A Welsh mining story recorded at the time they were gathering material for The Big Hewer
In the days the tubs of coal were pulled to the top by hand, one of the linesmen used to brag he could tell the weight of a tub to a fraction of an ounce
His mates made a bet with him, they agreed on a set weight. took a set of scales down the pit where they waited to load the tub and mark it with chalk for your man to pull it up
They filled the first one, marked it and gave a signal tug, your man gave a slight pull, shouted down the weight and hauled it to the top - perfect
The second one the same - perfect again
And the third
At the fourth go, when they gave the signal tug nothing happened, they waited and waited
"Why don't you pull the tub up Tommy?" they shouted up the shaft
"You haven't chalked it yet", he shouted back
Jim