TIL: Today I Learned

TIL about UL858, a safety standard that applies to electric coil cooktops/ranges. It requires that if a pan of oil be placed on a burner set to its highest heat, the pan must last a minimum of 30 minutes without igniting, or else the stove/range fails the test.
I also learned that, as of April 2019, any new electric coil cooktops/ranges which fail this test are now prohibited from sale in North America.
I stumbled over this fact while trying to find specific types of older (40's-70's) electric stoves. So now I guess I know why prices of older electric stoves strangely seem to be higher than they were last year.

--Patrick
 
TIL about UL858, a safety standard that applies to electric coil cooktops/ranges. It requires that if a pan of oil be placed on a burner set to its highest heat, the pan must last a minimum of 30 minutes without igniting, or else the stove/range fails the test.
I also learned that, as of April 2019, any new electric coil cooktops/ranges which fail this test are now prohibited from sale in North America.
I stumbled over this fact while trying to find specific types of older (40's-70's) electric stoves. So now I guess I know why prices of older electric stoves strangely seem to be higher than they were last year.

--Patrick
Is this why my electric range in my house seems to be slower than molasses in boiling water?
 
Is this why my electric range in my house seems to be slower than molasses in boiling water?
Unless you’re living 250m below sea level, it could be.
...though if your range is > 5yrs old it’s more likely that you’re using too small of a burner for the pot, that the water started out colder than usual because Canada (and because of H2O’s absolutely ridiculous specific heat), that the burner is failing, that something is interfering with the burner hitting full power (dirty socket, failing rheostat, failing wiring, bad ground/crosstalk), ...or that your scale of subjective time just runs fast.

—Patrick
 
Unless you’re living 250m below sea level, it could be.
...though if your range is > 5yrs old it’s more likely that you’re using too small of a burner for the pot, that the water started out colder than usual because Canada (and because of H2O’s absolutely ridiculous specific heat), that the burner is failing, that something is interfering with the burner hitting full power (dirty socket, failing rheostat, failing wiring, bad ground/crosstalk), ...or that your scale of subjective time just runs fast.

—Patrick
Well, he grew up in a province a kilometre higher* than his current home, which is pretty much at sea level, so there definitely that.


*Although that's roughly comparing the elevation of Calgary to Halifax. If he grew up in the mountains of Alberta, the difference could be significantly more.
 
Today I learned of a hentai manga called Metamorphosis, also known as Emergence, or 177013. It's one of the most depressing yet engrossing hentai manga I've ever read. It's long, 200+ pages, but I read the whole thing in one sitting, and near the end I was kinda misty-eyed a bit. It's like, this is definitely not what I'm looking for when I read hentai, but I also don't regret having read it.

Since this is not a NSFW thread, I will not link it, but it's not hard to find if you search a bit.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
Today I learned of a hentai manga called Metamorphosis, also known as Emergence, or 177013. It's one of the most depressing yet engrossing hentai manga I've ever read. It's long, 200+ pages, but I read the whole thing in one sitting, and near the end I was kinda misty-eyed a bit. It's like, this is definitely not what I'm looking for when I read hentai, but I also don't regret having read it.

Since this is not a NSFW thread, I will not link it, but it's not hard to find if you search a bit.
I take it you also read the "fixed ending?" (NSFW)
 
TIL that the Phoenix office of the NWS uses a different model than most of the rest of the country when considering issuing an Excessive Heat Warning.

Most of the rest of the US uses a rule of thumb based on high and low temps - mostly if it won't drop below 75°F (24°C) and the high is supposed to be 105°F (40°C) or higher for multiple days.

If we used that method, we'd be in an excessive heat warning until... September?

PHX NWS takes high and low temps, checks to see if they will be in the top 5% highest in recorded history in the area for the given time of year, and then issues a watch (if temps are projected to meet the criteria a week or so out) or a warning (if the temps are already in the range).

We're in an Excessive Heat Warning right now - and it feels like it. When my wife got home today, she commented that it looked like I got a sunburn on my face because my forehead was white compared to the rest of my face.
 

figmentPez

Staff member
TIL Bitcoin uses as much energy as Switzerland

A tool from the University of Cambridge "estimates that Bitcoin is using around seven gigawatts of electricity, equal to 0.21% of the world's supply. That is as much power as would be generated by seven Dungeness nuclear power plants at once." (In American terms, I think that converts to 3½ Hoover Dams.)
 
After 50-some years (to this point) exposed to the extremes of the lunar environment, would any of them still be functional? Would these planned future missions even be permitted near the old sites to go find them?
A) I wouldn't count on it. I hear the original flag probably got bleached out due to solar radiation, too.
B) I hope so. I want the original sites to be put on the historic register of places, should we ever colonize.

--Patrick
 
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A) I wouldn't count on it. I hear the original flag probably got bleached out due to solar radiation, too.
B) I hope so. I want the original sites to be put on the historic register of places, should we ever colonize.

--Patrick
A isn't probable - it's known. They track the site through telescopes and it's now a white flag. Only proof of mankind passing there is now a sign of surrender.
 
A isn't probable - it's known. They track the site through telescopes and it's now a white flag. Only proof of mankind passing there is now a sign of surrender.
I know for a fact that the flag is white. My bad for putting the "probably" in the wrong spot, but that's what made me say the cameras are probably ruined as well.

--Patrick
 

GasBandit

Staff member
So, I realize that I never did write back about my Dash experiences.

So, when I first told my wife I was getting Dash buttons, she though the idea was ridiculous. The dash buttons came in, which required me to install an app on my phone to configure. I understand the reasoning, but it was a bit of a chore. I got buttons for toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags, and clorox wipes.

These are all things I buy in bulk usually anyway, and I configured the buttons to buy large quantities of these. The buttons work perfectly. Even my wife is won over. Whenever we're low on something, I can often hear her call to my son to push the button for it (which he loves to do). A couple days later, the items just show up. I get a notification on my phone when the order is placed, when it is shipped, and when it is delivered.

When my oldest stepson was visiting at Christmas time, my phone went off while I was in the restroom. Turns out his wife wondered what the buttons were, and pushed one. I was able to cancel the order before I even finished my business. ;)

These things are handy, unobtrusive, and make my life easier because I don't gotta haul around huge bulk purchases in the cart when grocery shopping...hell, an 18 count of paper towels mostly fills up an entire shopping cart. I still don't understand all the negativity they got when they were first introduced. Amazon is continuing to expand their product lines that are Dash-able. I can see myself getting a few more buttons--and if they ever made a generic one (instead of a branded one) that could be configured to buy anything, I'd be all over it. But they probably won't any time soon, because I'm sure the co-branding company pays for that privilege.
Dash Button service will be discontinued Aug 31.
 
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