Researchers Made 3,900-Pound Boulders They Can Move by Hand, Giving More Insights Into Ancient...

Gizmodo ^ | 04/17/2019 | Andrew Liszewski

[BenLurkin]

Matter Design (which was co-founded by Brandon Clifford, who’s also an assistant professor at MIT) worked with CEMEX, a company that specializes in building materials, to design a series of over-sized concrete monoliths that could be assembled like giant building blocks into a larger, functional structure. But despite weighing many tons a piece and being durable enough to survive hundreds of years, the concrete blocks feature unique makeups and shapes that make them relatively easy to move, even by just a single person.

There’s a couple of different design approaches at work here. The blocks, which are also known as massive masonry units—or MMUs, for short—are made from concrete with varying densities to allow precise control over where the object’s center of gravity ends up, adding stability and balance. And while each giant block looks like a random blob, they’re engineered with strategically placed bevels, rounded edges, pivot points, handles, and interlocking features. The resulting structures are still far too heavy for a human to lift, but they can be rocked, pivoted, tilted, walked, and even rolled from one location to another, with remarkable ease and precision.

[Hootowl]

Wally Wallington, a retired builder in Michigan, has shown how he can move and raise 40,000 pound blocks (or entire buildings) using just wood, weights, and rope. Videos available on Youtube.

[Yo-Yo]

Gods, Graves and Glyphs.

SunkenCiv runs that. You might ping him and get put on the list. Lots of fun reads.

Thanks! I'll ping SunkenCiv (yoo hoo, Civ!) with this thread, but I don't want to be on the ping list.

You're right, lots of good reads, but I seen to catch most of them already.

[Fred Nerks]

Manufactured blocks...makes one wonder.

Cosco, Peru