Thermodynamix

The man and his baby

The Golden Gate bridge was the brainchild of Joseph Strauss, an engineer responsible for over 400 drawbridges, though they were far smaller than this project and mostly inland. His first drawings were in 1921 - and were far from approved. Strauss spent more than a decade trying to get support for the bridge in Northern California.

To commemorate Joseph Strauss for his part taken in the construction of the bridge, a statue of him was relocated in 1955 near the structure to remind people how important his work was in the building of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Golden Gate suicide trivia (im sure Strauss never expected his masterpiece to be used like this): The Golden Gate Bridge is notorious as a site for suicide. The official suicide count ended in 1995 when the number approached 1,000. Through the eight years to 2003, on average there was one suicide jump every two weeks, which brought the unofficial total to over 1,300 suicides. The 220-foot (67 m) fall takes four seconds and jumpers hit the water at 75 miles per hour (120 km/h). As of 2006, only 26 people have survived the jump.

Roy Raymond, founder of Victoria's Secret, committed suicide by jumping off the bridge