Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Two Plugs in The Bath

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With two plugs in the bath, it empties twice as quickly as one with only one plug.
xenzag, Jun 24 2010

Walk In Tub with 2 Drains http://www.google.c...Doff%26tbs%3Disch:1
As described [csea, Jun 24 2010]

Two Cups Of Coffee Two_20Cups_20Of_20Coffee
Pro Forma idea [csea, Jun 25 2010]

just beta-plumbing. quality not quantity beta-plumbing_20for_20kinky_20bathing
[po, Jun 26 2010]

[link]






       Are you sure ?   

       What are the relative cross sections of the "one plug" and "two plug" designs ?   

       We ask merely for information ...   

       [neutral .. so far]
8th of 7, Jun 24 2010
  

       I'm not sure if this is sublime brilliance or mind-numbingly stupid. Well played, sir.
victory, Jun 24 2010
  

       How can there be any doubts?
xenzag, Jun 24 2010
  

       Exists [link], but probably not widely known.   

       Of course, one plug, the size of the bottom of the tub, would drain quickest (assuming suitable drain plumbing.)
csea, Jun 24 2010
  

       //Of course, one plug, the size of the bottom of the tub, would drain quickest...//...But then you really would have to be careful of not throwing out the baby with the bathwater!
jurist, Jun 24 2010
  

       A bigger drain plug is not a very nice solution, because if it gets accidentally dislodged, then tons of valuable hot water escapes before you can put it back, whereas the risk of both plugs coming out at the same time is a far more remote possibility.   

       The illustration in the link is not really the same thing, as two plugs on two chains.   

       I like traditional bath tubs. That thing looks like an item of surgical apparatus
xenzag, Jun 24 2010
  

       I already have trouble finding one plug.
daseva, Jun 24 2010
  

       A plug fitted with a concentric plug, and showers.
rcarty, Jun 25 2010
  

       //Surely what you need is a bigger or second hole//... in the head in your case! The idea IS for two holes each of which has its own plug. I give up.... gets out key hole cutter to modify own bath.
xenzag, Jun 25 2010
  

       Two plugs in a bathtub   

       Each one seeking happiness   

       Plugged by two hopeful bathers   

       Which one will the bathtub bless?
bungston, Jun 25 2010
  

       Perhaps it could be a his and hers bathtub... the guy could get out and empty his half while the girl remains behind and soaks a little longer. Bun for planting the twist of physics in my head. [+]
Grogster, Jun 25 2010
  

       Would it also have 2 spigots? Each with 2 handles? In order to fill twice as quickly?   

       I think you are onto something, but it's not clear just what.   

       "I can see the one salvation of the poor old human race (In the Bath)^2" [Flanders & Swann]
csea, Jun 25 2010
  

       What's wrong with one big plug? [-]
simonj, Jun 25 2010
  

       I already explained that..... read the annotations.
xenzag, Jun 25 2010
  

       In the colonies language works differently to here.... of course I could have meant two electrical plugs, which would empty the bath even quicker :-)
xenzag, Jun 25 2010
  

       A couple of objections.

Firstly, the position of the plugholes would greatly affect the assertion about draining twice as quickly. For instance, the presence of the overflow drain doesn't cause the bath to drain twice as quickly.

Secondly, does a second plug double the likelihood of accidental dislodgement, with the greater consequent risk of losing precious hot water?

Thirdly, how would the capacity of the drainage pipes affect the whole scenario?

Fourthly (I think that this is more than a 'couple' of objections now, isn't it!), would a second plughole necessarily entail a proportionate increase in the number of spiders that invade your bathroom?

Fifthly, assuming that your second plughole is in the bottom of the bath, wouldn't this reduce the number of comfortable spots that you could sit in?

Sixthly...err, no. I think that's it actually. So, in conclusion, I think that a lot more study, very expensive research and plenty of hot baths are required before this idea should be implemented.
DrBob, Jun 25 2010
  

       If two plugs are better than one, then a thousand plugs would be even better, with the entire surface of the bath being made of plugs.
hippo, Jun 25 2010
  

       I agree. Baths could be made like giant colanders. Then you could drain your veg in them too!
DrBob, Jun 25 2010
  

       It depends on what the limiting element - the bottleneck if you will - in emptying the bath - is it plug, or drain.   

