Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: GUEST,ivor bigginin
Date: 20 Feb 04 - 11:40 AM

What a load of crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 19 Feb 04 - 04:48 AM

The description of the Ben Franklin experiment, including the usual justification, is close to what was done in the auto shops mentioned, with the substitution of an ignition coil and battery for the Leyden jar.

The evidence that the motor shop incidents really did happen is pretty convincing, even if not all the reports were completely true.

In one specific instance, ca. 1938, at the Trailways bus maintenance shop in Kip Kansas, at least 3 witnesses independently recited to me the same story, with matching descriptions of the experimental apparatus, the method of wiring (an old galvanized siding sheet and Model A coil) and the name of the "experimental subject." They each had similar comments on the character of the victim. (He was not well liked.)

They even had it down to the specific day of the week when it happened, since it was two days before payday and the boss threatened to hold all their checks until someone 'fessed up.

Of course, even in this case they'd had about 25 years to match up their stories before I heard them ...

John

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: Mr Happy
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 09:01 PM

Blackcatter

'The Mythbuster segment that was the scaryest was the one where poopy seeds actually do produce false positives on opiate drug tests.'

What are poopy seeds?


GUEST,hugh jampton

If they're what I guess they might be, suck a few

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 07:20 PM

The story goes that Benjamin Franklin was annoyed by drunks from a nearby tavern who pissed against the wall of his house, and solved the problem by coating the wall with foil and connecting a charged Leyden jar between foil & ground. This was said to have been the first practical use of electricity.

Alas, my mother, who was an expert on B.F., told me it was not true.

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 01:09 PM

I agree - it is a fun song. And the Mythbuster guys were having a great time testing it.
Their "peeing on the third rail" dummy was created of material to equal the electrical resistance of the human body. They had a lot of problems getting a good ground (earth) - they had to soak the area around the dummy with water. The bladder inside the dummy worked with gravity instead of muscular pressure so they had to increase the diameter of the fluid column to make a continuous stream heavy enough to conduct the current from the third rail. They got it to work, though.
The "terminal velocity" comments were covered on another myth they disproved - that if you fall off a high construction project such as a bridge into water, throwing your hammer into the water before you hit will break the surface tension enough to save you. In several drops from about 200 feet, they managed to rip several limbs off the poor crash-test dummy and only marginallly reduced the G-force from the impact from about 90Gs to 82Gs

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: GUEST,Ivor Bigginin
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 10:48 AM

Shit man !!!!!! those bumptiouse pricks are at it again.

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 10:46 AM

It sounds rather like the Discovery item first mentioned might well have had Red Green for a consultant.

For a "human-like" object, skydivers usually assume something on the order of 112 to 120 miles per hour for "terminal velocity" in free fall. This is for the "flat" attitude in which they like to "float" for all those fancy midair maneuvers. By assuming a "longitudinal" dive attitude, a "falling" person can reach something more like 180 to 240 mph, although the maximum freefall velocity a person can reach is not too well documented in sources I've seen.

Re Dave B's query. Pissing on the rail would have much the same effect as simply stepping on the rail. I was present at a "technical presentation" on an uncle's new electric fence, where dad and uncle were trying to convince the kids it wouldn't hurt us if we touched it. Of course, they were watching the little light on the "charger" so they only touched it "between pulses" to demonstrate. Most of the kids caught on before trying it out. Unfortunately, the old farm hound didn't detect the significance of the light and "raised a leg" with rather violent effect. He was, in fact, rather seriously injured (although he did recover).

"Hot wiring the outhouse" (or an "informal relief station") was a common enough happening in the early years of automobiles, when the "vibrator" kind of ignition coils were common, that "pissed on the magneto" was a stock shop term for doing something incredibly stupid.

John

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: GUEST,hugh jampton
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 10:45 AM

You sad bastards !!!!!!! you just have to show of with the why's were's and do you mind if I dont's, dont you? Who is really interested in the mumping of a few middle class pseudo intellectuals?

Cooksey's song is great and meant to be fun,which you lot should try by the way.

Get a grip saddo's

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: GUEST,Isaac
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 10:18 AM

The acceleration due to gravity is 9.8 m/s/s.
The unit of force is of cause the Newton which believe it or believe it not is approximately equal to the downward force of one Apple in the earths surface gravitational field.

I N

PS Don't waste your time with that Alchemy Bollox it doesn't work.

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: s&r
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 10:13 AM

Depends on air resistance - 180mph is excessive for a human unless deliberately minimising wind resistance with a Superman dive or similar. We worked it out years ago in physics at 120mph. This gives 135mph example

Stu

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: GUEST,Martin Ryan
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 10:11 AM

until....

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 10:01 AM

A falling object falls at 16 feet per second, doubling it speed every 16 feet, so there.
eric

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: GUEST,soundcatcher28
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 09:11 AM

I seem to remember from my skydiving days that terminal velocity (for a falling body at least) was 180 miles an hour. Could be that my badly mangled body and shaky memory are a bit innacurate but i do remember you get a hell of a jolt after you pull the ripcord at terminal velocity.

