A Catalogue of Useless Facts

Nightingale Floors

Nightingale Floors
- miscellaneous -

​​"Nightingale floors" are a building technique used in some traditional Japanese architecture. Any weight applied to the floor causes protruding nails to scrape against a metal clip, resulting in a noticeable squeak reminiscent of a chirping bird.

Nightingale floors were mainly designed for security reasons -- an intruder would find it impossible to walk through a building without making noise and risking detection.

#080

Sources ▼

http://www.zen-garden.org/html/page_nightingalefloor.htm