|
MDuitsman
location:
Dupage County, IL
Gender: Male
 |  | Things NOT to disturb- Benchmarks
< on 11/16/2004 2:44 AM >
|  | | | I'm sure a lot of you people know this, but I just think its a good idea to give fair warning to those who don't.
On some explorations you may see what appears to be brass/copper disc inlaid into the ground. If you look closely, it will have a number of things deeply engraved on it, the most important of which being "BM ###" This object is called a monumented benchmark, and they are rather fascinating objects because of how durable and long-lasting they are.
However, you should never attempt to move or deface a benchmark (of course, it probably wouldn't cross your mind to begin with). This is for two reasons:
1. Doing so is a serious federal offense (definitely in the U.S., but probably in Canada too) for which you will have both law enforcement AND the military after you.
2. Benchmarks are excellent emergency locations because they make it so much easier for rescue personnel to find you (or any unfortunate person) when you are out in the sticks.
Here's a picture of a really fancy benchmark- <http://www.hewgill.../IMG_7491.JPG.html>
Note: Benchmarks can also be found as a concrete slab (like a gravestone) with numbers etched into it.
|
|
Slickis
    
Noble Donor
location:
Kokomo, Indiana
Gender: Male
Rest In Piece Booger 4-6-08
| | Re: Things NOT to disturb- Benchmarks
<Reply # 1 on 11/16/2004 3:51 AM >
| | | | Something like this?
I've been feeling funny since I went in that open crypt. Not sure what it is. |
|
nostra-YOUPPI!
Umpire
location:
Shahre:'on Kaybec
Bonsoir et cest partie
| | Re: Things NOT to disturb- Benchmarks
<Reply # 2 on 11/16/2004 3:59 AM >
| | | | in quebec they are called "point geodesique" you can spot them here since they put a blue or orange band on the nearest lamp post. the past few years they have placed a lot of them, there are 2 within farting distance of my house.
Montreal Expos 1969-2004 Forever Proud Lets Keep The Dream Alive |
|
Feztaa
location:
Victoria, Canada
Gender: Male
Hide yo kids, hide yo wife
| | Re: Things NOT to disturb- Benchmarks
<Reply # 3 on 11/18/2004 3:37 AM >
| | | | Huh, I've never seen anything like this. Are they common in urban areas? You mention "the sticks", so are these only found out in the middle of nowhere?
|
|
nostra-YOUPPI!
Umpire
location:
Shahre:'on Kaybec
Bonsoir et cest partie
| | Re: Things NOT to disturb- Benchmarks
<Reply # 4 on 11/18/2004 4:00 AM >
| | | | in quebec they are everywhere , easier to spot in the burbs since there is less visual clutter
Montreal Expos 1969-2004 Forever Proud Lets Keep The Dream Alive |
|
Arrow
Noble Donor
location:
Minneapolis
Gender: Male
| | Re: Things NOT to disturb- Benchmarks
<Reply # 5 on 11/18/2004 5:19 AM >
| | | | Posted by Feztaa
Huh, I've never seen anything like this. Are they common in urban areas? You mention "the sticks", so are these only found out in the middle of nowhere?
|
I've seen one in the middle of the sidewalk near a major intersection on the U of MN campus (in Minneapolis).
|
|
MacGyver
location:
St Paul, Minnesota
Gender: Male
"Someone go find me a paperclip, a D-cell battery, and a cheese grater"
| | Re: Things NOT to disturb- Benchmarks
<Reply # 6 on 11/18/2004 1:10 PM >
| | | | This is in the floor of the observation deck at the top of an old water tower:
Like a fiend with his dope / a drunkard his wine / a man will have lust for the lure of the mine
"If you are not part of the solution, you are not dissolved in the solvent." |
|
Ibby
location:
Victoria
Gender: Male
| |  | Re: Things NOT to disturb- Benchmarks
<Reply # 7 on 11/18/2004 2:59 PM >
|  | | | Posted by Feztaa
Huh, I've never seen anything like this. Are they common in urban areas? You mention "the sticks", so are these only found out in the middle of nowhere?
|
Yeah, they're everywhere. Quite common in urban areas, and you'll even see them out in the sticks. They denote certain things, like mountain summits, etc. You've probably seen them and not even given them a second thought. Check your area for GPS sites, or geocaching. Some folks use them as cache points.
|
|
splinter
location:
Near Bristol, UK
Gender: Male
| | Re: Things NOT to disturb- Benchmarks
<Reply # 8 on 11/21/2004 12:01 AM >
|  | | | we have the in the UK, tho they are called trig points,  trying to deface it would be pointless, and rather lame:p
|
|
Bobtheallmighty
  
location:
Somewhere over london, Ontario
Gender: Male
gotta climb.
| | Re: Things NOT to disturb- Benchmarks
<Reply # 9 on 11/21/2004 7:02 PM >
| | | | I was all ways told that these were GPS markers used by survey teams.
-bob
" <Samurai> you know, we aren't as far removed from animals as we'd like to think... i still have bowel movements that border on mystical... i mean almost orgasmic" |
|
Freak
location:
Usually Alaska, now MSP.
Gender: Male
Hypocrite
| | | Re: Things NOT to disturb- Benchmarks
<Reply # 10 on 11/21/2004 10:19 PM >
| | | | They've been around since before GPS. In the US they often mark the boundary points of property lines, such as the border between state and federal land, or the corners of surveyed private property. Different kinds are used for general geodetic surveys and property surveys, the property ones usually have a graphic showing the border's shape and codes designating the land on each side (could be useful to see when you're trespassing and when you're on public land).
