New video about a very old story⌠in fact, in the early 1980s sheep in New Zealand and Wales (UK) were reported to get over cattle grids in this manner - thus being a prime example of âmorphic resonanceâ - check it out on Google, Yahoo or your search engine of choiceâŚ
Itâs not a surprise, theyâre called cattle grids because they donât stop sheep. Sheep can just jump across the grid.
Iâve occasionally heard cattle grates called stiles, but I think technically they arenât. Stiles seem to be distinguished primarily by being incompatible with vehicles, and thus an impediment to the handicapped and to cyclists (the latter being a design feature and not a bug). Most stiles Iâve seen involve steps, although the âsqueeze stileâ is an exception.
Ah, right you are. Per Richard Bennett (Ramblings over Stiles) the name derives from Old English âstigelâ whose Germanic root means âto climbâ. The definition appears to have expanded from just the step or ladder designs to also apply to gate-type, but all, unlike cattle grids, feature barriers to wheels as well as livestock.
I bet stiles pre-date wheels.
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