The article states that the purpose of this is "lost to time". I can image that by now its function is equivalent to a "brown M&M clause".
The law requires a bale of straw to be hung from a bridge as a warning to mariners whenever the height between the river and the bridge’s arches is reduced, as it is at Charing Cross at the moment.
That seems clear enough! OK, the reason why it specifically has to be a bale of straw isn't obvious, but apart from that it seems very reasonable, just outdated.
Edit to add: straw does make sense as a makeshift crash barrier -- you'll notice if you hit it, but hopefully won't actually damage your ship. It seems like you would always just plough through and hit the actual bridge, though.
At night it’s a light. It’s obviously a notification system. You visibly see the bale of straw before you get to the bridge and you know to slow down and stop and investigate what the clearance issue is.
Well of course when you get stuck then it's too late.
If something has changed, using something out of place or temporary in appearance seems to be the most effective way of getting human attention... A bale of straw feels like it fits the bill.
Some states (IL in particular) have absurd fudge factors, so you have 14ft spaces signed as 12.xx and 13'6" trucks drive under them all day every day like it's nothing which basically trains them to ignore the signs.
And that's before you consider all the drivers who can't read english at road speeds so anything that isn't the standardized yellow sign right on/beside the object is going to go unnoticed to them a large amount of the time.
> The "brown M&M clause" was a specific contract requirement by Van Halen that demanded all brown M&Ms be removed from a bowl of M&Ms provided backstage before their performances. This clause was not a frivolous demand but a way to test if the concert promoters had read the entire contract carefully. If brown M&Ms were found, it indicated that other important technical details might have been overlooked, which could pose safety risks for the band and the audience.
It was a massive display of pyrotechnics and staging - the requirements in the rider weren't there for fun, it was for actual safety.
It’s a small distinction, but actually if the band showed up and found all the brown M&Ms still there the plan would have already been a failure.
The reason it was in the contract was to make sure the promoter had read the contract before signing it and understood what they were getting into.
Band riders are almost invariably redlined. Bands ask for all sorts of crazy shit and you cross out stuff you can’t provide or give a substitute brand name (like if the venue has an exclusive vendor relationship with Coke instead of Pepsi stuff like that) and then you work out any kinks and finalize it.
The reason to put the M&M clause in there is to get the promoter to strike the clause during the contracting process because any competent promoter will read every line carefully and strike something like that.
So when they do you know they read it and know what they are doing are comfortable signing a deal with them.
You would never want to be arriving at the venue with the clause still in force, that’s a sign you have a larger problem.
Source: I was a concert promoter in the 90’s
I doubt the band would say "you didn't redline this weird but inconsequential request, we can't work together.
If they wanted to be sure the redlining process worked, they should have put in something like "remove all fire extinguishers from backstage".
Source: I am a systems engineer.