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: Jeri
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 08:58 AM

Celtic Music might be a subject for the show, but as nothing explodes, smashes, or burns, it isn't likely they'd do an episode. I'm glad to hear the producers of the show gave you proper credit.

I missed the 'Sick Note' episode, but I'm sure it'll be on again sometime. I rather liked the one about the duck's quack not echoing. (Nothing met a violent end in that one either, but ducks are cute.) And the exploding gas tank episode, in which the Fire Department guys kept backing up farther and farther, and also seemed disappointed when the first efforts failed.

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: GUEST,Pat Cooksey.
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 07:41 AM

I do indeed have a video from Discovery, prefaced with me singing the
song. It has also been used on German television, naturally I'm
delighted. I am in the middle of a tour here in Germany with Sean Cannon, who made the song famous in Europe with the Dubliners.
Before anyone asks, I don't want to discuss Celtic Music here.

All the best.

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: GUEST,Hugh Jampton
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 07:23 AM

Children peeing on the live rail?? Shocking behaviour!!
When I lived in France there was a kid who could hit the overhead line while standing on the station. He never died from it but did he get invited to all the parties!!

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: Brian Hoskin
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 07:03 AM

Some people visit this site to find out about music, with me it's physics!

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 06:51 AM

Brian - once an object reaches terminal velocity it's velocity remains basically the same. Before that point, however, it is still acelerating, so the height it is dropped from does make a difference - otherwise you'd kill yourself jumping off a chair.

I'd also like to know what the result was about the "peeing on the live rail" question. When I was young, a boy in the neighborhood was reputed to have done himself some severe harm by attempting it, and while it didn't kill him, it was thought to have scuppered his chances of fatherhood. All our parents banned us from playing near the railway line as a result. I'd hate to think what would happen if it was off a bridge onto one of the more modern overhead wires which are a much higher voltage than the third rail. On the other hand we have rigged up induction coil tricks of the same kind at parties and they didn't seem to produce any lasting damage.

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 06:14 AM

Gravity accelerates an object. Air resistance slows it down. When the two effects balance out, you reach terminal velocity for that object dropped from that height.

Gravity acts on a feather and an iron cannon ball the same. Because of their difference of surface area ratio to weight (partly density but more than just that), these two objects have different terminal velicities.

One pound (or kilo - depending on where you live) MASS of both objects would reach the same velocity if subjected to the acceleration of earth's gravity in a vacuum.

An object that is attracted into the earth's gravity well, will have a maximimum theoretical terminal velocity (which is beyond me at the moment, but someone here will surely tell us!), which is modified by the above concepts discussed.

Robin

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: Brian Hoskin
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 06:04 AM

Blackcatter,

I don't pretend to know much about physics, but I thought that the distance an item falls makes no difference to its speed; whether it falls 14 floors or 30 feet the force of gravity remains the same.

Brian
(waiting for his ignorance to be pointed out and corrected)

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 04:54 AM

You think Pat didn't already know?
eric

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: Seamus Kennedy
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 03:52 AM

Pat Cooksey, the writer of the song will be delighted to hear this, I'm sure!

Seamus

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: Blackcatter
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 02:44 AM

Not exactly a hard thing to figure being possible. Simple physics - we worked on such circumstances in 11th grade physics class. Years ago I could have computed the speed, force, etc.   In fact, it's the continuing to hold on that would be the hard part. Also, everytime I've heard the song (and the way I sing it) is that it's 14 floors, not 30 feet. That'd might just change the speed a bit - especially upon hitting the ground.

The Mythbuster segment that was the scaryest was the one where poopy seeds actually do produce false positives on opiate drug tests.

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: Dead Horse
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 02:32 AM

And the "Electrifying Experience"?????
Just in case I get caught short, you understand.

Subject: RE: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: katlaughing
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 01:10 AM

We missed that one, darn it!!

Subject: Sick Note/Bricklayer/ Proved!!
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 12:58 AM

I found so many references to this subject I couldn't decided which was the most recent so I started a new thread.
I was surfing through the TV channels the other day when I hit on a show called "Mythbusters" on The Discovery Channel. These two guys apply modern engineering to try to prove/disprove many Urban Legends and Myths (such as the "sick note" and "dying by peeing on the third rail of an electric rail line").
This show, they were trying to recreate the circumstances described in "The Sick Note" with a wooden barrel, a skid load of bricks, a 30' high scaffolding, a pulley wheel, a rope and (as the unfortunate bricklayer) a used "Crash-test" dummy. To ensure safety, remote release mechanisms were used to "untie " the rope to start with and "let go" the rope at the end.
After several uncuccessful attempts (the barrel was very strong and didn't break the first time to release the bricks & the combined weight of the dummy, barrel and bricks bent the support pole), they were able to achieve all three barrel movements, hit the dummy going up and coming down and finally beat up the dummy quite badly by dropping the remains of the empty barrel on it.
They declared the myth "Proved". They seemed to be having a good time in the process. It looked to me like the ultimate "Guy" job!