Everyone has heard the story of the little hero, Hans Brinker, and how he saved the people of Holland by sticking his finger in the leaking dike (and we think New Orleans has problems). One thing I didn't know 
was that the story was a "made-up" story that is part of the book, The Silver Skates, by American author Mary Mapes Dodge, published in 1865. At any rate, sitting all night long with his finger in the dike---holding back the salty North Sea----must have resulted in a wicked case of prune finger. If you haven't read the book I strongly encourage it. It is all about how sometimes the things we are "forced to do" (due to things beyond our control) prepare us more for what we "want to do" than if we had been able to do what we "wanted to do" all along.
At a recent inspection, I found a wooden plug driven into a hole in the cast iron drain and I got to thinking about poor Hans and how lucky he was that Mary Mapes Dodge wasn't a plumber----or he might have had something less pleasant to stick his finger in. Even so, for Han's sake, I wish Ms. Dodge knew a little bit more about hypothermia and just how cold the North Sea actually is-----no matter what time of year it is.
I gave the little wooden plug a tug only to have it break off due to its being rotten. I have no clue how the hole got to be in the pipe. I do know that a wooden stick is not the proper fix. We will have to see what the plumber says about what it will take to fix it properly----I'm not going to play the part of Hans Brinker though.
Charles Buell
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Charles, people rig all sorts of things to plug up holes (chewing gum?). You are my biographer and historian on this whole Hans Brinker thing. I knew the basic story but didn't know the character's name or the history of the book. Wow, you must get to those appointments early giving you time to research this stuff. Good thing the little end of Hans' finger didn't rot off or it would have been worse than just being a prune!
How funny that you thought of this analogy but how appropriate. It is really funny to see the varied home fix-it ideas that the non-handy come up with. Duct tape everywhere usually! Best of luck for a great 2009!
Gary, little Hans was the "stuff" of my childhood. The story about the Silver Skates had a huge impact on my whole life. I may come back to it in another post some time.
Connie, nowadays the solution to everything is duct tape. In the old days people had to be more creative---and their "fixes" almost looked like real repairs:)
Charles - A wooden plug in a pipe sounds about as smart as carpeting in the bathroom to me. In fact, I'd rather have the carpeting.
Matt, in the old days---before there was threaded pipe----wooden plugs were the only way to seal the end of a pipe. Even the holes in barrels had wooden plugs.
This is a good blog, Charles. It's short and to the point. I remember as a child hearing that story and believing every word of it. It stuck in my mind so vividly. This one is so good you might get featured again!!
They could get some of that super putty I saw on TV that they sell at WalMart in the "as seen on tv" section near the check outs. LOL
I haven't read the book, but I plan to now. Thanks.
Barbara, thanks---but I won't hold my finger in the dike waiting for the feature:)
Tammy, it is an awesome kids book for adults:)
Charles, great blog and tie in to the book. Can't imagine anyone fixing a hole in a cast iron pipe this way. Cast iron pipes are so difficult to work on now anyway ---- so brittle with age that fixing a section of one without replacing the entire plumbing system is tricky. Anyway, you'll have to let me know how you repaired it.
Thanks for sharing. I've never seen a fit like that... Only in our business can we come across with such crazy fixes and just plain mistakes like stair runners up in upside down....
Vickie, I think this "patch" had been that way a very long time.
Caron, we do indeed come across some crazy fixes:)
Charlie, I have seen the wooden plug in the cast iron pipe more than a few times.
I have never read The Silver Skates. I think I will buy it for my older daughter who is learning to read. Sounds like something we could both enjoy.
I haven't read this book, but plan to. My husband and I are avid readers.
"One thing I didn't know was that the story was a "made-up" story"
Mr Charles, you might be the only person on earth who thought Hans Brinker was a true story. I bet you hung on every word till the end. Might I suggest that I give you a course in investigation. Your eye-rolling pal, Nutsy
Thought that book was the kind that all kids read as a child so I'm surprised to see so many comments from folks who haven't read it. Anyway I wish someone could figure out where the water leak was coming from in my condo. I'd be happy for a wooden plug if it would make it stop. Of course that would come after they replace the hardwood flooring in my hallway, repair the drywall and clean up the mold :-)
Wooden plug huh? Are you sure it wasn't an acorn left behind by a devious squirrel?
Charles, I was going to say "mighty putty" but Tammy beat me to it. Cute blog and Happy New Year to you.
thanks for the pictures - hard to believe what some people will use!
cool, i like your instertion of your own emoticons and little pics.
I wonder how long that little wood-insert worked?
I had a dishwasher repair person, who repaired (temporarily) a pinhole in my dishwasher with caulk, both inside and out... that caulk was still holding firm, when we replaced the dishwasher 2 years later.
