Things you always wanted to know the answer to [Vol. 4]

[Jonboy_t]

Why are the Conservative party referred to as ‘Tories’? I want to think it’s because the word conservative is similar to conservatory, but it can’t be that, can’t it?!

[The Mad Monk]

Jonboy_t said:

Why are the Conservative party referred to as ‘Tories’? I want to think it’s because the word conservative is similar to conservatory, but it can’t be that, can’t it?!

Have you got one of those 'Google' buttons on your internet device?

[Exige77]

The Mad Monk said:

Jonboy_t said:

Why are the Conservative party referred to as ‘Tories’? I want to think it’s because the word conservative is similar to conservatory, but it can’t be that, can’t it?!

Have you got one of those 'Google' buttons on your internet device?

Maybe because they like to browse the dark web ?

[CaptainSlow]

ambuletz said:

i was browsing cities on google maps streetview and had a look around france marseille.... why does the place look like such a dump? every single each of wall has graffiti on it, including businesses (which must be sad for those who take pride in theri shop). many of the buildings look like they've been adandoned.. i cant imagine someone would want to live in any.

whats the deal with that city? if you have a look at other french cities you will not see graffiti on every single wall there is. its not like its graffiti art either, 90& is basic tags

Same reason Bradford looks like a dump.

[SCEtoAUX]

Two more from me:

Apart from virtually unlimited computing power, what technological advances of the last 50 years would have made the Apollo missions easier?

Star Trek communication systems. How do people hear what's being said to them? If they have a little speaker built into the badge then that's going to annoy everyone else and rather compromise privacy.

[V8mate]

The Mad Monk said:

Have you got one of those 'Google' buttons on your internet device?

Is that something you've always wanted to know?

Pretty much everything asked in this thread could be resolved through alternative investigation. What makes the thread interesting is that it's highly likely that others would also be keen to know the answer. So by asking here, the general knowledge of a wider cohort will be improved.

[Dr Jekyll]

V8mate said:

The Mad Monk said:

Have you got one of those 'Google' buttons on your internet device?

Is that something you've always wanted to know?

Pretty much everything asked in this thread could be resolved through alternative investigation. What makes the thread interesting is that it's highly likely that others would also be keen to know the answer. So by asking here, the general knowledge of a wider cohort will be improved.

+1
And it often stimulates a wider discussion.

Anyhow, (to oversimplify). the party was originally called the Tory party. 'Conservative' was what they were accused of being so they decided to call themselves Conservative to prevent it being an insult.

[popeyewhite]

ambuletz said:

i was browsing cities on google maps streetview and had a look around france marseille.... why does the place look like such a dump?

Marseille is a sh*hole, and always has been. It's an ancient major port on the Med and has seen many 'visitors' from Africa and beyond in its time. With trade comes drugs, crime and then poverty. Not really a place to visit if you're cruising the South of France in a soft top. Far nicer places in the area.

[Nimby]

Castrol for a knave said:

M54 north M6.

I mean. Really?!?!

I recently moved not far from the M54 so they are going to build the missing link for me.

[Hugo a Gogo]

Exige77 said:

Antony Moxey said:

ambuletz said:

i was browsing cities on google maps streetview and had a look around france marseille.... why does the place look like such a dump? every single each of wall has graffiti on it, including businesses (which must be sad for those who take pride in theri shop). many of the buildings look like they've been adandoned.. i cant imagine someone would want to live in any.

whats the deal with that city? if you have a look at other french cities you will not see graffiti on every single wall there is. its not like its graffiti art either, 90& is basic tags

Not been to Paris recently? Graffiti seems to run in a continuous 8ft high band everywhere. Plus it’s properly filthy - don’t lean on a wall overlooking the Seine, lest you want your clothes to look the same colour as the wall.

Welcome to the future EU.

Germany not far behind.

Either you live in one of the nicest parts of the UK, and you've only visited the very worst parts of France and Germany, or you're talking ste

[vonuber]

Under our election system, what is the smallest % of the electorate required to get a majority? Let's assume it's just the 3 main parties for simplicity per seat.
I would assume 33.4% vote share over half +1 of the constituencies?
So with an arbitrary 20 million voters, that would be 33.4% of 326 seats (as the rest don't matter) which would be 3.35 million votes, or roughly 17% of the electorate?

