Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with stone

In the round.

fearfulsymmetry — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:58:10 -0800

What's the story behind this strange circular building in the middle of nowhere in Scotland This was passed on from a friend who was intrigued and it got me scratching my head too. I've got an idea that I've seen something similar on television that was basically a work of art, but I'm not sure in this case. Google fails me. Anyone know?

Help us build a foot path.

futureisunwritten — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:58:52 -0800

How can I build a footpath from a door to the street that's economical and weather-resistant? At my place of work, our main door is on the side of the building that leads into an empty lot. We would like to construct a footpath from the door to the street (a distance of roughly 19 feet). This previous question is helpful since there is a bit of growth in the area.

The building is located in eastern Canada and is 100 percent guaranteed to get pounded by the elements, especially snow, during our crappy winters.

What's our best option? Bricks? Stones? Are we able to do this ourselves or are we better off hiring a professional? I work at a nonprofit, so we'd like to do this as economically as possible. Thanks!

Stone Piles -- Historical Meaning?

psc1860 — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 06:09:12 -0800

I sometimes see decorative piles of stones in front of --primarily rural-- homes. I like the effect very much. I wonder if there is an historical meaning or symbolism to these stone piles or if it is merely an enhancement.

Question de chance avec Rosetta Stone?

nj_subgenius — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 13:58:19 -0800

What are your experiences learning French with Rosetta Stone? Did supplementing learning with regular usage help you think the language as well as speak it? I'm interested in gaining conversational facility with French, which I haven't learned yet. Is this software as useful as their hype says it is?

Help me remember a mountain clearing

grateful — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:10:53 -0800

Help me remember a mountain clearing. A long time ago - something like 25ish years ago - I went on a weekend retreat with some quaker friends in the Catoctin mountains. (At least, I think it was the Catoctins.) At one point, we all went for a walk through the woods, and came upon a clearing. The ground was covered with white rocks - each about the size of a large book - arranged in various formations - some like a mini-stonehenge.

What is this place? Have any Mefites been there, or can you link to pictures? I've remembered this place - which seemed magical at the time - ever since I saw it. Help me find it again!

Help me translate these ancient-looking inscriptions

jofuu — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 11:18:03 -0800

I've scoured the interweb trying to translate the script on these stones with no luck. Help appease my curiousity! Recently I took pictures of a few anachronistic looking inscriptions found on an old brownstone damn near what used to be a paper mill.

There are two variations of cuneiform and some Greek script. The Greek says GEOES MATER which sounds like "mother earth" to me.

I wasn't able to translate any of the cuneiform, though I did find some symbols from this chart match the more legible of the two.

The weathering of the stone where these were chiseled was less than the rest of the block so I'm assuming they were made fairly recently. Regardless, any info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Cannibal the Virgin

Mark5four0 — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 01:10:28 -0800

Cult Movie Filter... How should we watch this movie first? I've heard that Cannibal the Musical has a legendary audio commentary but I've never seen the movie. How should I watch the move for the first time? I'm a South Park, Orgazmo, Baseketball fan... Is it necessary for me to build the relationship with the movie first or can I just skip right to the commentary?

Where do artists find the cool wood and stone that they use for projects

Mesach — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:40:20 -0800

Where can I find locations to buy wood or stone from foreign countries, things not naturally available in the US Say I was an artist and I wanted to work with a particular type of wood or stone that comes from a region outside the USA, How would I go about finding what types of wood/stone comes from where, and then how could I buy it.

Is there a source of chunks of wood like teak that people use for interesting things, NOT typical lumber, but things like slabs of wood for a coffee table or bench, that is natural.

I have seen people make interesting things with blocks of stone from Indonesia that is really white, but I don't think that it is marble or granite, but I do not know what it is, and I would like to get my hands on some, even if its just a block of it, for an interesting desk paper weight or something.

Can anyone name what kind of stone I am looking for for drink coasters?

helios410 — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:43:40 -0800

I am looking for drink coasters that are made of a certain polished stone. The stone is cut that it looks like a cross-section - and it is of a circular nature. It can have a red or blue color, possibly more. Can anyone name what kind of stone this is? And even better, where in NYC I can buy them?

Where is this stone woman from?

metahawk — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:59:49 -0800

Can anyone identify where this statue of woman might have come from? (pictures and details inside) I recently received this statue from grandmother. There are pictures of it here
and this one and this one from the back.

Does anyone have any idea where it might have come from? It seems like some kind of native art. It is stone on a painted wooden base. There are no maker markings that I could find. The fish appears to be glued onto the woman's hands (rather than being made of one piece). It was probably acquired by my grandparents sometime in the 1940's or 1950's.

HOW IS ARCHY FORMED?

TheOnlyCoolTim — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 23:17:46 -0800

How was this made? Slightly different angle here.

I discovered this while fucking off into the woods for a while today. Based on its location I would assume it to be made by random idle kids/drunks/stoners or some combination of the above three. On the other hand, I am near a large university and it's possible this was built by an expert civil engineer stoner kid.

I understand the theoretical aspects of why an arch stays up, yet based on the ad hoc nature of this one I don't immediately see how it was built or see it as likely that someone constructed a special scaffolding to build this on a concrete drainage pipe. (Though this is not implausible.) The readily available materials are rocks provided for drainage, as seen, as well as possibly wood presumably gathered from being in the woods.

Note in the pictures the fact that small rocks and rock chips are liberally used as shims between the large rocks.

Is there simply some neat simple trick behind this that I don't know? Is it just easier than it looks?

Something cool and novel for a senior class stone?

howgenerica — Sun, 04 May 2008 05:08:58 -0800

It's customary for each graduating class to present a class stone which is ceremonially imbedded in this path-way at my high school; somehow I got roped into getting the one for '08, and since I have less than a month to figure this out, I could really use some ideas! In the past people have done pretty cool things - weird glass window cubes; intricate ceramic tiles; something reminiscent of a subway station sign. I go to an international school in Tokyo, so they try and incorporate elements of Japanese culture, but they don't necessarily have to. I could get anything engraved, or carved into stone and I'm sure I could figure out how to do it if I had a really good idea, but I can't think of anything feasible. And uh, people are expecting something epic.

Please, please help!
Thanks
Erica

How do I revive a brown sugar stone?

100watts — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 08:30:29 -0800

How do I revive a brown sugar stone? My mom gave me a brown sugar stone a few years back. It's similar to this. It really did work, keeping the sugar soft, until the most recent time I went to use the brown sugar and noticed it was hard as a rock.

When I received it there were instructions on the packaging and I remember soaking the stone and then either putting it in the sugar when damp or when dry after the soak. I've long since lost the packaging and don't remember what I did. It may also be that these things just lose their efficacy after a while.

So, how do I make the stone work again?

(And I know that a slice of bread would do the same thing as the stone, but I have the stone and it takes up less space in the canister.)

Laying a graded path

sLevi — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 09:33:27 -0800

How do I lay a stone/brick path over an area which is uneven due to tree roots? Instructions available on the web or books? I'd like to lay a path which starts at the level of the driveway, slopes or steps upwards slightly due to tree roots, and then levels off to meet the concrete at the side of the house. Looking for tips, directions, photos of someone's completed project, websites, books...anything!

Unidentified stone artifact

billtron — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 14:39:13 -0800

Geology/ArchaeologyFilter: What is this stone? Is it man-made? Is it natural? How old is it? Who made it? Should I donate it to a museum?

Square stones, curved path?

pallen123 — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 14:29:29 -0800

How best to layout a curved sandstone path using square and rectangular stones? Hello -

I'm trying to layout a curved front path -- aproximately 3.5 feet wide and 30 feet long that curves like a J to the front door, over our existing lawn.

We have plenty of sandstone from a side patio. The sandstone is square and rectangular -- averaging about 2-3 square foot each.

My question is how best to use this existing sandstone to achieve an attractive curved dry set path. I have seen some paths in our neighborhood that use square stone but they seem to curve over a longer distance than hours -- and I assume the gaps between stones over a longer distance can allow for a sweeping bend w/out being too large. I'm not sure I can achieve this on a shorter path.

Are there any Web references, photos, guides you can suggest? Rules of thumb for laying out an attractive flagstone path? Should I consider breaking up the stones into irregular shapes to better accomodate a curved path? Can I combine the square stones and some broken stones and still achieve a polished/professional look? Can I have larger and irregular gaps in a dry set path, using square stones, so I can achieve the bend in a shorter distance -- and just fill those gaps with sand/crushed-stone? Will it look okay?

Thank you for any suggestions.

Should I see a doctor for my stones?

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 08:38:29 -0800

I seem to have had kidney stones continuously since January. Should I be going to my doctor? And how do you manage to collect them for analysis? I had kidney stones in January. They passed, but since then I've had continual aches and dull, stabbing pains in the same general area, and have passed two or three stones since then. The pain isn't not the hospitalization-level excruciating as it was with the first kidney stone, and generally some ibuprofen or acetometaphin will take care of it if it's bad. But it's pretty annoying. However, my impression is there isn't much one can do to deal with kidney stones besides drinking tons of water or trying to collect them, so I haven't been to a doctor for the issue since.

