This is just too weird for words…
Category: Oddities
Who’d’a thunk it?
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Not Quite Weatherproof Any More
Fatigue-fractured weatherproof switch boot Building equipment to withstand outdoor conditions is really, really difficult. Anything metallic corrodes, anything organic deteriorates, and anything flexible fractures.
The weatherproof boot on this outdoor sign switch has a tiny crack where the toggle enters the body. Not very big, but it’s the beginning of the end…
If the rest of the box had an air-tight seal, then things would get really ugly. Diurnal pumping can suck enough water vapor in through that little hole to eventually fill the entire box with water. Long before then, though, the electrical gadgetry will corrode.
Even though this sign seems to have plenty of openings around the lighted panels, the switch will eventually fail all by itself. Then they’ll likely throw the whole thing out; nobody fixes anything these days, right?
Here’s a detail view.
Switch boot – detail -
They’re Not Redundant When One’s Broken
Vassar College Chapel sump pumps The basement of the Vassar College Chapel has a mighty drainage sump, a pair of pumps, and a mass of old-school cast-iron plumbing. I’m not certain, but I think the greenish pipe coming in from the rear is storm drainage from one side of the building.
Looks like they’ve got backup: two separate pumps and motors, with doubled plumbing on the ejection side.
Vassar College Chapel sump pumps – broken float switch rod On closer inspection, however, you’ll see that the near-side float switch rod coming up through the cover is broken and bent; that motor will never turn on.
One hopes this is deliberate, but the failed-off motor seems to be the newer / larger / less corroded of the two. We’ve had a lot of rain this summer, so I suppose if this was a problem, it would have already occurred.
It’s always a good idea to have all your sump pumps ready to run, should you be in a position to need sump pumps in the first place. Believe me, it’s much easier to fix things when you’re not hip-deep in rising water!
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Camouflaged Katydid
Katydid on matching umbrella This gadget appeared on an umbrella we’d left outdoors to dry.
We wonder if the green surface seemed like a leaf…
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The Decline of Literacy: Part Two
Saw this in a somewhat downscale grocery store while chaperoning a Marching Band event.
Hand Dryer Graffiti I’d give him (it’s a mens’ restroom) some bonus points, as I think he caught and corrected the error, but then there’s that “to”. Ouch.
I ask you, though, what grade were you in when you learned how to spell “much”? I doubt you’ve had any trouble spelling it since then.
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The Decline of Literacy: Part One
Enunciator Panel Placard Saw this one on the outside of an old-style school building while working as an Election Inspector in the recent primary.
I’m guessing: the person who typed this up heard the word, but never encountered it in actual use.
The correct word, of course, is annunciator, as defined there. Not exactly a homonym, but a pretty close match.
Wrong word, used properly, and spelled correctly. It’s not like I’ve never made that sort of mistake, fer shure!
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Forgotten Alkaline D-cell: Corrosion!
Alkaline D-cell corrosion Found this toxic spill while I was looking for a gadget on another shelf: it seems I left an alkaline D cell standing on my electronics parts & tools carousel for much too long.
Amazingly, although the cell’s leakage blistered the paint pretty badly, it didn’t affect the steel carousel!
I wiped most of the crud and dead paint off, then applied white vinegar (which is essentially dilute acetic acid) to neutralize the cell’s potassium hydroxide. The grabber tool sticking out from between the boxes had a pretty good dose of corrosion up the side, but soaking it in vinegar (wow, the bubbles!) removed that and a shot of penetrating oil expelled the rinse water.
It’s definitely not Duracell’s fault: the cell had a best-used-by date in 1997.
Memo to Self: throw ’em out!
The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning 