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

[gjcc]

10 minutes ago, 3fingersreid said:

What are the plastic , usually yellow, things on the wheel nuts of buses and artic lorries for ? 

 

 

The arrow things? I imagine (but don't know) they're for checking if any of the wheel nuts have loosened?

[3fingersreid]

15 minutes ago, gjcc said:

The arrow things? I imagine (but don't know) they're for checking if any of the wheel nuts have loosened?

That’s the fellas , so does it work by having two points meeting and if there off it indicates a loosening of the nut ? 

[gjcc]

4 minutes ago, 3fingersreid said:

That’s the fellas , so does it work by having two points meeting and if there off it indicates a loosening of the nut ? 

 

Thats how I imagine it. Drivers have to do a vehicle inspection before leaving the garage. Probably just to save time with a visual check rather than getting the tools out. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

On a slight tangent: if drivers have to inspect the bus before taking it out the garage, why don't the drivers have to do the same at each change of drivers?

[Busby8]

What did the first ever guy who milked a cow actually think he was doing ?

 

What would happen if you don't milk a cow,..... would it eventually explode ?

 

 

[scott herbertson]

2 hours ago, Busby8 said:

What did the first ever guy who milked a cow actually think he was doing ?

 

What would happen if you don't milk a cow,..... would it eventually explode ?

 

I think this should be on an udder thread

[iantjambo]

1 hour ago, scott herbertson said:

I think this should be on an udder thread

 

 

In shows like ‘Can’t pay? We’ll take it away’ do the people that the agents visit get paid for appearing on the show?

[milky_26]

4 hours ago, iantjambo said:

 

 

In shows like ‘Can’t pay? We’ll take it away’ do the people that the agents visit get paid for appearing on the show?

i dont think so, and channel 5 had to pay compensation to a couple who appeared on the show

 

http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/news/a850715/channel-5-cant-pay-well-take-it-away-eviction-couple-20000-damages/

[peter_hmfc]

On 16/03/2018 at 06:05, iantjambo said:

 

In shows like ‘Can’t pay? We’ll take it away’ do the people that the agents visit get paid for appearing on the show?

 

 

"Cheques just cleared from Channel 5 so you can all **** off until next month."

[peter_hmfc]

In trying to reduce knife crime and given that "mums kitchen knife" is so prevalent in a lot of these cases, wouldn't it be a good idea to make it the law that knives must have a blunt tip? What is the sharp pointy tip even for? Who stabs their food?

[gjcc]

16 minutes ago, peter_hmfc said:

In trying to reduce knife crime and given that "mums kitchen knife" is so prevalent in a lot of these cases, wouldn't it be a good idea to make it the law that knives must have a blunt tip? What is the sharp pointy tip even for? Who stabs their food?

 

Or just stop selling knives to mums?

[peter_hmfc]

1 minute ago, gjcc said:

 

Or just stop selling knives to mums?

 

****ing Sharon and her book club massacres.

[The Internet]

Why do the signs pointing West on the Calder road (and possibly other places in Edinburgh, dunno) have Kilmarnock on them? Its miles away. 

[redjambo]

1 hour ago, Mauricio Pinilla said:

Why do the signs pointing West on the Calder road (and possibly other places in Edinburgh, dunno) have Kilmarnock on them? Its miles away. 

 

So that whenever Kilmarnock are through at Tynecastle, we can get rid of their fans as soon as possible. We don't want them getting lost on their way home.

[The Internet]

1 hour ago, redjambo said:

 

So that whenever Kilmarnock are through at Tynecastle, we can get rid of their fans as soon as possible. We don't want them getting lost on their way home.

 

Never thought of that. Might pitch the idea of sticking 'Govan' underneath it.

[superjack]

11 minutes ago, Mauricio Pinilla said:

 

Never thought of that. Might pitch the idea of sticking 'Govan' underneath it.

Point that 1 over a cliff please.

[iantjambo]

Do people in India or China phone for a nice “British” on a Friday or Saturday night?

[Maple Leaf]

On 07/03/2018 at 04:06, Paolo said:

Is it true that UK made carousels go clockwise, but American ones anti-clockwise.   Someone once told me this.  

 

Nope.

[gjcc]

1 hour ago, iantjambo said:

Do people in India or China phone for a nice “British” on a Friday or Saturday night?

 

Aye, a nice British bulldog. Yum yum. 

[redjambo]

2 hours ago, Maple Leaf said:

 

Nope.

 

From https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carousel:

 

Most of the carousels in "Europe" and America turn the "opposite" direction of a "clock" or "counterclockwise". In "Great Britain", carousels turn the same direction as a clock or "clockwise".

[Maple Leaf]

43 minutes ago, redjambo said:

 

From https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carousel:

 

Most of the carousels in "Europe" and America turn the "opposite" direction of a "clock" or "counterclockwise". In "Great Britain", carousels turn the same direction as a clock or "clockwise".

