Astonishing Facts....

[captain_cynic]

julian64 said:

LarryUSA said:

I can verify this - very few to chose from and the 110v electricity means it takes twice as long to boil! Always make sure the absolute minimum water needed is used.

I believe this is the daftest thing written on the internet today.

Yep.

Most electric kettles use 2-3 KW elements. In countries with 110v mains they draw twice as much amperage, up to about 20a, hence the old American TV meme about "I forgot about the coffee pot shorting everything out". In 240v countries, they usually draw 10a or less (which is why we don't blow fuses by putting the kettle on... that and we know how to build a working electrical circuit).

Some Americans refer to a kettle as a "hot pot" but electric kettles are definitely not uncommon. Almost every American hotel I've stayed in has one and for most of the motels I've stayed at, I'd have been the only foreigner int he building.

Edited by captain_cynic on Friday 12th January 14:27

[roboxm3]

For the golfers amongst us, most of these \/\/\/ facts will be utterly mind blowing...

http://www.golfchannel.com/article/golf-central-bl...

E.G.

22. From 2002-05, Woods had 1,540 putts from 3 feet and in on the PGA Tour. He only missed three of them.

or

32. During the 2000 PGA Tour season, Woods recorded one round higher than 73. It came in the first round of the Masters. He shot 75, on a day when the field averaged 75.59.

[98elise]

FredAstaire said:

98elise said:

I did post (but deleted) saying that power is a product of voltage and current so the voltage alone makes no difference to the boil time.

I then checked the current rating of a 110v mains in the US and it's about 15A so a kettle will be slower than a UK kettle, but not half time. It will be something like 1.7kw vs 2kw (or more) and it's the power rating that matters for heating, not the voltage.

I couldn't be arsed to verify it though so deleted the initial post.

but the current through the appliance will be a product of voltage and resistance of the kettle element. So, if the kettle were exaclty the same barring the plug being changed, it would take longer.

That's not how it works. The kettle would have a suitably rated element for 110v supply. If a US kettle is 1.7kw it will boil just as quickly as a 1.7kw UK kettle.

It's no different to having 50w headlights on a car, and 50w lights in your house. They are consuming the same power with the same output (roughly) but at different Voltages.

The crucial bit is power, not voltage. Voltage just allows you to have a lower current for the same power.

Edited by 98elise on Friday 12th January 14:41

[glenrobbo]

A shark will only attack you when it feels like it.

[h0b0]

98elise said:

julian64 said:

LarryUSA said:

I can verify this - very few to chose from and the 110v electricity means it takes twice as long to boil! Always make sure the absolute minimum water needed is used.

I believe this is the daftest thing written on the internet today.

I did post (but deleted) saying that power is a product of voltage and current so the voltage alone makes no difference to the boil time.

I then checked the current rating of a 110v mains in the US and it's about 15A so a kettle will be slower than a UK kettle, but not half time. It will be something like 1.7kw vs 2kw (or more) and it's the power rating that matters for heating, not the voltage.

I couldn't be arsed to verify it though so deleted the initial post.

I have yet to be accused of witch craft....


It only gets used by a tea drinking American that visits.

Edited by h0b0 on Friday 12th January 14:41

[Europa1]

Pommy said:

The fuel filler flap for the Lamborghini Countach is located almost hidden in the air scoop near to the door opening button on the drivers side

Wacky design features on older Lamborghinis are not astonishing.

[Nimby]

(Probably first saw this on PH)

It's the eastern-most end of the Panama Canal that joins the Pacific Ocean

[h0b0]

[oddball1313]

Polar bear liver has Vitamin A in it so concentrated it is strong enough to kill you if you ate enough of it, even a small amount would have you in hospital

[dudleybloke]

If you hold a monkeys hand in a fire it will try and bite you.

[glenrobbo]

dudleybloke said:

If you hold a monkeys hand in a fire it will try and bite you.

