points195 points ago

    He was the scape goat =/

    [–]tomdarch 145 points146 points ago

    When you look through the whole story (designed as 2 story, built as 3 story, later, the owner removed supports below the dance floor, then added additional weight in leveling grout to cover up the floor's sagging) it's all the more appalling that any engineer who wasn't involved in removing the supports below the floor would face any punishment.

    It sounds like the building's owners were overwhelmingly responsible for these deaths, but "were convicted of causing death by negligence." Removing structural supports below a large dance floor doesn't sound like mere "negligence" to me. Creating a for-profit death trap that killed 23 people seems like the punishment should be more than 30 months in prison.

    [–]tremens 8 points9 points ago

    Even with the partitions below, that's a dangerous design decision. The partitions helped, but are not load bearing structures. When the decision was made to increase that side to a third story structure is when people should have recognized the problem and taking steps to correct it (Duplicating the load bearing design on the other side of the structure, assuming the two sides are otherwise identical.)

    [–]mkvgtired 6 points7 points ago

    Just like that department store in Korea. The engineers told the owner not to put a pool on top, so he fired them, and did it anyway. Not surprisingly it collapsed. He was held accountable, not the engineers.

    Although it sounds like this guys Pal-Kal method was deficient. That said, if it met building standards I would think it would be hard to hold him criminally liable.

    [–]jbenz 38 points39 points ago

    If all we need is an escape goat, I say we just let this one run free.

    [–]fnordpow 45 points46 points ago

    Troy Barnes

    [–]flounder19 22 points23 points ago

    Troy Barnes

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      [–]LtCommanderCuddles 67 points68 points ago

      It looks like there is a bit more behind the Eli Ron conviction. This article has more info: http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/waiting-for-the-floor-to-collapse-1.363425

      Notably: "The Pal-Kal construction method was invented by engineer Eli Ron as a quick, easy and cheap way to put up ceilings. Yet it was controversial even before the Versailles tragedy, and it was found not to meet Israeli standards. Yet it was used anyway."

      "It is very important for people to be aware how sensitive Pal-Kal ceilings are to structural changes. In the Versailles tragedy, Pal-Kal wasn't the sole cause of the disaster: Renovations below the hall included the removal of a wall that wasn't designated a structural support, so there was nothing improper in moving it. But because the ceiling was a flimsy Pal-Kal structure, the wall had in fact served as its support."

      [–]mcanerin 15 points16 points ago

      This needs to be higher - the guy designed a floor/ceiling that relied on designated non-support structures to in fact provide support.

      What the owners did was clueless and naive. What he did was negligence. You should be able to remove or move around all the non-support walls anytime you want, by definition.

      [–]Atheist_in_a_foxhole 8 points9 points ago

      Eli Ron was the inventor and sold rights. Thousands of buildings were built using this system without any failures. There was gross negligence in the construction. LOTS of people got rich from this system, but they were all quiet because everyone were against this guy, and they didn't want to ruin their reputation. Nobody spoke for the guy. He wasn't some cheap bastard, he was a high ranking official, albeit retired at that time as far as I remember.

      Also, there was AMPLE warning of the imminent danger. First the floor was sagging quite a bit. Many people were afraid to dance because of it, and remained on the sides. Later on the floor began to sag faster and shake. The people who were dancing were so drunk that they didn't notice, or as one survivor said she thought it was a special effect.

      The cameraman couldn't film the dance floor anymore because his camera was shaking. He moved to the wall, which is how this video was taken. Negligence was on the part of the owners. The inventor is innocent. Especially that it wasn't some ass backwards way. Yes, it was cheap, but many municipalities were in on this. It was granted permits. And this event was the first and only of its kind...

      By the way, upon his release, he counter-sued the owners of the banquet hall. And another interesting fact, they wouldn't let him in the site to investigate/examine, even though he is an expert on architectural failures (within 24 hours, long before he was formally charged). It just smells bad.

      [–]Tiver 8 points9 points ago

      No, he designed a roof, which was later at build time converted into the floor of another floor. The only reason this hadn't failed previously, was because some partitions acted as supports. Roofs are not designed to bear the same weight as a floor.

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        [–]Skizot_Bizot 13 points14 points ago

        Man that sucks.

        Remind me never to design anything that could hurt people if misused.

        [–]alle0441 16 points17 points ago

        It scares me! I recently got my PE registration and have already stamped a couple designs.

        Man, I'm asking for a raise on Monday.

        [–]hinckley 4 points5 points ago

        I poked myself in the eye with your post. I demand restitution!

