People still seem to be confused and frightened by the Tom Hanks tweet. I'm going to break down the "SRC Code" real quick.
tl;dr it's a shorthand language used by workers who need to cut into the street
1/ https://twitter.com/tomhanks/status/755037466139164672
tl;dr it's a shorthand language used by workers who need to cut into the street
1/ https://twitter.com/tomhanks/status/755037466139164672
nle;gr (not long enough; gonna read):
As you know, there are all sorts of things under the asphalt: electrical lines, gas lines, water mains, sewer pipes, fiber optics, etc etc
But sometimes you have to cut into a street to get down to the old pneumatic transit system!
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As you know, there are all sorts of things under the asphalt: electrical lines, gas lines, water mains, sewer pipes, fiber optics, etc etc
But sometimes you have to cut into a street to get down to the old pneumatic transit system!
2/
So how do you NOT blackout all of Manhattan, trapping your lawyer in an elevator while he has to make the whole time?
Well, simple: you look up the information and mark where everything is before you start cutting.
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Well, simple: you look up the information and mark where everything is before you start cutting.
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Now, you and I don't really need to know where the phone lines are (they're over there!) but the construction crew does. So they employ people to scout and mark the street. And when they're done marking, it can look like this.
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"Hey look!" I hear you say, "that third picture has the USA marking just like Tom Hanks' tweet!"
And to you I say, "well spotted."
That acronym stands for Underground Service Alert.
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And to you I say, "well spotted."
That acronym stands for Underground Service Alert.
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Underground Service Alert is a organization in California and parts of Nevada that helps construction crews keep track of where stuff is. Your state or municipality almost certainly uses a similar service, but in California, where Tom took the photo, it's USA.
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So what about the nefarious SRC?
Well, that's the initials USA uses to identify either the contract crew, utility, or service doing the dig. I couldn't tell you specifically which.
Here's a photo where the initials are MK and another where the initials are GNS.
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Well, that's the initials USA uses to identify either the contract crew, utility, or service doing the dig. I couldn't tell you specifically which.
Here's a photo where the initials are MK and another where the initials are GNS.
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What I can tell you is that painting those letters in white means it's not indicating a buried utility line or pipe, but simply a place where excavation is planned.
Different paint colors and different symbols mean different things.
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Different paint colors and different symbols mean different things.
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If you'd like to learn a whole lot more about it, you can read this article or one of many others on the information superhighway!
https://99percentinvisible.org/article/colorful-language-decoding-utility-markings-spray-painted-on-city-streets/
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https://99percentinvisible.org/article/colorful-language-decoding-utility-markings-spray-painted-on-city-streets/
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So next time you're confronted with arcane symbology on the street, don't panic! It's not the Cabal!
It's just people trying to keep the Ghostbusters from violating their judicial mistrangement order... that blue thing I got from her!
10/10 end
It's just people trying to keep the Ghostbusters from violating their judicial mistrangement order... that blue thing I got from her!
10/10 end
...unless it's actually a Toynbee Tile.
Then you're on to something.
But I'll tell you about that some other time.
11/10
Then you're on to something.
But I'll tell you about that some other time.
11/10