On this day, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, a suspension bridge in the U.S. state of Washington that spanned the Tacoma Narrows strait of Puget Sound between Tacoma and the Kitsap Peninsula, dramatically collapsed into Puget Sound. The bridge’s collapse has been described as “spectacular” and in subsequent decades “has attracted the attention of engineers, physicists, and mathematicians”. Throughout its short existence, it was the world’s third-longest suspension bridge. During construction, the bridge was nicknamed ‘Galloping Gertie’ because of the way it swayed in windy conditions, and on the morning in question, with 64 km/h winds, the alternating twisting motion gradually increased in amplitude until the bridge finally tore apart. The collapse boosted research into bridge aerodynamics-aeroelastics, which has influenced the designs of all later long-span bridges.
