5 hours ago, geordief said:

Must be AI? Can it make lyrics and music now?

For several years already it’s been able to do that

43 minutes ago, exchemist said:

Has it always been full of algae then? Or if not, what has changed?

My impression is that painting the bottom dark blue has somehow made it worse. Or is it that, before, people were solely concerned with the reflection from the surface and didn’t care about the algae, so it is Trump’s insistence on it being blue that has proved to be impossible?

Over time in a pool of water the algae will exhaust the nutrients in the water and other organisms will also eat the algae. Unicellular algae will slowly disappear over time in favor of more complex plants. Unless you filter and chlorinate the water is will always grow some sort of algae, it just how life works.

I suspect the water was high in nutrients to begin with, but even tap water will turn green quite quickly in the full sun.

4 hours ago, exchemist said:

Has it always been full of algae then? Or if not, what has changed?

My impression is that painting the bottom dark blue has somehow made it worse. Or is it that, before, people were solely concerned with the reflection from the surface and didn’t care about the algae, so it is Trump’s insistence on it being blue that has proved to be impossible?

The Reflecting Pool normally receives water from two possible sources. One is the Potomac Tidal Basin which has suffered ongoing problems from a major raw sewage spill back in January which dumped 240 million gallons of phosphate-rich raw sewage into the Potomac River.

https://potomac.org/blog/2026/1/30/potomac-interceptor-sewage-spill-updates

The other source of water for the Reflecting Pool is from the municipal water supply that contains Orthophosphate which is added to  prevent the release of lead and copper from pipework into drinking water supplies.

https://www.epa.gov/lead/why-do-water-systems-add-phosphate-drinking-water-what-are-health-effects-drinking-water

Phosphates are nutrients that feed algal growth. Add in bright sunlight and shallow stagnant water, and you will have an intractable problem.

Edited Monday at 10:39 PM1 day by toucana
elided double 'the' l.2

26 minutes ago, toucana said:

The Reflecting Pool normally receives water from two possible sources. One is the Potomac Tidal Basin which has suffered ongoing problems from a major raw sewage spill back in January which dumped 240 million gallons of phosphate-rich raw sewage into the Potomac River.

https://potomac.org/blog/2026/1/30/potomac-interceptor-sewage-spill-updates

The other source of water for the Reflecting Pool is from the municipal water supply that contains Orthophosphate which is added to  prevent the release of lead and copper from pipework into drinking water supplies.

https://www.epa.gov/lead/why-do-water-systems-add-phosphate-drinking-water-what-are-health-effects-drinking-water

Phosphates are nutrients that feed algal growth. Add in bright sunlight and shallow stagnant water, and you will have an intractable problem.

Well, that explains it. It is all a liberal conspiracy. Obviously the way to maintain pristine water is not to figure out what is inside in the first place.

6 hours ago, toucana said:

The Reflecting Pool normally receives water from two possible sources. One is the Potomac Tidal Basin which has suffered ongoing problems from a major raw sewage spill back in January which dumped 240 million gallons of phosphate-rich raw sewage into the Potomac River.

https://potomac.org/blog/2026/1/30/potomac-interceptor-sewage-spill-updates

The other source of water for the Reflecting Pool is from the municipal water supply that contains Orthophosphate which is added to  prevent the release of lead and copper from pipework into drinking water supplies.

https://www.epa.gov/lead/why-do-water-systems-add-phosphate-drinking-water-what-are-health-effects-drinking-water

Phosphates are nutrients that feed algal growth. Add in bright sunlight and shallow stagnant water, and you will have an intractable problem.

This implies the algal problem has always been there, so nothing has changed. Is that right?

Because what I am trying to understand is whether Trump’s tinkering has made it worse or not. If not, why the ballyhoo now?

Edited yesterday at 04:45 AM1 day by exchemist

4 hours ago, exchemist said:

This implies the algal problem has always been there, so nothing has changed. Is that right?

Because what I am trying to understand is whether Trump’s tinkering has made it worse or not. If not, why the ballyhoo now?

You are correct. The elements of this problem have always existed ever since the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was first dedicated back in 1922 - and it was never intended to look like a bright blue swimming pool in the first place.

I recall visiting the Reflecting Pool in Washington DC back in the summer of 1973 on my first ever visit to USA, and it looked a distinctly dark shade of greyish brown. If you squinted hard enough, you could just about make out a reflection of the Washington Monument- but that was it.

