I use a hammer to break open the windows instead if opening them by the handles. I have ever heard of people referring to abortion as a firm of birth control, as apposed to let's say a condom or the pill presumably. I presume they didn't think that comment threw very well though.
I was watching a prison documentary and one of the inmates /drug dealer thug said that on the outside he never washed a T-shirt. When they got dirty he threw them out.
@@cmdrtianyilin8107: Now that is a very Pythonesque reply. In particular when at the end of the "World Forum/Communist Quiz" sketch during their _Live at the Hollywood Bowl_ show, the host states "Well, no one leaves this show empty-handed, so we're gonna cut off his hands."
@@demonbot6617 not thieves. In movies when they've got them prisoner and want their necklace. Or they want to give their necklace to someone. They just yank it and break it instead of take it off.
That _can_ make sense, if it’s a theft scenario, since for the thief priority is getting it quickly and stealthy. But it’s like cutting rope, it wouldn’t be normal behavior.
I can conceive of it if it is really pissing you off as it keeps curling back up and you are trying to run a war. And you have a few more copies. And you spilled your grog on that one last week.
There was actually a comic that someone made for that. It had something to do with pirates. And besides if you're having a problem with a map curling up, then you weigh down the ends so it doesn't.
"As long as you can, as long as you can." That saying was taught to me by my first boss in trade. It basically means you keep items as long in length, for as long as you can. You can always get a short piece from a long piece, but you can't get a long piece from a short piece.
As a soldier, I once showed the others in my platoon how to tie down our long, radio antennae so we could set up and take down for movement quickly. The very next time we set up, the lieutenant cut the cord for 2 of them before somebody showed him how a quick-release knot works. I'm still miffed about that, Sir... 🤬
Funny you should mention a hammer at the end. It actually is the tool of choice for untying rope. 3rd gen commercial fisherman here. If someone ties a knot badly so that it can't be undone normally, or for some reason chooses a knot that doesn't have a normal way to untie, perhaps as an emergency splice or a green person cleating off,... Then you need to loosen the knot to untie it. Tension has worked it into something resembling a rock. Your fingers haven't a chance at worrying the knot loose. A prybar, or pick would damage the fibers. One option is to lash around the rope next to the knot to prevent unraveling and cut through the knot to minimise waste. But the better method is to find something that serves as an anvil, and hammer around on the knot until parts of it can be moved. Then focus on the parts that move more, and eventually you get it loose enough that it can be undone.
+GunFun ZS This, totally. A fresh rope will 'break' in a bit with a hammer, an old one will come loose feeling like silk. (Not really, but when an old rope unties it just goes so smoothly).
I was thinking of him the whole time I watched the video. His farewell tug on Galadriel’s rope, his insistence that he tied the knots well but that the rope came to him because it “sensed” he’d miss it... That was such a charming scene. (And I do completely believe his claim.)
I have an idea for a game session. So these villagers have tied up some guys who are maybe falsely accused of being bad guys and the party will find this out. Of course they'll cut the rope and the villagers who are already mad because they've freed their prison will riot because they've cut several pieces of rope.
I'm tempted to be cruel to my players and make them record the lengths of their rope each time they decide to cut some. When they innevitably start to complain (either because they have no decent lengths for a task, or about all the book-keeping and mental maths required to document their many pieces) I'll direct them to this video!
I did this to my players after they pissed me off. They eventually apologised for what they did after one of them died due to their rope being to short.
@@carbon1255 That's why I thought he would be cutting some 'stunt rope' for the cause. But sailing magazine has it covered (except note this is *not* the hollywood scenario given the bend in the rope): note the blade at two minutes twelve seconds is probably more representative of the typical pocket knife today, and the typical knife of medieval times, and is notably less effective, all @ ua-cam.com/video/fXVdV06neHk/v-deo.html But then, I also thought that wooden staff in the background was going to be used to demonstrate how long a fathom is, as soon as it came up...
Hey Lindybeige, I can maybe give some personal perspective on this. I grew up as a farmer, and we did grow crops, though not those that can be turned into rope. What we did have was baker twine. We used it to wrap or tie our bales of hay or straw or green feed. Being a bored 12 year old one day, I decided to try and braid rope like I saw cowboys do in the movies with their riatas. So I got permission and I did. And once I had done that I made more. I eventually got to the point that I could braid a 12 cord twine rope together. I was very proud of it and I used it extensively when we worked cattle to hold fence panels together. Once while we were working cattle, two of them got jammed into our gate, blocking it off, with 20 more head pushing to get out. We had to make another exit for the other cows before one of them got hurt and the best option was where I had tied my favourite rope. The way they had jammed the panels made it impossible to quickly untie the rope. So, though disliking the option, I cut the rope. Myself. And then took the prices and used them both elsewhere. The moral of the story is that though I didn’t do it lightly, a cut rope is more of an annoyance than a catastrophe to the man who made it. If you cut it correctly you can still get lots of use out of it. In comparison, a busted in door is more of an invasion and a major expense.
Another thing to consider is that in the days when rope was expensive, I don't think people's hands would usually be tied with the best quality of rope. Tying and untying knots in rope will degrade it, and I can't see much point in wasting good quality rope on such a task. Finding a piece of modern rope may be easier for a film crew than finding suitably-cut strip of animal hide, vine, etc. but I would think the latter choices would have been more practical before rope manufacturing became cheap.
On the other hand, if the rope belonged to an ENEMY of the person who wanted to untie it, and the enemy soldiers were closing in on the rescuers, they wouldn't care about saving the ENEMY'S rope.
Definitely Not B8ing The point is, if you wanted to free your friend from your enemy who tied him up, and you had to do it quickly, you wouldn't care as much about your enemy's rope as about rescuing your friend. Like when Robin Hood is about to be hanged, and his rescue party invaded, they would cut the Sheriff's rope to save his life. Now if it were EASY and less RISKY, it might be a bonus to capture the rope for Robin to use later, but the main task is to save Robin from hanging.
Allan Richardson but it doesn't matter if it was an enemy's rope. If your friend was about to hang himself on your rope, his life is more important than the rope and you would cut it. Unless you want to hurt the enemy by destroying their rope, it doesn't matter whose rope it is if it is worth salvaging
Definitely Not B8ing I agree. I was assuming the more frequent theme in a movie, wherein the rescuers, at risk of being captured and killed by the same bad guys who are holding their friend hostage, wouldn't stop to salvage the rope. And cutting it to free their friend would add a little bit of extra harm to the bad guys, in addition to rescuing their friend. And making the movie scene more dramatic as well. In the scenario Lloyd described, wherein the "bad" guys are persuaded to release the prisoner peacefully, they would take the time to untie and put away the rope in Medieval times; maybe even today, since rope is cheaper but not totally free. A modern analogy: if the authorities have a prisoner handcuffed and decide to release him, they would normally unlock the handcuffs rather than cut them off (unless the key was lost), because handcuffs are not cheap. But if our heroes helped the prisoner escape, taking him to a safe place still wearing them, they would probably just cut them off once they reach their safe place, since they they don't have the key and it's not their set of cuffs anyway.
I didn't invent the internet, design a browser, create UA-cam, or make the comment section available, but I will have had left this comment (with help).
its actually a myth that a rope that has been cut turns into two ropes, you need to slice them down the middle and they need to be starfish or else the worm dies.
As a swede this made me realize that the word "famn" in Swedish which means the length between once outstretched arms is related to the English word fathom. I looked it up and it's true.
