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

[BoJack Horseman]

If you kick a ball along the floor of a train, in the opposite direction to that which the train unravelling, is it going in the same direction as the train or in the opposite direction to it, or both.

 

Depends how fast the ball goes. Faster than the train, then it's going the opposite direction of the train. Slower, it's going the same way. Same speed? It stops dead.

[Guest Bilel Mohsni]

Depends how fast the ball goes. Faster than the train, then it's going the opposite direction of the train. Slower, it's going the same way. Same speed? It stops dead.

In the same speed scenario, the ball is moving in two directions at once kinetically but not covering any distance?

[BoJack Horseman]

In the same speed scenario, the ball is moving in two directions at once kinetically but not covering any distance?

 

 

[Guest Bilel Mohsni]

Quality. Cheers man.

[Guest Bilel Mohsni]

I'm NEVER getting on a train with you!

 

Hate train journeys at the best of times, but that's ridiculous.

Ouch!

[Jambos_1874]

Why is Scotland so renowned for it's whisky? Why isn't, say, New Zealand a world leader in whisky production?

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

Why does big brand tea and coffee purchased from discount type shops taste like dishwater compared to normal supermarkets products. Not suggesting they are fakes, they wouldn't get away with that surely, so are they seconds or destined for countries that don't mind a weaker brew. Always wondered why companies would allow their brand to sell in a weaker form like this ?

[Jambomuzz]

Why does big brand tea and coffee purchased from discount type shops taste like dishwater compared to normal supermarkets products. Not suggesting they are fakes, they wouldn't get away with that surely, so are they seconds or destined for countries that don't mind a weaker brew. Always wondered why companies would allow their brand to sell in a weaker form like this ?

Never noticed this as I don't buy tea/coffee much. But along the same sort of lines, multipack cans of full fat coke are never as good as a regular can I think. I seem to be able to taste the difference anyway!

[Pennywise]

Why do people on KB refer to birds as bursds?

[Bert Le Clos]

How come if you drop a can of juice it's sprays all over the shop when you open it. But after it's dropped out a vending machine it doesn't?

[milky_26]

How come if you drop a can of juice it's sprays all over the shop when you open it. But after it's dropped out a vending machine it doesn't?

the can doesn't technically drop out of a vending machine it only moves a few inches as it is the can at the bottom you get not one from the top

[PaulHartley10]

I've always thought I could taste a difference when buying juice from Farmfoods, serves me right I guess!

[AlphonseCapone]

the can doesn't technically drop out of a vending machine it only moves a few inches as it is the can at the bottom you get not one from the top

I'm probably being dense but I don't get this?

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

Never noticed this as I don't buy tea/coffee much. But along the same sort of lines, multipack cans of full fat coke are never as good as a regular can I think. I seem to be able to taste the difference anyway!

Similarly Coke from a large bottle doesn't taste as good one from a small bottle or can. Wonder if it is to do with more air getting in as the bottle is filled or maybe it is just in the mind.

[269miles]

Why do people on KB refer to birds as bursds?

Someone mispelled the word in a post and it stuck. 

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

Why is Scotland so renowned for it's whisky? Why isn't, say, New Zealand a world leader in whisky production?

It could be to do with Scotland's soft more acidic water. A more alkaline water supply would lead to a build up of lime deposits in the process and therefor affect the purity and taste. Not sure what the water is like in NZ it will depend on the underlying rocks.

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

Someone mispelled the word in a post and it stuck.

I thought it was the PC brigade saying we couldn't use it in its original form.

[Pennywise]

Someone mispelled the word in a post and it stuck.

Wow.

[Bert Le Clos]

the can doesn't technically drop out of a vending machine it only moves a few inches as it is the can at the bottom you get not one from the top

 

The one at my work falls from some height. The boy was filling it the other day and I asked to watch with the door open. It's at least a 2 foot drop.

 

I've dropped cans from less of a height and they fizz up when you open them. Bonkers.

[Jambomuzz]

The one at my work falls from some height. The boy was filling it the other day and I asked to watch with the door open. It's at least a 2 foot drop.

 

I've dropped cans from less of a height and they fizz up when you open them. Bonkers.

So you can't be bothered to find out, but youl ask the guy to watch the machine in action with the door open?

[topcat]

The one at my work falls from some height. The boy was filling it the other day and I asked to watch with the door open. It's at least a 2 foot drop.

