Posts filed under ‘Demystified’
Satellite Dishes are Gray Because…
They are primed for painting. That’s right, it’s not just any gray: it’s primer gray. That means your dish can blend in or compliment your house if you paint it.
As for the type of paint, many people report good results with rust-oleum and Krylon Fusion (or similar).
If your dish is not gray then you may want to prime it first.
Tips:
- do not paint over the LNB (plastic cap at the focal point of the dish – see picture)
- only use satin/flat paint (not glossy or metallic)
- do not move the dish while painting it (unless you plan to re-aim it)
- do not hurt yourself
BrokenSecrets.com
PS – Sorry to my readers in “grey” countries. :)
Sources: Helium, DSS Geeks, Satellite Guys
Photo: angelrravelor a3r (cc)
Roadway Marks Used For Speeding Tickets
Look at the two white marks highlighted in the photo below.
Radar is not always the best way to catch speeders, especially in open areas where the police can’t hide.
But, radar isn’t the only option, Police can also use these marks to measure how fast you’re going. This pair of marks will be followed by a second pair further down the highway. In the United States, they’re usually a quarter mile apart and in Canada, 500 meters.
An officer in an airplane or unmarked car will use a stopwatch to time your car between the two pairs of marks. The time it takes will give them your average speed between those two markers, and if it’s high enough then they can write you a ticket. In the case of aerial surveillance, the plane will notify police cars waiting on the ground.
Either way, I’d recommend a good radar detector (where legal of course).
BrokenSecrets.com
Sources: AOL, Nashville.gov, City of Ottawa
Photo: dougtone (creative commons)
What Do AM and PM Stand for?
You might see these acronyms every day and never even think about what they actually stand for. But, at some point, you’ve probably set your alarm for PM and been late for something in the AM.
I asked my dad about AM and PM at the curious age of five. He had a really good answer. It wasn’t the right answer; but, it was a good answer.
According to him at the time, “AM” stood for “At Morning” and “PM” was “Past Morning.” It made sense and kept my mind at bay until now, and it’s not that far from the actual Latin translation.
AM is a Latin acronym for Ante Meridiem, which is “before midday” when translated to English.
PM is Latin for Post Meridiem or “after midday.”
Now, if you want to showoff you can lose the acronym and throw down, “post meridiem” the next time someone asks “AM or PM?”
BrokenSecrets.com [available in the Amazon Kindle Store]
Source: WP
Colored Sunglass Lenses Can Improve Your Sight
Let me be clear, they don’t improve the focusing power of your eyes but they can change the way things look so you recognize them more easily. That’s important when reaction time is critical.
Yellow lenses are a popular option but it’s a myth that they make things brighter — they do not amplify light. But, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, they do enhance depth perception. This is because they block some of the blue light that can make objects look hazy and reduce sharpness.
For this reason, yellow lenses are popular with pilots, cyclists, shooters and boaters in low light. In daylight, blue lenses are good for pilots and skiers because they enhance the contrast between objects that are white (snow and clouds) and other objects. For boaters, red lens are good because they increase the contrast between water and objects that are in the water.
Although colored lenses can increase contrast in specific conditions, the downside with any colored lens is that they obviously distort color. Brown colored lenses are the happy-medium; they offer minimal color distortion while improving contrast, so they’re great for everyday use.
BrokenSecrets.com
Big thanks to Todd for sharing this secret with me!
Ball Drops Did Not Start in Times Square
Times Square beware: you’re not the oldest ball drop around. In fact, the ball drop originated in Portsmouth England in 1829. That is where time synchronization really started to take shape, in the form of a ball.
In 1833, another time ball was installed in Greenwich and has dropped at 1pm everyday since then.
The time ball was invented by Robert Wauchope, a Royal Navy officer, as a way for ships to set their chronometer before heading out to sea. The daily ball drop occurred at 1pm because at noon, observers were busy taking exact readings of solar time. Accurate time was important for ships to calculate their longitude at sea.
All over the world, time balls were installed in shipping ports for years to follow. In 1924, radio time signals rendered time balls obsolete and they slowly began to disappear. The ball drop tradition still continues today in a handful of places. In the United States, it happens daily at the United States Naval Observatory in Washington DC and, of course, the annual Times Square ball drop.
BrokenSecrets.com
Photos: WKA, Berk2804 | Sources: Times Square, WP, UOTS,
The Origin of Boxing Day
December 26th (today) is Boxing Day.
