Wrecking ball

A wrecking ball is a heavy steel ball used for demolishing large buildings. It is usually hung from a crane. A crane operator swings the ball back and forth like a pendulum. It works best tearing down masonry buildings. Early round shapes would sometimes get stuck in walls and roofs.^[1] The modern wrecking ball is pear-shaped to avoid this problem.^[1] It is not clear when the wrecking ball was invented. They were commonly in use by 1936 in New York City.^[2] Today they are no longer used as much in demolition. The wrecking ball has largely been replaced by the more efficient High reach excavator.^[3] "Think of a long-reach excavator as a demolition scalpel, compared to the mallet of a wrecking ball".^[3]

A wrecking ball used to destroy an old building

References

1. "What is a Wrecking Ball?". WiseGEEK/Conjecture Corporation. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
2. Jeff Byles, Rubble: Unearthing the History of Demolition (New York: Three Rivers Press, 2006), p. 40
3. "High-Reach Excavators Increase Demolition Accuracy". Elder Demolition. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2015.