USA Doorknobs

Joel · 09-23-2001, 06:22 AM

Anyone that has travelled/lived overseas (from the US) may have noticed that America is the land of the round doorknobs. Why is this, where did this originate?

In case you might be interested in my opinion of round doorknobs, I think they are stupid. If your hands are full, it is much easier to push or pull a handle, such as most other countries use. I know most of europe uses handles rather than knobs, and in kenya, africa, there are no round doorknobs. Anyone have any knowledge of where the US got such a bad idea?

Joel · 09-23-2001, 06:22 AM

Anyone that has travelled/lived overseas (from the US) may have noticed that America is the land of the round doorknobs. Why is this, where did this originate?

In case you might be interested in my opinion of round doorknobs, I think they are stupid. If your hands are full, it is much easier to push or pull a handle, such as most other countries use. I know most of europe uses handles rather than knobs, and in kenya, africa, there are no round doorknobs. Anyone have any knowledge of where the US got such a bad idea?

RyJones · 09-23-2001, 06:24 AM

I think all doors on bathrooms should swing both ways so you don't have to touch a door with your hands. they always seem to open inwards, which means you're touching a door after someone else has peed on it.

RyJones · 09-23-2001, 06:24 AM

I think all doors on bathrooms should swing both ways so you don't have to touch a door with your hands. they always seem to open inwards, which means you're touching a door after someone else has peed on it.

dbaker · 09-23-2001, 06:46 AM

Quote:

On 2001-09-23 05:24, RyJones wrote:
I think all doors on bathrooms should swing both ways so you don't have to touch a door with your hands. they always seem to open inwards, which means you're touching a door after someone else has peed on it.

Agree.

Unless you're really lucky and someone enters as you're preparing to exit. I've been willing to wait, in some cases, and act like the timing was just right. [img]/forums/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

There's always the towel trick, too. Arguably, that's a waste, but I'd rather that than be plagued with concern of what might be on my hands.

Daniel

dbaker · 09-23-2001, 06:46 AM

Quote:

On 2001-09-23 05:24, RyJones wrote:
I think all doors on bathrooms should swing both ways so you don't have to touch a door with your hands. they always seem to open inwards, which means you're touching a door after someone else has peed on it.

Agree.

Unless you're really lucky and someone enters as you're preparing to exit. I've been willing to wait, in some cases, and act like the timing was just right. [img]/forums/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

There's always the towel trick, too. Arguably, that's a waste, but I'd rather that than be plagued with concern of what might be on my hands.

Daniel

chodson · 09-23-2001, 07:11 AM

Actually, here is .au there planty of round doorknobs. In fact, I'm looking at one now.

On the other hand, the lightswitches are upside down (down is on). Joke anout being on the underside of the world notwitstanding, what are other countries like in this regard?

chodson · 09-23-2001, 07:11 AM

Actually, here is .au there planty of round doorknobs. In fact, I'm looking at one now.

On the other hand, the lightswitches are upside down (down is on). Joke anout being on the underside of the world notwitstanding, what are other countries like in this regard?

RyJones · 09-23-2001, 07:16 AM

oooh light switches! Someone from Hong Kong came into my computer lab and wanted to turn on the lights, so she pushed the Big Red Switch. Apparently, in Hong Kong they have push button light switches. I can't imagine they're an inch across, red, with the words EMERGENCY STOP written on them... but hey, maybe they are that way.

RyJones · 09-23-2001, 07:16 AM

oooh light switches! Someone from Hong Kong came into my computer lab and wanted to turn on the lights, so she pushed the Big Red Switch. Apparently, in Hong Kong they have push button light switches. I can't imagine they're an inch across, red, with the words EMERGENCY STOP written on them... but hey, maybe they are that way.

tfung · 10-05-2001, 05:58 AM

Quote:

On 2001-09-23 06:16, RyJones wrote:
oooh light switches! Someone from Hong Kong came into my computer lab and wanted to turn on the lights, so she pushed the Big Red Switch. Apparently, in Hong Kong they have push button light switches. I can't imagine they're an inch across, red, with the words EMERGENCY STOP written on them... but hey, maybe they are that way.

hmm.. I'm from Hong Kong, and I've never seen a light button configured in that way.. =)

tfung · 10-05-2001, 05:58 AM

Quote:

On 2001-09-23 06:16, RyJones wrote:
oooh light switches! Someone from Hong Kong came into my computer lab and wanted to turn on the lights, so she pushed the Big Red Switch. Apparently, in Hong Kong they have push button light switches. I can't imagine they're an inch across, red, with the words EMERGENCY STOP written on them... but hey, maybe they are that way.

hmm.. I'm from Hong Kong, and I've never seen a light button configured in that way.. =)

obiwan · 11-26-2001, 04:27 PM

Quote:

On 2001-09-23 06:11, chodson wrote:
Actually, here is .au there planty of round doorknobs. In fact, I'm looking at one now.

