Window cleaning in China

[ergophobe]

https://youtube.com/shorts/AMTl8GlncuY?si=wpi5AZDlQnm1tehz

[buckworks]

One of my favourite travel memories happened during a layover in the Beijing airport. There were two guys outside on a scaffold washing the windows with squeegees. Their motions were coordinated so they moved like dancers in flawless unison. My companion and I watched for a while, and when we caught their eye we clapped. They grinned, saluted us, then moved the scaffold to resume their dance on the next section of window.

They took a humble job and turned it into a moment of delight. A nice life example!

[littleman]

That device would only work if one had access to both sides of the window from inside the building -- nifty though.

>humble job and turned it into a moment of delight.

Nice to see those moments when a crew has worked so long together that they seem to read each other's body language working together.

[ergophobe]

>>  access to both sides

Yes, it occurred to me, given the major long-term cost savings, it could influence building design.

>>  crew has worked so long together

Totally unrelated to windows, but a neighbor was watching some masons. One guy was on the ground and the other was up on scaffolding one storey up. The tender was grabbing 6 bricks at a time, swinging his arms in a big ark and hurling them up. As they went through the air, they would get a couple inches separation between the bricks. The guy up top was catching them by essentially clapping them back together and setting them on the stack in an even rhythm. Grab, throw, catch, stack, grab, throw, catch, stack, grab, throw, catch, stack.

The neighbor, who has spent a lot of time working construction without ever seeing such a thing was mesmerized.

[buckworks]

>>> guy up top was catching them

I saw something similar in Viet Nam. The man on the ground was pitching rounded clay roofing tiles up to the roof, one by one. The man on the roof would catch the tile and set it into position just in time for the next one to arrive. The sequence was rhythmic and relentless but didn't feel hurried. The temperature was in the 90s F. and the humidity was high. In such conditions, working at a steady but relaxed pace is a survival skill.

My companions and I marvelled at the grace of both men, but especially the strength and the accuracy of the one on the ground. We figured he'd be a contender if he were ever scouted to pitch in big league baseball!