Actually, Katl, I used to get the death threats immediately after the proposition! Must have been something lacking in my technique ...

Yes, you probably will be sorry you asked! There are actually two stories which go with the "bricks":
Brick story #1
A farmer was interviewed by a magazine about farmyard chores. Soon they got to discussing the castration of his bullocks, the way one does on a farm. The journalist asked what method the farmer used, and he said, "I get my son to drive them through that gap in the hedge. I hide behind the hedge with a brick in each hand. As each bullock jumps through the gap, I bang the bricks together smartly, and ... well, you get the picture? It takes a lot of concentration, and split-second timing."
"Doesn't it hurt?", asked the journo with a wince.
"Only if I get my thumbs in the way!" replied the farmer.

Brick story #2
A man (or a woman, of course) wanted to cross the desert on a camel. "How long can these beasts go without water?" s/he asked the camel salesman.
"Oh, about seven days."
"And how long will it take me to cross the desert?"
"Two weeks."
"But how can you cross the desert without the camel dying of thirst?"
"You have to brick it."
"?"
"Right. What you do is, you wait until the camel is drinking its seven days' worth. You sneak up behind it with two bricks, and just before it stops drinking, you bring the bricks together smartly, and ... you get the picture?"
"!"
"And the camel goes FFFFFFFFF!!!! [sharp intake of breath - this is a visual one: get a man to show you what he'd do if he was a camel!] and takes on another weeks' worth."

Well, you did ask!

Steve