Trapdoor

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A trapdoor to a bomb shelter from World War II Trapdoor.jpg
A trapdoor to a bomb shelter from World War II

A trapdoor is a sliding or hinged door that is flush with the surface of a floor, ceiling, or roof. [1] It is traditionally small in size. [2] It was invented to facilitate the hoisting of grain up through mills, however, its list of uses has grown over time. [3] The trapdoor has played a pivotal function in the operation of the gallows, cargo ships, trains, [4] booby traps, [5] and more recently theatre and films. [6] [7]

Contents

History

Deck hatch of the Omega, the last square-rigged sailing cargo ship StateLibQld 1 148179 Omega (ship).jpg
Deck hatch of the Omega, the last square-rigged sailing cargo ship

Originally, trapdoors were sack traps in mills, and allowed the sacks to pass up through the mill while naturally falling back to a closed position. [3]

Many buildings with flat roofs have hatches that provide access to the roof. On ships, hatches—usually not flush, and never called trapdoors—provide access to the deck. Cargo ships, including bulk carriers, have large hatches for access to the holds.

Gallows

Most 19th- and early 20th-century gallows featured a trapdoor, usually with two flaps. The condemned was placed at the join. The edge of a trapdoor farthest from the hinge accelerates faster than gravity, so that the condemned does not hit the flaps but falls freely.

Coffins

In 1784, the reusable economy coffin was mandated by Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. The coffins had a trapdoor in their base. The coffin would be lowered into the grave and a lever operated that opened the trapdoor, allowing the body to fall to the bottom of the grave. [8] [9]

Railways

Amtrak Downeaster conductor standing in Amfleet car doorway.jpg
Amtrak conductors standing in the doorways of Amfleet cars with their trapdoors in the closed (above) and open (below) positions
Amtrak conductor stands in train door as westbound Cardinal departs Staunton.jpg

The term trapdoor also refers to a plate in the entry vestibule of a passenger railcar that permits access to high-level platforms when lying flat against the floor of the car, and which can be flipped open to expose steps for accessing ground-level platforms. Many American commuter railroads which operate the Comet railcars made by Bombardier have trapdoors to accommodate passengers boarding and alighting on both high-level and ground-level platforms. Amtrak's Viewliner, Amfleet, and Horizon railcar fleets all have trapdoors.

Biology

Trapdoor spiders hide in an underground nest they line with their silk, and then conceal it with a hinged silk lid, the trapdoor. [10]

Star traps in theatre

19th century Star trap from the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, Now at the Victoria and Albert Museum Drury Lane Star trap VA.jpg
19th century Star trap from the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, Now at the Victoria and Albert Museum

In theatrical use, "star traps" allowed explosively fast appearances on stage, such as jinn appearing in a puff of smoke. [6]

Fiction

Trapdoors are occasionally used as hidden doors in fiction, as entrances to secret passageways, dungeons, or to secret tunnels. They also appear as literal traps into which a hapless pedestrian may fall if they happen to step on one. Other types of doors or other objects are also sometimes used as hidden doors.

A trapdoor figures prominently in a late scene of the 1963 film Charade .

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Door</span> Movable barrier that allows ingress and egress

A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a doorway or portal. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide security by controlling access to the doorway (portal). Conventionally, it is a panel that fits into the doorway of a building, room, or vehicle. Doors are generally made of a material suited to the door's task. They are commonly attached by hinges, but can move by other means, such as slides or counterbalancing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Station wagon</span> Auto body-style with its roof extended rearward

A station wagon or estate car, is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door, instead of a trunk/boot lid. The body style transforms a standard three-box design into a two-box design—to include an A, B, and C-pillar, as well as a D-pillar. Station wagons can flexibly reconfigure their interior volume via fold-down rear seats to prioritize either passenger or cargo volume.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hatchback</span> Car body configuration with a rear door

A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to the main interior of the car as a cargo area rather than just to a separated trunk. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second-row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coupe</span> Car body style

A coupe or coupé is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dungeon</span> Room or cell in which prisoners were held, usually during the Middle Ages and Renaissance

A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably derives more from the Renaissance period. An oubliette or bottle dungeon is a basement room which is accessible only from a hatch or hole in a high ceiling.

