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Ancient plumb bob how to#

That comes from the French à plomb, “to the plumb line” or “according to the plummet”: poised, straight, and balanced. When a person shows a lot of aplomb, they are assured, steadfast. When something’s plumb in the middle? It’s there, downright and square. So, when something’s out of plumb ? It’s not exactly vertical. If you ever tinkered around in your grandfather’s garage or got stuck in an antique mall with your grandmother, you might recognize the plumb-bob in its more recent, pointed form: so THAT’s what those thing are, epiphany courtesy of Here’s a basic demonstration of how the technology works from Denys Stocks’ Experiments in Egyptian Archaeology. It also doubles a good refresher in gravity: early plumb-bob The technology, apparently, dates back to ancient Egypt. Just as a level establishes a horizontal plane, so a plumb establishes the vertical or the perpendicular. It is a tool used in the building crafts as a vertical reference. On land, a plumb–or a plumb line or plumb-bob–similarly comprised some string with a weight.

It, well, plumbs the depths of the water. On the sea, a plumb–also called a plummet–comprises a rope with a weight fixed to one end. Today, perhaps we know it best as plumbing the depths, both figuratively and literally. Prompted by my recent nautical-metrical streak, he requested plumb, adding: “I shudder to think of the implications that etymology may have for toilet repair professionals.” You asked for it, Shane. Well, technically, it’s my friend’s mine that’s gone cloacal.

A plumber was originally a worker in lead and later referred to those who work with plumbing pipes, originally made out of lead.

Nautically, a similar technology measured the depth of water thus, plumbing the depths.

In construction, a plumb is a string fixed with a weight, often made out of lead, and was used as a reference for vertical lines thus, out of plumb, among other expressions.

Plumb derives from Latin, plumbum, which meant “lead,” possibly from an ancient Iberian language, reflecting the source of lead for Romans and Greeks.

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Ancient plumb bob how to#

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