Sunday, October 21, 2012

Things I learned this week 21 Oct

  • In the 1970s, tires only lasted about 32,000km (20,000 miles).
  • In vehicles with fuel injected engines, there is a fuel pump in the gas tank, kept cool by the gasoline. That's why you shouldn't let the tank get empty - there's nothing to cool the pump.
  • The current price of gasoline in Germany is $2.19 per litre. That works out to $8.41 per gallon in the US based on current exchange rates. 
  • The Honda S2000 managed to get 247 hp out of a 2.0 litre (non-turbocharged) engine (in the Japanese model).
  • An analyst thwarted a rogue US Navy Vice Admiral from provoking Iran with a planned game of chicken without the consent from Washington.
  • Engineering students used 3D printing to build an electric race car that weighs 617lbs (280kg) and goes 88mph (141km/h).
  • Cannabis is more damaging to teen brains than adult brains.
  • A Nebraska family is fighting for their deaf 3 year old son Hunter Spanjer's right to continue using his own name after school officials told them it was inappropriate and must be changed. Hunter uses a sign language called Signing Exact English to communicate and signs his name by crossing his index finger and middle finger and then wagging his hands. Grand Island Public School board policy forbids "any instrument that looks like a weapon," and officials say that Hunter's name looks too much like a gun gesture to be allowed in school.
  • Highway 401, also known as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway, is the busiest highway in North America. 420,000 vehicles drive on its 500 miles every day. The highway spans from Windsor Ontario to the Quebec border and passes through Toronto.
  • If it survives the trip, a newly discovered comet will be brighter than the moon when it becomes visible in our night sky in November 2013.
  • Bra companies about 10 years ago changed the sizes without telling anyone. They vanity sized it - what once was a 36D is now a 32G.

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