What will try to bite you? The fire or the monkey's hand?

[cv01jw]

A single nuclear warhead on a US Titan II ICBM had a yield three times that of the sum of all bombs dropped during World War 2.

[dudleybloke]

glenrobbo said:

dudleybloke said:

If you hold a monkeys hand in a fire it will try and bite you.

What will try to bite you? The fire or the monkey's hand?

Both.

[Wacky Racer]

Not really "astonishing" but:-

The first artist to have a number one album and single in the USA and UK at the same time was Rod Stewart in 1971.

The first FA cup final when numbers were worn on player's backs was in 1933, when Everton beat Manchester City 3-0.

[ChocolateFrog]

Sycamore said:

-There is more freshwater in Loch Ness than in all rivers and lakes in England/Wales combined.

-The CEO for the largest international relief and development organization, Food For The Poor, is named Robin Mahfood.

-The first man to fly and the first man to walk on the moon were alive at the same time. Armstrong was 17 when Orville Wright died.

-Australia once lost a Prime Minister - Harold Holt. They've not found him.

-France has more timezones than Russia and the USA.

Edit, The one that I found the most mental: The record for the fastest moving manmade object is a manhole cover propelled by nuclear detonation. A bomb was placed at the bottom of a hollow column, 3ft wide by 485 deeom with a four-inch iron cap on the top. A camera trained on the lid caught only one frame of it moving upward, at ~125,000mph. It's thought not all of it would've burnt up on its' way out and, at 5x escape velocity, is well on it's way out of the solar system.

Edited by Sycamore on Friday 12th January 09:11

Happy to be proved wrong but I'm calling no real on the Loch Ness one. All the lakes in the Lake District and major rivers? That's a lot of water, not to mention the 1000's of smaller lakes and ponds.

[ChocolateFrog]

The quietest and coldest places in the universe are likely to be right here on Earth.

[Wacky Racer]

ChocolateFrog said:

Sycamore said:

-There is more freshwater in Loch Ness than in all rivers and lakes in England/Wales combined.

-The CEO for the largest international relief and development organization, Food For The Poor, is named Robin Mahfood.

-The first man to fly and the first man to walk on the moon were alive at the same time. Armstrong was 17 when Orville Wright died.

-Australia once lost a Prime Minister - Harold Holt. They've not found him.

-France has more timezones than Russia and the USA.

Edit, The one that I found the most mental: The record for the fastest moving manmade object is a manhole cover propelled by nuclear detonation. A bomb was placed at the bottom of a hollow column, 3ft wide by 485 deeom with a four-inch iron cap on the top. A camera trained on the lid caught only one frame of it moving upward, at ~125,000mph. It's thought not all of it would've burnt up on its' way out and, at 5x escape velocity, is well on it's way out of the solar system.

Edited by Sycamore on Friday 12th January 09:11

Happy to be proved wrong but I'm calling no real on the Loch Ness one. All the lakes in the Lake District and major rivers? That's a lot of water, not to mention the 1000's of smaller lakes and ponds.

I was going to post the same thing, but it seems it may be true, after a bit of googling.

Not sure I believe it though.

[GAjon]

ChocolateFrog said:

Happy to be proved wrong but I'm calling no real on the Loch Ness one. All the lakes in the Lake District and major rivers? That's a lot of water, not to mention the 1000's of smaller lakes and ponds.

You know there is only one lake in the Lake District.

[Vocal Minority]

ChocolateFrog said:

The quietest and coldest places in the universe are likely to be right here on Earth.

Pluto's pretty bloody cold.....223 degrees below

[Dr Jekyll]

ChocolateFrog said:

Happy to be proved wrong but I'm calling no real on the Loch Ness one. All the lakes in the Lake District and major rivers? That's a lot of water, not to mention the 1000's of smaller lakes and ponds.

Loch Ness is very big though. Three times the depth of Windermere and four times the surface area, so doesn't sound totally ludicrous.