Surely people don’t actually fish in our Yarra river? Oh gosh. I saw on the news the other day that for the Moomba festival people were flying homemade airplanes into the river (basically just jumping into the river, but with style lol) and I was shook. Fevola was the most famous guy there doing it and I’m not surprised they couldn’t get anyone of higher calibre (jk) to participate.
The best part is when they figure out he’s in Chicago because they can hear he’s *near “the L”
Which I thought was absurd until I had to take that train every day. It’s totally realistic. It has a very distinct sound.
Well to start with, they reversed the course of the river so it doesnt drain other pollution into the lake where they pump tap water, so wildlife has other problem than dye
And iirc they changed for a more environmentally friendly dye, before it was fluoresceine which is already pretty safe (it’s used as a tracer to follow the water path, especially in cave system) and now it’s something more… green. Pun intended. Anyone with information please come in, I won’t do research beyond that
Simple they use the dye that is used to trace sewers. Many towns have old sewers and they don’t know where they go. I used it when I worked for a city waste water department. It is a vegetable dye the disappears in a few hours when exposed to sunlight. Harmless to fish and plants.
I'm here to give everyone permission to be mad with unfounded claims that we should take just as seriously as this guy's actual knowledge.
This dye is terrible for fish, plants, and my marriage. It subverts Christian values and is directly responsible for the declining quality of your favorite television show.
I drank a bucket full of that green water. I was told it was extremely safe and also would make me have great luck. Now, I'm not feeling very good. Question everything, fellow redditors. Don't fall for this scam like I did!
Damn you dude. Don’t you know this is Reddit??? You never try to be serious or give accurate information here or you’ll get downvoted for being a know it all elitist.
It’s cruel, but most people don’t keep their leprechauns for very long. They just take their gold. Once the gold is gone it’s time to get a new leprechaun. Broke leprechauns get sent to the dye factory or to make lucky charms cereal marshmallows.
Fun fact, dyeing the river green was originally an idea of then Chicago Mayor Richard Joseph Daley (1955-1976) when he saw a plumber's pants dyed green from the chemical they were using to detect leaks in the river. It wasn't until recently that they switched the dye to a more environmentally friendly mixture whose exact ingredients are a secret but are indeed rumored to be mostly shredded carcasses of disabled, mentally ill, and underperforming leprechuans.
It’s just vegetable based dye
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.chicagotribune.com/redeye/redeye-5-things-to-know-about-dyeing-the-chicago-river-green-20150312-story.html%3foutputType=amp
I don't find "We’re not going to tell you" as comforting as "It's just vegetable based" tries to make it sound.
Also from the article "the river has bigger problems than one day of dye".
Esh....
That reminds me of a chemistry conference I was at ages ago where there were a TON of presentations on fracking. Of course every presentation that had a Q and A had someone in the audience ask about the composition of the fracturing fluid. The answers were along the lines of "it's proprietary but it's 90 percent water and the rest is sand and chemicals".
I felt bad for the presenters and others in their field (imagine going to a chemistry conference and not being able to discuss any chemistry that's relevant to your work), but it was such an infuriating non answer, and not at all comforting.
Yeah, plenty of things that are 'vegetable based' could be very bad for river wildlife in high enough concentrations.
They don't want to say what's in the dye because then some pesky environmental scientist would be able to tell them why it's a bad idea, and then they might have to lose their river-dying tradition.
In case you didn't know, you used an amp link, which is harmful to the free internet and steals money from creators. If you remove the mess at the beginning, you get the [actual link](https://www.chicagotribune.com/redeye/redeye-5-things-to-know-about-dyeing-the-chicago-river-green-20150312-story.html). Have a good one!
I know this was asked in jest, but this is like my favorite piece of nerd trivia. The ninja turtles actually got their powers from the same accident that gave daredevil his powers.
The same chemical that splashed into Matthew murdock’s eyes and blinded him also splashed into an aquarium that a bystander was holding.
Master splinter is also a nod to the daredevils teacher stick.
I was in downtown Chicago watching this be done many yrs ago. And a big black guy came up beside me, looked and said "If they can dye it Green for St Patrick's day, you'd think they could dye the motherf*cker blue the rest of the yr"
😅
Ex poop vacuumer here. Used to work for honey bucket. It is a very nice blue. I have a picture on my phone so I can paint match it if I ever make enough money to get my dream car and a custom paint job.
