The Luís I bridge, one of the most emblematic structures of the city of Porto, was built in the 19th century and is now considered a World Heritage Site. However, in the mid-twentieth century, the bridge began to show disturbing signs of corrosion due, in particular, to the passage of the tram in the upper board of the bridge.
But there was another corrosion problem. At night, many of the men who frequented bars, both in Porto and Ribeira, used the end of the bridge board to pee.
In 1954, Edgar Cardoso was in charge of the recovery works of the bridge and arranged a brilliant solution to end the corrosion and the nauseating smell. The engineer, taking advantage of the color of the bridge, put metal plates with a slight fold at the end of the bridge tray. Which means that at night, anyone who sought to satisfy their needs in that same place would end up with the “pee”, directly, to their pants.
Discreet but effective, still to this day.
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