But it wasn't there last night!



  • My daughter's friend just got her driver's license.

    This kid is very bright; she cries if she only gets a 99 on a test.

    A few days ago, this kid pulls into the garage at night. The next morning, she backs out of the garage and hears "crunch". She turns around to see the back of her car impaling her mother's car.

    When queried, she told her mother: but your car wasn't there when I pulled in last night!

    I don't know whether to laugh or cry.



  • @snoofle said:

    My daughter's friend just got her driver's license.

    This kid is very bright; she cries if she only gets a 99 on a test.

    A few days ago, this kid pulls into the garage at night. The next morning, she backs out of the garage and hears "crunch". She turns around to see the back of her car impaling her mother's car.

    When queried, she told her mother: but your car wasn't there when I pulled in last night!

    I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

    You forgot the other options:

    c) Install a rear-view mirror

    d) Take her fucking drivers license away!



  • @snoofle said:

    This kid is very bright

    Ok

    @snoofle said:

    she cries if she only gets a 99 on a test.

    Ohhh, you meant bright as in she glows at night, I get it.

    @snoofle said:

    she told her mother: but your car wasn't there when I pulled in last night!

    Cars are devious creatures plotting your downfall



  • @snoofle said:

    This kid is very bright; she cries if she only gets a 99 on a test.

    That sounds stupid to me. Book-smart, maybe, but world-dumb.

    @snoofle said:

    When queried, she told her mother: but your car wasn't there when I pulled in last night!

    Oh yeah, she's a friggin' genius.



  • @blakeyrat said:

    Book-smart, maybe, but world-dumb.
    Bingo!

    This is the same kid, who, after driving for a week, her mother asked her if she had checked her gas guage yet, to which she replied: Why would I check it?

    These kids were brought up in a very sheltered world, and have book smarts but absolutely no common sense. I shudder to think what they're going to be like when they all go live in a dorm for the first time next year.

     



  • @blakeyrat said:

    @snoofle said:
    This kid is very bright; she cries if she only gets a 99 on a test.

    That sounds stupid to me. Book-smart, maybe, but world-dumb.

     

    The difference between being intelligent and being wise IMO. One does not imply the other.

    In this case? Just a combination of not paying attention (unwise) and not being able to come up with more than a lame excuse to try and deflect blame. Its still a kid after all.



  • @snoofle said:

    @blakeyrat said:

    Book-smart, maybe, but world-dumb.
    Bingo!

    This is the same kid, who, after driving for a week, her mother asked her if she had checked her gas guage yet, to which she replied: Why would I check it?

     

    All rote and no thought.

     



  • @snoofle said:

    @blakeyrat said:

    Book-smart, maybe, but world-dumb.
    Bingo!

    This is the same kid, who, after driving for a week, her mother asked her if she had checked her gas guage yet, to which she replied: Why would I check it?

    Would she also believe you if you told her that all cars now require adding at least one gallon of maple syrup to ensure the engine fires correctly and the buffers stay flushed?  If so, I would even doubt "book-smart" and put her in the "she can remember a lot of things" category, which can be very scary depending on her career choice (i.e. doctor).



  • @erikal said:

    @blakeyrat said:
    @snoofle said:
    This kid is very bright; she cries if she only gets a 99 on a test.

    That sounds stupid to me. Book-smart, maybe, but world-dumb.

     

    The difference between being intelligent and being wise IMO. One does not imply the other.

     

    Smart is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.  Wise is knowing better than to put one in a fruit salad.

     



  • @Mason Wheeler said:

    Smart is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.  Wise is knowing better than to put one in a fruit salad.

    Wise!



  • @snoofle said:

    @blakeyrat said:
    Book-smart, maybe, but world-dumb.
    Bingo!

    This is the same kid, who, after driving for a week, her mother asked her if she had checked her gas guage yet, to which she replied: Why would I check it?

    These kids were brought up in a very sheltered world, and have book smarts but absolutely no common sense. I shudder to think what they're going to be like when they all go live in a dorm for the first time next year.