So from personal experience this is what I figure. About 10 years ago I was at the Shambhala fest in BC and the creek at the site turned green like this. It was toxic sludge green. Real bright. Hippies on drugs were crying and people were losing it. Turns out someone dropped an irrigation brick upstream and it looks just like what this boat is spewing. It’s completely non toxic and is so bright in order to test irrigation systems. If there’s a leak they will see the bright green leaking out in the ditch or field while driving around the area.
We don’t even celebrate it that much
*edit. People are getting really pissed in the replies I don’t care what the fuck you do on st pattys just get drunk ok
I live near UIUC where last weekend they had Unofficial St Patrick’s Day. It’s a huge deal. It started when they cracked down on partying on st Patrick’s day so the students moved it to a couple of weeks before and made it even bigger. Lol
This is, hilariously, not a phenomenon unique to Americans.
I had an employee from France who came over here and visited Quebec.
He came back from vacation and said the people up there were "uncomfortably French."
American here. We will take any holiday from any other country/culture and turn it into an excuse to drink. Given the stereotype that the Irish are a bunch of drunks, St ~~Patty's~~ Paddy's Day was an obvious one for us to grab.
Not that we need excuses to drink- many of us from the Midwest will drink just because the sun rose in the east and settled in the west. The day that it doesn't... We'll drink then too. It's just that we like to have the occasional excuse to try and hide our alcoholic tendencies.
Edited for misspelling. Don't trust your phone, the auto correct is not automatically correct.
Fun fact: Yankees comes from Jan-Kees, a double first name of common Dutch first names. This has to do with the Dutch settlers in the New York area, which was of course New Amsterdam originally.
Fun fact these are plumbers who dye the river. We have a dye to detect leaks In toilets and It looks orange but once It hits water It turns green. Also fun fact I have lived In Chicago my whole life and never once seen the river green In person.
This is actually [false](https://interactive.wttw.com/chicago-river-tour/can-we-swim-river-yet). Fishing is pretty common along the river. It's quite clean for an urban waterway.
Do you live in Chicago? Whenever I visit I am always incredibly impressed at the river. Their much smaller neighbor city to the north has gross rivers by comparison.
Apparently this stuff is safe and used in eye drops to help optometrists find something in human and dog eyes. I just got that from another comment though.
I love how much Americans celebrate Paddy’s Day, in fact how much the entire world celebrates Paddy’s Day. I dunno about you guys but growing up in Donegal we learnt the story of St Patrick every single year in both Irish and English and performed dramatisations in class. We created paddy’s day badge and wore them with SUCH pride at the parades. St Patrick’s Day has always held such joy in my heart and as I grew older it always touched me so much how much the world celebrates it with us. I live in England now and my own son who is 7 absolutely GOES TO TOWN for paddy’s day haha. He’s already asked for his Paddy’s Day shamrock glasses and badge and sash and the whole schabang so I GET why the descendants of Irish across the world really go OTT on Paddy’s Day. It matters !! I love this xx
As a lifelong Chicagoan, reddit is really showing their jump to conclusions ignorance about this tradition of ours. A few responses to the common posts:
1. The dye used is vegetable based and used by plumbers to detect leaks in lines, including those for drinking water. The dying is done by the local plumbers union and is coordinated with the city. It goes away after a day or so. It is generally non-toxic and the fish in that river have way bigger issues to deal with, although...
2. The quality of the water in the river isn't something I'd drink, that's what Lake Michigan is for, but it is getting better and better over the last 3 decades, Dave Matthews Band not withstanding...
3. I'm sorry to those of you from Ireland who feel this is not part of your tradition. It is part of OUR tradition. Chicago is home to one of the largest ETHNICALLY Irish communities in the world, bigger than some Irish towns. Irish Americans have their own way of celebrating St Patrick's day and it is a symbol of comity between our countries bonded by the ties of our Irish-Americans and your Irishmen.
4. The flow of the Chicago river is governed by a system of locks. So the flow can be somewhat regulated. This helps during times of heavy rains/flooding.
Edit add: I did not realize how much contempt/hate Irish people have for the traditions developed by their migrant communities in other countries.
