Ending Up On the Fence Trivia Quiz

Answer: chain-link

Chain-link fencing is relatively inexpensive and can be placed so that the view is not obstructed, e.g., a baseball backstop. Slats can be purchased to weave through the links if privacy is preferred.

Answer: barbed wire

This wire was created to prevent cattle in the western US from roaming. Sometimes a rancher would string it up to keep cattle on his land, or the inverse, sometimes it was to prevent someone else's cattle from grazing on his land.

Answer: vaccary

Derived from the Latin for cow, 'vaca', these slab fences can be found around the Pennines in northern UK. Though stones have been taken from many of these walls, several have been listed as historical monuments.

Answer: wrought iron

Most wrought iron fences today are made by casting steel, not by molding from a forge. However, examples still exist of wrought iron from centuries ago, including gates at Westminster Abbey in London from the 13th century.

Answer: concrete

Studies show that these walls are not as effective at reducing noise as was hoped. Because sound carries in waves, much of the sound simply goes over the wall, affecting residents further away. Many of those not in favor of these barriers (ineffectiveness, animal migrations, etc.) are proposing studies to find other methods of effective sound reduction.

Answer: picket fence

Picket fences were traditionally built from local wood, though today they come in many materials. The pickets could be square, rounded, pointed, or more decorative. The spacing of the pickets traditionally meant that the view wasn't totally blocked, but small animals could be kept in.

Answer: split rail

Where wood was plentiful, this type of fence was easy to build. Logs were cut to length and then split to the required size. The fence shown might also be called a zig-zag fence.

Answer: haha

In many cases, the walls were built to separate the estate from the surrounding land, keeping out animals that might graze on the estate gardens. From the estate the view was unbroken by any visible barrier.

Answer: hedge

A hedge can not only provide a visual barrier, but also a windbreak. In addition, they also provide homes for birds, insects and other small animals.

The Meikleour Beech Hedge in Scotland is listed in the Guinness World Records for being the tallest and longest hedge.

Answer: dry stone

Often, when preparing the land for agricultural use, the stones were gathered and a wall created. Dry stone walls have also been created to keep livestock penned in a particular grazing area.