    I understood the concept of the gas gauge back when I was in elementry school.  What I failed at was with mowing the yard and did not know you should check the oil level in the lawn mower once in a while, I nearly killed the lawn mower when it started to run dry (that occured sometime early teenage years).



  • When I was a teenager, my dad backed his truck into my car. He got angry and was shouting "Why did you park it where I'd back into it!?" Of course, it was just parked in a completely normal area where I parked regularly; at a place where he easily would have seen it had he been looking. Sometimes people are just embarrassed when they do something dumb so they try to deflect blame.



  • @snoofle said:

    These kids were brought up in a very sheltered world, and have book smarts but absolutely no common sense. I shudder to think what they're going to be like when they all go live in a dorm for the first time next year.

    Which is 100% the parents' fault, and zero percent the child's fault. Far too many people (and I am a grandparent) rear their children to be "good children' rather than "good adults"



  • Also sheltered in that not ever leaving the house and their only interaction with the outside world is done through the computer.  I remember one thing that my parents did to help get us ready for the real world.  When we turned 13 we were given a yearly clothing budget (outside of any allowances) which we could spend it on whatever clothing we wanted.  Here was the results:

    • My brother every year would spend 75% of his budget in 3 months on very nice sneakers and other name brand stuff.  By end of the year he was dipping into his budget for next year.  By the last year he only spent half of his budget in the first 3 months.
    • My sister (similar to snoofle's kid but has some wisdom) spent her budget evenly over the course of the year and had almost a perfect 0 balance by the end of each year.
    • Me... after 9 months only spent 25% of my budget (I blame this on laziness).    Second year since I had so much unused budget I bought a nice suit (which I still have today).  My parents gave up on me keeping a budget for clothing after the third year since I would never even come close to the limit.

    Kids need to learn things like this long before they get into the real world.



  • @snoofle said:

    This is the same kid, who, after driving for a week, her mother asked her if she had checked her gas guage yet, to which she replied: Why would I check it?

    An ex-boss once told me of the time she passed her driving test then drove her BF's car until it ran out of petrol (gas, in USA).

    Her father, being a taxi driver, often talked about killing the lights when parking the car so the battery didn't run down. However, his firm had a team that would frequently valet and service the car - including topping up the tank, which she never saw. She never witnessed her BF fill up the car either when they were out together, and filling up the tank wasn't something discussed by her driving instructor nor was assessed as part of a driving test.

    Consequently, the car conked to a standstill because fuelling it up was something she'd never considered.

    Dunno if it's a standard urban myth, but her other half also confirmed the tale. She's also not a particularly dim bint - she's confident enough to admit her mistakes - so I'm inclined to give her that one.

    @morbiuswilters said:

    He got angry and was shouting "Why did you park it where I'd back into it!?"

    "Because I presumed you normally look in the direction you were travelling, Dad. What if it was a child standing there instead?"

    Yah, I know about the "not my fault" crowd. It's difficult when it comes to family, though.



  • @Cassidy said:

    Consequently, the car conked to a standstill because fuelling it up was something she'd never considered.

    Wha?  How?  I mean if you share the car with someone then I guess you could assume that they would fill it up regularly is something you could do, but that is intentionally dismissing it not just not thinking of it.



  • I was a terrible child.  A metaphorical whirlwind of doom as it were.

    I cut power lines
    nearly set my neighbors house on fire
    used thermite on the engine of my fathers car.
    set my sister's playhouse on fire.
    tapped the neighbors phone line and made oversees calls.

    My father handed out work as a punishment.  It was quite effective as I'm no longer a real life dennis the menace.



  • @Cassidy said:

    ...filling up the tank wasn't something discussed by her driving instructor nor was assessed as part of a driving test. ...

    There are a few basics which really should be taught as part of driving instruction but, at least in the UK, aren't. At a minimum, filling up with petrol, checking oil levels, and changing a wheel. Maybe checking tyre pressure too, but I assume that most people will be familiar with that from bicycles.

