Things you've always wondered about but couldn't be bothered to find out

[Cade]

On 24/11/2023 at 23:30, Lone Striker said:

How did the Dollar get the nickname Buck, and the Pound get the nickname Quid ?  

 

Literally from the use of Buckskins as a currency when trading with the natives.

 

 

[Lone Striker]

38 minutes ago, been here before said:

 

Why is Peter Noone in the woods? Where did he park?

He was a Hermit so he'd been in the woods all the time - the videos of him with the band were just done by CGI with the trees blotted out.   Peter living in the woods as a hermit was the inspiration for  some of their hits, such as  "There's a kind of hush"  and "No milk today".   😎

 

 

 

 

[Vlad Magic]

Why don’t planes constantly gain altitude due to the earths curvature when flying long haul?

[Tazio]

3 minutes ago, Vlad Magic said:

Why don’t planes constantly gain altitude due to the earths curvature when flying long haul?

Because they don’t fly flat. It’s tiny amounts of degrees anyway. 
 

Or may the earth actually is flat 😀

[Ribble]

55 minutes ago, Vlad Magic said:

Why don’t planes constantly gain altitude due to the earths curvature when flying long haul?

 

Same ways cars don't gain or lose speed due to hills etc while using cruise control, the speed/altitude are set and small adjustments made to maintain the desired speed/altitude

[Dawnrazor]

Just watching Jo Brands daughter on Tele, how the **** does a swampdonkey produce a wee skelp like her?? How??

[rudi must stay]

Why has nobody pushed over the leaning tower of Pisa 

[Dawnrazor]

Does every city in the UK smell of weed?

[Tazio]

3 minutes ago, Dawnrazor said:

Does every city in the UK smell of weed?

Pretty much.  

[Dawnrazor]

1 minute ago, Tazio said:

Pretty much.  

I was at the Barra's last and parked up near the Morrisons, it stunk all the way back to the car.

[henrysmithsgloves]

12 minutes ago, Dawnrazor said:

Does every city in the UK smell of weed?

My village is rife with the stuff, even more so,since the cold weather 🤢 I left a classic review on Google about the stench of weed at Cumbernauld Asda 😆

[Greedy Jambo]

I do like the smell of weed, but i have to visit the places the torries won't go near.

[Dawnrazor]

5 minutes ago, henrysmithsgloves said:

My village is rife with the stuff, even more so,since the cold weather 🤢 I left a classic review on Google about the stench of weed at Cumbernauld Asda 😆

It's just another sign of the decline in society 😞

[Greedy Jambo]

Make it legal and tax it, problem solved. 

 

[JudyJudyJudy]

On 28/11/2023 at 19:19, rudi must stay said:

Why has nobody pushed over the leaning tower of Pisa 

Good question. Actually 😂

[Maple Leaf]

On 28/11/2023 at 04:02, Vlad Magic said:

Why don’t planes constantly gain altitude due to the earths curvature when flying long haul?

This question made me think.  

 

The controls on planes on long haul are set to maintain a specific altitude.  It's an Air Traffic Control directive.

 

But if you switched off those controls and made the plane fly straight and level, you probably would gain altitude.  But it would be a small amount unless it was a very long flight.

 

That's my guess.

[Ulysses]

10 minutes ago, Maple Leaf said:

This question made me think.  

 

The controls on planes on long haul are set to maintain a specific altitude.  It's an Air Traffic Control directive.

 

But if you switched off those controls and made the plane fly straight and level, you probably would gain altitude.  But it would be a small amount unless it was a very long flight.

 

That's my guess.

 

I've a strange feeling that you'd have to deliberately make an aircraft gain height - but it's purely a hunch, and someone who's actually trained in flight might correct me.

 

The reason I think that is that neither a pilot nor an aircraft can know what "level" is without the help of an altimeter. A pilot could guess using their own eyesight and perception of gravity, but at cruising altitudes they'd be unable to keep an aircraft at a completely consistent speed, direction and altitude.

