Off Topic Re: friction

[brian whatcott <inet@INTELLISYS.NET>]

Then there was the physicist who got stuck on ice outside the lunatic asylum.
 He had heard you could let air out of the drive wheels to get moving.
On this occasion it was always his left wheel that spun, so he let more and
more air out of the right tire, without success, until he realised the tire
was flat and loose on the rim.

   So he decided he had better replace the flat tire with a spare.
 After spinning off the wheel nuts and placing them in the hub cap,
he was startled by a loud greeting from a spectator who was evidently an
 inmate.  In his surprise, he disturbed the hub cap, and the nuts rolled down
a storm drain.

      Now the situation appeared to be going down hill fast - and he was
unsure
 how to proceed.   After a minute or two, the inmate suggested, "Why don't
you
remove one nut from each of the other three wheels to secure the spare until
you can get to a dealer?"

 The physicist brightened immediately, and said, " That was a smart
suggestion.
But I thought you were an inmate of the insane asylum?"

 The inmate replied, "It's true I'm crazy as a coot.
  But I'm not stupid."

Brian W

At 13:05 2/12/00 -0800, you wrote:...
> Reminds me of the "hayseed" who recommended to the truck driver of a truck
> stuck under an insufficient clearance bridge.  "Let a little air out of the
> tires."
>
> bc
>
> Herbert H Gottlieb wrote:
>
> > Suppose that your car is stuck on ice. thje wheels spin but the car does
> > not move. Your friend suggests that you let some air out of your tires to
> > increase the amount of friction.
> >
> > Does this make sense?
brian whatcott <inet@intellisys.net>
Altus OK