CULTURAL QA 04-2023-16 Q1 Why are people sayingthat train blows whistle on bridges to match the resonance of train with bridgeto prevent it from collapse?
A1 Subhasis Dutta Roy, FormerWorking in Indian Railways at Indian Railways (2001–2022)Updated 2y Starting from Burdwan Railway station towards down Howrah direction arailway bridge situates. It's named Banka Bridge. It was 1987 or maybe 1988, I was studying in class seven or maybe eight.One day we four friends decided to see the Banka Bridge. We reached the bridge and moved on the bridge. The bridge looked likethis.(picture not added) We were approximately in themiddle of the bridge. Suddenly we heard a whistle and it continued to blow. Atrain was coming. We didn't have any place to move aside from Railway tracks. Two friends were at the beginning of that bridge. They quickly movedoutside from Railway track. We didn't have time. The train was coming withcontinuous whistling. We couldn't decide what to do. Our mind became empty. Suddenly we observed that extraplatform type area on the bridge as shown on the above image. We rushed towards that andsomehow reached there before the train reached us. The train passed us with the huge sounds that I can still hear one or twofeet apart from us. It seemed to us that time had stopped or was very slowlymoving. At last, the train passed, and we quickly moved away from the bridge. Icould felt my heartbeats outside of my chest.( This must be I could feel) That place which saved our lifewas the refuge. It was for those trackmen working on the railway and keep themsafe when train passing. A yellow board wrote with letter ”R”placed beside of track to indicate the refuge area. It is refuge indicator. Loco pilot gives a whistle to save the life of railway workers who areworking upon the railway bridge. That time the whistle saved us. After appointed as ALP I have passed many times on that bridge with mytrain and obviously with continuous whistling. Every time I can remember that situation when I see that particularrefuge area where we stayed. My note- Mr Subhasis Dutta Roywas a loco pilot who wroterailway board examination and became an I R S( Indian Railway service). Probably he hasretired 2022 end. Q2 Why is there no waterin my tap even though the water tank is full? A2 Srinivasan Narasimhan. Retiredfrom Govt. ,service after serving for 34 years in varc Thu Check whether any valve is installed at the branching point to your tap.If so examine if it closed inadvertently. If it is closed, open it to allowwater to flow in the pipe. Then you will get water through your tap. MY note- There can be otherreasons. If the end where tap is connected ismetal, it can get corroded along with clay coming in water , if it isfrom borewell. All on a sudden if a huge clay come along with rusting, it mayblock water to the tap. Till2 hours earlier, you may be getting water. This was my experience in three taps in my home provided at washingmachine, later dining hall wash basin and finally at work area sink. I was withthe plumber who removed clay and rust hammering a screw driver in the corroded pipeend and removed clay and rust collected in a bucket with dirty water. Remember till the problem appeared I was getting good water in those taps. Q3 Why is it so difficultfor many people to grasp the concept of evolution by means of natural selectionand genetic mutation, even though the evidence is overwhelming? A3 Claire Jordan, Degreein biology and folklore; programmer, shop owner, secretary on newspaper Apr 8 They have a false idea of what evolution is, then rightly conclude thattheir false idea is impossible. They think it means becoming human, or becoming some kind of idealform, or that one creature suddenly turns into or gives birth to a differentspecies. [This last can actually happen, as a result of a chromosome mutationor a chance fertile hybridisation, but it’s very rare and not how evolutionnormally works. Q4 Why do we use apressure cooker when possible? A4 TTK Prestige, appliancesand tools can make meal-planning and cooking much Feb 16 If you are looking to save a good amount of cooking time in the kitchen,consider investing in a good-quality pressure cooker. A pressure cooker works on the principle of steam build-up once theliquid inside boils on heating. This heated steam creates pressure inside thesealed vessel that cooks the ingredients placed inside. The trapped air then escapesusing a whistle on top of the lid at regular intervals to control thecirculating steam. How to use a pressure cooker? Here are a few simple steps to use a pressure cooker. Place the ingredients inside the cooker with an adequate amount of liquidto generate steam. The quantity of liquid will depend on the recipe, so measureaccordingly. Close the lid tightly and securely and place the vessel on a source of heat. After a while, the pressureinside will cause the cooker to blow a whistle. If the dish takes more time to cook, you will need