Pavement Chromatography
Noticed something very strange on the way to take Rowan to school a week or two ago (in fact, the day the cold weather hit). The pavement on Townend Road is tarmacced (rather than paved), and was resurfaced only a few months ago. When the cold hit it suddenly, overnight became decorated with a pattern of almost-parallel wiggly lines, kinda like contour lines on a map (or, as Lola said, “it’s like a seaside and the sea”).
Now, I may have lead a very sheltered life up until now, but I don’t ever remember seeing a pattern like this on a pavement before, certainly not as bold and clear as this one (I keep meaning to take a picture but… well, y’know) and I can’t help wondering what caused it. One part of my mind is sure that the men who laid the pavement must have fucked up somehow, done a rush job, and this is the result. It reminds me of chromatography, the way different constituent parts of something will fan out at different rates. So I’m wondering - what is it that’s inside the tarmac, and why/how is it coming out in this way? Anyone know?