The Straight Dope 07/07/2006

The Straight Dope -- By Cecil Adams
http://www.straightdope.com

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THE STRAIGHT DOPE 07/07/2006

Dear Cecil:

As tires wear out, rubber is presumably deposited on the road surface.
Where is all that rubber? --R.D. Morgan, Camden, South Carolina

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Cecil replies:

All over the place, bud--including maybe in your lungs. For a long time
conventional wisdom had it that tire particles were too coarse to do
much harm and simply wound up as one more component of urban grit. Now
we know better. Asthma and latex allergies have been on the rise in
recent years, and some think tire dust is why.

Tires are a mix of materials, mostly synthetic and natural rubbers but
also including carbon black, oil, sulfur, steel, and chemicals added as
antioxidants, strengtheners, and fillers. They also contain varying
amounts of potentially hazardous metals such as zinc, nickel, chromium,
cadmium, and copper. As you drive, and especially as you corner and
brake, your tires continually abrade against the road surface, and to
some extent wear away just due to flexing as they roll along. This tire
wear takes the form of rubber left on the road, heavy particles that
quickly settle on the road and shoulder, and lighter particles that
become airborne.

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/060707.html

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC #1 - 04/30/1993

Dear Cecil:           

Why are there pushbuttons at intersections that say "push me
and traffic will stop so you can cross quicker," or something like
that? It doesn't work! I wouldn't say I'm neurotic about it, but about
15 years ago I quit my job to hitchhike around the USA to
find a push- to-walk traffic signal that would actually stop traffic.
After countless pairs of shoes and as many near-misses with cars, I can
say that without a doubt none of these traffic signals provide the
pedestrian with a quicker cross. What's going on? If I'm right maybe we
can work some kind of lawsuit scam! -- Markus T. Pellicori, Baltimore 

Cecil replies:  

I like a man who takes things seriously, Markus, but just the
same I'm glad you weren't my partner in chem lab. The usual
explanation for the apparent inertness of push-to-walk buttons is the
foolish expectations of users, who think the buttons will instantly
bring traffic to a screeching halt. Satisfying though many hassled
pedestrians would no doubt find this, it would also result in a lot of
rear-end collisions. Instead, P-T-W buttons are set up so the "walk"
signal lights at some nondisruptive point in the signal cycle, e.g.,
shortly after the previous signal up the street goes red. Since many
suburban stoplights are on a two-minute-plus cycle, many impatient
pedestrians erroneously conclude the button is broken.  

Or so the engineers say. However, Cecil has been lied to before. I
decided the only way to be sure was to stake out an actual P-T-W
button, which happened to be at the crosswalk (no cross street)
outside the traffic court building in downtown Chicago. During the
Friday afternoon rush I spent half an hour pushing that damn button
without any observable effect at all. It was 25 seconds "walk," 50
seconds "don't walk," button or no. 

For more, see: 
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_153.html

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC #2 - 07/31/1992

Dear Cecil: 

Since elementary school I have repeatedly heard the story of how
Manhattan was bought from the Indians for a mere $24 worth of trinkets.
Something about this has long troubled me. Assuming the value of the
barter items was estimated at about the time of the famous transaction,
shouldn't it be adjusted for all those years of inflation? Maybe
Manhattan wasn't such a steal after all. --Charles R. McNeill II,
Washington, D.C.  

Dear Charles:  

Sometimes this job is too easy. In 1626 Peter Minuit bought Manhattan
island from the local Indians for a load of cloth, beads, hatchets, and
other odds and ends then worth 60 Dutch guilders. According to my
Encyclopedia Britannica, 60 guilders in 1626 would buy you 1-1/2
pounds of silver. Naturally we assume this is troy weight, 12 ounces
to the pound. 

Silver lately has been selling for a little more than $4 per troy ounce.
Ergo--sorry, but a man in my position needs to say ergo once in a
while--Minuit got the core of the Big A for $72 in today's money.
(Lest you think the price of beads has increased remarkably slowly
in the last 350 years, you should know that the $24 calculation was
made in the 19th century.) 

There are some who would contend that $72 or even $24 for
Manhattan was not such a hot bargain. These people are mostly . . .
 
For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_156.html

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