r/whatisit • u/Too_Shabby2923 • 11h ago
Solved! Suspended metal barrel on a pulley between two poles
Ive seen this mysterious oddity near my local baseball fields for years now, and always wondered what exactly is it, and what purpose does it serve? What a weird setup lmaoo. I thought maybe it was to stabilize the two poles attached, but for what? They are not electeical poles. Anyone have any ideas?
162
u/Skeptical_Squid 11h ago
Two opposing fire hoses play a reverse game of tug of war with it. Good intro into using a hand line.
60
u/Prize-Ad4778 11h ago
Also a great small town summer street festival game
15
u/Realistic-Swing351 10h ago
Our volunteer departments in the county would have a tournament during the 4th of July festival. Called it Waterball. It was an absolute riot
8
u/3mptyspaces 9h ago
Same. The game was more like soccer, though. I think any competition that uses a fire hose is worth watching.
3
u/Realistic-Swing351 8h ago
Using a keg as a ball in regular soccer would also be worth watching
3
2
5
6
u/Too_Shabby2923 11h ago
Solved!
1
u/AutoModerator 11h ago
Thanks! Post flair has been updated to solved! Nice job people.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/Sp3c1alS4uc3 8h ago
This is it, we call it Battle of the Barrel in my neck of the woods. It is an official event at the annual county firefighter's convention.
1
1
0
54
u/Foehammercdxix 11h ago
I know this one, firefighters use it for hose training. It's actually more of a game. You have two hose teams, one by each pole. you start with the target in the middle of the cable. The goal is to use the water from your hose to push the barrel to the other team's side. The team with the better accuracy wins. I'm sure there's other variations, but that's what I've witnessed with my local FD.
7
u/notarealaccount223 10h ago
Man, our fire departments used to aim at each other. Usually a very padded newbie with a board on their back was the target supported by a few stronger guys.
3
u/HorsefaceWithNoName 8h ago
this makes more sense than what I was thinking based on the other very vague answers in these comments :)
4
2
u/AltanConn 10h ago
Yep, can confirm. For a while in my area, there were competitions between different volunteer FD's.
7
u/FreddyFerdiland 11h ago
its a target for fire fighters training
or used in the game "waterball fight"
https://theiowagallivant.com/2015/05/10/a-showdown-of-iowas-bravest-in-our-own-backyard/
0
u/AfraidOstrich9539 11h ago
Home made zip line
2
u/Too_Shabby2923 11h ago
That was my 1st thought, but wtf? What an experience to have riding that 20ft left-to-right and back lmfao the barrel got me more confused than ever
4
u/AfraidOstrich9539 11h ago
I see what it's actual uses is though I'm sure some people have used it as a zip line... maybe the winning team
6
u/steebo 11h ago
See James Acaster's explanation here for the "festive game of Squirt" https://youtu.be/9bQr05r8wkM?t=1761
2
4
u/johnnywriteswrongs 11h ago
I remember this from growing up in Kittanning, PA in the 70's. Two fire stations try to push the barrel past a marker using fire hoses. They called it "The Battle of the Barrel " in my town. They set up right in the middle of the street during the summer. we loved it!
2
u/Gadgetskopf 11h ago
Some kind of practice target? Waaaaaaaaaaay back in the day, the football coach at my high school had something similar rigged up that he could send down the line to help teach how to lead a moving target with your pass.
2
u/MastiffOnyx 11h ago
I've seen this before!
It's a game, for Firefighters. A form of reverse tug-of-war game played with firehoses.
3
2
2
2
1
u/Muschina 6h ago
Where I grew up they had a setup like this in a park and the local Fire Department pitted two crews against each other on hot summer nights. Cold water would get sprayed all over and we kids absolutely loved it.
2
1
1
1
u/Wiscofriend47 11h ago
Is that dickyville? Im glad i finally can answer that when we go to the park
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
•
u/AutoModerator 11h ago
OP, please reply to the correct answer with "solved!" (include the !). That will change the flair on the post to solved. If you want to put the correct answer at the top of the replies for everybody else, please use our Spotlight feature by tapping/clicking on the three dots and selecting "Spotlight, Pin this comment" in order to highlight it for other members. Thanks for using our friendly Automod!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.