Useless Trivia: Tell us something we wouldn't know.

[fustercluck]

More people are killed by donkeys annually than are killed in plane crashes.








well, the Democrat National mascot IS a donkey....

[Markduce]

An Apple G5 PowerPc was used as the prototype to the Xbox360.

[MTL_4runner]

Chewing or making a tea from the bark of a willow tree is a natural substitute for aspirin and has been used by many cultures since antiquity including the ancient Chinese, Greeks, Romans, Native American Indians and American settlers. It's effects although more harsh on the stomach are actually longer lasting and safer than aspirin.

The German company Bayer was forced to relinquish its aspirin patent as part of the Treaty of Versailles following World War I. This action was demanded by the Allies as part of the war reparations. Ouch!

[Texas Jim]

He's a goodie that I learned as a realestate appraiser.

Map companies like Rand Menially, when they print their Atlas, or Maps they purposely print mistakes into their map. This protects their trade marks of their maps. If you ever come across them as an appraiser you are required by the Fed Government to report it to the map making company and give the company your word that you will report all error's you find in their maps, so that they will give you permission to photo copy, their maps for your appraisal report...

Now here you are,[some unsepcting guy], driving down the road depending on this map to help you get some where and you come across one of these trade mark protector's... Isn't that just a big kick in the crotch!!! TJ

[Erich_870]

He's a goodie that I learned as a realestate appraiser.

Map companies like Rand Menially, when they print their Atlas, or Maps they purposely print mistakes into their map. This protects their trade marks of their maps. If you ever come across them as an appraiser you are required by the Fed Government to report it to the map making company and give the company your word that you will report all error's you find in their maps, so that they will give you permission to photo copy, their maps for your appraisal report...

Now here you are,[some unsepcting guy], driving down the road depending on this map to help you get some where and you come across one of these trade mark protector's... Isn't that just a big kick in the crotch!!! TJ

I don't get it How do intentional inaccuracies protect their trademark? And how would the Fed Gov. prove that an appraiser found a mistake but didn't care to inform the map company?

Erich

[bamachem]

here's one...

if an airplane were placed on a huge runway designed like a treadmill and as the plane's engines sped up, so did the treadmill,

YES, THE PLANE WOULD TAKE OFF!



What did George Washington and the other participants in the Constitutional Convention do after the covention came to a close?

They hung out at the bar.

[YotaGirl]

could you explain the plane on a treadmill to me....I always thought there needed to be airflow over the wing to generate lift.

[MTL_4runner]

could you explain the plane on a treadmill to me....I always thought there needed to be airflow over the wing to generate lift.

It does.

Here's the original problem:

Imagine a plane is sitting on a massive conveyor belt, as wide and as long as a runway. The conveyer belt is designed to exactly match the speed of the wheels, moving in the opposite direction. Can the plane take off?

Here's enough reading on that problem to thoroughly confuse you :
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/12/11...admill-pr.html

If you don't want to read them all this one is a pretty good analogy IMHO:

It's really amazing how many very intelligent people think about this question in the wrong manner. It's not a trick question, just a tricky question. The comment about friction of the ball bearings in the wheels is really negligible to understanding why the plane WILL take off. The key is this: Airplane wheels do not supply any forward motion for the airplane; they are the equivalent of putting roller skates on your feet. When touching the ground, the wheels spin at the exact speed of the airplane, but that is because the engines are pushing the airplane forward, not because the wheels are moving.

All of the forward motion of the plane comes from the planes engines, which are in no way affected by the treadmill. The engines are grabbing air that is standing still in front of them, and pushing it away from the plane, the wheels are only along for the ride. Imagine if you had roller skates on your feet and were standing on a treadmill holding a stationary rope that outstretches in front of you. As the treadmill tries to push you backwards, your grasp on the rope keeps you stationary and your wheels spin. Now, someone begins to reel that rope in. The treadmill can try and compensate, but it only means your wheels spin faster, you will move forward in relative space. The same is true for the plane, only instead of grabbing a rope, the plane grabs the still air in front of it. If you were a passenger on such plane, you wouldn't even notice anything different was happening.

Bottom line is the answer is yes, it will take off.

[YotaGirl]

hmmm that's interesting...thanks for the explaination!

[97t4rnr]

West Virginia has more people on disability from workmans comp than California. California's population is more than 10 times that of West Virginia.