 

Altimeters work in two ways.  One relies on using radio waves to measure distance to the Earth's surface. The other uses measurements of air pressure to calculate how far above the surface the aircraft is.  Both of those methods automatically compensate for the curvature of the Earth.

 

In fact, I reckon a pilot using eyesight and "feel" to fly straight and level will instinctively compensate for the Earth's curvature.

 

Pure conjecture on my part, though.

[Dawnrazor]

Planes only get to a certain hight, they can't get any higher as the earth is flat and they can only go as far as the great ice wall that surrounds us.

[FWJ]

When we were kids we used to polish the chute in the playground with the wrappers from a (plain) loaf to ‘make it faster’.  Would that actually work?

[FWJ]

On 01/12/2023 at 22:55, Ulysses said:

 

I've a strange feeling that you'd have to deliberately make an aircraft gain height - but it's purely a hunch, and someone who's actually trained in flight might correct me.

 

The reason I think that is that neither a pilot nor an aircraft can know what "level" is without the help of an altimeter. A pilot could guess using their own eyesight and perception of gravity, but at cruising altitudes they'd be unable to keep an aircraft at a completely consistent speed, direction and altitude.

 

Altimeters work in two ways.  One relies on using radio waves to measure distance to the Earth's surface. The other uses measurements of air pressure to calculate how far above the surface the aircraft is.  Both of those methods automatically compensate for the curvature of the Earth.

 

In fact, I reckon a pilot using eyesight and "feel" to fly straight and level will instinctively compensate for the Earth's curvature.

 

Pure conjecture on my part, though.

I’d never really thought about it until I read that that’s where the ‘fly by the seat of your pants’ comes from.  If flying at night or in cloud you become spatially disorientated (cause of many a crash) and in extremis  rely on how the g forces of ascent or descent feel on your ‘seat’.

[been here before]

32 minutes ago, FWJ said:

When we were kids we used to polish the chute in the playground with the wrappers from a (plain) loaf to ‘make it faster’.  Would that actually work?

 

Werent plain loaf papers waxy? That would explain why I suppose.

[FWJ]

2 hours ago, been here before said:

 

Werent plain loaf papers waxy? That would explain why I suppose.

They were / still are.  Don’t know if it made the slide faster though.

[highlandjambo3]

Sailors salute with their palms facing *down towards the ground cos all the toff sailor officers back in the day were sick of seeing blistered/bloody palms from sailors hoisting up ropes.

 

* Army & RAF salute showing palms

 

like so:

 

 

 

 

 

[Morgan]

On 28/11/2023 at 20:19, rudi must stay said:

Why has nobody pushed over the leaning tower of Pisa 

Because Peter was in the woods.

[hughesie27]

On 01/12/2023 at 21:41, Greedy Jambo said:

Make it legal and tax it, problem solved. 

 

What problem? Surely that would just increase the smell if anything?

[Tazio]

2 hours ago, highlandjambo3 said:

Sailors salute with their palms facing *down towards the ground cos all the toff sailor officers back in the day were sick of seeing blistered/bloody palms from sailors hoisting up ropes.

 

* Army & RAF salute showing palms

 

like so:

 

 

 

 

 

I’d heard it was after navy ships stopped being sail powered so the stokers and engineers had filthy hands from coal and/or oil. 

[highlandjambo3]

13 minutes ago, Tazio said:

I’d heard it was after navy ships stopped being sail powered so the stokers and engineers had filthy hands from coal and/or oil. 

Same ish thing…..posh knobs being offended 

[Joey J J Jr Shabadoo]

16 hours ago, hughesie27 said:

What problem? Surely that would just increase the smell if anything?

Younger smokers (who still live with parent) could smoke in their houses, instead of street corners, possibly?

[hughesie27]

1 minute ago, Joey J J Jr Shabadoo said:

Younger smokers (who still live with parent) could smoke in their houses, instead of street corners, possibly?

Pesky kids smoking outdoors. Probably in groups of 4 or more as well the scoundrels. And standing at a corner! Disgraceful.

