Question: How do you make something that has lower quality than a Chinese made product?
Answer: Have an Armenian "svarchik" (welder) replicate a Chinese design using Soviet era metal, homemade welding machine and low quality Iranian-made welding supplies.
The result is what we saw in Yerevan on May 9. A svarchik-made ferris wheel malfunctioned - a basket seat broke apart and fell to the ground injuring two adults and two children. The adults are still in the ICU.
Svarchiks are a unique class - they are the backbone of the Armenian infrastructure. The rickety Soviet era buses you see on the streets of Armenia are mainly held together with beams pieced together by svarchik-s. The leaky water pipes are installed and maintained by svarchik-s. The natural gas pipes you see near roads are designed and put together by svarchik-s as well.
At least their output is positive until something goes wrong (a bus flips over, a gas pipe blows up, etc.)
The government is pretty much governed by svarchik-s, too. They also tinker with the country and try to keep it held together. They don't use welding machines or duct tape - theirs is the intellectual equivalent of duct tape. There are plenty of examples of that in this blog.
Now, for your enjoyment, a typical faucet design in Armenia.
Wow, this was above and beyond everything I've seen so far, although, come to think of it, life here has taught me simply not to notice such things... certainly a 'boc' photo!
ReplyDeleteIt makes things easier - after all, you have to live with it and you have no control over it, either.
ReplyDeleteThe other common marvel of svarchik workmanship is the gas pipe distribution with their meter connections to apartments in the building blocks. I tried to give some description but was unable. One should see it.
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