Geniuses at work.....

[JimR]

Mensa is an organization whose members have an IQ of 140 or higher.

A few years ago, there was a Mensa convention in San Francisco, and several members lunched at a local cafe. While dining, they discovered that their salt shaker contained pepper and their pepper shaker was full of salt.

How could they swap the contents of the bottles without spilling, and using only the implements at hand?

Clearly this was a job for Mensa! The group debated and presented ideas, and finally came up with a brilliant solution involving a napkin, a straw, and an empty saucer. They called the waitress over to dazzle her with their solution.

"Ma'am," they said, "We couldn't help but notice that the pepper shaker contains salt and the salt shaker..."

"Oh," the waitress interrupted. "Sorry about that." She unscrewed the caps of both bottles and switched them.

The moral of the story is to never confuse intelligence with common sense!

 

[simple_gifts]

Good one.

A similar story was that NASA spend $50K in the 1960's developing a pen that would write in 0 gravity; the Russians used a pencil.

 

[Jim_Truett]

Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
Good one.

A similar story was that NASA spend $50K in the 1960's developing a pen that would write in 0 gravity; the Russians used a pencil.


That one is a myth. Spacepen

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: Jim_Truett
Spacepen

The Space Pen is a wonder of technology.

These days, the Space Pen is commonly found in industries that use computer-controlled pen-plotters, some of which run very fast indeed. Because the pen contains pressurized ink, it is capable of laying down a line of ink at a far faster rate than an ordinary non-pressurized pen.

Just don't break the tip off one! If you do, the pressurized ink will ooze out all over the place and make a big mess.

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: JimR
"Oh," the waitress interrupted. "Sorry about that." She unscrewed the caps of both bottles and switched them.

I had something similar happen to me.

I was working on a car, using one of those combination wrenches that has a ratchet in the closed end. My wife walked by, and noticed that I seemed to be very upset about something. I told her I was upset that the ratchet only turned in ONE direction, which happened to be the WRONG one for what I needed. Try as I might, I couldn't find how to make the ratchet go in the OTHER direction. How stupid of the designers to not include a way to make the ratchet also turn in the other direction!

She said... Flip the wrench over.

Embarrassingly, I had not thought of that. And I'm pretty sure my IQ is at least 100.

 

[CourierDriver]

Now I fell enlighten,,,I think??????????? good ones..

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: Jim_Truett
Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
Good one.

A similar story was that NASA spend $50K in the 1960's developing a pen that would write in 0 gravity; the Russians used a pencil.


That one is a myth. Spacepen


Regardless, its value is in the parable we can all appreciate. Having a know-it-all in authority over-think something when the guys in the trenches have a faster, cheaper solution.

Like the (false) story of the chevy nova that didn't sell in mexico, b/c no va means "It doesn't go".

 

[Kira]

Hello, Your example doesn't jibe with the espoused emotion.

Chevy sold the NOVA without thinking about the name so no over-thinking was involved.
Also, there were no guys nor trenches.

I always kinda doubted the "No-Go" NOVA story. That a NOVA is a star exploding didn't keep it from selling all over the place. It's hard to believe Mexicans couldn't get over the linguistic mismatch.
Are they stupid? I doubt that too. Kira

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: eljefino

Regardless, its value is in the parable we can all appreciate. Having a know-it-all in authority over-think something when the guys in the trenches have a faster, cheaper solution.


Not really, and especially not in this case. Mission requirements regarding contamination control are extremely strict, and pencils shed graphite dust, wood shavings (they have to be sharpened), broken tips and eraser rubber, all of which are combustible. So if the "guys in the trenches" would have continued to use pencils it had the potential to wreak havoc inside the spacecraft.

The Fisher space pen was developed privately, and was purchased by both your "know-it-all" authority (NASA) and your "guys in the trenches" (the Soviet space program) for about $6 each. Even Cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyev said that "pencil lead breaks, and is not good in space capsule; very dangerous to have metal lead particles in zero gravity"

 

[hotwheels]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Even Cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyev said that "pencil lead breaks, and is not good in space capsule; very dangerous to have metal lead particles in zero gravity"


While I wasn't aware of even Russian pencil lead ever having been made from actual metal instead of from graphite, I do agree on wanting to keep a spacecraft's interior a clean environment. A grease pencil woould probably not produce any debris. If you need colors, there are always Crayons.

hotwheels

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: Kira
I always kinda doubted the "No-Go" NOVA story. That a NOVA is a star exploding didn't keep it from selling all over the place. It's hard to believe Mexicans couldn't get over the linguistic mismatch.
Are they stupid? I doubt that too. Kira

That story is fake, too.

http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
Good one.

A similar story was that NASA spend $50K in the 1960's developing a pen that would write in 0 gravity; the Russians used a pencil.


It's a joke...I wouldn't confuse it with a story. I doubt it actually happened...

You might be surprised to find out how clever and practical folks with a 140+ IQ actually are...

But we all like stories like this because they make us feel good about ourselves...by bringing down those who we think might be superior to us in some way. We all like to see the smug brought low...but that doesn't make this true.

It just means that it will be forwarded all over the internet..

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Astro14
Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
Good one.

A similar story was that NASA spend $50K in the 1960's developing a pen that would write in 0 gravity; the Russians used a pencil.


It's a joke...I wouldn't confuse it with a story. I doubt it actually happened...

You might be surprised to find out how clever and practical folks with a 140+ IQ actually are...

But we all like stories like this because they make us feel good about ourselves...by bringing down those who we think might be superior to us in some way. We all like to see the smug brought low...but that doesn't make this true.

It just means that it will be forwarded all over the internet..


Very well-put Astro

 

[Jim_Truett]

Originally Posted By: hotwheels
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Even Cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyev said that "pencil lead breaks, and is not good in space capsule; very dangerous to have metal lead particles in zero gravity"


While I wasn't aware of even Russian pencil lead ever having been made from actual metal instead of from graphite, I do agree on wanting to keep a spacecraft's interior a clean environment. A grease pencil woould probably not produce any debris. If you need colors, there are always Crayons.

hotwheels


Graphite is still very conductive, and an errant piece could wreak havoc inside the spacecraft's electronics.

 

[Michael_P]

Or the one where the loaded box truck gets wedged from top to bottom in a parking garage loading area at a hotel at Disney World. Two tow trucks are on the scene. The fire department with heavy rescue and the police are all scratching their heads on how to get this truck unstuck. A three year old girl with her parents walk by and she says loud enough for the emergency workers to hear; "Mommy! Daddy! Why don't they just let the air out of the tires."

 

[tom slick]

There was a Mennonite visiting an Amish neighbor and noticed he was cutting notches into the top of the door frame of his barn. The Mennonite asks why he was cutting the notches and the Amish replies that his mule has to lower his head to go through the door. The Mennonite asks why he doesn't just dig the dirt floor out to which the Amish replies "he bumps his head on the frame not his feet!"