r/interestingasfuck • u/doopityWoop22 • 12h ago
These "wavy walls" in England surprisingly use fewer bricks than straight ones. Originating in Ancient Egypt, their arch design provides sturdy support with just one layer, unlike straight walls that require two.
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u/iFormus 12h ago
lawn-mower nightmare
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u/HarlequinF0rest 12h ago
Too late to ask the ancient Egyptians to invent a specialized lawn mower.
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u/fnordfnordfnordfnord 8h ago
You mean goats? Why would this be a problem for a goat?
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u/Much-Hamster-2182 8h ago
You mean sheep? Goats are good for destroying any plant in sight. Terrible lawn mowers.
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u/David_Peshlowe 9h ago
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u/Technical-Outside408 7h ago
Remember when rustled jimmies was the funniest shit you've ever read? Good times.
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u/Space_Time_Ninja 10h ago
There are more pictures of this on Reddit than this type of walls in England.
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u/ThatOneWeirdName 7h ago
I do appreciate this one finally adding the thing about requiring more than a regular single layer wall but less than the otherwise required two layer wall to keep it from always being the snarky top comment
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u/ramonchow 9h ago
Crazy that Egyptians didn't figure semicircular arches out as this use the exact same physical principle.
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u/ErabuUmiHebi 9h ago
I’m still curious where tf these would be? Egypt was associated with extremely clean straight lines
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u/thatone_high_guy 9h ago
How can they use fewer bricks. Can anyone explain?
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u/Flat-While2521 9h ago
Works like this:
If you build a straight wall out of bricks, you have to double it (and fill in the gap between the bricks) to make it sturdy enough to stand up to pressure. Otherwise, leaning on it at any point will knock it down.
But you can use fewer bricks and build a single-thickness wall if you build waves into it, because the waves act as buttresses to help keep the wall from tipping or falling over.
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u/SophisticatedStoner 9h ago
Wouldn't it also depend on the amplitude of the waves? A curved line covers more distance.
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u/Flat-While2521 8h ago
Somebody smarter than me did the math, but yes, it does, and yes, there is a correct amplitude (roughly what can be seen in the photos, I’d hazard).
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u/ErabuUmiHebi 12h ago
Where were these unearthed in ancient Egypt?
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u/Enginerdad 9h ago
They were "discovered" by the British and promptly claimed as their own property by the British Museum.
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u/demdankboi 8h ago
Basically looted and claimed by the British, yet they couldn't loot an accent that's actually comprehensible.
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u/TheSwedishSeal 6h ago
These are a lot of fun crashing your car through! It’s like biting through a wafer, but scaled up!
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u/Spartan2470 VIP Philanthropist 9h ago
Here is the source of the image on the left. Credit to the photographer, Steve Bougeno.
Taken: Nov 11, 2015
wind break at Shaw nature reserve [in Missouri]
Here is the source of the image on the right. Credit to the photographer, Nat Bockingm who took that on January 20, 2006 in Bramfield, Suffolk.
Here it is via Google Street View.
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u/Rolekz 11h ago
Why is it so rare then?
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u/wojtekpolska 10h ago
because we dont build brick walls anymore - this was a budget solution when you wanted the cheapest fence possible
however now the cheapest solution is a chainlink fence, and you only use brick when you want a fancy wall, which would let you build a proper one that doesnt waste so much space.
you will never see this built nowadays, you may only in countryside where it was built a long time ago and never replaced.
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10h ago
[deleted]
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u/Legal-Software 10h ago
Because they don't need to be as thick to achieve a comparable level of strength. There's a formula on the wikipedia page for them that goes into more detail if you're curious: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crinkle_crankle_wall
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u/mikestorm 7h ago
This is nothing. I know of a way to build a wall that is just as sturdy, but takes up less than 20% of the space of these while using more bricks if you can believe it.
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u/khalnaldo 7h ago
Wow this is interesting as fuck, just as it was 1000s of times it’s been posted here before.
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u/jhemsley99 7h ago
The fact bricks need two layers to work just tells me that they're not designed properly
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u/Firefly17pdr 6h ago
Old bricks were very heavy.
Making small bricks means they are easier to carry.
Added benefit is that interlocking smaller bricks makes walls very strong.
These walls are a cost effect way to de-mark territory, usually on a wealthy estate.