    I have a driving licence, but I've never used a petrol pump. I have, on the other hand, once changed a wheel. I was about fifteen at the time; my uncle was driving me somewhere when a tyre blew, and he didn't know how the jack worked. I remembered seeing it in a science textbook.



  • @galgorah said:

    I was a terrible child.  A metaphorical whirlwind of doom as it were.

    I cut power lines
    nearly set my neighbors house on fire
    used thermite on the engine of my fathers car.
    set my sister's playhouse on fire.
    tapped the neighbors phone line and made oversees calls.

    My father handed out work as a punishment.  It was quite effective as I'm no longer a real life dennis the menace.

    I spent one summer booby trapping my grandmother's yard and did  a few more things like that but for the most part I was a mastermind behind stuff.  Looking back some of that could have gotten me into trouble but it was fun.



  • @pjt33 said:

    There are a few basics which really should be taught as part of driving instruction but, at least in the UK, aren't. At a minimum, filling up with petrol, checking oil levels, and changing a wheel.

    The idea that these are things that actually require instruction is something that boggles the mind.  How in the hell do you grow up and not just pick these things up?  These are like the basic money skills that don't need to be taught, kids just absorb them through the skin.



  • @pjt33 said:

    At a minimum, filling up with petrol, checking oil levels, and changing a wheel. Maybe checking tyre pressure too, but I assume that most people will be familiar with that from bicycles.

    I think filling the tank with gas should be obvious. However, checking oil, checking tire pressure and changing tires are not obvious and should be taught. It's surprising how few people know that they're even supposed to check the oil or tire pressure.

    @pjt33 said:

    I have a driving licence, but I've never used a petrol pump.

    How the hell not? Is Britain like New Jersey or something?

    @pjt33 said:

    I have, on the other hand, once changed a wheel.

    "Changing a wheel": is this a British-ism? In the US we say "changing a tire" even though "changing a wheel" is definitely more accurate.



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    @pjt33 said:
    I have, on the other hand, once changed a wheel.

    "Changing a wheel": is this a British-ism? In the US we say "changing a tire" even though "changing a wheel" is definitely more accurate.

    When I change a wheel, I am simultaneously changing a tire. Blakeyrat on Logic, 2/2.


  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    @morbiuswilters said:

    @pjt33 said:
    I have a driving licence, but I've never used a petrol pump.

    How the hell not? Is Britain like New Jersey or something?

    Dunno about New Jersey, but Britain does indeed have petrol pumps.



    Petrol's averaging about $8.71 per (US) gallon over here at the moment - calculated from £1.45/l, ~62.9p of which is fuel cost (~$3.78/gallon), 57.95p fuel duty, and ~24.15p VAT@20%.
    @morbiuswilters said:
    @pjt33 said:
    I have, on the other hand, once changed a wheel.

    "Changing a wheel": is this a British-ism?

    Yes. Or, rather, it wouldn't be out of place.



  • Hey, I did the same thing as described in the OP.



    ...in a toy mini electric car at age 7 or so.



  • @blakeyrat said:

    Blakeyrat on Logic, 2/2.
    Does that mean you've dispensed all the logic you have?



  • @blakeyrat said:

    @morbiuswilters said:
    @pjt33 said:
    I have, on the other hand, once changed a wheel.

    "Changing a wheel": is this a British-ism? In the US we say "changing a tire" even though "changing a wheel" is definitely more accurate.

    When I change a wheel, I am simultaneously changing a tire. Blakeyrat on Logic, 2/2.

    I said "changing a tire" isn't wrong, just less accurate. Like when I say "I sexed a lady" but it's really more accurate to say "I sexed a prostitute and then killed her and then ran the body through a wood chipper".



  • @PJH said:

    Dunno about New Jersey, but Britain does indeed have petrol pumps.

    New Jersey has a law banning self-service gas stations; all pumps are full-service. Oregon has the same law, I believe.

    @PJH said:

    Petrol's averaging about $8.71 per (US) gallon over here at the moment - calculated from £1.45/l, ~62.9p of which is fuel cost (~$3.78/gallon), 57.95p fuel duty, and ~24.15p VAT@20%.

    Your non-tax price is about the same as our price with taxes. I never realized how insane the gas tax rates were in England; I just assumed gas was expensive because you didn't have many refineries. Then again, your country is very tiny so you don't have nearly the fuel needs we do.



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    @PJH said:
    Dunno about New Jersey, but Britain does indeed have petrol pumps.

    New Jersey has a law banning self-service gas stations; all pumps are full-service. Oregon has the same law, I believe.

    Which is horror-movie creepy. Whenever I'm driving through Oregon (because God knows I'd never stop in Oregon!) I try to get all the way across the state without having to fuel-up... alas I have not succeeded yet. Next time: jerry cans.



  • @Cassidy said:

    onsequently, the car conked to a standstill because fuelling it up was something she'd never considered.

    I think a lot of the habits you have as a driver stem from what you were taught as a learner. I learned to drive fairly late (mid 30's) and my instructor taught me that the first thing I should do after checking the seat and mirrors was check the fuel and other gauges. I now do it automatically.

    I can well imagine that someone who was not taught this when they learned to drive could easily not bother to do it. Right up until the day the car runs out of petrol.

    Not as much thinking "this is a magic car that never needs refuelling" but just not thinking to check.



  • @blakeyrat said:

    Whenever I'm driving through Oregon (because God knows I'd never stop in Oregon!) I try to get all the way across the state without having to fuel-up... alas I have not succeeded yet. Next time: jerry cans.
     

    20-ish years ago I drove a wheelchair van for an ambulance company that had their own gas pumps in the parking lot.  In order to do this, I had to go through the (minimal) training needed to be deemed eligible to pump gas.  Not willing to try it -- I no longer have the evidence of having taken the training -- but I wonder what a gas station would do if I pulled out my training certificate and started pumping my own gas.  After all, the basis behind no self-serve is that they want trained people to do the puming.  If I'm trained, well . . . then I ought to be able to pump my own gas.

    [url=http://www.leg.state.or.us/ors/480.html]ORS 480.330[/url]

    Meh.  I get my understanding was wrong.  Doesn't say anything in there about training, just says if you're not an employee or an operator then you're SOL.  Bah.  Damn Oregonians need to change that.


  • Garbage Person

    @blakeyrat said:

    @morbiuswilters said:
    @PJH said:
    Dunno about New Jersey, but Britain does indeed have petrol pumps.

    New Jersey has a law banning self-service gas stations; all pumps are full-service. Oregon has the same law, I believe.

    Which is horror-movie creepy. Whenever I'm driving through Oregon (because God knows I'd never stop in Oregon!) I try to get all the way across the state without having to fuel-up... alas I have not succeeded yet. Next time: jerry cans.

    New Jersey is extra-special. My race series has a stop in New Jersey. The gas pumps [i]at the race track[/i] are even required to be full service. Despite this, and despite being a race track, you get really funny looks when you take a pickup load of fuel cans to the pumps. Seriously, guy. You work at a race track. You should know damn well that, when permitted, we'll fuel from cans in pit road instead of driving the racecar off the track and out to the damned pumps.

     

    And then there's the seatbelt law. The [i]racing[/i] seatbelt law. They require, and enforce with the bloody state police, that any car using racing-type seatbelts on a closed track must have the seatbelts date coded within 2 years. This is actually in alignment with the certifying organizations for safety gear, but the issue is that those things are pretty expensive and the certification lifetime is based on time spent outdoors, exposed to sunlight. No sane racer leaves the belts in the car, and very few actual racing sanctions require following the date rules on their own (instead, they use a "your belts look ratty, go buy new ones") sort of rule.

     It is also entirely possible to be ticketed and fined by the New Jersey state police for reckless driving. On a closed race track. In a racecar. During a sanctioned race. And it happens fairly often. Our organizers have been trying to get the state police to go out there with a cruiser and start pulling people over, but they have wisely refused thus far.

    The best part of these last two is that, the first time the series came to NJ, nobody knew about these laws until the state police showed up and started telling people they couldn't race, and people started getting citations with their normal penalties.

    In other words, New Joisey is an even bigger automotive backwater hellhole than most people realize. 



  • @nonpartisan said:

    ORS 480.330

    Meh. I get my understanding was wrong. Doesn't say anything in there about training, just says if you're not an employee or an operator then you're SOL. Bah. Damn Oregonians need to change that.

    I don't think even Oregon is still deluded enough to think it's done for safety reasons. It's a ill-conceived job-creation program, that's all.

    "It's done for safety reasons!" "Uh, ok so how come 48 other states, or let's say approximately 98% of the US population, pumps their own gas without any safety incidents?" "It's ... uh... for safety reasons!" See, not even Oregonians are that retarded.


  • ♿ (Parody)

    @blakeyrat said:

    "It's done for safety reasons!" "Uh, ok so how come 48 other states, or let's say approximately 98% of the US population, pumps their own gas without any safety incidents?" "It's ... uh... for safety reasons!" See, not even Oregonians are that retarded.

    You make them sound really dumb, but I'm sure they have a trump card to defeat your stupid facts and reasoning: "But what about the Children?!"



  • @Mason Wheeler said:

    Smart is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.  Wise is knowing better than to put one in a fruit salad.

     

    Ah, but what if the other fruits in your fruit salad are zuchini, avocado, cucumbers, eggplant and bell peppers?



  • @dubbreak said:

    @Mason Wheeler said:

    Smart is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.  Wise is knowing better than to put one in a fruit salad.

     

    Ah, but what if the other fruits in your fruit salad are zuchini, avocado, cucumbers, eggplant and bell peppers?

    That doesn't sound very tasty.

    I think real wisdom is being able to recognize that there are two distinct definition of fruit: the botanical definition and the culinary definition. Words can mean different things in different contexts; a tomato is a fruit, botanically speaking, and a vegetable, culinarily speaking. Not understanding that is not at all wise.



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    That doesn't sound very tasty.

    Good point. Drop the avocado, roast all the ingredient and some garlic, toss it all in some cous cous, add a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.. that sounds better. That's my kind of fruit salad. It goes a lot better with steak than a traditional fruit salad.

    @morbiuswilters said:

    I think real wisdom is being able to recognize that there are two distinct definition of fruit: the botanical definition and the culinary definition. Words can mean different things in different contexts; a tomato is a fruit, botanically speaking, and a vegetable, culinarily speaking. Not understanding that is not at all wise.

    Is it though? Someone can just memorize the culinary definition in addition to the botanical. I guess the point I'm trying to make is: knowing the difference is smart, understanding the difference and being able to 'apply your knowledge' is wise. (I had a physics teacher that would yell that phrase, "APPLY YOUR KNOWLEDGE!!!"



  •  Ever seen two housewives backout from oposing garages and hit each other in the street? Who's fault is that? Hate to be that insurance adjustor.



  • @dubbreak said:

    @Mason Wheeler said:

    Smart is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.  Wise is knowing better than to put one in a fruit salad.

    Ah, but what if the other fruits in your fruit salad are zuchini, avocado, cucumbers, eggplant and bell peppers?

     

    @dubbreak said:

    roast all the ingredient and some garlic, toss it
    all in some cous cous, add a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper to
    taste.. that sounds better.
     

    That's a fucking pasta sauce.

     



  • @pjt33 said:

    Maybe checking tyre pressure too, but I assume that most people will be familiar with that from bicycles.
     

    Yes, because you just squeeze them between your fingers.



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    @pjt33 said:
    I have a driving licence, but I've never used a petrol pump.