Thank you! Something related that’s been annoying me for many years is that nobody in Hollywood seems to know how to remove a necklace from somebody’s neck(including their own neck sometimes). They always pull on it and break the chain or thong. But somehow somebody could then proceed to fasten the now ruined necklace around their own neck.
Once played a game of D&D where the whole party in character got mad at a guy for undoing a knot with fire bolt. Rope is useful stuff and I’d sooner go exploring caves transporting prisoners and doing adventurer/army stuff unarmed than without rope!
I love this channel. I always learn very interesting information on this channel which is utterly useless and inapplicable to my actual life in the 21st century.
+Saladin1187 When the zombie apocalypse hits, you will not regret watching this channel. You will be making your own heelless boots in not time, while all the plebes will be making theirs with heels and clomping around getting detected by zombies.
This reminds me of role playing. One of the greatest things is to make the majority of the treasures on a run, the materials used in the traps and other dungeon accessories. Rope, springs, quality steel spikes and the like, all those are worth big bucks, but no one ever thinks to gather it up, and then is mad that there isn't chests full of gold at the end. Well yeah, the dungeon owner spent all his gold on those nasty bits of metal, wood and cloth you so carefully avoided and/or destroyed.
+Krahn Yes, yes. This x 100. A super elaborate lock with the key found later in the dungeon? Quickly smashed & discarded for the treasure inside. Water-resistant rope, coated in Dire Bee's wax to help pull down a submersible death cage? Ignored to 'just get out of this dank place'. Mithril-forged hinges to hold fast a near-impregnable door? Smash through the wall beside it, ignore the door's hinges & all the bolts which are easily removable from the inner side. "All they had was this lousy chest with some silver, gold & a scepter? Where's the REAL treasure?" *DM sighs*
+Orangeblossom In the middle of the underground lagoon, you see a heavily armored green dragon. It is 100 feet long with a spike tail. Presumably, the green stuff near your feet is poison spit. Fight, flank or turn back? Players: Flank. He hears your echoing ass feet and you are covered in poison designed to kill 500lb. livestock. You are dragon food. Next game?
To be fair when I say "I drove home" I had some help. I didn't level the ground, build and surface the road, mine for metals to forge into a car, plant a rubber plantation to make the tyres then dig out clay to mold into bricks to build my house with. I just did the driving bit.
I know this video is old, but I'm going to throw one in anyway. I recently discovered how deeply hilarious, entertaining and educational this channel is all at once. That is a combination that few people can pull off. I love it.
This has always bothered me when it comes to movies with pirates or sailors, they have an extremely finite amount of rope that they need for absolutely everything they do, it's just so fucking stupid.
Pirates steal, not to mention farmers are the ones who harvest and possibly even make rope, pirates being rich, or in the movies anyway. They can afford it or steal it and waste it, however much they like. Just like I doubt that you would waste time untying a knot, to save your friends, if you can just cut it and most of the time an enemy can walk into the room at any second and beat the shit out of you before you do untie the knot (if you sneaked on the ship to save a prisoner), as it is depicted in movies. 9 times out of 10 in every movie where people cut rope, its already available to the masses for cheap, just like in our times. Just like most ''useful'' knots if done well, can't be untied easily. Unless you're bad a tying knots.
Alex Crowface It's obvious to see that you have absolutely no maritime knowledge. You're working on an idea where supply is high but demand is low, whenever you're on a ship the need for rope is very high which makes the demand very high, every lead, line and rope that's on a ship needs to be used and not be destroyed because the next time that you hit port will probably be quite a while. You also seem to know very little about knots, a good knot that's done well won't ever come undone but can quickly be untied, seriously you should just be quiet if you don't know anything.
Seafaring types were generally extremely skilled in the making and unmaking of knots of all kinds, they could do amazing things with limited amounts of rope.
As a rigger and rope enthuisiast, i whole heartedly agree on the comment of cutting. Kicking the door in is such a great analogy. When you have made it yourself you are deffinatley not going to Just chop it willy nilly!!!
+hopper1 One end is looped. The other is whipped, with a tuft of loose ends sticking out. I might get round to finishing off the rope in some different way, but many involve thickening the end.
+Edward Kenway In another episode he times a chick from Game of Thrones (I think - I don't watch) as she keeps a war bow at full stretch. It was a totally unrealistic 90 seconds as she and the guy on the ground chatted back and forth.
+King Dormak the chromosome expelling forniphile As I said, I don't watch GoT (or whatever) and the info came second hand from Lindy. I think he was mainly interested in pointing out absurdities in fakey, poorly done historical movies -- as he did to hilarious effect with Ironclad. Thanks anyway.
+Ian Findlay Game of thrones is not an historical movie. Futhermore there as much point in sighing about movies as there is to sigh about medieval novels not describing their time for accuracy either.
This is an ongoing theme in Patrick O’brian’s Aubrey/Martin series (Master and Commander) The good Doctor is constantly being reminded that “we never cut a cable in the service” Towards the last novels he will not cut even a small string, and holds those that do as mere “lubbers” I could not agree more! Thank You
+MoonUnit IV people being hanged on a proper gallows would generally die as soon as they have the support removed from under their feet. Unlike in the movies, the general cause of death by hanging was a broken neck, not asphyxiation.
+Killjoy Back when people were publicly executed via hanging and it was a whole fun event, they were generally strangled to death, and did not die from the broken neck. The neck breaking came later, when longer ropes were used. Public executions were less popular so it was more about killing them quickly and easily. If the rope was too long, though, it could decapitate the victim, which was mighty embarrassing for the executioner.
I thoguht this would be about how easily they always cut ropes in movies ^^. I mean I've never actually cut a rope, but it seems like cutting rope is like cutting a piece of string in many movies.. Like if I hit a rope with a sword in reality, I doubt the rope will snap, pretty sure my sword will just bounce off right?
+MaMastoast As someone who grew up in the country - cutting works good, but only on thin ropes. The knife is tending to get stuck in the thicker ones. Chopping a rope would only work if it is against a firm foundation, like a log, if it is just hanging or is tensed then the sword will bounce off.
+MaMastoast They're tightly wound and thick for strength; if a sword could do a lot of damage or cut right through them, they probably were unsuitable for hoisting those crates. That reminds me of a difference between Tomb Raider 1 an TR Anniversary: in 1 Lara worked at an elevator cable for a long time with a blowtorch to cut it, whereas in Anniversary she just randomly shoots at the elevator and breaks it instantly. It's all likely because Hollywood has such an expendable mindset - they can demolish a dozen cars for a one second scene - and think our rapid industries were just as quick in the past.
wireless.mike gonna have to disagree there. Coming from the country myself I have cut through a brand new rope with a sword. Again it was under certain circumstances, it was tied between two trees and taut. Cut it clean in two. But then I had to try and explain to my dad why his brand new rope had 6 feet missing from it....
+LaughingOwlKiller Tbh i never had a sword, we had a pretty big machete-like knife though, and i think how tense the rope is has a lot to say in the matter.
And when they do cut them, it seems ridiculously easy. One or two swipes with a knife and its done, instead of of sawing away at the thing for tens of seconds, as would be required in reality.
+Bob Lake Which is at least reflected in tense Naval scenes! The hero frantically cutting away at the rope that's somehow going to rescue them from danger after being cut...
Rewatching I actually like how you kept adding "with help" every time you mention that you made the rope. Shows a lot of respect for the craftmanship involved.
Earlier tonight I watched the newest episode of The Walking Dead. In it a woman had a man she tied up in a chair. She had personally tied him up and knew how to untie that rope AND there was no invoming zombies or enemies. So for no reason at all she cut the perfectly good rope in the apocalypse. I'm so glad I found this video to vent my frustrations.
