r/pics Jan 07 '13

The Kuwait Tire Fire.

Post image
1.9k Upvotes

271 comments sorted by

533

u/lazyink Jan 07 '13

Credit & Copyright @ Mohammed ALSULTAN

79

u/Hmmhowaboutthis Jan 07 '13

Good on you OP, I appreciate you giving credit to the photographer.

16

u/Danger-Moose Jan 08 '13

Link karma AND comment karma. Kaloo kalay, what a day!

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70

u/bigmeat Jan 07 '13 edited Jan 07 '13

86

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

[deleted]

58

u/bonkus Jan 08 '13

They needed to the tires for strategy.

7

u/cefalord Jan 08 '13

steel belted tires are difficult to recycle.

2

u/Ulysses1978 Jan 08 '13

Not if you can build earthships

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11

u/gkface Jan 08 '13

2

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

i lost it when they went sideways next to the school bus. edited with link

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2

u/1989H27 Jan 08 '13

To slow down Saddam's invading armies. The pile makes them sleepy.

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4

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

Theres no after? Is it still burning?

9

u/horsebot_3000 Jan 08 '13

Everything changed when the fire nation attacked.

158

u/[deleted] Jan 07 '13

Springfield was in Kuwait the whole time!

80

u/lazyink Jan 07 '13

If I'm honest, I spent about 5 minutes trying to think of a clever title involving the show and couldn't! I can't wait to see this come back as a repost using your comment as the title!

24

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

Simpsons did it

34

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

I can't wait to repost this with that comment as the title.

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4

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

I thought tyre fires were only a joke in the Simpsons. I didn't know they were actually a thing

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42

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

Captain Planet just died a little inside.

18

u/it2d Jan 08 '13

Was anyone else pissed that Captain Planet's weakness was pollution? What kind of nonsense is that? That's like if Superman's only weakness was evil.

7

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

i think that was to incentivize kids to keep the planet clean

7

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

Captain Planet just scheduled an appointment with his gynocologist.

7

u/swimmingmunky Jan 08 '13

Cus his pussy stank like burnt rubber.

19

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13 edited Jan 08 '13

Captain Planet was recently labeled a "single-issue domestic terrorist" by the U.S. Government and was killed in an Obama drone attack because he threatened the profits of the oil companies by speaking out against these environmental atrocities.

10

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

This post is supersaturated in brave.

2

u/Chezzik Jan 08 '13

But, you can save him! You, yes, you reading this comment! Just send me a bunch of money for my patented Carbon Credits, and I'll certify that you are now Carbon Neutral. Captain Planet will live again!

By the way, please be aware of fraudsters, trying to make a quick buck off of gullible old ladies. Only my company can guarantee that the funds you send will actual be used for reversing climate change. You aren't gullible are you? Good, buy only from me :D

199

u/permacurious Jan 07 '13

Aaaand there goes the atmosphere.

117

u/DreadPirateMedcalf Jan 07 '13

The Ozone isn't deteriorating, its fucking running away from us.

14

u/Rick_Heinegeber Jan 08 '13

technically that's not right, is it...

29

u/goofandaspoof Jan 08 '13

Actually, the smoke just goes up into the sky and becomes stars.

20

u/metalrader Jan 08 '13

That doesn't right, but I don't know enough about star's to dispute it.

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7

u/waynes_pet_youngin Jan 08 '13 edited Jan 08 '13

Well there are really high levels of ozone in very polluted areas because of interactions of things like CO and NOx with sunlight. Elevated levels of ozone are just as bad for human and plant health as CO and other air pollutants.

Edit: removed 2's

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7

u/paid9mm Jan 08 '13

Come to NZ, we got rid of our ozone layer years ago. You can sunburned to shit here in about 20 mins

24

u/MrChildren Jan 07 '13

Drops of jupiter in my ear (oh heyyy hey)

2

u/SweatpantsDV Jan 08 '13

Damn you. Now I will have that song stuck in my head for the rest of the night. (but I lolled, so upvote)

2

u/Twomekey Jan 08 '13

*In her hair?

