Joseph's Workbench: a pub with a story

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on a stained glass window in a pub converted from a church, depicting an angel informing Joseph of his fiancée's pregnancy, alongside a carpenter's bench featuring a vice. The conversation explores the historical context of screw threads, particularly questioning whether female screw threads and associated engineering concepts existed around 0 AD. It concludes that the artist likely used familiar tools rather than adhering to historical accuracy, indicating that the window reflects the knowledge of the time it was created, not the era of Jesus' birth.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of historical engineering concepts, particularly screw threads.
  • Familiarity with stained glass art and its historical context.
  • Knowledge of the significance of carpentry tools in ancient times.
  • Awareness of the timeline of technological advancements from antiquity.
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the history and development of screw threads in ancient engineering.
  • Explore the significance of stained glass in religious and historical contexts.
  • Study the tools used in carpentry during the time of Jesus and their evolution.
  • Investigate the artistic techniques and historical accuracy in stained glass design.
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Historians, artists, engineers, and anyone interested in the intersection of art, technology, and historical context.

Jobrag
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The other night I was in a pub that has been converted from a disused church, they have kept the stained glass windows. One of the windows depicts an angel telling Joseph, the good news, that his fiancée is up the duff, in the background is a carpenter's bench with a vice. I know that about 0 AD they would have known about screw threads from Archimedes's screws, but had they developed a female screw thread and all the engineering possibilities (as well as the vice) that this implies?
 
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Jobrag said:
The other night I was in a pub that has been converted from a disused church, they have kept the stained glass windows. One of the windows depicts an angel telling Joseph, the good news, that his fiancée is up the duff, in the background is a carpenter's bench with a vice. I know that about 0 AD they would have known about screw threads from Archimedes's screws, but had they developed a female screw thread and all the engineering possibilities (as well as the vice) that this implies?
The artist that made the design for the stained glass would most likely not have much historical knowledge, so would have just placed a tool that he was familiar with. Remember, the stained glass would depict knowledge from the time when the window was made, not the time of Jesus' birth.