Video: 250 Amish Men Lift and Carry Entire Barn 150 Feet

File photo of a horse drawing a carriage. Chris Hondros/Getty Images

A video captured last month captured Amish men moving an entire barn in Ohio.

In the clip, some 250 Amish men are seen lifting the entire structure before placing it about 150 feet away, according to the Mount Vernon News of Ohio.

The entire process took about five minutes, said the report.

“They said they were going to turn it around. Maybe I’m mistaken,” one person said, according to the Daily Mail. “They’ve got to straighten it up,” says a female voice.

Most Amish communities refuse to use electricity, drive gas-powered cars (typically, they opt for horse-drawn buggies), or have phones in their homes. Computers, cameras, and other forms of modern technology are often rejected as well.

They have a strong presence in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

According to the Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Visitor’s Bureau: “While you talk and mingle with the Amish, please remember that they are not actors or spectacles, but ordinary people who choose a different way of life.”

TripSavy says that when visiting Amish-heavy areas, one “should avoid taking photos or videos of them as it’s considered rude to use technology in their presence.”

“Most Amish consider posing for photographs to be an unacceptable act of pride and do not allow pictures of themselves,“ according to the website. ”The Amish will usually allow you to photograph their homes, farms, and buggies if you ask respectfully, but even this can be intrusive and is better avoided.”

Also when visiting Amish areas, “It is best to avoid approaching the Amish unless they appear open to company. They are just like you and don’t really appreciate strangers knocking at their door. When you do have a need to approach a group of Amish, it is polite to speak to a male, if possible. If you are sincerely interested in talking to the Amish to learn more about their culture, then your best bet is to patronize an Amish-owned business and talk with the shopkeepers,” according to the site.

History

USA Today notes that the Amish, an Anabaptist offshoot, have been in the United States in the early 18th century amid religious persecution in Europe. They were followers of Swiss minister Jakob Amman.

Meanwhile, they also speak a form of German.

“Because of its isolation, the language has a very different pronunciation than current German and has been influenced by the English of surrounding populations. Some Amish, notably in Indiana, speak a version closer to Swiss-German,” according to the article.

Meanwhile, they’re among the fastest-growing populations in the United States, with the population rising from 5,000 in 1920 to about 300,000 in 2014, USA Today noted. There were about 84,000 in 1984.

“Most Amish groups forbid owning automobiles, tapping electricity from public utility lines, using self-propelled farm machinery, owning a television, radio, and computer, attending high school and college, joining the military, and initiating divorce,” says the Young Center.

Technology

And regarding technology, “The Amish use us as an experiment,” stated Jameson Wetmore, a researcher at the Arizona State University’s School for the Future of Innovation in Society, told QZ.com.

“They watch what happens when we adopt new technology, and then they decide whether that’s something they want to adopt themselves,” he said.

He continued: “The reason the Amish rejected television is because it is a one-way conduit to bring another society into their living rooms. And they want to maintain the society as they have created it. And the automobile as well. As soon as you have a car, your ability to leave your local community becomes significantly easier.