# Kuhneutson Valves and Flux Capacitors **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 4, 2015, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211 "2015-03-04T17:29:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211/21 "2015-03-05T02:31:15Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > - ignition keys for the HMMWV I’ve never been in the drivers seat of a military HMMWV; wouldn’t have known keyhole doesn’t exist. (The civilian H1 had keys) > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > You know those do exist right? And yes one-handed keyboards also exist. My neighbor’s French. I went to use her tablet one day. Most of the letters are in the same place. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![SantaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@SantaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SantaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211/22 "2015-03-05T02:50:47Z")
of course we can’t forget the classic: [Rockwelll transmission incabulator](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9LXG7rPQfE) ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211/23 "2015-03-05T03:41:48Z")
[Nitpick] **[Turbo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyRllRWfLJE)** encabulator [/nitpick] Watch it past the TE design and function segment to see how to diagnosis and repair the unit ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211/24 "2015-03-05T05:15:16Z")
There are stories that both Striped Toothpaste and Frosted Light Bulbs were invented by juniors sent to do stupid projects. The striped paint of course is a classic. The Kuhneutson Valves and Flux Capacitors are of course fictional, unlike strped paint, which is merely fictional. They’ve passed into popular culture, and are just as widely used as other fictional parts. ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211/25 "2015-03-05T05:26:05Z")
Turn signal fluid. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211/26 "2015-03-05T05:32:26Z")
Pipe stretchers, board stretchers, and cable or wire stretchers. Also magnetic bearing grease. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211/27 "2015-03-05T12:53:36Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > “Sphinx Valve” appears to be a real thing. It’s apparently used in plumbing. > [Sphinx Valve - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?q=Sphinx+Valve) If it existed when Sheckley wrote his story, I’ll bet he didn’t know about them. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211/28 "2015-03-05T12:56:36Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > There are actually smoke sifters, aka spark arrestors. And there are really bacon stretchers aka a Bacon Press… You can call our fictional Smoke Shifter a Spark Arrestor if you want, but that doesn’t make it the same thing. I can assure you it isn’t. As for bacon stretchers, I seriously doubt if they existed back then. If they did, we certainly didn’t know about them when we sent people in search of them. But I truly believe they are recent inventions. Maybe by someone sent in search of one. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211/29 "2015-03-05T13:00:12Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > From a military orientation > > - box of grid squares > - chemlight batteries > - various items related to inflation of the tank road wheels (compressor, pressure gauge, etc) > - military bearing grease > - glow plugs for the turbine > - can of squelch from commo > - ignition keys for the HMMWV > - can of track tension > - **box of reticles** > - NVG fluid > - left handed/metric tools that were ambidextrous (metric hammer, left handed screwdriver, etc) > > Not a thing to retrieve but similarly pointless - checking the armor on the tank for hollow spots with a hammer > > Made up item but the hunt ends quick - send them to a specific NCO for a specific radio, with the nomenclature using paygrade along the lines of PRC-E6. “First Sergeant, where do I find the Prick E8s?” (Bolding Mine) Much as I hate people who try to tell me that “these things exist” (see my last two posts), I’m confused by the above bolded item. Reticles (also spelled _reticules_) are real items – fine gridded transparencies placed at the intermediate image plane of a telescope, transit, or other optical measuring device. They’re real, tangible items. There’s no reason you couldn’t have a box of them. Or does “reticle” have some other meaning I’m unaware of? > **[Reticle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reticle)** > > A reticle, or reticule also known as a graticule, is a pattern of fine lines or markings built into the eyepiece of an optical device such as a telescopic sight, spotting scope, theodolite, optical microscope or the screen of an oscilloscope, to provide measurement references during visual inspections. Today, engraved lines or embedded fibers may be replaced by a digital image superimposed on a screen or eyepiece. Both terms may be used to describe any set of patterns used for aiding visual There... Here’s a patent for a Box of Reticles > **[US7604306B1 - Reticle box transport cart - Google Patents](https://patents.google.com/patent/US7604306)** > > A new transportation cart is provided that separates each reticle box or container from other reticle boxes contained in the cart. The transportation cart provides additional shock absorption, thus eliminating effects of vibration of the... If you buy reticles from Edmund Optics, each comes in its own box. [http://www.edmundoptics.com/testing-targets/test-targets/image-analysis-test-targets/opal-glass-reticle-targets/1832](http://www.edmundoptics.com/testing-targets/test-targets/image-analysis-test-targets/opal-glass-reticle-targets/1832) ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211/30 "2015-03-05T13:02:33Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Metric adjustable wrench. [Careful for what wish for](http://www.amazon.com/Vise-Grip-8-Metric-Adjustable-Wrench/dp/B002YKJ6MW) 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211/31 "2015-03-05T13:02:43Z")
In Wlliam Tenn’s “Errand Boy” the new kid is sent off to get polka-dot paint - and comes back with some. Hijinks ensue. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211/32 "2015-03-05T13:19:32Z")
