Sorry, I didn’t mean it to sound like you were stupid or something. I think there are probably millions of things that people never give a thought to why they are called that. If you don’t have real life experience with the thing, you will probably never know. I knew early on because I had a relative that smoked a pipe. Only person I know in my whole life that smoked a pipe. I’m sure there are a lot of people that know what a pipe is, but don’t know that many can be taken apart to be cleaned.
You think that’s something new?
I think there is a difference of degree, not of kind.
The last time an engine used a petcock was a 1918 Maxwell. It’s a simple valve
I can’t recall lox mentioned in Seinfeld although perhaps it was just in passing.
The standard 1/4 turn “angle stop” valve used in toilet shutoffs is an example of a petcock.
Pro Tip: When Googleing, it’s “petcock” not “pet cock” . . . unless you’re actually looking for Bad Dragon sex toys!
Petcocks are still fairly common on modern cars as the means to drain the radiator. Both of my cars have one.
Huh. I’ve known for a few years that scented alcohols are sometimes used for massages, but still never connected that to the “rubbing” in rubbing alcohol somehow.
Another person confused by the redefinition of rubbing alcohol. The old stuff I remember had extra crap in it for massage or whatever purposes. One had to specifically look for isopropyl or denatured alcohol if one used it for cleaning stuff without leaving a residue. E.g., one definitely did not use rubbing alcohol when cleaning circuit boards.
I’ve always viewed pipe cleaners as craft items that can also be used for cleaning pipes, or other narrow openings like the vent on my Instant Pot, which was why I bought some a while back.
That Instant Pot suggestion is a really good idea that I’d never thought of. Thanks! (scoots off to Amazon to order some)
Glycerin, mostly.
Yes! It’s brilliant! (off to Amazon, too…)
That sounds right.
I’ll fess up and say that is exactly what I was thinking when I first started to read your post. LOL
I just got a spam titled “Pipe cleaners for your arteries.”
The only time I’ve seen, read, or heard the term “pipe cleaners” in years is in this thread.
Is somebody watching what I read on the Dope? 
If you’re logged in to your Google account, the answer is almost certainly yes. if you’re using a Chrome browser or an Android phone, the answer is also almost certainly yes.
Bastids.
I was working in a deli when I was going to Penn State. People came in asking for soda. “We don’t stock it,” Hey, they said, it’s right there …pointing to the Pepsi display.
Me from Pittsburgh, that’s pop.
It’s Coke.
No Coke, Pepsi.