Why put an anvil on a pole?

0:07 When driving in the north of New South Wales, Australia,

0:12 it is common to see bizarre objects such as microwaves,

0:17 boilers, and anvils perched on top of a log or post.

0:22 Why are they necessary?

0:25 When driving in the north of New South Wales,

0:29 Australia, it's common to see bizarre objects such as microwaves,

0:33 boilers, and anvils perched on top of a log or post.

0:38 Why are they necessary?

0:41 Necessary?

0:42 Yes.

0:43 Mm.

0:43 Yeah, yeah.

0:44 Because my first thought was how...

0:46 I mean, I dunno what it's like where you guys are,

0:48 but in Bristol, if you leave— Once,

0:50 I put a box on my wall, like a storage box, and I then walked to my car.

0:56 And then by the time I turned around, it had gone.

0:59 And then I saw a woman walking with it under her arm.

1:02 So if you, yeah, out here, things get like,

1:04 it's like, to give away stuff you don't want.

1:05 But the 'necessity' part makes me think it's not

1:08 about getting rid of stuff that you don't want.

1:11 Part of me wonders if it's like a weird advertising system.

1:15 Like if you're driving through what's

1:17 presumably potentially a remote part of Australia,

1:20 that if you drive past the thing, and you see a microwave, you're like, "Oh,

1:22 it's a shop that sells microwaves," and you can pull in there and buy one.

1:26 Or if there's an anvil, it's like, "Oh,

1:28 it's a blacksmith." You're in the microwave province.

1:31 Yeah, if you see an anvil...

1:32 You're in the anvil province.

1:33 It's a blacksmith.

1:34 I'll stop my horse and see if I can get it reshoed, I dunno.

1:37 (laughs) I was thinking Australia's big objects.

1:41 So I have been to the Big Pineapple, and I have seen the Big Penguin.

1:47 Wait, how big is the p— How big was the pineapple?

1:50 Oh, it's a big pineapple!

1:52 It's this fibreglass pineapple that's several storeys high.

1:55 That's, like, Australia has a lot of big things.

1:58 They have the Big Lobster.

2:00 Lots of places.

2:00 Like there's— You— A town will just decide

2:04 to have a big something as their tourist attraction.

2:07 But I dunno why you'd have the big microwave, the big boiler, the big anvil.

2:12 Yeah.

2:12 I dunno why that'd be necessary.

2:14 The big microwave sounds dangerous,

2:16 'cause someone is gonna try and get in it, right?

2:18 Yeah.

2:18 Oh god.

2:19 As soon as there's a microwave the size that you can get in, then...

2:22 I mean, I don't know if you could have a microwave that size.

2:24 I feel like something would fall apart in the physics of it there.

2:28 I mean, it wasn't specified it was a functioning microwave.

2:30 That's true, that's true.

2:32 That's true.

2:33 And on posts and logs.

2:35 So like on something wooden.

2:37 I can tell you these are normal-sized objects for what they are.

2:41 Okay.

2:42 They are normal-sized.

2:44 So they are— examples we had were microwave, anvil, and...

2:48 Boiler.

2:49 Boiler.

2:50 So these all contain metal.

2:52 Is it a lightning conductor thing?

2:54 (wheezes) (chuckles) Lizzy's staying very quiet.

2:58 I mean, it's not for lightning.

3:00 Okay.

3:00 Sorry to— Sorry about that.

3:02 I'm going for another Australian stereotype then.

3:04 It's something that'll kill you.

3:06 Like these are up on poles, because otherwise,

3:09 there's some critter that will either destroy the thing,

3:13 tear the thing apart, or kill anyone who tries to use it.

3:16 Like...

3:17 does it stop...

3:19 Nope.

3:19 I was gonna say, does it stop the spider nesting in the microwave?

3:22 But A) why is the microwave outside?

3:25 And B) doesn't work for an anvil, that.

3:27 Pretty solid, an anvil.

3:29 Yeah.

3:29 I think you'd kinda wanna work out how high these poles are.

3:33 Ahhh.

3:35 Are they like a foot off the ground?

3:37 Yeah, small.

3:38 Small pole.

3:38 No.

3:39 Bit bigger.

3:39 Okay, then big pole.

3:40 It's a big pole.

3:41 Whoa.

3:41 Easy now.

3:42 Easy now.

3:42 (Tom and Sophie laugh) Medium pole.

3:44 I was saying medium pole.

3:45 Yeah.

3:46 I was saying medium pole.

3:46 Medium, you know.

3:48 Yeah, the...

3:49 (cracks up) What's the average length of a pole in Australia?

3:51 I dunno.

