Here in the Collected Wisdom executive penthouse, we've been working late on this week's column and it's getting so dark we can scarcely find our restorative glass of Château Front Street ‘09. Time for a minion to turn on the lights.
THE QUESTION: Why are light switches in Canada and the United States switched on by pushing them up, whereas switches in Britain are turned on by pushing them down? Brian Albinson of North Vancouver wanted to know.
THE ANSWER: Light switches in Canada and the United States are oriented to turn off when the switch is down because of the failsafe principle, writes Ben Barkow of Toronto.
“When things fail, they should fail in a manner that is as safe as possible. In the case of a power switch and in the case of a light switch on a wall, this means that if some object bumps into the switch or falls down on it, it cancels the power.”
So why do they do it the other way around in Britain? CW did a bit of research on this and found the following explanation: In Britain, when the external part of the switch is in the down position, the business end of the switch behind the cover plate is connected in the up position to complete the circuit, thereby turning on the light or appliance. The theory here was the opposite. It was done so the business end of the switch wouldn't accidentally fall down into the “live” position.
A final word on this comes from Lorne Booker in Thunder Bay. “In countries like Japan where earthquakes are common, switches move horizontally to prevent falling objects from turning a circuit on or off.”
FURTHER NOTICE
And now, folks, it's time to play Find the Volcano. Last week, we said that Mount Garibaldi, a volcano in southwestern British Columbia that last erupted around 500 BC, was part of the Cascade Range of mountains that runs from northern California to southern B.C.
Not so, says Anders I. Ourom of Vancouver. “Mount Garibaldi is in fact part of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains. The Cascade Mountains end at the Fraser River, about 100 kilometres southeast.”
Meanwhile, Melanie Kelman, a volcanologist with the Geological Survey of Canada in Vancouver, adds that Mount Garibaldi is also part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, a geological formation that spans both the Cascade and Coast mountain ranges.
HELP WANTED
- Why do people who are guilty sometimes plead “no contest” instead of “guilty”?
Emily Larimer
of Toronto wants to know. - After a newscast, the anchorperson can often be seen writing on a piece of paper, says
Patrice Palmer
of Hamilton. What are they writing? Robert Landry
of Montreal wonders why bulldozers, excavators and other large construction vehicles are always painted yellow.- “A young friend of mine just had his tonsils out – not a happy event,” writes
Pat Tripp
of London, Ont. “It occurred to me that there seem to be far fewer tonsillectomies now than when I was young. Why is that?”
Send your questions and answers to wisdom@globeandmail.com. Include your name, location and a daytime phone number.
