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

Hello folks, I am back and I have actually done proper research for this one, but all practical help regarding scores and protocol is still appreciated.

*Who found an unusual use for Welsh flannel, lead and treacle, and where did they use it?*

There are a few , but also lots of bonuses available if you get on the right track.

Having set that now, I am afraid I will be sleeping soon, and then offline till Wednesday, but I promise to reply to anyone taking up the challenge then. Good luck DRT

(BTW will someone put me out of my misery on recent unfinished threads - I am dying to know about the herbs and spices!)

It being All Hallow's Eve, and feeling a little devilish
I have committed the great sin of googling a QI clue:

"Welsh flannel, lead and treacle"


This thread came up on top of a list of 36,000 searches!

I guess the recent announcement from the Beeb/editors was true!
They have removed the blocks to spiders that always prevented h2g2
entries and threads from being probed and cached in search engines.


~boo~

It's a great question drt, I' a bit stumped tbh but I'll get back to you.

I know what it is but don't want to shut the thread down before it has got into a proper... flow. It doesn't quack but water does run off (along) its back.

I know where it is but don't know how to spell it. And I may need to clear my throat, part way through, in getting the pronounciation right.

'It' has been featured on TV in at least two documentary programmes, one of which is repeated about five or six times a year on one of those satellite channels.

As for who, well there is one answer in the field of engineering so obvious that it simply has to be klaxoned. We need to ..gauge.. our answers carefully, not too ..broad.. and not too over-arching.

Instead, I will just throw in a random name, like Samuel Bolton, to see if it causes any ripples.




EYG

EatYerGreens, you are obviously on the right track, lets see if your clues draw anyone else out. If you think the community is stuck please feel free to jump in for the points.

Bolton was not the , but I think you know who is...

Sorry I have been away, by the way, trouble with aging relatives means my access to t'internet is getting a bit random, as visiting them means no wireless. I promise to respond to anyone as soon as I can though.

For bonus points, why has blood got a part in this?

josiah derby building iron bridge in telfoed gorge

Taff-

Josiah Derby - No
Telford Gorge - No, but but some connections
Bridge - Sort of.

its that canal in the sky

the viaduct is a lead trough lined with flanel and waterproofed with treacle

Taff, more or less on the money. Not a viaduct, but a similar construction. Not lined with lead, or *entirely* water proofed with flannel and treacle, but you are extremely close. However the question was where and by whom? ...

it connects england to north wales, is it over the dee valley, toward wrexham,

yep, you have the right place in mind, although you are a little bit out, as it is entirely in Wales, near where you would find an Eisteddfodd.

llangollen

yep, should have guessed someone called Taff would get a Welsh connection! Now can anyone be more specific about the where, and any ideas about the who?

one of the telfords, thomas maybe???

sorry taff, but Telford definitely trips the blue light here. He was involved in the project, indeed commisioned it, but the detail we are talking about was down to someone else entirely. (he was involved in the blood thing though) goodnight for now, happy thinking! DRT

One of my hints was about water (aqua) off a duck's back. Reverse-pun 'aqua-duck' into <./>aqueduct</.> and you're halfway there.

Ox-blood and lime <./>mortar</.> was once deployed by engineer, , in a famously scenic railway viaduct, somewhere other than the location asked for in the opening question.

Whether or not it was a resurrection of a medieval (or earlier) recipe is anyone's guess but it must have had some level of novelty value in the 19th century for it to have become noteworthy to observers of the time.

Either way, something about the ox-blood confers added strength to the mortar. Given that the iron in <./>haemoglobin</.> is present in only mg/litre quantities, I would venture that it had very little to do with the iron content.


EYG

EYG, you are spot on. Ox blood was used in the lime mortar in construction of the very aqueduct I am talking about. It was commisioned and the stonework was engineered by Thomas Telford, but the canal part was engineered by someone else, famous for his canal work. Any ideas who? Also can anyone tell me what is interesting about the rivets used?

EYG, You obviously know where so feel free to answer that bit now, and do not worry, I can only spell it with great difficulty!

As regards the blood, I do not know why it was used either, will try and find out if I can. I live near Ironbridge these days so I will ask the museum there if there is nowt on t'internet.

If there are no further posts soon, I will post my full explanation and issue some points, but Taff and EYG will definitley get some.

brunell??????

sorry Taff, Brunel has nothing to do with it, but he was not a klaxon! I am not aware that he did any canal work, I think he came along a bit too late. (as far as I know anyway) He was a polymath and a bloody genius though!

the men who dug the canals were known as navvies, this was a contraction of navigator