the.com/mortar
The glue between bricks and the gun that lobs death — same name, opposite vibes.
means A workable paste (typically cement, sand, and water) used to bond bricks or stones together, or—separately—a short stubby cannon that fires shells in a high arc; also the heavy bowl in which substances are crushed with a pestle.
from From Latin 'mortarium,' which named both the crushing bowl and the substance pounded within it—the bowl giving its name to the stuff. The word arrived in English through Old French 'mortier.' The weapon picked up the name later because early mortars were squat, thick-walled, and bowl-like, resembling the grinding vessel they were named for. So the bowl, the building paste, and the cannon all trace back to that single Latin pot.
- roman recipe
- Volcanic ash mortar still standing after 2,000 years
- high arc
- Mortar shells drop near-vertically onto hidden targets
- egg binder
- Builders once mixed egg whites into mortar
- pestle pair
- The kitchen bowl shares its name and grinding past
- self-healing
- Roman seawater mortar grows new crystals when cracked
fort sumter bombardment — confederate forces fired mortars at the federal fort in charleston harbor on april 12, 1861, starting the american civil war
siege of vicksburg — union mortars under general grant bombarded the mississippi city for 47 days in 1863, a pivotal civil war victory
great mosque of djinguereber — built in timbuktu around 1570 with mud brick and mortar, still standing as one of africa's oldest mosques