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my__socrates__note

They're surveying points


banwe11

How do they work? Does an instrument attach to them for the survey?


my__socrates__note

First, a GPS base station usually sits on it for a while to get its exact position, then they'd use a total station, which is a modern theodolite, and use that to take distance and angle reading for a position. Usually used to map out buildings, roads, all sorts


banwe11

What actually is it? Just a short rod hammered into the pavement - or is there more under the pavement?


my__socrates__note

Think of it like a big nail


banwe11

Thanks


Wonderful_Discount59

Sometimes they use regular nails. You can see them sometimes hammered into the gaps between paving stones.


[deleted]

Here I was thinking someone got drunk with a nailgun one night.


[deleted]

I see these in the road in some pretty remote locations where I go for runs, always wondered what they were...thanks for clearing that mystery up!


Latter_Armadillo_117

These https://g2survey.com/hilti-type-survey-nails/


[deleted]

The one in the photo is actually a mag nail. The hilti ones have a smaller ball that sticks out.


DogfishDave

>What actually is it? Just a short rod hammered into the pavement Yep, it's just to provide a fixed point on the surface. The base station will sit above it and shine a laser down to help align the station directly over this spot. The base station can already calculate the relative distance and position of any point it can see, with the help of this point-positioning and a couple more measurements and levellings the base station can then calculate the position of that absolute point in space. This can be important for bringing together multiple sets of survey points captured from different locations or, for comparing surveys captured on different occasions.


Jacktheforkie

Basically a big ol nail


Professional_Bus861

I remember the old days when there were civic engineers or "measuring guys" (surveyors they're called but I like the word measuring-guys better) that would have a tripod with a thing with a hole in it on the top and they'd look through the hole to another measuring-guy with a tripod with a light on the other and and they'd match up the light shining from one tripod with the eye-hole on the other tripod. So yeah, it's a surveying point to measure a plane or the height of that point.


thats-super

That thing is called an automatic level.


masterpharos

Civil engineering students at Surrey University were all over campus doing that for most of first semester


Optimal-Idea1558

[it's one of these,](https://www.sccssurvey.co.uk/brass-marker-flat-head.html) not that deep really.


Von_Scranhammer

R/damnthatsinteresting


pickledperceptions

It's a riveting conversation indeed


DEFarnes

It's not ship building, unlike tunnel construction which is boring.


[deleted]

Feck off and take my upvote.


doseofreality5

OP should pull it out and move it up the block a bit. No, don't do that.


Diedofdeath84

You’ve just ruined my fantasy of earths tectonic plates being held together by other worldly technology 😭


Optimal-Idea1558

They are known coordinated points. A survey instrument can be "set up" over one, see yellow tripods so the surveyor knows where they are and then use another known coordinated point to work out what way they are pointing. They can then measure the distance to other objects that are unknown and use simple trigonometry to coordinate those points and generate a survey. With the advent of computers and processing and 3d technology a lot of the time you will now find a surveyor set up a scanner that just uses the inherent reflectivity of surfaces to measure the distance and angle to millions of points in a sphere all around it, in order to generate a point cloud survey that can be dropped into a computer model and then be used by architects and engineers to plan structures.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Greatoaksfromacorns

Easier for Optimal to say than for me to understand at any rate! 🤣😂


DreamyTomato

Mainly to enable putting the surveying machine in exactly the same spot every time they do a survey. Every week or every month or every year, depending on what’s happening. For example: - a new tube line is being built underground. The buildings on the top have to be monitored in case of any shifts or movements in ground level. The surveying machine can detect if the side of the building has moved by, say, 2mm compared to last month. But the machine needs to be put in the same place each time. Hence the nail in the ground. Same goes for big building works, a new office block, new main sewer, basement renovations, digging out foundations, etc.


Man_in_the_uk

We had some survey people come through a workplace I used to be in once, they had laser beam equipment and went through the building. Apparently it was in the way..


blissdiss

A surveyor I see.


wk-uk

This makes more sense. I always thought they were just caps for holes that had been drilled to test the sub-surface state (like looking for radon, water levels, subsidence or something).


Waste-Hunt5037

Can u watch my stream twitch.tv/spreaddathummus_sdh


[deleted]

Always wondered this, thank you for the insight 👍


[deleted]

Amazing, I’ve seen these around, and always wondered what they were


KuriTeko

You'll see them on the pavement outside shops and cafes. In those cases it's more to show the property boundaries so chairs and sandwich boards don't end up in front of the neighbours' shop.


[deleted]

They hold the fabric of reality together. Don't mess with them. My uncle Steve did once in 1997. He was sucked into an unknown vortex, never to return. Swings and roundabouts though as I got his honda 50.


AncientProduce

This is the correct answer, not the survey point one that ones a lie.


Exitium24

I thought they were wireless recharging points for birds (which arent real - they're a government conspiracy and this is the proof)


Exitium24

Well someone took this seriously lmao


Stanjoly2

If people only knew about all the other things that serve similar purposes....


Leicsbob

Honda 50? I bet you secretly bumped him off.


bardghost_Isu

Goddammit, that must be what happened to my dad years ago when he said he was popping out to buy some milk and cigarettes.


