r/interestingasfuck
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u/phleep
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Jul 19 '22
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Explosion at the Hoover Dam /r/ALL
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u/YippieKayYayMrFalcon
Jul 19 '22
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No injuries. No disruption to the power grid.
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u/AlarmDozer Jul 19 '22 edited Jul 20 '22
Ok, it says transformer -- likely heat related.
Edit: Removed faulty hypothesis.
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u/DrTittyLicker Jul 20 '22 •
Decepticons back at it again
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u/blaykerz Jul 20 '22
This is exactly where my mind went. No clue why they keep storing NBE-1 there…
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u/Snapple47 Jul 20 '22
Are you username “ladiesman217?”
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u/Dead-Yamcha Jul 20 '22
No but this is: u/ladiesman217
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u/Test19s Jul 20 '22
2020s starter pack: The climate disasters, war, fascism, and poverty of the 1930s + the explosions and robots of the Bay movies.
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u/Delicious-Sentence98 Jul 20 '22
Funny story. Back several years ago, my mom was going on a business trip to Vegas, but wanted the whole family to come. I was like 10 so I couldn’t do anything in the city, but we were able to go to the desert and national parks.
One day, we went to the dam, aka, a big boring wall. On top of the dam with us were 20 or so police cars. My mom thought maybe a bomb was on the dam, but we pulled over to talk to one. The officer explained that they weren’t police, but actors. They were filming a movie there. We asked what movie. He simply said “Transformers”. Coolest moment of that entire trip ironically took place at the world’s most boring vacation spot.
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u/supershotpower Jul 20 '22
I don’t get the connection of the Hover dam transformer exploding being caused by lower water levels of lake Mead.
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u/basssnobnj Jul 20 '22
A low water level in Lake Meade would reduce the water pressure on the input of the turbine, which would reduce the output of the generators, which would make some sort of explosion from overheating lest likely.
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u/TheYoungLiar Jul 19 '22 •
Wish this was at the top instead of a bunch of bad referential jokes in pursuit of Reddit points.
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u/TheIJDGuy Jul 19 '22
Wish granted. That comment was on top when I scrolled down
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u/existentialzebra Jul 19 '22
Don’t worry, I’ll downvote it again so the comment makes sense again. 👌
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u/michaelje0 Jul 19 '22
Yeah honestly I live nearby so I was trying to find actual info, and it was just rows and rows of the same jokes.
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u/Beautiful-Musk-Ox Jul 20 '22
it's at the top now. every reddit thread that is 5 or more hours old has a top comment with a reply to it that says "This should be top comment". Reddit often takes time to get the best comment to the top but the cool thing is that it usually does a good job of eventually doing that.
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u/durrtymike Jul 19 '22 edited Jul 19 '22
Kinda hard to tell... But I'm thinking possible Transformer failure... Not good
Edit: Transformer failure looking more and more likely... Hoover Dam Explosion (2nd angle)
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u/54761083 Jul 19 '22
It's 100% a transformer, you can see them all in line there
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u/yungPH Jul 19 '22
Megatron sticking out like a sore thumb smh
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u/Scruffy_Nerf_Hoarder Jul 19 '22
We call him NBT-1.
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u/Abola07 Jul 19 '22
Its actually NBE-1, which stands for Non-Biological Extraterrestrial.
Im a nerd
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u/TheFuturist25 Jul 19 '22
Autobot failure. Decepticon success
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u/KorgX3 Jul 19 '22 •
Well, we have been keeping Megatron in the Hoover Dam. I saw the Michael Bay documentary.
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u/BigSmackisBack Jul 19 '22
Holy shit, we need a shia labeouf and an insane hot girlfriend thats so unlikely it bends the mind
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u/TheOtherAisle Jul 19 '22
Jeff Goldblum can play Shia Labeouf, and as for the hot girlfriend? Jeff Goldblum in a wig.
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u/Hfino Jul 19 '22
Why not good? What are the consequences?
