Mankind may be doomed

[MikeK]

A friend of mine spotted this at a home improvement store.

Also seen were instructions on the package for a bathtub drain plug.

[Bored@Work]

Looks reasonable. I mean, we are talking about pointless imperial units. 

[SeanB]

Well at least it is in American english and Spanglish............

I didn't know the USA was metric................ But they have to explain the imperial measures?


America, the country where a bath plug has an instruction manual, and a 5 page one at that, but a gun comes with nothing.

[FenderBender]

Well at least it is in American english and Spanglish............

I didn't know the USA was metric................ But they have to explain the imperial measures?


America, the country where a bath plug has an instruction manual, and a 5 page one at that, but a gun comes with nothing.

Yadayadayada. It's true. But don't hate.

[Simon]

I am a firm believer in natural selection - nuff said !

[MikeK]

I didn't know the USA was metric

Nope, we're not metric.  That metric/imperial measure is quite a rare bird.  Hey, it's a start.

America, the country where a bath plug has an instruction manual, and a 5 page one at that, but a gun comes with nothing.

It comes with a beer.

[ejeffrey]

America, the country where a bath plug has an instruction manual, and a 5 page one at that, but a gun comes with nothing.

Guns are easy to use.  The original point and shoot interface.

[rollatorwieltje]

Found something similar a while ago. 2x 110mm equals 220mm 

[Monkeh]

America, the country where a bath plug has an instruction manual, and a 5 page one at that, but a gun comes with nothing.

Where on earth do you get that idea from?

[saturation]

Americans learn to use guns early, in the legal states.  Manuals are superfluous because its not something you read about, but are taught and practice.  But it does come with it.

http://pdf.textfiles.com/manuals/FIREARMS/






In gun happy states like Texas or Arizona, it gets more involved:

[MikeK]

Thankfully not all states.  Just the paranoid ones.

[AntiProtonBoy]

Found something similar a while ago. 2x 110mm equals 220mm 

am i missing something?

[bullet308]

A modern firearm actually comes with a rather elaborate manual, stuffed full of messages meant to indemnify the manufacturer against all manner of idiocy:

Ruger LC 9 9mm pistol owners manual:
https://ruger-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/_manuals/lc9.pdf

Certainly better than any multimeter manual I have seen.

They are not meant to be difficult to operate, but they require a fair bit of skill to operate effectively.

The .50 BMG would be a very rare, expensive and heavily licensed animal in the US, perhaps $25,000 plus a $200 tax stamp plus a six month wait for BATFE to approve the transfer.

Whlie the smallest Glocks (the G26 and G27) are sometimes refereed to as "Baby Glocks", they are not in fact intended to be operated by infants.

[IanB]

A modern firearm actually comes with a rather elaborate manual, stuffed full of messages meant to indemnify the manufacturer against all manner of idiocy

OK, I have not the inclination to read the manual, but I do hope it includes something along the lines of: "Do not point loaded weapon at foot and pull trigger; injury may result"?

[bullet308]

Buried in the thick pile of other glaringly obvious things to not do, yes. "Don't have your fingers over the muzzle when you pull the trigger", that sort of thing, ad infinitum.

[Bored@Work]

Certainly better than any multimeter manual I have seen.

The equivalent of a cheap Chinese multimeter with no or a bad manual and a high risk to kill oneself is a Midnight Special then?

They are not meant to be difficult to operate, but they require a fair bit of skill to operate effectively.

Well, that depends on the definition of effectively. I don't remember the exact amount of time they used to initially teach us handling, shooting and cleaning an gun in the military, but it wasn't more than a few days. After that they were satisfied when we pointed the thing roughly in the right direction, and didn't kill ourself or on of our fellow soldiers. Whatever we hit otherwise was effectively good enough.

Whlie the smallest Glocks (the G26 and G27) are sometimes refereed to as "Baby Glocks", they are not in fact intended to be operated by infants.

Is the constitution limited to adults only?

[IanB]

Further example of stating the obvious (note: modern society IS pretty stupid)

Not obvious at all though. Since peanuts are not nuts, people with nut and sesame allergies might believe they can safely eat peanuts from that package. (Peanuts would be quite safe for you unless you have a specific peanut allergy.) Unfortunately there might be some traces of actual nuts mixed in with the peanuts due to being processed on the same equipment. Therefore you are warned about this possibility.

