Anyone got really stupid questions that someone else on here might be able to answer?

[AlaskaElfForGin]

I only ask because I have a really stupid question but haven't asked in case you talk about me ...

So if someone else could ask something ridiculous first that would be great!

Why do we have ‘finger tips’ but not ‘toe tips’ and how can we ‘tiptoe’ but not ‘tip finger’ ?!!

I think that reflects frequency of usage. How often in life do we say "I can only just touch it with my fingertips" and so on, and how often does one ever need a word for being able to just reach it with the tips of your toes?

But I tipfinger down the stairs all the time, natch.

don't do the headlight flashes, especially if you have a massive 4wd and they have a city car. I've been dazzled like that before with the new lights - we have a road near us which is up and down, it's pitch black with no street lights (very rural) and if I meet another car coming down the hill towards me they dazzle me. Thankfully it's rare to see another car on that road at night.

Thanks @MillicentMartha I tried Google but didn't get all the information you've given.
It's really complicated though thought it would be simpler.

I haven’t read the full thread so apologies if someone’s asked these very boring (but possibly not completely stupid) questions:

1. What’s the meaning of the little cross that appears next to a poster’s name sometimes, often near the beginning of a thread? It’s really, really bugging me.

2. How do you insert a moving gif into a MN thread? I know you go to a gif site and there’s something about embedding a link - but I can’t for the life of me work out how it’s done. This is also driving me mad.

If anyone can answer either or both of these admittedly pointless questions I’d be overjoyed

Can I just say thank you to whoever posted about witches broom. I drive past a historical garden every day and there is a tree which is full of it. I have looked everyday for 20 years and thought “wow, the birds must really love that tree, there are so many nests in it!” What a moron!

@BambooWhoosh asked upthread why TV vets only wear surgical masks sometimes. They are worn in circumstances where the vets involved want to be as sterile as possible to minimise the risk of infection. So a practice like Fitzpatrick’s, which is doing orthopaedic surgery and is very high end, will always use them. A lower tech practice is doing a wider variety of procedures. If I were doing something orthopaedic I too would wear the whole kit. If I’m cleaning out a cat abscess, there’s not much point in wearing a mask as my mouth germs are not going to add significantly to the infection already there (except maybe to protect me from the abscess!) sometimes it will be down to personal preference.

@moredogsthansense Thanks! As a keen tv operation watcher it has always puzzled me but it makes sense now.

@cantbloodysleep - I have a prime subscription I THINK I can do a trial with audible through that? If you or anyone else can advise on that I’d be grateful.

What about podcasts? I have a fire tablet and iPhone which would people recommend to get podcasts through and are there sleep timers on the platforms there?

“Why do we have ‘finger tips’ but not ‘toe tips’ and how can we ‘tiptoe’ but not ‘tip finger’ ?!! 😂” because the English language isn’t really a pure language but a bonkers mish mash of ancient Anglo-Saxon and a shit ton of words either directly from or with the origins of other languages some of which have been “anglicised”. And I speak as a lit & linguistics grad! We’re horrendous language thieves and don’t even always admit it!

Re dawn/dusk not really an area of interest to me as I struggle with physics, but it does amuse/befuddle me when looking on my weather app on phone as I have the locations of friends/family on there too and as I’m in Scotland and a load are in far south of England it’s often pitch black up here while sunny and very much daylight there at the same time - reflected in the screen of the app. We’re such a small country this always surprises me.

Don’t even get me started on time differences!

Time differences...ugh. Flying home I go through so many time zones that it's horrendous. I only get jet lag coming back though which is fine until I have to go to work the next day. 28 hour flights + jetlag + work = interesting times

@graphista you could maybe try my recent discovery.. although the selection is limited to what is available. Someone on here said you can rent audio books from the library via there app... And you can! (And ebooks too) direct to your phone it's fab.
I just went into the local library and they helped me set it up. If you are already a member and a bit techy you should be able to manage it from their website but my library (Aberdeen) was changing systems when I tried. I love it! It's free, has a timer and lots of Agatha raisin. Worth a shot.
Regards to podcasts I use podcast addict. Not sure it's the best one out there but it does have a timer too. Good luck.

Are you supposed to use the while bit of a leek or just the green leaves?

When you have really muddy boots on and you take the first one off by stepping on it with your other foot, how do you get the second one off without getting a muddy sock or hand?

@MooPointCowsOpinion you get the device for the job obviously!! But it maybe only works with loose boots like wellies.

@moredogsthansense I was told by a theatre nurse (for humans) that the masks and sometimes eyewear are not necessarily worn for the patient but are to protect the staff.

@somanysocks you have to protect yourself from human bugs far more than animal bugs in most cases. Also, my dog licks my hand I'm fine with it. A person licks me... BOAK!!

I have one! How does hair know when it's been cut? My leg hair will only ever grow to a specific length. But if I shave, it knows it's been cut and regrows! This has always baffled me.

sugarbum I use the hazards to say thank you if let in by another motorist.
Lorries and some cars are so much higher than my car that the driver wouldn't see a hand wave in thanks.
One of my pet peeves is other drivers not saying thank you when I let them in in trafgic.
So entitled the traffic stops for them
Sadly a small % more women than men don't say thank you.

I have one! How does hair know when it's been cut? My leg hair will only ever grow to a specific length. But if I shave, it knows it's been cut and regrows! This has always baffled me.

It doesn't. Hair grows from the root, not the ends.
It will keep on growing if you leave it, but the ends might break so you think it's stopped growing at a certain length.

What's the longest you've ever left it?

Are you supposed to use the while bit of a leek or just the green leaves

All of it. White and green.

betternamechange you are supposed to use the white bit of the leek. I grow them sometimes and the white stem is the underground part and is highly prized. You can use the green foliage but that tends to be coarser/tougher so I usually don’t cook the very tops. But it’s personal preference as to how much green you like. Trimmed leeks from the shops usually don’t have any of the green on, which is wasteful imho.

Because the stems have been growing underground they can be gritty though, which is why when preparing you ought to slit them lengthways and rinse then very thoroughly in cold water, to get any earth out.

@mrsJosh

I've leave my leg hairs almost the entire winter! They all grow to the same length, And grow back to that length when they've been shaved. They defo wouldn't keep growing down to the floor if I left them growing 😂

What do they do with old car tyres , because there must be millions of the feckers discarded every year.

I believe, but I might be wrong, that some old car tyres get ground up and used as play ground surfaces etc.

When you have really muddy boots on and you take the first one off by stepping on it with your other foot, how do you get the second one off without getting a muddy sock or hand? You can either buy one of those boot remover things or you step out of the first one as far as your ankle, so you’re on tip toe, then use the tip toe foot to step on the heel of your other foot. Once you’ve got both ankles up, you can just step out of each boot.

I have a slightly strange question. Someone once answered it saying ‘it’s basic physics’ but didn’t elaborate. I did not go to the sort of school where they spent a great deal of time on physics! So, if you have a hover fly, hovering in the air in the middle of a moving lorry, would the hover fly move along with the lorry, staying in the middle? Or would it hit the back doors of the lorry as the lorry moved forward?