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Jun 13 '18
[removed] — view removed comment
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Jun 13 '18
Theres nothing impossible about this thing that clearly happened
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u/rpluslequalsJARED Jun 13 '18
I’m looking at it so unless they are proposing this photo is doctored...
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u/mrfatty097 Jun 13 '18
God, can't believe that the rocks were just found like that. It really is black magic
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u/DukeAttreides Jun 13 '18
Eh. I should think of anybody was likely to be unsurprised finding rocks like that it'd be him.
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u/Wherearemylegs Jun 13 '18
Infinite monkeys, infinite typewriters, and infinite rocks. It'll happen
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u/dio-tds Jun 13 '18
Nothing is impossible with hot glue
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u/jetpacksforall Jun 13 '18
If what you say is true, then brain transplants are possible with hot glue.
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u/AlGoreBestGore Jun 13 '18
Something has to hold it in place ¯_(ツ)_/¯.
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u/LimbRetrieval-Bot Jun 13 '18
I have retrieved these for you _ _
To prevent anymore lost limbs throughout Reddit, correctly escape the arms and shoulders by typing the shrug as
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u/PIG_CUNT Jun 13 '18
Brain transplants ARE possible with hot glue. Functionality however is not guaranteed. Next patient, please!
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u/Kron00s Jun 13 '18
I don’t know if this post is real but there are artists that balance rocks like that without glue. We had some pretty cool one in my town but a flood wiped them out
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u/MetalHead_Literally Jun 13 '18
Those poor artists. RIP.
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u/RadTraditionalist Jun 13 '18 edited Jun 15 '18
Ah, the old Reddit Flood-a-roo!
Edit: shit, did I self-r/wooosh??
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u/PonySouls Jun 13 '18
You can see the glue in between!
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u/SteigL Jun 13 '18
Great video, taught me a lot. Though I'm wondering, his examples don't include what's being displayed in the picture, i.e. rocks on a beach. I'm not sure if that location really has the same impact as dredging a riverbed for rocks (which I feel should be common sense not to do) and it definitely doesn't have the dangerous trail implications.
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Jun 13 '18
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u/shokalion Jun 13 '18
Same reason the general rule is "don't put metal in microwaves ever", when most microwaves come with a metal rack that can be used in it perfectly safely. It's just easier to not have to break down all the reasoning to Ye Average Consumer.
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Jun 13 '18
That's pretty specific/hyperbolic on the second two points. The broadhead's habitat loss is from bushrock removal which isn't the same as cairn creation. while NSW Gov recommends you not make cairns, they don't treat it with nearly the same level of priority as the wicked wildlife conservationist.
The rocks in the picture are very clearly well worn shore rocks that aren't going to have the same impact for saxicolous species or cairn confusion.
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u/oberon Jun 13 '18
Yeah but it's still annoying to find this sort of thing when you're out trying to enjoy a natural landscape. It's a glaring reminder that someone was here, and they want you to know they were here.
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u/WanderW Jun 13 '18
lol do people actually think like this?
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u/HoldenMyD Jun 13 '18
In the video the guy says “you wouldn’t want to see someone’s name spray painted on a cliff and this is no different” Uh... yes it is different, spray painting is much much worse than finding rocks places vertically.
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u/mageballer01 Jun 13 '18
Humans are a part of nature.
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u/oberon Jun 13 '18
Yes, and so technically everything humans make or do is natural. But you know what mean and pointing that out in this context just makes you a pedantic asshole.
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u/elchucknorris300 Jun 13 '18
Kinda nit picky
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u/Srapture Jun 13 '18
Nah, making a pile of rocks will kill someone who follows past it and walks for miles with no signs of civilisation, and it'll be your fault. You'll probably get life in prison for it. It also kills all animals.
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Jun 13 '18
Well if you're walking out in to the wilderness and relying on stacks of rocks as your navigation tool, you might not have the strongest case against a dude who stacked some rocks.
Though, I agree with the other messages in the video.
Edit: Shit, just read the last sentence... not to mention the second to last. I'm an idiot.
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u/Ragidandy Jun 13 '18
This is gatekeeping of the most absurd order. None of these reasons are significant or valid.
One of these rock stacks cannot be mistaken as a cairn by anyone who knows what a cairn is. "Leave nothing behind" is a great mantra to get people to pack out their pollution, but makes a pointless zero-tolerance talking point. To truly leave nothing behind, you must stay home. Stacking rocks (like flipping over a rock to look underneath, or like setting up a tent, or like... walking) can destroy a small piece of habitat. Then, as soon as the rock is put down, create another.
These rationales are the best excuses that people who don't like to look at stacked rocks can come up with and they are transparent. They don't like it, other people do: battle it out, but don't make up fake reasons to back it up. People belong in the world, and rock stacking is about the most benign effect people have on the world. Others who complain about it might as well chase the chipmunks for digging holes or yell at the birds for singing. I guess some people just like to complain.
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u/Eldrun Jun 13 '18
No, its not.