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          [–][deleted] ago

          [deleted]

          [–]TigerRei 37 points38 points ago

          Notably, Ron had not engaged in any part of the design

          [–]artfldodger 24 points25 points ago

          Assuming the floor, if installed per Eli Rons specifications, meets the required live & dead loads on the floor the blame should really fall on the builders for improper installation.

          Not to mention gross negligence by the building owners "A few weeks before the collapse, the wedding hall owners decided to remove the partitions. With the load path eliminated, the floor above began to deflect (or sag) several inches.... The owners failed to recognize this and viewed the sagging floor primarily as a cosmetic problem. Their solution was to level the floor with additional grout and fill."

          [–]UpUndAtThem 11 points12 points ago

          WTF, the owners got less prison time than the guy who shouldn't have even been held responsible.

          [–]Detlef_Schrempf 7 points8 points ago

          Brilliant solution. Deflection? Just add more grout and fill. The extra weight will probably help stabilize it.

          [–]tttt0tttt 5 points6 points ago

          Hoo-boy. He removed the supporting "partitions" that were holding the floor up. The floor sagged "several inches" -- that should have been more than enough of a warning side to anyone who wasn't a complete retard. This is the person who needs to go to prison.

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              [–]sharger 4 points5 points ago

              The Supreme Court ruling on his appeal states that beyond his part as the inventor of the method, he was actively marketing it to constructors, while lying and hiding the dangers of the method and the fact that it doesn't meet with building regulations and standards. His personal assistant was involved in the construction of the specific building and was also sentenced.

              [–]wolfkeeper 3 points4 points ago

              The cheap PalKal system he invented is known to be very susceptible to incorrect construction, and is very difficult to inspect.

              All of the PalKal installations are being inspected, and many are having to be reinforced.

              [–]dcawley 3 points4 points ago

              To be fair, basically everyone went to jail. The nightclub owners, who ignored the sagging floors; the engineers, who took too many short cuts in constructing the building; and the inventor of the method of construction used to build the building, because Pal-Kal had already been outlawed for being wildly dangerous.

              [–]ME7ROPOLIS 2 points3 points ago

              The BBC Article says that the Pal-Kal method was outlawed (I'm thinking it was a dangerous way of saving money), so his being imprisoned isn't so far-fetched, or out of the question . . .

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                [–]Pattern_Is_Movement 33 points34 points ago

                and when you read what the owners of the building did... oh, these walls under the 3rd floor probably are not load bearing... oh, now the 3rd is sagging where we removed the supports... lets just fill that in with a couple hundred pounds of grout that will fix it for sure!

                At least they took it seriously and the building owners got 30 months jail time for involuntary manslaughter.

                [–]Bulky_Shepard 18 points19 points ago

                Only 30 months?!! 23 people died! They should have been in there longer

                [–]Pattern_Is_Movement 6 points7 points ago

                I agree

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                  [–]IthinktherforeIthink 5 points6 points ago

                  TL;DR: The floor of the third story (which collapsed) was actually supposed to just be a roof for the second story. A decision was made to add another story late into the building process, thus the roof as a floor. A roof isn't built to withstand such load (and prior to the wedding, supporting petitions were removed, the floor sagged but no one cared, and excess grout was added to cosmetically repair the sagging yet this added more dead weight).

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                    [–]NOACeulemans 597 points598 points ago

                    ... and this is why we should have MAXIMUM OCCUPANCY signs account for structural maximums, not just "what the room can hold".

                    [–]TastyFace 207 points208 points ago

                    This wasn't a "maximum occupancy" issue so much as cheap idiots in charge of building maintenance.

                    This was a ballroom in a hotel in Israel. When the owner of the hotel noticed the floor was sagging in the middle, he decided the best solution would be to cover the floor in concrete, and smooth it out so it was level again. He took a floor that already had trouble supporting its own weight and added MORE.

                    And then the everyone-dancing-to-one-beat thing probably didn't help.

                    Edit: the wikipedia article cited below in this thread has a better explanation.

                    [–]dirtyjersey84 285 points286 points ago

                    Instability in the middle-east...whats new?

                    Zing!

                    [–]TastyFace 67 points68 points ago

                    I shouldn't have laughed at this, but I did.

                    Well, internet laughed. Which means I typed that I laughed without actually laughing.

                    Fuck it.

                    LOL.

                    [–]Semyonov 11 points12 points ago

                    You typed lol on reddit and got upvoted... now I've seen everything.

                    [–]chefhanabal 9 points10 points ago

                    Spend more time in /r/trees.

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                        [–]xfire 2 points3 points ago

                        When I was trained in reinforced concrete design, we balanced the load in the steel rebar with the compressive force on the concrete. Then we took out 10% of the rebar to assure that the structure would sag as the steel failed (began stretching/yielding) so the catastrophic failure would be presaged by the sagging as a warning.

