I remember this trap being in old VCR players. If you put your finger inside the player the hatch would close and it was game over for you. Very efficient design. Once I was trapped for one for days.

After trapping both my harnds in a cardboard box while attempting to retive a pair of large baking potatos I must wholeheartedly agree with the effective of the springy inward slanting doors mechanism.

Your rabbit animations are second to none.

I think that part of the reason is that they get pictured upside down, and they get pictured upside down probably because the underside is the more interesting and informative side to draw.

but would it work on a Frenchman ?

For those whom still struggle with the concept of this trap, think about the lids they have for your soda's at McDonalds. I don't know how many of you have stuck your pinky finger into the straw hole but take it from me: You aren't getting your finger back anytime soon.

It's sort of like a fish trap in its passivity. You can go in, but you can't come out.

the other thing this trap could select for is size/maturity of prey. One too small/young could retrieve it's small hoof from the trap whereas a creature with bigger feet would be quite stuck.

I was there for the Sweet Swing Ljubljana festival. The weather was cold and wet.

As a professional trapper, I think you nailed this one on the head. Cheers!

I'm actually surprised they thought it worked any way other than the one you mentioned. Some people are obsessed with making things complicated.

I've trapped most of my 70 years here in B.C. & Alta. Canada and I would like to share my thoughts on this trap, for what it's worth. I think that the shape of the jaws plays a big part on how it would make it's initial hold. I think it would work best if it was a long triangular shape with the points being at the bite edge. This would be set flat on the ground with a pit dug below the jaws about as deep as the jaws are wide across, then grasses and leaves used to hide it. As the ungulate stepped on the closed jaws the light springs allowed it to open up, then as the animal realized it's foot was not stopping at ground level and tried to pull up the pointed edge would grab lightly with the spring tension and the more the animal struggled the tighter the trap dug in and allowed the foot to travel to the openings in the jaws. I also believe that this could have been a free standing trap or maybe attached with a vine to a tree trunk. If a particular species of ungulate was targeted and given the trapper, at that time, would have spent his life studying his targets, I think if the trap was constructed to the right size no restraints would be necessary. Most of these animals walk with their feet fairly close together, side to side, and their stride is relative to their chosen gate. Lets assume they were at a walk when caught by it's front foot and the deer was 150 Lbs. In order to move forward at any pace it has to bring it's rear hoof forward perhaps 18-22 inches and down to take the body weight for that side, thus stepping on the trap it's self , if not back into the jaws again. If both hooves are caught then it's not going far, if only one is in the jaws every time it tries to move it would step on the trap and trip. In other words by changing the jaw length and traps over all length you can target different species or sizes of animals. If this animal was only caught by one hoof it's initial response is to run but it soon realizes that's not working so it tries to walk and that doesn't do so well either. No matter what it does it's leaving an easy track to fallow, find a finish it off with my trusty handgun, er spear. Just some ramblings from a lonely old man, Billy

Man, I fucking love your videos. They're so damn interesting.

Never heard of this type of trap before, your explanation sounds vastly better than that the museum provided. Really nice design.

I've never seen one of these things in my life, but the moment I saw it I assumed this was how it worked... isn't it obvious?

I was arriving at the same conclusions as the video played, so I wholeheartedly agree! Wonderful observations on a fantastic trap!

I need this guy on my zombie apocalypse team

So it's basicly an oversized chinese finger-trap? Thats ingenious! And more humane than just about every other trap i've heard of.

Well done, Lindybeige! I love your points and snippets on historical weapons and tactics. Keep up the great work.

I've always imagined primitive traps as figure four dead falls, or some type of snare. This is surprisingly clever.

I love the rational way you think and explain things. It is quite refreshing in the "modern" but unenlightened age we live in.

The museum did not think it through, if the doors were that powerful a clamp, then how would a twig have held the doors open? Wouldn't it just snap under the weight of these incredibly heavy doors?

Wonderful logic. Clarity of thought and deduction are extremely valuable gifts, be grateful!

Subbed to you about a year ago, slowly going thru your back catalogue, loving every minute of it.

d_b ITS A TRAP!!!

Looks like a Vietcong trap.

I think that if they expected an animal to drag it, they would have put holes in the board for attaching weights and lines. I think it is a big flat board so that you can pile stuff on it.

I absolutely love this channel, just as I like many other channels where the uploader truly is passionate about his hobby.

Chains or bells in the pre-industrial era would be prohibitively expensive. I see no grooves or holes on any example for attaching to anything. Yes, you could use very weak springs to catch small game, but most small creatures can burrow, and so unless you build a sturdy box underneath it, they will burrow out quite quickly.