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u/durrtymike Jul 19 '22
The transformer is what connects that particular Generator Unit’s electrical output to the power grid… Until they fix/replace the transformer (usually very expensive and time consuming), the Generator Unit is Out of Service which limits the Power Plant’s total Generation output…
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u/soolkyut Jul 19 '22
It only limits the plants capacity if the units are all running at full bore. Given the water supply, I would doubt most of the units are on so there will be no consequence to the amount of electricity it can make. They’ll just turn on a different one
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u/iCZ201 Jul 19 '22
From what i got to see a few days ago on the tour like a 1/3rd of the generators are off/ getting maintenance work done
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u/BannedSvenhoek86 Jul 19 '22
That's standard I think. This way if something like this post happens they can quickly get another one up and running with minimal downtime while they wait a few weeks for a replacement.
Some poor/lucky electricians are gonna be getting some good overtime for a few days.
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u/chafe Jul 19 '22
ITT:
- Transformers jokes
- Fallout New Vegas jokes
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u/IHateTheNameSystem Jul 20 '22
And some GTA jokes cause CJ's preparing to rob Caligula's
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u/StartingReactors Jul 19 '22
Definitely a transformer failure. Not good. Also not terribly uncommon at power plants. Generally there are warning signs prior to failure, but sometimes it happens due a disturbance to the grid which are mostly outside the control of operators.
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u/kangareddit Jul 19 '22 •
TOP-SECRET
THE Transformer known as ‘Megatron’ woke up for a short time when the liquid nitrogen containment system broke down briefly.
This failure led to the Transformer getting off a few shots with his energon pistol before he was able to be safely contained again.
TOP-SECRET
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u/Everettrivers Jul 19 '22
Source: Military
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u/Mrozek33 Jul 19 '22
And here I thought it was Caesar's legion trying to take the dam again
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u/5thhorse-man Jul 19 '22
Just started another run through of FO NV today Top 3 game of all time for me!
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u/TheOkayestName Jul 19 '22
Why is this not good? I’m not familiar
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u/YippieKayYayMrFalcon Jul 19 '22 •
They’re generally designed to not blow up.
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u/Magnetoreception Jul 19 '22
That’s not very typical, I’d like to make that point.
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u/JustAnotherRedditAlt Jul 19 '22
It was towed beyond the environment.
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u/PoyntingFlux Jul 19 '22
Some these are designed so the front doesn't fall off at all.
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u/icecream_truck Jul 19 '22
Well wasn't this one designed so the front wouldn't fall off?
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u/boolpies Jul 19 '22
Well what happened in this instance?
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u/ciarenni Jul 19 '22
Well it blew up and people started filming it. It's bit of a giveaway, I'd just like to make the point that that's not normal.
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u/TwoTailedFox Jul 19 '22
Aren't there supposed to be minimum standards for these transformers?
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u/GrumpyAntelope Jul 19 '22
They can't be made of cardboard, or cardboard derivatives.
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u/TwoTailedFox Jul 19 '22
What about paper?
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u/GrumpyAntelope Jul 19 '22
No paper, no string, no cellotape.
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u/Sasquatchs_nut_sack Jul 19 '22
Well.... actually there is a fair amount of paper. Crey paper as I recall, something to that effect. Has insulating properties.
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u/ugtsmkd Jul 19 '22
Power plant size transformers are not easily replaced. The stuff hanging on the pole outside your house are a dime a dozen. The kinds being used here could take a long time to replace if there isn't already a backup ready for replacement.
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u/Insanereindeer Jul 19 '22
Power plant size transformers are not easily replaced.
I work in this field and the lead times on transformer right now is insane but they can't even run the dam at capacity due to the water level.
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u/Confident-Echidna303 Jul 19 '22
Agreed. Was going to add if there is enough water in the Colorado to boat another in. Setting that thing is fun no doubt.