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                          [–]Layno7 679 points680 points ago

                          Sadly the fact the song which was on had them all moving to the same beat contributed here. Its why they have signs on a lot of old bridges that say that 'troops must brake step' because if they all march together it generates a surprisingly large force.

                          [–]fakyou 2218 points2219 points ago

                          So you're saying that the beat was so fresh that it brought down the house

                          [–]Simbamatic 1221 points1222 points ago

                          Well, it certainly didn't raise the roof.

                          [–]Slippery-Pete 1068 points1069 points ago

                          Actually, from the perspective of the people who were on the dance floor it kind of did.

                          [–]surells 485 points486 points ago

                          Relativity can be a bitch.

                          [–]formington 151 points152 points ago

                          'Specially my aunt. Gods, she's evil.

                          [–]I_Like_To_Play_Cards 61 points62 points ago

                          Relatively speaking.

                          [–]ptgkbgte 145 points146 points ago

                          The roof, the roof, the roof is now higher!

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                                [–]Nightbane35 43 points44 points ago

                                It did, however, raze the floor.

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                                  [–]whitedawg 106 points107 points ago

                                  Just wait for the drop...

                                  [–]DreamsDestruction 13 points14 points ago

                                  Somebody needs to sync this video to some dubstep...

                                  [–]Soopafien 28 points29 points ago

                                  No. But those people certainly know how to get down on the dance floor. Guess it puts a whole new meaning to "drop it low"

                                  [–]ThisIsMyEG0 18 points19 points ago

                                  /r/imgoingtohellforthis

                                  [–]olivermihoff 22 points23 points ago

                                  All the people in the front say "ow!"

                                  [–]helicopterquartet 109 points110 points ago

                                  "can I get a "OH GOD MY LEGSSSSS MYYY LEEEEGGGGSSSS!!!!" up in here!!??"

                                  [–]herpty_derpty 25 points26 points ago

                                  "MY LAIG!!! My leg...."

                                  -Fish

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                                    [–]2ndStreetBlackout 11 points12 points ago

                                    errrrbody got down.

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                                      [–]jwalton78 113 points114 points ago

                                      The problem with marching in step across a bridge is that, if your march is a harmonic of the natural frequency of the bridge, then you can set up standing oscillations that will shake the bridge apart. Most of the time, you're fine marching in step across the bridge, but since you won't be on the occasional bridge, it's a good idea to break step on all bridges.

                                      [–]NotAFanOfPoorPeople 18 points19 points ago

                                      natural frequency of the bridge

                                      What does that mean? How can a bridge have frequency?

                                      [–]saekla 60 points61 points ago

                                      It doesn't necessarily have one "frequency." But most objects resonate at certain frequencies, at least a little bit. When you run a wet finger around the rim of a crystal glass, it resonates. The tone you hear is the sound of the glass vibrating at the frequency its shape, size, and materials dictate. Using a speaker, you can reproduce this frequency at a high intensity and the glass will shatter.

                                      You can't run your wet finger along a bridge and get a tone, but it would have especially resonant frequencies of vibration.

                                      With the dance floor, it's probably more about so many people stomping and jumping around in sync, creating a downward force much stronger than just their resting mass.

                                      [–]miketdavis 14 points15 points ago

                                      The tone you hear is the primary acoustic resonance frequency.

                                      Most anything that has a primary mechanical resonance will also respond similarly to harmonics of that frequency. So if the natural resonant frequency of a bridge is .25 herz and the soldiers footsteps are timed at exactly 1 herz, they would be exerting force on a harmonic frequency.

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                                        [–]clamsmasher 110 points111 points ago

                                        I believe he was referring to the resonant frequency.

                                        [–]lethic 5 points6 points ago

                                        Any physical object can have several resonant frequencies depending on its composition and structure. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge was engineered to damp most of its resonant frequencies but the engineers didn't account for a torsion resonance aeroelastic flutter, and the bridge collapsed on an extremely windy day as a result.

                                        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-zczJXSxnw

                                        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacoma_Narrows_Bridge

                                        Edit :

                                        The bridge's collapse had a lasting effect on science and engineering. In many physics textbooks, the event is presented as an example of elementary forced resonance with the wind providing an external periodic frequency that matched the bridge's natural structural frequency, though the actual cause of failure was aeroelastic flutter.[1] Its failure also boosted research in the field of bridge aerodynamics-aeroelastics, the study of which has influenced the designs of all the world's great long-span bridges built since 1940.

                                        [–]CrumbsTheCat 14 points15 points ago

                                        check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-zczJXSxnw

                                        And Mythbusters says it is "plausible" to bring down a bridge: http://mythbustersresults.com/episode12

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                                          [–]freecandy_van 0 points1 point ago

                                          Dat resonance

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                                            [–]Gr8WhiteGrammarNazi 15 points16 points ago

                                            Amazing that you managed to misspell a word in the picture you yourself linked.

