Cross and Chain [photo]

[henry]

I normally wear a cross on a chain, actually a black loop of leather, around my neck. Now an again it would bug me, for some reason, so id wrap it round my wrist until it no longer bugged me out an found its way back around my neck.

Last sunday i was out at a local bar with my neighbour, we were sat outside at what is commonly called a "picnic table" in uk beer gardens (bars with external seating). Its a cheap wooden slatted table with fixed benches to either side. The tabletop has small gaps between the wooden slats that run the length of the table.

We are sat there talking over a couple of beers and berating our slum landlord who refuses to maintain our building. This was one such occasion when the cross was wrapped around my wrist rather than my neck, an every now and again it dropped into the gap between the tabletop slats and had to be gently coaxed out.

After a few times of this happening, an after our fourth or fifth beer, i was gesturing wildly about something, and in such a way that the cross, which had caught beneath the table in the narrow gap, was pulled off the loop by the force of my raising hand.

At first I figured the leather loop had snapped, but it hadnt. I then figured the cross must have broke (its made of some light metal, pewter? pretty malleable but definitely stronger than leather). Its a testament to that fifth beer that i thought the leather had broken the metal.

Anyway i picked it up an of course it wasnt broken, an also neither was the loop of leather.

The cross had been threaded onto the loop and the loop then knotted, so that the cross was free to move all around the loop from one side of the knot to the other.

Anyone know how this could have happened?

 

[James_H]

well of course I can't come up with anything within the laws of physics, but perhaps if you were pissed off, that helped?

it echoes Jung's famous 'paranormal' argument with freud, where it got so heated that loud bangs were heard coming from the bookcase...

 

[markbellis]

Well, this is topologically impossible, so I'm going to throw out a couple of ideas:

1) The cord became unknotted at some earlier point in the evening and the cross slipped off - you reknotted either without the cross or with the cross on its own knotted section of the string which became undone, and then either the cross slipped off after that section became unknotted or you just discovered the cross after noticing its absence

2) I can't quite see how the cross attaches - do you have a macro setting on your camera? There might be some kind of gap that springs open or something.....

Other than that, I'm stumped!

 

[HelzAngel]

Are you sure there wasn't a small ring that went between the thong and the cross that you wouldn't really pay attention to under normal circumstances

 

[Fizz32]

That's a good point - if there wasn't a small ring between the cross and the thong, it would not sit flat against the skin/clothes if worn round the neck. Can you remember whether it sat sideways when you wore it?

The ring is usually very small, and easy to bend, I can see how it could get caught, bend so that the ring was open, as it were, so letting the cross fall off.

Do you have a pic of yourself wearing the cross, so you can check if it had a ring?

 

[GNC]

Talking of rings, this reminds me of the magic trick with the steel rings locking together and coming apart with no visible join.

 

[henry]

Are you sure there wasn't a small ring that went between the thong and the cross that you wouldn't really pay attention to under normal circumstances

Outrageous... you are right. I knew there was something i was missing, there was small link of metal between cross and chain... i was thinking so hard about how it could possibly have happened that i never actually visualised the thing intact... i ran this past about ten people who all branded me a joker... Thanks.

by the way lets clear up one matter, its not a thong, alright?

 

[markbellis]

Hi Henry!

I believe that in this case the word 'thong' refers to: "1. A narrow strip, as of leather, used for binding or lashing"
and not: "4. A garment for the lower body that exposes the buttocks, consisting of a narrow strip of fabric that passes between the thighs supported by a waistband."

Also, I think the "binding and lashing" refers to putting inanimate things together rather than, umm.

 

[OldTimeRadio]

Talking of rings, this reminds me of the magic trick with the steel rings locking together and coming apart with no visible join.

That's what I was going to say. They're known in the trade as "Chinese rings." There's a very small break in each one so when you slam 'em together they link. Taking them apart again is just as easy.

 

[OldTimeRadio]

Outrageous... you are right. I knew there was something i was missing, there was small link of metal between cross and chain...

Now you tell us! <g>

P. S. They're called "picnic tables" here too.

 

[HelzAngel]

Hi Henry!

I believe that in this case the word 'thong' refers to: "1. A narrow strip, as of leather, used for binding or lashing"
and not: "4. A garment for the lower body that exposes the buttocks, consisting of a narrow strip of fabric that passes between the thighs supported by a waistband."

Also, I think the "binding and lashing" refers to putting inanimate things together rather than, umm.

Quite right, but I think it put an image in Henry's mind of having a pair of knicker round his neck, and with him being from Manchester they'd probably still be attached to a girl. :lol:

 

[adamantius410]

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At first I figured the leather loop had snapped, but it hadnt. I then figured the cross must have broke (its made of some light metal, pewter? pretty malleable but definitely stronger than leather). Its a testament to that fifth beer that i thought the leather had broken the metal.

Anyway i picked it up an of course it wasnt broken, an also neither was the loop of leather.

The cross had been threaded onto the loop and the loop then knotted, so that the cross was free to move all around the loop from one side of the knot to the other.

Anyone know how this could have happened?

I see in the photo that there's a hole in the cross going from front to back; if you wore it looped directly onto the leather thong it would not lie flat without twisting the thong.

Silly question, perhaps, but what are the odds you simply never noticed a small jumper ring which attached the cross to the thong, allowing it to lie flat, popped the ring under tension, the ring dropped off into the night, leaving you with an unbroken cross and an unbroken leather thong?