If you thought there was nothing interesting about wood fencing, you thought wrong! Here are just a few of the strangest, most interesting facts about wooden fences.
The World’s Longest Fence Is in Australia and It’s Called the Dingo Fence.
Your neighbor might have a long fence, but it’s nothing compared to Australia’s Dingo Fence, which stretches for a whopping 3,488 miles. Like many wood fences in the United States, the Dingo Fence is 5.9 feet tall. Built in 1885, the fence was used to keep Australia’s wild dogs out of Australia’s fertile southeastern area. Before it’s construction, farmers lost more than 11,000 sheep every year. Now, the number is much less significant.
The Weirdest Way a Wooden Fence Has Been Broken Was by a Tank.
A lot of people put up wood fences to make their homes more aesthetically pleasing and protect their gardens, as one elderly couple in Germany did. Unfortunately, though, a British tank out for a military exercise malfunctioned and wound up running over their fence, stopping just short of mowing down their home.
Termites Do a $30 Billion in Damage to Crops and Structures like Wooden Fences Each Year.
If the elements are wood fences’ worst enemy, then termites have got to be wood fences’ second-worst enemy. According to recent statistics, termites do a whopping $30 billion in damage to crops and man-made structures. Granted, that’s not $30 billion in damage to wood fences, but it’s still an incredible amount. A homeowner who discovers termites have been eating away at their property has to pay an average of $3,000 in repairs.
Who would have thought that the world’s largest fence would be in Australia, and that it was meant to keep dingoes from eating sheep? Or that a tank once destroyed a couple’s fence? Or even that termites could do so much damage!?
If you know of any other intriguing facts about house fences, feel free to share in the comments.
