Page 142 of 155
Re: Trivia Question of the Day
Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2023 4:37 pm
by Rossian
Yeah, but he let us as teenagers (not that the word had been invented then) mess about with concentrated nitric acid and cellulose in the form of cotton wool. When it dried the trick was to hit it with a hammer to the accompaniment of a bang big enough to propel the hammer out of your hand. The acid came in a "gutta percha" bottle because it would eat glass. We had access to the "science room" during the lunch hour and three of us made a bigger than usual batch and hid it in the underfloor space. We did try a bit and it scared the ***** out of us. We left it where it was.
Many years later as I was driving through the town I noticed that they were in the process of demolishing the building with a big digger. I swithered about stopping to tell them to be careful, but then carried on. Should I have......?.
The Ancient Mariner
Re: Trivia Question of the Day
Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2023 10:18 pm
by llondel
Rossian wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 7:55 am
From elementary chemistry in school in the highlands, boiling water seemed to do it.
It is lower than the boiling point of water, yes. However, dropping it into boiling water would probably cause it to explode, given how well it reacts with room temperature water.
Re: Trivia Question of the Day
Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2023 10:22 am
by Pinky the pilot
Cordite is now obsolete and it is no longer produced.
I'm more than aware of that. However, that wasn't my point! I was referring to guncotton possibly being the forerunner of cordite.
A trivial point; I still have about 600 or so rounds of Aussie made 303 British ammo stored away that are all cordite loaded. Some dating from early WW11. And it still goes bang when the trigger is squeezed!
Hate the Pommy stuff
Radway
Green and
Kynoch loaded stuff though. Had morer than one hangfire/misfire with that stuff!
Re: Trivia Question of the Day
Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2023 10:40 am
by Hydromet
Rossian wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 4:37 pm
Yeah, but he let us as teenagers (not that the word had been invented then) mess about with concentrated nitric acid and cellulose in the form of cotton wool. When it dried the trick was to hit it with a hammer to the accompaniment of a bang big enough to propel the hammer out of your hand. The acid came in a "gutta percha" bottle because it would eat glass. We had access to the "science room" during the lunch hour and three of us made a bigger than usual batch and hid it in the underfloor space. We did try a bit and it scared the ***** out of us. We left it where it was.
Many years later as I was driving through the town I noticed that they were in the process of demolishing the building with a big digger. I swithered about stopping to tell them to be careful, but then carried on. Should I have......?.
The Ancient Mariner
When I was about 10, a couple of slightly older friends staged a tableau using this or something similar, for the benefit of the 'old' lady (probably about 50) who lived next door to one of them. Substantial bang, victim lying on footpath, other protagonist waving toy pistol. Lady came dashing out, quickly assessed the situation and performed appropriate melodramatic simulation of horror. I'm sure someone would complain about it now.
Re: Trivia Question of the Day
Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2023 7:36 pm
by llondel
llondel wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 10:18 pm
Rossian wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 7:55 am
From elementary chemistry in school in the highlands, boiling water seemed to do it.
It is lower than the boiling point of water, yes. However, dropping it into boiling water would probably cause it to explode, given how well it reacts with room temperature water.
OK, I'm going to award this to AM. Officially it's 98C, so just below the boiling point of water. I was inspired to look it up one day because I was wondering how they started up the fast breeder reactor at Dounreay, which had molten sodium as a coolant. I also discovered that caesium melts around 28C, so it's liquid at body temperature.
Re: Trivia Question of the Day
Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2023 10:26 pm
by Rossian
I'll call OH on this as it was a lucky guess.
Maybe it was seeing the marked reaction when putting it in water that suggested "boiling".
Looking back there was no, absolutely no effort at safety. Eye protection? hand protection? fume protection? (and there were a lot of those) nothing at all. But then all the male teachers in the secondary school had served in WW2 and had seen a lot of "stuff".The french/german teacher had interrogated senior German officers after D-Day, the woodwork teacher had been torpedoed twice on the Arctic convoys,the english teacher had served on corvettes on the Atlantic convoys.
My son teaches the sciences in a secondary school and shakes his head in disbelief at some (most) of what we did in class.
The Ancient Marine
Re: Trivia Question of the Day
Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2023 11:47 am
by Mrs Ex-Ascot
In what year was Airfix founded?
Re: Trivia Question of the Day
Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2023 11:50 am
by Ex-Ascot
No inside knowledge but I guessed at 1938. Apparently wrong but close according to my nursie.
Re: Trivia Question of the Day
Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2023 12:09 pm
by G-CPTN
To meet Woolworth's retail price of two shillings, Airfix packaged the product in a plastic bag with a paper header that had the assembly instructions on the reverse.
Re: Trivia Question of the Day
Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2023 3:40 pm
by Mrs Ex-Ascot
Mrs Ex-Ascot wrote: ↑Fri Feb 17, 2023 11:47 am
In what year was Airfix founded?
Any advances on Ex-A's 1938?
Re: Trivia Question of the Day
Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2023 3:44 pm
by Wodrick
C'mon you have to give him that.
Re: Trivia Question of the Day
Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2023 3:56 pm
by Mrs Ex-Ascot
Wodrick wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 3:44 pm
C'mon you have to give him that.
Oh all right then, it was 1939
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airfix
Ex-A for the next challenge.
Re: Trivia Question of the Day
Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2023 4:00 pm
by Ex-Ascot
Let us stick to the theme. This surprised me. What year was Meccano invented?
Re: Trivia Question of the Day
Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 2:21 pm
by Ex-Ascot
OK this has frozen. Answer 1898.
Next: What do millipedes eat. Only ask as it is millipede city here at the moment.
Re: Trivia Question of the Day
Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 2:52 pm
by G-CPTN
I suppose it depends on whether you want them to thrive or die?
Re: Trivia Question of the Day
Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 3:09 pm
by Ex-Ascot
G-CPTN wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 2:52 pm
I suppose it depends on whether you want them to thrive or die?
They are a bit of a pain in the butt. They get under doors into the house. However if you tap the then they curl up and you can throw them out. They fall into the pool as well but last many hours under water.
Re: Trivia Question of the Day
Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 3:17 pm
by Fox3WheresMyBanana
Rotten wood? Judging from where I've found them. Maybe fungi therein.
Re: Trivia Question of the Day
Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2023 7:15 am
by Hydromet
Ex-Ascot wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 2:21 pm
OK this has frozen. Answer 1898.
Next: What do millipedes eat. Only ask as it is millipede city here at the moment.
I've seen them eating fungus.
- 20200524-Fungus-10.jpg (124.96 KiB) Viewed 588 times
Re: Trivia Question of the Day
Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2023 12:57 pm
by Ex-Ascot
Both Fox and Hydromet have it but Fox was first. All yours Sir.
Re: Trivia Question of the Day
Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2023 8:21 pm
by Fox3WheresMyBanana
Sorry for the delay, didn't realise I'd got it.
How many legs has an average millipede got (approx)?