House of cards
Encyclopedia
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
, are also part of this "house of cards architecture", which dates back to the Cyclopean and Megalithic ages.
Description
The structures created using this method rely on nothing more than balance and friction in order to stay upright. Ideally, adhesives or other external connecting methods are not used, and no damage or alterations are made to the cards themselves. The larger the structure, therefore, the more likely it is to fall, due entirely to the higher number of balanced cards that could fail and compromise the integrity of the card building. Professional card stacker Bryan BergBryan Berg
Bryan Berg is a professional "cardstacker" who builds houses of cards on a very large scale.- Career :Trained as an architect, Bryan Berg is the only known person to make a living building structures with freestanding playing cards. He uses no tape, glue, or tricks, and his method has been tested...
claims, however, that the more cards placed on a tower the stronger it becomes, because the weight of the cards pushing down on the base (increasing friction) allows occasional cards to stumble without the entire structure collapsing. He also claims that proper stacking technique allows cards to function as shear wall
Shear wall
In structural engineering, a shear wall is a wall composed of braced panels to counter the effects of lateral load acting on a structure. Wind and earthquake loads are the most common loads braced wall lines are designed to counteract...
s, giving considerable stability to the structure.
| Balance and support | Stacking | Architecture | Bridging gaps |
|---|---|---|---|
World records
The first known record for card stacking was made by Miss Victoria Maitland, of England. A photograph of her work was published in The Strand MagazineStrand Magazine
The Strand Magazine was a monthly magazine composed of fictional stories and factual articles founded by George Newnes. It was first published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950 running to 711 issues, though the first issue was on sale well before Christmas 1890.Its immediate...
on September 1901. It was a fifteen story structure. Following the publication of this record a second was submitted in April 1902, by Miss Rosie Farner, of England with a picture of a twenty storied tower. A third record was submitted by Miss F. M. Hollams, of England, with a tower of twenty-five stories, in February 1903.
Other record holders (without bending or altering the cards) include:
- Joe Whitlam, of England with twenty seven stories, on February 28, 1972.
- James Warnock, of Canada with sixty-one stories, on September 8, 1978.
- John Slain, of The United States with sixty-eight stories, on August 3, 1983.
- Bryan BergBryan BergBryan Berg is a professional "cardstacker" who builds houses of cards on a very large scale.- Career :Trained as an architect, Bryan Berg is the only known person to make a living building structures with freestanding playing cards. He uses no tape, glue, or tricks, and his method has been tested...
with seventy-five stories, on April 21, 1992.
Berg has since kept the record and created many sub-records since then, he has been known to have broken "seven or eight" world records for cardstacking. He currently holds the world record for tallest house of cards, a 25 foot 9 7/16 inch (≈7.87m) tall "skyscraper" completed at the State Fair of Texas
State Fair of Texas
The State Fair of Texas is an annual state fair held in Dallas, Texas . The fair season usually begins the last Friday in September and ends 24 days later. The fair is held at the historic Fair Park where it has been held since 1886. The 2012 State Fair of Texas will run from September 28th...
on October 14, 2007. He also holds the record for the largest house of cards, a category Guinness
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
invented for the event, for a replica of Cinderella's Castle at Walt Disney World.
On March 10, 2010, Berg broke his own record by building a replica of The Venetian Macao
The Venetian Macao
The Venetian Macao is a hotel and casino resort in Macau owned by the Las Vegas Sands corporation. The Venetian is a 40-story, $2.4 billion anchor for the 7 hotels on the Cotai Strip in Macau...
resort hotel. He completed it in 44 days, using 218,792 cards (more than 4000 decks). The structure measured 10.5 meters (34 feet) long, three meters (10 feet) tall and weighed more than 272 kilograms (600 pounds).
See also
- ArchitectureArchitectureArchitecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
- Arts and craftsArts and craftsArts and crafts comprise a whole host of activities and hobbies that are related to making things with one's hands and skill. These can be sub-divided into handicrafts or "traditional crafts" and "the rest"...
- HobbyHobbyA hobby is a regular activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure, typically done during one's leisure time.- Etymology :A hobby horse is a wooden or wickerwork toy made to be ridden just like a real horse...
- Sport stackingSport stackingSport Stacking is an individual and team sport that involves stacking specialized plastic cups in specific sequences in as little time as possible. The governing body setting the rules is the WSSA...
- StructureStructureStructure is a fundamental, tangible or intangible notion referring to the recognition, observation, nature, and permanence of patterns and relationships of entities. This notion may itself be an object, such as a built structure, or an attribute, such as the structure of society...