Questions you've always wanted answered

[Paul Worsley]

When did roof racks stop being a thing?

You used to see them all the time in the 70s, but I can't remember the last time I saw one.

[Marc Meakin]

Roof boxes are more popular these days.
I used to have one and a small trailer.

[Ian Volante]

When did roof racks stop being a thing?

You used to see them all the time in the 70s, but I can't remember the last time I saw one.

Cars are so bloody big that they aren't needed.

[Marc Meakin]

Which foodstuff has the biggest retail profit margin?
I would have said crisps or popcorn (especially in a cinema) but one of my managers said it was bread but I'm not convinced

[Gavin Chipper]

Which foodstuff has the biggest retail profit margin?
I would have said crisps or popcorn (especially in a cinema) but one of my managers said it was bread but I'm not convinced

Well if you're allowed to specify the place (e.g. in a cinema) there's a lot of places that hike up prices if you're in a venue primarily to do something else.

[Marc Meakin]

Which foodstuff has the biggest retail profit margin?
I would have said crisps or popcorn (especially in a cinema) but one of my managers said it was bread but I'm not convinced

Well if you're allowed to specify the place (e.g. in a cinema) there's a lot of places that hike up prices if you're in a venue primarily to do something else.

Maybe for consistency i should have said retail outlets as I'm sure restaurants have the biggest Mark ups.
Also you can maybe discount fruit and veg too

[Marc Meakin]

If the enhanced games ever actually happens, what legal records are most likely to be bettered?
Probably more women's records than mens but I'm wondering about the Marathon and cycling records being most likely to be challenged

[Mark Deeks]

What's that whole thing about when your ear goes PING and then you're deaf for a few seconds?

[Marc Meakin]

What's that whole thing about when your ear goes PING and then you're deaf for a few seconds?

Ive never experienced this but my step daughter (in her early thirties) says it happens whenever she hears a cat scarer

[Thomas Carey]

What's that whole thing about when your ear goes PING and then you're deaf for a few seconds?

I assume it's just like any other random body twitch that makes a small noise, but by being somewhere inside the ear the sound is massively amplified which makes it really loud to that ear and deafens you like any other really loud noise would

[Gavin Chipper]

What's that whole thing about when your ear goes PING and then you're deaf for a few seconds?

Ive never experienced this but my step daughter (in her early thirties) says it happens whenever she hears a cat scarer

You mean a dog?

[Mark James]

What's that whole thing about when your ear goes PING and then you're deaf for a few seconds?

Isn't it a kind of tinnitus? I also heard that the ping you hear is one particular frequency that you will never hear again. Don't know how true that is.

[Fiona T]

Does clearing up fly-tipping cost less than providing a free/heavily subsidised collection service for bulky waste?

One of the cycle routes I do regularly seems to be particularly bad - new stuff dumped every time I ride it. I'm not excusing it - it's horrible - but if there was an easy cheap way to dispose of your old fridge/settee/plasterboard the problem would probably be greatly reduced. Would it not be as cheap for councils to collect such waste for free/a nominal fee than clear up the mess? In Australia, they have 'kerbside pickup' a few times a year - people stick their large items outside their house, post on social media to see if anyone wants them - and the council collects after a few days. My council charges £45 to collect a fridge and £80 for a 3-piece suite (2-seater settee, non recliner - if you have a recliner it looks like a no-go!). If a bloke with a pickup offers to take it away for £20, you can see why it's tempting.

[Thomas Cappleman]

Enfield council do it for free, seemingly based on concerns about fly tipping (source: https://www.enfield.gov.uk/news-and-eve ... o-strength). But a brief Google search suggests that's rare even among London boroughs.

[Ian Volante]

Enfield council do it for free, seemingly based on concerns about fly tipping (source: https://www.enfield.gov.uk/news-and-eve ... o-strength). But a brief Google search suggests that's rare even among London boroughs.

You can book a pick-up in Edinburgh and East Lothian, but it costs £5 per item. Used to be free in Edinburgh at least.

I suspect the effort of booking and organising is enough to push many to go the illegal route.

[Ian Volante]

What's that whole thing about when your ear goes PING and then you're deaf for a few seconds?

Ive never experienced this but my step daughter (in her early thirties) says it happens whenever she hears a cat scarer

I hate those bloody things. I thought they were supposed to be inaudible to humans? Doesn't give me tinnitus though.

As for the random tones, I've had tinnitus all my life, and that's a constant background (I didn't realise it wasn't normal to have that background whine, it doesn't bother me), but on top of that I get the random pings at a range of frequencies for no obvious reason. I don't feel like I'm deaf when it happens, but it steals the attention.

[Mark Deeks]

What the hell problem was the penny farthing trying to solve?

[Marc Meakin]

What the hell problem was the penny farthing trying to solve?

