A better mousetrap

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From the University of Reading - Museum of English Rural Life.

155-year old mouse trap claims its latest victim
After logging onto their computers today, staff here at the MERL were greeted by an unusual email from the Assistant Curator:

‘There appears to be a dead mouse in this mousetrap…’

It began.

‘…which is not described as being there on the database.’

So, this retired rodent had managed to sneak past University of Reading security, exterior doors and Museum staff,  and clambered its way up into our Store. Upon finding itself there it would have found the promised land; a mouse paradise laid before it full of straw, wood and textiles. Then, out of thousands of objects, it chose for its home the very thing designed to kill it some 150 years ago: a mouse trap.

The trap itself was not baited, but this did not stop our mouse from wriggling inside and, finding itself trapped, meet its demise. The trap was manufactured by Colin Pullinger & Sons of Silsey, West Sussex and although we don’t know the exact date this one was made, the trap itself was patented in 1861. It is a multi-catch trap with a see-saw mechanism, and you can see its object record here. It is known as a ‘Perpetual Mouse Trap’ and proudly declares that it ‘will last a lifetime’. How apt.

Much more at the site including a diagram of the mouse trap. Brilliant design. One of the comments to this post is as follows:

Colin Pullinger was my Great,Great Grandfather. Have 2 business cards of his showing all the things he did,plus all his legal documents relating to land acquisitions etc,all on parchment. There is a blue plaque to him in Selsey. He was at the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park,1851, and sold 1.5 million traps worldwide! My Grandad,his grandson,went to Upper Norwood to watch the Crystal Palace burn down in 1936. My Dad watched from his bedroom window. My Dad is thrilled the mousetrap still does its job after all this time!!

Just wow!

More here: How a mouse died in our Victorian mouse trap

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This page contains a single entry by DaveH published on February 8, 2016 9:20 PM.

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