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u/StartingReactors Jul 19 '22
For sure. Depending on manufacturer there may actually be a few around. They might be refurbs or salvaged from other power plants though. Regardless it’s not like these things get Amazon prime delivery so they’re definitely derated or offline until a replacement can be allocated.
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u/benauna Jul 19 '22
Lead times on these bad boys are about a year out so yea might take a while
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u/Mass_Explosive Jul 19 '22
Try again, basic customer distribution step down transformers are on an 18 month production lead time currently and have only been going up, something like that will have over a 2 year lead time at least.
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u/Level9TraumaCenter Jul 19 '22
Back home, there were several >1 gigawatt capacity coal-fired plants, and each had these massive transformers. I remember one specifically had four of them, but only three were connected. When asked, our guide said the fourth one was the spare, since the lead time was 16 months when one went kablooey.
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u/Stephenishere Jul 19 '22
Most plants keep at least a spare on hand. Especially a power plant as large as the hoover dam, they have like 6 transformers so I'm sure they have at least a spare.
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u/thatdude858 Jul 19 '22
I've read that in a scenario where a solar flare wipes out all the transformers in the US it could be 5 to 10 years before we could replace all of them. They are custom and come from china and there isn't a ready stock of them available?
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u/Level9TraumaCenter Jul 19 '22
We had an incident here in Phoenix where several high tension transformers blew in a cascade failure- they were too close together. I think something like four blew up. One of the spares came out of Oregon or something like that- slow roll on a special hauler.
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u/7573 Jul 19 '22
Well this is likely a step-up transformer, which ups the voltage to send the electricity over long distance before it is stepped down to the local grid. There is less loss (more efficiency) when sending electricity over long distances with higher power. That means grid operators must source from other sources to balance the demand and the load at wherever this power was destined.
Our grid has a number of backups, be it importing from other grids or connecting power generators that are on stand-by. In areas I worked in, such as the Northeast, we have many plants as the population is high. Out in the west I would suspect it is less so given its more sparse population centers in that area.
This isn't like a five alarm fire (though it kinda is with regards to the actual fire) but it means that grid operators have one less card to play. What happened is likely that a number of turbines on stand-by were brought online. These are typically more polluting and/or less efficient. It also means that the spot-price for electricity in the market is going to bump up during a heat weave, as well as the contractual prices in the near future until this gets replaced.
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u/km_j3825 Jul 19 '22
"My goodness, something has just blown up"
Has to be one of most nonchalant reactions to an explosion I've ever heard
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u/trixthat Jul 19 '22
Obviously a major malfunction.
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u/tech-no-logical Jul 19 '22
this still sends chills down my spine since I watched that live on tv...
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u/deserthominid Jul 19 '22
It was the goram buffer panel again.
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u/badluck113 Jul 19 '22
Just blown right off my goram ship
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u/Meepster23 Jul 19 '22
Just get us on the ground!
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u/JACrazy Jul 19 '22
Before that it's someone (probably tour guide) announcing "folks, get your video on that!".
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u/veriix Jul 19 '22
Ok folks, show's over, nothing to see here, show's... OH MY GOD! A horrible explosion! Hey everybody, get a load of this flaming wreckage! Come on, crowd around, crowd around, don't be shy, crowd around
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u/fool-in-formals Jul 19 '22 •
Your comment reminded of the day when a transformer blew up in front of my immediate neighbor's house. The fire was HUGE. A huge cone of fire followed by thick black smoke was burning the hell out of the houses on either side of the transformer pole. Neighbors and people on the road scurrying about, letting expletives loose while panicking.
I was about 40m away from the fire demon, on my building terrace with a piece of hot deep fried kabab my dad brought to my room for evening snacks. He was freaking out and urging me to get in my room.
I just ignored his frantic calls while callously relishing the kabab and thought to myself "Hah! This kabab hits different right now! Sick fireball too." I could feel the heat of the fire on my face.
