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How much do you know about barbed wire? The very idea of barbed wire fences has a fascinating history. Railroads and farmers put up fences, and ranchers, who were used to open spaces to drive their cattle, tore them down. Manufacturers were making lots of money selling barbed wire, and each had a different barb design.
While cattle ranchers sparred with farmers, the legal system was tangled by lawsuits over barbed-wire patents. Almost from the moment Jacob Haish and Joseph Glidden filed their first patents for barbed wire in 1874, the two men were squaring off in court. That same year, a hardware-store owner named Isaac Ellwood bought a 50-percent share in Glidden’s patent for $265. By the time the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Glidden’s favor in 1892 (his “Winner” design is used on most fences today), hundreds of patents for as many designs of barbed wire had been filed, and many more unpatented variations were on the market.
Now those rare early designs are highly sought by collectors. Yes, there are barbed wire collectors, as well as barbed wire clubs, museums, and conventions, as you’ll see in this article at Collectors Weekly. Link -Thanks, Lisa and Ben!
(Image credit: railman)
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Model train enthusiast David K. Smith has built a miniscule train layout which works – the train travels in an ellipse, including through a “mountain.”
“Thus, what was intended to be a Z scale model of a 4- by 8-foot HO scale layout became a Z scale model of a 2- by 4-foot N scale layout! After I picked myself up off the floor, I made a few quick calculations… the modeling scale would be an eye-popping 1:35,200, and the finished layout would measure .125 by .200 inches…”
The video shows the basics of the layout and the clever solution re the motor. Further details re the construction are here.
Neatorama has previously posted links to about 80 of the world’s smallest things.
YouTube link. Via Nothing to do with Arbroath.
This guy has skills. I once tried a RC helicopter once and the results were disastrous. To be able to manipulate all theses servos takes great skills and this dude demonstrates it with the neat clip.
Those moves defy Newton’s Laws of Motion…even at that scale.
Enjoy!
Link: YouTube