Is this OK? I know that one can try to collect the stones for analysis, but how am I supposed to do that when I don't know when they'll come out? The first time I was on my period so it was impossible to tell. Other times I've been away from home or depositing the number two, which makes me less than excited about digging around in the toilet and then trying to find something to put the stone in. The first time around the nurse gave me a strainer, but am I supposed to carry a strainer around and pee into it for the next month or so in the hopes I'll catch something?

Reviews of Georgia Team Building Event

GrumpyMonkey — Tue, 29 May 2007 08:32:49 -0800

Has anyone around Atlanta participated in the Stone Mountain Corporate Team Building activities? Or been to any other event put on by the InnerWork company? This seems like a fun event for our company to do this summer but the $3,200 price (plus food and park fees) seems a little steep for what they are providing.

Does leaving a pizza stone in the oven make the oven more or less efficient?

chefscotticus — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 16:24:42 -0800

Does leaving a pizza stone in the oven make the oven more or less efficient? What effect might leaving my pizza stone in the bottom of my (electric) oven have on my cooking? On the energy/heating efficiency of the oven?

My bathroom is ugly.

dame — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 10:35:00 -0800

Cleaning recommendations for unsealed stone. My condo bathrooom came done in unsealed (apparently) travertine. It is everywhere: walls, floor, shower. Now it is stained with what I assume is mildew, mostly because I had no idea how it behaved or that is was unsealed, and it doesn't seem like just scrubbing will clean it up. That is, it seems to be deep in the stone.

Can you recommend cleaning products and methods? The less intensive, the better, since it covers a fairly large area.

I need some rocks. Where do I go?

agropyron — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 07:53:20 -0800

How can I find places where it's legal to gather rocks? I'd like to build a stone circle in my back yard, and I think it would be fun to go out somewhere and gather the rocks myself. I just don't know where to go. A riverbed, a park, a quarry?

I've done some Googling around, and I've found a lot of places where it's illegal: State parks, city parks, along the side of the highway, and so on.

I've read some of the local rock hound groups' web sites, and they all seem horribly designed and uninformative. A few of them listed places they went, but they didn't really have directions, and they seemed focused on hiking for hours to find geodes and things. I just want a short walk and some decent chunks of stone.

How can I find a place to gather rocks?

Italian: "Lui sta andando" vs "Lui va"?

sirion — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 14:00:43 -0800

ItalianFilter: So I'm studying Italian via Rosetta Stone, and I'm noticing a huge emphasis on stare + a gerund (like andando, tirando, spingendo, etc). How common is this in written or spoken Italian, and what is the difference between it and plain present tense? Also, I've never seen Rosetta use 'ed' in place of 'e' when it precedes a word starting with a vowel ("Un bambino e una bambina" vs "Un bambino ed una bambina"). Are there rules for "ed"? Is it basically optional, but something people use in speech?

stoned at harvard

luriete — Tue, 30 May 2006 11:21:03 -0800

Who is responsible for the wonderful type engraved in stone seen on gated walls around the Harvard campus? I am not talking about architectural lettering, but about the several quotes engraved in slabs of smooth stone and mounted in the walls separating various parts of the campus. The work looks contemporary, or at least very well-cared-for.

Narcotic (legal) advice.

filmgeek — Sat, 23 Jul 2005 19:34:08 -0800

Psst. Been on a Narcotic long? I could use your advice. Legally, for horrible health reasons (kidney stones), I've been on percocets for 16 weeks. Quite a number of them. (6-8/day). Prescription is 5/325 oxycodone... take 1-2 every 4 hours for pain. that could be upwards of 10+ a day.

Medically - the large stones I have are sitting in a diverticulum - a small pouch near the top of my kidney. I'm seeing two urologists...and have a course of action - it's just I'm in a very grey space. Just had my 2nd extra corporeal lithotrypsy on tues.

Bextra and vioxx were taking off the market. Vicodin doesn't do much for the week I took it.

So, while I'm taking all these drugs, I wanna know...your experiences? Hard to get off of them? My life is either foggy and more comfortable....or painful and sharper. Any advice would we welcome.

An article from Rolling Stone Magazine About A "Game"

AMWKE — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 21:05:42 -0800

The article was about a game that was played amongst a few teams, almost like a scavenger hunt, insane clues were given and the mastermind teams unlocked them and went on quite a journey. I remember one clue led them to a party with about 40 people and they all turned out to be actors or something. Quite a fantastic tale. It said that these games take place all the time. I'm looking for the article from RS, or a link to anything remotely close to this. Thanks you