I guess the height of the thing gives you a nice view of whatever.
If we still used them now you could see how bad the traffic is

[Gavin Chipper]

They didn't have chains back then and the pedals were directly on the wheel and you had to sit above that, so the drive wheel had to be big. Two big wheels means just extra mass to carry around so you have a big wheel and a small wheel.

[Gavin Chipper]

Why did people have to wire their own plugs in the past? Stuff came without a plug on. Insane.

[Marc Meakin]

Why did people have to wire their own plugs in the past? Stuff came without a plug on. Insane.

This is boomer territory
A lot of things didn't have plugs in the days before moulded plugs were commonplace.
Possibly to keep the cost down..
Possibly because there wasn't a standardised plug for various places in Europe and the US
It was a common practice to have 2 items on 1 plug like Christmas lights hooked up to the TV.
Also older properties had a scarce amount of plugs around the house generally.
I remember my dad putting a kit Kat wrapper around a broken fuse to make it work.
Ditto a main fuse when we had no spare wire.
Back in the days before circuit breakers.

All this back in the days before health and safety went mad

[David Williams]

Why did people have to wire their own plugs in the past? Stuff came without a plug on. Insane.

I think it was only after the war that the square pin fused plug became standard, and that was only for new houses. I can remember houses with round pin sockets. Maybe we'll go back to wiring our own plugs. Phones are sold without chargers for environmental reasons. What I don't understand is why the inside of a plug is such a convoluted design. Surely it should be possible to strip the outer sheath off the cable, stick the three wires into three holes, and clamp it shut.

[Paul Worsley]

Why did people have to wire their own plugs in the past? Stuff came without a plug on. Insane.

It was a way of thinning the herd.

[Mark Deeks]

Why are cash points so determined to have you look at your balance these days?

[Mark Deeks]

What's so iconic about the Abbey Road album cover? It's just some people walking.

[Marc Meakin]

What's so iconic about the Abbey Road album cover? It's just some people walking.

Art is subjective.
I only like the fact that Paul is barefoot which helped to fan the flames of the "Paul is dead" myth.

[Callum Todd]

What's so iconic about the Abbey Road album cover? It's just some people walking.

My impression is it's more than the album itself is iconic and, many of us being very visual in our thinking/memories, the album cover is the most available candidate to be a visual memory of the album, so it took on its own kind of significance as a result.

[Paul Worsley]

What's so iconic about the Abbey Road album cover? It's just some people walking.

Same could be said for Dark Side of the Moon

(What's so iconic, not "It's just some people walking.")

[Tal Lessner]

What's so iconic about the Abbey Road album cover? It's just some people walking.

Basically it's the greatest album ever made. So whatever cover it would have had, it would have been iconic.
But regardless, the Beatles walking outside their recording studio on the last album they recorded there - Iconic.

[Paul Worsley]

Why can't you use a mobile phone on a petrol station forecourt? Is there a brand of phone that gives off sparks when you're using it? Are there any recorded instances of mobile phone related accidents at petrol stations?

[Mark Deeks]

Is there a brand of phone that gives off sparks when you're using it?

There used to be. Those old Nokia 3210s we all had could spark out of the charging ports. I think the rule is just a legacy thing now.

[Gavin Chipper]

Is it a rule everywhere? I've never noticed a sign at my local Tesco when filling up. I wouldn't know not to play on my phone at the same time.

[Marc Meakin]

Is it a rule everywhere? I've never noticed a sign at my local Tesco when filling up. I wouldn't know not to play on my phone at the same time.

It could be a rule that has changed without the signage having come down.
I still see the odd stay 2 metres apart sign from the days of covid in various places

[Fiona T]

https://support.shell.com/hc/en-gb/arti ... -forecourt

Pretty sure our newly rebuilt shell garage has signs about it - will be filling up later, so will use my phone to take a photo of them...

[Gavin Chipper]

I would say driving in and out of the forecourt is more dangerous than using your phone. They should have a rule where you have to stop 50 metres away and push your car in. All that combustion going on...

[Gavin Chipper]

Perfect for this thread - why's it called a forecourt? Doesn't seem quite right.

[Fiona T]

https://support.shell.com/hc/en-gb/arti ... -forecourt

Pretty sure our newly rebuilt shell garage has signs about it - will be filling up later, so will use my phone to take a photo of them...

Well I didn't go to the shell cos the Asda 200m up the road was 1.2p / litre cheaper.

It did have signs stuck to the side of the pumps, with multiple 'don'ts' such as smoking, using phones and other stuff I paid no attention to, but it wasn't massively prominent. I didn't take a photo as I didn't want to die and my hands were full anyway

[Fiona T]

I would say driving in and out of the forecourt is more dangerous than using your phone. They should have a rule where you have to stop 50 metres away and push your car in. All that combustion going on...

I was disappointed that the garage rebuild didn't include charging stations for EVs - maybe that's why...

[Elliott Mellor]

Why do people spend their whole lives earning and saving, to then do nothing with it except leave it to other people in their will? I find it quite baffling when people feel obligated to do so - any money you've earned should be yours to enjoy, and the whole societal expectation that you should be saving money to pass on is a farce.

