Amazing "Old World" Construction Techniques
Barefoot brick mover loading 22 bricks on his head (what would OSHA say?), throwing pails of cement up to a platform (notice the one-hand catch), and moving sand from the ground up to a roof with shovels in several stages (click on the arrows below to start the videos).
HT: Ed Joss
Reminds me of the story about Milton Friedman (from Steve Moore) traveling to Asia in the 1960s and visiting a worksite where a new canal was being built. Friedman was shocked to see that instead of modern tractors and earth-mover equipment the workers instead were using small shovels. Milton asked a government bureaucrat why there were so few machines, and the bureaucrat replied: 'You don't understand. This is a jobs program.' To which Milton Friedman replied: 'Oh, I thought you were trying to build a canal. If it's jobs you want, then you should give these workers spoons, not shovels.'"
6 Comments:
This is great. If we adapted such techniques think how many jobs could be created!
The recent GDP 1st quarter advance estimate made me think of these videos. As we know, advancement in production techniques can effect the GDP output. I think it is safe to say that the U.S. has been able to increase its productivity more rapidly than some other countries.
EJ
Forget job creation -- this could solve the national obesity issue.
I am a builder here in Mexico. I use helpers that do these kinds of things (however, that brick carrier is a REAL acrobat!).
The fact is, ready-mixed concrete here costs alot. It is feasible to mix all our concrete by hand with shovels....I do it by myself sometimes and I am 70 years old.
I must admit I am impressed @ the balance of that guy w/ the 2 dozen bricks.
OTOH, I will bet that productivity could likely be increased dramatically if he and another person were to use a simple stretcher to move, say, 45+ bricks in the same amount of time...and with less stress and exertion.
As far as the shovel/spoon comment by Milton Friedman, I often joke w/ co-workers that when either email or internet connections are down, we could always rely on smoke signals and carrier pigeons.
Hmmm, and tourists wonder why there isn't flush toilets in these paradises...
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