Umbrellas

I have spent several days in this new Earth, and have seen many a strange thing. By whatever miracle, the food and drink here is safe to eat. I have found a patron willing to harbor me until I ascertain what has happened to me, and a means of return.

In the meantime, it seems prudent to record interesting differences between our Earths. First, and most obviously, everything seems heavier on this Earth, as if objects have drive to reach the ground. However, I am already beginning to be accustomed to this.

One particularly useful invention of the resident humans is the Umbrella. At first, when I saw a passer-by with an Umbrella specimen under her arm, I assumed it was essentially a tarp on a stick. However, to my surprise, the tarp suddenly expanded to full size, and the lady held it above her head to shield herself from the rain. I was about to approach her to inquire about her object, but my patron was insistent that we retreat to a house.

My patron then showed me the mechanism for Umbrellas. A mechanism holds the tarp closed while not in use. When the user wants to release the tarp, he simply releases the mechanism, and this pushes the tarp open. The tarp is supported by spokes that radiate from the top of the central staff.

The spokes are fixed to points at the edge of the tarp, so that the tarp cannot slide around while used. Each spoke is connected to a "stretcher," another spoke of metal, with a small hinge. The stretchers connect not to the staff, but to a "runner" that surrounds the staff and can move along it. It is this runner that is released, "runs" to the top via spring, and pushes the stretcher, which push the spokes outwards, which unfolds the tarp. All of this happens in under a second.

Then, my patron showed me an even more amazing device. It looked like an Umbrella, but not even a quarter the size of the specimens I'd seen. Imagine my surprise, then, when he activated the button, and it miraculously unfolded to full size!

Upon closer inspection, it seems that the spokes were divided into three segments, which all extended when the first segment extended. This meant that the stretcher could be much smaller, as it needed only to lift a segment. In addition, the central staff was four different tubes, one inside the other, with the smallest at the bottom. When extended, the tubes locked to form a staff just as strong as the original design.

My patron admits that even he does not fully understand the mechanism behind the expansion of the smaller Umbrella. However, he kindly told me that he would gift the device to me, as he says it is "a triangle, and not in very good condition." This will surely aid me for the duration of my stay on this Earth.