Why do circuit breakers go up for on and down for off?

I worked that out when I was about six or seven: the first time I had a ride in a friend's Ford Escort. Fords were one of the first UK-spec cars to have the indicator stalk on the left, at a time when both British and UK-spec foreign cars still had the stalk on the right.

If you are turning the wheel clockwise (turning right), you press down if the stalk is on the right or up if it is on the left - both times, moving the stalk clockwise. Conversely for turning left.

My first car, a Mark 1 Renault 5, had *three* stalks: on the right, one stalk for indicators and another stalk for lights; on the left, a stalk for wipers. The unusual thing is that you moved the stalk up/down to toggle between dipped and high beam, rather than pulling it towards you or pushing away, as in most cars.

My Peugeot has a toggle for dip/high beam: you pull the light/indicators stalk towards you on a spring to alternate between dip/high, so the stalk is always in the same position when you want to alternate. If the lights are on, that's what it does; if they are off, the same action flashes the headlights.

Most cars you push the stalk away (and it stays there) for high beam and pull it towards you (and it stays there) for dipped, which means the stalk is in one of two different positions when you feel for it to alternate the setting - not as easy to do by feel.

It's little things like that which make you think that someone has actually tried both designs and decided which is easier.

I wish cars would standardise on putting the hazard lights switch on the end of one or other of the stalks, rather than putting it in some arbitrary position on the dashboard. It means the driver can hit the hazard lights switch without having to take his hands off the wheel and his eyes off the road; the downside is that it can't be reached by a passenger. On my Peugeot 306, I learned how to reach the switch without taking my eyes off the road

- hand on gear-lever when in 5th/6th

- move hand away to the dashboard keeping it at the same level

- move hand up or right (I forget which, now) an inch

- there's the switch, recessed slightly so you know when you've found it

On my Peugeot 308 it's higher up and there isn't anything obvious to feel for, as a reference point. Likewise for my wife's Honda. Having to take your eyes off the road to turn the hazard lights on (eg when you come up behind queueing traffic on a motorway) is a Bad Thing.

I did, for more than a moment, and decided that the explanation is inadequate.

The word "México" would be pronounced different in Spain than in Mexico. Spaniards would want to write it now as "Méjico". The problem is, the pronunciation of the letter "x" evolved differently in Spain than in central/south américa, and Mexicans insist we write it with 'x' and pronounce it 'j' :-)

Spanish has "tú" (singular, meaning "thou") and "vosotros" (plural). Centuries ago, the formal usage was to use the plural, but shortened to "vos".

Several american countries kept the usage of the formal "vos", but not Spain.

Well, another view is kill yourself if that's your wish, but do not make us deal with the mess. Or clean it. Includes writing a note so that none is accused of murder.

Well, you have to pay a certified electrician to write for you a certificate of the installation, and you have to give that to the electricity company before you get the contract.

It is up to you. If you do not invite the "inspector" to come and see, he will not sign the certificate and you don't get the electricity.

In some countries, the process is repeated periodically. No invitation, contract voided, you have no electricity.

Yes, sure. You did not read it, nor reason it. Something about the connection to ground being faulty at the station, and suddenly the chassis of your stove giving you a shock.

Did you check the percent? :-)

Actually Americans use older English, like sulfur.

We only declined because we got politically correct and gave back countries we'd quite rightfully stolen.

Our electrical outlets (argh! sockets) are superior to American ones in so many ways.

That is too low. I'd put the price more like $500K to $2M per person. Less for retards.

Which chemical? Those numbers are ridiculous.

What I want to know is how they can do that so cheap, but not over here. Why don't we get the African doctors to come fix Americans/Europeans for that price?

Just fit your own charger and tap it onto the shower circuit. Don't bother with extra switches and breakers and s*it. They're both about 30 amps.

Most of that is true, but 4 is not: many modern wall sockets (single/dual gang), especially those fitted by house builders, do not have a switch.

At least we don't wire some of our sockets into wall light switches by the door into a room, so those sockets can only be used for table lamps etc; the wall switches are probably not rated for the full rating of a

My head just exploded.

My Corsa has up for faster. So did other cars I used (including Seat and Renault).

Then open the door :-D

Here it is apparently illegal to switch on those lights if the car is moving. Thus, no reason to put the switch on the stalks.

You said DON'T and ALL.

Like tu and usted in Spanish, or ??? and ustedes.

Once in 1971, I met a pretty girl on the street in Guatamala City, and when I asked directions, she didn't seem to be in a hurry, and I wanted to get to know her, but the conversation ended. Later I thought she might have been put off because I kept addressing her as usted instead of tu, which was by then the standard among people our age. But I had learned Spanish starting only 5 months before, and usted was one of the half-dozen words I knew before then.

Someone in the hotel I was staying at spent a full 5 minutes teaching me how to say periodico in Spanish (I think I kept saying the I as a vowel), and a guy on highway crew that picked us up hitchhiking spent 5 minutes or more how to say a V that is half-way betweeen a B and a V, v-vaca vs b-burro.

I can't remember what it is now but there was some word I learned to say from cowboy movies (that is, any Western movie about the late 1800's) and later I found out Mexicans pronounced it that way in rural areas, but more simply in the city. So the cowboy movie set in the countryside was right. I think it was a nasal "sing song" up-pitch at the end of "Si, senor".

LOL I think I never heard that word until I was 10 years old. There was a group of words I'd never heard until we moved to Indiana when I was 10, reflect meaning to think, etc. The teacher Mrs. Tune used them and to myself I called her Looney Tune becuase of her strange language.

He never thought of what you say below. To him, move the stalk up means switch right indicator on. Right is up, left is down, same as the right wing party rules and is above, crushing the left below.

(in Spain, the right wing ruled for over 40 years during Franco dictatorship, and when he said this we were just out of the dictatorship)

I pointed this to him and he was crestfallen for a while. We liked him, but he was peculiar :-)

He taught painting and drawing, so he had an artistic mind.

There was an I Love Lucy episode about that, when they visited London.

Because if they come here, they can't buy their lunch with what they earn, but over there they are rich.

You should know this.