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

[Morgan]

5 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. 

A ‘black man’ is now a ‘choc slider’  

 

FFS, ridiculous to have to change the name of something as harmless as an ice cream.

[jambo89]

Chocolate slider! Cheers guys! 

[Morgan]

5 minutes ago, jambo89 said:

Chocolate slider! Cheers guys! 

[G.Wright]

Used to get a black man for my grandad and an oyster for me from Tony the icey in Drum Brae. 

[Maple Leaf]

Why do light switches in the UK go down for on, and up for off?   

 

It's the opposite way around in North America.

[3fingersreid]

Is the woollen bobble on a hat there for a specific reason or just to make the hat look good ( or not in some cases) 

[A Boy Named Crow]

9 hours ago, Maple Leaf said:

Why do light switches in the UK go down for on, and up for off?   

 

It's the opposite way around in North America.

 

I don’t know why there’s the difference, but an engineering mate of mine (who’s worked with both) much prefers down for off - less likely to get electrocuted by somebody standing on a switch by accident!

[shaun.lawson]

12 hours ago, Maple Leaf said:

Why do light switches in the UK go down for on, and up for off?   

 

It's the opposite way around in North America.

 

It's left = off, right = on in modern buildings here btw. 

[iantjambo]

I thought about this after looking through the ‘Today I learned’ thread.

Someone mentioned the countries that Britain declared war on during WW2. Obviously, Japan was one of them but did the UK and Japan ever have a major battle against one another?

[Morgan]

19 hours ago, Maple Leaf said:

Why do light switches in the UK go down for on, and up for off?   

 

It's the opposite way around in North America.

Up for off here too.

[3fingersreid]

54 minutes ago, iantjambo said:

I thought about this after looking through the ‘Today I learned’ thread.

Someone mentioned the countries that Britain declared war on during WW2. Obviously, Japan was one of them but did the UK and Japan ever have a major battle against one another?

Burma ,

my uncle was a Chindit during it , never really talked about it but certainly didn’t think much of the Japanese . 

[iantjambo]

13 minutes ago, 3fingersreid said:

Burma ,

my uncle was a Chindit during it , never really talked about it but certainly didn’t think much of the Japanese . 

 

Of course

 

[Maple Leaf]

1 hour ago, iantjambo said:

I thought about this after looking through the ‘Today I learned’ thread.

Someone mentioned the countries that Britain declared war on during WW2. Obviously, Japan was one of them but did the UK and Japan ever have a major battle against one another?

 

In WW1 Japan and the UK were allies.

 

In WW2 they were adversaries, of course, but most of the fighting against Japan was done by the USA.  On land, the UK and Japan faced each other in Hong Kong and Singapore, very early in the war.  Japan won both of those engagements.  The only sea engagement I can think of was when the Royal Navy sent two warships to SE Asia.  They were HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse.  They were sunk by Japanese land-based aircraft.

[3fingersreid]

26 minutes ago, Maple Leaf said:

 

In WW1 Japan and the UK were allies.

 

In WW2 they were adversaries, of course, but most of the fighting against Japan was done by the USA.  On land, the UK and Japan faced each other in Hong Kong and Singapore, very early in the war.  Japan won both of those engagements.  The only sea engagement I can think of was when the Royal Navy sent two warships to SE Asia.  They were HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse.  They were sunk by Japanese land-based aircraft.

I’m sure the fourteenth army ( forgotten army ) would have something to say 

[Maple Leaf]

30 minutes ago, 3fingersreid said:

I’m sure the fourteenth army ( forgotten army ) would have something to say 

The reason it's referred to as "The Forgotten Army" is that very little attention was paid to its operations in Burma in the last approx 18 months of the war.

 

Rightly or wrongly, Burma was considered by many to be a peripheral theatre of war.

[3fingersreid]

1 minute ago, Maple Leaf said:

The reason it's referred to as "The Forgotten Army" is that very little attention was paid to its operations in Burma in the last approx 18 months of the war.

 

Rightly or wrongly, Burma was considered by many to be a peripheral theatre of war.

Wrongly 

[Maple Leaf]

3 minutes ago, 3fingersreid said:

Wrongly 

[luckyBatistuta]

On 05/04/2018 at 16:50, Ibiza Jambo said:

 

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

[3fingersreid]

watching MOTD , Liverpool match is on , now it might be the camera angle but like Saint James Park does Anfield have a slope ?

[tian447]

Has anyone actually ever had any money back from the Bank of Scotland, "It's on us" deal, where they claim:
 

"Every month, we’re treating hundreds of our customers to a lovely surprise.  It's nice to feel appreciated. That's why we offer our customers the chance of an unexpected thank you. Every month, we pay back hundreds of our customers for something they've bought on their Bank of Scotland branded debit or credit card, up to £500. Its our way of saying thank you. This offer must be activated, terms and exclusions apply."