Here's one from a WWII bunker in Seward, its set into the roof and dated from the installation of the bunker.
Edit: The spell checker thinks "Differend" is a word 
[last edit 11/21/2004 10:20 PM by Freak - edited 1 times]
Turn off the internet and go play outside.
http://spamusement...hp/comics/view/137 |
|
Indigenous Insurgent
location:
Milwaukee, WI
Gender: Male
Only the Truth is revolutionary
| |  | | Re: Things NOT to disturb- Benchmarks
<Reply # 11 on 11/21/2004 10:42 PM >
| | | | Posted by MDuitsman
1. Doing so is a serious federal offense (definitely in the U.S., but probably in Canada too) for which you will have both law enforcement AND the military after you.
|
Um, the military?
Yikes.
Those who make peaceful change impossible will make violent revolution inevitable. |
|
Slickis
Noble Donor
location:
Kokomo, Indiana
Gender: Male
Rest In Piece Booger 4-6-08
| | Re: Things NOT to disturb- Benchmarks
<Reply # 12 on 11/22/2004 7:52 PM >
| | | |
Thats looks alot bigger than the one I found. Above is a pic of one at a fire observation tower and it's only about 4 in across.
I've been feeling funny since I went in that open crypt. Not sure what it is. |
|
MDuitsman
location:
Dupage County, IL
Gender: Male
| | Re: Things NOT to disturb- Benchmarks
<Reply # 13 on 11/23/2004 1:16 AM >
| | | | By the way, I've also seen them in urban areas painted onto sidewalks (probably the original was paved over, so the paint marker is temporary). These would be used most likely for orienteering, map-reading practice, and the like. The one I saw looked like this:
 It was about a 3x3 inch square.
|
|
sympathy in chaos
location:
Chicago
Gender: Male
| |  | | Re: Things NOT to disturb- Benchmarks
<Reply # 14 on 11/23/2004 5:09 AM >
| | | | Posted by MDuitsman
By the way, I've also seen them in urban areas painted onto sidewalks (probably the original was paved over, so the paint marker is temporary). These would be used most likely for orienteering, map-reading practice, and the like. The one I saw looked like this:
It was about a 3x3 inch square.
|
I see stuff like that all the time, I thought it was to warn people of gas, water and electric lines.
|
|
MacGyver
location:
St Paul, Minnesota
Gender: Male
"Someone go find me a paperclip, a D-cell battery, and a cheese grater"
| | Re: Things NOT to disturb- Benchmarks
<Reply # 15 on 11/23/2004 9:02 PM >
| | | | Posted by Slickis
Thats looks alot bigger than the one I found. Above is a pic of one at a fire observation tower and it's only about 4 in across.
|
This is the de-facto marker in the States (that I've seen anyways). They're about 2.5 or 3 inches across. I think the pebbles in Freak's picture are being mistaken for larger stones.
Like a fiend with his dope / a drunkard his wine / a man will have lust for the lure of the mine
"If you are not part of the solution, you are not dissolved in the solvent." |
|
Turbo
location:
Durham Region
Gender: Male
| | Re: Things NOT to disturb- Benchmarks
<Reply # 16 on 11/24/2004 11:10 PM >
| | | | Posted by MacGyver
This is in the floor of the observation deck at the top of an old water tower:
|
Hey isn't that Enger Tower in Duluth?
It looks familiar.
Dan
Have you felt her breath on the back of your neck.. I have... |
|
Anymouse
location:
Calgary, AB
Gender: Male
| |  |  | | | Re: Things NOT to disturb- Benchmarks
<Reply # 17 on 11/25/2004 1:04 AM >
| | | | Sometimes these can also help explain some things - walking around a wetland in Calgary (looking for drains, actually), I spotted a neat "National Defence" marker, and then some old rusted warning signs about a shooting range in the bush. Turns out that years ago the entire area was a Canadian Forces Base.
I guess these markers can sometimes be the only thing left to indicate history after absolutely everything else is destroyed.
|
|
hemi425
location:
Birmingham, AL
Gender: Male
I'm workin' on it
| | | Re: Things NOT to disturb- Benchmarks
<Reply # 18 on 11/27/2004 3:39 AM >
| | | | I always made it a challenge when we were doing land nav training to get as close as you could to the BM, I think the closest I ever got was 15ft.
THE ABOVE WAS NOT EDDITED FOR SPELLING OF GRAMICAL ERRORS
I have an awesome collection of human bones, including a skull, they're all in pretty good condition, too. Nobody's ever said anything to me about not being allowed to keep them. They'd have a hard time getting them from me too, since they're inside my body.
-the hitman's daughter |
|
Macsbug
Noble Donor
location:
St. Paul, MN
Gender: Male
Safety First!
| | | Re: Things NOT to disturb- Benchmarks
<Reply # 19 on 11/27/2004 7:28 AM >
| | | | Posted by Turbo
Hey isn't that Enger Tower in Duluth?
It looks familiar.
Dan
|
It's the Highland Park water tower in St. Paul. Did you get any photos from there this year MacGyver? I went, but didn't have a camera with  .
"Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it." |
|
Powered by AvBoard AvBoard version 1.5 alpha
Page Generated In: 125 ms
|
|
Ethics