On the other hand, the lightswitches are upside down (down is on). Joke anout being on the underside of the world notwitstanding, what are other countries like in this regard?

I think water flows counterclockwise down drain too or is it the other way around?

obiwan · 11-26-2001, 04:27 PM

Quote:

On 2001-09-23 06:11, chodson wrote:
Actually, here is .au there planty of round doorknobs. In fact, I'm looking at one now.

On the other hand, the lightswitches are upside down (down is on). Joke anout being on the underside of the world notwitstanding, what are other countries like in this regard?

I think water flows counterclockwise down drain too or is it the other way around?

Nugget · 11-26-2001, 06:01 PM

Once again, Cecil at straightdope.com comes to the rescue on this subject...

The Straight Dope: "Do bathtubs drain counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere?"

Quote:

The boring truth is that water drains every which way no matter what hemisphere you're in, for reasons which have to do mostly with the shape of the drain, the way you poured in the water in the first place, and so on.

All this was demonstrated way back in 1962 by one Ascher Shapiro, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Shapiro filled a circular tank six feet in diameter and six inches high in such a way that the water swirled in a clockwise direction. (Remember, now, that Coriolis forces in the Northern Hemisphere act in a counterclockwise direction.)

Shapiro then covered the tank with a plastic sheet, kept the temperature constant, and sat down to read comic books or whatever scientists do while they wait for their experiments to percolate. When he pulled the plug after an hour or two, the water went down the drain clockwise, presumably because it still retained some clockwise motion from filling.

On the other hand, if Shapiro pulled the plug after waiting a full 24 hours, the draining water spiraled counterclockwise, indicating that the motion from filling had subsided enough for the Coriolis effect to take over. When the plug was pulled after four to five hours, the water started draining clockwise, then gradually slowed down and finally started swirling in the opposite direction.

Needless to say, unless you are a consummate slob, you do not wait 24 hours (or even 4-5 hours) to drain your bathtub. Hence the influence of the Coriolis effect may be safely described as slight.

But I'm sure the myth of the bathtub spirals will endure. Shapiro did his work in 1962 and I proclaimed it to the world in 1983. Yet next to the mystery of where all the baby pigeons are, this remains the commonest question I get.

Nugget · 11-26-2001, 06:01 PM

Once again, Cecil at straightdope.com comes to the rescue on this subject...

The Straight Dope: "Do bathtubs drain counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere?"

Quote:

The boring truth is that water drains every which way no matter what hemisphere you're in, for reasons which have to do mostly with the shape of the drain, the way you poured in the water in the first place, and so on.

All this was demonstrated way back in 1962 by one Ascher Shapiro, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Shapiro filled a circular tank six feet in diameter and six inches high in such a way that the water swirled in a clockwise direction. (Remember, now, that Coriolis forces in the Northern Hemisphere act in a counterclockwise direction.)

Shapiro then covered the tank with a plastic sheet, kept the temperature constant, and sat down to read comic books or whatever scientists do while they wait for their experiments to percolate. When he pulled the plug after an hour or two, the water went down the drain clockwise, presumably because it still retained some clockwise motion from filling.

On the other hand, if Shapiro pulled the plug after waiting a full 24 hours, the draining water spiraled counterclockwise, indicating that the motion from filling had subsided enough for the Coriolis effect to take over. When the plug was pulled after four to five hours, the water started draining clockwise, then gradually slowed down and finally started swirling in the opposite direction.

Needless to say, unless you are a consummate slob, you do not wait 24 hours (or even 4-5 hours) to drain your bathtub. Hence the influence of the Coriolis effect may be safely described as slight.

