Water carrier

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The term water carrier describes a person who relieves others of the necessary routine work, thereby relieving them considerably under certain circumstances and possibly contributing decisively to their success.

history

“Carrying water” is a historic service occupation . Before drinking water networks were set up, water was brought to consumers' homes for a fee from public water points if they did not have their own well or source . To carry the water, a bowl was placed over the shoulders , with a bucket on each side. The sloshing out of the water could be prevented by means of a float .

A well-known water carrier was the Hamburg original Hans Hummel . In Venice, water was sold on the streets.

fire Department

In the history of the fire brigade , water carriers took on the function of transporting extinguishing water . As a rule, they had to carry the water to the scene of the fire in leather buckets on foot, possibly using a chain of buckets . They did not have any direct extinguishing tasks.

Even before the fire brigades were founded, in the event of a fire, all able-bodied residents had to rush to the scene of the fire with buckets filled with extinguishing water and line up in double rows to the extinguishing water pond : "The bucket flew through the long chain of hands." Wooden pressure syringes were used by the fire brigades, but these had to be continuously filled with extinguishing water that was brought in buckets. Then the fire engines , which could suck in the water , prevailed . The construction of a central water supply with the installation of hydrants made water transport much easier.

Organizational theory

In organization theory is congruence of the organization known. It states that tasks , competencies , responsibility and information should be transferred to subordinate bodies congruently. Done that and are not the skills compared to the duties and responsibilities too low, the transport authorities spoke of a "water carrier".

Figurative meaning

In the modern world, water carriers are those members of a team who take on necessary but inglorious tasks in order to assist those who, as the actual main characters, benefit from the success. This is often derived from the biblical story of the wedding at Cana , in which Jesus Christ has servants bring water, which he then turns into wine ( Jn 2.1-12  EU ).

  • In cycling water carrier support (archaic term " servants "), the favorite team as their team captain by this slipstream donate, breakaways prevent the competitors or in such a case make the chase. You yourself, however, usually have no chance of victory. They owe their name to the fact that they supply the team with food and drinks bottles, which are then passed on from the support vehicle to the driver. Well-known water carriers in cycling were Rolf Aldag and Udo Bölts on Team Telekom for Jan Ullrich , and José Luis Rubiera on the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team for Lance Armstrong . The record of water bottles carried was set by the Italian Fabio Sacchi of the Milram team with 18 water bottles (9 kg) at the Giro d'Italia 2006 . If the helpers take on less care and more tasks such as starting off for sprints or follow-up work, while they are title contenders themselves, they are referred to as noble helpers (e.g. George Hincapie for Lance Armstrong or De Schoenmacker for Eddy Merckx ).
  • In football , players - mostly in the defensive midfield - are referred to as water carriers who relieve the stars of the team from the defensive work. That was Herbert Wimmer for Günter Netzer used.
  • In a trial (motorcycle) , the “water carrier” helps the driver to find the best passage.
  • In marathon rallies like the Dakar Rally, there are (too) carriers in the form of individual drivers (on motorbikes) up to entire service trucks. These are registered participants in the rally and are available to the favorites of their teams in the event of technical problems.
  • In the area of ​​show business, people who play punch lines or prepare them for the main character are referred to as “water carriers”.
  • Management assistants or politicians are sometimes referred to as water carriers, sometimes with derogatory statements.

Art objects

  • Representation of water carriers

  • Water carrier with a yoke in Venice

  • The water carrier

  • "Water carrier"

  • Sculpture water carrier

Web links

Commons : Water Carrier  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Franz-Josef Sehr : The fire extinguishing system in Obertiefenbach from earlier times . In: Yearbook for the Limburg-Weilburg district 1994 . The district committee of the district of Limburg-Weilburg, Limburg 1993, p. 151-153 .
  2. ^ Photograph by Carlo Naya : Water carrier in Venice in the 19th century
  3. ↑ cast bronze - sculpture The water carrier in the city park Guetersloh
  4. ^ Charcoal / chalk drawing by Heinrich Zille
  5. ↑ Iron sculpture " Water Carrier " by the sculptor Rolf Szymanski in Berlin-Kreuzberg
  6. ↑ LR Online: Limited Wealth Without water, remember, our world would be an empty barrel July 26th, 2003