I’ve seen a couple of TV segments about a place in Florida called The Coral Castle. Apparently it is this elaborate rock structure that was built buy some dude in the early 1900’s who claimed to understand the methods of those who built the pyramids and other structures. One structure that he built is a huge rectangular slab that is fixed on a pivot and can be rotated with surprisingly little pressure. They showed this in operation though they did admit that it had been refurbished at one time.
Neither of the programs really had any good suggestions about how he made the structures and how he, according to both programs, managed to move them several miles to a new location. Does anybody know more about this or any source that gives some plausible explanations about how he managed this.
I have visited the CC; there is NOTHING mysterious about it at all (except for the nut who built it). The slab that you mentioned is mounted on a pivot made from a Ford Model “T” rear axle. It is impressive, but the whole thing was built using simple machines -levers , wedges, and chain hoists-human muscle…and a great deal of time!
The guy who built it spent 30+ years on the project, so he had plent of time to do the work. If you visit the museum, you can see some of the builder’s original writings-they are absolute gibberish (he attempted an alternate explanation of electricity).
To repeat, a very remarkable piece of work, but something anybody could do, given enough time an a few simple tools.
I saw something about this guy a LONG time ago but I’ll tell you what I think I remember.
Some people hold this up as a proof, or at least indication, of the existence of force lines that run through the planet. Coral Castle happens to be at the intersection of one of these lines. Presumably these lines can be harnessed for a variety of purposes inclusding something like anti-gravity.
Me? I’m not much for hocus-pocus but his achievement is remarkable and not easily explained. In the show I watched they had a modern crane (sizeable one too) try to pick up a slab of granite the size of some the guy used to build the castle. The crane nearly overbalanced and tipped over yet this guy supposedly used nothing more than tripods and pulleys near as anyone could tell.
The guy also seemed to have a sixth sense. Some other guy, trying to get the scoop on what this guy was doing, hid in the bushes a fair distance away from the castle with a camera. The builder stopped what he was doing, looked in the direction of the ‘spy’ and patiently waited him out till he left.
I dunno what the real deal is but it is kinda cool…
What’s the mystery? Was I the only one who stacked hay bales on a ranch a a child? People used to do heavy lifting and think nothing of it. Yes, the blocks of coral are much heavier than even a three-wire oat bale but different methods are used to inch them along.
I’m just frustrated now because I can’t get any of my glass-spined friends to help me move a safe. It’s less than 400lb but they insist I pay someone to do it. What a bunch of wussies. Before my dad was in a wheelchair he, my brother and I used to move my brother’s piano upstairs, never mind the fact dad had a bad back and a fused right hip. Augh!
I went there a few years ago, it is a pretty cool place, but, like egkelly said, if you try reading some of his writings, it is complete gibberish.
As I said, it is impressive, but nothing so far out there that it requires “magnetic vortices”, or whatever, in way of explanation. A lot of neat little features are there, like a sundial, a Florida shaped table (with a little “bird bath” kind of thing where Lake Okeechobee is), rocking chairs, and a little astronomical thing where you look through two holes, when they’re lined up you’re looking at the North Star. The pivoting door is cool, but I think they’ve intentionally stiffened the movement up some; the thing is about 9 tons, and if it got to spinning around pretty fast, it could really smack someone good.
The guy built it for his lost love, he had been engaged to a girl, who then left him. Billy Idol wrote a song about it, “Sweet Sixteen”, and I think the video for that song was filmed there. As of a few years ago I think the girl was still alive and has never been to visit the place.
Just so we’re all clear I do not believe ‘magic’ was used in the creation of Coral Castle…just pointing out that some people do make this claim. Simple mechanics can do what he did. Theoretically if you got a lever long enough and something to sit a fulcrum on you (by yourself) could literally move the earth.
Nevertheless moving 50,000 pound blocks of stone (some were that heavy) with homemade, unpowered tools is remarkable. Go to MIT and I doubt you could find an engineer up to the challenge if all he is given are junkyard parts. The mechanics may be straightforward but finding materials out of junk that will support 50,000 pounds is hard to do. And, not only do you have to move it but move it with great precision. That gate of his weighs 18,000 pounds (or about 6 midsize cars) and is supremely well balanced. Engineers to this day ponder how it could have been achieved (given that it’d be a difficult feat even using modern equipment and measuring devices).
No, not mysticism or magic but amazing nonetheless. Who knows, maybe the guy did know the secret behind building the pyramids…too bad he didn’t share the knowledge with anyone.
I drive past the Coral Castle two or three times a week and have never been remotely tempted to stop. Judging from the parking lot, not too many people are tempted. With the advent of the Florida Turnpike, US1 has become mostly a local use road and most of the tourists who formerly drove by now have no reason to. I have talked with a few locals who have visited the place and they all wish they had their money back.
If you decide to visit, the place is located in what I can only call a neighborhood in transition–don’t leave anything of value on the seat of your car and be sure to lock up securely.
The HEAVIEST stone blocks ever used by pre-construction machinery man, are the 25 ton blocks, used in the foundations of the Temple of Jupiter (Baalbeck, Lebanon).
The Roman engineers were able to move these using simple log rollers-the same way that some people move boats on the beach. In addition, they were able to raise them (inches at a time) by inserting pieces of wood underneath, as one side (and then the other) was raised via levers.
Granted, the screwball who built the CC was by himself, but he had chain hoists.
As far as the 9 -ton door: it is quite easy to determine the center of mass of a hanging object-he simply raised the block on a chain hoist, and allowed it to rotate gently-the CM was the point of (the axis) of rotation.
By the way, who owns the place-the builder passed away leaving no heirs. His nonsensical writings on electricity are truly bizarre-he was probably quite demented when he wrote them!