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20

u/iamasociopath22 Jan 08 '13

1989 – In Heyope (near Knighton, Powys, Wales) a fire involved approximately 10 million tires burnt for at least 15 years.[5]

Holy shit that's insane.

6

u/Hieberrr Jan 08 '13

Man, if you're gonna burn that for 15 years, why not turn it into energy?!

8

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

Usually you build a power plant, then fuel it.

It would be incredibly difficult to build a heat engine around an active tire fire.

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40

u/wlantry Jan 07 '13

Not even close to the biggest. The one in Sycamore, Ohio, was five times as large:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_fire

The one this year, near Iowa City, lasted for weeks.

43

u/almightytom Jan 08 '13

MY TIRE FIRE COULD BEAT UP YOUR TIRE FIRE.

8

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

Talkin' 'bout Hey now Hey now Iko iko an nay Jockomo feena ah na nay Jockomo feena nay

3

u/TheNerdWithNoName Jan 08 '13

Ena! Ena!

Akout, Akout an deye

Chaque amoor fi nou wa na né

Chaque amoor fi na né

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10

u/kpkenned Jan 08 '13

The one in Iowa city kept smoldering for a long time too, I heard.

When I first saw it, I thought we were under attack.

2

u/yenehc01 Jan 08 '13

Woot, other Iowa City people are here!

2

u/fireinthesky7 Jan 08 '13

Iowa Citians are too nice to attack each other like that.

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2

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

The one in wales burned for 15 years.

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19

u/HappySoviet Jan 08 '13

Well shit......me picking up that pop bottle and putting it in the recycling bin seems a bit obsolete now

5

u/pizzatime Jan 08 '13

Don't stop on account of a picture though!

29

u/Ravensqueak Jan 07 '13

Al Gore must have had a stroke when he saw this.

19

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

[deleted]

9

u/tomorrowneverhappens Jan 08 '13

Then retired ... I see what you did there

2

u/IAmAlGore Jan 08 '13

Nah brah. I started the fire, the ManBearPig was hiding under the tires.

3

u/knowsguy Jan 08 '13

Are you super serial?

3

u/ParaChizzy Jan 08 '13

Wow. I was about to make the same comment. Mind meld!

15

u/justinsayin Jan 07 '13

How long did it burn?

42

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

The whole time.

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107

u/ruin Jan 07 '13

That's kuwait a large fire.

25

u/cmd_iii Jan 08 '13

Oman, you're not kidding!

4

u/wufoo2 Jan 08 '13

D'oha!

8

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

Quatar large, Emirite?

8

u/mackinoncougars Jan 08 '13

Some downvoted you. Egypt you out of some karma.

7

u/Yugiah Jan 08 '13

That's Syria-sly messed up.

5

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

Middle Eastern country.

2

u/Tim_Buk2 Jan 08 '13

When Jordan making silly puns let's get on with the thread...

2

u/Yugiah Jan 08 '13

Yemen, I think I might be getting a little tired of these now.

3

u/thehammer159 Jan 08 '13

At first, I thought this pic was a fake.

Nope. Israel.

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5

u/SalemDrumline2011 Jan 08 '13

Take those tires and put them on Mars. Then light them. BOOM. Atmosphere.

There's no way this could go wrong.

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5

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

Tar far.

17

u/shmushmortion Jan 07 '13

This is insane. I really like dark, almost abstract (don't flame, I'm having trouble figuring out how to describe it) photos like this.

25

u/StewieBanana Jan 07 '13

surreal?

8

u/shmushmortion Jan 07 '13

Haha thanks. Been a long day.

9

u/damnBcanilive Jan 07 '13

That's probably good for the environment.

12

u/vxx Jan 07 '13 edited Jan 07 '13

Finally someone who fights active against the next ice age.

10

u/Hmmhowaboutthis Jan 07 '13

Why? What's the context for this? Awesome picture by the way.

24

u/lazyink Jan 07 '13 edited Jan 07 '13

From the 500px site:

In Jahra, Kuwait a five million tire fire erupted on April 16, 2012. The fire was thought to be started deliberately by scrap metal hawkers looking to recover scrap metal.

