Archive for the 'Fun Facts' Category

The World’s Tallest Water Sphere Has Lost Some Antennas

Wednesday, March 25th, 2020

Perhaps it is a normal occurrence in the life of a water tower. We take it for granted that water towers function and are useful to their owners and the community. Have you noticed that Union’s World’s Tallest Water Sphere (WTWS) has lost a few mobile phone antennas over the years? The photo above clearly […]

Star Ledger WTWS Article from Amy Kuperinsky

Saturday, February 22nd, 2020

With a flattering title of “Meet the Texas man who loves this N.J. water tower so much, he built a virtual museum in its honor“, Star Ledger reporter Amy Kuperinsky writes a nice article about Union’s World’s Tallest Water Sphere and various people associated with it. You get to hear about other towers, water tower […]

World’s Tallest Water Sphere Meme

Friday, December 6th, 2019

Do You Know Union’s Neighbors?

Friday, May 3rd, 2019

Do you know Union, New Jersey’s nearest neighboring cities and towns? Union has the one and only World’s Tallest Water Sphere. However, let’s face it, Union has some good neighbors who might also see the WTWS and benefit from its awesome visage. To get you started on this pop trivia quiz, here is a clue […]

Life Is Beautiful

Thursday, December 28th, 2017

Life Is Beautiful. Sometimes you plant seeds, and you watch them grow. Sometimes you reach out to friends, and you see many more answer your call. Our whole purpose on this site has been given back many-times in the emails, photos, stories, news articles, and connections we have made through your contributions. None has touched […]

Union Watershed Boundary

Sunday, January 29th, 2017

Did you know that a rain drop landing near Hamilton School on Burnet Road in Union has two routes to get the Atlantic Ocean? This location in Union sits on a watershed boundary. That means that the rain drop might run off towards the west side of the road, in which case it will go […]

Zoom Zoom Zoom!

Sunday, March 6th, 2016

Here is a great photo from 360 GigaPixels. This particular view is looking southwest from the Empire State Building in Manhattan towards New Jersey on 2016/02/24. The photo resolution is an incredible 203200 x 101600. If you printed this at 300DPI, it would be 18 meters/57 feet wide and 9 meters/28 feet tall. The top […]

Northern New Jersey Drainage Basins

Monday, January 18th, 2016

Many New Jersey residents know towns, highways, and diners like the back of their hand. However, how many Jersayans can name the rivers or creeks of their local drainage basin (also known as a water shed). With so many rivers and streams heading to the Atlantic Ocean, I find it hard to believe that most […]

The End of the World’s Tallest Water Sphere

Saturday, January 21st, 2012

Gina Signorella-Arlen writes to contribute this photo of the World’s Tallest Water Sphere taken on 2011/12/26: She also suggests that the year 2012 may be the end of the WTWS due to the end of the Mayan calendar. Some food for thought: Both the Mayan Calendar and the WTWS are circular in shape. Coincidence? On […]

Water More Popular Than Sphere

Sunday, September 4th, 2011

This research is courtesy of the statistics at Google Ngram viewer. The basis for this discussion is a list of frequency of words and their usage in the English language. Google has scanned and analyzed a large body of books from 1800 to 2000. Words and their frequency can be graphed over time to help […]

Wallops Island, Virginia

Sunday, March 6th, 2011

This photo of a glorious water tower is sent in via reader Jason Dengel. The water tower was completed on Wallops Island, Virginia in July of 2010. It stands 287 feet tall and holds 200,000. The water tank is used to service the nearby NASA launch pads. Nice view of the tower, the construction equipment, […]

Tracking Us in Portland

Friday, December 4th, 2009

The Portland Water Bureau has written a blog article on this site. It is interesting to see various water companies and municipal water works tracking and linking to this site. Thanks to author Jennie Day-Burget of Blogtella for writing the nice article. The Portland Water Bureau motto is “From Forest to Faucet”. The Union Township […]

Here Comes the Flood

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

Scientists at the World’s Tallest Water Sphere Research Center in Austin, Texas have determined the extent of damage possible to the World’s Tallest Water Sphere in the event of massive flooding. As many people know, the level of the oceans is rising due to global warming and the melting of polar ice caps. As the […]

How to Draw the World’s Tallest Water Sphere

Friday, July 3rd, 2009

There are many artists that visit the World’s Tallest Water Sphere site. They make beautiful photographs, computer images, and artwork and contribute it to the site for all the world to see. Most of us gaze in awe at the wonderful creations they make that inspire us and give us hope for humankind, just as […]

Weird N.J. Covers WTWS

Monday, June 15th, 2009

Whoops, I nearly forgot to mention that the latest issue of Weird N.J. (#32) has a nice article on the World’s Tallest Water Sphere. Not only do they have wonderful color photos of the WTWS that you can carry conveniently on your next safari in Bostwana, you also get a colorful shot of the WTWS […]

Water Sphere versus Water Spheroid

Monday, June 8th, 2009

Many readers ask the World’s Tallest Water Sphere site, what exactly is a water sphere? What distinguishes a water sphere from a water spheroid? What is a water ellipsoid? What is the difference between a water tower and a water tank? Is the Union water tower, the world’s tallest water tower? To help answer these […]

Signing for the Camera

Monday, April 6th, 2009

For people who want to flash secret signs for the camera, here is how you finger spell “WTWS” using American Sign Language finger spelling. I think it would be great if some of the photo submissions for the site showed you and your friends flashing the “WTWS” for your viewers and friends. For those of […]

After All This Time the Elizabeth River Flowed

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

I looked out across the river today I saw a city in the fog and an old church tower Where the seagulls play. And all this time, the river flowed endlessly to the sea. Come with me on an epic journey from the World’s Tallest Water Sphere to the sea. For millenia, the site of […]

Life Before the Water Sphere – 1880

Friday, February 13th, 2009

We have covered Life Before the Water Sphere – 1951, and now it is time to go way back to life in Union Township, circa 1880, before the Union Flagship, before Springfield’s Playland Park, before the World’s Tallest Water Sphere. From the map, circa 1880, courtesy of the New Jersey Division of Public Records, you […]

Another Fine Star Ledger Article on the WTWS

Friday, January 30th, 2009

The Star Ledger has another fine newspaper article on the World’s Tallest Water Sphere by Kelly Heyboer in her Jersey Blogs column. She interviews site owner and museum curator Dan Becker on the philosophical meaning of the WTWS, it’s role in society, and the incredible tallness of being. Click on the blog header to read […]