There are many types of car body styles. They vary depending on intended use, market position, location, and the era they were made.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deck (ship)</span> Part of a ship or boat

A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary or upper deck is the horizontal structure that forms the "roof" of the hull, strengthening it and serving as the primary working surface. Vessels often have more than one level both within the hull and in the superstructure above the primary deck, similar to the floors of a multi-storey building, that are also referred to as decks, as are certain compartments and decks built over specific areas of the superstructure. Decks for some purposes have specific names.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liftback</span> Variation of hatchback with a sloping roofline between 45 and 5 degrees

A liftback is a variation of a hatchback car body style, with a more gently sloping roofline, roughly between 45 and 10 degrees, whereas traditional or archetypal hatchback designs tend to use a 45 degree to near vertical slope on the top-hinged tailgate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trunk (car)</span> Part of automobile

The trunk or boot of a car is the vehicle's main storage or cargo compartment, often a hatch at the rear of the vehicle. It can also be called a tailgate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucarne</span> In architecture, a dormer window

In general architecture a lucarne is a dormer window. The term is borrowed from French: lucarne, which refers to a dormer window, usually one set into the middle of a roof although it can also apply to a façade lucarne, where the gable of the lucarne is aligned with the face of the wall. This general meaning is also preserved in British use, particularly for small windows into unoccupied attic or spire spaces. Nikolaus Pevsner gaves its meaning as "a small gabled opening in a roof or a spire".

A ship's hold or cargo hold is a space for carrying cargo in the ship's compartment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pet door</span> Flap door for pets

A pet door or pet flap is a small opening to allow pets to enter and exit a building on their own without needing a human to open the door. Originally simple holes, the modern form is a hinged and often spring-loaded panel or flexible flap, and some are electronically controlled. They offer a degree of protection against wind, rain, and larger-bodied intruders entering the dwelling. Similar hatches can let dogs through fences at stiles. A related concept is the pet gate, which is easy for humans to open but acts as a secure pet barrier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mazda Kabura</span> Motor vehicle

The Mazda Kabura is a concept car shown by the Japanese manufacturer Mazda in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Box truck</span> Type of large truck

A box truck—also known as a box van, cube van, bob truck or cube truck—is a chassis cab truck with an enclosed cuboid-shaped cargo area. On most box trucks, the cabin is separate to the cargo area; however some box trucks have a door between the cabin and the cargo area, box trucks tend to be larger than cargo vans and smaller than tractor-trailers with movable trailers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hopper barge</span>

A hopper barge is a type of barge commonly designed to transport commodities like coal, steel, rocks, sand, soil and waste. 'Hopper barge' can also refer to a barge that dumps cargo at sea. These are now commonly called 'split hopper barge', because they split along the length of the hull. Split hopper barges can be non-propelled or self-propelled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semi-trailer</span> Trailer vehicle without a front axle

A semi-trailer is a trailer without a front axle. The combination of a semi-trailer and a tractor truck is called a semi-trailer truck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roof rack</span>

A roof rack is a set of bars secured to the roof of an automobile. It is used to carry bulky items such as luggage, bicycles, canoes, kayaks, skis, or various carriers and containers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ambush predator</span> Predator that sits and waits for prey to come to it

Ambush predators or sit-and-wait predators are carnivorous animals that capture their prey via stealth, luring or by strategies utilizing an element of surprise. Unlike pursuit predators, who chase to capture prey using sheer speed or endurance, ambush predators avoid fatigue by staying in concealment, waiting patiently for the prey to get near, before launching a sudden overwhelming attack that quickly incapacitates and captures the prey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comet V</span>

The Comet V railcar is the fifth generation of the Comet railcar series. Produced by the manufacturer Alstom, the Comet V is a rather different car compared to previous models in the series. The Comet V has been in use by New York metropolitan area commuter rail operators New Jersey Transit and Metro-North since April 2002.

<i>Eucteniza</i> Genus of spiders

Eucteniza is a genus of trapdoor spiders in the family Euctenizidae containing at least 14 species occurring in Mexico and the southern United States. Species are distinguished by a softened rear portion of the carapace, and males possess large spines on the first two pairs of walking legs that are used to hold females during mating. Like other trapdoor spiders they create burrows with a hinged lid, from which they await passing insects and other arthropods to prey upon. Many species are known from only one or two localities, or from only male specimens. More species are expected to be discovered. Eucteniza is closely related to spiders of the genera Entychides and Neoapachella.

References

  1. Oxford English Dictionary 2nd ed
  2. "TRAPDOOR | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary". Dictionary.cambridge.org. 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  3. 1 2 "Greens Mill". Archived from the original on 2010-11-17.
  4. "Federal Register :: Request Access".
  5. When the Burgular Goes a-Burgling. Popular Science October 1919, Page 43.
  6. 1 2 "Trap Doors On Stage". Theatrecrafts.com. Retrieved 12 November 2018. A set of triangular sprung flaps in the stage floor through which an actor can be propelled from a lift below stage.
  7. "Charade (1963)".
  8. Classen, Albrecht (11 April 2016). Death in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Times: The Material and Spiritual Conditions of the Culture of Death. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 512. ISBN   978-3-11-043697-6.
  9. Winkler, Anita. "Wiederverwertung bis zum Tod". Die Welt der Habsburger. Schönbrunn Group of museums. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  10. "Trap-door Spider - Definition of trap-door spider by Merriam-Webster". merriam-webster.com.

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