Totally OT: Pet hates

[Tim Watts]

On 12/03/16 18:17, Sam Crean wrote: > prez instead of president, etc etc etc.

"POTUS" seems to be an in word in some circles...

[Mike Barnes]

That's presumably what's in the mind of the person who wrote it. He/she is forgetting the golden rule of writing, which is to put yourself in the place of the reader. You can address a well-defined group that way, but not individual drivers.

[Mike Barnes]

It's a place designed specifically for stationary trains. Not stationary railways.

[The Other John]

Aaaahhhhgggg! Pet hate number 397! It's *duct tape* FFS!

[polygonum]

A big one:

Google Groups when they mean Usenet.

[michael adams]

It was duck tape first, so called because it was waterproof.

It was only called duct tape post-war by people who used it for ducts.

As I had no reason to believe the numpty in Toolstation was going to repair any ducts, I assumed he'd bought it for its waterproof properties and general durability.

Is it Duct or Duck? We don't want you to be confused, so we will explain.

The first name for Duct Tape was DUCK. During World War II the U.S. Military needed a waterproof tape to keep the moisture out of ammunition cases.

So, they enlisted the Johnson and Johnson Permacel Division to manufacture the tape. Because it was waterproof, everyone referred to it as "duck" tape (like water off a duck's back). Military personnel discovered that the tape was good for lots more than keeping out water. They used it for Jeep repair, fixing stuff on their guns, strapping equipment to their clothing... the list is endless.

After the War, the housing industry was booming and someone discovered that the tape was great for joining the heating and air conditioning duct work. So, the color was changed from army green to the silvery color we are familiar with today and

people started to refer to it as "duct tape*." Therefore, either name is appropriate.

michael adams

[The Other John]

Bloody hell! I should have known better than to have crossed swords with you! Is there anything you don't know? :)

(Slinks away, tail between legs. :( )

[michael adams]

Its a bit of an old chestnut actually.

If it's any consolation, if you watch "Ice Road Truckers" not that many people do, in one episode, when she sprained her wrist wrestling with the steering wheel while being miles away from anywhere, Liza Kelly strapped up her wrist with duck tape.

Except that having just googled it, she calls it duct tape too.

michael adams

...

[charles]

In the film industry/theatre, it's called "gaffer tape". (Gaffer being the title of the chief electrician in the film industry).

[Tim Streater]

But the railways are stationary. Considerably more than the trains. QED.

[Bob Eager]

UNfortunately, that battle is probably lost since that became an actual product name.

[Bob Eager]

Apparently, that is a lower tack version that is also not reflective.

[michael adams]

Indeed. But you can't get on or off a moving train. Not without breaking the regulations or incurring the of injury at least.

To do that they need to be stationary.

And where better to get on or off a stationary train ?

michael adams

...

[Tim Streater]

At a train stationary?

[Sam Crean]

That particular battle had been lost LONG before that.

[Sam Crean]

Duct tape doesn?t have to be reflective.

[Bob Eager]

Turns out it was called duck tape *first*.

[Bob Eager]

True, but it's not gaffer tape if it is reflective.

[Sam Crean]

That's what I meant.

[Clive George]

I can manage using both lanes, but using all three as per the instruction at the M40/A34 junction is harder.