CULTURAL QA 01-2023-17 BEING ACOMPILATION THERE MAY BE ERRORS
Q1 Why doesn't the Mumbai governmentreclaim more land from the sea to create more areas like the Netherlands? A1 Prasanna Bhalerao, I have someexperience in real estate deals.3y You need tounderstand how reclamation works. Mumbai isa natural harbour. The sea around is deep. It willtake years and cost a huge deal of money to reclaim land. It will be ecologicaldisaster for the fish and aquatic life. It cannot be permitted. Even if land is reclaimed, it will be so expensive that itwill not justify the cost. The case of Netherlands is different. I have lived there inthe past. Much of their land is 6–10 m below sea leveland Netherlands faced constant floods from the very basic high tides. Their’s was/is a constant battle against the sea. So they constructed dykes that protected theirinland. The windmills in the past were not show pieces. They pumped out water in a series of canals and theflood water was emptied back into the sea. After the dykes were constructed, the land could befilled. It was shallow land and did not take huge effort to reclaim it. TheDutch reclamation was not an ecological disaster so to speak. That said, Mumbai already has somereclaimed lands.A lot of land in Colaba below is reclaimed land andit is one of the costliest in Mumbai: Outlined below isthe Bandra-Kurla complex -again reclaimed land. This is also very expensive land: Vikhroli East is also reclaimed.It was reclaimed from the mangrove forests and there are hue and cry over it.Subsequent environment protests stopped going eastward: Q2 What are the potential risks ofdrinking reverse osmosis water for an extended period of time? A2 Gopala Krishnan, Former AssistantGeneral Manager 1996-2004 at Department of Telecom (1966–2004)Just now I am drinking theReverse Osmosis water likeLakhs of people in Chennai for the last 16 years. I do not think thewater has any detrimental effect. Q3 Why do some people install clotheswashers (washing machines) under their kitchen counter? A3 Mike Percival, Director and FreelanceElectronics Engineer1y Because that’s where the kitchendesigners leave space for the appliances and where the water supply anddrainage is! I have the washingmachine and tumble drier next to each other under the counter. The obviousplace to put them as there was a 1250mm recess to take two 600mm appliances,there were a couple of power sockets under the counter specifically for thoseappliances and all the appliance plumbing was pre-installed. Unless you have a dedicated laundry room, it is the mostlogical place. My note- I have seen in many flats in Bangalore, asmallportico to accommodate the width of washing machine is provided. This porticois used to keep all flat cleaning items. The gas line and meter is alsoprovided. The same in Chennai also in many flats. Q4 What all things have been inventedby/in India that very few people know of? A4 Prateek Saxena, Lived in India2y The zero and chessare well known India's contributions to the world, but there are some of the manylesser-known modern inventions by Indians that are making the world a betterand more colorful place to live in. i) Plastic roads - In 2006, Dr R Vasudevan patenteda road-laying process that involves sprinkling shredded plastic waste over hot gravel, coating the stones ina thin film of plastic, and then adding the plastic-coated stones to regularmolten tar and laying the road. ii) Paper microscope - Manu Prakash, a scientist atStanford University created a paper microscope called the Foldscope. It can beprinted on a single sheet of paper and folded into shape and used. iii) Bottle Cap Filter - The guy name Niranjan Karagi,in what we call an under appreciated invention, he used nano-composite technology to create asmall bottle cap filter that cleans contaminated water 99.9%. iv) Carburised Steel - Ancient Indians were knownpioneers in metallurgy. The ancient Indian technique of making high-qualitysteel today forms the basis of modern steel production for everything from thevehicles we travel in, to the cutlery we eat with. Barely seven decades afterindependence, India has again become a world leader in metallurgy andhigh-quality steel production. Q5 What would happen if lightning struck acar? Has it happened before and what was the result? A5 Paul Montgomery,Retired ElectricalEngineer (Metrology & Control Systems)Dec 31 Lightning is fickle, so your mileage may vary. In the vastmajority of cases where lightning strikes a car, no damage is done beyond a spot burnt on the paint wherethe bolt contacts the car. But in afew cases this is not true. Electrical andelectronics can be fried. The car cancatch fire. Moving componentslike wheel bearing or even pistons can be welded to mating parts. Tires have exploded and catch fire. Thedriver is electrocuted (killed by electric shock) These incidencesare fleetingly rare. Still, here