The 'no. 8 wire' tradition in New Zealand | Hacker News Reader

The 'no. 8 wire' tradition in New Zealand

teara.govt.nz

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>> The Thermette, a simple and effective device for boiling water outdoors over an enclosed fire, was invented by Manawatū plumber John Hart and patented in 1931

The Kelly Kettle was produced in Ireland decades before. The Thermette is a knockoff.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Kettle

Did the article change, or was this a very strange quote edit?

Here’s the current line in the article, emphasis mine:

>> The Thermette, a simple and effective device for boiling water outdoors over an enclosed fire, was designed by Manawatū plumber John Hart in 1929 *based on similar products in Ireland and England.* He patented the Thermette in 1931.

As mentioned in TFA:

>The Thermette, a simple and effective device for boiling water outdoors over an enclosed fire, was designed by Manawatū plumber John Hart in 1929 based on similar products in Ireland and England.

This article forgets to mention the “she”ll be right mate” that goes along with it.

Followed usually by "bugger!".

It's puckerooed

Yeah nah!

Nah yeah nah mate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUNJd06iyWU&t=7s

Helped by the ACC Scheme [1], whereby you can throw someone off a bridge with an elastic band attached and the NZ government will pay to scrape them off the pavement.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accident_Compensation_Corporat...

Being that the concept of ACC is unusual, and it is run by the NZ Gov, means that ACC ads are some quite bizarre PSAs in a similar vein to NZ’s and Australia’s notorious road safety PSAs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u51OxZF1ltI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8zVnErdPfE&t=0s

New Zealand's history sailing in the America's Cup is another good example of their ingenuity and technical innovation with yacht design.

Mkes me wonder how many inventions Australia has claimed but were invented in New Zealand. Robert Muldoon did once state that the "annual exodus of Kiwis to Australia raised the average IQ of both countries".

I'm surprised they didn't mention Richard Pearse, one of two people who preceded Wright Brothers in performing a successful flight attempt

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pearse

He flew, but he didn't achieve _controlled_ powered flight and was very adamant that the Wright Brothers deserved their fame for being able to steer the damn thing.

whoa! there kelly! not flight! uncontrolled hops! read up about the wright brothers at the worlds first "air show" in paris france ?1909? therabouts where they casualy went about there business, and everybody else was completely astounded, and concided there mastery....the wrights were offered the keys to all of europe, litteraly, but declined as they had to rush back to the US, to attend pattent litigation procedings, and this world we live in, happened, and another, didn't. One of the moments where a clear fork in destiny happened, and is still relevant.As per your comment!

What does 'no. 8 wire' mean?

   This tradition of Kiwi ingenuity is often known as the ‘no. 8 wire’ attitude, a reference to a gauge of fencing wire that has been adapted for countless other uses in New Zealand farms, factories and homes.

Number 8 wire is fencing wire.

The rural dictionary usage of the phrase refers to fixing things with fencing wire.

> a reference to a gauge of fencing wire that has been adapted for countless other uses in New Zealand farms, factories and homes.

But that doesn't really make the reader any wiser, as the article doesn't talk about any of its uses in New Zealand.

They're much the same as any ad hoc uses of stiff thick fencing wire anywhere really.

Has the world really come to the point where an essay on how to MacGyver with wire is required?

Emergency muffler reattachment, temporary gate latch, ...

It’s the essay on the New Zealand McGyver using no. 8 wire that the world needs.

I believe you're looking for https://www.youtube.com/@MartyT - I think I've actually seen him use wire for holding together a resurrected piece of heavy equipment, and he made a hydroelectric generator out of a washing machine.

Growing up on a farm here in the US, electric fence wire (I think 14ga, not 8ga) was always useful. I almost always had a roll & some snips nearby when doing any maintenance. You can fix some broken electric fence, re-bind the fence paneling to T-stakes, and if desperate cobble together some hinges and a latch for an impromptu gate, all with a simple roll of wire.

A foot or two of this wire and you can whip up a stabilizer for hanging any old tool off of a single nail in the barn. A couple feet of it makes a tie-down for any plant or tree branch, sometimes you don't even need a stake, the wire can be pushed deep enough and into a J shape underground that it'll often hold on its own.

>Growing up on a farm here in the US, electric fence wire (I think 14ga, not 8ga) was always useful.

My dad will mention number 9 clothesline wire in a similar context. Also baling twine and baling wire are common for farmers for the same reason.

Kids be like nowadays: let's 3D print this!

The wire equivalent of duck tape. It represents ingenuity using a humble/simple item such as plain fencing wire to solve a wide variety of problems the item was not originally intended for.

In the US I have heard it referred to as "bailing wire". Often used for an emergency or temporary fix.

“Baling” wire. Used to bind bales of hay.

Baling wire is also not as thick. 12 gauge, 10 gauge at the very most. Baling wire can be cut with those snippers you keep in your toolbox. Fence wire? Eh, better get bigger wire cutters.

#8 on (British) SWG scale is about the size of a #11 wire (never seen this size in real life) on the AWG scale.

The scale is explained in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_wire_gauge

No 8 wire on the British Standard Wire Gauge (SWG) scale is slightly larger than a #12 conductor on the American Wire Gauge (AWG) scale.

#8 SWG is 4mm diameter, that's way larger than #12 AWG, closer to #6 AWG

Thanks for the answers, very appreciated.

Once I yanked out about 20m of old phone wire (copper) out of a wall, and now it's my duck tape wire.

Strangely missing from the article: instant or soluble coffee was invented and patented in 1890 by David Strang of Invercargill, New Zealand, under patent number 3518 sold under the trading name Strang's Coffee citing the patented "Dry Hot-Air" process.

It's in the article.

> Vacreator

> Until the 1930s New Zealand butter was often tainted with unpleasant smells.

Most of the butter here still is. I don't get it why. Only Lewi's Road is ok.

Never noticed it overseas.

Some others kiwi inventions of interest: John Britten and his motorbike of same name. Hamilton Jetboats. Electron rockets.

Shane Legg, Deepmind

Rutherford, Atomic Physics

Those are the real pinnacles of New Zealands human output.

Huh, explains the name 8 Wired Brewing in NZ

Their Super Conductor and Semi Conductor ales fits this forum well

I did a different way and called my lan center 8wire for Ethernet cables. This is interesting as well haha

Reminds me of my dad, he used to always talk about number 9 clothesline wire.

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