h a l f b a k e r yWhat was the question again?
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My 5 and 8 year olds tend to spend too long in the shower in the
morning, so we use a conventional hour glass egg timer to remind
them of the passing time, and the lateness of arriving at school.
But when one has finished, sometimes the sand still remains in
the
top half and the next kid is
ready to shower. How to reset it?
I propose the hourglass shape has an additional tube, linking top
to
bottom, around the outside. The tube can take all the contents.
By
tilting the egg timer in one direction, the sand can be directed
into
the tube, and moved to one end afterwards.
This will allow immediate resetting of the timer.
However, the side affect is that it also allows cheating of time by
the kids!
Hour Glass By-Pass
http://www.wikipate...-bypass-duct/Page-2
great idea.... but already has a patent [xenzag, Feb 13 2011]
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Perfect halfbakery idea([+]): an ingenious solution which is
not quite as good as the mundane solution (buy a second egg
timer). |
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I cannot fault this idea. [+] |
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//Perfect halfbakery idea([+])//
//I cannot fault this idea. [+]// |
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Never-the-less: apparently boring; so it can't be so. |
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If you didn't reset it, then it would be left to the
first guy to give time to the second, alternate each
day. An easy lesson in altruism. |
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Alternatively, force them to stay in the shower for
the duration of the allotted time. An easy lesson in
tyranny. |
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21 quest: though you need to waterproof it then |
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Install a mechanical timer on the hot water line. Route
the plumbing so that you have to be outside of the
bathroom to set it. |
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Sorry [ling] but I knew I had seen this idea some time ago when I was searching patents for a similar proposal. |
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Thanks, [xenzag] -good find!
I'm not quite sure why would anyone bother patenting this:
the market can't exactly be booming for non-electronic egg
timers. |
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After all, they wouldn't work in space. |
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They would work fine under constant acceleration. |
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(How would relativity be reformulated if, instead of a photon
clock, you used an egg-timer? The sand would flow faster as
acceleration increased, and time would stop altogether for
an observer at
constant velocity.) |
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Having it flush the toilet every time it is re-set would deter cheating. |
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// This idea seems to be the equivalent of modifying a
screwdriver handle to be a more durable pounding tool,
instead of simply using a hammer or mallet. // |
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Ah, I see what you mean; but don't you have condensation
in your bathroom? Wouldn't that rot the handle of your
hammer? |
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Luckily, the sand is completely sealed in glass vials. I wonder if anyone thought of using an hourglass for timing dives? A bit bulky on the wrist, I suppose. |
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