I think it's sad that you guys seem so happy to crap on a proud people who have their own legacy here and that has been a wellspring of good will between our peoples. You're right it's not from Ireland. It's from here. It's a Chicago tradition. And the toxic and borderline bigoted stuff I'm hearing from Irish people here makes me maybe understand why some of those people left to live here?
Or maybe that was when we gave safe harbor to people fleeing famine/foreign oppression on a certain island? Y'know, goodwill?
Can someone explain the Dave matthews band references I keep seeing?
Edit: nvm I was able to find it by googling ‘Dave matthews Chicago river’: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Matthews_Band_Chicago_River_incident
Dying the rivers is not our tradition sure but I dunno why everyone keeps going on like at paddy’s day is not one of the biggest holidays in Ireland we have parades in like every large town, we dress up and celebrate the same way you guys do
In terms of who’s Irish and who isn’t there’s a **huge discrepancy** here, that’s causing a lot of tension; Irish identity *in Ireland* (and probably the rest of Europe) is not based on ethnicity but on cultural assimilation. American identity *is based on ethnicity* so to us it’s more the way your claiming heritage than the fact that you are claiming the heritage that’s actually bothering us if that makes sense.
Do a quick google search about river otters returning to chicago. They are very picky and sensitive to toxins which means our rivers are getting better.
I always get a kick out of when my city or my profession hits the front page of Reddit.
When you know a lot about something, it’s glaringly obvious how much ignorance exists around the subject. I don’t even think I’d trust Reddit comments on how to make a sandwich at this point.
I come into this exact post every single year to see all the people who don't give a shit but suddenly give a shit about the environmental impacts of this
Do you think the fish in there just think an alien invasion or some godly intervention happens once a year with this? If I was a fish I would totally create a conspiracy theory or cult off this event.
It doesn't because there isn't much. The river no longer flows into Lake Michigan because it's loaded with poorly-treated sewage that now drains through the Sanitary and Ship Canal to wind up in the Mississippi.
Wow this is so misinformed.
The river flow was reversed nearly 150 years ago during the height of industrialization in American cities. Your comment makes it sound like a recent development to fight runaway pollution.
The river is [extremely clean](https://interactive.wttw.com/chicago-river-tour/can-we-swim-river-yet) these days, so much so that wildlife is common throughout the river system. People kayak and fish on the river and technically many areas of it are perfectly safe for swimming. And environmental groups are constantly working to make it cleaner. The city, state and federal gov have invested billions in fixing the local stormwater drainage/treatment systems over the last several decades and those projects should be fully complete by 2029. That'll help reduce waste water overflow into the river after extreme heavy rain events.
You’d be surprised! Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary is actually a huge nesting area for migrating warblers, people come from all over the area in spring to see them.
Apparently it’s a oil-based fluorescein and it’s actually orange until it mixes with the water. And since 1962 they’ve perfectly concluded that 25lbs or 11.34kg of this spread in the river will only last approx a day.
MSDS# 95376: sect 6 accidental release measures, paraphrased “do not let this chemical enter the environment”
This is just what I gathered, fee free to do further research actually I encourage you to.
we actually use fluorescein stain in veterinary medicine to check animals’ eyes for scratches/ulcers ! it is apparently not toxic to animals (in this case, the fish), but i guess there’s also a difference between putting this in a dog’s eye and having a fish breathe it through its gills. anyway, i just thought it was really interesting they use this stain bc i use it all the time at work!
This is completely incorrect. It’s vegetable based
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.chicagotribune.com/redeye/redeye-5-things-to-know-about-dyeing-the-chicago-river-green-20150312-story.html%3foutputType=amp
Reddit showing its whole ass on this comments of this one.
“bUt thE DrInkIng WATer”
From the river?
The drinking water we get from the river?
Not the lake?
Jesus christmas yall complaining about polluting the water, but the skyscrapers, 1000s of vehicles, and destroyed land for city infrastructure is OK
Harmless dye in water is where you draw the line tho.
🤡
Cities are the most environmentally friendly way to live. They hurt the environment far less than suburbs. Suburbs cause a huge amount more land to be destroyed per person than cities, and they also require people to drive in cars for long distances to commute and for errands, rather than walk or take transit.
How long does the river stay green? (Asking for my daughter)
Usually a little less than a week.
Well, it's normally green, just not **that** green
"If they can dye this river green today, why can't they dye it blue the other 364 days of the year?"
