13 Things We See Often, But Few Know Why They Appear

At every moment, we are surrounded by a wide variety of things that make our lives easier. We are so used to them that we rarely think about why they are the way they are.

We, from awesome.club, we were curious to know why, for example, the sewer manholes are round, the forks have four tines, and the cabs are yellow. And we found obvious answers to some of these questions.

Barbie dolls were often criticized for not being consistent with the proportions we are used to: she has an oversized head, an exorbitantly narrow waist, thin pelvis and legs. Therefore, many believe that girls, looking at the doll, have the wrong idea of ​​\u200b\u200bwhat their figure should look like.

But Barbie’s lead designer, Kim Culmone, says there’s a good reason the doll’s body is so disproportionate: “Barbie’s body was never meant to be realistic. The doll was made that way so that children could easily dress and undress her.”

Very often on the back of jeans we can see a rectangular leather patch, the usefulness of which remains a mystery to many. This detail is called a jacron patch, because it is usually made of jacron (a type of artificial leather).

Manufacturers of Levi’s brand clothing were the first to sew this label, only on leather, so that shoppers could distinguish their jeans from counterfeits. It indicated the density of the jeans and some other information. Currently it is more of a tradition and at the same time a good place to place the brand logo.

At first glance, a locomotive with a cab at the rear appears to be inconvenient, as the driver’s view of the track is limited by the chimney. The reason for this lies in the convenience of working dynamics.

Right behind the driver’s cabin was a tender, that is, a wagon with spare parts and fuel. The stoker would take coal there and throw it into the furnace, which was in the locomotive cabin. In this way, the stoker and the driver could communicate with each other, which was very important during work.

Perhaps you think that they somehow help with braking or acceleration, or are an indicator of wear. But not. These little “hairs” form due to the ventilation holes in the mold where the rubber is poured. In order for the rubber to completely fill the mold, small holes are needed for air to escape. This is how these “little hairs” appear, and they serve no purpose.

Modern manufacturers often “scrape” them. If a new tire has these hairs, it’s probably not high quality. However, this spare rubber has a practical use: checking the quality of the rubber. If you pull a “hair” and it comes off easily, it means that there is a lot of soot in the rubber composition and the tire will quickly wear out.

Many have had difficulty inserting the USB connector correctly. Everything would be easier if he were round. But this format was chosen for one reason: to significantly reduce the cost of producing cables.

Had they opted for a round connector, more silicon, copper, and other components would have been required, and would most likely have delayed both the development and implementation process. However, the creator of USB, Ajay Bhatt, regrets not making the connector circular.

There are many jokes about moving with a piano, as its impractical shape causes a lot of hassle during transport. Why not make one in a more convenient and compact format right away? Unlike other similar instruments, the piano has horizontal strings and the hammers hit them from top to bottom.

Sound quality depends on the length of the piano. Concert tails can reach up to 3 m in length. The winged shape of the piano is due to the arrangement of the strings: the short ones are responsible for the high sounds, the long ones for the low ones. In addition, the three-legged triangle design makes it easy to disassemble the piano.

The main reason is that the round lid will not fall through the hole. If the hatches were square, the lid could easily go diagonally through it. In addition, round covers are easier to manufacture and do not need to be lifted from the ground: to open the hatch, just place it on the edge and push it to the side.

On the one hand, a screwdriver with a faceted handle will not roll on an inclined surface, on the other hand, it is more convenient to hold it in your hand. But the main reason is that sometimes, when a nut needs to be tightened in a hard-to-reach place, the screwdriver handle can be twisted with a wrench.

Crosswalks have been widely used in cities since the 1950s. Before that, from 1934, pedestrian crossings in England were signaled by Belisha lighthouses. They were positioned on either side of the walkway on striped poles, and the lighthouse itself was orange.

But as the number of cars increased, Belisha’s lights became less effective and British authorities began to look for other ways to make pedestrian crossings more visible to motorists. After experimenting with the pattern and color, it was decided to opt for stripes, as they were already associated with reducing speed for drivers.

Franz von Taxis, who lived in the 15th century, worked in the delivery business. The words “taxi” and “taximeter” may have originated from his surname. According to legend, he painted all his vehicles yellow, as this was not a color that politically “offended” anyone.

After the release of the French musical comedy Cabriolet Jaune (Yellow Taxi) in the late 18th century, vehicles of this color became popular in Europe. In the early 20th century, well-known Chicago businessman John Hertz founded a taxi service and commissioned a survey from a local university, according to which it was clear that yellow was the most noticeable color in the city. He named the company Yellow Cab and repainted all of their cars.

Red carpets have always been associated with luxury and status. Even Aeschylus mentions that red-painted rugs were laid out for gods and kings at that time. The fact is that in ancient times scarlet dye was very expensive and only wealthy people could afford it.

One wonders why the windows in houses are square and in planes and ships are round. Shapes with sharp corners are believed to be structurally weak and wear out much faster, while round or oval shapes are stronger and longer lasting. The first pressurized jet planes were built with rectangular windows, and there were cases where these did not withstand the stresses and disintegrated in mid-air.

It turns out that the stress on the surrounding structure must be evenly distributed. The corner is the point of greatest stress. If the stress distribution curve has corners, they are the ones that will lead to breakage. Therefore, sharp corners have been softened by rounded edges.

It seems that two prongs are enough to pierce and send a piece of food into the mouth, but the vast majority of forks have four prongs. The fact is that two spikes can easily injure the oral cavity and tongue. In the 19th century, fork makers experimented with the number of teeth, and there were options with three, four and even six teeth.

Experimentally, they came to the conclusion that four teeth is the ideal number, allowing you to skewer food easily and decreasing the chances of injuring your mouth.

What other curiosities of this type would you add to the list? Tell us!