Yesterday at the library a young woman asked me how I type without looking at the keys. I told her about touch typing. She had never heard of it.
So will rabbits.
Oh my god!! So many rabbits.
And it all started with one (who was apparently pregnant when we got her).
I think I get it, you’re talking about self propelled mowers?
We don’t have those in Aus, at least if we do they’re very uncommon. (except ride on mowers)
Lawn Mowers here have a motor that makes the blades spin, but you need to push or pull it to make it move. Start it up and it will just sit there.
I guess the safety switch on yours is to stop the thing from taking off if you let go of it, which isn’t a problem if they aren’t self propelled.
Nope. Even ones you push without help from the mower will have a Safety Bar or other device that has to be used while the mower is running. When the bar is let go the mower shuts down. It’s a Darwin thing.
Don’t know when they made them required. I had an older mower that didn’t have one.
Yup. When starting the mower, you also have to depress the handle with one hand while bending over and pulling the starter cord with the other, which can be an exercise In contortionism.
But can they name the capital of Newfoundland? Because that might help.
The mower my parents bought in the 1970s didn’t have one. I bought a used mower in the 1990s that probably was a good 10 years old, because it allowed the oil to be poured directly into the motor, and it had one. I would guess early 80s. There was a lot of safety stuff then. The Tylenol poisoner caused a lot of companies to try to brainstorm all the ways their products could be misused or booby-trapped. It’s when chairs started coming with warning tags not to place on top of something and stand on.
I’ve known this since mid 70’s as for some reason we had a close interest in what was going on in South Africa and Soweto was often in the news.
Don’t feel bad. It took 20 years for it to dawn on me why ABBA was called ABBA.
Well there you go, learn something new all the time.
I bought a new one only 12 months or so ago, nothing like that. I’d find that as annoying as hell if the motor stopped every time I let go of the handle.
I guess we haven’t reached that stage of nanny state stuff yet, at least not in that area.
I think most people find it less annoying than having their hand cut off.
Fair call, but I think anyone dumb enough to stick their hand into the spinning blade shouldn’t be operating any equipment more complicated or powerful than a plastic tricycle:D
(cues up “Beauty School Dropout”)
It looks like you and I had better not make a car trip together – at least, not in the respective roles of driver and navigator !
Hey, if you are at least conscious that you need to do it, you’re better at it than Mom, and I still haven’t killed her!
That’s why I called it a Darwin device. You just know someone, somewhere, for some reason, reached under a running mower.
How can one tell what is and what is not…I learned very little grammar I guess while I was in school. I was good at spelling for a time but hyphens were not something I learned!
I dont remember learning this but African history was not studied for too long as US history was in our school
Nor do some people know when the last two states were added to the 48 to make 50 or which states they were that were admitted
I just learned that my cousin didnt even know!
Merging is always a treat to watch NOT! I usually top the speed limit going down the ramp into the highway just so I know I can get on the lane. Course that’s only because I dont pay attention to my speed. Isnt the interstate a race track??
You dont have to register guns? 
OMG I almost forgot!!
I’m still trying to read all of the posts in this thread. Some of you are very funny! I giggled out loud more than once…the horse with no name was a very good one!!
Simple things like, you don’t need your ID to vote and that there is a difference between right of way and right away.
This one isn’t about people in general, but I’m always surprised when I meet a teacher who can’t recognize dyslexia. The mistakes of dyslexics are completely different from those of bad spellers (never met a bad speller who confused bdpq, for example), and both from those of people who think that writing like ass is kool.
A quick question for Stui. Do your mowers have a brake on the flywheel that stops the blade within a second or two of stopping the motor? In the US, the requirement (IIRC) is that the blade stop within two seconds of the operator releasing the handle. Most manufacturers use a combination of a kill switch and flywheel brake to meet this requirement. There are some models that use a clutch between the motor and blade to achieve the same result.
But, you’re right; it is annoying as hell. I figure it’s just the nanny state forcing citizens to learn how to not let the little things bother you.
To be fair, lawnmowers are much easier to start than those of my youth. Most of them are designed so you can reach the pull-cord while standing behind the mower with your hands on the handle. My current push mower is over 10 years old and lives outside not even under cover. It will still start (cold) on either the first or second pull. If it doesn’t start by the second pull, there is either water in the carburetor (not terribly uncommon since it lives outside) or it is out of gas. Once it is warmed-up, slightly more than a gentle tug on the starter rope gets it running. The mowers of my youth would not have survived a season if they stopped running when you let go of the handle. Sometimes starting them was more difficult than mowing the entire yard.
I will admit, however, that I have defeated the kill switch on my current mower. At one time, the cable that controlled the switch rusted away (probably something to do with how it has been stored), so I had it rigged to be always on; you had to pull the spark plug cable to get it to stop (not bad, once you learn to make sure you are not touching any metal when you pull it). But, when the throttle cable also rusted, I bought two new cables so it runs like it is supposed to, now.