HomeRecycled Cotton Picker Parts
On my way to work I pass by two locations where there are odd looking steel objects embedded in the bitumen (asphalt).
They appear to be acting as unofficial survey markers.
The carefully machined teeth seem like overkill for marking a (temporary?) location. A large nail wouldn't do?
Every human has some useless trivia hidden in the crenulated recesses of their noggin.
By virtue of a few stints on cotton picking crews as an undergrad, one of my pieces of useless trivia is a knowledge of what these things are.
Used cotton picker spindles.
Perfectly shaped for a surveyor's peg. I'm guessing you can get old worn ones pretty cheaply.
Closely associated with picker spindles are "doffers", which are devices to remove cotton lint from the spindle. I mention this only because the word 'doffer' pleases me. It has a good sound to it. Less fun is its association with child labor.
Modern cotton pickers are an exotic and marvelous feat of engineering/technology. For somewhere well north of A$1,000,000 you can have your very own.
Most city dwellers aren't likely to ever get very close to such a machine.
It's a bit interesting1 that many pass by a small part of one every day without even knowing... 🤷♂️
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To me, at least.↩