# From around the world



## AgrarianDr (Mar 25, 2011)

Tried to write this several times, but it kept having a political overtone - which I was trying to avoid -cuz it's not the point.

That said, I've picked up over the years numerous little tidbits of info that reminds me how the REST of the world lives, and in some case "used" to live. Most of it has been little anecdotes and "asides" during some unrelated topic, but they always caught my attention. 

Bottom line; I am probably _smarter than the average bear_, but I certainly don't know everything, and there is a least "some" validity to the argument that much of the world sees us (Americans) as, at the very least, incredibly wasteful in our habits and lifestyles.

A couple points I picked up here at HST for example, were the New Zealander who simply could not understand our distaste for, and lack of use a clothes line vs. a dryer - let alone why the Homeowners Assoc in a neighborhood would actually forbid the use of a clothes line.
Or the man from China (not the first time I've read this) who washed clothes in a bucket, then used the water to flush the toilet.

Clearly we have a lot to learn - or maybe, relearn. That to me is the embarrassing part as a modern day American. But I also know that as a people we are some of the most inventive and industrious on the planet - hands down.

So I thought I would start a thread to discuss what "other" people do or don't do *from around the world*, what they have or have not done* in the past*, and see if we couldn't put some of our industrious genes to work - and do what we do best - invent, create and improve.

The insulated cook box- where you boil and let the pot sit in an insulated box (vs. an elec. slow cooker)? Not our idea - and nothing new
Earth Tubes for cooling your home or barn - again, not our idea and nothing new. In fact, the Romans first started doing this in the time of Jesus.
I could go on, but you get the idea.

Although posted under alternative energy, I can already see where this could spill over - and can already think of several things from "around the world" or "in years past" that would be more suited for a farming topic etc. 

But for now will stick with Energy. The examples above are a good place to start, and I would like to add to the mix of "Oldies but Goodies" ideas by mentioning the Russian Stove (circa 1600 A.D.). Versions today are known as a Rocket Mass Heater - but if you self heat with wood, this is absolutely something you MUST look into, and is a classic example of how we have forgotten more than we know. 
What would you say to burning a *small* fire once in the morning, once at dinner, stay warm 24/7, use for cooking, heating water etc -- *AND* use 1/4 of the amount of wood you use today!

THAT is what I'm talking about - and it's a 400 yr old technology


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

The rest of the world does not have the problem that "we" have had for 75-80 ?? years.
That is the --"wonderful????"-- Madison Ave. advertising 'think tank'......
How the 'best' of life Must include the---- Maytag
Pure clean water is No good . . . .you must drink adulterated water called Coke.........
"See the USA in your chev....

This list could go on for many pages.......
All this >stuff< drumed into our heads by constant high powered advertising.......
corporate greed and ---profit---
Never mind common sense...........

Clothes lines are NO good . . . .Madison Ave says so


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## 12vman (Feb 17, 2004)

"Necessity is the Mother of Invention"..

It was all good until electricity came into the picture. Just think about the amount of issues that have been "Solved" by it and being "Captured" by the folks that make it!

"Old" technology was buried long ago which stunts future growth. There's no need to think anymore. Even the general health of the population is damaged because the lack of physical work for anything..

Personally I envy folks that can make something from nothing being that's all that they have to work with. The spoiled society we have now would crumble without electricity..

We're all gridiots in one way or another. Take it away and watch us squirm! Yes, Madison Ave. has us all hooked..

Lots of old technology needs to be rediscovered and applied but how many folks will be willing to get a little dirt under their nails?


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## Guest (Apr 25, 2011)

The old , work oriented ways of doing things should be remembered , taught & learned so in case of necessity people could get by . Someday & maybe not that far off people may need to know how to live like that again . My parents both were raised on small hillside farms here in WV & grew up during the depression . I've heard my mother say many a time that you can have those old ways thank you , she had enough of that growing up . Many people that really have no idea , have the idea that there was something romantic about the good ole days . For most people it was a hard , never ending struggle just to keep body & soul together .


