Random Question Thread

[R.Youden]

I thought it was about time we had one of these.

A thread for random questions that you always wanted to ask but didn't know who to ask.

OK I will start...

Why do almost all alarm clocks have snooze set for 9 minutes? I think every phone I have owned and now my iPhone has snooze set to 9 minutes, I have also checked my only Sony radio / alarm clock and that had 9 minutes snooze.

Anyone know what is so special about 9 minutes?

 

[xUKHCx]

Oddly enough I read about this roughly a month ago. It stems back to the way the original alarm clockwork clocks worked. They (for some reason) couldn't set it to 10 minutes so they either had the option of 9 or 11 and they deemed 11 was too long, hence 9.

This became the standard and has been used ever since.

Or at least that I what I remembered.

 

[R.Youden]

Oddly enough I read about this roughly a month ago. It stems back to the way the original alarm clockwork clocks worked. They (for some reason) couldn't set it to 10 minutes so they either had the option of 9 or 11 and they deemed 11 was too long, hence 9.

This became the standard and has been used ever since.

Or at least that I what I remembered.

Wow!

You learn something new everyday. I suppose it is better than making it 7 minutes!

 

[Fuzzy14]

What would happen if there was no such thing as a hypothetical question?

 

[Lunja]

Why is dyslecksia so hard to spell?

 

[xUKHCx]

What would happen if there was no such thing as a hypothetical question?

Do you mean rhetorical(?)

Why is dyslecksia so hard to spell?

Dyslexia isn't hard to spell at all, got it right first time and in case you are wondering I have it. In the test results I had a spelling age of an 11 year old (i'm 23 )

 

[SthrnCmfrtr]

Where do babies come from?

 

[yellow]

I've wondered this one for a long time:

What is the history behind the "Shame on you" hand gesture?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_gesture#.22Shame_on_you.22

"Shame on you"
This gesture involves pointing at a person with the index finger of one hand while rubbing the pointed finger with the index finger of the opposite hand. The rubbing motion is directed toward the intended recipient and is repeated at least twice. It is used to imply that the targeted person should feel shame.
In Flanders and also in the German-speaking countries, this gesture is used in children games to indicate "we got you/we're smarter than you/we laugh at you", often accompanied by the mocking sing-song "AhahahaHAha!" shouted out loudly.

 

[gauchogolfer]

Wow!

You learn something new everyday. I suppose it is better than making it 7 minutes!

I heard it was because you don't fall into a full, deep sleep that quickly, which is good since you would be even more tired and disoriented if you were woken from that state. 9 minutes (though I think my snooze is more like 8 on my digital clock) gives you time to rest but not fall completely into deep sleep.

 

[xUKHCx]

Where do babies come from?

I refer you to this post

 

[Lunja]

Dyslexia isn't hard to spell at all, got it right first time and in case you are wondering I have it.

But did you realise that I intentionally spelt it incorrectly?

Thankyou, I'll be here all night

 

[Fuzzy14]

Do you mean rhetorical(?)

I didn't think so, but now I've looked up the meanings of rhetorical and hypothetical I'm not really sure what the difference is! I think that is one of those things that causes English teachers to have heated debates in their staff rooms.

Where do babies come from?

The wife is due in, oh, two days now. Do you want me to video it and put it on You Tube?

 

[Jaffa Cake]

A little football-related question that I always wonder when the nights start drawing in – in the winter we switch to using high-visibility balls, usually a fluorescent yellow rather than the predominantly white balls used the rest of the year.

Why not just use the high-visibility balls all year round, especially given the high number of night-time matches that are played these days?

 

[xUKHCx]

But did you realise that I intentionally spelt it incorrectly?

Thankyou, I'll be here all night

Yes I did and it is one of the oldest in the book

I didn't think so, but now I've looked up the meanings of rhetorical and hypothetical I'm not really sure what the difference is! I think that is one of those things that causes English teachers to have heated debates in their staff rooms.

Hypothetical questions are questions such as "I have a friend who thinks he is gay"

Rhetorical questions are questions you aren't supposed to answer, e.g. "Do you think I am stupid"

So in this case "What would happen if there was no such thing as a rhetorical question?" would lead you into a never ending loop of wanting to answer the question but thinking it is in itself a rhetorical question so shouldn't be answered, head goes boom.

 

[119576]

Do you mean rhetorical(?)

He could mean hypothetical; As his question is a hypothetical scenario (due to the fact that there is such thing as a hypothetical question.)

 

[skunk]

Why do almost all alarm clocks have snooze set for 9 minutes?

Easy. It's for flexibility: if you turn the clock upside down you can snooze for three minutes less.

 

[Fuzzy14]

So in this case "What would happen if there was no such thing as a rhetorical question?" would lead you into a never ending loop of wanting to answer the question but thinking it is in itself a rhetorical question so shouldn't be answered, head goes boom.

So I was right to ask a hypothetical question, because I wanted an answer!

The wife is due in, oh, two days now. Do you want me to video it and put it on You Tube?

That was a rhetorical question!!!

 

[xUKHCx]

He could mean hypothetical; As his question is a hypothetical scenario (due to the fact that there is such thing as a hypothetical question.)

ahh thanks for pointing me to the woods, just couldn't see it with all those trees in the way.

I still maintain the rhetorical version is just as valid.

 

[mactastic]

Why do we park on a driveway, and drive on a parkway?

 

[xUKHCx]

Why do we park on a driveway, and drive on a parkway?

Obviously never driven on the M25.


Not that we called them parkways anyway.

 

[Fuzzy14]

Not that we called them parkways anyway.

I seem to remember a few new towns in your neck of the woods having 'parkways' (Peterborough for example) but these refer to grade separated dual carriageways rather than the American examples.

Why do we keep junk in our garages and park our expensive cars in the street?

 

[119576]

Why do we keep junk in our garages and park our expensive cars in the street?

Because we don't want to show off our junk?

 

[xUKHCx]

I seem to remember a few new towns in your neck of the woods having 'parkways' (Peterborough for example) but these refer to grade separated dual carriageways rather than the American examples.

Why do we keep junk in our garages and park our expensive cars in the street?

Neck of the woods

 

[R.Youden]

A little football-related question that I always wonder when the nights start drawing in – in the winter we switch to using high-visibility balls, usually a fluorescent yellow rather than the predominantly white balls used the rest of the year.

Why not just use the high-visibility balls all year round, especially given the high number of night-time matches that are played these days?

I thought that they did try using the Yellow ball for a season or two a few years back. No they only use them December and January (at least in the Premiership). I think they went back to the white ball because fans preferred the old style, also I find it slightly harder to spot the Yellow ball, even in the middle of winter, especially at a game.

It may also be a nice little earner for the FA in merchandising....

 

[juanm]

I already know the answer, but I think it's worth knowing.
Did you know that Nokia's sms tune actually means SMS in Morse code?

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