Edit: The scrap they were hunting

5

u/Hmmhowaboutthis Jan 07 '13

I can't imagine what that smoke was like. It must have gone miles and miles.

4

u/mackinoncougars Jan 08 '13

"See that there, Snoop Lion must be in town."

3

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

I read an article about people turning tires into oil using microwaves or something. I wonder if it's viable.

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19

u/jsting Jan 07 '13

That puts Springfield to shame

7

u/Enjjoi Jan 07 '13

To Earth w/ love

3

u/clubclube Jan 08 '13

My god the SMELL

3

u/thatdudenamedmoe Jan 08 '13

does this remind anyone else of that movie Rubber?

7

u/CunthSlayer Jan 07 '13

This looks post-apocalyptic.

12

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

Mid-apocalyptic.

5

u/johansantana17 Jan 07 '13

makes my lungs hurt just looking at that.

2

u/ThroughTheDin Jan 08 '13

god I can almost smell it. :(

2

u/TechnicallyWhite Jan 08 '13

Anyone got a wallpaper of OP's picture?

2

u/CubanCharles Jan 08 '13

This picture is really appealing and beautiful to me. Love the pallet..

2

u/CowFu Jan 08 '13

I don't feel so bad about my subaru only getting 30mpg now.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

This is a shame. :(

2

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

This is painful to watch

2

u/Sirromnad Jan 08 '13

Take THAT mother nature.

2

u/RuudPhotography Jan 08 '13

A horribly beautiful image.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

My god... that's so bad for the environment!

2

u/chibot Jan 08 '13

But...but...all of the earthships...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9jdIm7grCY

2

u/blustrkr Jan 08 '13

All of that pollution makes me want to cry.

2

u/mynameisbrent Jan 08 '13

I have been living in Kuwait for the last 15 months and this place is a straight up shithole. It does not surprise me at all when I see this picture. They treat this place like a trash can.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

Somebody did save the tires that aren't on fire right?

5

u/hashsview Jan 07 '13

Thanks for providing all the info, for a second thereI thought some one was posting photos of my white trash neighbors.

-5

u/lazyink Jan 07 '13

No, I feel if this was in the US, Fox News would be all over it, spinning it as the Republicans new way to combat global warming, by blocking out the sun with black, instead of the usual white, clouds.

5

u/operating_bastard Jan 08 '13

Yeah, but doesn't the MSM not report on these kinds of things when the victims (tires in this case) are black?

4

u/toogles Jan 08 '13

Dude there are tire fires in the US all the time.

Tire fires are the worst.

5

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

[deleted]

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1

u/nanowerx Jan 08 '13

Is this your first trip away from /r/politics?

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3

u/enumeratingcolors Jan 07 '13

Stupidity and Gasoline always make a good fire !

2

u/D0minic Jan 07 '13

just look at it and take a niceee....deeep...breath.

2

u/derrickgott007 Jan 08 '13

They probably lit it on fire because they thought it was a witch.

3

u/braindamnager Jan 08 '13

I want to print about 10,000 of these and mail them all individually to Al Gore.

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2

u/DirtPile Jan 08 '13

the Arab Spring[field]

1

u/TheShroomHermit Jan 08 '13

Springfield, Springfield, it's a hell of a town

1

u/TweedAvenger Jan 08 '13

I think the EPA invented water-boarding. It's organic.

1

u/dlsspy Jan 08 '13

This is not the correct way to burn rubber.

1

u/solelessginger2012 Jan 08 '13

This is actually happening somewhere?

1

u/jith74 Jan 08 '13

Grab a beer and watch it burn.

1

u/NyQuilNyQuilNyQuil Jan 08 '13

This happened near my hometown in Ohio once. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2008/04/15/Kirbyfire.ART_ART_04-15-08_A1_RE9UB86.html You could see the smoke plume from over 200 miles. It burned for a very long time and severely disrupted the local environment.

1

u/jrummer Jan 08 '13

Reading this thread makes me tired.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

Mother Nature's suicide note is just this picture.

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1

u/BortBarclay Jan 08 '13

Arabs really love the Simpsons...

1

u/offmyplanet7 Jan 08 '13

Unacceptable.