                                            [–]virtyy 9 points10 points ago

                                            break*

                                            [–]Jestar342 16 points17 points ago

                                            House of Pain - Jump Around.

                                            [–]Kenitzka 29 points30 points ago

                                            Don't all song inherently encourage dancing to the same beat?

                                            [–]Tokugawa 130 points131 points ago

                                            Crowd wasn't white enough to dance off-beat.

                                            [–]will_holmes 6 points7 points ago

                                            Yes, but the right song at the right speed is what normally tips it over.

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                                              [–]MegatronsAbortedBro 17 points18 points ago

                                              It's not the same thing. The dance floor collapsed under the weight of the crowd jumping. Bridges collapse when marching matches the resonant frequency of the bridge.

                                              The More You Know

                                              [–]Engineer3227 4 points5 points ago

                                              The Romans were the first to do this across bridges.

                                              And it has nothing to do with force generated. It's about the resonance created.

                                              [–]dumbkid 13 points14 points ago

                                              Tacoma narrows bridge is the best example of this (its also pretty surreal)

                                              However I think the gif was more to do with the weight

                                              [–]trondheimer 33 points34 points ago

                                              The Tacoma narrows bridge collapse is an example of large scale aerodynamic flutter in which the frequency of the aerodynamic moment around the aeroelastic center matches the natural frequency of the wing (or bridge) in that twisting mode. It causes a resonance twist of the wing and it tears itself apart if not quickly dealt with. Certainly pretty cool to watch though

                                              [–]atomicspin 23 points24 points ago

                                              I know some of these words.

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                                                  [–]notyetagain 8 points9 points ago

                                                  I don't think that had anything to do with resonance.

                                                  The tempo certainly had a part in it but I don't think resonance was a factor.

                                                  I think it was just too much weight.

                                                  [–]Frankeh 3 points4 points ago

                                                  Actually none of this would have mattered because they removed a bunch of structural pillars bellow because they didn't like the look.

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                                                    [–]wigitalk 44 points45 points ago

                                                    Actually, in this case, the floor collapsed due to the use of ultra cheap materials. It was just a question of time, not weight.

                                                    And here is the VIDEO

                                                    [–]Simbamatic 15 points16 points ago

                                                    It's actually based on the fire code, not just some guy saying "I think xxx people is too many." Although I agree that it should also take into account the structural load capabilities, I think this happened mainly due to a ton of neglect in regards to properly maintenance/inspections.

                                                    [–]flashingcurser 6 points7 points ago

                                                    "MAXIMUM OCCUPANCY" occupancy load has nothing to do with structural maximums. It has to do with fire egress; how many people can safely get out of the door if there was a fire.

                                                    Most floors are designed for 50 #/sqf live load. Egress areas are designed for 100. Dance floors have to be designed specifically for that purpose. We think of cars as being very heavy but if you were to take a crowd of people the in same area of a car they would weigh much more than the car. Some bridges will allow car traffic but restrict foot traffic for this reason.

                                                    [–]mycleverusername 3 points4 points ago

                                                    Yes, that is the way the current building codes work for new structures.

                                                    [–]fallwalltall 2 points3 points ago

                                                    Fire code and structural maximums are separate things. If you are exceeding fire code for a bit, you are fine as long as a fire doesn't start. Thus, having a posted sign may be sufficient because the cost of a violation isn't instantly extremely dangerous.

                                                    Structural maximums are an entirely different thing. The engineers should already build an assumption in that the fire code will be exceeded and that other adverse events may simultaneously occur such as everyone dancing to the same beat, water collecting on the roof and heavy winds blowing the building. The building should be able to deal with these contingencies and still probably have a cushion before it has a catastrophic failure. If they do this right, there is no need to post the limit because no one could exceed it without doing something ridiculously unlikely like filling the entire space with lead bricks.

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                                                      [–]XLGrandma 14 points15 points ago

                                                      looks like cameraman dodged a bullet

                                                      [–]theBluemorph 31 points32 points ago

                                                      I guess sometimes... it pays to be a wallflower.

                                                      [–]coradeur 19 points20 points ago

                                                      No redditors were killed that day.

                                                      [–]DodensSasong 75 points76 points ago

                                                      This kills the party.

                                                      [–]failed_novelty 10 points11 points ago

                                                      and some partiers.

                                                      [–]guer_j 3 points4 points ago

                                                      I wonder if the fatalities where mostly from the people on the floor below than the people falling.