Imagine a scene that plays out. The Captain orders the prisoners to ve freed. One soldier takes out his knife to cut the rope and it takes him like a minute of sawing to do, while the other soldier goes around the cell and effortlessly unties half a dozen prisoners in the amount of time it takes the rope cutter to free one. All the while the prisoners give the rope-cutting soldier a strange look.
In terms of survival, cordage is one of the most important items to have. You NEVER cut cordage! You learn to tie knots that can be undone rapidly without cutting. Virtually any man in the past would have had some skill with knots and would likely have been furious had his cordage been cut without a very serious cause. Great video!
Dear Lindybeige, I happened to be reading my Vergil today, and there is a passage in which Aeneas actually cuts a rope! While reading I thought about your video. This passage from the Aeneid is remarkably interesting, considering the things you're saying in the video. Hopefully you'll read my comment! :) Here comes the passage: Deus aethere missus ab alto festinare fugam tortosque incidere funes ecce iterum stimulat. (...) Dixit, vaginaque eripit ensem fulmineum, strictoque ferit retinacula ferro. (Verg. Aen. IV 574-580). You probably know your fair bit of Latin, but I'll translate for those who don't :) "The god, sent from the high sky, again urged that he hurried his flight and cut the twisted ropes. (...) So he (Aeneas) spoke, and he unsheaths his shiny sword and with the drawn steel he cuts the rope." What do we make of this? Is it perhaps not only hollywood, but also a thing of ancient writers to make their protagonists cut and spill decently made rope, just for the epicness and drama? I'm very curious about your thoughts! No more need to say it, but I really love your video's. That's why I'm so curious about what you think we should make of this passage, as I do totally agree on how ridiculous it is that all these people are cutting ropes whenever it suits them.
Since people in ancient time knew what effort it took to make ropes a hero cutting them appears daring and roughnecked indeed, I assume. And if a god tells you to hurry up it might be better to show your good will by simply cutting the rope instead of fumbling around with it to get it loose, does it?
Pff, wouldn't catch Odysseus being so wasteful. Mind you, Athena wouldn't have asked him to be. Your mistake was trusting a Roman. ;) (To be fair, Aeneas may have been intentionally sort of a jackass as a critique on Augustus "look at my big obelisk" Caesar, so Virgil might be being cleverer than I give him credit. Kudos on reading in the Latin too!)
I understand you're a great leader but by god man, that was my rope that I made. Well I made, is relative, I didn't prepare the fields...(5 minutes pass)...but this is my bloody good piece of rope you twonk.
To be fair, Alexander the Not Bad was the sort of jerk who wouldn't really care. The dude had his armies de-island an island he didn't like, and his overarching military plan was "keep going until it's mine". Wasn't so much into the planning, as evidenced by the fact that his empire would be a statistical footnote if its collapse didn't end up defining world politics for the rest of time.
to be fair, his first approach was to untie the know, the point was that you dont always need untie it, so the point here is kinda the point the story tries to make
I'm surprised you haven't mention the cutting speed as well, given in movies they also often cut through a thick piece of rope in a single swipe, like it's tissue paper or something.
Oh my, I never would have thought that wide spread arms would have been some sort of measure for anything :D A fathom? I would have been quite bad at counting such measures as my arms reach 5 inches longer than 6ft.
+Lindybeige You metioned the "understanding" meaning of the word fathom, but is it so that in English the meaning "to hug" is nowdays obsolete? For example in Roman and Germanic languages and in Finnish the word for lenght measure has a close connection to the word for emracing (braccio - abbracciare, syli - syleillä). For an another thought: Funny how our words for intellectual grasping are so manual, in Finnish the word "to fathom" - "käsittää" could be translated to "handle".
+925tuotanto Hug actually derives from the Old Norse hugga, meaning 'to soothe/console'. The main meaning of braccio is of course 'arm' - the derived noun abbracciare refers to the action of surrounding the person's body with your arms. The less common meaning of braccio as fathom still directly means arm, as in the length of an arm (well technically 2). Braccio also means ell, which is an archaic term for an arm's length. The word 'embrace' has a more direct relation to abbracciare than hug, but then it came into English from French. Related to that is the term 'brace' meaning 2 of something, since most people have 2 arms. The issue with words in English is the multiple origins of synonymous terms (Norse, Germanic, French, Latin, etc.) and for example the Old English word clepan meaning to hug or in a vulgar sense to have sex has disappeared from modern English though it appeared in Chaucer as 'to clip' and the word clip still exists but now meaning to bind together or to cut with a scissors (referring to how the two arms of the scissors come together).
I love this. I work on tugboats but my my maritime career began in traditional sailing and rigging work. I deal with this angst over defiling perfectly good small rope all the time. Many of the crew I work with will cut off a couple feet from the spook to lash something down and then a few days late cut it off. This makes me shudder with anger. Furthermore they frequently leave the ends unbound and free to fray. This is also induced eye twitching. Thanks for this.
When I play D&D, my characters avoid cutting the rope whenever possible. This led to a recent (two weeks ago) situation where we tied up a halfling with a full fifty foot length of climbing rope, essentially mummifying him from neck to knees. When we handed the prisoner over, my character insisted the guards return my rope un-cut.
That's a really good point. I use rope for rigging quite often at work, and any decently tied knot should never require cutting. Even if it's a cheap nylon rope, why waste the time and money to purchase more??
fun fact of the day: fathom is spelled Faðmar in Icelandic (pronounced almost same) and faðma is hugging so basically the origins of Fathom is from hugging. off i go!
+Dirk Stabins Totally. Farmer cheese (what we'd call cottage cheese) was easy to make, but aging it into something else was definitely hard. You'd need a dry, clean place free from vermin to store your cheese. And once it's cut, it's exposed to air. So very easy to mould. That's what made it so hard. Some people would dedicate areas of their loft, or small rooms for cheese or other aged (smoked/salted) foods. Just to keep it safe & separate from the animals.
The Hollywood cutting of the rope to launch a catapult is the first thing I thought of when you said "you don't cut ropes lightly because they're valuable". That sort of thing always annoyed me.
+LordVader1094 Can also be used for tension : the hero is attached, and another guy show up with a knife ! Then he just cuts the rope to free the hero.
+LordVader1094 You are talking nonsense. All action needn't stop when someone undoes a knot, it can be done in the background or finished offscreen, it can be choreographed to be really snappy without revealing the simplicity of the knot, it can be used for exposition.
having made string and rope by hand, I'd be mortified if someone cut my handiwork. they're allways the same ones who complain that a given rope is *too short* there after..
Well done, well said. I'm an old man now but, when I was a lad my Dad was adamant that ropes/lines were not to be cut. He made exceptions for cheap disposable clothesline but, that was it.
I thought this video was going to be a point about actually how laborious it is to cut through a rope, especially with a blade that doesn't have any kind of serration. you know the classic, bunch of good guys climbing a rope to safety followed by a bad guy, the bad guy grabs the ankle of the last good guy who exchanges glances with the rest of the party who look in shock as their comrade hardens his resolve, draws his knife and severs the rope in a single motion to fall to his (and the enemy's) death down below. even with the tension introduced by the weight of two people hanging off it, surely it'd take long enough for the baddy to desperately clamber over the good guy, grab hold of the rope above the cut, and slap the good guy for being such an idiot.
I cut my laces every time I want to get my shoes off.
Kleanupguy Really? I just cut my feet off.
I use a hammer to break open the windows instead if opening them by the handles. I have ever heard of people referring to abortion as a firm of birth control, as apposed to let's say a condom or the pill presumably. I presume they didn't think that comment threw very well though.