3:52 How long is a piece of pole?

3:54 (both chuckle) Like at the height of a person?

3:57 Oh, certainly not taller than that.

3:59 Okay.

4:00 So they are reachable by a person.

4:03 That's very important.

4:04 Okay.

4:05 You said when driving.

4:07 Like, this is...

4:09 (sighs harshly) There are very long roads in Australia.

4:13 Yeah.

4:14 Incredibly long roads.

4:15 They will put things next to the side of the road.

4:18 They'll put trivia things on road signs, just to try and keep drivers awake.

4:23 There's a thing called the 'driver reviver',

4:26 like little lay-by that's always closed,

4:30 but which used to be like support for drivers

4:32 doing long road trips and things like that.

4:34 So you think...

4:35 (cracks up) they just put objects...

4:37 on posts?

4:38 Don't say "you think" into that!

4:40 I don't think that!

4:42 I'm just suggesting some things.

4:44 Think this through.

4:46 The conversation from that point on is just about anvils

4:48 for a while and then— (Sophie and Lizzy laugh) Actually, you know what?

4:50 Everyone gets bored again.

4:51 "We're gonna put stupid things next to the side of the road,

4:55 to keep drivers awake" is actually not a bad shout.

4:58 That sounds like something Australia would do.

5:00 And what about a boiler would keep you awake, Tom?

5:04 (snickers) Why is there a boiler next the side of the road?

5:07 What—?

5:08 I'm gonna be thinking about that for the next 200 miles!

5:10 Yeah.

5:11 Not if you see a microwave and then...

5:12 (laughs) Right?!

5:14 Well, you see it, and you're like, "Oh, did I leave the boiler on?

5:16 Oh." (guests laughing) Did I leave the anvil on?

5:20 Yeah, yeah.

5:20 Oh god, so good.

5:22 Yeah, my thought was metal and the metal getting hot, and something about that.

5:27 That was the one thing I thought I would just draw.

5:31 Are they at a specific height to be visible by the drivers of the cars,

5:35 or are they intended for use by a person standing on the floor?

5:38 The latter.

5:39 Okay.

5:39 Okay.

5:40 But their— the position next to a road is important.

5:43 Is it, are they designed to look like a pedestrian?

5:46 Oh!

5:47 (guests laughing) Oh, come on!

5:49 That's not a bad shout either.

5:50 That's great.

5:51 Yeah.

5:51 There goes old anvil face.

5:53 Trying to cross the road again.

5:55 (group laughing) But it's intended for use by someone who's stood next to it.

5:59 Okay, it's a rural— Although these areas are rural in Australia,

6:03 they are near where people live.

6:06 So they are on a pole near where people live, and they have a use.

6:10 But they can't be higher than a person.

6:12 That would be bad.

6:13 So you'll be able to reach it.

6:14 Is it for storing your fridge magnets on?

6:16 You're really leaning into this...

6:20 Well, they are metal.

6:21 They are all metal, aren't they?

6:23 They need to be reached.

6:25 You need to be able to reach them.

6:28 Or a certain person needs to be able— So do people leave a thing there,

6:32 or pick things up, drop things off?

6:34 Go with that, Tom.

6:37 Follow that line of inquiry.

6:39 Is it like a geocaching thing, or a post delivery thing?

6:43 (gasps loudly) Because they're tiny towns.

6:46 Is it the town's post box?

6:48 They are post boxes.

6:50 And they're people's post boxes.

6:53 Katie, well done!

6:55 What?

6:55 Very, very good.

6:58 So they protect the mail.

6:59 So people, rather than just having a post box,

7:02 will just put a microwave on a big stick.

7:04 (giggles) And you open it up, and you put in your letters.

7:07 Well, how does the anvil work?

7:09 What are people doing with the letters there?

7:11 No, it doesn't say that in my notes, so I don't— I guess it's hollowed out.

7:15 I don't know!

7:16 (Sophie and Lizzy laugh) Some of them are more effective than others, I guess.

7:20 Yes.

7:21 Yeah, exactly.

7:22 Someone was like, "Well, we just got an anvil." I've kind of ruled

7:24 out the idea for them being for storing anything, because of the anvil, but...

7:28 (laughs heartily) I guess that was a decoy, yeah.

7:31 So the reason it's necessary is in the rural areas north of Sydney,

7:36 it's custom to repurpose old objects.

7:40 So it's you— why— don't just throw away your microwave or your beer keg.

7:45 Turn it into your mailbox!

7:48 And it protects them— their letters from the weather and other beasties.

7:53 The Lateral book is out now!

7:55 Just click on the link to get your copy.

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