Things you always wanted to know the answer to [Vol. 5]

[Zumbruk]

Upinflames said:

Why does stuff on tiktok go anticlockwise to tighten and vice versa? Internet doesn't seem to know.

Recorded on phone cameras which swap L-R.

[Gladers01]

popeyewhite said:

shirt said:

Doofus said:

Why, on a motorcycle, is neutral between first and second rather than above first?

surely you mean 'sometimes' between 1st & 2nd. on my ducati i'm sure it moves about the box

The Yamaha FS1-E (five speed with 1 eliminated) had a left foot operated gear shift with neutral at the top and it was press down for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th, the only problem was that it was easy to cog up too many gears when aiming for 1st and ending up in neutral when you needed traction and balance in slow speed traffic. The conventional 5 or 6 speed motorbike gearbox is down for 1st and up through neutral to 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th and if you accidentally cogged down too many gears you ended up in 1st which is more preferable to landing in neutral and not having any traction to get in or out of trouble

[GIYess]

Why do tabloids produce these lists of cars most likely to fail mot. The analysis is all wrong.
A VW T-roc is pitched against a 2000s 307!
It ends up being a definitive list of the most popular older cars still on the road.

There are so many factors that just make it a lot of rubbish.

[Fermit]

Halmyre said:

chemistry said:

How do steel pans (steel drums) work?

I don’t understand how hitting different parts of the same thing produces a different god-awful tuneless racket.

FTFY

Reminded me of the gaffe by Prince Philip.

If you're near there, no wonder you are deaf. Said to a group of deaf children standing next to a Jamaican steel drum band

[glazbagun]

GIYess said:

Why do tabloids produce these lists of cars most likely to fail mot. The analysis is all wrong.
A VW T-roc is pitched against a 2000s 307!
It ends up being a definitive list of the most popular older cars still on the road.

There are so many factors that just make it a lot of rubbish.

Because tabloids are total trash. The precursor to junk food and twitter.

[popeyewhite]

Fermit said:

Halmyre said:

chemistry said:

How do steel pans (steel drums) work?

I don’t understand how hitting different parts of the same thing produces a different god-awful tuneless racket.

FTFY

Reminded me of the gaffe by Prince Philip.

If you're near there, no wonder you are deaf. Said to a group of deaf children standing next to a Jamaican steel drum band

Deaf and lucky.

[Doofus]

How did somebody first discover that measuring OG would tell them alcohol content and how did they discover how to do it?

[hairy v]

Doofus said:

How did somebody first discover that measuring OG would tell them alcohol content and how did they discover how to do it?

Bartholomew Sikes (died 1803) was an officer in the employ of HM Excise who in the late 18th century perfected a device by which the alcoholic content of a liquid can be measured. The success of the device caused his name to be immortalised in an Act of Parliament: Sikes' Hydrometer Act 1816, 56 Geo. III c. 140. From 1816 until 1980 the hydrometer was the standard used in the UK to measure the alcohol proof of spirits

[SpeckledJim]

Having watched The Gold this week on the BBC, John Palmer was smelting down the stolen Brinks Mat gold, which was basically pure.

He was mixing in the odd coin and some low quality gold jewellery, etc, to change the makeup of the 'new' gold and disguise its origins.

How is the quality / composition of gold gauged or ascertained? If I wander into a gold trader with a lump of gold, how will he be able to tell what I'm offering him?

[Trustmeimadoctor]

Touchstone method
https://www.gia.edu/bench-tip-use-the-touchstone-m...

[gazzarose]

Who is still spending money to call 118 numbers. I heard the ad on the radio for Maureen 118212 a few times today, and it was something like 2.5 to make the call plus 75p a minute. That's a not insignificant amount to get the number of the local Chinese!

[SpeckledJim]

Trustmeimadoctor said:

Touchstone method
https://www.gia.edu/bench-tip-use-the-touchstone-m...

Thank you!

[Nimby]

SpeckledJim said:

Having watched The Gold this week on the BBC, John Palmer was smelting down the stolen Brinks Mat gold, which was basically pure.

He was mixing in the odd coin and some low quality gold jewellery, etc, to change the makeup of the 'new' gold and disguise its origins.

How is the quality / composition of gold gauged or ascertained? If I wander into a gold trader with a lump of gold, how will he be able to tell what I'm offering him?

X-ray fluorescence these days - see gold assay machine.

[StevieBee]

gazzarose said:

Who is still spending money to call 118 numbers. I heard the ad on the radio for Maureen 118212 a few times today, and it was something like 2.5 to make the call plus 75p a minute. That's a not insignificant amount to get the number of the local Chinese!

OH and me were discussing this same thing recently and how daft things like this are these days. We then recalled there used to be a thing called Dial-A-Disc whereby you could nip into a phone box, dial and listen to a pop song of BT's choosing, all for 10p!

[Doofus]

hairy v said:

Doofus said:

How did somebody first discover that measuring OG would tell them alcohol content and how did they discover how to do it?

Bartholomew Sikes (died 1803) was an officer in the employ of HM Excise who in the late 18th century perfected a device by which the alcoholic content of a liquid can be measured. The success of the device caused his name to be immortalised in an Act of Parliament: Sikes' Hydrometer Act 1816, 56 Geo. III c. 140. From 1816 until 1980 the hydrometer was the standard used in the UK to measure the alcohol proof of spirits

Sorry, I missed your reply. Thanks.

[bigpriest]

StevieBee said:

gazzarose said:

Who is still spending money to call 118 numbers. I heard the ad on the radio for Maureen 118212 a few times today, and it was something like 2.5 to make the call plus 75p a minute. That's a not insignificant amount to get the number of the local Chinese!

OH and me were discussing this same thing recently and how daft things like this are these days. We then recalled there used to be a thing called Dial-A-Disc whereby you could nip into a phone box, dial and listen to a pop song of BT's choosing, all for 10p!

Listening to the local radio station via a phone call was a thing to.

[omniflow]

Straw / Hay - the stuff in bales. How much does it cost and what's the profit margin in it?

What would be the total cost / profit on a full load on an articulated lorry? I presume there must be enough money in it to make it worthwhile transporting it using a lorry on the Motorway.

[48k]

omniflow said:

Straw / Hay - the stuff in bales. How much does it cost and what's the profit margin in it?

What would be the total cost / profit on a full load on an articulated lorry? I presume there must be enough money in it to make it worthwhile transporting it using a lorry on the Motorway.

Straw and hay are two different things. Straw is used for bedding. Hay is food. Currently in our area (Milton Keynes) hay is about 4.50-5.00 per bale, straw is around £3. Depending on supplier, bale size and if its last years or the year befores. There is also haylage which is like fermented grass in bales. Prices for that are all over the place.

[Penny Whistle]

48k said:

omniflow said:

Straw / Hay - the stuff in bales. How much does it cost and what's the profit margin in it?

What would be the total cost / profit on a full load on an articulated lorry? I presume there must be enough money in it to make it worthwhile transporting it using a lorry on the Motorway.

Straw and hay are two different things. Straw is used for bedding. Hay is food. Currently in our area (Milton Keynes) hay is about 4.50-5.00 per bale, straw is around £3. Depending on supplier, bale size and if its last years or the year befores. There is also haylage which is like fermented grass in bales. Prices for that are all over the place.

Those prices will be for small bales, each one manageable by a single person. Bigger bales need machinery for handling. There is also silage, which is grass which is baled and wrapped immediately after cutting. Silage tends to be used only for cattle feed whereas haylage (which is also wrapped but usually the day after cutting and baling) tends to be used more for horses.

[Doofus]

Why does hot water encourage soap suds and cold water inhibit them?