       If the drainpipe is 5cm in diameter, it will have a maximum capacity of flow. A single plug may already load this pipe to its limit, in which case having a secondary plug wont help, as the limiting element is the drain.   

       In this case, increasing the pipe diameter, or having an independent drain from the secondary plug will indeed increase the flow. Whether these additional plumbing requirements are necessary of course depends on the answer to the earlier question.   

       We must secure funding!   

       [edit] just realised [DrBob] has crossposted similar reposts while I was typing mine - Damn you Boooob!   

       Later thought: Increasing the water pressure in the bath might improve drainage - either by making the bath tall and thin, or by adoption of a mechanical piston - this might be foot-shaped and slightly oversized so as to make a snug fit around the bath.
zen_tom, Jun 25 2010
  

       Extending the two plugs concept through two sets of taps, we arrive at the logical conclusion:   

       Two baths.   

       Then, if two plugs are better than one, it follows that three plugs are better still (can you see where this is going yet?)   

       Infinite baths.   

       So, if we have an infinite number of baths and an infinite number of positive numbered bathers arrive, we're fixed. If an infinite number of negative numbered bathers arrive, we can ask all the positive numbered bathers to use only even numbered baths and the negative numbered bathers can use odd numbered baths.   

       This has become Hilberts bathroom, hasn't it.   

       I'll get me coat.
Twizz, Jun 25 2010
  

       I've noticed it's not really the plug, but the condition of the pipe that the water drains out of...like if it's clogged- it wouldn't go faster. Maybe having 2 drain pipes might do it.
xandram, Jun 25 2010
  

       //Damn you Boooob!//

<Terry Thomas> "Oh, hard cheese old boy! </TT>
[Twirls moustache in fiendish manner]
DrBob, Jun 25 2010
  

       If you follow this to its logic... er, probably better to say, if you follow this to *a* logical conclusion, You could end up with a double-skinned bath, the inner skin of which is holed like a colander and mounted on a hoist... then, for fastest possible escape from the bathwater, simply activate the hoist on the colander and be lifted out of the bath.   

       Question: Why do we want the bathwater to drain faster again?
moomintroll, Jun 25 2010
  

       If there was a pressure-tight lid that came down and sealed around the rim of the bath, then the airspace could be pressurised, forcing the water out at a much higher rate than gravity alone.
8th of 7, Jun 25 2010
  

       I'm going with the electrical interpretation. One plug at each end, delivering 30 amps.
xenzag, Jun 25 2010
  

       connect moom's hoist to a very powerful motor with a sudden stop and a wireguide and you have a bathtub catapult!
Voice, Jun 25 2010
  

       Of course, since water behaves like a wave, having two drains would create an interference pattern in the plumbing, and you could never be sure of whether that last drop chose hole A or hole B.   

       [moomintroll], that's a fascinating question. Personally I always try to get the bath to drain as quickly as possible, and frequently watch it until it does. I don't know why. I have always secretly wished for the vortex to start as early as possible.
RayfordSteele, Jun 25 2010
  

       So you should have hole C midway between them.
hippo, Jun 25 2010
  

       "midway" or "equidistant" ?   

       Once you intorduce a third point, the options increase; An equilateral triangle, an isosceles triangle, or a purely linear arrangement, complicated by the fact that most baths are not planar, but anamorphic curves.
8th of 7, Jun 25 2010
  

       make 5 holes of different size. Make the pipe material very thin, such that the draining water can vibrate them. The bather can then cover different holes to make a tune as it drains. A kind of reverse pipe organ.
Voice, Jun 25 2010
  

       See how much fun you can have with two plugs in your bath..... only on the fabulous halfbakery.
xenzag, Jun 25 2010
  

