h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

And perhaps the Iron curtain and the Bamboo curtain may be worth considering.
I had better shut up now

Wall of death - great idea

The historic walls might be put in order of date. Or maybe of importance. Or in order of fame. Or in alphabetical order, length, tonnage or level of interest. I'll decide when it's finished

I don't follow what you're saying about the walls of Sparta. I've never heard of it before. Care to expand?

As far as the others go, I'm sure they are very good ideas, but I'm not going to research 14th Century German wall-builders and Dutch military engineers myself - this is an Entry that is already 2,500 words long, and there's a lot to go yet just to fill in the gaps. If any of those people have contributed something outstandingly important or interesting concerning walls, or if any of the walls you list are worthy of a mention, please don't hesitate to write up a brief paragraph or two about them and I'll happily add it

I don't know if this might be a bot obscure to include, but Bob's post made me think of something.

When the ancient Athenians learned that the Persians were invading Greece, they went to an oracle who told them to put their faith in the wooden wall. Different interpretations of what was meant abounded, but Thermistocles, an Athenian general, argued that it referred to Athens' navy. He persuaded the others and the Athenian navy went on to win a hugely important victory over the Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis.

More info here: A13114748

It is a famous non wall

Lycurgus 950 BC, the ruler of Sparta in those days was asked why o king do you have no walls around Sparta? Lycurgus said: "A wall of men, instead of bricks, is best."

The last vestage of this greatness was Leonidas at Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, where 300 Spartans and 6,000 allies, held off 150,000 Persians. On day 3 all but Demophilus and the Thespians left the Spartans to the hopeless stand against the Persians.

The saying 'everyman man is a brick in the wall', has been corupted to 'another brick in the wall', meaning one of the crowd.

1,000 Phocians, 900 Helots, 700 Thespians, 400 Thebans, and 400 Thebans



Any help

Great wall Builders just add the list was what what I had in mind.


Bob...

That would be because the Spartans were extremely warlike. It was forbidden to retreat in battle.

I'm amazed so much can be said about walls! It seems such a weird subject. Still.

Famous Walls

There are all sorts of walls that deserve a mention.

Oh yes, the London Wall for a start. (A2266832)

The Great Wall of China

Great Wall of China is the longest wall ever built, and can be viewed from outer space.

Two comments - I thought it being viewed from space was a myth, and if it's not should it be clearer that it's a rare thing? Plus, London City Wall was being added to for around 1500 years, so perhaps that's the 'longest wall ever built'? Bearing in mind I know nothing of how long other walls too to build!

Oh yes, and an explanation of what a 'wonderwall' is, and how someone could become one would be lovely.

I think it might be that the Great Wall can be seen from orbit, but not from, say, the moon. Depends on how deep in space you are. I might be making all of that up though.

I haven't rewritten that bit yet. You can see the sandstorms that hit the Great Wall from Space, but not the Wall itself. The only man-made object that can be seen from space is, apparently, the Fresh Kills landfill site outside New York.

Go on to Google map hybrid zoom in so Datong is visable in the west and Qinhuangdao on the coast is in frame.
Just north of Beijing is a faint line, about 15 miles of the wall. Its very faint I think its pushing it a bit, but it can be seen from orbit just. But if you did not know you would not think it was a wall.

This is interesting:

http://www.textbookleague.org/122wall.htm

You could debate it all day, really...

Does that fact that I can make out my house on Google Maps at the highest zoom-in have any bearing on its visibility from space, by the way?

I guess human eyes in orbit would be more relevant judge of scale...

Is there room near the end for Pyramus and Thisbe? Or rather, Shakespeare's take on their story? Just seems like a shame to waste the oppurtunity to quote:


SNOUT
You can never bring in a wall. What say you, Bottom?
BOTTOM
Some man or other must present Wall: and let him have some plaster, or some loam, or some rough-cast about him, to signify wall; and let him hold his fingers thus, and through that cranny shall Pyramus and Thisby whisper.


The quote would make a nice start to the entry, with a footnote giving a brief explanation, but the entry already starts with the definitions, so not sure where you could put it?

