carl mciver wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
| So they fit six and twelve point sockets... Why else ;-)
|
| Think of the expense of everyone having to buy five-sided sockets, or
| some other goofy configuration.

You never looked on top of a fire hydrant did you? They use a five
sided drive there to keep stupid people from opening the valve up.

Reminds me of a funny story... One afternoon I was outside working in
the driveway. There's a fire hydrant half a block from my house, in great
view. A fire truck pulls up to the hydrant (fire station happens to be
about three blocks away from my house, too.) and three firemen hop out, one
with a wrench in hand. They were just wearing blues, so I suspected they
were going to drain the hydrant or something. They were taking it casual
with this assignment, obviously. Idiot number one opens the valve without
taking the cap off, so he closes it again. Idiot number two smacks the cap
to spin it off. Idiot number three was standing about five feet away from
the hydrant when the cap blows off from the pressure, snaps loose from the
lanyard, and slams into the side of idiot number three's knee. While the
first two idiots are thinking this was funny, the idiot number three hits
the ground screaming bloody murder, sounding like he was in some serious
pain. I had to walk back inside to prevent myself from laughing out loud at
the collective stupidity of them all. Shortly after, another fire truck and
an ambulance pulls up, completely blocking the intersection, and carts off
idiot number three.
I still don't think they've fixed that lanyard....



I'm trying to understand how that happened; i.e. where all that energy
was stored, Carl.

The only thing I can come up with is that there must have been a good
sized air pocket above the valve which got compressed by water pressure
when the valve was opened and closed, 'cause I don't think just water or
the hydrant/riser pipe by itself would store enough to do that.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"Truth exists; only falsehood has to be invented."