In days of old when most of my friends and I worked on cars, one of our joke items that needed to be found or replaced was a kaniblin pin. That spelling is of course an attempt at what it sounded like. It was not to be found in the Chilton Guide. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211/33 "2015-03-05T14:56:32Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > (Bolding Mine) > Much as I hate people who try to tell me that “these things exist” (see my last two posts), I’m confused by the above bolded item. Reticles (also spelled _reticules_) are real items – fine gridded transparencies placed at the intermediate image plane of a telescope, transit, or other optical measuring device. They’re real, tangible items. There’s no reason you couldn’t have a box of them. > Or does “reticle” have some other meaning I’m unaware of? > > [Reticle - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reticle) > Here’s a patent for a Box of Reticles > > [US7604306B1 - Reticle box transport cart - Google Patents](http://www.google.com/patents/US7604306) > > If you buy reticles from Edmund Optics, each comes in its own box. > > [http://www.edmundoptics.com/testing-targets/test-targets/image-analysis-test-targets/opal-glass-reticle-targets/1832](http://www.edmundoptics.com/testing-targets/test-targets/image-analysis-test-targets/opal-glass-reticle-targets/1832) I think a reticle is the pattern itself. Your last two links refer to reticle boxes (which don’t seem to be boxes of reticles) and reticle targets. I don’t think there are physical reticles that you can have a box of. But I suppose it’s just an argument about semantics. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211/34 "2015-03-05T15:40:10Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I think a reticle is the pattern itself. Your last two links refer to reticle boxes (which don’t seem to be boxes of reticles) and reticle targets. I don’t think there are physical reticles that you can have a box of. But I suppose it’s just an argument about semantics. In common usage (see the Edmund page), the reticle is the transparency holding the pattern. I suppose if you thought that the “reticle” was merely the pattern itself, you’d think “a box of reticles” was absurd, but that’s not the way we used the term. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211/35 "2015-03-05T15:46:55Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > In common usage (see the Edmund page), the reticle is the transparency holding the pattern. I suppose if you thought that the “reticle” was merely the pattern itself, you’d think “a box of reticles” was absurd, but that’s not the way we used the term. The Edmund page refers to them as “Opal Glass Reticle Targets” and then describes the different patterns available. Maybe I’m missing it, but I don’t see the actual product described as simply a “reticle”. The phrase “reticle target” is used repeatedly. ---
**Author:** ![Sario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sario/32/18580_2.png) [@Sario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sario)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211/36 "2015-03-05T15:50:08Z")
Back when I was working at a Papa John’s when the guy tossing the dough would put a hole in it we would send a newbie back for the “dough repair kit”. Or when the customer wanted less sauce the new guy was told to go get a can of “light sauce” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211/37 "2015-03-05T16:16:57Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > The Edmund page refers to them as “Opal Glass Reticle Targets” and then describes the different patterns available. Maybe I’m missing it, but I don’t see the actual product described as simply a “reticle”. The phrase “reticle target” is used repeatedly. Well, try here then: > **[Counting Reticles, Counting Chambers, Grain Counters, Merz, Point Array,...](http://www.reticles.com/counting-reticles.html)** > > Klarmann Rulings, Inc, manufactures both custom and standard high quality reticles, optical sightings, precision optical patterns, stage micrometers, filter glass, comparator screens, optical fabrication. or here: > **[Shop By Reticle](https://www.leupold.com/shop/reticles)** > > We’ve been making world-class optics that bear our family name for over 100 years. We honor that legacy every day as we design, machine and assemble… or google “reticle vendors”. You don’t find “reticle target vendors” or “reticle target catalog”. These items are colloquially referred to as “reticles”. In Edmund you have “reticle mounts”, not “reticle target mounts”: [http://www.edmundoptics.com/optomechanics/modular-mounting-components/c-mount-components/c-mount-reticle-mounts/1359](http://www.edmundoptics.com/optomechanics/modular-mounting-components/c-mount-components/c-mount-reticle-mounts/1359) and “reticle sets”, not “reticle target sets”: [http://www.edmundoptics.com/microscopy/magnifiers/comparators/12x-comparator-reticle-sets/2023](http://www.edmundoptics.com/microscopy/magnifiers/comparators/12x-comparator-reticle-sets/2023) And here you have “SCaled Transmission reticles”, not “scaled transmission reticle targets” [http://www.edmundoptics.com/microscopy/reticles-stage-micrometers/scaled-transmission-reticles-21mm-diameter/1444](http://www.edmundoptics.com/microscopy/reticles-stage-micrometers/scaled-transmission-reticles-21mm-diameter/1444) ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211/38 "2015-03-05T16:20:34Z")
“Reticle sets” and “reticle mounts”, not “reticles”. But whatever, it’s a silly semantic argument and I fear that you and I are hijacking this thread with it. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211/39 "2015-03-05T17:32:05Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > I have a vague memory of a commercial from some years back that referenced a “fuhnortnerod”, but I can’t seem to find any reference to it…possibly because I’m horribly misremembering the name…does it ring any bells? [_Fahrvergnügen_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrvergn%C3%BCgen)? > [@Leaffan](#): > > Back in my early days of electronics manufacturing a UART Analyzer was the go-to for new techs. UART analyzer? Isn’t that just a serial-protocol analyzer? I’ve run into them… ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211/40 "2015-03-05T17:55:06Z")
Back in the old days at the Harley shop (any HD shop you worked at was THE Harley shop) our favorites were muffler bearings and kneuter (pronounced KA-new-ter) pins. That was what got the blame for any problem we had trouble tracking down. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kuhneutson-valves-and-flux-capacitors/714211.md?page=3)