irony (was:RE: [thechat] Car Buffs ..)

deke web at master.gen.in.us
Wed Jun 6 19:52:39 CDT 2001


On 6 Jun 2001, at 14:19, Bob Davis posted a message which said:

> I have been told that if you drop a lighted match into a can of diesel 
> fuel (or kerosene/parafin for that matter) that it will not light. They 
> need to be aerosolized (sp?) to ignite and prefer to ignite not by flame 
> but by pressure.

The internal combustion engine was still fairly new when cars started
being manufactured, and there was some concern about the gas tank
being directly above the engine on the Model T. 

Well, it *had* to be there. There wasn't a gas pump. It was gravity feed.
If you wanted to go up a steep hill, you had to back up because the
engine would starve for fuel.

Anyhow, the dealers would do a demonstration where they would
open the gas cap of a Model T, light a piece of punk, and put it out 
by immersing it in the gas. But they always made sure the gas tank
was full to the brim.

My father's uncle was impressed by this demonstration and showed
it to his family. Unfortunately, the gas tank was only half full. He 
wasn't killed, but he was hurt pretty bad, and it didn't do the car any
good. The dealer, to his credit, felt responsible and replaced the
car.  

And they stopped doing that demonstration....

deke


------------------------
 "The church is near but the road is icy; 
  the bar is far away but I will walk carefully." 
                            -- Russian Proverb




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