If you’re American, you might see it on your calendar every year and wonder what it is. If you live in the UK, Canada, Australia or most other commonwealth countries, then you probably get the day off and don’t really know why.
It is a popular day for sporting events in these countries, but its relation to the sport of boxing is only legend. In fact, the name is derived from an old tradition of servants and housekeepers collected their gifts (boxes) on the day after Christmas, in exchange for reliable service throughout the year.
In Europe, it dates back to the Middle Ages, although the exact origin is not known. It was traditionally a time when wealthy people gave seasonal gifts to less fortunate people. Today, the holiday is almost entirely secular and for most people it identifies the start of after Christmas sales and shopping sprees.
BrokenSecrets.com
Big thanks to Chris and Jeanne for sharing this secret!
Use Hot Water To Make Crystal Clear Ice Cubes
Ice made from cold water looks cloudy because air that is trapped in the water become suspended in the ice. If you boil water before pouring it in the ice cube trays, you release most or all of the air that would otherwise be trapped in the water — making the ice cubes crystal clear.
Crystal clear ice cubes look great when used with designer ice cube trays. For any holiday or event, designer ice cubes are a cool thing to entertain guests and spark conversation.
Ikea has a few designer ice cube trays that you can pickup or Amazon has hundreds available for delivery, including: Christmas Trees and Snowmen, Penguins, Ice Invaders, Peace Signs, Hearts, Homer Simpson, Stewie (Family Guy), Stars, Skull and Crossbones, Butterflies, Dinosaurs …etc. They even have molds to make Shot Glasses and Stir Sticks out of ice.
Another secret: the ice cube trays can also be used as Jello molds!
Remember, you’ll have to boil water to make it hot because you can’t use hot water from the tap – explained here.
BrokenSecrets.com
Sources: Illinois Dept Physics
Casino Carpets Are Ugly So You Gamble More
The same goes for the ceilings. Look at the carpet and ceiling in the photo below.
The carpet is so busy and obnoxious, it’s actually hard to stare at — so you look up. The ceiling does the same thing with bright lights and focusing shapes, so you look down. What do you see? People gambling. That’s the only thing they want you to think about.
There is even a professor at the University of Nevada who wants casino carpet hermeneutics as a legitimate academic discourse.
Fitting a bland or unsightly carpet, along with bright, sterile lighting allows the player to focus on any number of games, whether it is a bit of Texas hold’em or even a spot of Omaha Hi. Garish flooring designs of this kind have also been proven to offer players something of a ‘wake-up’ effect without the need for coffee or other less natural stimulants.
It all adds to the bright lights and big inviting noises that make casinos such a great place for poker games, slots and familiar games like roulette and blackjack. This assault on the senses not only ensures that players remain alert, engaged and enthralled but that they also keep coming back for more.
The effect of this combination of lighting and carpet is further enhanced by the lack of windows within the majority of casinos – with proprietors eager to confuse players into not knowing what time it is and how long they have been gambling.
The busy carpet has another advantage, it camouflages stains. Casino carpets get vacuumed once a day, usually between 3am and 6am so they need to hide dirt the rest of the time. In fact, anytime you see really busy fabrics in high traffic areas (office buildings, hotels, malls, theaters, etc.), they’re often selected for their stain hiding abilities.
Big thanks to Todd M for submitting this secret!
Photo: Old Shoe Woman (CC) | Sources: AC, SFGate, MeetingsNet
Rear Fog Lights
Most North American cars have one set of bright lights on the back, of course those are the brake lights. But some American cars and most European cars have other bright lights on the rear: rear fog lights.
If you’re not familiar with this concept, then you probably assumed their lights were malfunctioning or their break lights were “stuck.”
Rear fog lights make it much easier for the vehicle behind you to see your car when fog, rain or snow is heavy.
Some rear fog lights are a pair of lights mounted low on the rear bumper. Other cars have a single light, mounted near the driver’s side rear turn signal.
There are debates about the validity of rear fog lights. Some claim they can be confused with brake lights, others agree but believe that is still safer than not seeing the vehicle until it is too late.
In the photo of the instrument cluster, the icon on the left is the front fog light indicator and on the right is the rear fog light indicator.
Some cars have separate switches for front and rear fogs, other cars have one switch that activates both.
Studies have shown that in North America more people inappropriately use their fog lamps in dry weather than use them properly in poor weather
BrokenSecrets.com
Photo Credit: mroach (Creative Commons)
Sources: DriveAndStayAlive.com Wikipedia SAE
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