Might need too much background explanation though, what with it being in a play within a play, and almost a roman myth etc.

I could attempt to write such a footnote/subsection, if you felt like sticking the quote in.

vp

Maybe mention 'Wall of Sound', a music production technique, created by Phil Spector.

I'll come back to all these bits when I've caught up with everything else. Teach me to go away. Vogonpoet, if you want to write a bit, that would be great

Blackberry Cat, that sounds like a kind of a wall I've never heard of. Any chance of you explaining it to me in a succinct paragraph in exchange for your U-number appearing on the Entry?

Does anyone have anything they would like to add in exchange for a credit - or does anyone who's already been credited want to write a bit more? If not, I'll do some more research on all the above in the next few days

Working on wall quote explanation, might make nice ending to entry, lost actual content twice all ready, I hate dial up, I hate work broadband that never works, I hate computers, will get section to you no later than 5pm tomorrow.

vp

Well I really struggled here, and I am not sure it was worth it. I wanted to include an explanation of the story of Pyramus and Thisby/Thisbe (seems to be some confusion about spelling) with the background to the quote, and put the quote in, and weave in a sense of the potential futility of erecting barriers between people(s) and places. As it iS, this is somehow more prosaic than I was hoping for , and possibly a bit long.




Finally, one last wall from the realm of mythology: in a Roman romance, a young man named Pyramus falls in love with the girl next door, whose name is Thisbe. Sadly, the parents of Pyramus and Thisbe are not the best of friends, and forbid them from seeing one another. The couple are thus only able to signal their love from afar, until they discover a small hole in the wall which seperates their houses, whereupon their love blossoms further, and a plan is made to run away and live happily ever after. Unfortunately, the plan falls through, and everyone (apart from the wall) dies.

This tragic story has been re-told in many different guises. Some may already have recognised Romeo and Juliet, but Shakespeare in fact tells the tale twice. In A Midsummer Night's Dream, a troupe of amature actors, known as the Rude Mechanicals, rehearse and perform this romance for the entertainment of the lead characterswhose own exploits are in fact unwittingly reflected by the Mechanicals in this play within a play, to great comic effect.. So far, so inconsequential. However, during their rehearsal, the Mechanicals stumble upon a stage management problem, as expressed by Snout, and a solution is found, given by Bottom. Let their words stand as words of wisdom, or even practical advice, to anyone wishing to erect any form of barrier, be it metaphysical or physical, between people or places; if more heed were taken, perhaps the world would be a more peaceful place.

Snout:
You can never bring in a wall. What say you, Bottom?
Bottom:
Some man or other must present Wall: and let him have some plaster, or some loam, or some rough-cast about him, to signify wall; and let him hold his fingers thus, and through that cranny shall Pyramus and Thisby whisper.




I always loved Snout's declaration, but I have not done a very good job explaining why. Feel free to not bother including this at all Rich, although a more abridged version may be fit after the 'wall' of men around Sparta:



Another wall of menor in this case, man may be found in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, wherein a troupe of amature actors, known as the Rude Mechanicals, rehearse and perform the story of Pyramus and Thisbe. In this Roman romance, a young man falls in love with the girl next door. Sadly, their parents do not approve, and forbid them from seeing one another. The couple are thus only able to signal their love from afar, until they discover a small hole in the wall which seperates their houses, whereupon their love blossoms further, and a plan is made to run away and live happily ever after. Unfortunately, this plan falls through, and everyone (apart from the wall) dies. In their telling of the tale, in which they also unwittingly reflect the main plot of A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Rude Mechanicals need a wall to appear on stage. Whilst pondering this issue, they come up with the following solution:


Snout:
You can never bring in a wall. What say you, Bottom?
Bottom:
Some man or other must present Wall: and let him have some plaster, or some loam, or some rough-cast about him, to signify wall; and let him hold his fingers thus, and through that cranny shall Pyramus and Thisby whisper.



vp

Nice work VP hope it fits

Too perfect! It's just the right length to close off the Entry, and sums the whole thing up rather well. Sorry you had so much trouble getting it to me, but it was worth the effort