Oct 13, 2016 11:34 PM
(This post was last modified: Oct 13, 2016 11:38 PM by macgyver1968.)
There's an oddly satisfying feeling you get when you are out and about in the real world and you witness an event that is happening or about to happen, and you use your knowledge of physics and science to accurately predict the outcome. Especially when it involves someone else's complete failure to predict the outcome.
I got to enjoy this satisfying and smug feeling today on my way home from work. I saw these 2 numb-nuts trying to tow a car with a chain. Now, if you've never towed a car with a chain, it's actually a bit more difficult than it looks. A chain, unlike a nylon tow strap, doesn't have any "give" to it. The most important thing when you are towing a car with a chain is to get and keep all of the slack out of the chain..slowly...or you're in for a big jolt.
I immediately recognized an impending "fail" of physics, because these morons were using a chain that was somewhere around 9-10 meters long. They hooked it up and left like 7 meters of slack chain on the ground. When you're towing a car with a chain, you don't want it too long, because when you take a sharp right hand turn (or left in the UK) the chain will "cut the corner" and if there's a stop sign or tree on the corner, the chain will hit it...potential fail number 1.
You also need to slowly inch in the towing car forward, until all of the slack of the chain is removed before accelerating. When I saw all that slack chain on the ground, I said to myself "they're going to rip the front end off that car." And sure enough...the driver of the towing car just got in and instead of inching slowly forward, just accelerated normally, and when the chain when taught...BAMMM!! he yanked the whole front end off the car being towed. I laughed my ass off. I felt kinda bad for the guy who owned the towed car, but I guess they both got a lession in inertia.
Have you ever seen an impending "fail" and predicted it? If so then please share!
(repost from TSF.org)
I got to enjoy this satisfying and smug feeling today on my way home from work. I saw these 2 numb-nuts trying to tow a car with a chain. Now, if you've never towed a car with a chain, it's actually a bit more difficult than it looks. A chain, unlike a nylon tow strap, doesn't have any "give" to it. The most important thing when you are towing a car with a chain is to get and keep all of the slack out of the chain..slowly...or you're in for a big jolt.
I immediately recognized an impending "fail" of physics, because these morons were using a chain that was somewhere around 9-10 meters long. They hooked it up and left like 7 meters of slack chain on the ground. When you're towing a car with a chain, you don't want it too long, because when you take a sharp right hand turn (or left in the UK) the chain will "cut the corner" and if there's a stop sign or tree on the corner, the chain will hit it...potential fail number 1.
You also need to slowly inch in the towing car forward, until all of the slack of the chain is removed before accelerating. When I saw all that slack chain on the ground, I said to myself "they're going to rip the front end off that car." And sure enough...the driver of the towing car just got in and instead of inching slowly forward, just accelerated normally, and when the chain when taught...BAMMM!! he yanked the whole front end off the car being towed. I laughed my ass off. I felt kinda bad for the guy who owned the towed car, but I guess they both got a lession in inertia.
Have you ever seen an impending "fail" and predicted it? If so then please share!
(repost from TSF.org)
