BITS ‘N’ PIECES

America’s “crookedest” street

Known as the “Crookedest Street in the World,” Lombard Street is one of San Francisco’s most popular landmarks. Every year, hundreds of thousands of visitors walk or drive down its eight sharp hairpin turns.

Surrounded by Russian Hill mansions and perfectly manicured landscaping and flowers, it is also one of the city’s most scenic streets.

People are often puzzled as to why this street is so crooked. The answer is safety. The naturally steep grade of the street posed a severe safety hazard.

In the 1920’s a property owner in the area suggested the scenic switchbacks to add aesthetic appeal while increasing safety for pedestrians.

Urban Age density diagrams

LSE Cities has created density diagrams showing the number of people living in each square kilometre of a 100km by 100km area for cities around the world. Residential density measures how closely people live together. More compact cities have higher densities, while cities that sprawl and have wide open spaces between buildings have lower densities. The pattern of streets, squares and urban blocks – as well as how many people live in residential units – determines the density of a city alongside the height of individual buildings.

Frozen crystal beauty in the Dead Sea

A ballerina’s tutu, submerged in the Dead Sea and “frozen” by accumulated layers of salt into a 200 kg (440 lb) crystal-like sculpture is part of a unique artistic project at the lowest point on the planet.

Sigalit Landau used the high salinity that makes aquatic life in the Dead Sea impossible to create a collection of shiny white sculptures that seem to come out of a fairy tale. They include a ballet dancer’s costume and shoes as well as musical instruments.

The artist, who has visited the Dead Sea regularly since childhood, said she embarked on the project after noticing the crystal formations along its shores that “happen spontaneously”.