what I have learned today.

[CAMRAMan]

That Merthyr Tydfil was the home of Viagra, by accident.

[Cudzoziemiec]

It would be an exaggeration to say I've learned this, but this morning I stumbled upon the Homoousion v Homoiousian v Homoian controversy of 4th century Christianity. It must have been easier to avoid typos in those days, before the keyboard with the i next to the o.

[Cudzoziemiec]

More usefully – okay, more interestingly – well, additionally – I have learned that the Nivkh language, spoken by some indigenous people of Sakhalin, has 26 ways of counting from 1 to 10, according to the social status of what's being counted. And that in 1950, Stalin decided to build a tunnel under the Tatar Strait separating Sakhalin from the mainland. It collapsed, killing hundreds of engineers and gulag interns. The Nivkh people had predicted this; that stretch of water is home to the God of Thunder.

[JefO]

Learnt today, what a modern 16 year old keeps under his bed.

[Jurek]

Learnt today, what a modern 16 year old keeps under his bed.

You really ought to share this new-found information with us.

[JefO]

Your imaginations are probably working overtime. Possibly somewhere near the reality though!

[Jurek]

Your imaginations are probably working overtime. Possibly somewhere near the reality though!

He's got a set of golf clubs impressed into a boxful of marshmallows, hasn't he.
I am assuming that it is a 'he'.
A girl would never do that.

[JefO]

    

[citoyen]

The original meaning of the phrase "old hat" as in "something considered to be old-fashioned, out of date, unoriginal, or hackneyed" was....

Vulva.

According to the OED, at least.

They have a hilarious citation from 1796 (which they dismiss as facetious rather than genuine etymology, the spoilsports):

1796
Old hat; a woman's privities: because frequently felt.
F. Grose, Classical Dictionary of Vulgar Tongue (1963) at Hat

This one is interesting too:
1980
'Tis a Nest, a Niche, an Old Hat, an Omnibus, an Oyster, a Palace o' Pleasure.
E. Jong, Fanny i. xv. 120

Omnibus? I say! 

[Cudzoziemiec]

That the electric cargo trikes used delivery firm Zedify have no direct connection between pedals and wheels. Pedalling just charges the battery. Also, that Zedify pay their riders a wage rather than per drop like eg Deliveroo.

[MattH]

So, presumably it needs you to pedal in order to be legally a bicycle rather than a motorbike, which would then allow you to control the speed by your pedalling rate.

So, power would be interesting. Assuming limited to a 250W motor, on a normal ebike I could climb a hill at say 550W, by my legs putting in 300W and the motor giving the max rated output. If my legs are just charging the battery, does that mean that you'll only get 250W to the wheels no matter how hard you pedal, or can it (legally) measure that you are putting in 300W and so run the motor higher? That doesn't sound right legally, but I've not given this much thought yet.

Unless, of course it is actually an electric motorbike, in which case pedalling would be optional and just a way of extending range - but need you to wear a helmet and have a moped or bike license.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Neither. The power limits for cargo cycles are higher, though I can't remember what. They do seem to be pedalling all the time (though the rider demographic looks very different to standard Roos, ie Zedify seem to employ cyclists, whereas takeaway delivery cos seem to hire people who are in the gig economy and have a bike) so I think there must be some sensing. Possibly the pedals actually drive a generator of some sort?

[Regulator]

Neither. The power limits for cargo cycles are higher, though I can't remember what. They do seem to be pedalling all the time (though the rider demographic looks very different to standard Roos, ie Zedify seem to employ cyclists, whereas takeaway delivery cos seem to hire people who are in the gig economy and have a bike) so I think there must be some sensing. Possibly the pedals actually drive a generator of some sort?

Not in the UK, they're not.  All EAPC (irrespective of use) are limited to 250 watts.  The only way round that is type approval, which then requires insurance, VED, a registration plate and the appropriate driving license.

[grams]

This calls itself a "series hybrid" and says the motor is rated for "250W".

https://www.fullycharged.com/vok-s/

AIUI EBike motor ratings are somewhat flexible and short bursts above 250W are acceptable.

[Kim]

It's an interesting legal question.

I reckon if you made a bike with an electric transmission, but no power to the motor from a battery, it would be a pedal cycle in law, and power ratings would be irrelevant.

But as soon as it's providing assistance, the motor's continuous power rating becomes subject to regulation.  I don't think there's any scope for having a, say, 1000W motor where only 250W can come from the battery.

[Cudzoziemiec]

There have definitely been proposals to allow higher power motors for cargo bikes, I thought the regulations had been amended, but maybe not. Anyway, the vehicle I saw, which looked like this below, definitely had no registration. Don't know about type approval. And as it's a trike, helmet not required. But like I said, no number plate.

Bloke I spoke to said he found it quite stable but one of his colleagues had had one blow over in high winds.

[Regulator]

There have definitely been proposals to allow higher power motors for cargo bikes, I thought the regulations had been amended, but maybe not. Anyway, the vehicle I saw, which looked like this below, definitely had no registration. Don't know about type approval. And as it's a trike, helmet not required. But like I said, no number plate.

Bloke I spoke to said he found it quite stable but one of his colleagues had had one blow over in high winds.

They're standard EAPCs (those that are electrified - not all of their vehicles are).

[Cudzoziemiec]

They they are misinforming their riders.

[Regulator]

They they are misinforming their riders.

I doubt it.  I know one of the Zedify co-founders, Rob King.  He's straight up.

[Cudzoziemiec]

What's that got to do with it? Unless he's the bloke in his 20s, with a bit of a beard, I was talking to yesterday.

[Diver300]

It's an interesting legal question.

I reckon if you made a bike with an electric transmission, but no power to the motor from a battery, it would be a pedal cycle in law, and power ratings would be irrelevant.

But as soon as it's providing assistance, the motor's continuous power rating becomes subject to regulation.  I don't think there's any scope for having a, say, 1000W motor where only 250W can come from the battery.

Would there be anything to stop you having an electric transmission (no power limit apart from fitness) and an electrical assist (250 W limit)?

If not, the faff of having to split the drive motor into two in order to be able to limit the power just shows how badly-worded the law is.

[Cudzoziemiec]

That if you sprinkle salt on a leech and the surrounding skin, which it has attached itself to, nothing appears to happen for a few minutes. And then it suddenly explodes. This could even be more useful than some of other learnings in this thread.

[Mr Larrington]

… in a somewhat bizarre set of circumstances?

[T42]

Reminds me of the time when my nephews were here and spied one day a very large orange slug in the garden.  I mentioned that an American chap had told me that when he was a kid they used to put salt on them, whereupon the wee buggers dashed into the house and re-emerged with the salt cellar. I didn't stay to watch.

[L CC]

(Yesterday) I learned that those huge cattle in 18th and 19th century paintings (Comme Ca) despite what that article said, actually were pretty fecking huge. As potential sale instructions, if the paintings weren't representative, there would have been trouble. Fat beasts were in favour because they weren't only bred for meat, but for tallow.

At least that's what the nice lady in fancy period dress told me at Beamish when we were laughing at the chonkiest of chonky cattle in the pictures.