Engineering:Carpet hanger

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A carpet hanger in Prague
Children playing at a carpet hanger, Łódź, c. 1960s

The outdoor carpet hanger (also carpet stand or carpet rack) is a construction to hang carpets for cleaning with the help of carpet beaters. It is known in Germany, Poland, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Finland,[1] Sweden, Romania, Russia, and other countries.

Secondary usage

It was a small center of social life.[2] German writers Walter Benjamin and Erich Kästner described hangers as important places during their childhood.[3] Children may use it as a playground, as a soccer goal, as a drumming implement,[4] a gymnastic device,[5] etc.

Poland

In Poland the outdoor railing for hanging the rug is called trzepak (a noun from the word trzepać, "to beat"; the beater itself is called trzepaczka).

Since the 1990s, it is very rare to see anyone using a trzepak for its prime function [citation needed]. In the newest housing developments, trzepak are rarely installed.[citation needed]

Romania

In Romania the carpet hanger (bara de bătut covoare or bătător de covoare) was an important landmark in the social life of each neighbourhood during the communist and post-communist period, where it served as a meeting point for neighbours and was frequently used in children's games.[6] Before important holidays, queues would form around the railing, as few people owned a vacuum cleaner, and even those who did would still beat their carpets in order to 'freshen them up'.[7] During the rest of the year, "it was generally used as a football goal by the boys, while it suddenly transformed girls into Nadia Comăneci."[7]

The carpet hanger has been described as representing a sort of "Arc de Triomphe in front of the apartment block",[8] while writer Paul Gabor dubbed it "the ancestral belly of the totalitarian regime" during the communist era.[9]

In recent years, the carpet railing has been a topic of debate for urban planners and local authorities, as many Romanian cities have passed (and sometimes rescinded[10]) laws forbidding their placement or decreeing their immediate removal, citing aesthetic or noise pollution reasons.[11][12]

Sweden

In Sweden the carpet hanger is called piskställ, derived from piska (meaning "to whip") and ställ (meaning "stand").[citation needed]

References

  1. "Carpet Racks in Finland", by Riitta Oittinen
  2. Socjolog: dla wielu nastolatków galerie handlowe to współczesne podwórka
  3. Thomas Blubacher, Wie es einst war: Schönes und Wissenswertes aus Großmutters Zeiten
  4. "Užkliuvo kilimų dulkinimo stovas"
  5. "Joanna Mucha chce rozruszać dzieci. "Kiedyś trzepak, dziś komputer i iPhone. Rośnie pokolenie sprawnego kciuka""
  6. (in ro) (ro)kit - Identitate romaneasca in 50 de componente - Alexe Popescu, Doru Somesan. https://www.libris.ro/-ro-kit-identitate-romaneasca-in-50-de-pub978-606-722-023-0.html. 
  7. 7.0 7.1 "Bara de covoare" (in ro). https://www.vice.com/ro/article/xyzgm7/bara-de-covoare. 
  8. "RO-KIT | Promenada Culturala" (in en-US). 2017-05-21. http://promenada-culturala.ro/en/ro-kit/. 
  9. "Țara mea suspendată (My Suspended Land) de Anca Mizumschi | TORO fest|Țara mea suspendată de Anca Mizumschi". 4 October 2018. https://torofest.ca/blog/tara-mea-suspendata-anca-mizumschi/. 
  10. Live, Ziare. "Batatoarele de covoare si culmile de rufe pot fi montate din nou in Pitesti. Gentea a initiat un proiect de hotarare in acest sens" (in ro). https://www.ziarelive.ro/stiri/batatoarele-de-covoare-si-culmile-de-rufe-pot-fi-montate-din-nou-in-pitesti-gentea-a-initiat-un-proiect-de-hotarare-in-acest-sens.html. 
  11. rootstirea. "Război cu bătătoarele de covoare și sârmele de rufe – ȘTIRI ZILNIC" (in en-US). http://stiri-zilnic.com/2018/06/09/razboi-cu-batatoarele-de-covoare-si-sarmele-de-rufe/. 
  12. "Culmile de rufe si batatoarele de covoare de prin incintele de bloc ar putea fi interzise la Onesti" (in ro-RO). 2010-07-27. https://ziaruldebacau.ro/culmile-de-rufe-si-batatoarele-de-covoare-de-prin-incintele-de-bloc-ar-putea-fi-interzise-la-onesti-2/. 

External links