"Daddy, where do baby cranes come from?"

Crane #6, Manhattan, NYC

It's a sensible question, and not just from kids: where do the cranes come fro

m?

They fly by night, erect themselves wherever work needs done (like superheroes, although fortunately I've never seen Superman 'erect' himself. Which is just as well, because there's no hiding anything in spandex). 

But are they magical? Are they thrown into place by God? Popped out of Christmas crackers, or are they the playthings of invisible giants?

Now, at last, we have the exclusive answer: and it involves this, the Crane Daddy. The Ω crane. 

He roves the land, in search of crane nesting grounds, spawning giant steel babies that enhance the skyline with a preview of what might happen when cranes attack. 

The only mystery left to solve: the crane mother. Is she real? Photographic evidence, please. 

Where do bad cranes go when they die?

Cranes #5, Crane Prison, Crane Island:

Well, even among cranes, it seems, there can be crimes for which the only answer is incarceration. These reprobates have been cruelly (although it's ultimately for their own good) stationed on an island overlooking a crane community on the mainland. 

Who can say what foul deed these cranes did do? What transgression against fellow cranes? Regardless, they party on inside their mesh cage. Forced to adopt the same colours, prison regulation red, they practise their synchronised dance steps and chalk up the days left on their sentence. 

Cranes in party central!

Cranes #4, Ibiza, España:

Of course, on the island that never sleeps, you'd expect the cranes to get in on the action in any way they could. Above is a great example of the kind of rampant decadence that cranes have become famous for. Look at them, swaying in the wind, delirious on sun and engine oil. Their jaunty angles hint at their inebriation: the cut of their jib is all wrong.

Crane party with men!

Cranes #3, Lousiana, USA:

This is an unusual example of the crane party, as in this case there are people enjoying the party too. 

Of course, this archive photograph takes place before the great Crane/Human War of the 1960s, when all cranes were subjugated and put to work building the skyscrapers of today. 

As you can see, this harks back to happier times when man and crane worked together for a better world. Perhaps, with work, we can get there again. 

Cranes at sunset

Cranes #2, Stockholm, Sweden:

These cranes perform strange ceremonies, only on sunset nights of red. Some say that they pray to the crane Dark Lord, others that they are crane vampires. 

This writer says that whatever it is they're doing, they're doing it right. Power to them. 

A study in the social life of cranes around the world

Cranes #1, West Coast, Scotland:

These cranes live a marine life by day, but when their operators are away they have crazy beach parties all night. Tony, the blue crane seen on the right in the foreground, acts as lookout and bartender as they dance their pain away.