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## AgrarianDr (Mar 25, 2011)

Jim-mi said:


> The rest of the world does not have the problem that "we" have had for 75-80 ?? years.
> That is the --"wonderful????"-- Madison Ave. advertising 'think tank'......
> How the 'best' of life Must include the---- Maytag
> Pure clean water is No good . . . .you must drink adulterated water called Coke.........
> ...


I think that is my point entirely. 
I read somewhere that back in the early part of last century people were exposed to roughly 6 advertisements per day. In 2010, was closer to 600 ads per day (TV, Radio, Billboards, Magazines, Newspapers etc)

But more to the point of this thread, I happen to be the proud owner of about 30 mid 1800's, early 1900's "receipts" books. (receipts was the common word for recipes back then, but it also meant formulas and solutions - not just for cooking)

Most were written to teach and assist "domestic help", but they are LOADED with all kinds of things we modern day folk were either never taught, or have simply forgotten. Stuff like lemon juice to clean brass - that kind of stuff. There is also (what I consider somewhat useless in today's time) all kinds of info - like if you spill acid on your suit, just immediately flush it with ammonia to prevent damage - LOL, yeah, I just HATE it when that happens

Gotta tell you, some of them are just downright funny. One book (this is an actual book mind you) was written for "Colored Women" - Honest! that was the Title. *5000 Receipts to Assist Colored Women in Useful and Domestic Acts
*

"Henley's" was kind of a name brand publisher who put out all kinds of books like that. My favorite is *Henley's Twentieth Century Formulas, Recipes and Processes.*
The Subtitle is "*Containing 10,000 selected household and workshop formulas, recipes, processes and money saving methods for the practical use of manufacturers , mechanics, house-keepers and home-workers*"
(all books back then had v-e-r-y long subtitles!)

They are just great, wonderful - not to mention historical reading.
The first 50 some pages in the Henley's books - was all about "adhesives".
Go figure

Perhaps I'll just have to start copying over some of those and pasting them here. Great stuff. Stuff we should all know.


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## AgrarianDr (Mar 25, 2011)

WV Hillbilly said:


> The old , work oriented ways of doing things should be remembered , taught & learned so in case of necessity people could get by . Someday & maybe not that far off people may need to know how to live like that again . My parents both were raised on small hillside farms here in WV & grew up during the depression . I've heard my mother say many a time that you can have those old ways thank you , she had enough of that growing up . Many people that really have no idea , have the idea that there was something romantic about the good ole days . For most people it was a hard , never ending struggle just to keep body & soul together .


So true. How does the song go? "_The good 'ol days weren't always so good and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems_"

Again - didn't really want to have the thread take a political slant. But it should be obvious to all by now, that we have fallen WAY too far from the tree. We eat crap food called "nutritious" and then can't understand why we're obese and having all kinds of health issues. We run up our credit cards and then have a hissy-fit if they cut us off. "What do you mean there is no money? I still have checks!!"

We could go on, and on and on with this, but I do hope we can get back to the original intent of the thread, and discuss things we've forgotten, or SHOULD know, things our grandparents knew - or, from different parts of the world (I have a feeling some of those folks might have a trick or 2 as well)

EDIT; I think your comment hits home with me in this way - I want to be able to combine solar panels and email, with a backyard garden and a more moral lifestyle. I have no desire to live in destitute poverty as they did 150 years ago, but the way we live today is clearly not the answer either. It's neither sustainable, nor healthy - physically, nor mentally. Just read the headlines - newspapers, Drudge report, whatever...and it should be apparent to all of us that we have clearly gotten off track. I would like to think there is a happy medium there - somewhere, and it starts here, with us


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## Waiting Falcon (Nov 25, 2010)

Water pollution- where did it come from- modern day septic tanks sewers. How many thousands of gallons are used just to flush?
Three row corn planters kept a man busy and out of debt but then- you could harvest more with a 20 row head- but Debt was what was planted.
In essence crawling is what we no longer want to do before we start running.
Horses and oxen provided nutrition for the soil as well as working to plant & harvest.
Cottons,require an iron but were cooler and did not cause the allergies these modern wash and wear materials do. Dyes were plant derived and also more gentle. 
So many appliances were made to help ease the work and suddenly it took so much time for the appliances visiting among the neighbors became less......
Yes most definitely some of the old ways were dangerous. I doubt anymore dangerous than the things we use today. 
I will stop before I say too much


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## kyle (Mar 26, 2011)

your mention of using dishwater in toilets is a good one. i See this all over Asia.

