Interesting Facts About Doors

Interesting Fun Facts About Doors From Around The World

Things you never new about doors:Archaeologists have discovered what they think to be Europe’s oldest door in Zurich. Using tree-ring dating they estimate that the door is around 5,100 years old.

• The largest doors in the world are supposedly at the entrance to NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center. They measure a whopping 456 ft and take around three quarters of an hour to open or close.
• A Philadelphian inventor by the name of Theophilus Van Kannel received the first ever patent for a revolving door in 1888.
• Approximately 4,000 years ago, the Egyptians created a prototype of a lock. It resembled the pin tumbler locks found in most deadbolts we use today. It was only in 1861 that this form of lock became popular however as Linus Yale, Jr patented a model that opened with a small, flat key.
• You can see a rainbow of colourful doors in Ireland. This is because her residents were ordered to paint their doors black in mourning of the death of Queen Victoria. Instead they painted their doors different colours as an act of rebellion.

Fun FactsThe month of January is named after the ancient Roman god of doors, Janus. The god Janus was the Roman god of beginning, endings, transitions, gates, doors, and doorways. In his honour, doors always would swing into the home, an act of welcoming not just guests, but also, the god himself. However, Romans who provided great service to the empire, such as war heroes, were honoured in turn with doors that could swing outward.The most ancient doors known date back to ancient Egypt. Doors were simple then and were primarily a slab of wood with hinges. A false door is a door that leads to nowhere. In ancient Egypt these doors were known as the doors to the afterlife.In 2014, the tallest tree in the UK was declared to be a Douglas Fir in Reelig Glen, near Inverness. At 66.4m it’s quite tiny compared to Hyperion, but still an amazing sight to see.UK contenders for oldest tree though, including a yew tree, in a churchyard in the village of Llangernyw, North Wales. There’s also a yew tree in Scotland which is thought to be between 3,000 and 9,000 years oldThe origin of doors in the UKThe oldest door is made of oak and is located in Westminster Abbey. It is over 900 years old and was put in place during the reign of Edward the Confessor (1042-1066). Made from one tree, it is six and a half feet high and four feet wide. There is a rather unpleasant legend about this door too, which said that it was once covered in the skin of a punished man. Tests have now shown the skin to be cow-hide though.The hardest wood – We’re all familiar with the terms “hardwood” and “softwood” but have you ever wondered how the hardness of wood is measured? The Janka test calculates the hardness of wood by measuring the force needed to embed a steel ball halfway into a piece of wood. The hardest wood is the Australian Buloke which requires a force of 5,060 lbs to embed the ball and the softest is the Cuipo which requires only 22lbs of force, with the familiar balsa wood being the second softest.Finally welcome in good energyFeng Shui dictates that you should have an open, clear pathway to the door. Which is to support a harmonious flow of energy.