The ballyhoo arises from the fact that Trump loudly boasted that he would transform the pool into a crystal clear “Flag Blue” pool as part of his vanity projects vandalism of Washington DC to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the Republic on 4 July 2026.

Having spaffed millions of dollars on a no-bid renovation contract awarded to one of his MAGA donor buddies, Trump is now trying to deny that the disastrous consequences of this bungled makeover even exist. Some of his spokespersons are putting out statements insisting that “The pool is crystal clear and a bright blue colour” when anyone can see for themselves that it is a putrid green, with large chunks of the newly installed blue pool liner delaminating and lifting off the concrete bottom of the pool.

This MAGA denial of reality is what was parodied in the political satire black comedy film “Don’t Look Up” released in December 2021 in which two astronomers attempt to warn humanity about an approaching comet that will destroy human civilization - ( a metaphor for climate change).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbIxYm3mKzI

1 hour ago, toucana said:

You are correct. The elements of this problem have always existed ever since the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was first dedicated back in 1922 - and it was never intended to look like a bright blue swimming pool in the first place.

I recall visiting the Reflecting Pool in Washington DC back in the summer of 1973 on my first ever visit to USA, and it looked a distinctly dark shade of greyish brown. If you squinted hard enough, you could just about make out a reflection of the Washington Monument- but that was it.

The ballyhoo arises from the fact that Trump loudly boasted that he would transform the pool into a crystal clear “Flag Blue” pool as part of his vanity projects vandalism of Washington DC to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the Republic on 4 July 2026.

Having spaffed millions of dollars on a no-bid renovation contract awarded to one of his MAGA donor buddies, Trump is now trying to deny that the disastrous consequences of this bungled makeover even exist. Some of his spokespersons are putting out statements insisting that “The pool is crystal clear and a bright blue colour” when anyone can see for themselves that it is a putrid green, with large chunks of the newly installed blue pool liner delaminating and lifting off the concrete bottom of the pool.

This MAGA denial of reality is what was parodied in the political satire black comedy film “Don’t Look Up” released in December 2021 in which two astronomers attempt to warn humanity about an approaching comet that will destroy human civilization - ( a metaphor for climate change).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbIxYm3mKzI

Ah so it was the hubristic boast that he could clean it up and turn it blue that has caused the trouble.

It really could be a metaphor for his entire presidency, as Tim Walz says.

Back in May, TFG took his armored limo with a motorcade across the newly painted pool. The limo alone weighs 10 tons. But they're looking for terrorists who damaged the paint job.

AP News

Trump drives across Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to i...

President Donald Trump has visited the Lincoln Memorial to see the reflecting pool he's painting in a color he calls “American flag blue.”

13 hours ago, exchemist said:

Ah so it was the hubristic boast that he could clean it up and turn it blue that has caused the trouble.

Also the fact that he lambasted his predecessors for allowing it to look so horrible and how now they used super strong material applied really smart engineers and crews unlike those morons in the Biden administration or low IQ folks in the Obama administration and how his far superior team made sure it would look beautiful and last for hundreds of years bc he’s a great builder and…and… and… and… on and on nearly every time a microphone went in front of him.

Then like 3 hours later it got sabotaged by Sealant Team 6 who were lefties that made it fail with a dull box cutter and invisibility cloak to evade the dozens of cameras that broadcast the scene 24/7 online.

1 hour ago, iNow said:

Sealant Team 6

Plus one for that.

Driving a ten ton limo across a newly painted pool sounds like something from one of those satirical movies with a clownish dictator. Not sure the Marx brothers or Mel Brooks could have come up with anything better. I'm also reminded of the quote from the other Marx --

"....all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice....the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce."

Turnip it seems starts right off with farce.

5 hours ago, Phi for All said:

Back in May, TFG took his armored limo with a motorcade across the newly painted pool. The limo alone weighs 10 tons. But they're looking for terrorists who damaged the paint job.

AP News

Trump drives across Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to i...

President Donald Trump has visited the Lincoln Memorial to see the reflecting pool he's painting in a color he calls “American flag blue.”

The comments on the article are pretty funny in hindsight

One says. "The EEOB is 1880s natural granite that will break down if painted. This scumbag can't quit destroying beautiful DC landmarks."

Another says " Negative posters are fools"