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You know you are getting old when:

GHT

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,846
Location
New Forest
You know that you are getting old when..........
phone.png
 

EngProf

Practically Family
Messages
609
And what happened when the force of the flick exceeded the strength of the grasp! How does mercury make itself into those shiny little beads, anyway? ;)
High surface tension... The surface tension tries to pull the bead into a sphere, the high density tends to flatten the bead... Hence that sort-of rounded button shape.
The high surface tension also makes the bead surface VERY smooth so it acts as a shiny mirror/reflector.
 

Woodtroll

One Too Many
Messages
1,268
Location
Mtns. of SW Virginia
High surface tension... The surface tension tries to pull the bead into a sphere, the high density tends to flatten the bead... Hence that sort-of rounded button shape.
The high surface tension also makes the bead surface VERY smooth so it acts as a shiny mirror/reflector.


Got it, thank you! I actually knew most of that (but hadn't thought about the density causing the flattening), but as usual my dry sense of humor didn't come across well in writing. But I keep trying anyway. :D I was just thinking while reading a different thread - it is absolutely amazing what a wide variety of things I learn here on the Lounge!
 

EngProf

Practically Family
Messages
609
Got it, thank you! I actually knew most of that (but hadn't thought about the density causing the flattening), but as usual my dry sense of humor didn't come across well in writing. But I keep trying anyway. :D I was just thinking while reading a different thread - it is absolutely amazing what a wide variety of things I learn here on the Lounge!
Answering questions is a reflex action by now after teaching for 25+ years. Thanks for giving me an opportunity to do that...
I agree with your statement: "...it is absolutely amazing what a wide variety of things I learn here on the Lounge!" That's a very big reason I keep coming back...

(By coincidence, modeling of the fluid-mechanics of molten metals was a key part of my Ph.D. research.)
 

Woodtroll

One Too Many
Messages
1,268
Location
Mtns. of SW Virginia
Being one of the old guys in my profession now, I've spent quite a bit of time teaching and precepting new firefighters and paramedics. I certainly do understand the teaching reflex; it becomes ingrained, especially when you feel it's important for your folks to understand the "why" of everything you do. And I really do appreciate the detailed answer and the opportunity to learn. My respect to you for being an educator for that long!
 

Tiki Tom

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,408
Location
Oahu, North Polynesia
And, all this time, I’ve been told that men don’t live as long as women because of the choices men make: we don’t go to the doctor as much, we drink too much, we engage in risky behavior. Basically, men are idiots.

So imagine my surprise to learn that this life-long understanding is incorrect and that across species, males die off younger and it has nothing to do with “bad choices”.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/03/secret-long-life-matching-sex-chromosomes

I’ll drink to that!
 

Lean'n'mean

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,087
Location
Cloud-cuckoo-land
And, all this time, I’ve been told that men don’t live as long as women because of the choices men make: we don’t go to the doctor as much, we drink too much, we engage in risky behavior. Basically, men are idiots.

So imagine my surprise to learn that this life-long understanding is incorrect and that across species, males die off younger and it has nothing to do with “bad choices”.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/03/secret-long-life-matching-sex-chromosomes

I’ll drink to that!

Hardly conclusive & rather speculative, better stick to clean living for the time being.:rolleyes:
 

Bushman

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,138
Location
Joliet
Was watching "My Brilliant Friend" on HBO, which is an Italian drama made in Italy, and is in all Italian. It's set in the 1960s, and I noticed a chair next to the phone in a hotel room. It struck me that most people younger than me probably would not understand the connection between the two.
 

GHT

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,846
Location
New Forest
You wake up, like I did this morning, and find that you won an eBay auction for a hat you don't really remember bidding on.
This one, for instance:
View attachment 223536
Are you handy with a sewing machine? Can you run up the name tag: "Mr. Robinson?" Sew it inside the sweatband, then find a forum where the gullible hang out and pose the question, "Can anyone identify or explain the insertion of name tags in hats?" Leave a picture of your handiwork, along with the same picture that you posted here. Sooner or later someone will put two and two together and come up with five.
hat8.jpg
 

GHT

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,846
Location
New Forest
I agree with your statement: "...it is absolutely amazing what a wide variety of things I learn here on the Lounge!" That's a very big reason I keep coming back.
My missus asked, "who was the only English pope?" "Adrian the Fourth," I told her. It was a crossword question. " "How did you know?" She replied. "Learned that at five years old, at Catholic school. Long term memory, the last to go." I answered. She entered the answer in her crossword, then I added. "Actually his name was Hadrian and he was pope from 1154 to 1159." "Don't show off." she said "I bet you can't remember the date we were put under house arrest." "Last week sometime," I suggested, "no I can't remember." "Then know when to shut up," she answered, getting on with her crossword.
 
Last edited:
Messages
13,023
Location
Germany
When you got your (three glasses of) Bismarck herrings this time as usual in supermarket, because of normal stock.

It's just such a 35+ thing. :D
 

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