Monday 28 May 2012

Types of Pliers

Pliers are two-handled, two-jawed hand tools used mainly for gripping, twisting, and turning. Because the jaws meet at the tip, they can grip with some precision. Some types are made for cutting as well. Here are some of the main types of pliers.

  • Adjustable Pliers or Slip-joint Pliers
  • Long-nose Pliers or Needle-nose Pliers
  • Diagonal-cutting Pliers
  • Channel-type Pliers or Groove-joint Pliers or Tongue and Groove Pliers
  • Lineman’s Pliers
  • Locking Pliers or Vice Grips
  • Round-nose Pliers
  • Chain-nose Pliers
  • Flat-nose Pliers

See full article at http://www.homeinstitute.com/types-of-pliers.htm

Thursday 24 May 2012

Scunner

North Yorkshire term for an urban youth and usually associated with trouble or petty crime.

Notes - Older scunners, i.e. young adults, would be recognisable as chavs.

Synonyms – scally

See full article at http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/scunner

Saturday 19 May 2012

A Ship's Quarterdeck

QUARTERDECK – the after weather deck. Literally a deck which ran 1/4th of the ships’ length from the stern. Traditionally, the position of command where the vessels’ master/captain would control the ship. He could best judge the wind and sea direction from there, adjusting his sails and course accordingly.

Respect is always payed (salute or come briefly to attention/doff cap) to the quarterdeck when boarding or leaving a ship as an acknowledgment of the Captain’s authority (the Crown), however it has a more ancient history.
Sailors are a superstitious lot, and the ocean is a dangerous place, so they would erect a shrine to whichever god they hoped would protect them.

Of course, the most comfortable place on a sailing ship is at the stern, so that’s where they placed the shrine and would pay homage to it whenever they entered or left the ship. Interestingly, the vessel’s Master would also act as their god’s priest (mess with the Captain and you mess with god!) and this tradition has carried on to today. In particular, the performance of marriage or burial at sea.

From http://www.oocities.org/victuallers/parts_of_ship.htm

Tuesday 15 May 2012

The largest door ever in the world

NASA Vehicle Assembly Building.

When it comes to the world's largest door, there's not just one, in fact there are four and they all belong to NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center.The Vehicle Assembly Building was originally built to assembly of Apollo and Saturn vehicles and and is now used to support Space Shuttle operations.

Each of the four doors are 139 meters or 456 feet high, comparatively, the Statue of Liberty is only 93 meters or 305 feet high.

From http://thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast.com/largest140.html

Thursday 10 May 2012

Why is Chain Mail so named?

Mail or chain mail is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh.

The word chainmail is of relatively recent coinage, having been in use only since the 18th century; prior to this it was referred to simply as mail.
The word itself refers to the armour material, not the garment made from it.

Mail was a highly successful type of armor and was used by nearly every metalworking culture in North Africa, Europe, and Asia. Its use spans from around 300 BC to the dawn of the 20th century and beyond, a period of over 2500 years.

Today it remains in limited use in stab vests and a number of other applications. It is also used in reenactments, decorative uses and jewelry.

Etymology

In the Dark Ages coin mail was often referred to as "ring maille" to distinguish it from other types of mail, such as lamellar and splinted mail. In the Middle Ages scale mail died out, but chain mail remained, and people called it "maille" or "mayle", which is derived from Latin macula, or "mesh in a net". As with heraldry, the language of armour is French, and chain mail is no exception. The word maille comes from the French, meaning mesh or net. In the Victorian period people were beginning to become interested with the Middle Ages, and the Gothic revival started. Because people thought that "maille" was made from chains it took on the name of chain mail.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail_(armour)

Saturday 5 May 2012

Missed Spellings

Mr. Smith returns to his office to find a message asking him to call Mr. Wryquick. He doesn’t know a Wryquick, so he does nothing.

The next day his attorney, Dawcy, Esq., arrives in a snit and asks why Smith didn’t return the call. What’s going on?

In leaving the message, Dawcy had spelled his name “D as in double-u, A as in are, W as in why, C as in cue, Y as in you, E as in eye, S as in sea, Q as in quay.”

See more at from http://www.futilitycloset.com/2011/11/19/missed-spellings/

Wednesday 2 May 2012