[...deleted...]

[Cap'n Tightpants]

Surely those chrome things under the eyes aren't THAT expensive? I seem to remember them only being a few bucks 5-6 years ago.

[andi*pandi]

You pull out the burner, take up the catch pan, then do any/all of these;

scrub w vinegar cleaner;
soak it in the sink;
scrub w brillo pad
spray w oven cleaner, which will kill anything
scrub again
rinse
while burners are out wipe down stove top, scrub
ask yourself why it matters since you rent

Mine have rusted out and they are a PITA to find the right kind anymore. I am almost ready to resort to covering them in tin foil. Modern stoves are all flat surface. I look forward to upgrading some day.

[The Final Dakar]

Why did people in 70s need tints on their glasses but after the mid-eightees didn't need them?

[Cap'n Tightpants]

Better TV camera tech took over and not as much light was needed.

[mindwaves]

Live with it. It doesn't look bad and it doesn't touch your food.

[subego]

Once Howard touches your food it should be thrown away.

[subego]

Why does 20 minutes seem like plenty of time to do whatever, but 15 minutes isn't nearly enough time to do anything?

[ort888]

Originally Posted by And.reg 

How do I clean this hideous mess of grime? I live in an apartment and can't just buy all new stuff

You chuck them in the trash and buy new ones.

https://www.amazon.com/Stanco-Hotpoi...p%2Bbowls&th=1

[subego]

Is it that hard to find porn without getting malware?

I'm looking at you friends and family who consider me their on-call IT department.

[Cap'n Tightpants]

^^ but they're free live cams, tho.

Maybe I'm getting old, but amateur gynecological exams just don't do anything for me.

[besson3c]

Does anybody have any recommendations for an itchy butthole?

[besson3c]

I take it nobody cares about my butthole?

[BLAZE_MkIV]

Your doctor cares.

[subego]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

I take it nobody cares about my butthole?

Does it have malware?

[Waragainstsleep]

Is it a pre-existing condition?

[el chupacabra]

Is it assumed only porn sites have malware? Today it seems sites require such ridiculous complex programming just to display some adds and text you could get it from anywhere. Yahoo news is so complex it practically crashes my pc every time I open more than 1 tab, Im sure it's downloading viruses to my computer.

[andi*pandi]

I think you can also get malware from bad torrents, "free software downloads" and "free movie sites VIEW NOW"

[Waragainstsleep]

Torrent sites, sites which host or link to software cracks or stolen serial numbers, illegal sports or movie or TV streaming sites also rife with malware.Lesser heard of shopping sites and price comparison services too. Anything vaguely dodgy is a prime contender. Sites you won't report because you don't want people knowing you frequent them.

[mindwaves]

Some Europeans greet each other by kissing each other cheeks (both sides). Does anyone else find this extremely off-putting? I would never do that and would state to that person that I feel uncomfortable with it. I don't even like shaking people's hands, much less putting my lips to someone's cheeks.

[subego]

Germs, or too touchy-touchy?

[mindwaves]

Too touchy-touchy, especially for a complete stranger. Seems way too personal for me, and invades my personal space. A slight bit on the germ issue/being so close to someone to sense their cologne/perfume/body odor.

[subego]

Is the kiss thing with strangers? I got the impression it was with someone already known.

I feel the American equivalent would be a hug, which would definitely be weird with strangers.

Hand shaking doesn't bother me in and of itself, but I'm a sweaty MFer, so my hands can be clammy. I generally feel obligated to warn people.

[Waragainstsleep]

I haven't spent all that much time on continental Europe but I don't think they tend to be that intimate with complete strangers. I don't think you need to do much more than remember someones name from a previous encounter though.

[P]

I have been to almost every country in continental Europe outside the Balkans and what used to be the Soviet Union, and I've never had a stranger do this to me or anyone with me. You see the airkissing thing sometimes in France, but even there it isn't something common or something done with strangers.

[Doc HM]

I find it's actually more common amongst upper class brits who want to effect an air of continental style than it is even in Paris (where from my experience it's most common on the continent).

[Laminar]

I've seen it in South America in social settings.

