Putting a Bird to Work

In 1876, when constructing the 550-foot tall Washington Monument,
(when it was 153 feet tall), workers had to get a rope to the top, but
they did not have any sort of scaffolding. They tied a thread to the
leg of a pigeon, put him inside the unfinished tower and made a sudden
noise. The frightened bird flew up to the top, and out. A string was
attached to the thread and pulled to the top, and then a rope was
pulled to the top with the string. - from www.odd-info.com