I cut open the shoe, or else cut off my foot with a shotgun. Much faster.
This is why I'm only allowed slip-ons. Or velcro strap trainers at a push.
I was watching a prison documentary and one of the inmates /drug dealer thug said that on the outside he never washed a T-shirt. When they got dirty he threw them out.
"You ruined my perfectly good rope!" I could see that be turned into a good Monty Python sketch.
Kaos Warrior I am now writing this.
I thought exactly the same thing, it sounded just like John Cleese
And then someone comes in to advocate the use of chains
Deleted scene in life of Brian lol
There's a good Monty Python bit about string. I'm pretty sure it's just called "String".
They also stab maps in movies.
do you know how long it took to make that?
I dont see the problem with using a knife to mark things on maps
*sets my laundry hamper on fire instead of cleaning them*
they did not use knives that would eventually destroy the map. they used basic chips or counters they can move about
Hell, I dont even like putting thumbtacks on my maps.
@shlibber we do that in real life as well. Just use nail polish remover on a waterproofed map
I lolled at this
Judge: "Take those handcuffs off the prisoner"
Guard: *grabs bolt cutters*
Plasma cutter*
Cuts off hands.
@@cmdrtianyilin8107: Now that is a very Pythonesque reply. In particular when at the end of the "World Forum/Communist Quiz" sketch during their _Live at the Hollywood Bowl_ show, the host states "Well, no one leaves this show empty-handed, so we're gonna cut off his hands."
Plasticuffs really do have to be cut off. They can only be used once.
@@Blokewood3 nope. I've opened them using knife(WITHOUT cutting it)
You have to understand how things work and you'll know how to open it
also when they take someone's necklace or locket or whatever, they always yank it and break the chain
that's not uncommon, most jewel thieves here do that
That’s normal, stolen jewelry is sold by weight only.
Thanks but I don't want it now, it's broken.
@@demonbot6617 not thieves. In movies when they've got them prisoner and want their necklace. Or they want to give their necklace to someone. They just yank it and break it instead of take it off.
That _can_ make sense, if it’s a theft scenario, since for the thief priority is getting it quickly and stealthy. But it’s like cutting rope, it wouldn’t be normal behavior.
My father always told me to never cut when it could be untied. He also told me not to eat yellow snow. Bright man, my father.
Indeed. He should have taught Alexander the Great. Maybe he would not have become the ancient king of rope waste then
That knot was only for showmanship. No other purpose anyway
What's wrong with eating yellow snow. Your father seems controlling and abusive...
@@oniongingertomato2216 come on dude
@@oniongingertomato2216 IKR, I always ate lemonade ice when I got the chance, especially if its all natural. They say natural is good for you.
Lindy should direct a comedy film set in medieval times. -"Free the prisoner!" *cuts rope* -"why would you do that? That was my rope!".
+AVJHalonen "...and what on earth are you wearing? Is that thin black leather with iron studs through it?"
+AVJHalonen "I'll cut your achilles tendon with my agricultural scythe!"
-"It's raining, let's go inside."
-"Don't bother. The roof is thatched."
+AVJHalonen That actually does sound like a Mitchell and Webb sketch.
+Sir David Payne "Crap archers, to the battlements! ...Watch out there's no handrail.. Fire!"
This channel is like Monty Python had a baby with a history professor.
"next scene: a famous historian....." Galloping horse....arggghhhh!!!!
And now for something completely different.
This guy reminds me of the late Graham Chapman
A good history professor* mine don't know where their asses are...
@@BKnerosky ask them in 400 years
Lindybeige: *says fathom
Me: starts googling it
Lindybeige: it's curious that there are people who don't know what a fathom is
He said, "It occurs to me...."
Thats hard to fathom...
That's a deep comment.
I thought he was going to say ropes are too hard too cut, but he explained it and went into depth really well.
As a man who smashes his mug after every coffee or tea, I would certainly cut ropes. But then, I never get invited to dinner parties for some reason.
"This drink, I like it. ANOTHER!"
+BeepingMetal LOLOL
+BeepingMetal i always smash my mugs after every coffee or tea, because i order my shoes from sports direct
+BeepingMetal (with help)
+BeepingMetal At least you don't have to waste time doing the dishes.
What bothers me is when people stab knives into maps. I mean, someone spent ages on a nice map, and you ruin it.
right, or they'll stick pins in it.
I can conceive of it if it is really pissing you off as it keeps curling back up and you are trying to run a war. And you have a few more copies. And you spilled your grog on that one last week.
There was actually a comic that someone made for that. It had something to do with pirates. And besides if you're having a problem with a map curling up, then you weigh down the ends so it doesn't.
+Carbon 12 You could just get some stones and place them on the corners of the map.
Dion van Oene I feel like you guys are not giving enough weight to the "it is really pissing you off" part.
I always kick doors in, it's quicker.
GRH GRH I bunny hop everywhere because it's faster
dakota neumann Woah, I don't have the legs for that
I bounce everywhere on my dick like a pogo stick. It's not any faster than walking, but I like to do it out of sheer spite.
I'll dive through windows if those are closer than doors. :V
Ah, it doesn't count if you're a Police Officer as kicking doors in is your natural default setting after basic training, sorry.
"As long as you can, as long as you can."
That saying was taught to me by my first boss in trade. It basically means you keep items as long in length, for as long as you can.
You can always get a short piece from a long piece, but you can't get a long piece from a short piece.
Measure twice, cut once also _ties in_ nicely with that saying.
As a soldier, I once showed the others in my platoon how to tie down our long, radio antennae so we could set up and take down for movement quickly. The very next time we set up, the lieutenant cut the cord for 2 of them before somebody showed him how a quick-release knot works. I'm still miffed about that, Sir... 🤬
I have absolutely no experience with the military beyond cadets and fiction, but that's still the most Officer thing I've ever heard in my life.
That's why you don't let the boot-tenants near anything.
Funny you should mention a hammer at the end. It actually is the tool of choice for untying rope. 3rd gen commercial fisherman here. If someone ties a knot badly so that it can't be undone normally, or for some reason chooses a knot that doesn't have a normal way to untie, perhaps as an emergency splice or a green person cleating off,... Then you need to loosen the knot to untie it. Tension has worked it into something resembling a rock. Your fingers haven't a chance at worrying the knot loose. A prybar, or pick would damage the fibers. One option is to lash around the rope next to the knot to prevent unraveling and cut through the knot to minimise waste. But the better method is to find something that serves as an anvil, and hammer around on the knot until parts of it can be moved. Then focus on the parts that move more, and eventually you get it loose enough that it can be undone.
+GunFun ZS This, totally. A fresh rope will 'break' in a bit with a hammer, an old one will come loose feeling like silk. (Not really, but when an old rope unties it just goes so smoothly).
Good to know, thanks.
most useful UA-cam comment I've ever seen
in some specific situation it's true, but not as a rule, just because a hammer works in your case don't means it work in ask situations
Neat
Samwise Gamgee... now there's someone with a real appreciation for ropes.
Also Connor Macmanus from the boondock saints
I was thinking of him the whole time I watched the video. His farewell tug on Galadriel’s rope, his insistence that he tied the knots well but that the rope came to him because it “sensed” he’d miss it... That was such a charming scene. (And I do completely believe his claim.)
. ACKSHUALLY it was an enchanted rope that unties itself when ever you wish to loosen it. Not that it sensed anything.
@@Spazzycat14 Good ol' "rope of elvenkind" from AD&D.
As a DM, I'm going to have all my NPC's make a big deal about their rope.