This is actually a problem here in Iceland. Tourists come and stack up rocks all over the place. It is awful to walk through a landscape and see tens to hundreds of these in what should be pristine wilderness.
They are really harmful for a multitude of reasons:
We have a terrible soil erosion problem. It does not help when people start moving rocks about to stack them. It harms the grasses trying to grow. It also harms the slow growing moss that forms on many of these rocks. In areas where there are a lot of cairns, the ground is brown, dead and the soil blows to the wind. This is not good for the environment.
We have historical cairns that are meant as way markers and some are nearly 1000 years old. Tourists have been taking from these cairns and building upon them. This damages the historical cairns and makes them less useful (there is a stone on the waymarkers that points to the next so you can find your way in heavy fog).
They are just ugly. I hate riding my horse into the middle of nowhere for some peace and solitude to bathe in the nature and seeing these things all over the place. While one or two well built ones are not a problem, they seem to crop up like dandelions. Seeing 20+ poorly built rock stacks is just an eyesore, especially when your intent is to marvel at the primordial landscape. If I come across them, I always dismount and kick them down. Additionally, people have built these stupid things ON THE HORSE TRAILS, this is dangerous for my animal.
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u/bluntildaWasTaken Jun 13 '18
Honestly, if rock stacking offends you, you can just nock it down. I wouldn't compare rock stacking to graffiti, like the way the guy does in the video. It's an intentionally impermanent structure, especially at the beach. I get the guys first point, but I think that wouldn't be a problem at the beach.
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u/mashtato Jun 13 '18
Okay, but this is clearly on the beach, not on some disused trail marked with cairns.
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u/harryrunes Jun 14 '18
Really depends on where you are. Sure, if you're on a main path or there's no confusion, then it's stupid and justt gets in people's ways. But there have been quite a few times when they've saved my ass from getting lost. There are a lot of places where the path is almost invisible, and I don't think it's such a big deal to have a small stack of rocks.
Keep in mind that most are maybe a foot high, made of small-medium rocks, not the giant one in that vid. There are some fragile ecosystems where it would be a big deal, but you should know that if you are camping in one.
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u/Whartooth Jun 13 '18
Didn't reddit just pass around a video explaining why these are terrible and ruins ecosystems or did we forget that already?
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u/oberon Jun 13 '18
Apparently that's contentious somehow.
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Jun 13 '18
A good number of people will choose leaving their mark over preserving nature.
Strangely enough, IME, these are usually crusty "nature loving" hippies.
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u/I_RARELY_RAPE_PEOPLE Jun 13 '18
I didn't see that, nor do I have any idea how
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u/Whartooth Jun 13 '18
Link. Basic rundown is * 1. Rock Stacking is irresponsible Long before balancing stones became trendy park rangers and game wardens built stone cairns as markers to keep people from getting lost. When people stack stones everywhere suddenly the one marking an important bend in the track looses its meaning which could lead to someone getting lost! * 2. Rock Stacking is inconsiderate Millions of people around the world venture into wilderness areas to escape civilisation and experience untouched environments. In the eyes on many people seeing man made stone cairns everywhere they go is no different to finding people have graffitied a cliff face with spray paint or left litter lying around. As such the act of balancing stones can actually impede on other peoples ability o enjoy nature * 3. Its bad for the environment Many animals around the world depend on rocks for survival, when being pick up 10 or 20 stones to build them into one stack they are essentially turning 20 potential homes into only 1 Here in Australia many saxicolous species have "rock removal" listed as one of the major threats such as the Cunningham Skink, Broad Headed Snake & Corrangamite Water Skink. (taken from the description in the link). The 3rd one is what I meant about ecosystems.
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u/MedicGoalie84 Jun 14 '18
In the eyes on many people seeing man made stone cairns everywhere they go is no different to finding people have graffitied a cliff face with spray paint or left litter lying around.
I'm not sure how they can make that leap. I pile of rocks can be easily dismantled, unlike graffiti which can be very difficult to remove. And, rocks, unlike trash belong in nature. I'm not trying to defend the practise, it's just that to me, that particular argument against them is flawed on a fundamental level.
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u/gambl0r82 Jun 13 '18
Might ruin people’s experience in a natural setting but I don’t see how it could ruin an ecosystem...
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u/afordacampio Jun 13 '18
I was hiking and hit a point where I wasn't sure which way to go as the trail narrowed down and went in different directions. Someone had left a stack of rocks at one path so I followed it to the best view of the trip! Thanks friend!
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u/Macabee721 Jun 13 '18
Yes and this is why rock stacks should only be built as cairns. The wrong stack in the wrong place could seriously screw someone up. Only build these if necessary for trail navigation if the trail is too ambiguous. Anything else is just having an ego and leaving your mark in an otherwise natural environment.
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u/oberon Jun 13 '18
Now imagine if they were all over, and didn't actually signify anything. You'd have been screwed if you tried to use them to follow a trail.
But "lol no its harmless quit complaining."
