# stupid question thread



## bikedudeomaha (Aug 17, 2012)

i thought this would be a good idea. especially for some people (like me) who are relatively new to classic bikes.
my question: is a huffy a newer version of huffman?


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## John (Aug 17, 2012)

*Huffy*

Huffy history

http://www.huffy.com/about/History.aspx

All the history books forgot the part about the death bike.
But if you Google Horace Huffman Sr. and his son Jr. you can read alot of intersting information about Huffman and Huffy.


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## Nick-theCut (Aug 17, 2012)

"There is no such thing as a stupid question" - ???


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## vincev (Aug 17, 2012)

I guarantee you will get a lot of stupid answers even if the question isnt stupid especially the later at night it is.lol


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## silvercreek (Aug 17, 2012)

Nick-theCut said:


> "There is no such thing as a stupid question" - ???




Only stupid answers.


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## rideahiggins (Aug 17, 2012)

*I want to know*

Why are my tires only flat on the bottom?


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## Boris (Aug 17, 2012)

vincev said:


> I guarantee you will get a lot of stupid answers even if the question isnt stupid especially the later at night it is.lol




Still a little bit too early on the West Coast. Shall we meet here at say, 8pm PST


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## Boris (Aug 17, 2012)

When geese fly in formation, why is one side always longer than the other?


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## jwm (Aug 17, 2012)

The weather man says there's a thirty percent chance of rain.
Does that mean that there's about a one in three chance that it's going to rain; or
does it mean that it's definitely going to rain, but you have a one in three chance of being where the rain is going to fall?

and while we're asking questions- How come a Huffman gets called a Huffy, but a Phantom doesn't get called a fanny?  Especially the girls' version- everyone likes a nice girl's Fanny...
But maybe that's why-if you placed a wtb ad for a boy's and girls' Fanny you'd probably get a lot of weird hits...


JWM


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## OldRider (Aug 17, 2012)

Dave Marko said:


> When geese fly in formation, why is one side always longer than the other?






The geese at either side of the V has an aerodynamic advantage. It does not matter which side, as long as there is a goose flying in front of another in the formation. The lead goose expends the most energy and they take turns being the lead. Since aerodynamic efficiency does not depend on the shape of the V, there is no disadvantage to have one arm of the V longer than the other. If there is no disadvantage, then there is no natural selection to make sure that geese fly in formations with equal numbers of geese at each arm of the formation. Whenever there is a lack of natural selection, natural variation can exist.

There, now don't I look smart  I can cut and paste!


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## Mole (Aug 17, 2012)

Asked of me by my Godson about 7 years ago...
"Keith why come when I run in circles I always go to the left?"

What'd I tell him?
"Cuz yer gith handed."

His reaction?
"OK." ...returns to running in circles (to the left).


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## HIGGINSFOREVER (Aug 17, 2012)

oldrider said:


> the geese at either side of the v has an aerodynamic advantage. It does not matter which side, as long as there is a goose flying in front of another in the formation. The lead goose expends the most energy and they take turns being the lead. Since aerodynamic efficiency does not depend on the shape of the v, there is no disadvantage to have one arm of the v longer than the other. If there is no disadvantage, then there is no natural selection to make sure that geese fly in formations with equal numbers of geese at each arm of the formation. Whenever there is a lack of natural selection, natural variation can exist.
> 
> There, now don't i look smart  i can cut and paste!




what did he say


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## kunzog (Aug 18, 2012)

*Railroad trivia*

Here is a Railroad question. Early steam engines used to pull trains needed water for their boilers and the engines were refilled from huge wooden water tanks on legs high above the tracks. Of course they were subject to freezing in winter weather. When the water in the tanks froze how did they fill the trains boilers? I dont know the answer but have wondered about it.


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## rideahiggins (Aug 18, 2012)

*coal burning stoves*

Water Tanks were vital to the operation of any steam-powered railroad, and the Morristown & Erie was no exception. The M&E had two tanks along its 11-mile route: one at the Morristown, NJ yard, and the other, four miles distant at Whippany. The Water Tanks were so important to the daily operation of the Railroad that employees were instructed to check the tanks and their associated water source regularly to ensure proper function and to provide maintenance whenever needed. The Morristown tank was fed from a pipe leading from the nearby Whippany River. The Whippany tank drew its supply of water from a natural spring and creek that still flows alongside the tracks in the Whippany rail yard. After the brick bases were installed on both tanks, coal-burning stoves kept the pipes, pumping machinery and the tanks themselves warm during the Winter months to prevent the water from freezing


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## Boris (Aug 18, 2012)

Dave Marko said:


> When geese fly in formation, why is one side always longer than the other?




