The first spring-loaded mouse trap was invented by William C. Hooker of
Abingdon, Illinois, who received US patent 528671 for his design in 1894. James Henry Atkinson, a British inventor
who in 1897 invented a prototype called the "Little Nipper", probably
had seen the Hooker trap in the shops or in advertisements and used it as the
basis of his model. It is a simple device with a
heavily spring-loaded bar and a trip to release it. The design is such that the
mouse's neck or spinal cord will be broken, or its ribs or skull crushed, by
the force of the bar.
Simple, brutal, but effective.
'Three Blind Mice' oil on panel by Dylan Lisle.
Three blind mice, three blind mice,
See how they run, see how they run,
They all ran after the farmer's wife,
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,
Did you ever see such a thing in your life
As three blind mice?
very well co-ordinated and organised blind mice!
ReplyDeleteGlad you like it Tristan!
ReplyDelete