New York City Midtown Steam Explosion
Wednesday Sep 26 2007
An underground steam pipe in Midtown Manhattan ruptured on the early evening of July 18, 2007. The pipe, almost a century old, was located underneath the intersection of Lexington Avenue and Forty-First Street. It was being repaired at the time. Approximately forty pedestrians and drivers were injured by the startling blast, and one woman died from a heart attack after fleeing a block from the explosion. A young tow truck driver and his passenger are the two most seriously injured victims, having been right above the location when the steam pipe ruptured.
Speculations upon the steam pipe’s explosion ranged from corrosion in the pipe to a possibly leaking water main nearby. Steam traps, devices used to drain water from inactive steam pipes, were suspected of malfunction. Abnormally heavy rainfall from that morning and the night before had also been thought to be factors in the explosion. Con Edison, a major power supplier for the New York Metro area, operates the steam system that included the ruptured pipe and has been held responsible for the disaster.
The event is described in two diagrams on these teal blue shirts. The front diagram explains the four stages of a condensation induced water hammer, the phenomenon that is believed to have caused the steam pipe rupture. The back diagram is a cross section view of the intersection where the steam explosion occurred. Underground utilities and people seriously injured or killed at the scene of the explosion are indicated. All the elements relating to the event are depicted at a relative scale.
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Comments
Fred says:
why is that guy so happy? besides the fact that he’s wearing an awesome shirt.
Rich says:
Stamp: Thanks! We’re trying to follow the same ethical guidelines as any news source. If Lois was underage or not already mentioned we would have left her name out.
This raises an interesting question though, what about a t-shirt do you think changes the ethical expectations of the viewer. This has been covered in a loosely related situation here.
Rich says:
Fred: That guy is so happy because the awesome shirt he’s wearing was free! Anyone who models for us gets a free t-shirt, we want to have two different models for each shirt we print. Let us know if you’re in the NYC area and interested.
Dog says:
What’s the point of producing the shirts? Your web site only addresses how to subscribe and what’s on them. Are you trying to accomplish something?
Rich says:
Dog: Going to make us explain ourselves, eh?
In a nutshell, we’re experimenting with t-shirts as a “content delivery system.” (We heard that in Europe, ad space is being sold on the bodies of sheep.)
We left our explanation out of the FAQ when we launched the site to give us more time to think about it.
Louise and I will take a look at it tonight and stick it back in there. Hopefully it will clarify things for you and give you a better idea of what we are all about.
Dog says:
Thanks. I’ll look for your FAQ later. I’m not a student at Cooper Union and it looks like most of your comments so far have been from other students. I happened on your web site while I was doing a Google search for information on the steam pipe explosion and your new site caught my attention. I’m not from NYC so I also took a look at the school website- pretty impressive institution. Here’s my concern. I agree that t-shirts could be an effective content delivery system for many types of information (like ads or protest statements, for example). But I question if they are an appropriate vehicle for conveying serious news stories in meaningful detail, particularly ones that involve human suffering and death. The pictures of the students modeling the shirts brought that home to me. They are smiling and happy, seemingly oblivious to the horrific events that the shirts describe- just happy to have a free shirt. T-shirts are very casual wear- likely to be perceived as a shabby vehicle for conveying information on serious news events. I’m concerned that the public in general may find the shirts offensive or tasteless. On a purely technical note, I doubt anyone will take the time or be able to read a detailed story line on someone’s t-shirt as they walk by or stand next to them on the subway, so the audience is going to be very limited-not what you want if you are trying to broadly disseminate detailed information on a news event. Regarding using Lois Baumerich’s, or any other victims’ names, on a shirt, I think it increases the likelihood that people (certainly those close to the victims)will be offended. While newspapers (print and on-line)are accepted as an appropriate, serious vehicle for disseminating news (you can sit down and read it), I don’t see how t-shirts will ever have that status. Better to concentrate on the advertising potential. By the way, they really are selling ad space on sheep- I saw a story on it awhile back.
Rich says:
Dog: Whoa. Long comment. I’ll try and address each of your points.
I’m not a student at Cooper Union and it looks like most of your comments so far have been from other students.
We haven’t actually promoted the project at the school. None of the comments on the site (at least not yet) are from students. Our models, however, are current and former students - convenient for our first shirts.
I question if [t-shirts] are an appropriate vehicle for conveying serious news stories in meaningful detail, particularly ones that involve human suffering and death.
It is something we question, too. This project is an experiment. How can we debate the appropriateness of the t-shirt as a news medium if it has never been tried? How is newsprint as a material any better suited to carry the stories of human suffering and death than a cotton t-shirt? If you were to argue based on its use, how often does a newspaper end up in the bottom of a pet’s cage or get rolled up to swat a fly? As for meaningful detail, we do aim to inform the viewer, but we also realize that there are obvious limitations on the scope and depth of the information a t-shirt can effectively convey. We aren’t trying to replace the in-depth news article, we are interested in facilitating a texture of awareness that might incite a person to find out more. Advertising works to drive sales—we work to drive news readership.
[The students modeling the shirts] are smiling and happy, seemingly oblivious to the horrific events that the shirts describe- just happy to have a free shirt.
This is the nature of clothing. We didn’t ask our models to smile, we didn’t give them any direction at all - what you see in the photos is how they chose to appear. We can’t expect our subscribers to frown every time they wear a sober shirt any more than The New York Times can keep someone from smiling in an ad running on their front page - alongside stories covering genocide and war.
T-shirts are very casual wear- likely to be perceived as a shabby vehicle for conveying information on serious news events.
We agree that t-shirts are casual wear, but that is the crux of this experiment. We don’t expect to carry the favor of the tie wearing public (no offense intended, we have been known to wear ties). They are perfectly happy with their newspapers, and justly so. We are interested in exploring the fringe of information dissemination. The people who might not feel compelled to look at today’s paper, or read the top headlines online. The shabby t-shirt is uniquely suited for a project such as this—there is no other item that affords its physical size and relative low cost.
I’m concerned that the public in general may find the shirts offensive or tasteless.
I think this ties back in with the previous point in your comment. We can see how these shirts may be interpreted as offensive or tasteless, but they would only be viewed in this light by people who didn’t understand the project and its intentions.
While newspapers (print and on-line) are accepted as an appropriate, serious vehicle for disseminating news (you can sit down and read it), I don’t see how t-shirts will ever have that status.
This is something we aim to change. Not every website is accepted as serious or credible, nor is every newspaper. Just like the established news sources before it, our shirts will have to earn this status.
Better to concentrate on the advertising potential.
I wonder what kind of world ours would be if everyone just concentrated on the advertising potential of things. It would certainly make for an interesting episode of The Twilight Zone.
This discussion addresses a lot of important concerns about the project. We’re going to post this, along with your comment, to the blog so it will be seen by more people.
Dog says:
Thanks for the thoughtful response- sounds like you have been thinking about this from a number of angles. Are you planning to prepare some sort of evaluation/report once the project is completed (I’m assuming that there is a finite time period for the project). If so, I’d suggest posting it.
Rich says:
Our intent at the outset of this project was to print approximately 10 shirts and present them, along with accumulated research material, in a formal exhibition at The Cooper Union. This is still our intent now. The exhibition is expected to take place in mid June and will be free and open to the public.
We will include this information in the post about this conversation as well as in the updated FAQ.
shirt model says:
Dog should order a T-shirt, so he can be happy like me.
this is great. what, if any, ethics-related concerns do you anticipate following your use of lois baumerich’s name on this t-shirt?