 

I have never, ever, had anything back from them with this offer, not even a token £5 amount.

[Sawdust Caesar]

On ‎11‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 01:23, 3fingersreid said:

Is the woollen bobble on a hat there for a specific reason or just to make the hat look good ( or not in some cases) 

I think it's to make it easier to pull off your head, especially if wearing gloves.

[Morgan]

2 hours ago, Sawdust Caesar said:

I think it's to make it easier to pull off your head, especially if wearing gloves.

[Doogz]

On ‎11‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 01:23, 3fingersreid said:

Is the woollen bobble on a hat there for a specific reason or just to make the hat look good ( or not in some cases) 

 

Originally there for protection:

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/bobble-bobble-hat-every-day-13587580

[hughesie27]

Do the letters on eye test charts matter or can it just be random. 

[Les Izemore]

 If you had a private driveway at the front of your house and some stranger parked on it, uninvited, what legal recourse do you have? It’s obviously your private property but would the cops even be interested or is it purely a civil matter?

Edited April 19, 2018 by Les Izemore

[Mr Sifter]

Why did The Stone Roses, a Manchester band, bring out a song called Mersey Paradise, with the line 'river cools where I belong'?

 

Given none of the band are from Liverpool, and the perceived rivalry between the two cities...what's the story behind the song?

[Doogz]

6 minutes ago, Mr Sifter said:

Why did The Stone Roses, a Manchester band, bring out a song called Mersey Paradise, with the line 'river cools where I belong'?

 

Given none of the band are from Liverpool, and the perceived rivalry between the two cities...what's the story behind the song?

 

The Mersey flows through Manchester too

[Mr Sifter]

1 minute ago, Doogz said:

 

The Mersey flows through Manchester too

Ahhh didn't actually know that. That'll be it then!!

 

I always just associated 'Mersey' and Merseyside with Liverpool. My bad??

[tian447]

On 19/04/2018 at 11:52, Les Izemore said:

 If you had a private driveway at the front of your house and some stranger parked on it, uninvited, what legal recourse do you have? It’s obviously your private property but would the cops even be interested or is it purely a civil matter?

 

Surprisingly very little.  The Police won't touch it, the Council won't touch it and the DVLA are unlikely to tell you who the registered owner is. 

 

If it's leaking petrol, it could be an emergency situation, and then you could phone the Police. Would be a real shame if that happened though

 

[3fingersreid]

On 19/04/2018 at 11:52, Les Izemore said:

 If you had a private driveway at the front of your house and some stranger parked on it, uninvited, what legal recourse do you have? It’s obviously your private property but would the cops even be interested or is it purely a civil matter?

tiann447 is partly correct , what you do is get an object ideally a plank of wood with nails so it can’t be driven over , put it next to the car and screw it to the ground , the car owner has no rights to move the blockage AND you can charge them to remove it , this was a subject that came up on some obscure radio channel I was listening to the other week . 

[3fingersreid]

Other day I watched as a council worker was pulling the leaves and crap from the bottom of the railings on Stevenson drive at Saughton Park , then along comes his mate with one of these blower machines and proceeded to blast it all over the pavement and road , why , why , why ,didn’t they either sweep it up or if possible switch the machine to vacuum ??????

[Norm]

30 minutes ago, 3fingersreid said:

tiann447 is partly correct , what you do is get an object ideally a plank of wood with nails so it can’t be driven over , put it next to the car and screw it to the ground , the car owner has no rights to move the blockage AND you can charge them to remove it , this was a subject that came up on some obscure radio channel I was listening to the other week . 

Would having planks of wood with nails coming out not leave you liable to be sued if someone injures themselves on them? 

Edited April 23, 2018 by Normthebarman

[3fingersreid]

15 minutes ago, Normthebarman said:

Would having planks of wood with nails coming out not leave you liable to be sued if someone injures themselves on them? 

Perhaps a warning sign or something blocking the plank to the general public to stop it happening ? 

Or just stay  off private property ?

[Norm]

1 hour ago, 3fingersreid said:

Perhaps a warning sign or something blocking the plank to the general public to stop it happening ? 

Or just stay  off private property ?

It was more the postie or window cleaner I was thinking of. If they were to hurt themselves, I'd think they would have a claim. You'd need to make sure warning signs etc were clear as day to keep yourself safe. 

[Thommo414]

Every time I take a white tshirt off, I shed hair on the back like nobody's business. Any other colours, nothing. Why?

