To all you southerners who are sharing this delightful cold snap with us, let me just say, “Welcome to our world!” And let me remind you that Global Warming Is Your Friend. Burn some wood tonight. Take an unnecessary trip in an SUV. Stock up on incandescent light bulbs. If we all work together, we can make this a better—and more temperate—world.
It’s supposed to be warmer tomorrow, though. And above freezing by the weekend.
See, it’s working!
I was going to tell you about my niftiest Christmas present. My brother Baal, from boyhood, has had a remarkable gift for finding good presents for people. I can only attribute this to his actually paying attention to other people’s wants and tastes. This has always made me suspect he was adopted.
This is what he gave me this year. I knew what it was the moment I opened the package, and my heart leaped up, because I’d wanted one of these for some time:
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It’s a Viking padlock, based (according to my internet research) on an archaeological find from Ireland. They came in much more elaborate styles, but this bare-bones model is fairly easy to explain. In the picture above, it’s locked. You can see the key, with its square-holed business end, resting on top of the locking arm.
This is how it looks opened:
As you can see, the lock actually has three parts. The locking pin engages with the end of the locking arm, and the spring holds the pin in place. The key is pushed over the pin (as shown above), and compresses the spring to unlock it and allow the pin to be removed. Simple, and secure enough for general purposes.
It was made by a friend of Baal’s, who blacksmiths as a hobby. I hope to have him make me a new latch for my Viking chest, to go with this lock, if I find I can afford it.
Splendid! My grandfather was a blacksmith (Army cavalry) and he loved locks and puzzles … designed many of his own. He would have loved your Viking padlock.
That is really cool! Did the Vikings invent the first padlocks?
Much better than a Red Ryder BB gun. You’d shoot your eye out.
I think padlocks go back further than the Vikings.
How large is the lock, if you hope to use it on a chest?
In regards to today’s quote of the day, perhaps a deeply committed member of the United Church of Christ might burn commas in people’s lawns.
Though I laughed at your comment, Michael, I feel I’m missing something. What about the UCC promotes commas?
I know! I know! The UCC church down the street from me has a sign in front that says, “Never put a period where got has put a comma.” This is, I believe, a quotation from the sacred writings of the prophet Gracie Allen.
Deborah: I have to go home and measure it, but offhand I’d say the lock is about three inches wide.
The comma is the trademark for the UCC’s “God is still speaking” campaign, which, translated, means “God certainly couldn’t be saying today what the Bible said 2000 years ago.”
Somehow, in Comment #7, I wrote “got” instead of “God.” No doubt this is symptomatic of something-or-other.
So Lars, you’re not inerrant? I’m shattered. How can I go on?
A good comma ( , ) does look like someone speaking, doesn’t it? That would make a good t-shirt–a single comma. Some would think it’s an apostrophe, which would give the wearer a moment for feeling superior.
About that lock, would the owner have to carry the pin and the key when he leaves it unlocked or would he drop it on the ground? I guess most keys weren’t unique to their locks.
I hadn’t actually thought about that Phil, but I guess the thing to do would be to leave it locked, but outside the latch. The pin would be too likely to go missing.
The lock is 3″ – 4″ wide, depending on whether you count the twisty iron-work extending to the right. It’s about 3″ high.