Lock And Key

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The Lock and Key Locks and keys were known long before the birth of Christ. They are mentioned frequently in the Old Testament and in mythology. In the Book of Nehemiah, chapter 3, it is stated that when repairing the old gates of the City of Jerusalem - probably in 445 B.C. - they "set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof." At this time, locks were made of wood. They were large and crude in design; yet their principle of operation was the forerunner of the modern pin-tumbler locks of today. As locksmiths and metal workers became proficient in their craft, they were invited to make locks and keys for the Royal Courts and for the churches and cathedrals of Europe. They excelled in elaborate and high and highly detailed ornamentation - often adapted to the religious theme. Security was a Guardian Angel In India, in the days of the Emperor of Annam, valuables were sealed into large blocks of wood, which were placed on small islands or submerged into surrounding pools of the inner courts of the palace. Here, they were protected by the royal "guardian angels," a number of crocodiles kept on starvation rations so they were always hungry. To venture into the water meant certain death for the intruder. The legitimate approach to the treasure was to drug or kill the crocodiles. Security was a Knotted Rope For many hundreds of years, cords of ropes made of rush and fiber were used to "lock" doors and tie up walls. The legend goes; a knotted rope became a famous symbol of security. Intricately tied by Gordius, King of Phrygia, and known by his name, the Gordian knot secured the yoke to the shaft of his chariot. Its untying was pronounced by oracles to be possible only by the man destined to conquer Asia. However, when Alexander the Great failed to undo the Gordian knot, he cut it swiftly with his sword, giving us the expression, "to cut

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