# Obvious things about a creative work you realize after the millionth time (OPEN SPOILERS POSSIBLE) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117 "2009-07-24T13:20:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 201
**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:** [February 22, 2021, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4004 "2021-02-22T22:36:00Z")
Ah, right - I mistook it for the ending. Is it already out of the box when we see it in the procession at the end? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4005 "2021-02-22T22:48:54Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > In _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ , after the Nazis stop Katanga’s ship and take the Ark, how do they get it on board their submarine? There’s a shot of them using a small hoist to lift it over the edge of the ship (presumably down to their rowboat), but then what? There’s no hoist on the submarine to lift the Ark out of the rowboat. And even if they could get it on to the deck of the submarine, the crate containing the Ark is bigger than any of the hatches in the submarine’s hull. Submarines have cargo hatches. [Here’s a film of a torpedo being loaded into a submarine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHfvEonMMig). ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4006 "2021-02-22T22:58:04Z")
[It’s out of the crate when Indy threatens to blow it up with an RPG](https://www.billstclair.com/weaponsman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/MP40-with-villains.jpg), which I think is the next time we see the Ark after the crate scorching scene. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4007 "2021-02-22T23:34:11Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > it appears that gold in this universe weighs about as much as aluminum, As is well known, the ark is gilded, not solid gold. [Exodus 25:10-22 ESV - The Ark of the Covenant - “They shall - Bible Gateway](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+25:10-22&version=ESV) There is a suggestion that a gilded acacia -wood structure of that size might have enough capacitance to accumulate a fatal charge: I’ll give you a link to the skeptics, but note that their analysis is rubbish. [history - Could the Ark of the Covenant have killed by acting as a capacitor? - Skeptics Stack Exchange](https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/47627/could-the-ark-of-the-covenant-have-killed-by-acting-as-a-capacitor) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4008 "2021-02-22T23:46:00Z")
What’s rubbish about it? Calculating the capacitance of a capacitor with those dimensions is trivial. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4009 "2021-02-22T23:59:35Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Submarines have cargo hatches. [Here’s a film of a torpedo being loaded into a submarine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHfvEonMMig). That hatch is just big enough for the torpedo, and too small for the Ark. I don’t know if German torpedoes (during WWII) were any larger. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4010 "2021-02-23T00:31:39Z")
They were 3 feet longer, but the same diameter. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4011 "2021-02-23T00:48:19Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > [It’s out of the crate when Indy threatens to blow it up with an RPG](https://www.billstclair.com/weaponsman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/MP40-with-villains.jpg), which I think is the next time we see the Ark after the crate scorching scene. I thought that if you take it out of the box, the value drops dramatically… ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4012 "2021-02-23T01:46:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What’s rubbish about it? Calculating the capacitance of a capacitor with those dimensions is trivial Which they didn’t do. I didn’t mind linking to it, but it’s fair to note that their analysis is rubbish. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4013 "2021-02-23T03:34:43Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What’s rubbish about it? Calculating the capacitance of a capacitor with those dimensions is trivial. Please do so. It may be trivial, but I don’t know how to do it. Could the Ark have been a capacitor that could kill someone? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4014 "2021-02-23T05:09:10Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Could the Ark have been a capacitor that could kill someone? That right there is in my Holy Scriptures _Full Of Shit I Desperately Want To Be True._ Oh, and in _my_ Bible, the prophets of the Ba’al movement had their faces melt off, too (I Kings 18:40, Graphic Version). ---
**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:** [February 23, 2021, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4015 "2021-02-23T18:26:28Z")
Don’t mix religion and science. It’s an insult to science. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2021, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4016 "2021-02-24T11:11:11Z")
I’m still interested to hear the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4017 "2021-02-25T06:35:33Z")
You know on Looney Tunes… the little black African warrior-kid who runs around hunting, runs into a lion occasionaly, a Minah Bird a lot? Inki? Neat name…thought so for years. I’m aware of the controversies. Don’t think its that big of a de…wait…Inki? INKi? Oh FFS. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4018 "2021-02-26T23:29:35Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > > [@Chronos](#): > > > > What’s rubbish about it? Calculating the capacitance of a capacitor with those dimensions is trivial. > > Please do so. It may be trivial, but I don’t know how to do it. Could the Ark have been a capacitor that could kill someone? Can anyone answer this question? It has me interested. I don’t know anything about how a capacitor works, nor the level of power required to kill someone. @Chronos? ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4019 "2021-02-26T23:38:29Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Can anyone answer this question? It has me interested. I don’t know anything about how a capacitor works, nor the level of power required to kill someone. > > @Chronos? Not quite on point, but Mythbusters did a segment on the [“Baghdad Batter”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters_(2005_season)#Baghdad_Battery) and included a sub-segment on using it to power a shock delivered through an Ark of the Covenant replica. They concluded it could have delivered a mild shock, but not enough to actually kill anyone. I don’t think they tested using the Ark as a capacitor in and of itself. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4020 "2021-02-27T00:39:30Z")
> [@Pavelb1](#): > > Inki? Neat name…thought so for years. I’m aware of the controversies. Don’t think its that big of a de…wait…Inki? INKi? Is the reference that his skin is black like ink? I have to admit, I do not remember this character. Is it racist and the company stopped selling it? ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4021 "2021-02-27T00:51:33Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Is the reference that his skin is black like ink? I have to admit, I do not remember this character. Is it racist and the company stopped selling it? Inki: > **[Inki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inki)** > > Inki is the lead character in an animated cartoon series of Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies short films by animator Chuck Jones. Five Inki cartoons were made between 1939 and 1950. > Inki, created for Warner Bros.' Merrie Melodies series of theatrical animated shorts, is a little African boy who usually dresses in a simple loincloth, armband, legband, earrings, and a bone through his hair. He never speaks. The character's pickaninny look was designed by Disney veteran Bob Givens and ... “Inki” sounds like it could be a name in an African language. The character is literally made of ink, being animated. And, oh, he just happens to be Black. And an embodiment of pretty much every contemporaneous stereotype about Africans. So, yeah, I think it’s an “obvious thing about a creative work” that it’s a reference to his skin color. And, yeah, the company stopped circulating his shorts because in _1950_ he was considered an offensive caricature. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4022 "2021-02-27T02:07:50Z")
I saw the Inki and the Mynah Bird cartoons on TV in the 50s and 60s before they were phased out. It’s a shame, not so much for Inki, but for the mynah bird, who is one of Chuck Jones’s greatest creations. Supposedly, Walt Disney showed the cartoon to his animators asking what the hell was going on. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4023 "2021-02-27T02:20:31Z")
The capacitance of a capacitor is equal to epsilon times the dielectric constant of the filling times the area of the plates, divided by the separation between the plates. According to Wikipedia, the Ark was about 131x79x79 cm, for a total area of about 5.4 m^2 (including the lid). I can’t find any figure for the thickness, but it surely wouldn’t be less than a centimeter. epsilon is a fundamental constant, and wood’s dielectric constant is only around 2.5 . Put it all together, and we’re looking at around 10^-8 farad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=200) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=202)