But I'm sure the myth of the bathtub spirals will endure. Shapiro did his work in 1962 and I proclaimed it to the world in 1983. Yet next to the mystery of where all the baby pigeons are, this remains the commonest question I get.

tycoonjack · 11-27-2001, 08:35 PM

I suppose that next you're going to tell me that the reverse Coriolis machine in the Simpsons is fake?

tycoonjack · 11-27-2001, 08:35 PM

I suppose that next you're going to tell me that the reverse Coriolis machine in the Simpsons is fake?

chodson · 11-29-2001, 10:53 AM

What was the first thing I did after spending over 30 hours in economy class (and several hours in a car) to get to .au?

Go to the (stunning) beach? no
See some (stunning) girls? no
Take a shower (I wasn't stunning)? no

I went into the bathroom and flushed the toilet. Boy, was I dissappointed.

It did not spin in the same direction as in the US.

It did not spin in the opposite direction.

It did not spin.

The water just sort of drops. I don't know how else to describe it. And whether you push the full or half flush button does not matter.

I was so hoping to prove Uncle Cecil right and all those silly people wrong.

chodson · 11-29-2001, 10:53 AM

What was the first thing I did after spending over 30 hours in economy class (and several hours in a car) to get to .au?

Go to the (stunning) beach? no
See some (stunning) girls? no
Take a shower (I wasn't stunning)? no

I went into the bathroom and flushed the toilet. Boy, was I dissappointed.

It did not spin in the same direction as in the US.

It did not spin in the opposite direction.

It did not spin.

The water just sort of drops. I don't know how else to describe it. And whether you push the full or half flush button does not matter.

I was so hoping to prove Uncle Cecil right and all those silly people wrong.

09-23-2001, 06:22 AM	#1
Joel Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: SAT Posts: 2	Anyone that has travelled/lived overseas (from the US) may have noticed that America is the land of the round doorknobs. Why is this, where did this originate? In case you might be interested in my opinion of round doorknobs, I think they are stupid. If your hands are full, it is much easier to push or pull a handle, such as most other countries use. I know most of europe uses handles rather than knobs, and in kenya, africa, there are no round doorknobs. Anyone have any knowledge of where the US got such a bad idea? __________________

09-23-2001, 06:22 AM	#2
Joel Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: SAT Posts: 2	Anyone that has travelled/lived overseas (from the US) may have noticed that America is the land of the round doorknobs. Why is this, where did this originate? In case you might be interested in my opinion of round doorknobs, I think they are stupid. If your hands are full, it is much easier to push or pull a handle, such as most other countries use. I know most of europe uses handles rather than knobs, and in kenya, africa, there are no round doorknobs. Anyone have any knowledge of where the US got such a bad idea? __________________

11-29-2001, 10:53 AM	#20
chodson Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: EWR - Newark, NJ Posts: 117	What was the first thing I did after spending over 30 hours in economy class (and several hours in a car) to get to .au? Go to the (stunning) beach? no See some (stunning) girls? no Take a shower (I wasn't stunning)? no I went into the bathroom and flushed the toilet. Boy, was I dissappointed. It did not spin in the same direction as in the US. It did not spin in the opposite direction. It did not spin. The water just sort of drops. I don't know how else to describe it. And whether you push the full or half flush button does not matter. I was so hoping to prove Uncle Cecil right and all those silly people wrong. __________________

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09-23-2001, 06:24 AM	#3
RyJones Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: PUW - Pullman, Washington Posts: 124	I think all doors on bathrooms should swing both ways so you don't have to touch a door with your hands. they always seem to open inwards, which means you're touching a door after someone else has peed on it.

09-23-2001, 07:11 AM	#7
chodson Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: EWR - Newark, NJ Posts: 117	Actually, here is .au there planty of round doorknobs. In fact, I'm looking at one now. On the other hand, the lightswitches are upside down (down is on). Joke anout being on the underside of the world notwitstanding, what are other countries like in this regard?

09-23-2001, 07:16 AM	#9
RyJones Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: PUW - Pullman, Washington Posts: 124	oooh light switches! Someone from Hong Kong came into my computer lab and wanted to turn on the lights, so she pushed the Big Red Switch. Apparently, in Hong Kong they have push button light switches. I can't imagine they're an inch across, red, with the words EMERGENCY STOP written on them... but hey, maybe they are that way.

11-27-2001, 08:35 PM	#17
tycoonjack Senior Member ITYT Navigator Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: AUS Posts: 690	I suppose that next you're going to tell me that the reverse Coriolis machine in the Simpsons is fake?