Fire Hydrants From Around The World

As I was driving home to find the turtle, I noticed a fire hydrant on the side of Pinhook Road.  It made me think about the different styles of fire hydrants I have seen in the different parts of the world that I have visited, so I decided to write a story about fire hydrants.

Now, if you are here to see pictures of the fire hydrants from around the world, I am afraid that you will be disappointed.  Let me explain:  as I mentioned a few weeks ago in this story, we use a 'source' to legally obtain images that we can reprint (you can't just go to anyone's website and steal their images for YOUR website, it is illegal.  Trust me, I know.)

So I went to Getty Images, our 'source', and typed in "fire hydrant".  Here's what I found;  of the 295 images that were returned in the search, only about 45 of them actually featured a fire extinguisher in the photograph.  And only 2 of those 45 were images of fire extinguishers outside of the United States.

So if 295 pictures came up in the search, and only 45 were actually pictures if hydrants, then what were the other 250 pictures?  Tiger Woods' boat.

Let me explain:  Every 'byline' that accompanied the photos of Tiger Woods' boat contained this paragraph:

Tiger Woods has not spoken with media or Florida Highway Patrol since he drove his SUV into a fire hydrant and tree outside his Florida home in the early hours of November 27.

So, there you have it.  I thought I had the perfect idea for a story about fire hydrants from different parts of the world, and alas:  we get "Privacy" (that's actually the name of Tiger Woods' Elin Nordegren's yacht.)

Right after I posted this picture, I searched for "privacy tiger woods yacht" and an interesting story came up:  Tiger Woods designed the boat with the manufacturer, with the interior colors/girlie-girl decisions made by Elin; a total of a $20 million investment.  When they ordered the boat, they also put in a 'gag' order, or a "non-disclosure" order, meaning that the details of the yacht (ownership, design, etc) must remain confidential.

Well, details about "Tiger Woods' yacht" started popping up in boating magazines and gossip columns, so Woods sued the manufacturer, successfully.  They made an out-of-court settlement.

And the last tid-bit before I go:  Fire hydrants range in price from $1500 to $2500.  So, for the sake of simple math, lets average each hydrant to $2000.  Instead of the yacht, Tiger Woods could have purchased ten thousand fire hydrants.

(Via Wikipedia and Gettyimages)