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                                                        [–]Spamwaller 419 points420 points ago

                                                        From the Wiki:

                                                        "The owners failed to recognize this and viewed the sagging floor primarily as a cosmetic problem. Their solution was to level the floor with additional grout and fill. However, their approach not only failed to provide additional structural capacity, it also inadvertently introduced a new and significant dead load at the weakened area."

                                                        Floor sags, they top it off with grout to level it and invite everyone in. What could go wrong?

                                                        [–]r1y23 152 points153 points ago

                                                        That'll buff right out.

                                                        [–]themightyscott 30 points31 points ago

                                                        To be sure it will.

                                                        [–]Aschebescher 133 points134 points ago

                                                        This is when stupidity becomes criminal.

                                                        [–]ben3141 52 points53 points ago

                                                        Yep - the owners went to prison, plus three engineers who worked on the building, plus an engineer who designed and sold the lightweight Pal-Kal flooring (which was deemed unsafe by the Ministry of the Interior as early as 1996).

                                                        [–]Bunbury42 17 points18 points ago

                                                        I really wish America had Ministries of things. Our "Department" is so cold and dry-sounding compared to "Ministry"

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                                                          [–]Chicken-n-Waffles 66 points67 points ago

                                                          More over:

                                                          Seven weeks after the banquet hall collapse families of the victims won their battle to have the tragedy declared a national disaster, so they could be entitled to compensation from the state.

                                                          What the fuck?!

                                                          EDIT: I agree this is a horrible tragedy and my heart goes out to all families but to declare this a national tragedy is a bit much. In the US, we have interstate pileups that kill 10 and injure 18. Could that not be a national tragedy as well?

                                                          [–]ghidra 51 points52 points ago

                                                          israel

                                                          [–]isthat_edward_towers 20 points21 points ago

                                                          I don't see this being a huge deal. The victims families weren't necessarily taking advantage of the ordeal but rather trying to get money because a father or mother was no longer there to provide.

                                                          [–]FountainsOfFluids 58 points59 points ago

                                                          They lost their entire support system.

                                                          [–]Twitchety 8 points9 points ago

                                                          Took me a minute to get the joke.

                                                          And then I giggled.

                                                          And then I felt bad.

                                                          [–]FountainsOfFluids 8 points9 points ago

                                                          Yeah, I felt bad for writing it, but was compelled by the perfect setup.

                                                          [–]Twitchety 4 points5 points ago

                                                          It's okay, I don't blame you.

                                                          [–]Chicken-n-Waffles 13 points14 points ago

                                                          I'm not trying to downplay the event but a 'National' tragedy? Why aren't plane crashes 'National' tragedies then? Have a holiday around it? Memorial services where the whole nation recognizes that a bunch of people died due to negligence or an accident is just a bit much to be endorsed by the state.

                                                          If some pylon smashed a bus and killed 23 people in that, would that be a National tragedy?

                                                          The Oklahoma City bombing and the 9/11 attacks I can see but an industrial accident is just too much to accept. What about the guy who died making Spider-man 10 years ago who died when the crane fell on his head? Is that a national tragedy?

                                                          [–]Jewnadian 16 points17 points ago

                                                          I think you're answering your own question, in a country of 350 million the threshold for national tragedy is significantly higher than the threshold in a country of ~8 million. The OKC bombing claimed 168 lives and qualified. Hurricane Katrina was ~1800 and it certainly qualified.

                                                          Scaled by country size this event would be the equivalent of losing ~1150 people instantly. Essentially like a single large skyscraper collapsing spontaneously. It's safe to say we would consider that a tragedy if it happened here.

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                                                            [–]0l01o1ol0 5 points6 points ago

                                                            Israel is the size of a small US state, I can see something like this being declared a state tragedy.

                                                            Fewer people died at Columbine, Kent State, or any number of tragedies we still remember years later.

                                                            [–]gingerkid1234 2 points3 points ago

                                                            If this were scaled up to the population of the US, 912 people would've been killed and almost 12000 injured. That'd definitely be a national disaster in the US.

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                                                              [–]idikia 4 points5 points ago

                                                              "Floor might collapse? Just pile on some more concrete and grout. That'll do er."

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                                                                [–]award07 663 points664 points ago

                                                                THIS is why I don't go to parties.....

                                                                Yeah...this is why.

                                                                [–]Sniper_Guz 21 points22 points ago

                                                                I only go if the party is in a bungalow.

                                                                [–]eatsox117 99 points100 points ago

                                                                We'll let you think that, yes.

                                                                [–]wolvmatt 16 points17 points ago

                                                                You're never going to get invited with that attitude.

                                                                [–]Jenji 117 points118 points ago

                                                                "Such a buzzkill, always complaining about the structural weakness of the building."

