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Tech

11th Aug 2019

The internet has discovered the “salmon cannon,” and it has become a sensation

Carl Kinsella

“What is a salmon cannon?” I hear you ask.

Gather round, children, and I will tell you.

Earlier this week, we filled you in on why the internet was losing its mind about 30-50 feral hogs. Today, in their infinite wisdom, those on social media are freaking out over a new strange animal story, that is, the story of the salmon cannon.

A video on Twitter emerged toay that shows officials loading large, living fish into an enormous tube to help them bypass a dam that would would take days to traverse otherwise. The pipeline allows fish to get from one side of the dam to the other in just a matter of seconds.

The technology’s official name is the Whooshh Fish Transport System, named for Whooshh, the company behind it.

The dam in question is the Cle Elum Dam, in Washington state. The cannon has allowed Sockeye salmon to go across the dam for the first time in 100 years, earning it the National Hydropower Association’s 2018 Outstanding Stewards of America’s Waters Award.

The video below shows people loading salmon into the tube, and footage of the fish travelling through it at a high speed like how people get around in Futurama.

https://twitter.com/kashthefuturist/status/1159610222148669440?s=20

The cannon has also been endorsed by the US Department of Energy.

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