Thatched roof

Many nations still rely on DDT as an economical method of controlling insects that carry human diseases. DDT can be most effective in this manner, but not without consequences. In Malaysia, for example, thatched roofs were once sprayed with DDT to kill malaria-carrying mosquitos. 

Straw is used as loose bedding for domestic animals. It is used as stuffing in mattresses and furniture. In construction, it is used to make thatched roofs, and is mixed into mortar or mud bricks to give them strength. The combination of mud and straw has been practiced for thousands of years, in many areas of the world. A mixture of mud or clay and straw is called cob, and the resultant bricks may be of any size. 

Straw from a wide variety of plants, not just those that produce cereal grains, is commonly used in many cultures to make woven items such as mats, hats, floor covering, and baskets. Straw decorations are often placed on thatched roofs. These rick ornaments are usually in the form of animals, made of straw that has been bunched and tied into shape. They may be just for decoration, or they may identify the thatcher who made the roof. 

Her hut was one room with a dirt floor, thatched roof, and mud walls. The household consisted of Santa Maria, her three sons, three women, and numerous children, all living in the same room. There was a wood fire in the center with no chimney. The smoke escaped through the walls, which had many holes and gaps where mud had fallen away. The damp, chilly wind came up the side of the mountain, over the ridge, and through the walls of the hut. 

Another situation with potential information comes from experimental archaeology and the construction and use of prehistoric houses by modem people. Lejre is an Experimental Archaeology Research Center in Denmark where a variety of different experiments are conducted to reproduce the technology, architecture, and activities of the past. Lejre is also home to a number of wattle and daub, thatched-roof houses that replicate Iron Age structures (Fig. 6.22). In the summer months, interested individuals and families occupy these houses for weeks at a time, attempting to reproduce the daily lives of the prehistoric inhabitants. The earthen floors of these stmctures absorb and retain the residues of their activities. 

The story has one further twist. Many of the islanders lived in homes with thatched roofs. The vegetation used to make these roofs was the preferred food source for a caterpillar that was not affected by DDT. Normally, the wasp population preyed on these caterpillars and kept the population under control. Unfortunately, the wasps were killed by the DDT. The caterpillars prospered, devouring the thatched roofs, which collapsed on the inhabitants. 

Bytham was situated about three miles down the valley a cluster of stone cottages split in half by the river. Over the centuries the community had grown outwards from a single humpbacked stone bridge. At the far end, a narrow church spire rose above the thatched roofs. 

In another example, this one from Borneo, the relationship between cats and DDT application takes an unusual turn that may or may not involve biomagnification. DDT had been sprayed on the longhouses of the natives for mosquito control. Domestic cats, reported to be at the top of a short terrestrial food pyramid, were supposedly dying from exposure to DDT through the consumption of geckos and roaches that lived in the thatched roofs of the long-houses. The death of the cats was reported to be associated with an explosion in the rodent population, which consumed stored crops. 

An example of a munition that was standardized but never employed is the incendiary leaf, developed in 1941-42 by the CWS and the Celanese Corporation of America. It was intended for dry grain fields, forests, thatched roofs, and other targets that would burn easily. As with the 4-pound magnesium bomb, the idea came from the British. Leaves were made in the form of disks, eight inches in diameter, one-fourth of an inch thick, and composed of pyroxylin. One type had pellets of white phosphorus attached to it, embedded in a putty-like material. When containers... 

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