Stupid is, as stupid does

[gatso]

ok, up until now I assumed that everyone was levelling itt but then I found that at least another 32, 855 people also thought the same http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-always-thought-numbers-on-the-toaster-were-a-heat-setting-and-not-minutes/113163365388652

[kinboshi]

http://www.thetoasterproject.org/

[Skippy]

Someone mentioned carbon footprint.

What's all that off-setting your carbon footprint about? I don't understand how it's meant to work. Can someone explain so I can add it as my stupid thing?

my understanding of it is, someone plants a tree!

That's the thing I don't get.

I sort of get the idea that if you fly over to Vegas you feel guilty about all those bunnies you've killed with your needless pollution, so you invest some money in a wind farm somewhere that helps to reduce future carbon emissions.  That sort of nearly makes sense.

But this idea of planting a tree?  How does that help?  The tree is planted and grows, converting the carbon dioxide in the air into the stuff that makes the tree, so that removes some carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for a while.  But then when the tree dies that carbon is released as.... carbon dioxide as it decomposes or is burnt, etc.

I think the bit you are missing is probably in the "etc." bit. There is quite a lot you can do with a tree that doesn't release the carbon dioxide- if you use the wood to build a house, or turn it into paper, that carbon is locked up until your house burns down or you burn the paper. I imagine most of these offsetting plans are planting commercially useful trees.

Or, supposing you imagine a wild tree. Sure, that tree might die and decompose, but it will in general try to dump a load of seeds and make another tree on the same spot. Most of the time your carbon will be locked up in some sort of tree- either the one you plant, or its successors.

[Woodsey]

I found out that the numbers on a toaster are not different heat settings but that they correspond to minutes of cooking time.

I knew this, I feel smart, although I'm not convinced its minutes just a longer time.  

[kinboshi]

Someone mentioned carbon footprint.

What's all that off-setting your carbon footprint about? I don't understand how it's meant to work. Can someone explain so I can add it as my stupid thing?

my understanding of it is, someone plants a tree!

That's the thing I don't get.

I sort of get the idea that if you fly over to Vegas you feel guilty about all those bunnies you've killed with your needless pollution, so you invest some money in a wind farm somewhere that helps to reduce future carbon emissions.  That sort of nearly makes sense.

But this idea of planting a tree?  How does that help?  The tree is planted and grows, converting the carbon dioxide in the air into the stuff that makes the tree, so that removes some carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for a while.  But then when the tree dies that carbon is released as.... carbon dioxide as it decomposes or is burnt, etc.

I think the bit you are missing is probably in the "etc." bit. There is quite a lot you can do with a tree that doesn't release the carbon dioxide- if you use the wood to build a house, or turn it into paper, that carbon is locked up until your house burns down or you burn the paper. I imagine most of these offsetting plans are planting commercially useful trees.

Or, supposing you imagine a wild tree. Sure, that tree might die and decompose, but it will in general try to dump a load of seeds and make another tree on the same spot. Most of the time your carbon will be locked up in some sort of tree- either the one you plant, or its successors.

It's still only 'holding' the carbon temporarily though, be it ten, fifty or a hundred years. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for planting trees, I just don't think it offsets any carbon footprint. Offsetting by investing in wind-farms or solar technology, etc. makes sense as it helps to generate energy without burning carbon.  The tree-planting doesn't achieve this.

[millidonk]

Sigh this thread has defo not gone down the direction I intended. Surely someone has done something stupid or realised something they thought was stupid recently?

[Shogun112]

If you have a 4 slice toaster (Like Boshi), and you only want to have 2 slices of toast, you would normally use the 2 slots on the left or the 2 slots on the right, then the slice of toast that is nearest to the 2 empty slots, does not get cooked to the same level of browness as the slice that is nearest the sidewall of the toaster.  It pops up with one side under-done...!!! The other side of that slice is fine.  This is because the heat that should be directed towards the bread loses some because there is no toast in the empty slots.

[Shogun112]

I used to think that Duck A L'Orange was named because of that nice little French town called "Orange"

[RED-DOG]

Sigh this thread has defo not gone down the direction I intended. Surely someone has done something stupid or realised something they thought was stupid recently?

blonde threads are famous for their unsteerability.

[leethefish]

Sigh this thread has defo not gone down the direction I intended. Surely someone has done something stupid or realised something they thought was stupid recently?

i had a Chinese on Friday that was pretty stupid

[Shogun112]

When I was little, and went to bed, the sheets were cold, and my mum used to go into another room and turn a switch that would warm up my sheets for me..!!  It worked as well..!!

[Shogun112]

I used to believe that Don Quixote's first name was Donkey..!!

[gatso]

Surely someone has done something stupid or realised something they thought was stupid recently?

for starters it was pretty stupid of you to start a thread and not expect it to end as a toast convo

[Claw75]

i only recently clicked after years of watching it that nickelodeon isn't just some made up nonsense word.

[RED-DOG]

i only recently clicked after years of watching it that nickelodeon isn't just some made up nonsense word.

I only just realised it has nothing to do with knickers.