Decided to do some research on my own, and discovered that it's because there are more geese on that side.


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## OldRider (Aug 18, 2012)

Brilliant Dave, absolutely brilliant. You sure you're not a Rhodes scholar?


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## MagicRat (Aug 18, 2012)

*Acid...*

They want to develop an Acid that will Melt Anything!...

...Thats Great...What are you gonna keep it in?


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## vincev (Aug 18, 2012)

Dave,If there are too many geese on one side of the vee will it fly in circles???
How do geese pick a leader??
What if the leader they pick doesn't know where to go?
What if they dont like where the leader is leading them,do they pick another leader who goes where the majority wants to go?????
I'm going to go read a Goose Book.


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## Boris (Aug 18, 2012)

vincev said:


> Dave,If there are too many geese on one side of the vee will it fly in circles???
> How do geese pick a leader??
> What if the leader they pick doesn't know where to go?
> What if they dont like where the leader is leading them,do they pick another leader who goes where the majority wants to go?????
> I'm going to go read a Goose Book.




Congratulations Vince, you've satisfied the requirements of this thread. All very stupid questions, for sure.


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## Butch (Aug 18, 2012)

I'll play this. How many parts on a bicycle are round or have a round shape? Obviously some types will have more, but counting what most have in common, how many? The chain alone is a good start.


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## jwm (Aug 18, 2012)

Ai yi yi, What  am I gonna do with this bunch? I know this is a stupid _question_ thread but can't we do just a little better on the stupid answers? Otherwise it'll mean starting a whole new thread, and I don't want the  powers that be to get all consternated with us for using all these pixels for this fol de rol. After all, think of the children. What will the children do when there are no pixels left?

Oh, and Butch- welcome to the forum. And the correctly stupid answer to your question is:
All of them, except for the ones that aren't.
See? that was simple.

Now let's all get to work on some dumb answers, OK?

JWM


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## Gary Mc (Aug 18, 2012)

OMG did this thread get hijacked by geese & trains & silliness.  And bikedudeomaha, Welcome to the CABE!!!!! I promise this doesn't always happen, LOL, there is a lot of seriousness here as well.  I think your real question was answered very early on......


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## OldRider (Aug 18, 2012)

Once in a while we need a little diversion like this


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## Gary Mc (Aug 18, 2012)

oldrider said:


> once in a while we need a little diversion like this




amen!!!!!!!


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## Rambler (Aug 18, 2012)

*Here is my stupid question. How does this work???*

OK here is my stupid question...

What exactly is this and how does it work. Such as where exactly does it attach and how is it used???

Does anyone have any photos of one of these on their bike that they could post?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=261084453116


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## Gary Mc (Aug 18, 2012)

Rambler said:


> OK here is my stupid question...
> 
> What exactly is this and how does it work. Such as where exactly does it attach and how is it used???
> 
> ...




Rambler, It looks like a way to hook up leads and electrocute a finger but in reality it sold for $245 on CABE B-S-T on 7/12/12 to a member, now at $425 buy it now on ebay, same member.  See post: http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showth...feather-touch-horn-button-255-shipped-pre-war

See ebay post here on how it attaches to a Prewar EA Horn with pics: 
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...&viewitem=&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#ht_500wt_1215


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## vincev (Aug 18, 2012)

Hey Rambler! That wasn't a stupid question.Please try harder.


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## Gary Mc (Aug 18, 2012)

vincev said:


> Hey Rambler! That wasn't a stupid question.Please try harder.




Vince, Agree, a stupid question would BEE can you ride a bike by a tree with BEES and not get BEE STUNG if said BEES haven't made their BEE HONEY and if not can you ride a bike up the tree to antagonize said BEES to get BEE STUNG and drive them away from the BEE TREE before they make their BEE HONEY or if BEES have made BEE HONEY, do you have to ride it around the tree until the BEE HONEY hardens so you can see the BEE HONEY WAX MOTHS...... Oh just forget it this is a STUPID question, Dave already answered parts of this in AS THE BEE CABE TURNS.


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## Ozark Flyer (Aug 18, 2012)

Dave Marko said:


> When geese fly in formation, why is one side always longer than the other?




Geese can't count.