I have an idea for a game session. So these villagers have tied up some guys who are maybe falsely accused of being bad guys and the party will find this out. Of course they'll cut the rope and the villagers who are already mad because they've freed their prison will riot because they've cut several pieces of rope.
I suppose that is an appropriate response to the last rope in the village getting all cut up :p
lol, entertaining.
I'm tempted to be cruel to my players and make them record the lengths of their rope each time they decide to cut some. When they innevitably start to complain (either because they have no decent lengths for a task, or about all the book-keeping and mental maths required to document their many pieces) I'll direct them to this video!
I did this to my players after they pissed me off. They eventually apologised for what they did after one of them died due to their rope being to short.
Good point. There are loads of tropes from historical TV and films that drive me nuts. Wall- mounted flaming torches is another one
"Twonk": the technical term for a person who cuts the rope that secures a prisoner to a Medieval a torture device.
"Spinkywomper" - the technical term for a person who describes a person who cuts the rope that secures a prisoner to a Medieval a torture device.
I liked this video (with help)
+asoom whats ur profile pic its cool
+TheLurkingPanda thanks it's some image of a trippy astronaut gif I made an edit of another one
I liked this comment (with help)
@@voosum You could say, you made it (with help)
I used sub bots ( with help )
Why did you not mention that cutting a good thick rope (like the one you made) with an average knife is an extremely slow and frustrating process? :)
Maybe the average kitchen knife. People who use carry and use a knife on a daily basis keep them sharp. Maybe five seconds of sawing or a good chop?
***** You've got your point.
Ceramic knife. Even the cheap ones off eBay are wicked sharp.
@@carbon1255 That's why I thought he would be cutting some 'stunt rope' for the cause. But sailing magazine has it covered (except note this is *not* the hollywood scenario given the bend in the rope): note the blade at two minutes twelve seconds is probably more representative of the typical pocket knife today, and the typical knife of medieval times, and is notably less effective, all @ ua-cam.com/video/fXVdV06neHk/v-deo.html
But then, I also thought that wooden staff in the background was going to be used to demonstrate how long a fathom is, as soon as it came up...
Because that would mean thinking about cutting the rope, and YOU DON'T CUT THE ROPE!!
Wait, you mean I don't need to buy a new pair of laces every time I take my shoes off?
ahahaaha. you had me chuckling man
That's the reason I never untie my laced.
+zorkan111 You mean I can just... Undo the velcro bits, instead of cutting through them?
Huh... you learn something new every day...
+zorkan111 xkcd.com/1567/
+zorkan111 My car budget is absurd, because I prefer the Jaws of Life to door handles.
Hey Lindybeige, I can maybe give some personal perspective on this. I grew up as a farmer, and we did grow crops, though not those that can be turned into rope. What we did have was baker twine. We used it to wrap or tie our bales of hay or straw or green feed. Being a bored 12 year old one day, I decided to try and braid rope like I saw cowboys do in the movies with their riatas. So I got permission and I did. And once I had done that I made more. I eventually got to the point that I could braid a 12 cord twine rope together. I was very proud of it and I used it extensively when we worked cattle to hold fence panels together. Once while we were working cattle, two of them got jammed into our gate, blocking it off, with 20 more head pushing to get out. We had to make another exit for the other cows before one of them got hurt and the best option was where I had tied my favourite rope. The way they had jammed the panels made it impossible to quickly untie the rope. So, though disliking the option, I cut the rope. Myself. And then took the prices and used them both elsewhere.
The moral of the story is that though I didn’t do it lightly, a cut rope is more of an annoyance than a catastrophe to the man who made it. If you cut it correctly you can still get lots of use out of it. In comparison, a busted in door is more of an invasion and a major expense.
Another thing to consider is that in the days when rope was expensive, I don't think people's hands would usually be tied with the best quality of rope. Tying and untying knots in rope will degrade it, and I can't see much point in wasting good quality rope on such a task. Finding a piece of modern rope may be easier for a film crew than finding suitably-cut strip of animal hide, vine, etc. but I would think the latter choices would have been more practical before rope manufacturing became cheap.
On the other hand, if the rope belonged to an ENEMY of the person who wanted to untie it, and the enemy soldiers were closing in on the rescuers, they wouldn't care about saving the ENEMY'S rope.
Allan Richardson bruh the fuck? If you have the rope, it's useful rope. Why would it matter who originally made it?
Definitely Not B8ing The point is, if you wanted to free your friend from your enemy who tied him up, and you had to do it quickly, you wouldn't care as much about your enemy's rope as about rescuing your friend. Like when Robin Hood is about to be hanged, and his rescue party invaded, they would cut the Sheriff's rope to save his life. Now if it were EASY and less RISKY, it might be a bonus to capture the rope for Robin to use later, but the main task is to save Robin from hanging.
Allan Richardson but it doesn't matter if it was an enemy's rope. If your friend was about to hang himself on your rope, his life is more important than the rope and you would cut it. Unless you want to hurt the enemy by destroying their rope, it doesn't matter whose rope it is if it is worth salvaging
Definitely Not B8ing I agree. I was assuming the more frequent theme in a movie, wherein the rescuers, at risk of being captured and killed by the same bad guys who are holding their friend hostage, wouldn't stop to salvage the rope. And cutting it to free their friend would add a little bit of extra harm to the bad guys, in addition to rescuing their friend. And making the movie scene more dramatic as well.
In the scenario Lloyd described, wherein the "bad" guys are persuaded to release the prisoner peacefully, they would take the time to untie and put away the rope in Medieval times; maybe even today, since rope is cheaper but not totally free. A modern analogy: if the authorities have a prisoner handcuffed and decide to release him, they would normally unlock the handcuffs rather than cut them off (unless the key was lost), because handcuffs are not cheap. But if our heroes helped the prisoner escape, taking him to a safe place still wearing them, they would probably just cut them off once they reach their safe place, since they they don't have the key and it's not their set of cuffs anyway.
In that case you just steal the rope
I didn't invent the internet, design a browser, create UA-cam, or make the comment section available, but I will have had left this comment (with help).
"mummy can I comment again"
And yet not one of your helpers told you not to say, "will have had" ... sighs.
you got the easy part, do you know how hard it is to invent the internet, design a browser, create youtube, and make a comment section all on your own
Muahaha, and I'm going to cut it! (by reporting it as spam)
Pat Powers But that’s right though...
but then there is two rope. rope win everytime.
its actually a myth that a rope that has been cut turns into two ropes, you need to slice them down the middle and they need to be starfish or else the worm dies.
Rope are like Hydra
They turn into snakes and attack you.
That assumes you want two ropes at half the length of the original, and that you can tie the ends so that they don't immediately start to fray.
@@Aznwarlord7 I just hit my head and you're making me worried about brain damage ._.
Huh... I never thought about this. It's like taking a pair of scissors to your shoe laces every time you want to untie your shoes.
@Anirban Chakrabarti I guess thats why i have no money, i spend way to much on shoe laces, this is great financial advice!
bolt cutters to handcuffs
setting laundry on fire
smashing your ceramics when they get dirty
Thats exactly the point
Wait, what? You people don't do it?
As a swede this made me realize that the word "famn" in Swedish which means the length between once outstretched arms is related to the English word fathom. I looked it up and it's true.
maybe the vikings brought it over there? because I never heard of it in german...
"This is my rope. There are many fathoms of rope like it but this is mine."
The reference was lost on many, but not me, friend
I never think about these kind of things while watching movies. Great video
Heh, now I'm imagining archers cutting the strings of their bows every time they want to shoot an arrow...
