Moats
Typically one of the last lines of defense (after a watch tower, outer wall, catapults, and more), moats were a staple of a castle’s defense system. Whether filled with water and flesh-eating creatures, or left dry and lined with spikes, moats did well to slow down attackers after the drawbridge was raised.
What happened if an intruder made it past the moat? Well, they were in for more nasty surprises. Murder holes often lined the ceiling above the passageway intruders needed to go through in order to make their way into the main grounds of the castle. Through these holes came any number of horrible things, including scalding water, tar, arrows, rocks and even boiling oil. Talk about home security!
Guard Geese
We’ve all heard of—and may even consider our own dogs to be—guard dogs. If an intruder is near our home, the guard dogs leaps into action with an unbroken chain of barks. We wake up and handle the situation. Or perhaps Fido goes on the attack.
But our ancestors discovered a different animal made an even better guard: geese.
For starters, these winged creatures are quite territorial. They recognize that those who live within the area they’re protecting are members of their flock. Any newcomer will cause them to sound their (alarmingly loud) honk alarm. And being able to see a much broader spectrum of color wavelengths than humans, geese’s sight is quite impressive.
Today, geese are used all over the world in tandem with modern security systems. In China’s Xinjiang Province, geese watch over the police stations at night. And guess what? It’s working like a charm.
Nightingale Floors
Ancient Japan had its fair share of home invaders. As an alert system, the Japanese used an ingenious form of security: intentionally squeaky floors.
Sometimes referred to as cricket floors, nightingale floors had nails inserted beneath the boards. When someone walked over the boards, the nail rubbed against the wood, causing a chirping sound. Anyone, from a run-of-the-mill intruder to a trained ninja, was at the mercy of this subtle security system.
Want to implement these security systems? You’ll have to do some Googling. But if you want your home secured with the latest in technological advances, look no further than SEi. With SEi, you can view live video feeds of your home from your smartphone, get instant alerts if an alarm is tripped, and so much more. Give SEi a call today at 800-334-3272 and find out just how far we’ve come in improving home security.