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## Rambler (Aug 18, 2012)

Gary Mc said:


> Rambler, It looks like a way to hook up leads and electrocute a finger but in reality it sold for $245 on CABE B-S-T on 7/12/12 to a member, now at $425 buy it now on ebay, same member.  See post: http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showth...feather-touch-horn-button-255-shipped-pre-war
> 
> See ebay post here on how it attaches to a Prewar EA Horn with pics:
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...&viewitem=&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#ht_500wt_1215




Thank you Gary Mc,

Seeing it with the EA horn it makes a lot more sense to me now.


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## Gary Mc (Aug 18, 2012)

Rambler said:


> Thank you Gary Mc,
> 
> Seeing it with the EA horn it makes a lot more sense to me now.




You are welcome!!!!!! I could have just said it attaches to a GOOSENECK which would have been in line with the answers in this thread.


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## JOEL (Aug 19, 2012)

Here's a stupid bike question I here often. How do you pronounce the following:
Huret
Puch
Viscount
Legnano
Gitane
Colnago
Schwinn (southern pronunciation: swee-in)


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## hoofhearted (Aug 19, 2012)

Every time i watch CITIZEN KANE, i wonder if H.G. Wells used a typewriter back then.


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## bikedudeomaha (Aug 19, 2012)

*pronounce*

puch...pooch like in..here doggy doggy?
this thread has become fun


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## Wcben (Aug 25, 2012)

Why is it that when you scroll over the little gray rectangle under my name above that it says "WCBEN Huffy Middlewieght"?  I've never even owned a Huffy...is there anyway I can change that?


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## OldRider (Aug 25, 2012)

I believe we're all Huffy middleweights.......for me its sort of OK, I own a Huffman


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## chitown (Aug 25, 2012)

OldRider said:


> ...for me its sort of OK, I own a Huffman




Since Horace Huffman Sr was George Lewis' Secretary and Treasurer at the Dayton Rolled Metal Co in 1925, and George Lewis went on to design the aluminum Silver Kings a decade later, and I own one of those Silver Kings he designed, does that mean it's OK for me too?

Thanks,

Chris


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## OldRider (Aug 25, 2012)

Welcome to the Huffy middleweight club, Chi. Wipe your feet as you come in and avoid Vince and Dave


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## Boris (Aug 25, 2012)

OldRider said:


> Welcome to the Huffy middleweight club, Chi. Wipe your feet as you come in and avoid Vince and Dave




He can't avoid us, we're the doormats.


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## Wcben (Aug 25, 2012)

I meant nothing against Huffy, they're great bikes, just never owned one.  Would be cool for me if it said 1905 Racycle!


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## jwm (Aug 25, 2012)

Yeah, but what if you don't really want to be a Huffy middleweight? You could be a Genteel lightweight, or an Obstreperous heavyweight, couldn't you?

JWM


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## Boris (Aug 25, 2012)

jwm said:


> Yeah, but what if you don't really want to be a Huffy middleweight? You could be a Genteel lightweight, or an Obstreperous heavyweight, couldn't you?
> 
> JWM




Start your own clubs! This one's for Huffy middleweights ONLY. Me thinketh thou drinketh too much from the "idiot compassion" cup


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## Johann (Aug 26, 2012)

*Racycle, it is very easy to change what it says there.*

Buy a Huffy.


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## Boris (Aug 26, 2012)

jwm said:


> Yeah, but what if you don't really want to be a Huffy middleweight? You could be a Genteel lightweight, or an Obstreperous heavyweight, couldn't you?
> 
> JWM




Just out of curiosity, if you did start your own club, what would be the minimum weight requirement be to become a member of the "Obstreperous Heavyweight Club"? I have to admit that I do like the sound of it.


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## jwm (Aug 26, 2012)

I think Obstreperousness would probably out weigh weight.
Otherwise you'd have to wait for weight, and that might take too long unless you eat too much too fast, and then you couldn't be too obstreperous because you'd be all full and content. But, then again, if you ate too fast you could get a stomach ache, and then you'd be feeling too nauseous to be obstreperous.
It's a heavy question, Dave. I'll have to give it some more thought.
But you can join anyway, so long as you're not too skinny.
Actually, that my problem- too skinny.

JWM


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## MagicRat (Aug 27, 2012)

Can Mr. Creosote join the club? ^

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v29QfOyuZ3Y


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## Luckykat32 (Aug 27, 2012)

silvercreek said:


> Only stupid answers.





I thought it was "...only stupid people"...


