almikel Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 My young kids are still struggling to get it into their brains which way to turn a tap on or off (righty tighty, lefty loosy etc) I just asked one of my kids to turn the volume down on the stereo and they turned it up instead of down, which of course raised the question, "why is it different to taps?" It's the first time I'd ever considered it! The joys of parenthood and the funny stuff that comes up. I guess the person designing the first potentiometer was thinking of nuts/bolts - turning the pot "off" as the same as taking a nut "off" a bolt Mike 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Muon Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 "I guess the person designing the first potentiometer was thinking of nuts/bolts - turning the pot "off" as the same as taking a nut "off" a bolt" Now if that designer was a plumber by trade it could have been very different Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hifiplus Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Guess you are actually turning the tap off and the water on, but no one says that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decky Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Because you are not suppose to mix water with eletricity. Do not try to demonstrate that rule on 240V. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Muon Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Guess you are actually turning the tap off and the water on, but no one says that. :blink: Now that is messing with me..............had to go check a tap to regain some sanity :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehtcom Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Think it's just the way it worked out with taps. Right hand thread was popular and most likely cheaper to cut than left handed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betty boop Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 cutting a thread...I think am stronger turning a thread cutting tap clockwise than anti clockwise... turn it up ... that to me intuitively tells you turn the dial up from the bottom left position. ... i.e. clockwise... are kids still used to volume knobs ? up down arrows or plus minus is probably more what used to with the touch screens, toggle buttons and such mostly presented with.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Muon Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 cutting a thread...I think am stronger turning a thread cutting tap clockwise than anti clockwise... turn it up ... that to me intuitively tells you turn the dial up from the bottom left position. ... i.e. clockwise... are kids still used to volume knobs ? up down arrows or plus minus is probably more what used to with the touch screens, toggle buttons and such mostly presented with.... So it may have been a watchmaker... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiofeline Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Who said life and design is consistent? - Look at the numeric keypad of a digital phone. The top numbers are 1-2-3, with 7-8-9 on the bottom. - Now look at a calculator keypad. The top numbers are 7-8-9, and 1-2-3 is on the bottom. - Look at the middle numbers - it is 4-5-6 on both. At least they got 1/3rd of the design consistent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Who said life and design is consistent? - Look at the numeric keypad of a digital phone. The top numbers are 1-2-3, with 7-8-9 on the bottom. - Now look at a calculator keypad. The top numbers are 7-8-9, and 1-2-3 is on the bottom. - Look at the middle numbers - it is 4-5-6 on both. At least they got 1/3rd of the design consistent. Dammit, beat me to it. The phone vs calculator keypad configuration has to do with ease of use, I think... We did an experiment years ago and scraped the numbers off the keys on our landline phone (remember those?) It was interesting to see how people reacted when they asked to use the phone (as people did back in the stoneage) Those who worked in an office, for example, were more likely not to be fazed by the lack of numbers, while others found it near impossible to use Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cloth Ears Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 My young kids are still struggling to get it into their brains which way to turn a tap on or off (righty tighty, lefty loosy etc) I just asked one of my kids to turn the volume down on the stereo and they turned it up instead of down, which of course raised the question, "why is it different to taps?" It's the first time I'd ever considered it! The joys of parenthood and the funny stuff that comes up. I guess the person designing the first potentiometer was thinking of nuts/bolts - turning the pot "off" as the same as taking a nut "off" a bolt Mike A bit late on the scene, but are taps the same design in the Northern Hemisphere? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 As for volume controls.... Up, on, forward, increase, etc has (maybe) always been either clockwise (rotating) or left-right, (linear)....for some reason. Mmm. Who knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 A bit late on the scene, but are taps the same design in the Northern Hemisphere? Yes. Clocks move in the same direction too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyr Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 My young kids are still struggling to get it into their brains which way to turn a tap on or off (righty tighty, lefty loosy etc) I just asked one of my kids to turn the volume down on the stereo and they turned it up instead of down, which of course raised the question, "why is it different to taps?" It's the first time I'd ever considered it! The joys of parenthood and the funny stuff that comes up. I guess the person designing the first potentiometer was thinking of nuts/bolts - turning the pot "off" as the same as taking a nut "off" a bolt Mike Then again, modern taps which have a hot/cold turn plus the lever to let water out ... tap mfrs can't even agree on a standard for which way is hot! I have one such tap where pushing the lever back is for cold water (pulling it forward is for hot) ... and another tap which is the opposite! Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaynin Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 A bit late on the scene, but are taps the same design in the Northern Hemisphere? Yes but the water comes out backwards... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jakeyb77 Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Dammit, beat me to it. The phone vs calculator keypad configuration has to do with ease of use, I think... We did an experiment years ago and scraped the numbers off the keys on our landline phone (remember those?) It was interesting to see how people reacted when they asked to use the phone (as people did back in the stoneage) Those who worked in an office, for example, were more likely not to be fazed by the lack of numbers, while others found it near impossible to use I know a guy... (me) who swaps the 7,8 and 9 with the 1,2 and 3 on the numeric part of keyboards at work before my other workmates get in. Causes a lot of head scratching. Some have even asked for a new keyboard as theirs seems to be "broken" haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 I know a guy... (me) who swaps the 7,8 and 9 with the 1,2 and 3 on the numeric part of keyboards at work before my other workmates get in. Causes a lot of head scratching. Some have even asked for a new keyboard as theirs seems to be "broken" haha Yes! Gold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jakeyb77 Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 Yes! Gold ** I have since ceased this activity when one of my more serious co-workers complained that someone was out to get her and labelled it akin to bullying.... Spoilsports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 (edited) ** I have since ceased this activity when one of my more serious co-workers complained that someone was out to get her and labelled it akin to bullying.... SpoilsportsGood lord, people need to harden lighten up a bit....seriously.Sigh Speaking of pranks....I think it was on Jimmy Fallon, someone said they released 3 pigs at a school (maybe) with the numbers 1,2 and 4 painted on them. Classic Edited March 30, 2016 by Dirty_vinylpusher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evil c Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 More than fit the definition of a "saboteur" @@JakeyB [emoji13] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jakeyb77 Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 More than fit the definition of a "saboteur" @@JakeyB [emoji13] I'm running out of room in my sig for your zingers @@evil c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiofeline Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 (edited) Light switches are inconsistent as well, as written in the Wikipedia "Light Switch" (as copied from another site)... The direction which represents "on" also varies by country. In the USA and Canada and Mexico and the rest of North America, it is usual for the "on" position of a toggle switch to be "up", whereas in many other countries such as the UK, Ireland, Australia, and in New Zealand it is "down." ... In countries prone to earthquakes, such as Japan, most switches are positioned sideways to prevent the switch from inadvertently being turned on or off by falling objects. Edited March 30, 2016 by audiofeline Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_m_54 Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 Then again, modern taps which have a hot/cold turn plus the lever to let water out ... tap mfrs can't even agree on a standard for which way is hot! I have one such tap where pushing the lever back is for cold water (pulling it forward is for hot) ... and another tap which is the opposite! Andy Maybe the hoses on the bottom of the mixer have been fitted wrong? Funny thing when I fitted a couple of ceramic tap inserts in our laundry. They worked back to front (clockwise for on, anti cw to turn off), so I removed the ceramic valves and flipped them over to work as you would normally expect them to work. Another thing is, what orientation do you normally expect on taps. Hot on the left, cold on the right, or vice versa? Normally it doesn't make a difference because they are marked. But when you jump in a shower that has taps with no markings, it can be a bugger to adjust at first, especially if it takes a while for the hot water to come out hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyr Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 Maybe the hoses on the bottom of the mixer have been fitted wrong? No, this is looking at the tap itself which has a marking to show which way is 'hot' and which way is 'cold'. One tap has a red & a blue dot ... the other tap has 'Hot' & 'Cold' printed on the chrome. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_m_54 Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 OK, if it is a tap with this type of handle, maybe the one that is hot when you pull the lever has been mounted with the base 180 degrees out. That is the mixer lever is supposed to be on the opposite side? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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