Fair enough if you want to leave a nominal amount to various people to help them, but you should generally be using any money you've saved to enjoy yourself while you're alive. The great-grandparents I knew died with virtually nothing in the bank - they used virtually every penny they had while they were alive and consequently I have far many more happy memories of them enjoying themselves than I have of my grandad, who had more than either of them but never really used any of it.

[Marc Meakin]

Why do people spend their whole lives earning and saving, to then do nothing with it except leave it to other people in their will? I find it quite baffling when people feel obligated to do so - any money you've earned should be yours to enjoy, and the whole societal expectation that you should be saving money to pass on is a farce.

Fair enough if you want to leave a nominal amount to various people to help them, but you should generally be using any money you've saved to enjoy yourself while you're alive. The great-grandparents I knew died with virtually nothing in the bank - they used virtually every penny they had while they were alive and consequently I have far many more happy memories of them enjoying themselves than I have of my grandad, who had more than either of them but never really used any of it.

Very much a middle and upper class thing originally.
The working classes seldom owned property and as much as I despised the woman she created a path for the working classes to own property.
So really unless you are going to sell your house and spunk all the money it's natural that your offspring etc would benefit.

I do think that leaving cash for your kids for them to get only after you die is stupid and I for one will be giving my kids money before I die

[David Williams]

I didn't go to the shell cos the Asda 200m up the road was 1.2p / litre cheaper.

The engine warning light on my car came on a few weeks ago. I phoned the dealer. "Filled up with petrol lately?" "Er, yesterday." "Asda, by any chance?" (Asda being by no means my local supermarket) "Er, yes." "Next time fill up somewhere else and it will probably be OK." It was. Mind you, I nearly always used to go to Asda without any problem.

[Fiona T]

What does "2 chevrons apart" mean on the motorways? Is it > > > or > > ? Is the distance of a 'chevron' the distance between one chevron and the next, or an actual chevron - would "one chevron apart" be together? The diagram isn't much help as the car isn't positioned over a chevron, and there is only one car

[Ian Volante]

I understand it to maintain the distance which is the same as the distance between two chevrons. This seems beyond many drivers in any case.

[Fiona T]

I understand it to maintain the distance which is the same as the distance between two chevrons. This seems beyond many drivers in any case.

So when cars are midpoint between chevrons, there is only one chevron between them - very ambiguous!!

[Fiona T]

I understand it to maintain the distance which is the same as the distance between two chevrons. This seems beyond many drivers in any case.

So when cars are midpoint between chevrons, there is only one chevron between them - very ambiguous!!

https://www.advanceddrivinghub.com/foru ... .php?t=420 - this (unsurprisingly) has been debated elsewhere.

[Gavin Chipper]

If chevrons are 40 metres apart, then logically to me that means 80 metres (although that would be two chevron gaps really). However, if we are talking about visible chevrons, that will keep changing as the cars cross over them. But to always keep two chevrons visible, you would need to be just over 80 metres behind, which is essentially the same.

I think it means two gaps anyway. 80 metres.

[Callum Todd]

I take it to mean you should be able to see at least 2 chevrons on the ground between yourself and the car in front.

Agreed it's unclear though.

[David Williams]

I've always assumed the sign is a representation of what you should be able to see through your windscreen. At the minimum, as you drive over a chevron, there should be one chevron clearly in sight and another one appearing from under the car in front. Whatever they mean, that feels like a minimum safe distance to me, and they are apparently very effective in reducing accidents.

[Gavin Chipper]

Why do they have them on some motorways but not others and how do they decide which one?

[Marc Meakin]

Maybe in the future AI will stop cars going too closs

[Ian Volante]

Maybe in the future AI will stop cars going too closs

Why use AI when a simple distance sensor would do the job?

[Marc Meakin]

Maybe in the future AI will stop cars going too closs

Why use AI when a simple distance sensor would do the job?

That's what I meant, and if it cut the accelerator when activated it might encourage safer driving

[Ian Fitzpatrick]

Maybe in the future AI will stop cars going too closs

Why use AI when a simple distance sensor would do the job?

That's what I meant, and if it cut the accelerator when activated it might encourage safer driving

My car applies the brakes too - but only when I'm millimeters away from the obstacle! It works though.

[Ian Volante]

Maybe in the future AI will stop cars going too closs

Why use AI when a simple distance sensor would do the job?

That's what I meant, and if it cut the accelerator when activated it might encourage safer driving

That's not AI, is the point I'm making.

[Adam S Latchford]

Why do people still love duty free? It isn't considerably cheaper, it's a ballache to lug the stuff about and for the most parts in european airports all the content is the same

[Gavin Chipper]

Why use AI when a simple distance sensor would do the job?

That's what I meant, and if it cut the accelerator when activated it might encourage safer driving

That's not AI, is the point I'm making.

It's more I than some people.