An anchor plate is a Good Thing
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In recent weeks this newsletter has taken on some pretty big topics. From being a working artist, to creativity in protest signs, to taking on those Abbey Road moments. But it’s all been just a bit, well, heavy.
And sometimes you need something light to balance out all that heavy. So this week's post is all about a mystery that has perplexed me for much of this decade, and that I only recently solved. This post is about anchor plates.
Now you might be thinking that this still sounds like some sort of heavy metaphor. Like maybe the anchor is a memory that keeps you grounded and the plates are some sort of accessory that you can carry on your key chain to remind you of that. And, in truth, that might actually be something great to take away from this newsletter. But I promised you something light, so let me tell you a story instead.
Back when I was a university student, the second time around that is, I lived in a very leafy suburb in Melbourne's inner north. And as is often the case when studying, I often became distracted by everything around me. I noticed lots of things that I had probably ignored in the past, and I probably ignored lots of things I needed to notice.
And one thing of the things I noticed were the metal 'S' things stuck to the side of the buildings in my neighbourhood.
Spotted in Carlton North, Melbourne. This one even looks rustic.
At first I thought they were markers to tell people which way South was, which, while seemingly unnecessary, was plausible from an abstract perspective. Of course, this theory held up right to the point when I realised that many of them didn't actually point to the South. So I asked around, looking for anyone who might have any idea of what these things could be, but I found myself getting nowhere. After a while, probably because I realised I needed to put my attention elsewhere, like for an assignment or something, I let my curiosity pass me by and moved onto other things.
But I never really forgot about the 'S' things.
Fast-forward many years later, a look in the mirror reflects an older, grislier, more bearded Chris, living in a neighbourhood no longer filled with the 'S' symbols. So imagine my surprise when I look on Facebook, it's still good for some things, and see someone asking what the 'S' symbols are. The same ‘S’ symbols I searched for. And what's more, I see someone else offering an answer.
As it turns out, the 'S' symbol, or anchor plate as it’s actually known, is a masonry thing that is used to reinforce a building and to ensure, basically, that it doesn't fall apart. Commonly, there is an anchor plate on either end of an axel-like rod that runs the full width of the building, with the anchor plates working to keep it from being distorted. This is especially valuable when connecting two buildings together, like for the terrace houses in Melbourne's inner-north. And while an anchor plate can be a plain old square, engineers and builders would add symbols such as an 'S' instead based on the idea that if you're going to have something that holds buildings together, it may as well look interesting. Cool, huh?
Anyway, this Good Thing was intended to be light, with maybe a subtext about the joy of finding something amazing in the details of the world and how valuable that can be, but I'll admit that the heavy metaphor I mentioned at the start is probably packed in here too. It’s probably something like, much like the buildings around us, we all use anchor plates such as key rings, accessories, hobbies, or even tattoos, to keep us grounded.
I'll let you all decide which one is the Good Thing. Maybe both?
Good Thing takeaways:
Anchor plates really do hold the world together.
Small details can actually be the quite valuable.
Life lesson or masonry joint? Or both? Your choice.
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