On Sun, 29 Aug 2004 13:07:37 GMT, raden wrote:

In message , Scott Mills
writes

"Michael Mcneil" wrote in message
news:5fc49fc69ae653cd0d84fb72966f5fb4.45219@myga te.mailgate.org...
"G&M" wrote in message


And this has to do with diy how ?

Prat!

Actually, I agree. This thread has nothing to do with DIY an so should not
be here.

Well, quite a few threads move well away from the strict subject of the
thread

Although I wasn't watching it, I had the program on in the background

Let's not forget that "DIY " is a relatively new concept as people have
specialised and become accountants, hairdressers etc.

In days of yore, you more or less had to do everything yourself

I'd say that ploughing fits into this category

Going on what I saw in the programme, the whole way of life back then
was one big DIY experiment. I mean, when you even have to shin down
cliffs to collect gulls' eggs, it all seems a bit of a precarious
existence. They must have been engaging in DIY all the time, as a
little lateral thinking took them one stage further up the
evolutionary ladder. As soon as I saw those oxen and the plough, I
started to ponder about alternative ways to "plough" the field. For
example, build a much larger plough-type implement so that the oxen
could stand on it to weigh it down, then have the contraption plusn
oxen pulled across the surface of the field using further oxen,
possibly using a rudimentary block and tackle, which they must have
been aware of.

MM