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Qanats are a fascinating engineering feat requiring a precise slope of 1:1000 or less, built over 2000 years ago. It is really amazing what these ancient civilisations built with the technology available.

ETA: Also one of the few scrabble words with a "q" but no "u" :-)

> that can be thousands of kilometers long

"Most qanats in Iran run less than 5 km (3.1 mi), while some have been measured at ≈70 km (43 mi) in length near Kerman" --https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qanat

Sorry, fixed that!

I'm from that region with lots of Qanats and I remember we used to fish in them. Thinking back, I now realise how awesome it was to do that. Always curious how the fish ended up there.

Probably thrown and then multiplied by itself, with plenty of insects to eat