+TheFilthyCasual I think i'll be more like chopping the archer's fingers to release the arrow. :)
Dante Bañuelos Maybe they chopped their own fingers and then used them as arrowheads? :D
+TheFilthyCasual makes almost as much sense as cutting your arm off if you cant get your shield straps loose
+JsinXx And we've all been there, right?!?
+TheFilthyCasual Yea poke their eyes out the worst pain known to man. FINGER ARROWS!!!!
I shall now take a shower, but before that I need to cut myself out of these pesky clothes.
Don't forget to burn the clothes. I mean, used clothes? Eew.
um... thats holywood sex 101, too busy to undress, rip the clothes instead
Thank you! Something related that’s been annoying me for many years is that nobody in Hollywood seems to know how to remove a necklace from somebody’s neck(including their own neck sometimes). They always pull on it and break the chain or thong. But somehow somebody could then proceed to fasten the now ruined necklace around their own neck.
Once played a game of D&D where the whole party in character got mad at a guy for undoing a knot with fire bolt.
Rope is useful stuff and I’d sooner go exploring caves transporting prisoners and doing adventurer/army stuff unarmed than without rope!
You're like a walking lexicon that just keeps on giving. I'm so glad to have randomly stumbled upon your channel, Sir.
I love this channel. I always learn very interesting information on this channel which is utterly useless and inapplicable to my actual life in the 21st century.
+Saladin1187 That's the best kind!
+Zack Toor Agreed.
+Saladin1187
In some games, you can win milions by knowing utterly useless bits of information :D
+Saladin1187 Don't forget that the world can change any moment
+Saladin1187
When the zombie apocalypse hits, you will not regret watching this channel. You will be making your own heelless boots in not time, while all the plebes will be making theirs with heels and clomping around getting detected by zombies.
This reminds me of role playing. One of the greatest things is to make the majority of the treasures on a run, the materials used in the traps and other dungeon accessories. Rope, springs, quality steel spikes and the like, all those are worth big bucks, but no one ever thinks to gather it up, and then is mad that there isn't chests full of gold at the end. Well yeah, the dungeon owner spent all his gold on those nasty bits of metal, wood and cloth you so carefully avoided and/or destroyed.
+Krahn Yes, yes. This x 100.
A super elaborate lock with the key found later in the dungeon? Quickly smashed & discarded for the treasure inside.
Water-resistant rope, coated in Dire Bee's wax to help pull down a submersible death cage? Ignored to 'just get out of this dank place'.
Mithril-forged hinges to hold fast a near-impregnable door? Smash through the wall beside it, ignore the door's hinges & all the bolts which are easily removable from the inner side.
"All they had was this lousy chest with some silver, gold & a scepter? Where's the REAL treasure?"
*DM sighs*
+Orangeblossom
In the middle of the underground lagoon, you see a heavily armored green dragon. It is 100 feet long with a spike tail.
Presumably, the green stuff near your feet is poison spit.
Fight, flank or turn back?
Players: Flank.
He hears your echoing ass feet and you are covered in poison designed to kill 500lb. livestock.
You are dragon food. Next game?
manictiger
As a DM, that's music to my ears. ;)
To be fair when I say "I drove home" I had some help. I didn't level the ground, build and surface the road, mine for metals to forge into a car, plant a rubber plantation to make the tyres then dig out clay to mold into bricks to build my house with.
I just did the driving bit.
I know this video is old, but I'm going to throw one in anyway. I recently discovered how deeply hilarious, entertaining and educational this channel is all at once. That is a combination that few people can pull off. I love it.
So basically: "Hollywood, cut the b*llsh*t, not the rope"
*knot :p
crucci just take the knot why wont ya?
As a rope maker, I thank you.
But if no one cut rope wouldn't you be out of a job?
It's not my job, it's my hobby. And I hate seeing something I make ruined pointlessly.
@@fhorst41 It was a joke, sir.
@@kpsiex You're a joke, sir.
@@ElectricAlien577 No you're a joke sir!
This has always bothered me when it comes to movies with pirates or sailors, they have an extremely finite amount of rope that they need for absolutely everything they do, it's just so fucking stupid.
Pirates steal, not to mention farmers are the ones who harvest and possibly even make rope, pirates being rich, or in the movies anyway. They can afford it or steal it and waste it, however much they like. Just like I doubt that you would waste time untying a knot, to save your friends, if you can just cut it and most of the time an enemy can walk into the room at any second and beat the shit out of you before you do untie the knot (if you sneaked on the ship to save a prisoner), as it is depicted in movies. 9 times out of 10 in every movie where people cut rope, its already available to the masses for cheap, just like in our times. Just like most ''useful'' knots if done well, can't be untied easily. Unless you're bad a tying knots.
Alex Crowface
It's obvious to see that you have absolutely no maritime knowledge. You're working on an idea where supply is high but demand is low, whenever you're on a ship the need for rope is very high which makes the demand very high, every lead, line and rope that's on a ship needs to be used and not be destroyed because the next time that you hit port will probably be quite a while. You also seem to know very little about knots, a good knot that's done well won't ever come undone but can quickly be untied, seriously you should just be quiet if you don't know anything.
Boglenight No I'm working on the idea where the demand is high and the supply is high. So its irrelevant.
Alex Crowface
But on a ship supply of everything is low.
Seafaring types were generally extremely skilled in the making and unmaking of knots of all kinds, they could do amazing things with limited amounts of rope.
As a rigger and rope enthuisiast, i whole heartedly agree on the comment of cutting. Kicking the door in is such a great analogy. When you have made it yourself you are deffinatley not going to Just chop it willy nilly!!!
Please be my history teacher. The class would be so interesting when he'd just go off on rants for long periods of time!
if they did cut them, or they broke, they learned how to splice them together. splicing rope is something everyone should know how to do
+Ibpn But why cut the rope when you could just untie it?
+Ibpn Yes! I agree. Does the fact that he's waving around a rope with frayed ends bother you as well?
+hopper1 I noticed that as well. I don't know if it's because I'm a sailor, but seeing how badly whipped the end of that line was did make me cringe.
+Ibpn Splices make a rope thicker and stiffer, and that bit of the rope is very difficult to knot, and won't run through a pulley.
+hopper1 One end is looped. The other is whipped, with a tuft of loose ends sticking out. I might get round to finishing off the rope in some different way, but many involve thickening the end.
I love how much that offends you.
Absolutely. The only thing that annoys me more is hearing bows creaking when drawn.
+_Scyas_ and then keep them drawn for ages to threaten a person or talk or wait for the command to launch
+Edward Kenway In another episode he times a chick from Game of Thrones (I think - I don't watch) as she keeps a war bow at full stretch. It was a totally unrealistic 90 seconds as she and the guy on the ground chatted back and forth.
+Edward Kenway can't they use crossbow for that!!! That's the whole point of crossbows!
+King Dormak the chromosome expelling forniphile As I said, I don't watch GoT (or whatever) and the info came second hand from Lindy. I think he was mainly interested in pointing out absurdities in fakey, poorly done historical movies -- as he did to hilarious effect with Ironclad. Thanks anyway.
+Ian Findlay Game of thrones is not an historical movie. Futhermore there as much point in sighing about movies as there is to sigh about medieval novels not describing their time for accuracy either.
This is an ongoing theme in Patrick O’brian’s Aubrey/Martin series (Master and Commander) The good Doctor is constantly being reminded that “we never cut a cable in the service” Towards the last novels he will not cut even a small string, and holds those that do as mere “lubbers” I could not agree more! Thank You
"Need to open the window? There goes my hammer"
I suppose someone hanging from a noose counts as being in a hurry?
