Leverage for construction

theforgottentechnology.com
via bookofjoe

Wallace Wallington is a 58 year old retired carpenter who lives near Flint, Michigan. In 1987, while on a job, he encountered a 1,200 lb. concrete block that had to be moved. The block was in an area inaccessible to machines. He improvised with a few rocks and leverage, and moved the block. After he retired, he decided to study the history of leverage in construction. He's created a website incorporating everything he's learned. He has a large following in Europe, where art students study his photos and diagrams. Says Wallington, "You do not need to lift weight to move it from place to place." Or, as Archimedes put it in 230 B.C., "Give me a lever long enough and a place to stand, and I will move the world."