[Paco500]

I've only ever had a handful of stranger cheek kisses, but far more than I would have chosen with casual acquaintances. Mostly in the UK.

[Cap'n Tightpants]

Cubans do this a lot, and I'm fine with it.

[mindwaves]

I've never been to Europe, and have been seeing it recently on some Gordon Ramsey shows. He does it to complete strangers regardless of their culture. I not fond of GR much, but I find his shows to be sometimes appealing.

[subego]

When they teach the tykes to swim these days, have they come up with a more PC name for the "dead-man's float"?

[andi*pandi]

Odd I don't recall them teaching that to the kids. The google tells me another name is "jellyfish float."

[subego]

I guess it's not really part of teaching to swim proper. More, "swim safety"?

In 7th or 8th grade they taught us how to turn our pants into life preservers.

[andi*pandi]

I remember doing that too... I didn't take swim lessons in jr high though, so probably 5/6th grade. In the middle of a lake. Which we then swam across.

[ZimphiresRagingBoner]

Does LateralASS still think he's cool? Cuz he isn't.

[Cap'n Tightpants]

[subego]

When they draw blood, how do those rubber caps on the test tubes reseal themselves?

[Waragainstsleep]

Originally Posted by subego 

When they draw blood, how do those rubber caps on the test tubes reseal themselves?

http://www.google.com/patents/US3136440

[mindwaves]

Needles scare me like no other! I used to own stock in BDX, one of the largest needle companies also!

[subego]

Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep 

http://www.google.com/patents/US3136440

This gets me closer, but doesn't actually explain how it works.

It got me to the wiki page on self-healing polymers, but there seem to be a dozen different varieties, and I don't know which they use.

[Waragainstsleep]

It wasn't all that straightforward to find that actually and I only had time to scan it.

[subego]

Basically, this patent is a slightly redesigned shape for the stopper. The self-sealing properties aren't any different than a normal stopper, so it doesn't detail them.

[Waragainstsleep]

Sorry, it looked promising from my half-assed partial glance at it.
The seals or septa on medical vials appear to be made of silicone and or thermoplastic elastomers. So this should explain what is going on chemically:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-h....26_elastomers

[subego]

No apologies necessary!

It was an interesting read, and it got me to that same wiki page.

I used the opportunity to go over it again and I think there may be an important distinction from self-healing, and self-sealing.

The wiki page seems to describe very small scale processes, like the healing of cracks. If I'm reading right, healing only takes place without an external force (like heating it up) is if there's basically glue seeded within the polymer.

My instincts tell me the self-sealing is more akin to a mechanical process.

The tubes are filled with a partial vacuum, so they suck the blood out. Is it possible the vacuum could seal the hole shut?

[BLAZE_MkIV]

If the seal was shaped right the pressure of the vacuum cold bend it to compress the material closed. I don't know if thats how these are done. It could be that the tube walls provides enough pressure to close a puncture if the material was a little spongy.

[Waragainstsleep]

Could be. Removing liquid from an airtight container would create some negative pressure too. If there were some porous layer or element of the septa with some kind of oil or glue then the pressure would draw it out and preserve the seal.

[mindwaves]

Why do people talk on the phone inside the elevator? First, it is annoying to hear someone's conversation especially in such tight enclosed places, and second, the elevator blocks most signals so the person speaking is mostly saying hello, hello, I can't hear you! Super annoying.

[besson3c]

Do tax cuts give male Republicans erections?

[Waragainstsleep]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

Do tax cuts give male Republicans erections?

They might even give female Republicans erections.

[el chupacabra]

Why is the Euro collapsing? It seems like it's been in a perpetual state of slow & stable collapse since the Modernized Europe experiment began. Then in 2014 it took a nose dive and has been scratching the ground every since. It went up for the first half of 2017, but I have a feeling that was just due to to all the Trumpocalypse hysteria. I benefited greatly from this hysteria but unfortunately it seems it has been short lived, and the euro is collapsing again. The Euro is too new to be doing this poorly so early in its history. Is the whole continent of Europe on the verge of complete and total collapse?