An Unexpected History Lesson: Bollards
Every time I come across a bollard, I think I have encountered a Dalek. If you aren’t familiar with Doctor Who’s iconic show, you can learn more about these monsters here. Anyway, whenever I come across one in the wild, I hear a somewhat robotic voice yell, “Ex-term-i-nate.” It turns out; I am not entirely misguided in my thinking.
People who aren’t obsessed with Doctor Who may think of the bollard as a light post or traffic guide. But I have unearthed a much more exciting history (thanks to Roman Mars and the 99% invisible podcast/book). Here are some facts that have more to do with weaponized sci-fi monsters than the current rendition of this design.
- The urban myth of canons taken from french ships during the Napoleonic Wars was brought back to England as trophies and stuck in the ground to use as mooring posts around London’s dockyards is based in fact. And while the capture of those canons may not have happened. Cast-iron canons from foreign ships were converted into posts and bollards and placed around the city’s dockyards.
- Converted cast iron canons are still in use as bollards today. Some of which hold up structures, i.e. buildings.
- The canon bollards inspired the design of these structures – with a “gunner” style manufactured during the 1940s and are still in use.
And while these structures aren’t able to levitate, chase you down, or harass (and try to kill) the Doctor and his chosen companions, these bollards were at one time responsible for destroying humankind.
*Photo of Daleks via Pinterest