As most of us know, the typical wheelbarrow in use these days
requires the person pushing the wheelbarrow to bear a good portion of
the weight of the load. Our version of the wheelbarrow basically is
like a stretcher, only with a wheel instead of someone up front
carrying the front end.
As it turns out, the Chinese had a much better idea for a
wheelbarrow. It consists of one large central wheel, topped with a
framework, with platforms on either side for the load. The person
pushing the wheelbarrow thus carries none of the weight, he or she is
just pushing and steering. All the weight lays upon the wheel and its
axel. Going forward, we are all going to make a new acquaintance with
manual labor, and I for one am going to try to build one of these for
my work this summer, since I use a wheelbarrow a lot and as I get
older, it’s not getting any easier to maneuver it.
Here is a great article on the subject, complete with pictures and
contemporaneous accounts from days of yore.
www.lowtechmagazine.com/2011/12/the-chinese-wheelbarrow.html
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