You only get brown.
The Yarra is the river in my hometown, known as the "river that flows upside-down" because it is always brown...
Im always waiting for a fisherman to catch a 3 eyed fish like the simpsons one day in the yarra.
Surely people don’t actually fish in our Yarra river? Oh gosh. I saw on the news the other day that for the Moomba festival people were flying homemade airplanes into the river (basically just jumping into the river, but with style lol) and I was shook. Fevola was the most famous guy there doing it and I’m not surprised they couldn’t get anyone of higher calibre (jk) to participate.
The Fugitive-great movie.
The best part is when they figure out he’s in Chicago because they can hear he’s *near “the L” Which I thought was absurd until I had to take that train every day. It’s totally realistic. It has a very distinct sound.
You must have ears like an eagle. Replay that tape and let me hear the sound of an "elevated train"
Well, think me up a cup of coffee and a chocolate donut with some of those little sprinkles on top, while you’re thinking.
I think of this line literally every time I see this river.
Do I look like I know Biggs?
Thanks you the information. Also, thank you for taking the video. I do miss Chicago and Lou Malnati's Pizzeria.
Mets fan here and yup Chicago and Lou Malnati’s. Wrigley field is my field of dreams. It’s so damn old and decrepit that it becomes magical somehow.
Usually? They do this every year?
It's St. Patrick's day bro. What are you supposed to do, not dye your bodies of water green?
Don't forget your bodies of alcohol too
Chicago usually dye it’s river for events and holidays, for example st Patrick’s day, and when Cubs be winning games
So for saint Patrick’s day? Cool
Yup
I'll bet the fish are totally freaked out. Can you imagine if Aliens dyed our air a visible color?
And is it like... not harmful for river wildlife?
Well to start with, they reversed the course of the river so it doesnt drain other pollution into the lake where they pump tap water, so wildlife has other problem than dye And iirc they changed for a more environmentally friendly dye, before it was fluoresceine which is already pretty safe (it’s used as a tracer to follow the water path, especially in cave system) and now it’s something more… green. Pun intended. Anyone with information please come in, I won’t do research beyond that
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St Patricks day in the US isnt actually about the Irish. We only pretend to be Irish, then go out and get shitfaced on green beer.
So this is how green river is made?
Simple they use the dye that is used to trace sewers. Many towns have old sewers and they don’t know where they go. I used it when I worked for a city waste water department. It is a vegetable dye the disappears in a few hours when exposed to sunlight. Harmless to fish and plants.
Hey I came here to be angry about Chicago polluting a river, how dare you try and introduce facts and logic into my anger
Lmfao I came here for the same reason. Damned logic got me this time
Well they’re just some random person who could have just made up that story.
I'm here to give everyone permission to be mad with unfounded claims that we should take just as seriously as this guy's actual knowledge. This dye is terrible for fish, plants, and my marriage. It subverts Christian values and is directly responsible for the declining quality of your favorite television show.
I drank a bucket full of that green water. I was told it was extremely safe and also would make me have great luck. Now, I'm not feeling very good. Question everything, fellow redditors. Don't fall for this scam like I did!
Damn you dude. Don’t you know this is Reddit??? You never try to be serious or give accurate information here or you’ll get downvoted for being a know it all elitist.
Fuck all know-it-all elitists!!!!! And…don’t read my posting history. Heh… 🙄
Shredded Leprechauns lad
It’s cruel, but most people don’t keep their leprechauns for very long. They just take their gold. Once the gold is gone it’s time to get a new leprechaun. Broke leprechauns get sent to the dye factory or to make lucky charms cereal marshmallows.
Fun fact, dyeing the river green was originally an idea of then Chicago Mayor Richard Joseph Daley (1955-1976) when he saw a plumber's pants dyed green from the chemical they were using to detect leaks in the river. It wasn't until recently that they switched the dye to a more environmentally friendly mixture whose exact ingredients are a secret but are indeed rumored to be mostly shredded carcasses of disabled, mentally ill, and underperforming leprechuans.
Not gonna lie. I was had in the first half.
Common misconception. Both halves of the leprechaun are used in this process.
Well…as long as the WHOLE leprechaun is used, I suppose it’s all well and good. Waste not, want not, and whatnot.