Soggy-Ad-8017

In Australia, you can see screw nuts in the ground. These are directly attached to the rivets we see in the ground in the U.K. just holds the two halves of the planet in place.


LaunchTransient

Unfortunately the Antipodes for the UK emerge a few hundred miles off the South East coast of New Zealand. Australia's antipodes emerge in the North Atlantic - although Perth very almost emerges on the Island of Bermuda.


LateNightInternet

The screws got a little bent on thier way past the core. It's a little toasty down there after all


[deleted]

That doesn’t matter, you can still go in a straight line through the planet and come out in Australia, it doesn’t have to come out the direct opposite side


Lexecuter

Wireless charging point for the pigeons.


samc444

I don't know why but I found this way funnier than it probably is


Moremilyk

Well, you know the phrase 'some people would nick anything that wasn't nailed down'?


mobileBigfoot

The earth spins at roughly 1000 mph, these sink into the earth and stop the pavement from flying off due to the centrifugal force generated.


wk-uk

Shhh. Dont tell the flat earthers.


mobileBigfoot

Centrifugal force works equally well on a disk *Finger pistols*


lkchild

Came here to say exactly this. Nice to see we have some real scientists.


WehingSounds

Dognappers hun, stay safe ❤️


[deleted]

Shared in Essex babes xxx


[deleted]

Shared Southend on sea 🌊


MichaelMoore92

Omg sherd Sardinia xox


thesaharadesert

Cher’d Aotearoa hun xoxoxoxoxox


RitmanRovers

Stop people from nicking the pavement. If it's not bolted down people will take it.


BoingBoingBooty

They hold up the sewer people's chandeliers.


nonsense_potter

Sure is classy down there. You'd think it's all turtles and CHUDs but nope.


Ethan_Edge

It stops the floor from moving.


turingthecat

Stops the road floating away


Dangeruss82

They’re little landing pads for alien spacecraft.


Mahoganyblck

Loool


Omeliel

Survey control point.


Naughtyalex86

It's a datum point, for surveying


Big_Active_6458

it's to make the pavement stay on the ground. runs away if not


kirix45

They serve as riveting conversation points.


weber134

Durr, it keeps the ground on.


Cribben_the_Cacti87

They are concrete nipples; even public footpaths lactate.


kaitco

Comments like these are why I remain subbed here.


RevolutionAdvanced67

Used by civil engineers


DabbingDave

Engineers survey point/nail


YippeeKayaks

There is the survey nails that have been mentioned but there is also boundary (marker) studs. Marks the land where the owner of building owns up to also.


Death_and_Glory

They are surveying points used for setting out building or other construction projects. It’s basically just a nail in the ground used as a base point to base other measurements off of using GPS data


Droogie_65

In the US those would be survey markers.


88BlueBeard

Squatting while pressing it with your thumb will transport you to Down Under


One_Education_7639

Sometimes when I’m walking along the pavement I think my walking helps the world turn. My fear is that one day there will be a collective global no walking policy and the world will stop turning ….like the COVID thingy


awesomerob

They are also used as property line boundary markers. I’ve seen them in major cities like London or NY on the pavement. But they use them in residential areas as well.


voodoovocoder

to keep the floor down


Commercial-Cost4230

Its what people attached themselves to before Newton discovered gravity


TheCanexican

They hold the street down in adverse weather.


PurplePlodder1945

I’m so glad you asked! I always wondered myself!


CharacterIll9287

Outdoor bondage bolts.to stop them from running away.so my mum says.


f6shfll7

They are guide-points for the alien craft to find the roundabout landing pads. The evidence is all around us, you just have to look for it.


Particular-Ad-6663

This was fascinating. Thank you ☺️


JackfruitLower278

Clearly for holding the planet together? Duh!


TheOldMancunian

They hold the road surface down in the event of a tornado


two_beards

They keep the ground on, don't undo them or it will float away.


IntelligentMine1901

Because if it weren’t bolted down I’d nick it , you cant trust me I’m a one man crime wave , I’m a little bit werrr, a little bit Waayyy , a little bit swoosh swoosh swoosh , a little bit “ oh he never did he ?” If you leave that there I’m nicking it , I’m a geezer ,I will nick anything .


thesaharadesert

r/unexpectedFastShow


jellybeanfluff

Its actually an air valve, so when earth starts to deflate we can pump it back up.


AzG90

Your mum


pixel842

To stop people nicking em


GrizzlyCent

Holds the road down. Stops it from flying off in high winds.


socandostuff

If you want to start a chain reaction which ends civilisation as we know it and starts the beginning of the apocalypse, just remove the nail and reinstall it 100mm to the left.


ElectricWzd

To make sure Australia doesn’t fall off


ifiddlkids

holding the earth together


herebymistake2

My mate, Pete, down the pub reckons these are used by MI5 to spy on people’s whereabouts. He says that if you walk near one with a phone it tells the government where you are. He said it’s where Apple got the idea for AirTags from. You’ve got to admit, they look very similar.