[baljemmett]

Not obvious at all though. Since peanuts are not nuts, people with nut and sesame allergies might believe they can safely eat peanuts from that package. (Peanuts would be quite safe for you unless you have a specific peanut allergy.) Unfortunately there might be some traces of actual nuts mixed in with the peanuts due to being processed on the same equipment. Therefore you are warned about this possibility.

Indeed, and quite sensibly - although the "contains peanuts" bit of the warning is a trifle redundant, regardless...

[bullet308]

Whlie the smallest Glocks (the G26 and G27) are sometimes refereed to as "Baby Glocks", they are not in fact intended to be operated by infants.

Is the constitution limited to adults only?

Actually, for the most part, yes, it is for adults. The courts have consistently held that minors do not enjoy all the same privileges (or incur the same responsibility) as adults. 

[Noize]

Its for covering your ass from law suits. Nothing more.

Not obvious at all though. Since peanuts are not nuts, people with nut and sesame allergies might believe they can safely eat peanuts from that package. (Peanuts would be quite safe for you unless you have a specific peanut allergy.) Unfortunately there might be some traces of actual nuts mixed in with the peanuts due to being processed on the same equipment. Therefore you are warned about this possibility.

Indeed, and quite sensibly - although the "contains peanuts" bit of the warning is a trifle redundant, regardless...

[vk6zgo]

There are many things which are obvious in retrospect,such as:

(1)If you are wearing "Thongs"*,do not put your foot out to cushion the impact of a falling  AVO model 8 !
*What other countries call "flip-flops",but  are so-named in Australia to avoid confusion with  Bistable Multivibrators!

(2) "I know it's 2 AM.but,no,you can't read the grid drive on the PA stage of a 5kW AM BC transmitter with an Oscilloscope probe!"

(3) If it looks like Teflon,but starts to bubble after the transmitter has been on a few minutes,its probably Nylon!

(3) "Oh,Yes! That's the roofing sheet I just unfastened---------AAAAAAAIIIIIEEEE!!!"

(4) "You mean you don't put the Electrolytics that way round in a  -24volt supply?------Why is it snowing inside?"

[AntiProtonBoy]

silver snow?

[Bored@Work]

silver snow?

Do not eat the silver snow.

[baljemmett]

Its for covering your ass from law suits. Nothing more.

Well, no shit.  But if you eat a packet of peanuts because you know you aren't allergic to peanuts, and you swell up and die because you're allergic to the sesame that made its way in there, then manufacturer turned round and said "oh, yes, we know there's a risk of contamination with sesame because we use the same packing line, but we figured if we put that on the packet people would laugh at us", they'd pretty much deserve whatever lawsuits they get...

[Uncle Vernon]

they'd pretty much deserve whatever lawsuits they get...

No! The western world has lost the concept of shit happens and replaced it with shit must be compensated for! Ever since the useless garbage of our society have been orchestrating all manner of profit seeking shit. 
In China and India shit still happens, and is never compensated without proof of intent.
Their economies are in growth, ours are in decline! 
About time we let shit take it's natural course again. Shit led recovery, Vernon is never wrong!

[baljemmett]

they'd pretty much deserve whatever lawsuits they get...

No! The western world has lost the concept of shit happens and replaced it with shit must be compensated for!

Eh, nuts to compensation -- and whilst I would agree with you on the idea of shit happening in general, when it comes to things like "allergen in unrelated product due to production process" I don't think it's entirely shit that can be reasonably foreseen to happen, which is probably the litmus test.  There are plenty of utterly stupid warnings ("peanuts: may contain peanuts" from this example, for instance) but I'm not convinced the rest of it falls in the same category.

(Countdown to 'caution: hot' on coffee cups in 3... 2... 1...  )

[jsoderquist]

The equivalent of a cheap Chinese multimeter with no or a bad manual and a high risk to kill oneself is a Midnight Special then?

I hope I'm not taking what you said out of context or mistaking your analogy, but whether by electrocution or projectile - dead is dead.