I bet it was there for many years. Someone rigged it up to save an emergency. Interesting post!
Charles - The wooden plug may not have worked well as a plug. I suggest fruitcake.
james---I predict you and your daughter will like it!
Rebecca, thanks for commenting
Nutsy, I think you might have your thumb "somewhere else"
Cindy, leaks aren't usually "rocket science"---but they may require "exploratory surgery" at times:)
Jim---good one----kind of like Nutsy's ancestor in "Ice Age"
Christine, thanks, and Happy New Year to you as well
Lisa, well it worked for a while
Robert, some complain about AR not having any emoticons but one can make anything you want.
Alan & Diane, I think it had been there a really long time
Jay, that has to be one of the best uses for fruit cake that I have ever heard of---permenant fix as well:)
Charles... You bring up great memories. 1) reading Mary Mapes Dodge stories as a kid, and 2) I bought a FSBO home back in the mid 90's... (wish I still had it) but, the owner did every repair job, including plumbing and wiring, himself for over 30 years. A real handy guy! I laugh now, but cried many a night trying to figure out how to fix anything in that house. There wasn't one thing standard that existed, I swear. Or, there were at least 4 different standards somehow welded, glued, duck taped, and/or cemented together.
thanks...
Rene'
Rene, those "Homeowner-did-all-the-work" homes are often a real pain in the butt to inspect----I can totally sympathize with your trying to fix one and live in one.
Charles - we have used the same door stop since 1961...
Jay---OK I'll bite----how does this fact relate to my friend Hans?:)
What did I predict, Charles Buell!! You are featured again. Congratulations again!!
You suggested fruitcake as a "permanent fix." A fruitcake used as a door shop since 1961 would not be entirely out of the realm of human thought... practice... experience... et al. Which is more permanent - the fruitcake or the tin? Only time will decide.
Barbara, what can I say---it is all in the question marks???? I told you The Gods must be crazy?!!
Jay, AHHHHHHH----very funny. I guess I am the real fruit cake:) I would put my money on the Fruit Cake however.
Charles - what were they thinking, using a wooden plug? Were they out of duct tape? :)
Virginia---that would be a fair assumption:)
Charlie - this reminds me of when my aunt served as my daughter's full time babysitter. She went to a garage sale and bought one of those old potty seats with a metal pan insert which was THE POTTY part of the unit. But, the metal pan had a hole in it. My Aunt grew up during the depression and was very resourceful. She eliminated the possibility of a leak by chewing on some gum and pushing the wad of gum into the hole. Well, it did the trick - and soon my daughter was potty trained!
Charles they used to use lead sticks, but you could get in trouble for that now. The chewing gum would have been a better choice.
Carol---cute story---one I am sure has been used to embarrass your daughter on more than one occasion perhaps? It is so great to have stories to embarrass our children with isn't it?
Jack, it is an interesting question isn't it? I mean here you have a pipe with a hole in it that has been sucessfully plugged with a wooden plug for probably 30 years----hard to argue with sucess:) Even duct tape wouldn't last that long. Maybe we just need to fashion another wooden plug and worry about it in another 30 years:)
Charles - if you decide to go into the wooden plug quick pipe fix supply business, give me a call, sometimes the simplest products sell the best - I'll go partners with you!
Virginia----I hear that mesquite make the best plugs for this purpose:)
Charles, Yes, we are famous here for traditional substitute products made entirely of hardwood from mesquite trees. The beauty of it in the case of pipe plugs is that it will swell slightly and form a permanent seal upon repeated contact with water. And we do have a reliable supplier for the mesquite wood.
My husband is out in the garage now, working on a prototype of the Hepp-Buell Amazing Authentic Mesquite Pipe Plug - Guaranteed to last 30 years if purchased from a registered dealer.
I don't hear any cussing, so it must be going well.
I can see a whole Hepp of money in our future:)
I'm hepp to that!
Charles, I reckon that using a wood "stob" is better than having a nasty case of prune finger, especially in that nasty water...
~~ michael
I'm all for a mesquite plumbing plug that will last 30 years, but this blog brings up an interesting question: If there is a "quick-fix" that was installed ny some previous homeowner, and it is either about to expire, on it's last gasp, or otherwise ready to fall out, or not work at all anymore.... and then some poor unsuspecting home inspector comes along, and touches it, and it then falls out or falls apart, so as to leave it in a totally unrepaired state (or leaking, as in the case of the wood plug in the cast iron drain), then whose responsability is it to fix it right?
The argument could be made.... that it wasn't leaking before you touched it, so now you had better get it fixed...the right way. Hmm
Kevin, The response to that is " You're lucky I found this." Write it up as defective and in need of repair.
James and Kevin, it is also kind of like breaking a pimple:)
Michael, I would certainly agree----gotta love that word "stob":)