Why in gods name did i assume that this “tread trap” was meant to trap tank treads ;-;

I learned a lot with this video, thank you for your brilliant content.

Once again i'm impressed! I love all your videos, and I found your poem "Never Meet Your Heroines" very amusing. I'm a big fan and can't wait for another video!

It reminds me if anything of a method I read about for hunting elephants, where a springy, elastic rope would be caught around the elephant's leg at one end, and the other end tied to a log. Not a huge log, not one to hold it in place, but hefty enough to tire the elephant as he drags it around. It's a form of persistence hunting, which humans excel at.

I love when I think 'That looks like it just opens up into hole and then holds the leg in place,' and then you explain how it does exactly that. This makes me feel so smart.

Surprisingly interesting. Everything was reasoned well, good video!

very interesting. highly informative. thank you for sharing. i always do love a good museum.

I doubt that holding down the trap was necessary; the ungainliness of the trap alone would slow the deer down so that it could be killed. Sort of like how convicts on a chain gang would be outfitted with metal balls to keep them from running.

I was on a trip to the south coast of Norway in recent months and I visited a site of archaeo-cultural significance, with a reconstructed village which was advertised as "Bronze-Age and Viking village", rather amusingly. Sadly my friends and I came across the place outside opening hours and so it was empty but, being Viking Age, the site security wasn't particularly good at keeping us out (though I would note, here, Lindy's locks in ye olde timees video) and so we had a look around on the house, as it were. I was very pleased to discover that the "longhouse" of the village had a fully sized replica of one of these just lying around, and I had the chance to have a good play with it, and I wholly concur with Lindy's every observation! Very cool toys.

Wow this man is an OG, spreading history and information since the dawn of KZfaq

A few years ago I went to the Cu Chi tunnels museum in Vietnam and saw several examples of traps used by the Vietnamese to protect the tunnels. Not a few of them used a similar principle to the one you're describing. Easy to put your foot in, but if you try to pull it out, your leg gets torn to shreds. Very ingenious, and barbaric.

This happened to me with a mcdonalds cup lid when I stuck my finger in it.

... Yeah, ok, KZfaq algorithm. At least this time I believe I know _exactly_ how I ended up here.

Once again. Completely in awe of your problem-solving ability. I think the commentator below, however, is correct about the trap being designed to hobble rather than immobilize.

Fascinating design. I completely agree with your conclusion. I reached the same one just before you revealed your thoughts on it. it makes most sense. It also reminds me of the scene from Saw 2 with the razor box.

When your parents wake you up to go to a surprise Disney trip, but the last 5 times this happened you just ended up at the Dentist. 0:19

Dude, you were in my country? That's awesome. =)

Probable explanation. Well done!

great video as usual, I love how you manage to create a playful atmosphere in your videos, makes it even more interesting to watch. the animation part was priceless, silly but understandable. also the ending phrases and pictures are hilarious. This channel is perfect, amazing (in a bad way) how you have so few subs!

IT'S A TRAP

i'm inclined to agree with your theory as to how this trap worked. seems like a rather smart low cost trap

Smart man as always! Well done, sir.

I saw a recontrukted version of this trap in sweden and had the chance to test it.you are right about the way it works.

Trap thread

I'd just tie the trap to the tree. Sure the animal can walk around within the length of the rope, but it's not going anywhere.

This is the most advanced CG I've seen in a Lindybeige video ever!!!

I appreciate you showing me the trap.

How could anthropologists possibly not see that that was its obvious function? I could tell just by looking at it that that's how it seemed to work best. It's just weird.

My only issue with this is the pit part, unless the trap is only a few inches down at most I would suspect that an animal would normally avoid any excessive deviations in their path, not walking into deep holes potentially tripping themselves for example?

I agree with your analysis, and figured out where you were going even before you said it. A Chinese fingers-style trap is so much simpler than a set trap.

You, Lindybeige, are awesome.

I don't think holding the device down is needed, a deer would certainly break it's leg, if not trying to run immediately after getting caught then potentially it would later just because of how it's shape basically acts as a lever against it's joints.

that's a pretty clever trap

Good to see you back

I like you man. genuinely interesting you earned my sub after watching 20 of your videos. great content

I like your clever analyses. I think that people have been trained to think in "evolutionary" terms, so they have to make everything seem less ingenious in the past when they were just as clever or more so then today.

Maybe that trap could even be made so it only catches adult deer with adult sized ankles? Maybe even just full sized stags? Then the deer population would last longer.