 

I've dropped cans from less of a height and they fizz up when you open them. Bonkers.

 

Check the surface its landing on

 

Chances are it's cushioned to reduce the impact relative to dropping them on a hard floor

[Bert Le Clos]

So you can't be bothered to find out, but youl ask the guy to watch the machine in action with the door open?

 

If you've seen the boy who fills the vending machine at my work, you'd know why I'm not asking him.

[¼½¾]

The one at my work falls from some height. The boy was filling it the other day and I asked to watch with the door open. It's at least a 2 foot drop.

 

I've dropped cans from less of a height and they fizz up when you open them. Bonkers.

 

 

If you've seen the boy who fills the vending machine at my work, you'd know why I'm not asking him.

So did or didn't you ask him?  

[tian447]

Are we meant to keep left or keep right when walking?

 

Keep left.  You do it when driving, so it should be the same for walking.

 

I've noticed that a lot* of train stations that have steps to and from the platform, now have green strips on the left and red on the right, to signify which side you should walk on for coming up/down the stairs (for coming up, they are on the underside of the steps so you can't see them when coming down so you don't get confused).  Case closed

 

(* Dundee and Berwick)

[Paolo]

Keep left. You do it when driving, so it should be the same for walking.

 

I've noticed that a lot* of train stations that have steps to and from the platform, now have green strips on the left and red on the right, to signify which side you should walk on for coming up/down the stairs (for coming up, they are on the underside of the steps so you can't see them when coming down so you don't get confused). Case closed

 

(* Dundee and Berwick)

Always walk left. The exception is a country road, with no pavement. You walk in the right, facing the traffic.

[3fingersreid]

Is it not something to do with the days of carrying swords? most people were right handed and therefor fencing was easier that way .

It's been a very long time since I was at school but I'm sure that's where I picked this up

[Bert Le Clos]

So did or didn't you ask him?  

 

I've not asked him. He once asked me how much it was for a can of juice and when I told him 50p, he had to ask me if that was "the big silver one with the jaggy edges?"

 

I figured he wouldn't know the answer to my question.

[Debut 4]

If scientists are 100% correct when it comes to the Big Bang and theories on galaxies...............

[John Gentleman]

If you kick a ball along the floor of a train, in the opposite direction to that which the train unravelling, is it going in the same direction as the train or in the opposite direction to it, or both.

 

It all depends on the observer's 'point of reference'. Someone on the train would observe the ball going in the opposite direction to the moving train (the point of reference ((PoR)) being the train). Someone on a platform would observe (but not necessarily be aware of) the ball travelling in two directions ? both with and against the direction of the train. The observer's PoR in this scenario is the platform. Then, of course, you might like to take into account the rotation of the earth, earth's orbit around the sun, the sun's orbit around our galactic centre and finally our galaxy's movement in space/time! Beyond that there is no PoR.

[John Gentleman]

Never noticed this as I don't buy tea/coffee much. But along the same sort of lines, multipack cans of full fat coke are never as good as a regular can I think. I seem to be able to taste the difference anyway!

 

It's the 'Grey' or 'Parallel' market where goods destined/manufactured for 'x' country are detoured into 'y' country. Often the quality is lower than your domestic market, often it's exactly the same. When the quality is lower, it's because the quality expectations of the consumer in the intended market are lower. The discount shops in Oz are notorious for it but it's pretty easy to pick ? the printing on the packs is usually in Bahasa or some other Asian language. All quite legal, I'm led to believe. It's a case of 'buyer beware'.

[topcat]

If scientists are 100% correct when it comes to the Big Bang and theories on galaxies...............

.... Then they can take the rest of eternity off

[Cairneyhill Jambo]

Keep left.  You do it when driving, so it should be the same for walking.

 

I've noticed that a lot* of train stations that have steps to and from the platform, now have green strips on the left and red on the right, to signify which side you should walk on for coming up/down the stairs (for coming up, they are on the underside of the steps so you can't see them when coming down so you don't get confused).  Case closed

 

(* Dundee and Berwick)

 I'm pretty sure ships keep to the right when passing another ship.  Might be talking absolute gash though.

[Cal_]

Why do you use the smallest note you have first rather than the largest.

 

If something cost 4 quid you would use 5 rather than a 20 but later in the day if you owed someone 5 you'd be stuck with just a 20.

 

Using the 20 in the first place would make more sense.