to wait for multiplewhistles. Then switch off the stove andwait for the steam to reduce so you can open the lid easily. During the cooking process, the escaping steam can cause a mess andsplash onto the surfaces of your kitchen. Keeping this in mind, the ***Prestige created a special rangeof innovative pressure cookers with a unique deep lid that prevents spillagefrom the sides. They call this the Svachh range of pressure cookers-made to keep your kitchen surfaces clean. It's available for both gas andinduction stoves and in a variety of sizes and materials. Is cooking with a pressure cookerhealthy? Since cooking with a pressure cooker requires the use of mostly liquidsor water, this process isknown to be comparatively healthier than alternative methods. The usageof oil is also limited, and itretains more nutrients and vitamins from the ingredients. If you are health conscious, steaming vegetables in a pressure cooker isalso considered an ideal way to prepare your meals. My note- *** TTK may be referring to new Hawkins type cooker with smallround gasket. Even the flat top model usinggasket fully inside the top Lid has spillage. Q5 What are some mindblowing myths that sound like truth but are actually false? A5 Mark Rhysand, AnthropologyStudies (2020–present)Apr 10 The Great Pyramid of Giza was built by slaves: While this is a commonlyheld belief, it's actually not true. The workers who built the pyramids were likely paidlaborers who were well-fed and well-cared for. Humans only have five senses: In fact, humans have many more than five senses, including a sense ofbalance, a sense of temperature, and a sense of time. Gum takes seven years to digest: This is a myth that's been around for along time, but it's not true. Gum passes through the digestive system in the same way as otherfoods. Goldfish have a three-second memory: Goldfish actually have a memory spanof several months and are capable of learning and remembering things. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a solid mass of trash: While the Great Pacific GarbagePatch is a serious problem, it's not a solid mass of trash. Instead, it's acollection of small pieces of plastic and other debris. Lightning never strikes the same place twice: This is a common myth, but lightning can and does strikethe same place multiple times. Bats are blind: While bats use echolocation to navigate,they are not blind andcan see just fine. The Earth is flat: This is a myth that has been around for centuries, butit's been debunked by science. The Earth is a sphere. My note- Not fully sphere. In poles earth is oval, what I studied. Carrots improve your eyesight: While carrots are a healthy food, theydon't actually improve your eyesight. This myth was perpetuated during World War II as a wayto hide the fact that the British were using radar to spot enemy planes. Sharks can smell a drop of blood from miles away: While sharks do have astrong sense of smell, theycan't smell a drop of blood from miles away. The actual distance depends onfactors such as the size of the drop and the current in the water. Q6 Is gas heater betterthan electric? A6 Oozzio, Lives in 350 NWalnut St, Champaign, IL 61820, United States (2013–present)Tue Yes, gas heaters are betterthan electric ones. Gas heaters are more energy-efficient than electric heaters, that meansthey can heat up a room quicker at a lower cost. Gas heaters are also less expensive to operate thanelectric heaters, as natural gas is often cheaper than electricity, gasheaters are better at warming up larger spaces. If you're looking to save money on your heating bills, the natural gasheater is often a more affordable choice than an electric heater. My note- Gas water heaters are notso economical as I gathered. Q7 Is a heat pump betterthan an electric heater? A7 George MadathiparampilVarkey, M Tech from IIT Bombay5y Heat Pump is better than Electric heater. Output from heater is directconversion of Electrical Energy. I KW heater converts 1 KW electrical energy to1 KW heat. In heat pump electrical input isfor pumping heat from lower level to higher level. Electrical input also finally adds into the heat output. Heat pumpworking with an input of 1 KW electricity transfers 2KW from 30C to 60 C. Heatdestination gets 2+1 KW heat. In both case, input is only 1KW but output is 1 kw for heater and 3 KW for heat pump. Figures are only for illustration purpose. Q8 How did the human racesurvive and spread over the planet at all, since our babies are so fragile andneed so much care at all times? A8 Craig Weiler, MasterOpinionator4y The average tribe of humans is from 150 to 250 people. The most technologicallyprimitive people are better armed than any other animal on earth. We have ranged weapons, melee weapons, stabbing weapons, bludgeoningweapons and even more importantly, Humans will all get togetherand fight as a group in a way no other animal can hope to match. Not only that, humans have also been known to