"I am as content to die for God's eternal truth on the scaffold as in any other way (Bookshelf)," John Brown, a U.S. abolitionist in 1859, said in a letter to his children on the eve of his execution. The scaffold is a raised wooden framework or platform used for public speaking. It is similar to a stage or a framework. A scaffold is also a platform used in the execution of condemned prisoners, as by hanging or beheading. A scaffold can also be a raised platform, seat or stand used for the purpose of exhibiting persons or actions to the public view (Webster's). A scaffold, similar to a stage, platform or framework, can be permanent. Other types of permanent scaffolds are used in bridges. The basic beam bridge, a simple beam over a span, is strengthened by adding support piers underneath and by reinforcing the structure with elaborate scaffolding called a truss. This method of scaffolding is clearly apparent in most present day bridges, but most travelers do not even realize this fact. The scaffolding includes the huge poles or wires that sit on top of the bridge; this suspension is an extremely advanced scaffold. This method is sometimes also used in suspending a roof.
             Scaffolds, however, can also be temporary. A scaffold is also a temporary platform, usually suspended on poles from below or suspended from above, on which workers sit or stand during the erection, repairing or decoration of a building. For instance, construction workers stand on scaffolds when building a new structure. Scaffolding allows workers to transport themselves and their materials up and down an unfinished building during construction. Also, a person cleaning the windows of a building must use a scaffold to reach all the windows above ground. Michelangelo used a scaffold to paint the frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome (Groiler's). He worked on a scaffold sixty feet above ground, which covered 10,000 square fe...