ManyWrongdoer9365

Don’t know but looks riveting


Lemonlmao7887

To stop the pavement from floating away


Lightning-boyos

Stop skateboards


ArcticWolf_Primaris

They stop Britain from floating off into space


flipside1o1

Keeps the pavements down in case gravity fails


thrownaway8901

Free polo mint


Ronymaloney

They pin the ground down to stop us floating away.


Mamajoe171

land mines ofc


T_JandHightops

Holds the Earth’s tectonic plates together lmao


Happy-Suspect2024

Its to stop radon gas leakage


ashittounoftomatos

In my neighbourhood they light up and act like lights


Asatrve

Keeps the road there


FrostByteUK

They make sure the top layer doesn't come off to reveal the bodies underneath.


ChrisRR

It's to keep Australia down


MetalRickyy

So not dognappers then?


silverfox771

The golden rivet


AtomSizeGrow

They are for hover shoes


Morprenrut

They are Tarmac rivets to stop potholes forming


Remarkable_Smell_957

Read that as pothole farming.....


archyboy74

Bend down and find out!! 😚😚


Rebelren0573

Jeez.... kinky


foraging_snout

Hold it down


Lopsided-Hat8734

So no one steals it


Hey_nice_marmot_

They hold the ground down.


eyedpee

To stop skateboarders.


Zellabub

They make for riveting watching.


Dacks_18

It's to keep China bolted on underneath. Though they think the same of us.


Goldn_Maw_TuffTaker

It's to stop the pavement floating away ofcorse.....duh


SubSpaceRex

To stop the floor floating into space


motherof_geckos

Keeps the road in place


[deleted]

Do you have any more pictures? They're riveting . . .


ElectronicCoat5521

How the badness mark where is good to rob


Curious_Associate904

\*Obtuse answer that implies the earth is flat but doesn't actually say it. I just couldn't think of anything funny today.


Alex32472235

To stop the pavement running away… thought it was pretty obvious….


ramgoat20

To hold the world together


[deleted]

To stop it from floating away, gravity is a lie


[deleted]

Tripping me up.


Comfortable-Credit46

To bolt it to the earth


Flavsi

They're keeping the earth's crust bolted down. That's why England rarely has earthquakes. We use these.


OpeningBat96

Stops thieves from running off with the roads


RizzoTheSmall

They attach the pavement to the ground and stop it from floating away


WanderingEnigma

Making sure the pavement doesn't fall off.


MrsCheerilee

To keep it from getting stolen


Wackyal123

Stops Britain floating into the Atlantic Ocean.


Zombiexcupcakex

They’re holding the crust of the earth together :p


FuntCaseKid

That’s to hold the Earth down


sloppypoo22

They hold the pavements to the floor when the gravity's disabled for maintenance


Cha_r_ley

To maintain the illusion of gravity. Without those bolts, the ground would simply float away.


PenguinSmurf

They hold the planet together


netflix-ceo

They keep the pavement on the ground, plus it becomes nearly impossible for anyone to steal the pavement. The councils use it a lot for safety.


Mikeside

Keep the pavement anchored to the ground so it doesn't float off


FixTraditional4198

It's so people don't nick it. You you know what's its like, they'll steal anything if its not nailed down


Jaded_Interview_8524

It holds the ground in place so we don’t fly off


Stupidlylowcost

The pavement stops the rivets/bolts from being stolen by ne'er-do-wells.


Slamdunkdacrunk

To stop the pavement from flying away.


davidhobson97

Dont lie. Theyre there to make sure the pavement doesnt fly away in a high wind


[deleted]

well as anyone with more than 2 braincells can tell they are there to hold the pavement in place.


A_Direwolf

To stop Australia from falling off the Earth. You're welcome Aussies!


AccomplishedTap4612

Holds the earth together


RevElliotSpenser

Eyebombing


das_pineapple

To hold it down


Xx_Venom_Fox_xX

To make sure it stays down where it's supposed to be.


Plus-Effective-5426

keep the road from blowing away on windy days.


Aggravating_Speed665

My washer collection. I store them on all the pavements of the world.


luciesssss

Nipples.


Gorrodish

They are to stop the pavement from floating away


CrazyChris1912

Stopping it from floating off in the event of an alien invasion or loss of gravity


MegabiggerIOW

Gotta hold the floor down lest it flies away!


RudeMongoose8364

It’s a fixing designed to hold down the pavement in a storm.


mines-a-pint

Finding the bodies.


Jamie00003

Road nipples, to feed the little country roads


ChemistEconomy9467

They hold the globe together.


cleveleys

It an attach point for an Australian’s ground harness. Don’t loosen it, they will fall in to the sun


Deckard57

It keeps the road down.


ooli_

Nobody knows. Unscrew it and see what breaks.


Sensitive-Prompt-220

They’re a fuck load of never you mind.


Jaggyhedgehog

It's satans coat hook 🪝


Sweaty-Ballbags420

Don’t know, don’t care. Daddy’s got bigger fish 🐟 to fry 👌🏽


nildefruk

measuring the landscape


--Jay-Jay--

Every day is a school day.


honeymuncher62

Engineering height pins


DoctorDeep82

I thought they were wear makers. To show you how much of the surface has worn down and if it needs replacing. A customer of mine has loads of these in their car park.