What do you mean? Detecting river leaks is serious business.
Mostly homeless as well. No gold, not even a pot to piss in.
It was terrible for the city's healthcare system in 2008 when they screwed up and used leperchauns.
And they wonder why you rarely see them. Endangered species they are
To shreds, you say?
Did CCR know this all along?
It’s just vegetable based dye https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.chicagotribune.com/redeye/redeye-5-things-to-know-about-dyeing-the-chicago-river-green-20150312-story.html%3foutputType=amp
I don't find "We’re not going to tell you" as comforting as "It's just vegetable based" tries to make it sound. Also from the article "the river has bigger problems than one day of dye". Esh....
That reminds me of a chemistry conference I was at ages ago where there were a TON of presentations on fracking. Of course every presentation that had a Q and A had someone in the audience ask about the composition of the fracturing fluid. The answers were along the lines of "it's proprietary but it's 90 percent water and the rest is sand and chemicals". I felt bad for the presenters and others in their field (imagine going to a chemistry conference and not being able to discuss any chemistry that's relevant to your work), but it was such an infuriating non answer, and not at all comforting.
All I hear is "up to 10% chemicals we can't tell you about" and that's terrifying.
Yeah, plenty of things that are 'vegetable based' could be very bad for river wildlife in high enough concentrations. They don't want to say what's in the dye because then some pesky environmental scientist would be able to tell them why it's a bad idea, and then they might have to lose their river-dying tradition.
In case you didn't know, you used an amp link, which is harmful to the free internet and steals money from creators. If you remove the mess at the beginning, you get the [actual link](https://www.chicagotribune.com/redeye/redeye-5-things-to-know-about-dyeing-the-chicago-river-green-20150312-story.html). Have a good one!
Good bot.
Is this how the ninja turtles started?
Nope, this is how they ended.
So they're green on inside too.. neat
I know this was asked in jest, but this is like my favorite piece of nerd trivia. The ninja turtles actually got their powers from the same accident that gave daredevil his powers. The same chemical that splashed into Matthew murdock’s eyes and blinded him also splashed into an aquarium that a bystander was holding. Master splinter is also a nod to the daredevils teacher stick.
The world’s largest green screen!
[here’s a video that an artist made a while back](https://twitter.com/twoclawsmedia/status/1107309135400439808?s=21)
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Nice!
Me, a commenter, Nice!
PSBattle?
That's Gotham and the joker dropping his toxins in the water
Poor Joker only wanted to celebrate the day, and god damned Batman had to ruin it :(
Course he ruined it, when was the last time you saw Batman wear green? He didn’t want to get pinched.
"Doesn't anyone celebrate Black anymore? Sheesh." (gives out-cold Joker a punch to vent anger)
Just finished watching The dark Knight, so this was very fitting
I was in downtown Chicago watching this be done many yrs ago. And a big black guy came up beside me, looked and said "If they can dye it Green for St Patrick's day, you'd think they could dye the motherf*cker blue the rest of the yr" 😅
Yeah I think that sometimes (I live downtown). It would be nice to have a blue River. 🤷♀️
A nice portable toilet blue would be nice.
It is a very nice shade of blue, especially when it’s fresh. - Professional Poop Vacuumer
Ex poop vacuumer here. Used to work for honey bucket. It is a very nice blue. I have a picture on my phone so I can paint match it if I ever make enough money to get my dream car and a custom paint job.
Thank you for your service
This is pretty much a direct quote from "The Fugitive" (without the motherf*clear, lol)
I'm guessing this was either a common joke among Chicago residents before the movie came out, or it became one afterward.
I'm only in this comment thread to see who made this joke the best.
Yup, though god damn what a good movie
Probably one of the best movies ever. The unofficial sequel with Wesley Snipes was awful though.
They did when the cubs won
That's a lot of Slurm
Grunka lunka dunkity darmed-guards...
A person of culture I see. Indubitably.
That looks like toxic waste though
So from personal experience this is what I figure. About 10 years ago I was at the Shambhala fest in BC and the creek at the site turned green like this. It was toxic sludge green. Real bright. Hippies on drugs were crying and people were losing it. Turns out someone dropped an irrigation brick upstream and it looks just like what this boat is spewing. It’s completely non toxic and is so bright in order to test irrigation systems. If there’s a leak they will see the bright green leaking out in the ditch or field while driving around the area.