I have no clue why for three days KZfaq has suggested this video to me. But I'm glad it did. I feel like I want to sit down with this guy and debate about how things work.

Deer are elusive little buggers thanks for giving me ideas. Since all primitive traps in the USA are illegal I would only use it in a survival situation but its always good to have another trick in your kit.

Probably just slowed the creature down enough so that it could be hunted more easily. No need for it to be weighed down. A good hunter would just check his traps and if one was gone they could easily track it.

The Vietcong used similar traps during the Vietnam war; their versions were spiked however.

This whole explanation is exactly what I though when I first saw the drawing of the mechanism

I love your explanations

y'all posting on a trap thread ... (sorry, I had to!).

How about you make one and test it out?

Mr. Lindybeige. Two years ago I came across this video while searching how to trap fur bearing animals. I have been a huge fan since. Not because of this video exactly but the next video suggested was yours and I watched it, then another, then another... I really enjoy your topic selection, and the thing with the gentleman astronaut!! Also I guess I'm a mild anglophile, my maternal grandfather was in the 8th air force and brought home my grandmother from England, he was a literal anglophile you could say. In short, Thanks for making great videos, Please keep making great videos, The way you incorporate adverts is one of the best on youtube (I like that you have more superb content after the brazen cash grab and I don't roll my eyes and go geez this guy is way over doing it)

Love these videos, thanks do much for taking the time to make and share them! One thought on your (I presume correct) analysis of the trap: the depression could (would?) be filled with light forest floor litter (leaves, etc.) to camouflage the hole. Most deer wouldn't blindly step in a hole, but on a heavily used game trail, where the ground is considered "safe" such a properly camouflaged trap would be very effective.

I love these video's.. Lindy, you DO need a clip-on microphone though.. your video's are way too informative not to have good audio!

clever!!

I think you are totally right about this trap. That was my thoughts when Looking at it.

Came back to watch this in 2020 with nostalgia for the days when Lindybeige used to make videos that weren't three hours long with 25 minute embedded commercials for the great courses plus.

I'd be inclined to believe this is correct, if for no other reason than it sounds much less finicky and prone to failure than the proposed design by the museum, where it seems like too many assumptions were made that didn't take practical concerns into consideration.

I think you're quite right, except for one thing. I don't think it was set in a pit, though you would dig a pit under the traphole. I think you would set it flush with the ground, with a bit of dirt, leaves and such on it. An animal wouldn't step down into your hole, they'd step around it. You might tether it to a peg or a deadman (see below), but you wouldn't really need to. An animal with this huge heavy thing on its foot isn't going very far, or very fast, and it's going to leave a trail of scuffmarks and broken vegetation that the worst tracker alive could follow. It's going to be a matter of minutes to catch up with it, even if it has been dragging itself away all night. www.pinterest.com/pin/196821446191089080/

Dear Sir, I have evaluated your video and found your conclusions to be sound. HAZAAR!!

Would love to see a deeper dive into all the different types of footfall traps and who used them throughout history

I figured that out from looking at the thumbnail of the video before clicking on it...

Yeah, that working principle would be rather clever (beside being dirt cheap to make). Also, it allows to capture animals without hurting them the slightest bit: they'll just tire themselves trying to escape, and if you check your traps often enough, you might just catch a deer perfectly healthy, but so tired you can litterally pick it up, bring it back home, feed it and keep it as a pet :-)

The way you figured it is the way I instantly thought it worked. I didn't even consider the way the museum had it

just found your channel. i am now bingeing. love your personality and your content. lots of love from Canada!

Its a trap!!!!

Your pronunciation of Ljubljana is pretty good!

you are completely right. the poachers in my home area are still using similar traps nowadays, exactly as you explained

that is the best foothold trap design that I've seen so far

I agree with you. You explained it very well.

What a polite deer to put its legs right into that opening :)

i like your idea very good deduction skills :>

Nice. The physics seem right, very practical. And I also like the random asides,,, sliding girls indeed! 😁👍

You described exactly how I assumed the trap must work just from the videos thumbnail image. I suppose it can also work as a covered pitfall trap with the twig locking the mechanism open but I don't see why it would be necessary to operate it like that as long as the targeted prey is heavy enough.

Thank you KZfaq recommendations

Love your videos!, greetings from Slovenia : )

I've seen a trap once that employs a similar design: Two boards with spikes facing up are put in a hole with space to the bottom. When an animal steps onto the boards, it pushes them down, jamming the part of the board that was burrowed into the hole's wall into the animal's leg, forming a sort of 'V' shape, with the leg in the middle.