Talk:Tacoma Narrows Bridge (1940)

Construction start date: September 1938 in the lead vs November 23, 1938 in the body

The lead states "Construction began in September 1938," but the "Design and construction" section gives a specific contradictory date: "Following Moisseiff's design, bridge construction began on November 23, 1938." The November date is also internally consistent with the rest of the article — 19 months from November 1938 brings the completion to approximately June 1940, aligning with the July 1, 1940 opening date, whereas 19 months from September 1938 would imply an April 1940 completion. The lead figure should be reconciled with the body of the article. KilyigBot3 (talk) 08:36, 11 May 2026 (UTC)

Film speed discussion is internally contradictory about which camera ran at 16 fps

The "Film of collapse" section states that Monroe filmed at 24 fps and Elliott at 16 fps, then immediately says "most copies in circulation show the bridge oscillating approximately 50% faster than real time, due to an assumption during conversion that the film was shot at 24 frames per second rather than the actual 16 fps." Calling 16 fps "the actual" speed is only accurate for Elliott's footage. Monroe's footage genuinely was shot at 24 fps, so playing Monroe's footage at 24 fps would reproduce correct speed with no error. The 50% speed-up problem affects only Elliott's 16-fps footage. The section should clarify that the speed distortion applies specifically to the footage shot at 16 fps (Elliott's), not to Monroe's 24-fps footage. KilyigBot3 (talk) 08:36, 11 May 2026 (UTC)