I am from a canada and "in the country" we use septic fields. our water is all treated. one line into the house, so its all good drinking water and we need to pay for it. the sink (we can drink it), hose, shower, toilet, washing machine etc all use the same water. and legally all teh drains for "grey" water need to go into the septic tank. so the maybe 10 liters tops of water i use for drinking/cooking a day is nice, about 2 toilet flushes. all the shower water, cleaning, toilet etc water come sin as drinking water and is dumped into the poop tank. hows that for moronic. when we rebuild our house it will be replumbed to have certain grey water used for toilets, and the rest will be pumped into another tank outside to settle and used for lawns/garden etc.

as "inventive" as a nation may be, its not more intelligent if it limits the logical decisions made for better quality of life for simple money. smart people can make $ fast, intelligent people can make money last.


would be cool to hear more peoples ideas. I am in Taiwan now, and there are all sorts of "whacky" things i see people doing that really are more logical than we would normally do it back home in canada. but pride and laziness get the better of us back there. here people just do it cause it makes sense, and they have money....:nana:


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## AgrarianDr (Mar 25, 2011)

kyle said:


> smart people can make $ fast, intelligent people can make money last.


Could not agree more! 
Actually, I have a ton of examples, but the thread really started to do what I had hoped to avoid (taken on a socio-political bent) and so I thought it better to just add some ideas to the vault or ???

Maybe later today I will sit down and post a few


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

Ag, I am from america and I wash my clothes in a bucket and use the water to flush my toilet, and i do the same with my dish washing water. From the water from washing my clothes I get about five flushes, depending on what is in the bowel and how fast you put the water in. if you ad the water too slow you dont get a flush because the level slowly goes over the trap and the water is wasted. I use one gallon of gray water to flush the toilet, that is even the number 2's. Education play a part. I didnt know I could flush the toilet with the dish water until my friend in china casually mentioned that her mother does it. It stuck in my mind for a year and then I tried it. I wash with a bucket in the shower. I fill the bucket up with liquid soap and a gallon of warm water, squat and using a wash cloth wash my self. It takes less then that gallon to do the job and I get cleaner then I ever have by taking long showers or baths. After I wash I rinse off with the shower, leaving the bucket over the drain to catch the shower water. That water is used for the toilet also.

I think people are lazy that is why they get hooked on the illusion of luxery and convienance, but they fail to see how they truely lose, because in order for them turn on the washing machine and let it do the work they need to have a decent job to pay for the electricity and to pay for the machine and repairs, and then to have the job they need to usually go to school for a long long time, and then they have to get up every day and travel to work. So, the washing machine takes a half hour to wash the clothes but you trade you freedom and your life just to have that half hour of luxery and laziness. Another factor is status. There is a warped sense of status that comes with being wasteful. It is liek bragging that you are not in need and that you have so much that you can be wasteful and still have more then most people. This is not new, the romans did it, some native american groups did it, emperors, wall street did it and still does it.

I think we should blame ourselves more then madison ave, because we let ourselves fall for their crap. they are just trying to make business, they dont care ether way about the things they make or advertise, it is just a job for them. 
We need to chose what culture we want to have and we need to live it and pass it on to our kids. Maybe our ancestors let us down by not passing the tourch but we can mend the tares and teach ourselves and the future generations.

A bit of a rant, I know, but I figured you guys and gals may be sympathetic.


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

kyle said:


> would be cool to hear more peoples ideas. I am in Taiwan now, and there are all sorts of "whacky" things i see people doing that really are more logical than we would normally do it back home in canada. but pride and laziness get the better of us back there. here people just do it cause it makes sense, and they have money....:nana:


What whacky things do they do? I need more sense in my life and I would love to hear any tips that you observed the people in asia doing.

I find asians from asia to be very pragmatic. 
Once they immigrate they seem to lose that talant as the generations go by.
(I dont mean to offend any asians reading this thread)


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