This idea was sent in by Simon F.
Mankind has a bottomless reservoir of laziness, which is fertile ground for the best inventions in history. The dishwasher, television remote, and cruise control are a few examples. Here’s the latest in the important category of avoiding unnecessary work: the bucket mailbox.
Our reader describes the inventor’s intentions: Continue reading
Cats play with yarn, dogs chase frisbees and parakeets have their mirrors. Like any domesticated animal, pigs need some form of intellectual stimulation.
Many homesteaders recommend giving a pig a bowling ball to push around, but bowling balls are hard to find out in the country! Not only that, but they would probably sink into the mud and be lost forever.
What we do have plenty of on the farm are 5 gallon buckets, and pigs seem to be more than happy to push them around.
Here’s our four pork units, fighting over their new plaything.
The United States has almost as many personal computers as people. A small minority of these computers are customized works of art. Here’s a fully functional computer built into a metal mesh 5 gallon bucket.
This machine follows in the ancient 5 gallon tradition of portability. Notice the handles, for quick and easy transport! I’d love to build a computer like this. If any readers know if and where I can buy a chassis like this, please let me know in the comments.
Not all custom built computers are works of art, of course. Continue reading
Blocks of ice can last a shocking long time if stored correctly. In the 19th century, Fredric Tutor made his fortune shipping ice from frozen American ponds all the way to Cuba.
With the convenience of electricity, we don’t need to harvest ice from ponds anymore. But sometimes electricity stops working, such as during Hurricane Sandy. To prepare for such a scenario where business as usual comes to a sudden grind, you may want to make an emergency bucket, full of supplies that can come in handy during such circumstances.
These bucket-shaped ice blocks were made by the National Aquarium in Washington DC in preparation for Hurricane Sandy. If they had lost power these would be instrumental in regulating water temperatures for their aquariums.
If any readers know how long this ice would stay frozen, please share in the comments!
I’ve recently moved to the frozen reaches of northern Alberta. The weather is deathly frigid, but the economy is super-heated by torrid flows of oil money. Here’s a five gallon bucket idea relevant to the world’s most important energy resource.