<HTML>To All Who Think Ed's Feats Are That Easy,
Everyone who has come up with supposedly "rational" explanations for Ed's ability to lift the stones have some very promising points. But you all are missing the big picture. Yes, lifting the stones could have been done using a chain pulley hoist, the weight distribution works much like a compound bow in that the force is increased exponentially with each new link in the pulley system. However, the kicker here is that you can lift it with this hoist- but that is all you can do. The hoist only works for vertical lifting, and once it's up you better know where it's going, because any movement from that point will require enormous amounts of force. Try this at home- Lift up a 1 ton car engine with the hoists you guys have provided (easily done) - now take this same engine and turn it on it's side and balance another car engine on top of it so the bottom one swings around so easily that you can move it with your finger. If any of you can do this with your "simple" chain hoist than you are all in the wrong business, and I suggest you patent your methods because using what Ed had, it is nearly impossible. There is a reason that this still remains an enigma folks. I have mentioned this before, but in 1987 the Castle owners had to replace the rod connecting the 9 ton gate to its capstone. It took six men using a deisel powered crane (with your infamous "hoist" attached) two days at a cost of $8000 to complete the task. The head foreman of the job was at a loss to explain how Ed did this all by himself originally. This man (who does this kind of thing for living) said without the crane or a large workforce it is outside his realm of explanation. Anyone?</HTML>