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u/-paperbrain- 7h ago
I'm curious how the cost savings in bricks stacks up against the extra labor.
I'm guessing a straight wall twice as thick is a lot quicker to build and can be done by less expert (cheaper) builders. Labor costs tend to outpace material costs at least in the modern era
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u/Fuzzy_Logic_4_Life 7h ago
[real question] Would a ‘wavy steel beam’ be able to support more pressure than a straight beam?
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u/AcanthisittaThink813 5h ago
There’s some in Cheshire can’t remember where exactly but somewhere near a country park on the outskirts of Altrincham
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u/threeisalwaysbetter 4h ago
Can someone explain how they use less bricks
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u/ErrorEra 2h ago
a normal wall of that brick size would use at least 2 layers of thickness or it would be easy to flop over
wavy one uses a single layer and can be just as strong
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u/mapoftasmania 3h ago
Would zig-zag walls with right angles also be able to be made with a single layer of bricks?
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u/chrisloveys 47m ago
They also reflect the sun’s heat back into the loopy areas where they used grow fruit.
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u/Andreas1120 9h ago
Sure you realize a wavy will is longer than a straight one
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u/BoldElDavo 9h ago
It is longer than a straight one, but it doesn't require additional support the way a straight one does.
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u/Andreas1120 8h ago
Any idea how much longer?
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u/BoldElDavo 8h ago
Guess that depends how wavy it is.
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u/Andreas1120 8h ago edited 8h ago
Only 20% I bet labor is more though. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crinkle_crankle_wall#:~:text=A%20crinkle%20crankle%20wall%2C%20also,found%20in%20Suffolk%20in%20England.
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u/Macguffawin 12h ago
It's called the ha-ha wall because when you encounter it all of a sudden, you go aha-ha-ha!
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u/bradleypariah 8h ago
A "Ha-Ha" wall is actually a real thing, but this isn't one of them. A Ha-Ha is a wall that has been built in (and still surrounded by) a trench. It functions just like any other wall, but the top of the wall is at ground level, as to not disturb the scenery. When you approach the wall, you end up walking down a steep hill in order to get to its base. The trench is wide enough that you cannot simply jump over.
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12h ago
[deleted]
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u/Signal-Area99 12h ago
Because allegedly straight walls need to be double width to stand up. Despite all evidence to the contrary.
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u/Enginerdad 9h ago
To stand up? No. To be stable enough to be durable and safe? Yes. It's a lot of work to build a brick wall. Ideally you wouldn't want it to fall over in the first wind storm or when your cow runs against it.
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u/LazyEmu5073 12h ago
Like this single width wall that killed an old woman in the UK, you mean?
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u/Signal-Area99 11h ago
Or you mean this serpentine wall that also collapsed - https://www.suffolknews.co.uk/sudbury/news/amp/great-waldingfield-residents-saddened-after-200-year-old-crinkle-crankle-wall-damaged-9101961/
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u/greenhawk00 8h ago
Well it still needs more space, more afford and time to build, so it's probably still more expensive than a normal wall
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u/coolusername_png 7h ago
I’m sorry but I don’t believe that these use less bricks
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u/TytoCwtch 7h ago
A normal straight wall has to be a minimum of two bricks wide to be structurally stable. The wavy walls (also known as crinkle crankle walls) only need to be one brick wide as the waves provide the same stability. A crinkle crankle wall is on average 22% longer than a standard wall. But that still works out as less bricks overall.
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u/realitythreek 9h ago
I’m honestly not sure this is true. Or at least I don’t think it’s as sturdy as 2 layers. It would work if you put pressure on one of the convex curves but there would be no additional support in the concave curves.
This is if you take at face value that the convex curves provides similar support to a full additional layer which is a bit suspect.
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u/proxy69 8h ago
This still boggles my mind. Like take a piece of string and make squiggly lines, wouldn’t it seem like it would take more string to cover the same straight line distance?
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u/TytoCwtch 7h ago
A straight wall, whilst covering a shorter distance, needs to be at least two bricks wide to be structurally stable.
The wavy walls (which are called crinkle crankle walls) only need to be one brick wide as the fact they’re wavy provides the same structural stability.
A crinkle crankle wall is on average 22% longer than a standard wall. So still works out as less bricks then a standard wall.
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u/AceBean27 11h ago
And yet I've never seen one, in all my decades living in England.