Monday

Re: Monday

Frederick Nelson

I should probably stop answering these so quickly. Maybe it's just the hours I keep.

Let's see, it sounds like (but has nothing else to do with) a manufacturer of model railroad equipment active in the fifties and sixties (and probably later).

Or, perhaps the mis-pronounced first name of a Danish astronomer and alchemist well-known for the accuracy of his observations. Well, pronounced (by an American) the way it is spelled, then.

Or maybe I'm just beating the wrong drum here.

Fred

Staying up too late in Eastern Missouri

I liked the astronomer answer best

Re: Monday, Part 2

Gary Smyth

Part 2. A tad more challenging. The largest of these is made of a single piece of wood. Name the English equivalent.

Part 3.  What is unique about

Gary Smyth

the finish of the items in the original traditional form?

Re: Monday answer

Gary Smyth

1. The answer is Taiko drums. Most often from Japan, but also other Asian countries especially Japan and Korea. Frederick gets the gold star for Tyco trains, Tycho Brae astronomer (1546-1601).

Part 2. The wood for the largest drums which can exceed six feet in diameter, weigh several tons, and take three years to complete. It is made from a relative of the Elm and in Japan is called Keyaki - Zelkovia. It is carved from a single tree with no staves and each costs close to a half million dollars. Three of the largest in Japan are as follows. Each is installed as a set piece in a shrine/museum and not moved. Located in Takayama City in Gifu prefecture

#1

Diameter - 2.73 meters

Length - 2.73 meters

Weight - 4.5 metric tons

#2

Diameter - 2.67 meters

Length - 2.73 meters

Weight - 4 metric tons

#3

Diameter - 2.4 meters

Length - 2.48 meters

Weight - 2 metric tons

From felling the tree, to the completion of these drums, it took about 3 and a half years. It came from Cameroon, Africa. At the trees widest spot, it had a diameter of 3 meters, and the tree itself was 1300 years old.

Part 3. Now, here�s the fun part. Urushi lacquer is, made from the sap of the Kiurushi tree and is nearly pure Urushiol, this oil itself having derived its name from the tree and its sap. Now, this exactly the same oil secreted by poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac thus causing those really unpleasant rashes. Keep in mind that the oil secreted by those plants is usually in trace amounts unless you�re cutting old growth, and even then is often encountered in fairly small amounts: generally no more than a half an ounce or so. Urushi as a lacquer is obtained in far greater quantities and typically takes 9 to 12 fluid ounces of pure sap to do a good job on a small job as with a Japanese sword. This is a whole lot more exposure to the toxin than you get running through poison ivy infested woods.

Urushiol is a caustic alkaloid toxin, and when in contact with the skin, uncured lacquer can cause anything from bad rashes (ala poison ivy) to severe anaphylaxis and even anaphylactic shock in the worst cases (high exposure combined with high sensitivity).

Even the vapors created by the heat-treating can wreck the nose, throat and lungs. If inhaled or ingested, the vapors can have drastically toxic reactions in the respiratory and digestive tracts and can lead to blindness if in contact with the eyes. Some folks have even died from this.