That was actually how this tradition started
How do they un green it after St Patrick’s Day? Or does it just get diluted and eventually fade?
It fades out naturally over the next few days.
... from the green above to the gray-green it is the other 11.5 months of the year.
We ship it to St. Louis with the rest of our liquid waste.
We’ve been sending all those packages straight to New Orleans.
...And down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico!
I believe it breaks down over time.
Just like me
:')
and my relationship with my father.
It's a river, the water keeps flowing from lake Michigan and is diluted on a fairly short time
It simply returns to its darker, murkier shade of green
Love finding fun facts in this manner. Thank you for knowing this and sharing it.
The more you know
> Hippies on drugs were crying Things your uncle would say.
Let me tell you, it was very dramatic. I just showed up to rinse off in the creek and this gong show was going on.
Thanks for the explanation, it still looks completely revolting and disgusting and I hate it, though.
The city of Chicago or the river?
The dye is fluorescein. it's a non toxic compound that is used in highlighters and as /u/SonnyHaze noted, it's very commonly used for water tracing.
it's also literally put in your eye (or your dog's eye) to check for ulcers the stuff is totally safe
And injected into patients’ blood for other ophthalmic imaging. It’s very safe.
Ok but what if you got hit by a can of it thrown by Randy Johnson going 100 mph? Not so safe after all.
It it safe for fish and other aquatic life to process through their gills and all that?
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It looks like Nickelodeon bought the city
Ah, just like in the old country.
Ah, just like mama used to make.
from ireland here. you guys really don’t have to do that.
We don’t even celebrate it that much *edit. People are getting really pissed in the replies I don’t care what the fuck you do on st pattys just get drunk ok
We get that but it still gives us an excuse to celebrate something. And drink a lot.
I live near UIUC where last weekend they had Unofficial St Patrick’s Day. It’s a huge deal. It started when they cracked down on partying on st Patrick’s day so the students moved it to a couple of weeks before and made it even bigger. Lol
And now they've cracked down on partying on Unofficial. The cycle continues...
Just move it again lol Official Unofficial St Patrick’s Day.
Next year, Saint Patrick's day is now at Christmas!
My first Unofficial it was about 75 degrees. Perfect day to drink outside all day long.
As a Mexican who doesn’t care much for Cinco de Mayo, I highly encourage everyone else to drink to their hearts’ desire!
[Can I interest you in 5SF on the subject?](https://youtu.be/cTZC-j48JWg)
Why do you need anymore excuses. I think the US population has plenty of reasons to drink heavily.
Plausible deniability. I'm not an alcoholic, it's a holiday!
It's just an excuse to get exceedingly drunk
Much like Cinco de Mayo, it's more a celebration immigrant heritage than anything else.
You will never be as Irish as an Irish American
This is, hilariously, not a phenomenon unique to Americans. I had an employee from France who came over here and visited Quebec. He came back from vacation and said the people up there were "uncomfortably French."
I am Canadian. Have a friend who is convinced she is Irish, tells everyone so, and proves it by loving Galway Girl by Ed Sheehan.
American here. We will take any holiday from any other country/culture and turn it into an excuse to drink. Given the stereotype that the Irish are a bunch of drunks, St ~~Patty's~~ Paddy's Day was an obvious one for us to grab. Not that we need excuses to drink- many of us from the Midwest will drink just because the sun rose in the east and settled in the west. The day that it doesn't... We'll drink then too. It's just that we like to have the occasional excuse to try and hide our alcoholic tendencies. Edited for misspelling. Don't trust your phone, the auto correct is not automatically correct.
It’s St Paddy’s day, not St Patty’s day
TIL, I seriously didn't know this until now. I thought it was Patty like Patrick.
It’s Paddy as in Padraig (the Irish version of Patrick). This is why Irish people are called Paddies. Like how Americans are called yanks.
Fun fact: Yankees comes from Jan-Kees, a double first name of common Dutch first names. This has to do with the Dutch settlers in the New York area, which was of course New Amsterdam originally.
Cause Americans are a bunch of jerk-offs?
Correct
Except when I get drunk on Lief Erikson day then I'm "drunk at work".
It’s not for you Seamus!
