Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Number 8 wire

A common gauge of fencing wire used in New Zealand's early history, no. 8 wire has become an iconic representation of Kiwi ingenuity and adaptability.  You can use no. 8 wire for anything.  Fixing a handle on a bucket, building a bridge, setting up a rudimentary communication system.  Number eight mentality means figuring it out and getting it done.  Maybe not perfectly, but in working order and on the cheap. 

It also refers to a forum for true fans of New Zealand rugby and is also a good example of the South Island accent; I'm still not sure what is happening here.
 

1 comment:

Mom said...

I couldn't understand a word the guy on the right uttered...I knew it was English, but I felt like a one-year old child just beginning to pick out a few words from Mum and Dad. About the wire...I am reminded of all the repairs your Grampa Otradovec made with fencing wire-milk bucket handles, repairs to the hay baler and cow stantions. I thought it was good old "American ingenuity", but now I realize it is more than that, it is basic human ingenuity!