Does that make sense?

[Hugo a Gogo]

How come phone chargers used to always need big transformer things, now they just use a USB cable? How does the little USB plug adapter do the job?

[Clockwork Cupcake]

Dr Jekyll said:

Anyhow, (to oversimplify). the party was originally called the Tory party. 'Conservative' was what they were accused of being so they decided to call themselves Conservative to prevent it being an insult.

The Conservative party (sometimes referred to as the Unionist party, and indeed the full name of the party is the "Conservative and Unionist Party") rose from the ashes of the dissolved Tory party, and the name "Tory" was often used to refer to it because a) it was shorter to write and b) it suggested that this new-fangled 'Conservative' party was just the Tories rebranded.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_Party_(...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Conse...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tories_(British_poli...

History is one of those subjects where it really is worth reading up on as there is a wealth of information out there. If someone asked how WW2 started then it would be entirely appropriate to point them to the history books.

[Clockwork Cupcake]

Hugo a Gogo said:

How come phone chargers used to always need big transformer things, now they just use a USB cable? How does the little USB plug adapter do the job?

Because USB delivers 5v DC, which is just right for a phone. The big transformer things used to deliver a similarly low voltage DC. Nothing has really changed here, just the plug and the fact that transformers have got smaller and more efficient.

[Hugo a Gogo]

Clockwork Cupcake said:

Hugo a Gogo said:

How come phone chargers used to always need big transformer things, now they just use a USB cable? How does the little USB plug adapter do the job?

Because USB delivers 5v DC, which is just right for a phone. The big transformer things used to deliver a similarly low voltage DC. Nothing has really changed here, just the plug.

So the usb adapter is a transformer? How does it get low voltage output from the plug socket? This may be very basic elecktrickery

[CaptainSlow]

Hugo a Gogo said:

How come phone chargers used to always need big transformer things, now they just use a USB cable? How does the little USB plug adapter do the job?

huh? You plug the usb into either a transformer or a usb socket that has the transformer behind the socket face plate

[Hugo a Gogo]

The little tiny lightweight adapter thing? Especially if you are using a euro two pin?

[ambuletz]

popeyewhite said:

ambuletz said:

i was browsing cities on google maps streetview and had a look around france marseille.... why does the place look like such a dump?

Marseille is a sh*hole, and always has been. It's an ancient major port on the Med and has seen many 'visitors' from Africa and beyond in its time. With trade comes drugs, crime and then poverty. Not really a place to visit if you're cruising the South of France in a soft top. Far nicer places in the area.

after chatting with a french friend of mine last night, this seems to be the reason. thanks.

[Clockwork Cupcake]

Hugo a Gogo said:

So the usb adapter is a transformer?

Yup

Hugo a Gogo said:

How does it get low voltage output from the plug socket?

So, you're asking how it transforms 240V AC into 5V DC? That would be because it's because it's a transformer.
They've just got smaller, that's all.

I have an old late-model Nokia phone charger in a drawer somewhere that is the same size as a UK plug - ie. exactly the same size as a modern USB power adaptor.

Edited by Clockwork Cupcake on Wednesday 18th December 10:15

[Shakermaker]

talksthetorque said:

StevieBee said:

nonsequitur said:

StevieBee said:

In Line of Duty, whenever they interview someone, they a) use a tape and b) there's a protracted beep before the machine starts to record. Assuming they mimic reality, what benefit is to be had using a tape and what purpose does the beep serve?

To give the viewer a definite sound that recording has begun. Otherwise. what's happening?

There's more elegant ways of doing this. Plus they say "for the benefit of the tape' a lot and I'm certain they're not referring video tape!

In Line of Duty another trick is when Steve and Kate expain the progress of their leads to each other.
They might as well just tap on the camera lens and go " Did you get that? Are you all caught up with the plot again now?"

Every show does that thing of having characters explain what they are doing to another character where in real life, no second person would be present in those circumstances.

The "for the benefit of the tape" thing is where they are doing something visual rather than audible, so if they point at someone in a photo, or show them a document, they can refer to it later? again, don't know if that happens in real life!