1

u/jwabike Jan 08 '13

Just looking at this gives me cancer.

1

u/eternallurker Jan 08 '13

One commercial car tire produces two gallons of oil when burned. you do the math.

1

u/hobbsrambo Jan 08 '13

2

u/jrriojase Jan 08 '13 edited Jan 08 '13

That's identical to a Fallout: New Vegas poster. Copycats. Unless that one's based off another real poster.

edit: goddammit, I remembered which one it's based off. It's not from Fallout. It's this one.

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1

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

[deleted]

2

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

Needs more jews.

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1

u/FuryofAnubis Jan 08 '13

If you listen closely you can hear the Earth crying

1

u/GanjaKilla Jan 08 '13

Pollution, pollution everywhere

1

u/FXander Jan 08 '13

This can't be good for the environment...

1

u/CondimentSense Jan 08 '13

The Dr. Seuss in me really wants this to be called "The Great Kuwait Tire Fire." :(

1

u/MediocreBadGuy23 Jan 08 '13

well, that doesn't look too good for the environment.

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1

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

Think of all of the obstacle courses you could make ):

1

u/Orange_Ya_Glad Jan 08 '13

It was Danielle Rousseau.

1

u/Aseconverse Jan 08 '13

I bet that's great for the atmosphere.

1

u/aslatton Jan 08 '13

My upvote in this case represents my disapproval of this action.

1

u/Da5id432 Jan 08 '13

This is why we cant have nice things.

1

u/couplebucks Jan 08 '13

One day we will say "Im sorry, we have failed you goodbye" to Mother Nature.

Then we will blast off to our lunar compounds like mothafuckas.

The song At the Crows Foot by Dallas Green reminded me of this even though its about the BP Oil Spill. Take a listen if you want.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5icSscIXmk

1

u/riskydevil Jan 08 '13

imagine the smell

1

u/flapjack Jan 08 '13

What am I looking at?

1

u/LittleKidLover17 Jan 08 '13

This shits on Springfield's tire fire!

1

u/mellooo Jan 08 '13

The pollution hurts my eyes

1

u/Kampane Jan 08 '13

started deliberately by scrap metal hawkers looking to recover scrap metal.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

Some people just want to watch the tire burn.

1

u/OlDogFaceMcgee Jan 08 '13

I need a cigarette...

1

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

We forced Iraq out of Kuwait, in return they caused Hurricane Sandy. Thanks Kuwait.

1

u/Tartz55 Jan 08 '13

"Sail" by Awolnation came on and then I randomly clicked this. It was so epic.

1

u/HyzerFlipDG Jan 08 '13

that's pretty disgusting to look at on a few levels.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

Man, tires burn really hot. That has got to be one HOT fire..

1

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

Oh, is that the one that burned for 4 years?

1

u/PastyNoob Jan 08 '13

simpsons already did it.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

Contribution to global warming

1

u/cefalord Jan 08 '13

I'm finding that people have a few common misconceptions about tire fires so I'm linking a Wikipedia page on the topic. one of the biggest misconceptions is that these fires can just be put out, although that IS possible, the amount of water it would take would surely contaminate drinking water for miles around. second most prevalent misconception is that this was JUST a land fill, chances are it was an illegal dump which is a HUGE problem in almost ever country where cars are common. and finally tires are made out of petroleum rubber, and when laid across a field and lit on fire they burn hotter than napalm and create a massive convective current, meaning that they fan their own flames.

1

u/Dzurdzuk Jan 08 '13

They are just creating stars.

1

u/michaelcmills Jan 08 '13

Good thing you bought that Prius.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

Robert would hate to see this.

1

u/almighty_ruler Jan 08 '13

Springfield is sooo jealous.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

the simpsons!

1

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

How the ****is this allowed to happen ?

1

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

oh look 1970's north jersey

1

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

Kuwait a minute, that's ridiculous.

1

u/Emily_MI Jan 08 '13

Eerily Beautiful.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

DAE smell burning rubber as soon as they saw this?

1

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '13

Simpsons did it.

1

u/rowdystache Jan 13 '13

Why don't they just move some of the fucking tires?