+MoonUnit IV
No.
That counts as being dead.
You know what I mean...
+MoonUnit IV people being hanged on a proper gallows would generally die as soon as they have the support removed from under their feet. Unlike in the movies, the general cause of death by hanging was a broken neck, not asphyxiation.
+MoonUnit IV
In such a case they usually just shoot the rope with a gun.
Yes, you read that right.
+Killjoy Back when people were publicly executed via hanging and it was a whole fun event, they were generally strangled to death, and did not die from the broken neck. The neck breaking came later, when longer ropes were used. Public executions were less popular so it was more about killing them quickly and easily. If the rope was too long, though, it could decapitate the victim, which was mighty embarrassing for the executioner.
I thoguht this would be about how easily they always cut ropes in movies ^^. I mean I've never actually cut a rope, but it seems like cutting rope is like cutting a piece of string in many movies.. Like if I hit a rope with a sword in reality, I doubt the rope will snap, pretty sure my sword will just bounce off right?
+MaMastoast depends really. Thickness of rope, rate of fraying, tautness etc.
+MaMastoast As someone who grew up in the country - cutting works good, but only on thin ropes. The knife is tending to get stuck in the thicker ones. Chopping a rope would only work if it is against a firm foundation, like a log, if it is just hanging or is tensed then the sword will bounce off.
+MaMastoast They're tightly wound and thick for strength; if a sword could do a lot of damage or cut right through them, they probably were unsuitable for hoisting those crates.
That reminds me of a difference between Tomb Raider 1 an TR Anniversary: in 1 Lara worked at an elevator cable for a long time with a blowtorch to cut it, whereas in Anniversary she just randomly shoots at the elevator and breaks it instantly.
It's all likely because Hollywood has such an expendable mindset - they can demolish a dozen cars for a one second scene - and think our rapid industries were just as quick in the past.
wireless.mike
gonna have to disagree there. Coming from the country myself I have cut through a brand new rope with a sword. Again it was under certain circumstances, it was tied between two trees and taut. Cut it clean in two. But then I had to try and explain to my dad why his brand new rope had 6 feet missing from it....
+LaughingOwlKiller Tbh i never had a sword, we had a pretty big machete-like knife though, and i think how tense the rope is has a lot to say in the matter.
And when they do cut them, it seems ridiculously easy. One or two swipes with a knife and its done, instead of of sawing away at the thing for tens of seconds, as would be required in reality.
+Bob Lake Which is at least reflected in tense Naval scenes! The hero frantically cutting away at the rope that's somehow going to rescue them from danger after being cut...
+Bob Lake It depends on how sharp the tool you're using is and your technique. A decently sharp knife used correctly won't take much time at all. .
+Regolith or an axe with the rope set against wood will cut rope instantly
+Bob Lake Or when they use a piece of broken glass or the edge of a rock/brick it would make for a long film.
Rewatching I actually like how you kept adding "with help" every time you mention that you made the rope. Shows a lot of respect for the craftmanship involved.
Earlier tonight I watched the newest episode of The Walking Dead. In it a woman had a man she tied up in a chair. She had personally tied him up and knew how to untie that rope AND there was no invoming zombies or enemies. So for no reason at all she cut the perfectly good rope in the apocalypse.
I'm so glad I found this video to vent my frustrations.
We need to make a historically accurate movie based on Lloyd's videos.
Imagine a scene that plays out.
The Captain orders the prisoners to ve freed. One soldier takes out his knife to cut the rope and it takes him like a minute of sawing to do, while the other soldier goes around the cell and effortlessly unties half a dozen prisoners in the amount of time it takes the rope cutter to free one.
All the while the prisoners give the rope-cutting soldier a strange look.
Alexander the Great (rope cutter) will disagree.
He was in a hurry ;)
+Thomas Kreutzer You don't want to wait too long when you are becoming the king ^^
+DeLaRuuu I imagine an interwiew with him after..."truthfully I never learned how to undo knots sooo........I improvised!
+DeLaRuuu Gordian Bennett!
alex wanted to get that good luck faster
In terms of survival, cordage is one of the most important items to have. You NEVER cut cordage! You learn to tie knots that can be undone rapidly without cutting. Virtually any man in the past would have had some skill with knots and would likely have been furious had his cordage been cut without a very serious cause. Great video!
*Thank you. This has always been a major pet peeve of mine.*
Dear Lindybeige,
I happened to be reading my Vergil today, and there is a passage in which Aeneas actually cuts a rope! While reading I thought about your video. This passage from the Aeneid is remarkably interesting, considering the things you're saying in the video. Hopefully you'll read my comment! :) Here comes the passage:
Deus aethere missus ab alto
festinare fugam tortosque incidere funes
ecce iterum stimulat. (...)
Dixit, vaginaque eripit ensem
fulmineum, strictoque ferit retinacula ferro. (Verg. Aen. IV 574-580).
You probably know your fair bit of Latin, but I'll translate for those who don't :)
"The god, sent from the high sky, again urged that he hurried his flight and cut the twisted ropes. (...) So he (Aeneas) spoke, and he unsheaths his shiny sword and with the drawn steel he cuts the rope."
What do we make of this? Is it perhaps not only hollywood, but also a thing of ancient writers to make their protagonists cut and spill decently made rope, just for the epicness and drama? I'm very curious about your thoughts!
No more need to say it, but I really love your video's. That's why I'm so curious about what you think we should make of this passage, as I do totally agree on how ridiculous it is that all these people are cutting ropes whenever it suits them.
Interesting point!
Since people in ancient time knew what effort it took to make ropes a hero cutting them appears daring and roughnecked indeed, I assume. And if a god tells you to hurry up it might be better to show your good will by simply cutting the rope instead of fumbling around with it to get it loose, does it?
See also "Gordian Knot".
Pff, wouldn't catch Odysseus being so wasteful. Mind you, Athena wouldn't have asked him to be.
Your mistake was trusting a Roman. ;)
(To be fair, Aeneas may have been intentionally sort of a jackass as a critique on Augustus "look at my big obelisk" Caesar, so Virgil might be being cleverer than I give him credit. Kudos on reading in the Latin too!)
Alexander: Cuts Knot
Lindy: "You ruined my perfectly good rope!"
It was kind of a dick move
I understand you're a great leader but by god man, that was my rope that I made. Well I made, is relative, I didn't prepare the fields...(5 minutes pass)...but this is my bloody good piece of rope you twonk.
"People in the medieval and ancient times did not cut ropes lightly."
*Alexander has entered the chat.*
To be fair, Alexander the Not Bad was the sort of jerk who wouldn't really care. The dude had his armies de-island an island he didn't like, and his overarching military plan was "keep going until it's mine". Wasn't so much into the planning, as evidenced by the fact that his empire would be a statistical footnote if its collapse didn't end up defining world politics for the rest of time.
to be fair, his first approach was to untie the know, the point was that you dont always need untie it, so the point here is kinda the point the story tries to make
In some retellings, he pulls the linchpin from the yoke and the knot untangles.
Used to do a lot of climbing. My rope was the single most expensive thing I brought along. I took very good care of it.
I literally cut off my shoelaces once when i was too drunk to get my shoes off. Regretted it the next morning.
In icelandic fathom means faðmur, which rougly translates to: the span of your hands.
að faðma einhvern also means: to hug someone.
Hey Phil, fancy a drink?
Sure, just let me grab my bottle opener.
No need! (breaks off the top of the bottle)
= rope cutting
+Shadow Fang The best way to open a Champagne bottle is still a sabre.