[Sydney]

13 hours ago, 3fingersreid said:

Other day I watched as a council worker was pulling the leaves and crap from the bottom of the railings on Stevenson drive at Saughton Park , then along comes his mate with one of these blower machines and proceeded to blast it all over the pavement and road , why , why , why ,didn’t they either sweep it up or if possible switch the machine to vacuum ??????

 

Wouldnt the vacuum machine  come along a couple of mins later?  I think that is how they do it in my area.

[FWJ]

19 hours ago, Mr Sifter said:

Ahhh didn't actually know that. That'll be it then!!

 

I always just associated 'Mersey' and Merseyside with Liverpool. My bad??

Had that in a pub quiz once - which league football ground was nearest the Mersey?,   answer: Edgeley Park (Stockport County were in the league then)

[FWJ]

8 hours ago, Thommo414 said:

Every time I take a white tshirt off, I shed hair on the back like nobody's business. Any other colours, nothing. Why?

They show up more against white?

[Joey J J Jr Shabadoo]

43 minutes ago, FWJ said:

They show up more against white?

When I take off a white shirt I don't shed hair. 

[Unknown user]

20 hours ago, Mr Sifter said:

Why did The Stone Roses, a Manchester band, bring out a song called Mersey Paradise, with the line 'river cools where I belong'?

 

Given none of the band are from Liverpool, and the perceived rivalry between the two cities...what's the story behind the song?

 

20 hours ago, Doogz said:

 

The Mersey flows through Manchester too

 

Historically it formed part of the border between Lancashire and Cheshire, but border changes mean a fairly small stretch goes through the extreme south of Manchester before joining the irwell at the Manchester ship canal and later becoming the Mersey again.

 

1 hour ago, FWJ said:

Had that in a pub quiz once - which league football ground was nearest the Mersey?,   answer: Edgeley Park (Stockport County were in the league then)

 

I suspect it must be close between Tranmere Rovers and Stockport County, I can't help wondering if they got that right

[3fingersreid]

4 hours ago, Sydney said:

 

Wouldnt the vacuum machine  come along a couple of mins later?  I think that is how they do it in my area.

Nope , rake and blow just rake and blow 

[Thommo414]

6 hours ago, FWJ said:

They show up more against white?

See thats the obvious solution. So I got one of those roller things and tried it on different coloured shirts and there was nothing there

[gjcc]

5 minutes ago, Thommo414 said:

See thats the obvious solution. So I got one of those roller things and tried it on different coloured shirts and there was nothing there

 

No other explanation for it... 

 

 

Your hair is racist. 

[Thommo414]

1 hour ago, gjcc said:

 

No other explanation for it... 

 

 

Your hair is racist. 

 

 

Although I can't help but feel there's a certain irony to using this image...

[FWJ]

Family Guy and American Dad are usually always on together, one after the other, but Family Guy is always on first.  Why is that?

[peter_hmfc]

1 hour ago, FWJ said:

Family Guy and American Dad are usually always on together, one after the other, but Family Guy is always on first.  Why is that?

 

Because American Dad is the shittier of the two.

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

I sometimes watch those American Pawn Stars programmes( that is PAWN in case of confusion) when there is feck all other things worth watching. One comes from Detroit and the other I think Las Vegas and I often wonder if some of the mock fights with so called customers are in fact actors acting and we are being conned?

I don't suppose there is an answer to that!

[peter_hmfc]

5 minutes ago, All roads lead to Gorgie said:

I sometimes watch those American Pawn Stars programmes( that is PAWN in case of confusion) when there is feck all other things worth watching. One comes from Detroit and the other I think Las Vegas and I often wonder if some of the mock fights with so called customers are in fact actors acting and we are being conned?

I don't suppose there is an answer to that!

 

Of course they're not real , anything to improve ratings is acceptable.

 

"Reality" TV is anything but reality. Even Bear Grylls admitted to staying in hotels between filming survival shows.

 

Another.

 

 

[milky_26]

13 minutes ago, All roads lead to Gorgie said:

I sometimes watch those American Pawn Stars programmes( that is PAWN in case of confusion) when there is feck all other things worth watching. One comes from Detroit and the other I think Las Vegas and I often wonder if some of the mock fights with so called customers are in fact actors acting and we are being conned?

I don't suppose there is an answer to that!

the one with les gold and his two idiot children is partly staged, as IIRC i read somewhere that his kids only work there when they film the show o get the money

[Konrad von Carstein]

Why are people (including me on occasion) willing to pay the exorbitant prices for food and drink in Edinburgh's city center...or more accurately why are these  establishments allowed to blatantly profiteer by completely ripping people off.

 

Maybe one for the seethe thread...