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                                                                  [–]Chody 180 points181 points ago

                                                                  Ten people were arrested by the Israeli authorities. They included the hall's owners, the engineer who invented the Pal-Kal method of cheap and lightweight ceiling construction and contractors and builders involved with recent renovations.

                                                                  It was a bad day to be an innovative engineer.

                                                                  [–]PabloHoney99 116 points117 points ago

                                                                  It was also a bad day to be a greedy property owner who was too cheap to build a proper structure. Instead he chose to remove load-bearing walls, likely for the purpose of making the property more marketable to larger parties. Then, when the floor began to sag under its own weight, he tried to cover that up like it was just a cosmetic issue. In less developed countries, people get stoned to death by angry mobs for this sort of gross negligence.

                                                                  [–]mikemaca 143 points144 points ago

                                                                  The engineer who invented the construction method was sentenced to 4 years in prison. He invented it when he worked for the Public Works Department of the government in the 1970s, and the technology belongs to the government who approved its use.

                                                                  He was not the one that decided to use it for this wide a span, to add weights to it, or use it on a building that had a third story tacked on as an afterthought.

                                                                  No other building with this construction has had a problem.

                                                                  Yet it is the engineer that goes to prison, even though he had nothing to do with designing or building this particular building.

                                                                  Find a scape goat.

                                                                  [–]Frankeh 78 points79 points ago

                                                                  Yep. That made me so so mad. The owners of the building and the contractors were 100% responsible, imo.

                                                                  That's like arresting the wright brothers because a 747 crashed once.

                                                                  [–]Wyvrn 27 points28 points ago

                                                                  What utter bullshit.

                                                                  As an engineering student, this frightens me.

                                                                  [–]NoNeedForAName 17 points18 points ago

                                                                  As a lawyer, you'll be safe if you're in the US. At least in a situation like this one. And your odds of criminal charges are slim to none unless you put something out there knowing that it's likely to fuck somebody up.

                                                                  [–]suckrist 0 points1 point ago

                                                                  This is why I'm passing my FE and staying at the bottom of the engineering ladder coasting on a cool 50k a year. I'll be happy.

                                                                  [–]Se7en_speed 2 points3 points ago

                                                                  Guard your signature, that is everything as an engineer. You can never be compelled to sign off on a design. This is what generally carries legal weight in the US.

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                                                                      [–]LeftyGunNut 29 points30 points ago

                                                                      I'm not sure if it was this incident, but I recall something about the sagging floor being filled in with more material to make it appear level, thusly adding to the weight/problem.

                                                                      Criminally stupid comes to mind.

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                                                                        [–]DerelictDiety 4 points5 points ago

                                                                        Article about there convictions is here.

                                                                        One engineer got 4 years in prison, 2 engineers got 22 months and the contractor got 6 months.

                                                                        [–]maleman 3 points4 points ago

                                                                        It was a bad day to be an innovative engineer.

                                                                        It is almost never a good day to invent a new load bearing system and use it in a commercial setting without extensive research and peer review.

                                                                        [–]ultralame 14 points15 points ago

                                                                        I am bookmarking this for the next time I am over in /r/Libertarian and they start telling me why we don't need zoning and building codes.

                                                                        (Seriously, I have had people tell me that you can tell when a building is unsafe)

                                                                        [–]brandinb 4 points5 points ago

                                                                        They had building codes and we see how they worked out didn't we?

                                                                        [–]skeeto 6 points7 points ago

                                                                        The existing government regulation was ineffective in this case so, if anything, this is an example of the failure of government regulation to keep people safe.

                                                                        Libertarians only object to the way building codes and zoning are decided and enforced (i.e. government bureaucrats wielding guns), not to the concept themselves. Competing certification agencies can serve that role more effectively and efficiently than the current monopoly. No state needed.

                                                                        [–]ultralame 3 points4 points ago

                                                                        DAMMIT. Why is anyone downvoting skeeto for his position?

                                                                        Don't downvote because you disagree, downvote because the comment doesn't add to the conversation.

                                                                        I don't agree with him, but I am upvoting him because he's making good arguments.

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                                                                            [–]WhiskeyWhoopingCrane 5 points6 points ago

                                                                            But unsafe ceiling structure?

                                                                            [–]is45toooldforreddit 15 points16 points ago

                                                                            The floor of one room is the ceiling of the room below it, so...

                                                                            [–]Neil_Armschlong 11 points12 points ago

                                                                            What is today but yesterday's tomorrow?

                                                                            [–]pburn883 2 points3 points ago

                                                                            why arrest the engineer who designed a cheap ceiling. HE DESIGNED A CEILING. He never said you should add another floor on top of it

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                                                                              [–]Pheenixm 47 points48 points ago

                                                                              Evacuate the dance floor!

