TRAP FOR ANIMALS
Buried in the ground with only the arm tips showing.
Two pivoted arms are pulled apart against a torsion spring and held down by a catch on a trip platform. The set trap is then concealed in the ground with the platform horizontal. An animal steps on the platform, releasing the catch; the spring-controlled arm flies upward and drives the second arm through a slot, and the two arms cross above the middle of the platform, catching the animal between their converging outer ends.
“The trap is now set and may be concealed in the ground at the desired position with the platform 14 located horizontally. The only parts that should be visible above the ground are the free ends of the arms 1, 2 and the hook 20.”— Frank Edmund Sawyer, from the specification
And the world did not beat a path to his door.