In the late 19th century this had already occurred to a large extent, the chairmaker's kit of tools invariably including a dowel plate with a series of holes through which the craftsman hammered roughly squared pegs to form the dowels.
In the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, for example, stones have been used as single bells (dowel) as well as in sets of chimes.
There are lots of references to dowel rods.
But most of all she remembered a piece of fabric, about the size of a pillowcase, which hung from a wooden dowel at the bottom of the stairs.
"It is the goddess Kali," Mrs. Dixit explained brightly, shifting the dowel slightly in order to straighten the image.
Even the least handy of coaches or trainers can cobble together a makeshift ruler using a puck and dowel, use it to determine athletes' baseline reaction times, and re-test any player who is suspected of sustaining a concussion.
The works include a Persian rug dipped in indigo dye; a long, gracefully curved wood dowel covered in rolling tobacco; a scent-emitting wall piece; and best of all, "Pedestal," a tall, narrow, stepped monolith tenderly worked in plaster that resembles an architectural model for a skyscraper.
According to an analysis by a curator at a British arms museum, the 11 men were each holding a TD-2007, a Chinese-made toy replica of the MP-5 submachine gun, marketed as appropriate for children above the age of 5. To each, the men had affixed an extension — perhaps a painted dowel or a section of pipe — masquerading as a long barrel.
Knowing that these athletes had sustained concussions, the scientists asked them to re-take the dowel test, in each case within at least 48 hours of the head injury.
In 2008, the partners designed the Excel floor lamp, a Tinkertoylike assemblage of off-kilter metal pipes and an oak dowel holding a drum of light about six feet aloft.
