Unutterably Silly Quiz

[CWatkinsNash]

I didn't even see this so I'm glad you kick-started it. I know a little about him, but that's because I'm a descendant of the Calverts (Baron Baltimore), and Carroll's father was connected to them somehow. I can only think of two things without cheating - he was the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence, and he was a slaveholder that introduced legislation to abolish slavery in Maryland even though he chose not to free his slaves. There was also something about a newspaper he was involved with but I don't remember the details. (I got on a big geneology kick while stuck in Florida. Had a lot of time on my hands.)

[orlok]

You got it @CWN (and a question relevant to you specifically, who would have known?).

The point I was trying to get to was that he was the only Catholic signatory to the U.S. Declaration of Independence at a time when Catholics were not even allowed to vote or hold public office!

Your go

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by orlok

You got it @CWN (and a question relevant to you specifically, who would have known?).

The point I was trying to get to was that he was the only Catholic signatory to the U.S. Declaration of Independence at a time when Catholics were not even allowed to vote or hold public office!

Your go

LOL And probably the only reason I remembered that was because my grandmother's family was Catholic.

Okay, let's see...

In 1978, the Rolling Stones' album "Some Girls" had to have its cover art redone. Why?

[orlok]

I'm not going to make a guess, as it's almost midnight and I have a looong day down south tomorrow.

See you all on the rebound

[Stitchawl]

I remember that! (Does this mean I'm old?) There were a bunch of movie actresses faces that were on the cover, and they demanded they be removed. I can't remember which ones they were though...


Stitchawl

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

I remember that! (Does this mean I'm old?) There were a bunch of movie actresses faces that were on the cover, and they demanded they be removed. I can't remember which ones they were though...


Stitchawl

Yes! You got it right. There were several, but Farrah Fawcett, Lucille Ball, Raquel Welch and some others threatened to sue.

You're up, Stitchawl!

[SneakySnake]

Originally Posted by orlok

<snip>
The point I was trying to get to was that he was the only Catholic signatory to the U.S. Declaration of Independence at a time when Catholics were not even allowed to vote or hold public office!
Your go

Next you will be telling me that negroes or chinese weren't allowed to vote in the old days!

[Shayne Parkinson]

... or women. They managed to leave out a pretty significant proportion of the population!

[Stitchawl]

At slow speeds if you turn a motorcycle's handlebar to the left it will turn left.
At higher speeds on a motorcycle, if you try to turn the handlebar to the left, the motorcycle will turn right. If you pull the left handgrip the bike will turn to the right and if you pull back on the right handgrip (or push forward the left handgrip) the bike will turn left.

Explain this phenomenon... in simple terms.


Stitchawl

[SneakySnake]

when you ride a motocycle, you become one with the bike. Is just is and you get used to it! You need to viualise where your tyres are touching the road. I have awful trouble 'steering' with the handlebars on a motorcycle as I find it easier to lean into and around corners.

Answer= It just is. Accept the isness of things and you will be happy

[maianhvk]

inertia? the greater the velocity, the greater the momentum?

[SneakySnake]

I think it may have something to do with gyroscopic effect. We will have to wait for the grand master to explain.

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by SneakySnake

Answer= It just is. Accept the isness of things and you will be happy

Gag me with a spoon....

Originally Posted by maianhvk

inertia? the greater the velocity, the greater the momentum?

True, but not the reason for this seemingly paradoxical turning situation.

Originally Posted by SneakySnake

I think it may have something to do with gyroscopic effect. We will have to wait for the grand master to explain.

Actually, that is EXACTLY what it is! It's called 'counter-steering' and it's the most accurate way to control a two-wheeled single-track vehicle. It only takes fingertip pressure to handle high-speed maneuvers.

So, Sneaky, you're up! And if you want the full answer, well,
OK... ready? (From the Net)
The technique used by motorcyclists to initiate turning in a given direction is to first apply a steering torque in the opposite direction. For example, if a turn to the left is desired, it is started by a turn of the handlebars to the right. Under this force the front wheel will rotate to turn right and the front tire will generate forces to the right. The machine as a whole steers to the right briefly and the rear tire also generates forces to the right. Because the forces are applied at ground level, this pulls the wheels "out from under" the motorcycle and to its right. The resulting roll angle to the left causes the tires to then generate camber thrust to the left providing the centripetal forces required to turn left. The geometry of the steering system provides the forces necessary for the front wheel to adopt an angle turned into the turn in a conventional manner. It is often boiled down to "push left to go left".

While this appears to be a complex sequence of motions, it is in fact known unconsciously by every child who rides a bicycle. The entire sequence goes largely unnoticed by most riders, which is why some assert that they don't do it.

It is often claimed that two-wheeled vehicles can be steered using only weight shifts. While this is true for small "trim" inputs to direction, complex maneuvers are not possible using weightshifting alone because even for a light machine there is insufficient control authority. Although on a sufficiently light bike (especially a bicycle), the rider can initiate a lean and turn by shifting body weight, there is no evidence that complex maneuvers can be performed by bodyweight alone.

[SneakySnake]

OK easy one for my generation. Bloke didn't know.

What is a sleestak?

[orlok]

Originally Posted by SneakySnake

OK easy one for my generation. Bloke didn't know.

What is a sleestak?

An anagram of eel tasks?

Not sure how that applies to your generation though . Did you used to get given things to do by a ruling elite of conga eels, who are now extinct?