Removing Fish from a Surreal Abandoned Shopping Mall

[troymc]

The number of fish swimming past the escalator each minute could be modeled as a random variable with a Poisson distribution.

[barbs]

Can someone please explain this joke to someone not versed in statistics?

[joeyyang]

that's tremendous and i applaud you

[junto]

I like your humour. Have an upvote. Are you British as well?

[wooyi]

Looks more like harvesting rather than relocating the fish.

[JeremyMorgan]

Technically they are being relocated, probably several times.

[javanix]

I wonder if the fish actually ended up helping with the mosquito population?

[wooyi]

Yes they would. Tilapia fries would definitely eat mosquito larvae in the water. There were likely smaller species like guppies that would totally keep the mosquitos in check.

[dredmorbius]

They can and do. "Mosquito fish" are a frequent mosquito abatement measure.

Put them in _any_ standing water. Old tires are a notorious mosquito breeding ground: small, hard to individually find, hold water, don't degrade.

[Mahn]

Something I always wondered whenever I saw pictures of that mall is why was it abandoned. I've turned to google multiple times but there doesn't seem to be anything about it.

[mlrtime]

It is stated in the linked article:

"Located in the city's Banglamphu district, Thailand's Supreme Court ordered a partial demolition of the shopping center in 1997 when judges determined that seven of the 11 floors were built illegally"

There have been other large retail collapses in Asia[1] so it is good to see this happen.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampoong_Department_Store_colla...

[pan69]

I Googled and found in 5 seconds:

http://mikeestravels.com/2014/03/09/urban-exploring-bangkok-...

Fair enough. It was posted less then a year ago.

[zaroth]

4th paragraph: "Located in the city's Banglamphu district, Thailand's Supreme Court ordered a partial demolition of the shopping center in 1997 when judges determined that seven of the 11 floors were built illegally."

[nearnia]

It's incredible to see the escalation of global mall closings in recent years. There is a huge opportunity hidden therein. Thanks for the ::goodnews.

[josu]

How were they able to keep the water inside the mall?

[jerrytsai]

I am only guessing, but I think it is implied in the article: With the rainy weather common to southeast Asia and an open roof, the mall just became a basin of water, fantastic for breeding mosquitos. Unable to remove the water (or prevent water from entering), enterprising locals stocked the basin with fish to eat the mosquitos.