I don't think it really matters if an idiot is poking around in a piece of 480V gear with a multimeter, or pointing a gun at themselves, the outcome will likely be the same if they don't understand what they're doing.

Well, that depends on the definition of effectively. I don't remember the exact amount of time they used to initially teach us handling, shooting and cleaning an gun in the military, but it wasn't more than a few days. After that they were satisfied when we pointed the thing roughly in the right direction, and didn't kill ourself or on of our fellow soldiers. Whatever we hit otherwise was effectively good enough.

Were you in the Coast Guard, Navy or Air Force? In the Marines we spent the equivalent of 3 weeks during boot camp learning about and firing weapons - not to mention all the training in the fleet. We were also required to demonstrate proficiency in hitting what we aimed at, yearly.

I'd wager that in this case the definition of effectively is tied directly to the likelihood of use. I'm quite certain that Navy Seals and USMC/Army Special Forces get a lot more weapons training than either of us received - but then again they're much, much more likely to be required to use those skills.

[G7PSK]

Further example of stating the obvious (note: modern society IS pretty stupid)

Not obvious at all though. Since peanuts are not nuts, people with nut and sesame allergies might believe they can safely eat peanuts from that package. (Peanuts would be quite safe for you unless you have a specific peanut allergy.) Unfortunately there might be some traces of actual nuts mixed in with the peanuts due to being processed on the same equipment. Therefore you are warned about this possibility.

I buy mixed nuts  from the local supermarket and there is a warning on the packet " MAY CONTAIN NUTS" I would jolly well hope so I would not be pleased to open it and find it empty or full of sand.

The silliest warning I have come across was on a knife  package " Warning keep out of children"

[vk6zgo]

Of course,there are two ways of looking at things.
Various shops whinge that people slip on things & sue them,with the implication that everybody who does this is faking it.

On numerous occasions,I have been at shops where lettuce & cabbage leaves,squashed grapes,etc are scattered around the vegetable department,offering slip hazards to anyone who walks there.
If a customer doesn't report it,they will stay like that,until some staff member just happens to pass that way,& sometimes,even then,they will ignore them.
The problem is that shops do not have enough staff to have someone like the old "storewalker" to wander around keeping an eye on things,& video surveillance systems are concentrated on looking for shoplifters,& don't cover these danger areas.

Ideally,shops would go back to having a dedicated staff member,or enough staff so they aren't always "flat out"but that is not going to happen,so it seems it is up to us customers to report any hazards.
I've noticed that a customer report brings immediate action in most shops.

The thing people always bring up in these discussions,(complete with a sneer),is hot coffee.

I used to drink black coffee.
I changed my ways,not because of a sudden desire for milk,but because people at cafes etc couldn't understand that the addition of a small amount of cold water would make it as drinkable as milky coffee.

A small annoyance was the fact that my white coffee drinking friends would be up & ready to go,while I was still waiting for the black coffee to cool down.
Much worse,was the tendency for some places to serve coffee in polystyrene foam cups.

I was at the trotting track,years ago,& bought black coffees for my wife & I.
They were served in those damn foam cups!
As I turned from the counter,I was jostled,& the contents of one cup went all over my hand,scalding it.
Not pleasant,but all it meant to me was a few hours of pain,which abated after I soaked my hand in an ice/water mix ,then about a week of itchy peeling skin.
If it had landed on a child,it could have been much more serious!

And all because some moron didn't forsee that the combination of boiling water & foam cups was dangerous.
OK,I could have refused the drinks,but I'd got away with it before,so was irritated but not concerned.

As it was,I didn't sue anybody,but the people around me learnt a few new swearwords!

[Hypernova]

silver snow?

Do not eat the silver snow.

From an old joke I read on Reader's Digest:
"Children, what have we learned today in chemistry class? Yes Jimmy?"
"Don't lick the spoon..."

[Bored@Work]

silver snow?

Do not eat the silver snow.

From an old joke I read on Reader's Digest:
"Children, what have we learned today in chemistry class? Yes Jimmy?"
"Don't lick the spoon..."

You know the original "snow" phrase?

Watch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat that yellow snow -- Frank Zappa