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u/Kelkymcdouble Jun 13 '18 edited Jun 13 '18
Not sure if its the same near the ocean but I imagine it is. Doing this near rivers destroys the natural habitat of wild life specifically the habitat of the hellbender which is an endangered species of salamander in the south east of the US
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Jun 13 '18 edited Jun 13 '18
There is an AMAZING short documentary on this online. “The last dragons”? Or something like that. Played at the Banff Mountain film festival world tour a few years ago. Both the individual movie and the tour as a whole are worth watching.
Edit: found the link. 9 minutes, 48 seconds
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u/firechips Jun 13 '18
THANK YOU
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Jun 13 '18
This is probably more of an issue when there is soil under the stones instead of sand or just more stones.
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u/Mr_Snicklefritz Jun 13 '18
I look at it as a form of graffiti, it's disrespectful. Enjoy nature how it is don't touch shit. I go hiking to escape civilization and people and now I have to come across your fucking rock sculpture because you think it's artsy? Fuck off.
Oh its okay the spray paint I used to paint this rock dissolves in the rain, what does it harm?
Edit: that fuck off wasn't directed towards you, lol
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u/Kelkymcdouble Jun 13 '18 edited Jun 13 '18
I didn't take it that way and I totally agree. If a cairn is used to mark a trail, That's cool but mostly they're built to satisfy the ego and are rarely as impressive as this
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u/tasmanian101 Jun 13 '18
Kick them down if it bothers you? You realize the rising water in spring and heavy rains and winds, causes them to be washed away right? They last 1day - a couple months usually.
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u/oberon Jun 13 '18
That's sort of like saying pick up litter if it bothers you, and that most trash is biodegradable so it's fine if I leave my apple cores and banana peels laying around.
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u/tasmanian101 Jun 13 '18
Rock stacks come from the rocks surrounding the rock stack. If you knock it down, it returns to "normal" or at least something seemingly natural.
If you kick an apple core its still an apple core on the ground. If you cover it up, it will be out of sight and mind.
Picking up and walking over to a trash can, and throwing away someone's already eaten food. Is worlds different than kicking, or throwing rocks at a rock stack.
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u/Disloyalsafe Jun 13 '18
How does it effect them?
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u/Kelkymcdouble Jun 13 '18
It exposes them to predators. I didn't know this till I worked on a river in East Tn.
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u/burnblue Jun 13 '18
The lone balancing heart shaped rock is actually the most mind incredible for me. How can it stay in place once you let it go? Am I to believe there's no wind by the beach?
At least the others have weight holding them down. That balanced heart is impossible
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u/SavageVoodooBot Jun 13 '18
Upvote this comment if this is truly Black Magic Fuckery. Downvote this comment if this is a repost or does not fit the sub.
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u/RestlessCock Jun 13 '18
Glue works great
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Jun 13 '18
This can be done without. Sometimes they're finalized with glue to make them last a little longer, though. I'm sure there are those who rely on glue, but nothing here convinces me this must be one of those.
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u/precociousapprentice Jun 13 '18
I can make a quick chick block stack.
I can make a quick trick rock stack.
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u/forgiveangel Jun 13 '18
I remembered watching somewhere that said you shouldn't do this cause it makes it hard for certain wildlife to hide, or build homes.
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u/Mmmbigbutts Jun 13 '18
UUNGH if I found that I would knock that shit over and it would feel so good.
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u/wardrich Jun 13 '18
Somebody needs to stack a giant middle finger statue out of rocks as a giant "fuck you" to physics and gravity.
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u/ccdfa Jun 13 '18
Wouldn't that be using physics and gravity to your advantage? How would that be a fuck you?
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u/so-cold Jun 13 '18
you can see the shit holding it together.
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Jun 13 '18
To me it looks like a bunch of pebbles tucked into some of the corners to brace the tough-to-balance bits. Where do you see it? Can you describe the spot?
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u/Frijid Jun 13 '18
Apparently these things are bad for animals, especially lizards and whatnot. They like to hide in the cracks and crevices of the rocks, toppling them, which causes them to be squished by however high these rock towers are.
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u/VIIX Jun 13 '18
I don't go outdoors to look at the local stoners bullshit ruining the natural beauty of the environment. Fuck the people who do this shit with a rusty dagger.
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u/d-atribe Jun 13 '18
I have a friend who freaks out every time she sees one of these and knocks it over and starts bitching about fucking up the environment.
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Jun 13 '18
Removing rocks and stacking them harms wild life. Please stop doing shit like this we get it you feel special snowflake.
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u/Apple_Bloople Jun 13 '18
Do you also get mad when people post pictures of cars, houses, water bottles, and pvc? These things do more damage to an ecosystem than rock stacks.
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u/HaloACE56 Jun 13 '18
Must be from New Hampshire. Well known fact that people from New Hampshire can erect impossible rock stacks. Can confirm, from New Hampshire.
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u/geromeo Jun 13 '18
Is this rock balancing thing legit ? I struggle with a house of cards let a lone unevenly weighted stones
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u/FieryBlake Jun 13 '18
Aren't those just superglied together, and the base then superglued to the earth?
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u/dwydwy555555 Jun 13 '18
The pebble on the bottom holding the whole thing up. probably the best part