It isn't so much the wood conducting electricity as the moisture in the wood. The whistling sound is the moisture escaping (as steam) as it's heated by the current until it reaches that critical point when a full blown arc appears across the lines.
Is it really a mystery why people push buttons? It isn't really a placebo effect. If a button is present, it's entirely reasonable to assume that it does what it says it will do, even if it's effect is difficult to casually quantify.
I don't know, Shecky, maybe you could use some common googling sense to find all the fantastically dismal examples of kids doing just what you think they won't and suffering a lifetime of consequences (or not).
I have yet to find an instance of a kid killing himself via toy gun. Nor of a kid who got the idea to kill himself from a toy gun.Especially a toy gun that looks nothing like a real firearm. Furthermore, why is this any different if a kid pointed the toy gun at his friend and fired? Which, you must be sure, happens all the time. The problem seems to be the adults who cannot believe children know the difference between play and real life. Finally, if you have a kid who really cannot tell the difference, then by all means, KEEP ALL YOUR FIREARMS LOCKED AWAY! That is the responsible thing to do.
This may surprise some, but these parent's genes will likely be passed along just fine. The reason? BECAUSE THIS IS NOT A REAL GUN. It doesn't even look anything like a real gun. So before folks start declaring that kids cannot tell a difference between a real gun and this toy, or that this is "no joking matter", use some common sense rather than some knee jerk reaction.
When it takes 20 minutes to create one tumbler, I have a feeling that it's more economical and ecological to have your tumblers to be made in quantity by a real glassworks. Furthermore, landfill space is more an economic problem than environmental problem, when it's a problem at all. And glass itself is not a rare resource in danger of exhaustion.
I think they are a neat idea aesthetically, and there may indeed be a market for them. However, it isn't a new idea, as pointed out, there used to be a cheap tv gadget sold precisely for the purpose. Even as a kid I used to wonder why bother, since ready made drinking glasses were not exactly an expensive and rare commodity.
Supply and demand is a large factor in housing costs. CA has a well deserved reputation for expensive houses. But that assumes you want to live in some of the genuinely nice places of the State. Go to towns like Palmdale or Victorville, and you'll see lots of houses that can't be given away. Largely because those places are not very desirable places to live.
The value of services to taxes is an interesting metric, but needs to be broken down item by item to have any real meaning. For example, CA has huge costs paying not only for it's many State workers, but paying extra for relatively low skilled workers that are well unionized, labor that's overvalued compared to what can be had in states where unions are relatively toothless. This is an example where high taxes don't translate into better or more services, just higher overhead.
Interestingly, CA is one of those states that tends to pay more into the federal system than it gets back. Western, Northeastern, and mid Northern States tend to get back less in funds than they pay out. It is curious that who pays also seems to correlate roughly with Blue and Red States politically, Red States tending to receive more than they pay, Blue States tending to pay out more than they get. Basically, Blue subsidizes Red. It'd be really interesting to find what kind of dynamic is at work there.
More like Humphrey's owner refuses to feed him anything else. Does she think Humphrey will starve himself if she stops the lasagna and replaces it with a bowl of Cat Chow?
Is it really a mystery why people push buttons? It isn't really a placebo effect. If a button is present, it's entirely reasonable to assume that it does what it says it will do, even if it's effect is difficult to casually quantify.
I have yet to find an instance of a kid killing himself via toy gun. Nor of a kid who got the idea to kill himself from a toy gun.Especially a toy gun that looks nothing like a real firearm. Furthermore, why is this any different if a kid pointed the toy gun at his friend and fired? Which, you must be sure, happens all the time. The problem seems to be the adults who cannot believe children know the difference between play and real life. Finally, if you have a kid who really cannot tell the difference, then by all means, KEEP ALL YOUR FIREARMS LOCKED AWAY! That is the responsible thing to do.
Kid pokes himself in the eye? I dunno. What would you expect to go wrong?
I think they are a neat idea aesthetically, and there may indeed be a market for them. However, it isn't a new idea, as pointed out, there used to be a cheap tv gadget sold precisely for the purpose. Even as a kid I used to wonder why bother, since ready made drinking glasses were not exactly an expensive and rare commodity.
The value of services to taxes is an interesting metric, but needs to be broken down item by item to have any real meaning. For example, CA has huge costs paying not only for it's many State workers, but paying extra for relatively low skilled workers that are well unionized, labor that's overvalued compared to what can be had in states where unions are relatively toothless. This is an example where high taxes don't translate into better or more services, just higher overhead.
Interestingly, CA is one of those states that tends to pay more into the federal system than it gets back. Western, Northeastern, and mid Northern States tend to get back less in funds than they pay out. It is curious that who pays also seems to correlate roughly with Blue and Red States politically, Red States tending to receive more than they pay, Blue States tending to pay out more than they get. Basically, Blue subsidizes Red. It'd be really interesting to find what kind of dynamic is at work there.
More like Humphrey's owner refuses to feed him anything else. Does she think Humphrey will starve himself if she stops the lasagna and replaces it with a bowl of Cat Chow?