xkcd @lemmy.world randomaccount43543 @lemmy.world 9mo ago

xkcd #2880: Sheet Bend

https://xkcd.com/2880

Alt text:

A left-handed sheet bend creates a much weaker connection, especially under moderate loads.

18 comments

I just noticed this info on the xkcd website for the first time:

xkcd.com is best viewed with Netscape Navigator 4.0 or below on a Pentium 3±1 emulated in Javascript on an Apple IIGS at a screen resolution of 1024x1. Please enable your ad blockers, disable high-heat drying, and remove your device from Airplane Mode and set it to Boat Mode. For security reasons, please leave caps lock on while browsing.

Randall is such a genius.
- Boat Mode needs to be a thing, I don't know what it does but I want it.
  
  It unlocks your screen rotation settings and links screen orientation to the phones gyroscopic sensor to maintain orientation perpendicular to the horizon.
- Must be a new addition. I haven’t seen it either until now.
  
  It's been there for a while, just hard to spot. From doing a binary search with web.archive.org, it seems it was added on October 5th, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20161005090723/http://xkcd.com/
https://explainxkcd.com/2880
That

is one mother fucking cursed connector

it's brilliant because it's so hazardous yet still creates a contact between two double core wires.
- Additionally, the next "wire" would be connected reversed polarity so you would never know if grey or yellow were hot.
  
  why would it be connected with reversed polarity?
Fuck everything about that.
I want to see IRL photo of this connection.

The knot also needs to be adapted for common two-core electrical appliance cable, if you remove a piece of the insulation on one side and with an offset on the other side, the cable needs to be twisted mid-knot to match the correct wire.
WTF? the sheet bend is close to a square knot which is much more secure. Or a thieves' knot if you're looking for something that slips apart after limited tension.

18 comments