Tree house
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A tree house (also spelled treehouse) is a house that is built among the branches of a mature tree.
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In some parts of the tropics, ordinary houses for living purposes are built in trees or elevated on stilts to the same level as the trees, to keep the living quarters above hazards at ground level, such as floods, tides, and vermin.
Classically, pre-adolescent boys living on property with a suitable tree may build a tree house (often with the help of their nostalgic father). Building it serves as an opportunity to begin learning basic carpentry skills, and the finished house serves as a refuge where boys can get together and think or imagine or play without interruption from undesirable elements such as adults and pre-adolescent girls. Alternately, pre-adolescent girls may do exactly the same thing, but build with the object of having a play space free of adults and boys. Construction projects such as building tree houses are stereotypically the province of the tomboy, although as societal gender roles change or loosen, this behavior is less anamolous.
Children's tree houses are usually built from scrap plywood, scrap lumber, and various other odds and ends.
Treehouses are supported by one or several (usually living) treetrunks, which act as load-bearing members and corner posts. Some treehouses are supported by large limbs rather than the main trunks of the trees to which they are attached, or may have supplemental supports. Treehouses may be as simple as a platform reached by a ladder (or a clamber up the treetrunk itself) for enjoying the view, or complicated multiroomed, multistoried houses.
One well-known fictional treehouse belongs to the Simpsons family. They use it to tell each other scary stories at Halloween. A compilation DVD "The Simpsons - Treehouse of Horror" is available. Also, another well-known fictional treehouse is that of the Kids Next Door.
In the hit TV show "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" there was an episode about some people who owned an old Chevy Bel Air, and used it as a treehouse.
Hooch is a version of a treehouse structure designed by Jo Scheer.
Some tourist spots offer accommodation in treehouses, allowing closer contact with nature. An extreme example of a tourist-oriented treehouse is Treetops Hotel.