August 14th 08, 05:11 PM
posted to sci.space.history,sci.space.policy,sci.space.station
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ISS toilet lunacy
On Aug 13, 5:27*pm, "Martha Adams" wrote:
"Eric Chomko" wrote in message
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On Aug 13, 10:08 am, "Martha Adams" wrote:
wrote in message
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On Aug 13, 1:53 am, Pat Flannery wrote:
This _has_ to be a multinational government program. :-D
Well at least your political agenda is well flagged up front! lol.
You've got to admire restroom floors with "No Step" warnings on
them:http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/images/ISS_restroom.jpg
That sort of defeats the concept of a "floor" doesn't it?
You are grasping at straws! lol. Or should I say straw men. Read
the freaking operating instructions! haha..
Obviously since the ISS operates in zero gee there are no floors per
se. Plainly this warning, if it be real (I have a bio-hazard sign
over my toilet, it wasn't put there by American Standard! it was put
there as a joke by me - could be the same here) was intended for
that
army of technicians that trudged through the place while they were
building it on Earth. sheez.
Also, if you aren't supposed to step on it, why is the floor's
surface
textured to assure good traction?
Plainly in zero gee there is no traction. Obviously the sign was
installed after the fact by the operators - for example, I
frequently
come into my office building some days and see a similar sign that
says 'slippery when wet' - if I wanted to be a tool I could ask
stupid
questions like this one to the point of making the cleaning lady
cry,
but she was just doing her job a job I know little about. Same
here. Clearly, floors that have traction on the ISS cannot be
intended for use in zero gee. Obviously each ISS module is a complex
engineered product. Plainly it is not the result of of the ISS being
operated by a multi-national organization that resulted in this
sign -
haha - to attempt to paint this picture says more about you than
anything else.
In fact, why do you need good traction in zero g?
ah -now you're getting it.
You try to walk on the
floor you aren't supposed to be stepping on, and you'll just float
right
off of it anyway.
yes, now take the 'next step' so to speak - and realize that this
floor was for the benefit of those who were building the damn thing,
and that because this is an engineered product some areas shouldn't
be
stepped on - again assuming the sign is the real deal and not some
after market add on. lol. I mean, I look at the wing root on my 737
as its taxi-ing to take off and there is a little swath that's
textured for good traction - in case I had to hop out of emergency
escape hatch - and right there is a NO STEP sign painted over a
hatch
cover. Did they make that for the benefit of escaping passengers?
no. If the plane was ditched and there's passengers on the wings -
no
one cares about that hatch cover. They obviously made it for the
technicians who might be crawling around on the wings servicing the
damn thing. Same here.
Also, check out the adjustable height foot restraints on the
toilet...
in the full-up position, this toilet is perfectly set up for Yoda
to
use. :-D
Yoda is about the height of a 9 year old child - or a full grown
pygmy
tribesman. Either of those sorts of people might one day have to use
those facilities.
That's from here,
BTW:http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/space/lectures/lec25.html
Pat
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I think anyone who might ever be in a high-tech space
systems environment, wants to read the above discussion
closely. But the discussion also provokes an interesting
idea.
Namely, how about giving one of those pygmys a trip out
to space for a week; and bring her back to her people.
Then everyone stay out of their territory for three or
four generations. Then send in a (knowledgeable) person
to see what that story has become after a few generations
of oral transmission in this very non-tech environment.
The Gods Must Be Crazy, part 3.
*Of course* the modern cultures and technologies, not to
say local warlords and the like, are *much* too
aggressive to actually do something like that. But it's
a daydream of a non-hurtful social experiment that would
yield interesting and maybe even useful results.
An experiment that lasts three generations? That is called a
"country".
Eric
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Eric, child, what you do here is politely called 'humor.'
Thanks, as that was my intent.
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