Tuesday, August 26, 2014

These little lamps


 
 
Here we have two very old Carbide Lamps. What is a carbide lamp you may ask?
We'll let Wikipedia explain it for you.
 
"Carbide lamps, or acetylene gas lamps, are simple lamps that produce and burn acetylene (C2H2) which is created by the reaction of calcium carbide (CaC2) with water.
Acetylene gas lamps were used to illuminate buildings, as lighthouse beacons, and as headlights on motor-cars and bicycles. Portable acetylene gas lamps, worn on the hat or carried by hand, were widely used in mining in the early twentieth century. They are still employed by cavers, hunters, and cataphiles" - Wikipedia

Also if your curious what a cataphile is?
(People who Illegally explore underground catacombs in the Paris sewers) Pretty exciting right?
 

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