 

I've no experience on British roundabouts or carousels, but I can say with certainty that Canadian ones go clockwise.  I've been on them lots of times with my kids and grandkids.

 

Having said that, this American video says things might be different in the USA.

 

 

[redjambo]

1 hour ago, Maple Leaf said:

 

I've no experience on British roundabouts or carousels, but I can say with certainty that Canadian ones go clockwise.  I've been on them lots of times with my kids and grandkids.

 

Having said that, this American video says things might be different in the USA.

 

 

You must have inherited that from we Brits then. Long live clockwise carousels, I say! The mere thought of a carousel going widdershins sends shivers through me.

[John Gentleman]

On 06/03/2018 at 20:31, Justin Z said:

 

 

Joke obviously. But you'll normally find, as long as your USB ports are right-side up, that if you have the USB symbol on the plug facing upwards, it'll work.

 

Speaking of which......

The bloke who invented the USB plug died a couple of months back. At his funeral his coffin was lowered halfway into the grave, raised back out, turned around and lowered back in again.

(Shamelessly nicked from the Crap Jokes thread).

[John Gentleman]

On 24/03/2018 at 03:27, Mauricio Pinilla said:

Why do the signs pointing West on the Calder road (and possibly other places in Edinburgh, dunno) have Kilmarnock on them? Its miles away. 

I've wondered that myself. It's the A71 isn't it? Maybe it was just the old 'silk road' before the M8/M77 were built? In much the same way as the old A9 used to be the main Edinburgh>Stirling artery before the M9.

I'm hard-pushed to think why anyone would use the A71 to drive between Edinburgh and Kilmarnock though, other than for 'scenic' reasons.

[John Gentleman]

On 09/03/2018 at 16:47, Justin Z said:

 

I've never seen a UK carousel in action, but unless I'm having a false memory, it does seem like some American carousels go anti-clockwise. However it seems like I've seen others go clockwise, so I'm not sure if that would have to do with place of manufacture or just the manufacturer itself.

 

I wanted to be sure I wasn't remembering wrongly, so I did a little googling, and apparently the idea that it's mixed in the States has some traction. This guy even looked at old patents and found a mixture of directions. And apparently anti-clockwise is common in Deutschland too--why? Because they drive on the right side of the road and go around roundabouts that way.

But the yanks don't use roundabouts (nor electric kettles), so they've nae excuses!

[John Gentleman]

On 06/03/2018 at 20:08, Tazio said:

Are there still bus inspectors?

Why are they called 'bus inspectors' when all they do is check tickets? Surely they should be called 'ticket inspectors'?

Or.....or......or......"Payment Compliance Officers".

[Joey J J Jr Shabadoo]

5 hours ago, John Gentleman said:

But the yanks don't use roundabouts (nor electric kettles), so they've nae excuses!

Strange, I've used both, many times, all over the States. 

[John Gentleman]

2 hours ago, Joey J J Jr Shabadoo said:

Strange, I've used both, many times, all over the States. 

Here's an American who's also surprised.......

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/why-americans-dont-use-electric-kettles-stove-top-2015-12

With a domestic feed of 110–120V AC (220–230V for UK, Europe etc) they'd have to be pretty patient! ! I've frequently seen visiting US air force personnel using our microwaves at work to boil water (completely missing the boiling water faucet fitted to the nearby sink).

Then, when you take them for a drive, they're doubly baffled by our "traffic circles" (roundabouts) and, of course, driving on the 'wrong' side of the road.

Maybe it's just a US Air Force thingy?

[Tazio]

31 minutes ago, John Gentleman said:

Here's an American who's also surprised.......

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/why-americans-dont-use-electric-kettles-stove-top-2015-12

With a domestic feed of 110–120V AC (220–230V for UK, Europe etc) they'd have to be pretty patient! ! I've frequently seen visiting US air force personnel using our microwaves at work to boil water (completely missing the boiling water faucet fitted to the nearby sink).

Then, when you take them for a drive, they're doubly baffled by our "traffic circles" (roundabouts) and, of course, driving on the 'wrong' side of the road.

Maybe it's just a US Air Force thingy?

 

Roundabouts are a thing in some states but not all of them. I remember a friend from Queensland telling me about when they introduced them and the confusion that followed it. And in terms of kettles they work fine as they have 110v elements in them, so boil in the same time as ours. 

[Justin Z]

I definitely wouldn't say they're widely adopted or anything though, whereas I can't think of a house in the whole of the UK without one.

[Joey J J Jr Shabadoo]

17 hours ago, John Gentleman said:

Here's an American who's also surprised.......

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/why-americans-dont-use-electric-kettles-stove-top-2015-12

With a domestic feed of 110–120V AC (220–230V for UK, Europe etc) they'd have to be pretty patient! ! I've frequently seen visiting US air force personnel using our microwaves at work to boil water (completely missing the boiling water faucet fitted to the nearby sink).

Then, when you take them for a drive, they're doubly baffled by our "traffic circles" (roundabouts) and, of course, driving on the 'wrong' side of the road.