    How the hell not? Is Britain like New Jersey or something?

    Most pumps here are self-service - it's rare to find a full service station here.

    I think what you're missing is that it's entirely possible to do lessons with a driving instructor who never gets you to fuel the vehicle, lends you their car for the test, and then not drive again, relying on bicycles, public transport and taxis to get around. Even driving a company car from time to time may not be enough to have you encounter a fuel pump - it's not uncommon for companies to hire a car on full-to-empty terms if it's for short term hire, or to have you drive a pool car on the odd occasion you need to drive (which will be fully maintained, including someone who's job it is to ensure the car is fuelled each night).

    Plus, driving licences are useful ID in their own right - they now come with a handy credit card sized photocard, ideal for proving to the bouncer that you're old enough to drink. The driving bit is kinda optional for many UK residents - not, as you might imagine, due to the price of fuel, but due to the cost of legally mandated insurance.



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    I think real wisdom is being able to recognize that there are two distinct definition of fruit: the botanical definition and the culinary definition. Words can mean different things in different contexts; a tomato is a fruit, botanically speaking, and a vegetable, culinarily speaking. Not understanding that is not at all wise.

     

    Good point, but then I'd argue that the person that started the differentiation is a complete idiot and it is unwise to follow such idiocy. I'll stick to the botanical definition for everything, Don't Repeat Yourself and all that.

     


  • ♿ (Parody)

    @erikal said:

    Good point, but then I'd argue that the person that started the differentiation is a complete idiot and it is unwise to follow such idiocy. I'll stick to the botanical definition for everything, Don't Repeat Yourself and all that.

    But isn't the botanical definition only useful for being a pedantic dickweed? Oh, right.



  • @farnz said:

    @morbiuswilters said:
    @pjt33 said:
    I have a driving licence, but I've never used a petrol pump.

    How the hell not? Is Britain like New Jersey or something?

    ... it's entirely possible to do lessons with a driving instructor who never gets you to fuel the vehicle, lends you their car for the test, and then not drive again, relying on bicycles, public transport and taxis to get around. ...

    Got it in one. Since obtaining my licence I have driven on two occasions. And although I'm sure I can handle the basics of using a petrol pump (open cap, insert pump, squeeze handle), I have no idea how you tell that it's getting full and avoid overfilling and polluting the forecourt. I seem to recall hearing that some pumps have a sensor which handles this automatically, but I'm sure that not all do. Can you listen to the sound the fuel makes, like filling a bottle of water?


  • ♿ (Parody)

    @pjt33 said:

    I have no idea how you tell that it's getting full and avoid overfilling and polluting the forecourt. I seem to recall hearing that some pumps have a sensor which handles this automatically, but I'm sure that not all do.

    They certainly all do in the US. I simply cannot imagine that you guys don't have that level of technology, not to mention environmental regulations from your country and the EU. I'd guess that the pump would have to be several decades old to not have automatic shut off.



  • @locallunatic said:

    @Cassidy said:

    Consequently, the car conked to a standstill because fuelling it up was something she'd never considered.

    Wha?  How?  I mean if you share the car with someone then I guess you could assume that they would fill it up regularly is something you could do, but that is intentionally dismissing it not just not thinking of it.

    You could assume that, but apparently this was early in their relationship, he'd never filled it up with her in the car, she'd just passed her test and he lent her the car as a runaround for a bit whilst being away on business. It conked out after the best part of a week.

    @locallunatic said:

    @pjt33 said:

    There are a few basics which really should be taught as part of driving instruction but, at least in the UK, aren't. At a minimum, filling up with petrol, checking oil levels, and changing a wheel.

    The idea that these are things that actually require instruction is something that boggles the mind.  How in the hell do you grow up and not just pick these things up?  These are like the basic money skills that don't need to be taught, kids just absorb them through the skin.

    I'll concede that only a minority completely miss these things growing up, but I'm with PJT on those one that unless they're part of driving instruction (but perhaps not part of the test) then there's no certainty that the topic is covered.

