Recent comments in /f/mildlyinteresting

iwillneverreadthiscr t1_iyaxnw5 wrote

Reply to My thermostat uses the expansion/contraction of a drop mercury to conduct electricity and trigger when to turn off and on. by Iain_MS

Nope... It has nothing to do with the temperature of the mercury; the actual sensor is a coiled piece of metal onto which the capsule containing the mercury is attached; when that coil expands, the capsule is tipped over enough to have the mercury close the circuit and power up the cooling system; as the room cools, the coil contracts, tipping the capsule in the opposite direction and breaking the circuit.

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dscottj t1_iyax999 wrote

Reply to My thermostat uses the expansion/contraction of a drop mercury to conduct electricity and trigger when to turn off and on. by Iain_MS

True story: my brother and I were rural latchkey kids, left alone for hours in an (for then) advanced house. I got bored one day, I think I was twelve, my brother was ten. We had this kind of switch for our thermostat, but it was in the cover. I'd pried that thing free months before my bright idea.

I thought the giant jiggling lump of mercury was fun to watch as it went back and forth. I didn't know what a bimetallic spring was, but I did know if I touched one side of the spring it made the whole thing twist in an interesting way and the mercury ball slid back and forth.

Here's where it gets fun: we were one of the first families on the block with a microwave oven. We were alone. My brother was bored and driving me bonkers.

"I know!" I said. "Let's put this spring thing with the mercury switch in the microwave!"

Oh yes I did. I didn't count on all the sparks. A half second after I turned it off I yanked it out and that spring was wound TIGHT. Physics probably saved me from mercury poisoning that day.

There's a reason why women live longer.

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CygnusX-1-2112b t1_iyawm0l wrote

Reply to Owl left its imprint after crashing on a window at Newark Airport. by Jeronimoooooo

Oh God Newark? What a shit airport, at least after TSA came around. It's design and layout did not lend itself at all well to security checkpoints. Literally nothing past TSA except a lonely self-service wall vender selling prepackaged lunch meat sandwiches for $18.

And you'd better hope you don't lay over there and have your connecting flight be out of a different terminal, because then you've gotta go through TSA all over again baby!

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SaltRevolutionary917 OP t1_iyaurq3 wrote

Reply to Fresh yeast. by SaltRevolutionary917

Repost without the back story, suck it, mods.^jk ^im ^sorry

This is fresh yeast. Which for whatever reason is uncommon in the US. Here in Denmark it’s pretty much the only thing we use in baking.

As far as I know neither is better (instant/active dry vs fresh) and I have no idea why the two cultures on either side of the Atlantic developed such stark differences in yeast preparation method over time, but it is … mildly interesting.

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