build defensive structures justto make things harder. Any animal that comes for a human baby must quite a bit more than just get the babyseparated from the mother. Theyhave to get through man made defenses and get past human warriors with lethalweapons. If the predator is lucky, it will be facing odds of 5 to 1.Tribes don’t take stupid chances with their babies. Time is not the predator’sfriend because the longer it takes to get to that delicious human baby meat,the more humans will show up. it won’t take long before the predator becomes the prey. No predator on earth can stand up to ten men with spears, and youraverage tribe can round up around 30 men on a moment’s notice. Human babies are indeed quite fragile and need a lot of care, but theyhave very powerful friends with big pointy sticks willing to go to extraordinary lengths to protect them. Q9 What are some of thelittle-known facts about Indian geography? A9 Moses Chandramouli, B.Techin Computer Science Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Puducherry(Graduated 2023)Updated 2y The former French colonies -Pondicherry, Karaikal, Yanam and Mahe united and formed the Union territory ofPuducherry and joined India in 1954. The map of UT of Puducherry looks like this. All 4 districts are separated from each other and enclaves in 3 differentstates of India where 3 different languages are spoken. Though the area of Puducherryis roughly 483 square Kilometers , you have to travel 1183 km from Mahe toreach Yanam. Forcomparison Nagpur is just 938 km from Mumbai both of which are located at theends of Maharashtra. If that’s not strange take a look at the capital of Puducherry. It is made up of 11 enclavesinside the state of Tamil Nadu. It’sreally strange living here outside the city limit because you really get confused which is Tamil Nadu and which is Puducherry, atleast me. Enclave - An enclave is a territory (or a part of one), that is entirelysurrounded by the territory of one other state. That red circle is the enclave where my house is located and you can seeall the surrounding region is Tamil Nadu. Even if we want togo to some partsof Puducherry we have to gothrough Tamil Nadu. One time I remember playing cricket where the Batsman was standing inPuducherry and Bowler is Tamil Nadu. The pin code of our housebelongs to the Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu rather than Puducherry. Puducherry is mostly unknown for most of India and when people fromPuducherry or Karaikal travel to other parts of India they say they’re comingfrom Tamil Nadu, Yanam people say they’re from Andhra Pradesh and Mahe peoplesay they’re from Kerala. So, that’s the reason I consider these Indian Geography facts Unknown. My note- While travelling from Badakara to Kannur in Kerala state , we have to pass through Mahee. Q10 What does absolutelyeveryone who owns a smartphone or an electric car need to know? A10 Luise, Worked at OwnBusiness Updated 6mo He must know that cell phone batteries and batteries for electric carscontain cobalt. Cobalt comes to about 55% from the Congo, one of the poorest countries inthe world. The cobalt for Apple comes entirely from the Congo. The people who work there are extremely exploited and live a horror life. And it is estimated that about 40,000 children work in these mines.Dorsonis eight years old and he works 12 hours a day in the mine. Despite the long hour, he has no shoes and hardly any food.The man nextto him threatens him with beatings if he does not work faster.Everyone here has terribleworking conditions. Children and adults work in the pouring rain, in ankle-deep mud, in thiscobalt mine that supplies cobalt for Apple. Dorsen was spotted by a SkyNews team filming a documentary about the use of child labor in cobalt mines The cobalt sacks are carried through the mine by children, and Dorsen wasnot fast enough with his sack when Sky's cameras were rolling. When Dorsen has filled the sack, the adult workers who control him putthe sack on his head so he can carry it away. It is a terrible job. Children sift the mined rockwith their bare hands. They select the stones withthe highest cobalt content and sort them into bags. Dorsen was not the youngest child in his mine. Sky also found this girl,who is 4 years old. The wastewater from the minespoisons the drinking water in the area. The cobalt is taken to open-air markets where Chinese middlemen give thelocals some money for it. According to the WashingtonPost, the cobalt is then traded through a chain of Chinese suppliers until itreaches Apple, Samsung and all the other phone makers. This opaque chain is why no single phone manufacturer can be directlylinked to a Congolese cobalt mine. All the above QA are from Quora website on 15-04-2023 Quoraanswers need not be 100% correct answers . Compiledand posted by R. Gopala Krishnan, 79, on 16-04-2023 -- 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/35112031.2761347.1681605404865%40mail.yahoo.com.