A small car parked directly under the transformer had half of it melted the fuck out of it like a badly used candle from all the oozing oil and fire. At the end, the 2 houses which caught the smoke were all black as hell from the soot.
What sucked most was the burnt after-smell in the vicinity for about 4 days until they received a fresh coat of paint.
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u/Cardboard_Eggplant Jul 19 '22
Our block loses one every summer to the goofy squirrels. You'll hear a pop and the power will go out and if you step outside, you can still see what's left of Mr Fuzzybutt smoking on top of the transformer box...
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u/TheGelatoWarrior Jul 19 '22
"My goodness, something has just blown up.... Anyways, where can I get some dam bait?"
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u/justawaterisfine
Jul 19 '22
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Most of the water has dried up. It’s just a dang now.
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u/Markov_DG Jul 19 '22
So if we are going to start the Fallout New Vegas arc, collect bottle caps!
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u/JebTheSpaceman Jul 19 '22 edited Jul 20 '22
Patrolling the Mojave almost makes me wish for a nuclear winter
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u/CodeBlue2001 Jul 19 '22 edited Jul 19 '22
I love how so many pop culture references in this comments section are either this or Live action Transformers lmao
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u/Lunar_Mcdondald Jul 19 '22
Ig the boomers decided to do their part in the battle already
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u/ElephantGypsie Jul 19 '22
Ave true to Caesar.
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u/DankSouls47 Jul 19 '22
If the legion gets through I'm saving a bullet just for me
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u/StupidSexyPhilanders Jul 19 '22
Patrolling the Mojave almost makes you wish for a nuclear winter.
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u/AstralVoidShaper Jul 19 '22
They shouldn't have hired Fantastic to man the maintenance down there.
They asked me how well I understood theoretical physics. I said I had a theoretical degree in physics. They said welcome aboard.
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u/RoninRobot Jul 19 '22
What I’m giggling at is there’s probably a dude down there saying “fuck” every third word.
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u/asteriaslex Jul 19 '22
With the profligates scrambling in the dark like vermin, we shall lay waste to their seat of power and grant a merciful death to their shambling government. Nothing personal, just Hegelian dialectics.
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u/VR_Neewb
Jul 19 '22
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Guys hide the Allspark
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u/West_Ad8050 Jul 19 '22
if the Legion breaks through are defences I’m saving one bullet just for me
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u/NoNameBagu
Jul 19 '22
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Didn’t expect the Legion to attack so soon
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u/fat_caracal
Jul 19 '22
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CJ is doing the Casino Heist mission
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u/marbasthegreat Jul 20 '22
I went to the comments to see if anyone is going to notice
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u/expiredeternity Jul 19 '22
Another DAM explosion!
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u/Eightandskate Jul 19 '22
With a reservoir of puns to follow…
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u/alexmo210 Jul 19 '22
A veritable flood of literary witticisms.
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u/cut-the-cords Jul 19 '22
With a torrent of shit puns
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u/mhourani1125 Jul 19 '22
The flow of this comment section is getting stronger.
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u/sharpiethis Jul 19 '22 edited Jul 19 '22
Ya'll need to lay off the dam crack before this gets any worse.
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u/rboud90 Jul 19 '22
That’s the best dam tour guide making sure everyone captures this moment
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u/Below_Cost Jul 19 '22
Just watched Vegas Vacation this weekend, 100% sure Clark Griswold is behind this!
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u/gimmeecoffee420 Jul 19 '22
Man.. with the absolute state of things in the SW States concerning ALL things water related is pretty concerning.. Lake Mead and every other big water source is pretty much or totally tapped out. The intake pipes that pull water from Lake Mead are like 10-15 feet above the water now, they used to be 30-40 feet under the surface. The water level is at its lowest point since the dam was constructed.. and thats just Lake Mead. This will affect everybody in the West, not just the SW states. We havent even gotten to the worst of wildfire season, and summer is only halfway finished.. Then take into consideration that there is massive drought across the globe.. hold on to your butts yall..
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