                                                                              [–]Ishbizzle 35 points36 points ago

                                                                              Stop, this beat is killing me!

                                                                              [–]Pheenixm 32 points33 points ago

                                                                              Hey Mr. DJ, let the music take me underground!

                                                                              [–]BlazeOrangeDeer 10 points11 points ago

                                                                              This is just too fitting...

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                                                                                [–]pbevus 50 points51 points ago

                                                                                Damn you Bane

                                                                                [–]DerelictDiety 75 points76 points ago

                                                                                Here is the full video.

                                                                                [–]Sionysion 77 points78 points ago

                                                                                Argh live leaks... so annoying you can't skip ahead in their videos.

                                                                                [–]lvytn 17 points18 points ago

                                                                                You can but not at all of them. But yeah, this is really annoying.

                                                                                [–]rngenius 14 points15 points ago

                                                                                Click "Contact Us" choose "Feedback" and goto town on those lazy motherfuckers.

                                                                                [–]SomeKindOfPalsy 6 points7 points ago

                                                                                Depends on the format it's been uploaded in as to whether it lets you. It's the same with a favourite porn site of mine.

                                                                                [–]captainpixystick 11 points12 points ago

                                                                                Motherless?

                                                                                [–]Retawekaj 3 points4 points ago

                                                                                Yeah, why do they do that? What's the logic in not letting the viewer skip ahead?

                                                                                [–]Fealiks 4 points5 points ago

                                                                                I don't think it's a choice, I think it's more of a "we don't know how to fix this" thing.

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                                                                                  [–]bigolebastard 98 points99 points ago

                                                                                  Non liveleak: http://youtu.be/CMCXjZ3xuEc

                                                                                  [–]elloelloello 15 points16 points ago

                                                                                  scariest thing for me is the girl bottom right of the picture just as the floor collapses. She looks down just before the floor properly drops, knowing something has gone wrong.

                                                                                  [–]HeyFunkyPianist 3 points4 points ago

                                                                                  I actually laughed at the .gif, but this video and the screaming made it not-so-funny.

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                                                                                      [–]crazyg33k 9 points10 points ago

                                                                                      I lost a friend in a similar incident that happened in the 'Savera' hotel (Chennai, India). It was a make-shift dance floor built atop a swimming pool for a New Year's eve party. The contractors who built the floor did a terrible job and the floor collapsed and the crowd went into the water. A friend of mine was pushed to the bottom of the pool with several others falling on top of him. Even though someone rescued him and he was hospitalized, we lost him a couple of days later. His cousin was at the party, and she passed away too.

                                                                                      [–]Candicemcc1 3 points4 points ago

                                                                                      Aww, I'm sorry for your loss.

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                                                                                        [–]KoreanTerran 89 points90 points ago

                                                                                        ITT: Terrible puns.

                                                                                        [–]Danny_Bomber 26 points27 points ago

                                                                                        Asaf had escaped serious injury, and carried her in his arms from the rubble.

                                                                                        It's safe to say he got some that night!

                                                                                        the bride who suffered serious pelvic injuries that required surgery

                                                                                        Good job man!

                                                                                        [–]vxx 68 points69 points ago

                                                                                        ITT: Terrible puns and laughter about a lot of people dying.

                                                                                        [–]wodahSShadow 26 points27 points ago

                                                                                        Can't have slaughter without laughter.

                                                                                        [–]KoreanTerran 43 points44 points ago

                                                                                        welcome to reddit.

                                                                                        [–]Sugreev2001 43 points44 points ago

                                                                                        | Welcome to the Internet

                                                                                        FTFY

                                                                                        [–]I_am_the_Werewolf 45 points46 points ago

                                                                                        Welcome to life. Don't kid yourselves and think this has only been going on since the internet was created.

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                                                                                            [–]promarkman 3 points4 points ago

                                                                                            And they all fall down

                                                                                            [–]B4TR0CK 25 points26 points ago

                                                                                            Let the bodies hit the floor,

                                                                                            Let the bodies hit the floor,

                                                                                            Let the bodies hit the floor,

                                                                                            Let the bodies hit the . . . FLLLLOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

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                                                                                              [–]FoxBattalion79 7 points8 points ago

                                                                                              at least, for 22 people, their last moments were fun and dancy. I would rather go like that than a car crash after a shitty 13 hour work day as a shoe salesman.

                                                                                              [–]whatsupallday 11 points12 points ago

                                                                                              I've been to a few raves in the '90s where I thoroughly expect this to happen.

                                                                                              [–]DaAvalon 25 points26 points ago

                                                                                              I remember this. I lived in Israel when this happened. It was really horrible, I even met someone that survived it with only a broken leg. I never knew there was video footage of it.

