PETALING JAYA: It has been over 30 years since the Berlin Wall fell, uniting the east and west of the city.
While the people are now living together after the Peaceful Revolution, is it true that there is still a ‘divide’ between both parts of this city that can be viewed from space?
VERDICT:
TRUE
Interestingly, the city is still divided by the lights used by both sides many years ago; however the 'divide' cannot be viewed at street level.
Instead, it must be seen from way up in the sky.
There is photographic evidence taken by Canadian astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield from the International Space Station in April 2013, showing East Berlin in an orange-ish shade while West Berlin appears whiter.
The east side of Berlin reportedly still uses nearly 40,000 sodium-vapour lamps, which appear orange, while the former West Berlin has upgraded to mercury vapour, fluorescent, or LED lamps that appear white.
Sodium-vapour lamps are not very popular these days as they give off primarily yellow light, inhibiting colour vision in the dark.
They also contain mercury, making them potentially toxic if broken and difficult to dispose of. Thus, more people are installing LED bulbs instead.
While the physical wall that divided both parts of the city is no longer there, the lighting serves as a reminder of what people on both sides had to endure.
Another interesting fact is that pieces of the wall are being sold in the city as souvenirs for tourists to take home 'part of the historical event' for just several euros.
SOURCES:
https://www.businessinsider.
https://x.com/cmdr_hadfield/
https://www.iwm.org.uk/
