User:AndreasP3379/Pitsikla

Pitsikla

Is the Pitsikla the oldest water pump in the world?

The Pitsikla is used as a toy to throw water at each other in Cyprus. However water throwing could have been used in the past for other purposes: Killing or trapping insects, small birds, reptiles and animals. Unfortunately because of its structure it is difficult to have any fossils that could show usage of such an implement in antiquity. The Pitsikla is very easy to construct. Today’s version just needs the boring of a small hole at the end of a bamboo tube. A plunger is needed which is made of a stick and a small piece of cloth attached at one end of it. Pulling the plunger backwards allows water to be sucked in through the front small hole if this is dipped into a bucket or pool of water. By pushing the plunger quickly forward, a jet of water is ejected at the front of the pitsikla through the small hole. The speed of pushing the plunger together with the size of the hole and the effectiveness of the cloth at the front of the plunger can define the speed and hence the momentum and impact force of the jet of water. In Cyprus the typical diameter of the bamboo used is less than 20mm whilst the length is about 250mm. But it is easy to imagine a diameter of over 50mm with Asian and African bamboos. Similarly the length could be over 500mm. this is a monstrous pitsikla that could eject water at much higher speeds and also much higher masses – enough to kill a large insect or injure a small bird or lizard at a distance of over 5 metres. I can imagine even bigger pitsiklas of 30mm diameter and over 500mm long that could be used as water pumps near a river – throwing water over the banks of the river Nile for example 5-6 metres away and at a height of 2-3 metres. This may indeed have been the first water pump invented by man. There is still however one problem to be resolved. These ancient people didn’t have any cloth to use on the plunger. But they could use leaves such as banana or bamboo leaves or even cotton buds – the flower of the cotton plant that is harvested to produce cotton. These have extensive uses in isolated tribes in the Tropics without any contact with the modern world. Cotton buds are ideal for the size of the small Pitsikla used in Cyprus. But for the largest size such as needed for a water pump several cotton buds could be strapped together with bamboo leaves strips. I can also visualize some massive water pumps resting on a suitable trestle and operated by 2 or even 3 people. These could have been used in rivers and lakes in the tropics. We should not forget that 5000-12000 years ago people did not have buckets or any other means to transport or throw water at a distance. They started growing wheat and barley about 12000 years ago so they needed water for irrigation.