                                                                                              [–]meh1022 5 points6 points ago

                                                                                              A smaller, less deadly version of this happened at a party I went to in college. Same thing, everyone was dancing and this happened. Everyone was too wasted to get seriously injured though.

                                                                                              [–]Claytonius_Homeytron 5 points6 points ago

                                                                                              Gotta love the "For Rent" sign.

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                                                                                                [–]123whoa 9 points10 points ago

                                                                                                the gif loaded really slow on my shitty connection and it looked like they just got lower and lower while dancing until it was obvious

                                                                                                [–]nickateen 49 points50 points ago

                                                                                                Good job, you've managed to post something on reddit AFTER it was seen on Tosh.0. You've effectively divided by zero.

                                                                                                [–]morningsaystoidleon 35 points36 points ago

                                                                                                This shit's been on the Internet forever.

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                                                                                                  [–]MasterNyx 37 points38 points ago

                                                                                                  They said "Raise the roof!" not "Lower the floor!".

                                                                                                  [–]DerelictDiety 13 points14 points ago

                                                                                                  Tomato, tomato. Same effect achieved.

                                                                                                  [–]YOU_FUCK 5 points6 points ago

                                                                                                  It looks like they were getting down

                                                                                                  [–]Ilerea_Kleinokitz 3 points4 points ago

                                                                                                  Looks like someone ... dropped the bass YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHH

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                                                                                                    [–]kovahdiin 18 points19 points ago

                                                                                                    The bass must have dropped.

                                                                                                    [–]m3l0n 3 points4 points ago

                                                                                                    Original Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMCXjZ3xuEc

                                                                                                    [–]venompgo 4 points5 points ago

                                                                                                    Doesn't look like anyone missed the drop.

                                                                                                    [–]yellowpride 8 points9 points ago

                                                                                                    This is as old as the internet itself...

                                                                                                    [–]DrEsteban 4 points5 points ago

                                                                                                    Those are some killer dance moves.

                                                                                                    [–]Ttotem 4 points5 points ago

                                                                                                    Damn, I remember I saw that one on the news here in sweden. Was like 5-7 years ago I think.

                                                                                                    [–]yaredw 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                                    Let the bodies hit the floor...

                                                                                                    [–]k4510x 6 points7 points ago

                                                                                                    This is why I like ground floor

                                                                                                    [–]aLittleCreepy 34 points35 points ago

                                                                                                    yep, then you are sure to be crushed by fat dancing ladies coming from above.

                                                                                                    [–]saekla 14 points15 points ago

                                                                                                    For someone on reddit, this is a masturbatory fantasy.

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                                                                                                      [–]disgustedfilter 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                                      Wow. My imgur death count just went through the roof.

                                                                                                      [–]mahtoobah 1 point2 points ago

                                                                                                      Why is this very well-known VIDEO from 2001 shared to reddit as a crappy animated GIF? It's all over youtube in much higher quality and not presented in a comical media format, because it's not comedy.

                                                                                                      [–]nuhGIRLyen 1 point2 points ago

                                                                                                      Came here thinking someone was gonna bust a move on the dance floor. Disappointed.

                                                                                                      [–]Wiiansym 0 points1 point ago

                                                                                                      They sure knew how to drop it low.

                                                                                                      [–]Chimazing -1 points0 points ago

                                                                                                      WE'VE GOT LOCUST.

                                                                                                      [–]MickJoest 0 points1 point ago

                                                                                                      Were you guys not around when Ebaumsworld was big? Or is it just a new thing to convert old viral videos into gifs.

                                                                                                      [–]zaures 0 points1 point ago

                                                                                                      I'm sad that i didn't see any jokes or gifs about dropping the bass...

                                                                                                      [–]imkindofimpressed 0 points1 point ago

                                                                                                      All the people on the lower floor had to do was raise the roof.

                                                                                                      [–]kingproz 0 points1 point ago

                                                                                                      AT LEAST THE ROOF WASN'T ON FIRE

                                                                                                      [–]skatopunk666 0 points1 point ago

                                                                                                      Is that mexico???

                                                                                                      [–]Izzen 0 points1 point ago

                                                                                                      Let the bodies hit the...

                                                                                                      [–]emacs-and-cheese 0 points1 point ago

                                                                                                      Drop that bass. And floor.

                                                                                                      [–]sexinariverwithu 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                                      Seconds from Disaster on National Geographic Channel had a good episode on this event

                                                                                                      [–]nanodar 0 points1 point ago

                                                                                                      Red Wedding

                                                                                                      [–]rich1386 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                                      Well, that de-escalted quickly

                                                                                                      [–]emojobo 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                                      If only they hadn't dropped the bass....

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