       A faster drain prevents mildew from forming, allows other bathers faster access and also is a sight to behold. These factors, along with the fact that a faster drain may be intuitively construed as a power source, probably led the caveman to select members of his society who were keen on the importance of faster draining, and in psych evo terms that's why we still feel the urge for a faster drain in modern times, eventhough we have the means to accomodate for slow drains today. In effect, [xenxag] is quite casually exhibiting his most primal instincts with this post, and if you were to present such a draining system to him he may perform yelps and chest-beating similar to the communicative prelingual behavior of our distant relatives.
daseva, Jun 25 2010
  

       daseva will you marry me?
Voice, Jun 25 2010
  

       Anyway, baths are disgusting ... marinating in a rancid, lukewarm puddle of diluted organic excreta and assorted surfactants ... showers are much more hygenic, and what's more, the whole floor area of the shower tray can be a grille, allowing "instant" draining.
8th of 7, Jun 25 2010
  

       There's nothing like "marinating in a rancid, lukewarm puddle of diluted organic excreta and assorted surfactants" AND you can play with Airfix model battleships in a bath. I still have a midget submarine with two frogmen. I suppose one could devise a range of "shower toys", but they wouldn't quite be as much fun somehow. Jungle themed shower cubicles anyone?
xenzag, Jun 25 2010
  

       // you can play with Airfix model battleships in a bath //   

       Only if you incorporate a plasticine ballast at build time, otherwise they have a distressing tendency to turn turtle; and the difficulty of producing a truly watertight seal along the keel is a challenge in itself. What's more, if it's desired to retain the capability for the turrets to rotate on their pintles, the hull becomes distressingly susceptible to taking on water when a "near miss" from an enemy shell sprays water over the decks and superstructure.#   

       Not that we know anything about this, you understand - all based on theoretical analysis.
8th of 7, Jun 25 2010
  

       The entire bath could be mounted with two trunnions, one at each end. A big brass lever could disengage a catch, allowing the bath to rotate rapidly through 180 degrees.   

       Or, the bath could be a clamshell design, with a long rubber seal along the centreline.
pocmloc, Jun 25 2010
  

       Two plugs are sitting in a tub.
One plug turns to the other and says, "Are you hairy?"
The second one says no...I'm Duwane.
  

       If the tub were located directly above the equator would water in one drain circle left and the other right?   

       // two pintles, one at each end //   

       Er, no it couldn't. It would have to have a single pintle in the centre.
8th of 7, Jun 25 2010
  

       Edited to say Trunnions, which is what I meant to say all along. Though since a rudder hands from two pintles, I don't see that one is the maximum possible.
pocmloc, Jun 25 2010
  

       It all comes down to Reynold's numbers, viscosity, pipe dimensions, gravitational constants, density....in fact, it all comes down to a lot of things.
MaxwellBuchanan, Jun 25 2010
  

       //If the tub were located directly above the equator would water in one drain circle left and the other right?//   

       Nope. The Coriolis effect, as applied to bathtubs, is an amazingly large bollock. What is amazing is that everybody believes that water spirals one way in any given hemisphere, despite the fact that just looking at a few bathtubs and sinks would reveal that there is no significant bias.
MaxwellBuchanan, Jun 25 2010
  

       Don't lemmings leap up cliffs in the Southern Hemisphere, and fling themselves off them in the Northern Hemisphere?
xenzag, Jun 25 2010
  

       If you argue about rotating whirlpools, and someone shoots you, would that person be Don Coriolis?
xenzag, Jun 25 2010
  

       You're incorrect [MB]; I've never seen it spiral any other way than downwards.
rcarty, Jun 25 2010
  

       Provided there be a third pin for the ground.
darkspeed, Jun 26 2010
  

       Just what I need, another big, gloppy, disgusting, waxy, soapy, stinky, hairblob, clogging drain number 2. Just what I need. +
blissmiss, Jun 26 2010
  

       I think you are wrong, max re: all the variables. That is, most bath fluids behave the same way. Also, it's common knowledge that the rotation of bathwater is independent of the hemispherical orientation.
daseva, Jun 26 2010
  

       When i look at a vortex, it always seems to be spiralling in both directions at the same time.   

