# Obsolete Advice (For things that still exist) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 1, 2024, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-advice-for-things-that-still-exist/1006548 "2024-09-01T06:31:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-advice-for-things-that-still-exist/1006548/161 "2024-09-05T19:36:54Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Secondly, running out of a building in an earthquake is just foolishness. There are powerlines coming down, trees thrashing back and forth, shit flying off of roofs, and glass shattering. I was always told to never try running outside the building during an earthquake for the exact reasons you mention. No one ever said anything about the house throwing _you_ out. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-advice-for-things-that-still-exist/1006548/162 "2024-09-05T19:38:12Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The only sorts of power cords that _can_ fray are those with a woven fabric outer covering. Which were last commonly sold in the USA in the early 1960s, so now 60 years ago. That reminds me, as a kid in the 1980s I was taught to never plug or unplug an electrical cord with wet hands. Now, a modern cord with plastic sheathing should be completely watertight (unless it’s damaged). But I could see how a fabric covering could become conductive if it gets wet. So that makes me wonder if this was also an obsolete bit of advice that only applied to old fabric covered cords. Of course when I was taught this in the 1980s the 1960s were only 20something years ago, and it would have been entirely plausible that your grandma might still be using that lamp with a fabric covered cord she bought in 1960. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-advice-for-things-that-still-exist/1006548/163 "2024-09-05T20:15:31Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > That reminds me, as a kid in the 1980s I was taught to never plug or unplug an electrical cord with wet hands. I’m pretty sure that even with modern cords, that’s still good advice. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-advice-for-things-that-still-exist/1006548/164 "2024-09-05T20:19:15Z")
If your hands are dripping water, they can certainly drip onto the prongs, and onto the plastic around the prongs, thereby providing a nice wet conductive path from the metal prong to your skin. Once you get the prongs deep enough in the socket that they touch the socket’s contacts, ZZZaaaPPPP!!! I’d not be much concerned about slightly damp hands. But that simply moves the question to “How wet is wet enough? Do ya’ feel lucky? Well? Do 'ya?” ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-advice-for-things-that-still-exist/1006548/165 "2024-09-05T20:51:31Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’d not be much concerned about slightly damp hands. But that simply moves the question to “How wet is wet enough? Do ya’ feel lucky? Well? Do 'ya?” It’s one of those “a gun is always loaded” things - it’s just a good good habit to have, to always dry your hands before you do anything involving electricity. Also, electricity aside, why are your hands even wet? Dry your hands! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-advice-for-things-that-still-exist/1006548/166 "2024-09-05T21:12:09Z")
Agree w your larger point. Actual operational safety comes from safe habits used every time. Even the umpteen hundred times they were strictly unnecessary. > [@Alessan](#): > > Also, electricity aside, why are your hands even wet? Dry your hands! A lot of electric appliances are used in meal prep. A time where wet ingredients, washing stuff, washing hands between e.g. prepping e.g. raw chicken and fresh salad, etc. And many people use more appliances than they have outlets, especially in older houses. Such that plugging and unplugging is just part of meal prep. And of course while cooking there’s almost always time pressure. And perhaps distractions and a glass of wine to ~~sample~~ nurse. Real easy to pull your hands out of the sink, give a quick shake and move on to the next task. Heck, sometimes I cook an entire meal with wet hands just back and forth from one tool to another. OTOH, I personally don’t use portable corded appliances much while actually cooking. That’s probably one of the big use cases. The other big thing (I suspect), hard as it is for folks like you and I accustomed to arid climates to imagine, is plugging and unplugging and handling electrical garden or construction tools outdoors in the perpetual drizzle and rain of some parts of some countries. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-advice-for-things-that-still-exist/1006548/167 "2024-09-07T16:42:24Z")
it might shut down but you have to hold the button in for about 5-10 seconds ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-advice-for-things-that-still-exist/1006548/168 "2024-09-07T16:48:13Z")
I’ll give it a try, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-advice-for-things-that-still-exist/1006548/169 "2024-09-07T19:39:56Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > it might shut down but you have to hold the button in for about 5-10 seconds That is still at least partially a software shutdown, as the system has to recognize what to are trying to do by holding that button in. With a modern OS, non-recoverable disk corruption almost never happens with a hard shutdown. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-advice-for-things-that-still-exist/1006548/170 "2024-09-07T21:55:25Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > As to caches and removable media, there’s also the question of speed and scale. Modern USB is much much faster than original USB. OTOH, we’re all used to slinging much larger amounts of data around with impunity. For reference, a quick Googling shows that USB cables with a USB-A connector on one end (the very common rectangular connector that’s been around for years and years) have data rates ranging from 1.5 Mbps (for USB1.0, which came out in 1996 and I’m not sure you can get such shitty cables anymore) to 20 Gbps (for USB3.2). the USB3.2 standard was introduced in 2017, so any USB cable made since then will almost certainly be good for 20 Gbps (although the data rate will be less if the device connected to the cable is less than what the cable itself is capable of). USB cables with USB-C on both ends can support USB4 and USB4-V2 standards, which feature data rates of 40 and 80 Gbps, respectively. So yeah, compared to the days of USB 1.0, the latest and greatest could be 53,333X as fast. > **[USB](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#Connector_type_quick_reference)** > > Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that allows data exchange and delivery of power between many types of electronics. It specifies its architecture, in particular its physical interface, and communication protocols for data transfer and power delivery to and from hosts, such as personal computers, to and from peripheral devices, e.g. displays, keyboards, and mass storage devices, and to and from intermediate hubs, which multiply the number of a host's ports. > Introduced in 199... ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-advice-for-things-that-still-exist/1006548/171 "2024-09-07T22:05:13Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Urine has little actual use, once you urinate. Do not urinate on a jellyfish sting- it makes things worse. > > Do not drink urine. Altho you own urine if you are really well hydrated might be okay- “clear & copious” by the time you need to drink it, it will be dark and concentrated of things your body wants to get rid off. > > In the past urine had some uses- cleaning agent, etc, and even mouthwash, we have better uses. what about tanning leather? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2024, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-advice-for-things-that-still-exist/1006548/172 "2024-09-08T01:30:32Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > what about tanning leather? In the past it was used for that, there were better things then, and way better stuff now. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2024, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-advice-for-things-that-still-exist/1006548/173 "2024-09-08T03:15:56Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > what about tanning leather? It was also used in the process of waulking woolen tweed in Scotland. [from [skyeweavers.co.uk](http://skyeweavers.co.uk)] ### The waulking process When woollen tweed is fresh off the loom, the weave is quite loose and the fabric can be stiff and rough. The purpose of waulking (or fulling) is to make it softer, thicker and more airtight. The cloth is first soaked in a liquid called _maistir_ to help set the dye and soften the cloth. Traditionally this would have been stale urine – but Sgioba Luaidh assure us that warm water mixed with ammonia does the job for them! The wet cloth is then spread around a communal table for waulking. Women sitting around the table pass the cloth around while rhythmically beating it. The songs help keep the rhythm going. There are different songs for different parts of the process. The cloth is always moved clockwise, as anti-clockwise is considered bad luck. Each woman pulls the tweed towards her and then passes it slightly to the left before pushing it back, thumping the cloth on the table at the same time.… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-advice-for-things-that-still-exist/1006548.md?page=8)