Twitter is obsessed with the fish tube that tries to help save ecosystems

The hottest ride of 2019 is the fish tube

(Photo by Jeff T. Green/Getty Images)

It's incredible how one video can suddenly blow up on social media, but when we're living in the age of "going viral," it's no surprise that a video of a giant tube (named the fish tube by Twitter) transporting salmon from one body of water to another quickly became the talk of Twitter over the weekend. 

If you're wondering to yourself, "What in the heck is a fish tube?" It's actually called the salmon cannon, and it does exactly what it looks like. It's a new way to help salmon travel from one body to another.

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While many people on Twitter probably care about how cool this innovation is, most people just marveled at how fun the fish tube must be for the salmon. Forget amusement parks, because this is the summer's hottest new ride. 

 

 

 

 

 

We probably won't get a human version of the fish tube anytime soon, but it's still fascinating to learn about the origins of the salmon cannon and how the company behind it (appropriately named Whooshh) is trying to save ecosystems. 

Many people are being introduced to the salmon cannon for the first time, but it has been around for a few years. John Oliver even did a segment about it on his HBO late-night show in 2014. 

The biggest question is, how are a bunch of salmon able to shoot through a tube, like a check flying through a tube at a drive-up bank. It may look like these salmon are sliding down the tube thanks to magic, but it's actually a little something called science that makes it all possible. 

There is a ton of air pressure being shot behind the salmon, so they're able to travel the cannon with ease. The makers also made sure there are water misters every couple of feet on the tube so the fish are slick and able to breathe during their journey. 

The whole point of flying salmon through the air in a giant tube is to help fish migrate better -- something that humans have made harder since the construction of dams. There have been many ways to try to help the fish migrate upstream so they can do their thing, but most of these ideas have caused more problems for the fish or didn't work at all. 

The results of the salmon cannon have been pretty positive, with one study saying the tube didn't harm the salmon while they were traveling. 

The fish tube may end up being one of the best memes of 2019 and a moment that Twitter users will never forget, but it's pretty cool that something so fun is also trying to help save ecosystems and our planet. 


About the Author:

Jack is a Digital Content Editor with a degree in creative writing and French from Western Michigan University. He specializes in writing about movies, food and the latest TV shows.