I'm surprised you haven't mention the cutting speed as well, given in movies they also often cut through a thick piece of rope in a single swipe, like it's tissue paper or something.
Glad to see this presentation, as it’s bothered me for a long time to see rope being cut in movies!
it irritates me too, I'm glad you made this, even if it's a while ago. I still agree.
*Smashes car window out*
"Yes I'll have a number 5 combo with a coke, please"
"You ruined my perfectly good rope!" Gordians to Alexander.
Alexander: "Sorry, can't hear you over the sound of becoming King of Asia."
Oh my, I never would have thought that wide spread arms would have been some sort of measure for anything :D A fathom? I would have been quite bad at counting such measures as my arms reach 5 inches longer than 6ft.
+Lasse Kankila Thumb to thumb?
+Lindybeige or maybe just like a short man knows how to slack the rope maybe a tall man could slack his arms slightly?
+Lasse Kankila Mitalle on suomenkielinenkin nimi, syli (monta syltä).
+Lindybeige You metioned the "understanding" meaning of the word fathom, but is it so that in English the meaning "to hug" is nowdays obsolete? For example in Roman and Germanic languages and in Finnish the word for lenght measure has a close connection to the word for emracing (braccio - abbracciare, syli - syleillä).
For an another thought: Funny how our words for intellectual grasping are so manual, in Finnish the word "to fathom" - "käsittää" could be translated to "handle".
+925tuotanto Hug actually derives from the Old Norse hugga, meaning 'to soothe/console'.
The main meaning of braccio is of course 'arm' - the derived noun abbracciare refers to the action of surrounding the person's body with your arms. The less common meaning of braccio as fathom still directly means arm, as in the length of an arm (well technically 2). Braccio also means ell, which is an archaic term for an arm's length.
The word 'embrace' has a more direct relation to abbracciare than hug, but then it came into English from French. Related to that is the term 'brace' meaning 2 of something, since most people have 2 arms.
The issue with words in English is the multiple origins of synonymous terms (Norse, Germanic, French, Latin, etc.) and for example the Old English word clepan meaning to hug or in a vulgar sense to have sex has disappeared from modern English though it appeared in Chaucer as 'to clip' and the word clip still exists but now meaning to bind together or to cut with a scissors (referring to how the two arms of the scissors come together).
The definition of good knot is one that hold under tension but can easily be untied when slackened. You are correct. Rope cutting is a sin.
I love this. I work on tugboats but my my maritime career began in traditional sailing and rigging work. I deal with this angst over defiling perfectly good small rope all the time. Many of the crew I work with will cut off a couple feet from the spook to lash something down and then a few days late cut it off. This makes me shudder with anger. Furthermore they frequently leave the ends unbound and free to fray. This is also induced eye twitching. Thanks for this.
I genuinely did not know that fathom had that origin, learn something new everyday.
When I play D&D, my characters avoid cutting the rope whenever possible.
This led to a recent (two weeks ago) situation where we tied up a halfling with a full fifty foot length of climbing rope, essentially mummifying him from neck to knees.
When we handed the prisoner over, my character insisted the guards return my rope un-cut.
After bringing the dog for a walk , just cut the lead when you get home
CANT THINK OF A NAME !!! Bringing? Taking, surely?
Literally never thought about this before. Thanks for the new perspective.
That's a really good point. I use rope for rigging quite often at work, and any decently tied knot should never require cutting. Even if it's a cheap nylon rope, why waste the time and money to purchase more??
i think a chainsaw sounds like an awfully good way to open an iphone.
+spamhonx56 It sure is a fast way to open one (If you have a chainsaw ready, which you always should have, in case you need to open an iPhone)
Oh, i read ... " RAPE and Hollywood" and was like... wtf?
wonder what's on your mind...
jk
Cosby? Is that you?
Occifer Jehons " You know, doing drugs and having sex was called a good ol time in the 60's and 70's. Now it's called rOpe."
I can no longer see someone cutting rope in an historical film without thinking of Lindybeige. 😅
Every time I see that Lego figure shout Lindybeige I love it more and more.
You made 4 minutes of a simple point about rope cutting enjoyable! 👍
This has annoyed me for a long time!
This and other displays of wastefulness in "historical" movies.
fun fact of the day: fathom is spelled Faðmar in Icelandic (pronounced almost same) and faðma is hugging so basically the origins of Fathom is from hugging. off i go!
Óðinn
In Norwegian, to hug can be “å omfavne” - “to around-fathom”.
I understand Cheesemaking was also hard in the ancient world, so no one cut the cheese unless they had no other choice.
+Dirk Stabins Cheese doesn't lose it's effectiveness after being cut ;)
+Musabre Depends on how windy it is.
+Dirk Stabins Totally. Farmer cheese (what we'd call cottage cheese) was easy to make, but aging it into something else was definitely hard. You'd need a dry, clean place free from vermin to store your cheese. And once it's cut, it's exposed to air. So very easy to mould. That's what made it so hard.
Some people would dedicate areas of their loft, or small rooms for cheese or other aged (smoked/salted) foods. Just to keep it safe & separate from the animals.
Yes! We always love finding a nice piece of rope when beachcombing! Valuable resource.
The Hollywood cutting of the rope to launch a catapult is the first thing I thought of when you said "you don't cut ropes lightly because they're valuable". That sort of thing always annoyed me.
This is a decent comment, don’t destroy it please.
I made it myself! (With help)
The obvious reason for the trope of cutting rope in movies is to keep the pace going and not suddenly pull pack the flow of the film to undo a knot.
+LordVader1094 Can also be used for tension : the hero is attached, and another guy show up with a knife ! Then he just cuts the rope to free the hero.
+Remicas
this trope is so overused, i cringe very time.
I know, it was just an exemple.
+Remicas Increase in tension: the hero is atached, and another guy shows up with a knife! Then he just undoes the knot to free the hero.
+LordVader1094
You are talking nonsense. All action needn't stop when someone undoes a knot, it can be done in the background or finished offscreen, it can be choreographed to be really snappy without revealing the simplicity of the knot, it can be used for exposition.
having made string and rope by hand, I'd be mortified if someone cut my handiwork.
they're allways the same ones who complain that a given rope is *too short* there after..
Lindy, Your humor has me tied up in knots.
Well done, well said. I'm an old man now but, when I was a lad my Dad was adamant that ropes/lines were not to be cut. He made exceptions for cheap disposable clothesline but, that was it.
I thought this video was going to be a point about actually how laborious it is to cut through a rope, especially with a blade that doesn't have any kind of serration. you know the classic, bunch of good guys climbing a rope to safety followed by a bad guy, the bad guy grabs the ankle of the last good guy who exchanges glances with the rest of the party who look in shock as their comrade hardens his resolve, draws his knife and severs the rope in a single motion to fall to his (and the enemy's) death down below. even with the tension introduced by the weight of two people hanging off it, surely it'd take long enough for the baddy to desperately clamber over the good guy, grab hold of the rope above the cut, and slap the good guy for being such an idiot.
If it's a bother to fix the ropes, it could be a useful way to annoy whoever you're at odds with.
Rope is a bit like mustard...you don't cut it...
+opmdevil ...you put it on hotdogs.
+253637zero2 And nail it to the ceiling.
+Shurryy Namegenerator doesn't everyone?
+opmdevil like whisky :)
Pierre HatesGogolePlus
...no, like a pun...
...you don't cut a rope...like you don't cut the mustard...you get it? A pun...
"Twonk" is a fantastic epithet I haven't heard before. Imma have to start throwing that into conversation now and then!
It's better to undo the knot because not only is the prisoner free, but you also have this nice uncut undamaged rope