Comments on: Episode 85: Red Rag to a Bull

By: Damian

Damian — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 10:18:40 +0000

BUSTED this is a myth. This link will tell you why, the old style batteries would discharge buy new ones will NOT!!! http://www.thebatteryterminal.com/TechTalk_Batteries_on_Concrete.htm

By: Roger K

Roger K — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:46:19 +0000

A battery will discharge reguardless if on concrete or on shelf. Batteries that sit in cars for too long without starting and allowing alternator to recharge go dead as well, especially in too hot or too cold temperatures (snow, heatwave, ect.). Batteries sitting on room temperature concrete will have the same effects as a battery sitting on a wood or steel shelf both at room temperature.

By: MSpears

MSpears — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:02:27 +0000

Stapled a paper to a person’s head? I know that while filming one of the Indiana Jones films, Harrison Ford got tired of having to do multiple retakes because his hat kept falling off… so he stapled it to his head. I’d say that confirms that you CAN staple something to your head, though I’m pretty sure it just penetrated the skin.

As for your second question, I don’t know for sure, but it’s plausible. Sharks DO have a sense of curiosity, and they can smell your bodily fluids from a great distance. I don’t think they’re necessarily “attracted” to pee, they’re just curious about the strange odor.

Having said that, though, there is this tiny fish called the Candiru that lives in the Amazon River, and they ARE attracted to pee. They will swim right up your urinary canal, stick out their spines, and lodge there. Yes, it IS painful. Yes, it usually requires medical intervention… possibly including amputation of a particular body part (and I don’t think I need to tell you which part!)

On a humorous note, though… if you’re in the Amazon Jungle and invited for a swim, at least you have a good reason not to “go” in the water!

By: MSpears

MSpears — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:52:14 +0000

Well, you didn’t die from it, so it wasn’t lethal, was it? :-)

On a more serious note, I agree with you, an aerosol can in a fire CAN be lethal, especially if you live a long distance from a hospital.

By: MSpears

MSpears — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:46:46 +0000

It’s 230V now… the European Union standard.

By: MSpears

MSpears — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:46:10 +0000

It’s more dangerous through the side window. The windshield is laminated safety glass, and is far less likely to be penetrated.

By: MSpears

MSpears — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:44:50 +0000

It’s true, BUT not in a few hours. It still takes a few months to drain the battery. Also, it has more to do with temperature differences, not that it’s sitting on cement.

A concrete floor is usually a little cooler than the surrounding air. This causes the bottom of the battery to be cooler than the top. When this happens, the electrolyte (acid solution) becomes a little more concentrated at the bottom causing a slight voltage difference between the top and bottom of each cell. This voltage difference produces a small eddy current within the cell, slowly discharging it. That is why on large battery installations, such as on the old diesel-electric submarines, air is bubbled through the electrolyte to keep it at a constant temperature and concentration.

If you’re going to store a battery on a concrete floor, it’s good practice to place it on a piece of cardboard or scrap of carpeting to thermally insulate it from the floor. It will still slowly discharge, as all lead-acid batteries do, but at a slower rate.

By: MSpears

MSpears — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:40:46 +0000

Highly unlikely. I don’t think the thin copper used in sink lines is tough enough to cause the bullet to “curve”; the bullet would just punch through. And I *know* that PVC pipe isn’t tough enough.

By: MSpears

MSpears — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:39:08 +0000

Busted already. The coin doesn’t have enough mass to do more than maybe cause a bruise.

By: MSpears

MSpears — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:37:18 +0000

Not impossible. I can do it. But there’s something that most people CAN’T do, that you can try at home:

Stick out your leg (right or left, it doesn’t matter) and try to move your foot in a clockwise direction.

Now, stick out the arm on the same side (so if you’re doing this with your right leg, use your right arm) and try to move your hand in a counter-clockwise direction.

Watch your foot… it’ll (probably) start moving counter-clockwise too. I’ve known only one person who could move a hand and a foot on the same side of the body in opposite directions, and even then he had to concentrate to do it.