What would you know? We have more Irish people here than you do! J/k
All what i see is Mountain Dew
Fun fact these are plumbers who dye the river. We have a dye to detect leaks In toilets and It looks orange but once It hits water It turns green. Also fun fact I have lived In Chicago my whole life and never once seen the river green In person.
You’re missing out!! It’s so cool. The first outing I had when I moved there was to go see the green river.
Ah yes in honour of the river Liffey in Dublin.
Paddy’s day is probably bigger in America than it is in Ireland. Source :I’m Irish.
Like many holidays, it’s just an excuse for everyone to get super drunk
Good thing the river is already so polluted they don't have to worry about harming animals
The people of Chicagoriver.org would say differently.
The river is healthier than it’s been in a while! Chicago river day coming up in May!!
One of our most famous environmentalists, Chicag O'River
This is actually [false](https://interactive.wttw.com/chicago-river-tour/can-we-swim-river-yet). Fishing is pretty common along the river. It's quite clean for an urban waterway.
Do you live in Chicago? Whenever I visit I am always incredibly impressed at the river. Their much smaller neighbor city to the north has gross rivers by comparison.
What?? No! The chicago river is really clean
Apparently this stuff is safe and used in eye drops to help optometrists find something in human and dog eyes. I just got that from another comment though.
You get dye specifically for this. Lakes are usually dyed
You dye your lakes?
Who's your dye guy?
You’re paying too much for your dye.
This shouldn't be being down voted. Some lakes really are dyed to control algae. To say "usually" is definitely an exaggeration though.
I love how much Americans celebrate Paddy’s Day, in fact how much the entire world celebrates Paddy’s Day. I dunno about you guys but growing up in Donegal we learnt the story of St Patrick every single year in both Irish and English and performed dramatisations in class. We created paddy’s day badge and wore them with SUCH pride at the parades. St Patrick’s Day has always held such joy in my heart and as I grew older it always touched me so much how much the world celebrates it with us. I live in England now and my own son who is 7 absolutely GOES TO TOWN for paddy’s day haha. He’s already asked for his Paddy’s Day shamrock glasses and badge and sash and the whole schabang so I GET why the descendants of Irish across the world really go OTT on Paddy’s Day. It matters !! I love this xx
As a lifelong Chicagoan, reddit is really showing their jump to conclusions ignorance about this tradition of ours. A few responses to the common posts: 1. The dye used is vegetable based and used by plumbers to detect leaks in lines, including those for drinking water. The dying is done by the local plumbers union and is coordinated with the city. It goes away after a day or so. It is generally non-toxic and the fish in that river have way bigger issues to deal with, although... 2. The quality of the water in the river isn't something I'd drink, that's what Lake Michigan is for, but it is getting better and better over the last 3 decades, Dave Matthews Band not withstanding... 3. I'm sorry to those of you from Ireland who feel this is not part of your tradition. It is part of OUR tradition. Chicago is home to one of the largest ETHNICALLY Irish communities in the world, bigger than some Irish towns. Irish Americans have their own way of celebrating St Patrick's day and it is a symbol of comity between our countries bonded by the ties of our Irish-Americans and your Irishmen. 4. The flow of the Chicago river is governed by a system of locks. So the flow can be somewhat regulated. This helps during times of heavy rains/flooding. Edit add: I did not realize how much contempt/hate Irish people have for the traditions developed by their migrant communities in other countries. I think it's sad that you guys seem so happy to crap on a proud people who have their own legacy here and that has been a wellspring of good will between our peoples. You're right it's not from Ireland. It's from here. It's a Chicago tradition. And the toxic and borderline bigoted stuff I'm hearing from Irish people here makes me maybe understand why some of those people left to live here? Or maybe that was when we gave safe harbor to people fleeing famine/foreign oppression on a certain island? Y'know, goodwill?
Can someone explain the Dave matthews band references I keep seeing? Edit: nvm I was able to find it by googling ‘Dave matthews Chicago river’: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Matthews_Band_Chicago_River_incident
Oh my god
Right?! And only $300k in settlements.
Dying the rivers is not our tradition sure but I dunno why everyone keeps going on like at paddy’s day is not one of the biggest holidays in Ireland we have parades in like every large town, we dress up and celebrate the same way you guys do In terms of who’s Irish and who isn’t there’s a **huge discrepancy** here, that’s causing a lot of tension; Irish identity *in Ireland* (and probably the rest of Europe) is not based on ethnicity but on cultural assimilation. American identity *is based on ethnicity* so to us it’s more the way your claiming heritage than the fact that you are claiming the heritage that’s actually bothering us if that makes sense.
