Yakhchāl (Persian: یخچال ice pit; yakh meaning ice and chāl meaning pit) is an ancient type of evaporative cooler. Above ground, the structure had a domed shape, but had a subterranean storage space; it was often used to store ice, but sometimes was used to store food as well. The subterranean space coupled with the thick heat-resistant construction material insulated the storage space year round. These structures were mainly built and used in Persia. Many that were built hundreds of years ago remain standing.
By 400 BCE, Persian engineers had mastered the technique of storing ice in the middle of summer in the desert. The ice could be brought in during the winters from nearby mountains, but more commonly they had a wall made along an east-west direction close to the yakhchal. In winter, the qanat water was channelled to the north side of the wall. The shadow of the wall made the water freeze more quickly so more ice was produced per winter day. Ice was stored in a specially designed, passively cooled refrigerator. This was a large underground space (up to 5,000 m3 (180,000 cu ft)) that had thick walls (at least two meters at the base) made out of a special mortar called sārooj, composed of sand, clay, egg whites, lime, goat hair, and ash in specific proportions, and which was resistant to heat transfer. This mixture was thought to be completely water impenetrable. The space often had access to a qanat, and often contained a system of windcatchers or wind towers that could easily bring temperatures inside the space down to frigid levels in summer days. The ice was then used to chill treats for royalty during hot summer days and to make faloodeh, the traditional Persian frozen dessert.
i live in an eggshell
sometimes, if i'm careful, i can make a pinpoint
through the shell
and see the light.
i'm too big to fit through the hole, though,
and that's my tough luck.
inside my eggshell i am secure,
as long as i am careful not to move.
but i have no control over what happens from the outside.
i huddle there and worry that something i can not see
will bump into me
and when it does!
you wouldn't believe what happens in an eggshell then!
i get scrambled.
my brains run like bean soup into my veins, bursting them.
and my blood spatters up against the wall
worst of all.
a little bit of me seeps through cracks
and trickles away forever.
people who live in eggshells have only one alternative:
they can get hard boiled.
I live in an eggshell - not as strong as it seems
I protect myself from the world - don't fit in its scheme
my home is unstable - the walls are wearing thin
I break under pressure - but I'm trying to endure within
Break the shell - and you will regret it
Break the shell - you wish you never did it
Break the shell - you won't like what you see
Break the shell - you won't recognize me
Your world around me is cracking my shell
the weight of your problems makes my life hell
under the pressure from your house of pain
I choose to live in my shell under strain
I've tried to conform - I've tried it your way
I've tried to conform - live my life day by day
this is my reality - my life is in a shell
this is my heaven - outside is my hell
I can't deny it - I reached my breaking point
I personify it - an eggshell in duress
I can't deny it - I'm at my limit
I identify with - an eggshell in duress.
I live in an eggshell - not as strong as it seems
I protect myself from the world - don't fit in its scheme
my home is unstable - the walls are wearing thin
I break under pressure - but I'm trying to endure within
Break the shell - and you will regret it
Break the shell - you wish you never did it
Break the shell - you won't like what you see
Break the shell - you won't recognize me
Your world around me is cracking my shell
the weight of your problems makes my life hell
under the pressure from your house of pain
I choose to live in my shell under strain
I've tried to conform - I've tried it your way
I've tried to conform - live my life day by day
this is my reality - my life is in a shell
this is my heaven - outside is my hell
I can't deny it - I reached my breaking point
I personify it - an eggshell in duress
I can't deny it - I'm at my limit
I identify with - an eggshell in duress.
Tainted raindrop.
Chemical blue.
Shapeless grey lid,
close in on you.
Diminishing space
each and every day,
yet increasing a distance
for which the coming shall pay.
We live in a time where it means to make sense
for a father to profit at his childrens expense.
To keep draining the earth without putting anything back.
A crust like an eggshell can be easily cracked.
Heatwave pounding
a shield grown thin.
Twisted cycles
Empty within.
A legacy left
from generations of sin.
Shameless greed, now, is sucking it in.
We live in a time where it means to make sense
for a father to profit at his childrens expense.
To keep draining the earth without putting anything back.
A crust like an eggshell can be easily cracked.
i live in an eggshell
sometimes, if i'm careful, i can make a pinpoint
through the shell
and see the light.
i'm too big to fit through the hole, though,
and that's my tough luck.
inside my eggshell i am secure,
as long as i am careful not to move.
but i have no control over what happens from the outside.
i huddle there and worry that something i can not see
will bump into me
and when it does!
you wouldn't believe what happens in an eggshell then!
i get scrambled.
my brains run like bean soup into my veins, bursting them.
and my blood spatters up against the wall
worst of all.
a little bit of me seeps through cracks
and trickles away forever.
people who live in eggshells have only one alternative: