Secrets of your trade.

[Confusedfornow]

I have worked in my current area of expertise for the last 20 years or so. It's in Aviation, can't say exactly what or for who as it's a relatively small community (for my role) and it would be VERY outing. Before this, my only other "job" that I did for a few years was dancing (yes, that kind ). So I don't have massive experience of the world of work.

But I was chatting with some people in a bar over the weekend and conversation turned to jobs and then to my role. I was telling them about some stuff which is perfectly normal to me, but was absolutely news to them.

For instance . .

When a plane is "parked" and everything is switched off, the aircraft is referred to as being "Cold and dark".

If a helicopter has engine failure, it won't just fall out of the sky. The pilots are trained in a procedure called "autorotation" and can usually land safely even if the engine isn't running at all.

All British Airways flights use the call sign "Speed Bird". It's unique and no other airline in the world uses it.

Last one . .

Pilots can't wear polarised sunglasses. They make the electronic displays on the flight deck appear black, and you can't read any information from them.

So, what do you know from your jobs that is mundane for you but which most people wouldn't have a clue/be surprised by?

I want to contribute with something interesting but am struggling. I will have a think 🤔

Mine are boring as they are From old jobs in car insurance, car manufacture and compliance:

It's quite difficultly to cancel a policy or refuse to cover a claim. I've read so many posts on here about no mot / driving to work without business cover / having points on your license will void your cover. Also that cover is cancelled out on private property.

Even if a person walks out in front of your car and you had no chance whatsoever to stop, if the case goes to court the judge is likely to hold you at least partly liable and award the person some money.

Very few companies care that much if you threaten to take your business elsewhere.

Cars are designed to have bumpers at just the right height that if you hit a standing pedestrian, they should be lifted off their feet and on to your bonnet (this lessens the chance of shattered legs or being stuck under the car).
Some cars also have a mechanism so if this happens, the bonnet will spring slightly open at the front to stop the pedestrian falling on the floor and hitting their head.

Front seat airbags will break your glasses and likely give you burns to your face / leave you with black eyes.

Police are a nightmare to get information out of about an RTA if you're an insurer. They also are not trained in liability so if they tell you it's not your fault, that doesn't actually mean it's not your fault.

Most insurance companies are linked and owned by one big company (big example is EUI ltd owning Admiral, Bell, Diamond and Elephant)

One from DH (teacher) -
teachers sometimes take alcohol on residential trips (don't actually agree with that)

One from family member who works in TK Max:
If something isn't sold after it's been reduced a set amount of times it just gets put back to full price and moved to another store.

'Autorotation' makes it sound like there's a wee handle under the rotors in the cockpit and if all else fails you just jump up and rotate it by hand, which I'm sure is not the case and I will Google but it tickled me a bit!

Teachers sometimes eat confiscated sweets and crisps if unopened packets. Back in the day we would confiscate cigarettes and smoke them ourselves. When kids give us buns, biscuits etc made in food tech class we usually "save them for later" then chuck them away because we think the kids probably pick their noses.

I work in IT. The old switch it off and back on again sorts out your issue 9/10 times and dont tell us that you have done it cos we can see that your machine hasn't been switch off!

Childminders are interviewing parents as much as parents interview cms on first meetings.

Mine is v boring, swimming pools. My secret is, your world will not end just because your fucking swimming pool is not working for a day

I work in a library. That security device in books that sets the alarms off if not deactivated, I can't tell you how it works but it's a great joke to try and get it on a colleague and watch them set off the alarms when they leave 😊

Im a vet nurse. If you bring your pug to us for a claw clip we take them out the back to do it so we can have them on oxygen as when they get stressed they go blue and struggle to get enough oxygen. This is because of the way they are bred to look "cute".

I used to work in research and i can tell you that fruit flies have a complex mating ritual involving serenading and oral sex

A crematorium has to 'burn' a body within 72 hours of it coming into their possession.

Ashes are ground up by a machine which is basically a mechanical pestle and mortar. Any metal (nails, hip replacments, etc) are recycled.

I'm sure there are more interesting secrets but I work in a hotel, our booking system has a profile of some of our guests including their appearance, what car they drive, their family history e.g 'wife died in March 2006' and whether they're having an affair

I used to work at a theme park down south. The big rides break down almost constantly.

Also if someone throws up, we were supposed to shut the ride down, get out the biohazard masks and clean it with special cleaning fluids. Mostly we just wiped it off with wet wipes in between cycles and kept going.

Putting your kid in tall shoes/wedges so they are tall enough for rides is perfectly fine and allowed, because it means they’ll be able to touch the bottom with their shoes which is what makes it safe. Wearing a hat or giving them a ponytail does not work.

Ooo I work in the same area op! Good for you - it's a very male dominated environment and takes a very thick skin to work in.
Here are a couple:
A bird can smash a plane windscreen - this always makes me sad for the bird.
Pirates are real in some areas of the world and there is nothing 'Disney' about them

From my first job.
You can take blood samples from earlobes to measure PH, CO2 and Oxygen. The earlobe has to be well perfused and so can be warmed with Aligpan type cream.

Pacemakers do not always stop working after death.

I work in domestic abuse. I suppose a secret is that there are some mums and kids I support that I know I will still be thinking of in 20 years time, wondering how things have turned out for them.
And that's because some I really hope will have a positive outcome and some I know will not.

Less of a trade secret, more a piece of advice: if you have just given birth: don’t let your baby go cold!! That half an hour of skin-to-skin the midwifes encourages you to do straight after birth is great, but throw at least a couple of blankets over your baby, put a hat on them and don’t let them open the window, even if you are boiling, because your baby will get cold and there is a good chance it will develop respiratory distress and have to be admitted to the neonatal unit! I have seen it sooo many times and it’s a totally avoidable admission.

I'm not sure it's in the same category as most of the above, but I write CVs for a living (and see dozens daily). Most (at all levels) have spelling or grammatical mistakes. At least a quarter include something wildly inappropriate - today's nuggets included "Married for two years, actively TTC" and "I believe our lord and savour (sic) Jesus Christ has led me to you to make great changes".

@EssentialHummus

The best thing I ever saw on a CV was that they played air guitar as a hobby 😂

Another library bod here
The one thing that shocks newer staff (and some customers who find out) is the sheer number of books we throw out, pulp or otherwise get rid of. Paperbacks are (a) cheap and (b) badly made and once they start falling apart we chuck them.

We used to have a secret code that looked like books were going into storage but actually meant recycling bin!

I taught BTEC and HND - it’s impossible to fail. The government provides a cash payment for every student that passes, and the college needs that money to pay bills and salaries, so everyone has to pass. If you miss a deadline we falsify the date. If you’re not capable of doing the work we give you the answers. If you can’t even be bothered to copy the answers out in your handwriting we fill out an “observation report” saying we’ve seen your non-existent work. Any teacher whose professional morals prevent them from doing that won’t have a job for much longer. You literally have to choose whether to be immoral or unemployed.

@VelvetPineapple

I used to work for a high street travel agents. We were told to ask you your budget - say you say £3k, and we find a deal for £2k, we were then told to tell you we had found an amazing deal for you for £2600 and the £600 extra would go straight to the travel agent. I left after a month because I refused to do this!

If you leave a commission bid on the books at an auction for say £30, someone else can still buy the item for £30. It's called wrong footing. Say bidding is going in £10s:
£10 bid in the room, £20 on the books, £30 bid in the room. No further bids, then the bidder in the room gets the item.
If it's going to happen, it's usually at higher amounts when the increments can change as the auctioneer really will try to avoid the situation.

Similarly, two commission bids for the same amount, the first will get preference.

My current job is pretty uninteresting.

Wendy & her team who write the HoC library briefing notes are amazing. They make us all look like instant experts.

Someone I know once put 'google chrome' and 'internet explorer' as a skill on their CV 😂😂😂