are a few thousand words in pictures, showingcases were the damage was severe. Q6 Is it true that Trainman is upgradingtrain tickets to flight tickets if it isn't confirmed for free? A6 Prashant Tiwari, Indian RailwaysEnthusiast Sun Yes, Trainman has recently launchedan astonishing feature named Trip Assurance in which they upgrade your train ticket to aflight ticket at no extra cost. Isn't it amazing? Let's understandthe process for opting this feature:- I learned aboutthis feature a few weeks ago after reading an article in Economic Times Travel. You can opt for this feature while booking your waitinglist train tickets through Trainman app Opting for the feature makes your ticket eligible foran upgrade to a flight ticket if it doesn't get confirmed after the chart isprepared. It is currentlyavailable for 1,000+ trains including All Rajdhani trains. Is itfree? Trainman charges a fraction of fee as a premium when youopt for this feature and provides a free upgrade to theflight ticket if your train ticket remains waitlisted after the chart isprepared. The purposeof this feature is to assure your travel so that you won't have to change yourplans simply because your train ticket hasn't been confirmed. Some key points about Trip Assurance: 1. This feature isavailable only for cities having direct flight connectivity. 2. According torailways, RAC is considered a confirmed ticket. 3. Flight tickets will be provided to all the passengerstraveling under one PNR as well. Q7 Are there any other uses for large bathtowels besides bathing/showering? A7 Gopala Krishnan, Former AssistantGeneral Manager 1996-2004 at Department of Telecom (1966–2004)Just now I am from Chennai,India. Light weightdouble weaved Kerala towels are worn by many males while working in paddyfields, wearing while taking bath in rivers and some wear in homes also. Thick turkey towelsare worn by many ladies after bath, before changing to new clothes. It is not only in towel /soap advertisements. Q8 What is something people never usecorrectly? A8 Dawn Knight, Was a nurse, am a mother- not much difference. Self-explain Updated Nov 13 This(closet western type). No,not the whole thing, justthe lid. Itneeds to be put down before flushing to prevent microscopic pieces of faecalmatter being sprayed around the room, affecting toothbrushes, soap,flannels (washcloths), towels and everything else. Not doing so is justdisgusting and it is one of my biggest grumbles of family life! My note- Mostput down after flushing and ensure the syphon is working properly.If syphon doesnot work properly, water will be going in to closet continiously Q9 What are some amazing facts aboutEarth's composition? A9 Sean Kernan,3y The amount of saltin the ocean is a pretty impressive thing.3.5% of the weight of the ocean is salt. Ifyou extracted all the salt in the ocean and created a cube, it would be 270 kmon all sides. Or if you took all the salt in the ocean and draped itacross the entire surface of the earth it would be 500 feet tall.Which is the height of a 40 story building. (Source: Why is the ocean salty?National Ocean Service.) Also -interestingly - most salt in the ocean comes from land: rain washes it into theocean. Fun fact: ever notice how you get wrinkly fingers whenyou are in the ocean? That’s an evolutionary adaption to help your skin grip onslippery surfaces, which your body assumes you willneed traction for when wet. Q10 What is it that 99% of India'speople don't know? A10 While going through the highway all ofus observe this white linemarks on roads like this. It divides thelanes. But do you observe all the white lines drawn on the road are not thesame on the pattern? There are mainly three types of white line markingdrawn on the road. All they have different meanings and every highway drivershould obey those to avoid road accidents. A broken white line like this Itmeans drivers are allowed to overtake if needed. One continues white line like this Driversare supposed to not be allowedto overtake. Theselines are drawn where visibility is not clear for far in ahead. A double white line like this It means drivers are strictly notallowed to overtake when two continuous white lines are drawn on the road. All these areimplemented as per previous experiences on this road and all the drivers mustfollow these rules to avoid accidents on road.( Picturesnot added) My addition- An area where white crisscross lines aredrawn- Drivers may change sides. I have seen it in the areawhere vehicles can turn left to Velacheri or go straight to go to Guindy. It istold by my taxi driver the meaning of such crisscross lines. All the above QA are from Quora website on 19-01- 2023. Quora answers need not be 100% correct answers . Compiled and posted by R. Gopala krishnan on 20-01-2023 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/1808904602.2685955.1674202402538%40mail.yahoo.com.
