What do you call a ball bearing mouse trap?



Tomcat

TRUE! I know this is the humor column, but I have to add a bit of history here concerning that same subject. In the Middle Ages, circa 1200-1350, the superstitions ran rampant (thank you mother church + ignorance of the populace) that cats were witches familiars + generally evil creatures, so there was a great pogrom for the eradication of cats throughout Europe. Well, they sowed the wind but reaped the whirlwind, as due to the cat's demise, the rats increased along with their bubos spore carrying fleas + ALL were blessed now with the "Black Death" or "Bubonic Plague" as it is now known. I guess it's apparent that I have a soft spot in my heart for cats.

A church in Oppenheim Germany has an open air building with 3 or 4000 skeletons from that plague. I have a picture of it. they are stacked up tight, bones and skulls exposed.
Wish I had a copier and knew how to post pictures.
George

I had a friend/ business parner working for me befoe his death 20 years ago who was a genius + inventing wizard. He honestly built a "better mouse trap". It was a cage of 1"/ 1/2" mesh about one foot square that had a ramp going up to an entry hole where there was a pivoted ramp on the other side.The mouse would climb the ramp to the hole, go after the food inside + the pivoted inside ramp would drop him to the bottom, then reset. The more mice the better, as when the outsiders saw their buddies eating, they wanted in too. He had no desire to patent it. Just like in the 1st Desert Storm when our tanks were having carburetor/ sand issues + no one seemed to know what to do, so I asked Dave, Hey, how would you fix that? Simple, he said + drew a schematic on a napkin that was genius, He drew a copper line coming from the exhaust manifold to right in front of the carb breather inlet. The exhaust discharge would blow across the breather inlet + blow away any sand trying to come in. Totally passive + simple. I asked him why he would not contact the Pentagon + give them his idea. He said that then they would come + get him. Did I mention that he was also quite paranoid? But, really, over the years I saw him come up with the most ingenious inventions + projects. The same guy that I have mentioned before that used some of my shop stock of sheet copper to build a still that made 160 proof peach brandy that would burn blue. VERY smooth, but you had best be setting down because it would kick you very suddenly.

HA!

All that work just to catch mice.

We tube left used engine oil in a bucket with a small board leaning against the rim. Mice would run up it and see their reflection and jump in for the company.

Another way: Run a stick thru a can, or TP or paper towel tube laid on both rims of the bucket with the board ramp.
They'd jump across to the roller, it would turn and they'd fall in too. any liquid works, even water.

Have fun Randy!

George

One of the best traps that I ever saw was self made!

We had a bottle of Puritan cooking oil on the counter of the hunting cabin which had a small shelf just above it.
The mice chewed through the cap and somehow fell into the bottle.
I was about to use some of the oil when I noticed something odd-----I took the bottle outside and poured it out------Yes there was oil in it PLUS 17---17 dead mice.

Hip

George, I built one like you described using a 5 gallon pickle bucket. Old Dave was a designing wizard though, I'll give him that. On the other hand, if you asked him what time it was, he'd tell you how to build a watch.