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

Why do you use the smallest note you have first rather than the largest.

 

If something cost 4 quid you would use 5 rather than a 20 but later in the day if you owed someone 5 you'd be stuck with just a 20.

 

Using the 20 in the first place would make more sense.

Or why do people not go through the coins in their pocket first to see if they have the right amount before changing a note. I am guilty admittedly  of this and keep meaning to change my ways but I still end up with pocket fulls of small change.

[Rab87]

Folk that call it "full fat coke"

[trotter]

It all depends on the observer's 'point of reference'. Someone on the train would observe the ball going in the opposite direction to the moving train (the point of reference ((PoR)) being the train). Someone on a platform would observe (but not necessarily be aware of) the ball travelling in two directions ? both with and against the direction of the train. The observer's PoR in this scenario is the platform. Then, of course, you might like to take into account the rotation of the earth, earth's orbit around the sun, the sun's orbit around our galactic centre and finally our galaxy's movement in space/time! Beyond that there is no PoR.

 

Is the correct (full) answer. I remember a question we did in physics many moons ago. If you are standing on a moving train holding a ball, and throw the ball up in the air then that movement plotted on a graph vs time is a vertical line. If however, you are observing it from the platform as the train goes past, that movement would be shown as a sine wave as you need to take into account the horizontal motion of the train as well. 

 

Which leads me nicely on to a riddle: How is it possible for a fly to stop a train?

Edited February 25, 2015 by trotter

[hmfc_steve]

To the stairs thing, how can that make sense? There will be collisions if you don't stick to the same side in both directions.

 

Is it right on an escalator? I thought it was maybe the same as the roads, so keep left. I just stick to the pavement side.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23444086

[151]

the can doesn't technically drop out of a vending machine it only moves a few inches as it is the can at the bottom you get not one from the top

 

:rofl:

[Pennywise]

What if an animal doesn't like the taste of its prey? Like, what if a shark hates fish? Or a lion hates the taste of zebra?

[Ortarkod]

Why is Dalmeny train station so named when it's actually in the much-bigger South Queensferry?

[Kmeister]

Why is Dalmeny train station so named when it's actually in the much-bigger South Queensferry?

I would imagine that when the station first opened there was a gap between SQ and Dalmeny which over the years has been built on.

[Cade]

The original station was further into South Queensferry. The station was moved when the Forth Bridge opened and as it was now a wee bit outside of the town at that time it was re-named Dalmeny.

[jambo89]

What if an animal doesn't like the taste of its prey? Like, what if a shark hates fish? Or a lion hates the taste of zebra?

Simple answer is they don't. The reason is evolution. many animals have evolved to look like other animals because thier main predator does not like the taste of the animal they have replicated. Therefore the animal does not eat them the and they survive.

[Pennywise]

Simple answer is they don't. The reason is evolution. many animals have evolved to look like other animals because thier main predator does not like the taste of the animal they have replicated. Therefore the animal does not eat them the and they survive.

Is that real? Example?

[Norm]

A Hornet moth is a mimic of a YellowJacket wasp. It resembles it, but it can't sting, though it gets avoided because of it's appearance.

 

A milk snake can mimic a venomous Coral snake too for example, As such, over the evolutionary period it passes onto said predator that that thing either doesn't taste nice, or it'll harm it badly if it tries to eat it.

 

It's called Aposematism.

Arent they mimicking being dangerous as opposed to tasting like shit though?

[Ortarkod]

That guy who nailed his bawsack to Red Square.

 

Did he avoid his baws on the way through or did he nail through one/both of them too?

[Pino Grigio]

How do they make flavoured crisps? Like, is each individual crisp smothered in the flavour then bagged or are they infused as mere potatoes before frying?

 

 

The mind boggles.

[superjack]

How do they make flavoured crisps? Like, is each individual crisp smothered in the flavour then bagged or are they infused as mere potatoes before frying?

 

 

The mind boggles.

No matter how they are made, they contribute to the perfect piece

[dobmisterdobster]

How do they make flavoured crisps? Like, is each individual crisp smothered in the flavour then bagged or are they infused as mere potatoes before frying?

 

 

The mind boggles.

 

The crisps a spun in a drum after flavour is added.

I learned this from Playbus or whatever that CBBC show was called.

[Cade]

Crisps are fried plain then tipped into a giant tumble drier where the flavourings are added.