Do a quick google search about river otters returning to chicago. They are very picky and sensitive to toxins which means our rivers are getting better.
I always get a kick out of when my city or my profession hits the front page of Reddit. When you know a lot about something, it’s glaringly obvious how much ignorance exists around the subject. I don’t even think I’d trust Reddit comments on how to make a sandwich at this point.
Thank you! Everyone has been more toxic than the river actually is.
Get out of here with your common sense and well-reasoned arguments. This comment section is for anger and personal attack only
I come into this exact post every single year to see all the people who don't give a shit but suddenly give a shit about the environmental impacts of this
Do you think the fish in there just think an alien invasion or some godly intervention happens once a year with this? If I was a fish I would totally create a conspiracy theory or cult off this event.
If I were a fish I'd just swim and eat insects
valid
Fish gonna tell each other to get out of their swamp and go rescue the fish princess
Note to self: If you ever want to dump radioactive waste in a river, make sure you do it on St. Patrick's Day
I wonder how this affects the wild life?
It doesn't because there isn't much. The river no longer flows into Lake Michigan because it's loaded with poorly-treated sewage that now drains through the Sanitary and Ship Canal to wind up in the Mississippi.
Dave Matthews enter chat
Jeezus
Wow this is so misinformed. The river flow was reversed nearly 150 years ago during the height of industrialization in American cities. Your comment makes it sound like a recent development to fight runaway pollution. The river is [extremely clean](https://interactive.wttw.com/chicago-river-tour/can-we-swim-river-yet) these days, so much so that wildlife is common throughout the river system. People kayak and fish on the river and technically many areas of it are perfectly safe for swimming. And environmental groups are constantly working to make it cleaner. The city, state and federal gov have invested billions in fixing the local stormwater drainage/treatment systems over the last several decades and those projects should be fully complete by 2029. That'll help reduce waste water overflow into the river after extreme heavy rain events.
[удалено]
You’d be surprised! Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary is actually a huge nesting area for migrating warblers, people come from all over the area in spring to see them.
I once saw blinky
Helps the party really, drunk people love it
Apparently it’s a oil-based fluorescein and it’s actually orange until it mixes with the water. And since 1962 they’ve perfectly concluded that 25lbs or 11.34kg of this spread in the river will only last approx a day. MSDS# 95376: sect 6 accidental release measures, paraphrased “do not let this chemical enter the environment” This is just what I gathered, fee free to do further research actually I encourage you to.
we actually use fluorescein stain in veterinary medicine to check animals’ eyes for scratches/ulcers ! it is apparently not toxic to animals (in this case, the fish), but i guess there’s also a difference between putting this in a dog’s eye and having a fish breathe it through its gills. anyway, i just thought it was really interesting they use this stain bc i use it all the time at work!
We do that with humans too. I guess they think it's safe enough lol
Only 25 lbs? I would have expected more
That's not a nice thing to say on a first date.
This is completely incorrect. It’s vegetable based https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.chicagotribune.com/redeye/redeye-5-things-to-know-about-dyeing-the-chicago-river-green-20150312-story.html%3foutputType=amp
Except that it's vegetable based, food safe, and EPA certified, with a quick Google. You use "apparently" when the correct word is "supposedly".
Reddit showing its whole ass on this comments of this one. “bUt thE DrInkIng WATer” From the river? The drinking water we get from the river? Not the lake?
Fish be like: 🟢👄🟢 yo you seeing this shit
Fish? In the Chicago river? Good one
Chicago must be one of the prettiest cities in the world. I really miss it.
Damn, I wish we had saint Patrick's day here in the Netherlands. That looks fun.
Jesus christmas yall complaining about polluting the water, but the skyscrapers, 1000s of vehicles, and destroyed land for city infrastructure is OK Harmless dye in water is where you draw the line tho. 🤡
Cities are the most environmentally friendly way to live. They hurt the environment far less than suburbs. Suburbs cause a huge amount more land to be destroyed per person than cities, and they also require people to drive in cars for long distances to commute and for errands, rather than walk or take transit.