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Monthly Archives: December 2013

Phillips Screwdrivers

So, I’ve been seeing “Phillip’s head screwdriver” a lot recently.  I’d just like to point out that it makes no sense.  Phillip did not lend his head to a screwdriver.  He probably wouldn’t like it if you thought his head looked like the head of a Phillips screwdriver either.  So…stop calling it a Phillip’s head screwdriver.

Also, Phillip had nothing to do with the develop of the screw and screwdriver.  The screw and subsequent screwdriver were developed by Henry F. Phillips.  He supposedly developed it so that it would be harder for your to strip the head of the screw.  Have you ever noticed that the Phillips screw cruciform isn’t neatly square but kind of has a rounded center?  And have you ever noticed that a Phillips screwdriver has a fairly steep slope on the driver head?  That’s so your screwdriver will cam out when the screw has been driven home (or otherwise stalls).  The feature isn’t as important now since most power tools have torque limiters on them.

Thus, you could possibly call the screwdriver a Phillips-head screwdriver, but definitely not a Phillip’s head screwdriver.

Oh, and the Frearson screw and driver aren’t the same as the Phillips screw and driver.  You’d think you’d realize this by the name.  And you probably do…but can you tell by the head type?  The Frearson has sharper and more defined edges so that the driver is less likely to slip out at high torque.  Because it wasn’t designed to do so.  Unlike the Phillips.

So now you know.

This is why we can’t have fun things, guys

Yes, I know there should be a random doodle or something today but I’ve decided to post a link to this story instead.  Did you read it?

I AM SO ANNOYED.

You’ll remember that I’ve mentioned rare-earth magnets before and why I was so irritated with parents and their small children playing with the magnets and subsequently swallowing them.  So…you can imagine how I feel about A TEENAGER doing the same thing.

WHY IS A TEENAGER PUTTING RARE-EARTH MAGNETS IN HER MOUTH AND THEN SWALLOWING THEM??  To her credit, she said that it was a “stupid kid moment” and didn’t try and give some lame excuse as to why it was acceptable for her to swallow the magnets.  But still.  SHE IS NOT A TODDLER.

She also knew of the dangers of swallowing the magnets and she still put them in her mouth.  I can understand that she didn’t want to put them on the floor of the bathroom, but THEY’RE MAGNETS.  She could have stuck on her shirt.  They’re rare-earth magnets.  They’re incredibly strong.  They would have held together on her shirt.  WHY DID SHE PUT THEM IN HER MOUTH?  She could have put them in her pocket.  She could have even wrapped them in paper and put them by the sink.  Any of these things would have been acceptable.  Yet SHE PUT THEM IN HER MOUTH AND THEN SWALLOWED THEM.

She also decided to report her story to the media in order to alert parents and other children of the dangers of swallowing the magnets.  Ok, that was nice of her.  BUT WHY WAS SHE SWALLOWING MAGNETS TO BEGIN WITH?!  Younger children are known to put things in their mouth.  It’s part of their way of exploring the world.  It’s a known thing and it’s also why Buckyballs and related came with strong warnings against allowing younger children to play with them.

Why can’t parents have some common sense?  If there are 1o328u12o3 warnings on a product not to give them to small children, don’t you think you should at least investigate why the warnings are there before disregarding them?  Not all children have a fascination with putting things in their mouth.  I get that.  Maybe it would be ok if they played with the magnets.  Most children are not like that.  Parents probably already know their children’s typical behavior.  If they already have ample evidence that their children like to put things in their mouth, WHY ARE THEY GIVING THEIR CHILDREN SOMETHING TO PLAY WITH THAT IS POTENTIALLY FATAL TO THEM?  And then suing.  Yes.  Please to blame someone else for your own stupidity.

GAH.  I AM SO ANNOYED.