    I understand the Germans can't take their test until they've clocked up a set number of hours on the autobahn, as well as driving in the dark and driving in hazardous conditions (bad weather). I think that makes for a much more competant driver once the individual has passed their test.

    In UK learners must stay off the motorways until passing their test, which ill-prepares them for motorway driving, but a number of years back the test was upgraded to include a theory part, covering things that are common knowledge to experienced drivers but useful information to the novice driver.

    @morbiuswilters said:

    "Changing a wheel": is this a British-ism? In the US we say "changing a tire" even though "changing a wheel" is definitely more accurate.

    Yup - we have a "spare wheel" in the boot ("trunk"), but we take the tyre ("tire") to a garage ("gah-rarjsh") to get it swapped over. It's probably the UK being pedantic dickweeds, using that terminology.


  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    @pjt33 said:

    And although I'm sure I can handle the basics of using a petrol pump (open cap, insert pump, squeeze handle), I have no idea how you tell that it's getting full and avoid overfilling and polluting the forecourt.
    'You' dont. @pjt33 said:
    I seem to recall hearing that some pumps have a sensor which handles this automatically, but I'm sure that not all do
    I'd be very surprised to find any big-name petrol forecourt (or any self-service garage) anywhere that doesn't have this mechanism. It has to do with the small opening in the larger tube shown here:







    An alternative arrangement (with the 'sensing port' higher than the end of the nozzle):



  • @esoterik said:

     Ever seen two housewives backout from oposing garages and hit each other in the street? Who's fault is that?

    Both. Clearly neither were checking beforehand.

    @boomzilla said:

    @pjt33 said:
    I have no idea how you tell that it's getting full and avoid overfilling
    and polluting the forecourt. I seem to recall hearing that some pumps
    have a sensor which handles this automatically, but I'm sure that not
    all do.

    They certainly all do in the US.

    They do in the UK too - or at least have done since I've been driving (good 25+ years). Most also have a lock-out, controlled at the pay point: squeezing the trigger does nothing until the attendant has hit the button. Most filling these days is just a matter of slotting the nozzle in and squeezing hard: fuel flows once the attendant clears you then stops once the sensor detects backwash.

    Actually, thinking about it - I recall at a younger age watching someone splashing fuel on their shoes on a forecourt... so I'm guessing that the sensors stuff came in shortly before leaded (4-star) was phased out.


  • ♿ (Parody)

    @Cassidy said:

    I'll concede that only a minority completely miss these things growing up, but I'm with PJT on those one that unless they're part of driving instruction (but perhaps not part of the test) then there's no certainty that the topic is covered.

    Yes, of course, but it's a lesson learned pretty quickly if you didn't already pick it up. Do they also need to make sure you can use both electric and manual windows? Do we really need a law for this stuff? Do these people need to be monitored to ensure that they breathe, too?



  • @boomzilla said:

    @erikal said:
    Good point, but then I'd argue that the person that started the differentiation is a complete idiot and it is unwise to follow such idiocy. I'll stick to the botanical definition for everything, Don't Repeat Yourself and all that.

    But isn't the botanical definition only useful for being a pedantic dickweed? Oh, right.

     

    So its a win-win.



  • I can see that someone could go up their entire childhood without ever being in a car when it needed to be filled up.  But to live such a sheltered life where they never saw cars pulling into a gas station, nor watched the news where people are constantly complaining about high gas prices, nor used a gas powered lawnmower, nor been in a science (or history) class that explain the concepts of the combustion engine I find impossible.  There is just too much evidence out there to deduce that cars need fuel to run.

     And for you pjt33, google is your friend when it comes to those types of questions:

    Heck, at one point thanks to google/youtube I was able to figure out how to replace the lock controls on my car door (which involved removing part of the door panel) when it broke without having to take it into a mechanic, all I had to do was get the replacement part (which was under $20).


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