[shlabalaba]

Been watching some pool lately   ( mosconi cup etc )        why have they changed the orange 5 ball to purple  ?

 

 

[milky_26]

12 minutes ago, shlabalaba said:

Been watching some pool lately   ( mosconi cup etc )        why have they changed the orange 5 ball to purple  ?

 

 

to make it clearer on tv, that doesn't explain why they changed it to the same colour as the 4 ball

[Jim_Duncan]

When did the Ancient Greek and Roman gods stop being worshipped, or does anyone still do so?

[Australis]

If a bumbee, stung a bumbee on the bumbee's bumbee, what colour would the bumbee's bumbee?

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by Australis

[henrysmithsgloves]

4 hours ago, Australis said:

If a bumbee, stung a bumbee on the bumbee's bumbee, what colour would the bumbee's bumbee?

 

Bumbee tartan

 

[Greedy Jambo]

Right, I know it's TikTok, but apparently, all the American presidents are related, apart from 1, going all the way back to an Englishman. 

 

[hughesie27]

14 minutes ago, Greedy Jambo said:

Right, I know it's TikTok, but apparently, all the American presidents are related, apart from 1, going all the way back to an Englishman. 

 

In the sense that everyone on earth is related if you go far back enough then sure.

[Greedy Jambo]

1 minute ago, hughesie27 said:

In the sense that everyone on earth is related if you go far back enough then sure.

 

Yeah, its a good conspiracy though, someone needs to look it up, i can't be bothered. 

[Angel eyes]

On antiques road show or bargain hunt why do the people who own the item no just take them to auction themselves sell them and make more money rather than sell them to Charlie Ross or Catherine Southon + get done by giving them a reduction on top.

[Greedy Jambo]

15 minutes ago, Angel eyes said:

On antiques road show or bargain hunt why do the people who own the item no just take them to auction themselves sell them and make more money rather than sell them to Charlie Ross or Catherine Southon + get done by giving them a reduction on top.

I'm guessing it's because they don't really know what they're doing and just want a quick cash sale. 

Apparently, the auction house takes a lot of the profits too. 

[Joey J J Jr Shabadoo]

12 hours ago, Angel eyes said:

On antiques road show or bargain hunt why do the people who own the item no just take them to auction themselves sell them and make more money rather than sell them to Charlie Ross or Catherine Southon + get done by giving them a reduction on top.

It's contrived nonsense. Off camera, the sellers will just get what they asked for. They then go through the charade of pretending to negotiate a lower price.

[JWL]

Where does all the left over food from cooking programmes go? Just watching Saturday Kitchen and there was a huge Ham Roast that would serve about twenty getting dished out, plus the same amount that goes in the oven so they can show the viewers how it's made. Great big massive feck off burgers as well. Would like to think it gets taken to the nearest food bank but not read anything to suggest that it does (hence the couldn't be bothered bit). Anyone?

[JudyJudyJudy]

25 minutes ago, JWL said:

Where does all the left over food from cooking programmes go? Just watching Saturday Kitchen and there was a huge Ham Roast that would serve about twenty getting dished out, plus the same amount that goes in the oven so they can show the viewers how it's made. Great big massive feck off burgers as well. Would like to think it gets taken to the nearest food bank but not read anything to suggest that it does (hence the couldn't be bothered bit). Anyone?

id assume to the crew? and maybe deliver it to homeless shelters etc ?

[Dick Dastardly]

If you could fly away from earth faster than the speed of light and you kept on viewing the earth as you flew away, would you everything happening on earth be in reverse? 

[Lone Striker]

21 minutes ago, Dick Dastardly said:

If you could fly away from earth faster than the speed of light and you kept on viewing the earth as you flew away, would you everything happening on earth be in reverse? 

How would you know it was  though, if you're travelling away from Earth faster than the speed of light ?

Isn't it more likely that you wouldn't see Earth at all when you looked backwards ?  It would have appear to have disappeared - no ?