       Why not just have a trapdoor as the bottom of the bath? Then you'd have almost instant draining and you could stick a heat pump under it.
nineteenthly, Jun 26 2010
  

       No bathtub coriolis effect?
I feel so cheated.
  

       //What’s a “near miss” anyway?// Obviously, the opposite of a "distant lad".
jurist, Jun 27 2010
  

       To return to the two plug 'oles thought.   

       I always loved the effects of partially lodging a heel against the plug 'ole and occasionally effecting strange contra-bass vibrations against the porcelain as the soapy residues gurgle down.   

       What joy now for an amateur hydro-pedal-organist to be able to use both feet to play some manic symphony .... (until one runs out of water...)   

       Hmmm.. Brraarppmmm.. Hmmaarrrppmm..
phlogiston, Jun 27 2010
  

       Hey, I checked out your profile...and guess what, [phlog], I was in Palo Alto today, at a swimming pool. I live in San Mateo. Go figure. What a small world.   

       I can get off topic for a second because I already commented on the idea, right? I SAID RIGHT???
blissmiss, Jun 27 2010
  

       Ho, blissful lady, small world indeed. But to quote Steven Wright, "I wouldn't want to have to paint it."   

       I know your swimming pool, I think. Possibly the only upstairs one (with parking below) that I've encountered. What if THAT had two plug holes, then? Perhaps they should connect them to the parking lot sprinkler system, and get everyone's car washed. What a deal.
phlogiston, Jun 27 2010
  

       And you Mr. Tindale may have 2 cups of coffee, because you are you, RIGHT?
blissmiss, Jun 27 2010
  

       Great job staying on topic, [phlog]!
daseva, Jun 27 2010
  

       Hey, if you can get a proposal for marriage, I can stray a little, right?
blissmiss, Jun 27 2010
  

       I don't know if Voice is serious, I'm not a great candidate for marriage anyways.. also, If I had the ability to grant you straying rights, I would do it bliss.   

       I think Straying is a very interesting topic, anyways, since it is at once inevitable and apparently destructive to the halfbaking process, but it still confers abundant benefits when a heaping of good straying turns into a new idea, for example. So, I guess straying is good, no? And straying by talking about straying must be even better sooo, wow! That's freakin' amazing!
daseva, Jun 27 2010
  

       The size of the drain pipe is what determines the flow rate from the hole assuming the hole's bigger than the pipe diameter.   

       Add another pipe draining to an un- restricted flow path with your second hole and you'd double the flow, but two drain holes to one pipe wouldn't do much.   

       What's the hurry though? Relax, you just took a bath, you should be feeling mellow.
doctorremulac3, Jun 28 2010
  

       // innovations in sport //   

       Water sports ?
8th of 7, Jun 28 2010
  

       //History has shown that surgeons practicing trepanning on rocks led to the sport we now call bowling// I never *used* to agree with Henry Ford about history being bunk, but I guess I do, now. It should be obvious that trepanning led to the sport we now call ice fishing.
mouseposture, Jun 28 2010
  

       Three plugs in the bathtub   

       Each one wishing happiness   

       Just one wish will be granted   

       Which one will the bathtub bless?
bungston, Jan 11 2012
  

       [bungston], it's deja vu all over again.
MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 11 2012
  

       Two drains, one connected to the sewer, the other leading to the garden, I would find useful.
spidermother, Jan 11 2012
  

       //Baths could be made like giant colanders.// Sounds dangerous. You could strain yourself. I suggest a bath that drains by tipping up like a dump truck.
AusCan531, Jan 11 2012
  

       Why not go the whole way and convert a dump truck into a bathing facility ? The hoppers are watertight, and adequately spacious.
8th of 7, Jan 12 2012
  

       /You could strain yourself./   

       rimshot!
bungston, Jan 12 2012
  

       /deja vu./   

       On a closer read I see that my concept of witticism has not much changed over 18 months. Reassuring!
bungston, Jan 12 2012
  
      
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