From Paul Whiteley, Bittaford, Devon, UK
Making tools from stools is neat (14 April, p 15). But it's not new.
In his autobiography, the Danish explorer Peter Freuchen writes about the time he took shelter from a blizzard under his sledge in Greenland and realised the snow that had drifted over him had frozen, entombing him. He couldn't dig himself out as his gloved hands couldn't get a purchase and taking his gloves off to dig would mean losing his hands to frostbite.
His solution? He passed a stool and while it was still soft shaped it into a chisel, which he allowed to freeze and harden. He then dug away the snow and freed himself.