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## MagicRat (Aug 27, 2012)

Stupidity Should Be PAINFUL.


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## Mole (Aug 27, 2012)

*Oh... it is...*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zQ0QV_RtpQ


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## bikedudeomaha (Aug 28, 2012)

*one more*

abr. like ccm. could someone give a list for these?


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## MagicRat (Aug 28, 2012)

Can these three scale tippers join the heavyweight bike club?

FAT BOYS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74MTIBbn4uI


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## MagicRat (Aug 28, 2012)

Hey Possum,I got one for US!

Fatboy Slim

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMrIy9zm7QY


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## Boris (Aug 30, 2012)

I know why they call bikes with two wheels "Bicycles", but why do they call those bikes with only one wheel "Unicycles"?


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## Mole (Aug 30, 2012)

should be called eunich-cycles




just sayin'


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## vincev (Aug 30, 2012)

Tell us DAve,WHY do they call them bicycles?? This should be interesting.


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## jwm (Aug 30, 2012)

Unicycle is a compound word, formerly a contraction. The one wheeled vehicles were once called Unique Cycles, because they were very unique, and they were cycles, too. But we being the linguistically lazy creatures that we are soon fell into the habit of dropping the "que" ("K" sound) and just calling them uni-cycles which soon became unicycles. In another zillion years or so we'll just call them "uni's", or maybe get so lazy that we'll just forget about calling them anything at all. They're too damn hard to ride anyway.

JWM


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## MagicRat (Aug 31, 2012)

Is it as Hot in the summertime as it is down the Shore?


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## Larmo63 (Aug 31, 2012)

Why are pies round......?


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## jwm (Aug 31, 2012)

Some pie are square.

JWM


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## MagicRat (Aug 31, 2012)

Wait a miniuite...

Pie is 3.14159265359...

Are we talkin' about Pizza Pie?

Gimme mine with the Works!


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## MagicRat (Sep 1, 2012)

Bruce Bruce

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xOiWxatxmk&feature=related


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## vincev (Sep 1, 2012)

If a train leaves Crown Point,Indiana heading to Portland at 60 mph and Boris leaves Portland,Or. on his bike traveling at 6mph.on the same track to Crown Point,Indiana where will the two collide and spare the CABE of anymore stupid threads.


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## HIGGINSFOREVER (Sep 1, 2012)

*J.c.higgins*

Why did mister sears and mister robuck call there bikes j.c.higgins


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## MagicRat (Sep 1, 2012)

Hey Granpa...Like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpl4Cr3-Tm0&feature=related


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## MagicRat (Sep 1, 2012)

J.C. Higgins...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._C._Higgins


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## MagicRat (Sep 2, 2012)

Do barbeques have pits?


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## partsguy (Sep 4, 2012)

jwm said:


> The weather man says there's a thirty percent chance of rain.
> Does that mean that there's about a one in three chance that it's going to rain; or
> does it mean that it's definitely going to rain, but you have a one in three chance of being where the rain is going to fall?
> 
> ...




LOL! Thats too funny!


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## MagicRat (Sep 4, 2012)

If the Professor on Giligans Island could make a radio out of a coconut...

...Why could'nt he fix a hole in a boat?


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## bricycle (Sep 4, 2012)

rideahiggins said:


> Why are my tires only flat on the bottom?




...buy an old singletube tired bike...chances are they may be flat in several places..lol.


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## Craiggo (Sep 8, 2012)

jwm said:


> The weather man says there's a thirty percent chance of rain.
> Does that mean that there's about a one in three chance that it's going to rain; or
> does it mean that it's definitely going to rain, but you have a one in three chance of being where the rain is going to fall?
> 
> ...





If there is a 30% chance of rain, it means that due to the cloud formations in the sky, if there were 100 days that had the same conditions, approximately 30 of those days would get rain. 

No copy and paste required. That's just raw knowledge 
-Craig


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## Larmo63 (Sep 8, 2012)

*Dumb Questions Answered*

The brand name, J. C. Higgins, was based on a real person, John Higgins who was a Sears employee. He moved from his birth country of Ireland to the United States in his late teens and began working for Sears in 1898. He spent his entire working career with Sears and was Vice President for the company for a period of time. He was actually born with no middle name but the Sears Co. presented the idea of labeling their sporting good line with his name and saw it more presentable labeling the brand as J.C Higgins. He worked with the company until his retirement as head bookkeeper in 1930. Higgins died in 1950. His expertise in sporting goods or sports is unknown.


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