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Sybil Derrible @sybilderrible.com · 24/02/2026

The #Mongol #Empire was the largest contiguous empire in history? It relied on one piece of #infrastructure. What is it and how did it work? Subscribe to the #InfrastructureisEverywhere newsletter. For now, it's free. Just enter your email address at derrible.substack.com

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Sybil Derrible @sybilderrible.com · 05/02/2026

My latest #InfrastructureisEverywhere story is out. Learn about #Utilidors and how #DisneyWorld engineers have handled #mosquitoes in swampy Florida: derrible.substack.com/p/infrastruc... If you haven't subscribed yet, do so. No account needed, just enter your email at derrible.substack.com

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Sybil Derrible @sybilderrible.com · 05/01/2026

Start the new year on a positive note: derrible.substack.com/p/stans-jour... My latest #InfrastructureIsEverywhere post offers a heartwarming story about a stuffed rabbit. Subscribe at derrible.substack.com #infrastructure, #shortstory

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Sybil Derrible @sybilderrible.com · 06/12/2025

Scrambling for present ideas? #Books always make great presents! Make someone very happy with #TheInfrastructureBook. Get it in #paperback, #digital, or #audio format. Get it #online or at your local #bookstore: www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-In... Spread the #joy, spread the #knowledge!

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Sybil Derrible @sybilderrible.com · 07/10/2025

Last weekend, I posted my latest #InfrastructureisEverywhere story. It's about #utilitypoles. They're fabulous and underrated, and I think it's unfair. Learn to read them by reading the story: derrible.substack.com/p/pole-reading

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Sybil Derrible @sybilderrible.com · 29/05/2025

Looking for a copy of #TheInfrastructureBook in #Chicago? Head to Unabridged Bookstore in #Lakeview, one of my favorite independent bookstores. They have a few (signed) copies... go quickly, I know they've run out before... if they're out, order a copy and let me know so I can sign it too.

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Sybil Derrible @sybilderrible.com · 20/05/2025

SHORT STORY ALERT: The Tough Life of an Electric Transmission Tower "It’s tough being an electric transmission tower. Rain or shine, hot or cold, windy or calm, they must stand tall. I met one once in Chicago, and he wasn’t happy..." Scroll to the bottom of sybilderrible.com/writings.html

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Sybil Derrible @sybilderrible.com · 24/04/2025

Looking for a (signed) copy of #TheInfrastructureBook in #NYC? Head to Rizzoli Bookstore next to Madison Square Park! What a gorgous bookstore!

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Sybil Derrible @sybilderrible.com · 13/04/2025

I couldn't help myself. I had a blast making action figures with my family. I followed the instructions at www.linkedin.com/posts/maznad.... Thank you to everyone who rated #TheInfrastructureBook on GoodReads, Kobo, and Amazon! I am really grateful!

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Sybil Derrible @sybilderrible.com · 31/03/2025

To all my friends in #Canada, you can get your copy of #TheInfrastructureBook at Chapters Indigo! A friend of mine had fun taking pictures of the book around the Bay & Bloor store in #Toronto! Love it!

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Sybil Derrible @sybilderrible.com · 12/03/2025

#TheInfrastructureBook is out! Want to know how #water is treated, why #cities #flood, what causes #trafficcongestion, how #electricity is generated, how the #internet works? Available in print, digital, and audio formats Some purchase options: www.prometheusbooks.com/978149308664...

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Sybil Derrible @sybilderrible.com · 11/02/2025

I had the best time talking about my work and presenting #TheInfrastructureBook (coming out in 3 weeks!!!) at the University of Seoul (#UOS). And, of course, I am thrilled to be back in #Seoul with its magnificent #CheonggyecheonRiver (my favorite infrastructure of all time).

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Sybil Derrible @sybilderrible.com · 21/01/2025

#TheInfrastructureBook is coming out in 40 days! While being short and readable, it goes over the engineering principles that make #infrastructure work. It's available pretty much everywhere (and as an audiobook). Some pre-order options: www.prometheusbooks.com/978149308664.... Here's the TOC.

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Sybil Derrible @sybilderrible.com · 27/12/2024

Do you know the story of the elves and the shoemaker? In cities with a #tramway, at night, elves come to repair the rails... finding them is a rare and exquisite sight for #infrastructure lovers. I saw it while in #Berlin a few years ago. I saw it again in #Basel a few days ago.

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Sybil Derrible @sybilderrible.com · 18/12/2024

#infrastructureiseverywhere. From a friend's place in Basel (CH). From bottom to top: heating, green roof, tramway, road, lights (electricity), cell towers (x2), buildings, crane, Moon (Earth's infrastructure). What am I missing?

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Sybil Derrible @sybilderrible.com · 16/12/2024

I love #infrastructure. I just wish it were more #multifunctional. Here's a picture I took in #Lille (France) over the summer, featuring juxtaposed telecommunication, transport, and electricity infrastructure. Couldn't they be better integrated? Find more at (bottom page) sybilderrible.com

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Sybil Derrible @sybilderrible.com · 11/12/2024

This semester's CME440 Cities and Sustainable Infrastructure students outdid themselves. They were asked to design a livable and sustainable community in Chicago. See their design leaflets (89.9Mb) at sybilderrible.com/files/classe...

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Sybil Derrible @sybilderrible.com · 27/11/2024

A student told me the funniest thing about image-based #LLMs. Ask them for a glass of wine full to the rim. They can't do it (image generated with Gemini). Despite their potential, LLMs can't go beyond what the data they were trained on. Let the game begin! What other images can't they generate?

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