Maybe it's just a US Air Force thingy?

They've got a massive roundabout on St Charles Avenue in New Orleans. Although my relatives generally use some kind of water butt, boiling water comes out of one tap, ice cold the other. 

[3fingersreid]

Last couple of days I've seen two cyclists on mountain bikes with tyres that look like they'd be better on a motorbike. They must be at least twice the thickness of normal bike tyres , are they for excessive rough terrain or what ?

[North Berwick Jambo]

24 minutes ago, 3fingersreid said:

Last couple of days I've seen two cyclists on mountain bikes with tyres that look like they'd be better on a motorbike. They must be at least twice the thickness of normal bike tyres , are they for excessive rough terrain or what ?

 

I always thought that the fat ones were for riding on sand or fine grit etc, I could be wrong.

[Tazio]

3 hours ago, 3fingersreid said:

Last couple of days I've seen two cyclists on mountain bikes with tyres that look like they'd be better on a motorbike. They must be at least twice the thickness of normal bike tyres , are they for excessive rough terrain or what ?

 

Probably Fat Bikes. Good fun on sand and snow, pretty useless for most other things. 

 

[3fingersreid]

27 minutes ago, Tazio said:

 

Probably Fat Bikes. Good fun on sand and snow, pretty useless for most other things. 

 

That’s the ones , looks like hard bloody work if you ask me 

[Alex]

On 5 April 2018 at 20:11, Tazio said:

 

Probably Fat Bikes. Good fun on sand and snow, pretty useless for most other things. 

 

 

 

What is the difference in cycling them that makes them more fun?

[Tazio]

4 hours ago, Alex said:

 

What is the difference in cycling them that makes them more fun?

 

The tyres can run at really low pressures so you can ride on soft surfaces without sinking in. 

[Alex]

1 hour ago, Tazio said:

 

The tyres can run at really low pressures so you can ride on soft surfaces without sinking in. 

 

Ah, right, cheers.

[Maple Leaf]

Why do right-handed shovellers throw dirt to the left, and left-handed shovellers throw dirt to the right?

[tian447]

5 hours ago, Maple Leaf said:

Why do right-handed shovellers throw dirt to the left, and left-handed shovellers throw dirt to the right?

 

Probably because the body is naturally slightly twisted in that direction in the first place, and there is little chance of flicking stuff into your own face.  Next time you're shovelling, try throwing it over the other shoulder and see how much more work it would be. 

[tian447]

See when lorries have 6 wheels, but 2 of them are raised up off the ground so it's rolling on just the 4 of them. 

 

What's that all about? 

[graygo]

4 minutes ago, tian447 said:

See when lorries have 6 wheels, but 2 of them are raised up off the ground so it's rolling on just the 4 of them. 

 

What's that all about? 

 

They can do this when they don't have a load, saves tyre wear and they are not needed.

[tian447]

11 minutes ago, graygo said:

 

They can do this when they don't have a load, saves tyre wear and they are not needed.

 

Wouldn't tyre wear be reduced more by spreading the load over more of them? Even if they are in contact with the road? 

[superjack]

21 minutes ago, tian447 said:

See when lorries have 6 wheels, but 2 of them are raised up off the ground so it's rolling on just the 4 of them. 

 

What's that all about? 

Also saves fuel.

[tian447]

10 minutes ago, superjack said:

Also saves fuel.

 

That's what I assumed - less rolling resistance. 

[graygo]

44 minutes ago, tian447 said:

 

Wouldn't tyre wear be reduced more by spreading the load over more of them? Even if they are in contact with the road? 

 

You're not factoring in the weight of these wheels/tyres and the friction they cause.

[peter_hmfc]

Why are almost all bailiffs, bouncers and the like bald?

 

Also why are all bouncers essentially arsehole thugs in uniform?

[robroy1874]

Why do people at football matches frequently enter the row of their seats from the wrong side so they disrupt more people than they would do if they enter at the side nearest their seats?

[jambo89]

When I was younger I was always asked to get a ‘black man’ from the ice cream van for either or one of my parents. 

 

Political correctness aside, what are they called nowadays?! Seem to remember it being 2 chocolate bars with ice cream in the middle. Have had a craving for one recently. 

[Pans Jambo]

3 minutes ago, jambo89 said:

When I was younger I was always asked to get a ‘black man’ from the ice cream van for either or one of my parents. 

 

Political correctness aside, what are they called nowadays?! Seem to remember it being 2 chocolate bars with ice cream in the middle. Have had a craving for one recently. 

Sounds like a chocolate slider. 

[peter_hmfc]

4 minutes ago, jambo89 said:

When I was younger I was always asked to get a ‘black man’ from the ice cream van for either or one of my parents. 

 

Political correctness aside, what are they called nowadays?! Seem to remember it being 2 chocolate bars with ice cream in the middle. Have had a craving for one recently. 

 

The thought of the PC brigade catching wind of that .