As The Toilet Turns
Custodial/Maintenance Staff Newsletter
July, 2006—Volume 5, Issue 1
The Year in Review—Part One
What did you learn in the last 10 months? Something to help you? Something new? Something interesting? In this issue
and in August, we will be reviewing some of the high points of the 2005-2006 school year custodial and maintenance newsletter.
See what you can remember.
1. What is liquid oxygen?
2. How do you compress computer files?
3. What is stainless steel?
4. What formulas are used to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit and vice-versa?
5. What is the purpose of litmus paper?
6. How do AC and DC differ?
7. How do viruses and bacteria differ?
8. What’s the difference between mils and microns?
Answers are found on page two.
As The Toilet Turns has been published
monthly for four consecutive years.
This issue marks the beginning of its
fifth year. We have had many positive
remarks and feedback during that time.
We appreciate the input and suggestions
that have been offered. We hope to
continue providing a quality newsletter
that is not only humorous but also informative. Thank you all for your support.
Paid
Holiday
July 4th
Things to Consider—Taken from The Paranoid’s
Pocket Guide by Cameron Tuttle
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Many of the world’s major cities contain as
many rats as people.
Heading a soccer ball frequently (10 or more
times per game) causes mild neuropsychological damage and lowers IQ.
Over 30,000 people are seriously injured by
exercise equipment each year.
Fleas can jump 13 feet from a standing position.
A major cause of serious injury to overnight
guests is mistaking a door leading downstairs
for a door to the bathroom.
The Safety First
series will continue in the
September
issue.
I N S ID E T H IS I SS U E :
Science Answers
2
Who Will Win?
2
Maintaining Your Equipment
2
Intriguing Questions to
Ponder
3
Intriguing Questions to Ponder Answers from June
3
Something Extra! Crossword
3
Psychological or Real?
3
As The Toilet Turns
July, 2006—Page Two
1. What is liquid oxygen? - By using a
process known as fractional distillation,
air can be separated so that oxygen becomes a liquid. In this process, heat is
applied to the air by using a combination
of chemistry tools such as flasks, tubes,
burners and so on. As the air is heated,
components run out at different levels
inside of a fractionating column. In the
oil industry, this process is used to create
a number of different chemicals which
are separated out at different levels as
solids and gases. (September , 2005 issue)
2. How do you compress computer
files? - With the use of specialized compression programs that look for repetitive
words and letters, these are then coded in
such a way that just a few symbols can
represent any number of words or letters
which reduces the size of the file.
(October, 2005 issue)
3. What is stainless steel? - According
to the online source wikipedia.org, “in
metallurgy stainless steel is defined as a
ferrous alloy with a minimum of 10.5%
chromium content. The name originates
from the fact that stainless steel stains, or
rusts, less easily than ordinary steel.
Stainless steel has higher resistance to
oxidation (rust) and corrosion in several
environments.” (November, 2005 issue)
4. What formulas are used to convert
Celsius to Fahrenheit and vice-versa? -
Who Will Win?
Fahrenheit to Celsius—5/9 x (F-32) = C.
Celsius to Fahrenheit—(9/5 x C) + 32 =
F. (December, 2005 issue)
5. What is the purpose of litmus paper? - Litmus paper is used to determine
the acidity or alkalinity of a solution or
material. An example would be a spot or
discolored area on a carpet. (January,
2006 issue)
6. How do AC and DC differ? - AC
stands for alternating current. DC stands
for direct current. Alternating current is
produced at the original source of power
production due to the rotation of the generators or motors used. This rotation prod u c e s
alternating
current
which means
that electrons move in
both directions along
the wire
depending on
the position of the
generator
magnets. AC
is easier to send across the country, less
electricity is “lost,” and voltages can be
bumped up and down as needed.
Direct current, such as is found in batteries, does not alternate. It is a constant
voltage. It cannot be changed and the
electrons flow in only one direction along
the wire. It is less efficient to transport
and more dangerous than AC. Since most
electronics use DC, the incoming AC
must be reduced via a transformer and
rectifier which changes the alternating
current into direct current. (April, 2006
issue)
7. How do viruses and bacteria differ?
- One outstanding difference is the size of
each. The largest virus is only as big as
the smallest bacteria. Also, bacteria are
very complex structures whereas viruses
are much simpler. The main difference
though is how they reproduce. “Bacteria
contain the genetic blueprint (DNA) and
all the tools (ribosomes, proteins, etc.)
they need to reproduce themselves.
“Viruses are moochers. They contain
only a limited genetic blueprint and they
don't have the necessary building tools.
They have to invade other cells and hijack their cellular machinery to reproduce. Viruses invade by attaching to a
cell and injecting their genes or by being
swallowed up by the cell,” according to
the website microbe.org.
Another difference is “that viruses
must have a living host - like a plant or
animal - to multiply, while most bacteria
can grow on non-living surfaces,” according to the FDA. (May, 2006 issue)
8. What’s the difference between mils
and microns? - According to the Republic Bag website, mil is “a unit of measurement in thousandths of an inch. (i.e., .001
= one thousandth of an inch or 1.0 mil).
Generally used to designate the thickness
of LLDPE products.” Mic, short for micron is “one thousandth of a millimeter.
Generally used to designate the thickness
of HDPE products.” (June, 2006 issue)
Maintaining Your Equipment
There’s nothing more frustrating than going to use a piece of equipment only to have
It’s time once again to give away another gift
it break down or find that it is broken down and you didn’t know about it. To avoid this,
bag from West Coast Paper. For the past few it’s good to have a regular maintenance routine on the machines you use. The following
months we’ve had winners and we hope to have are some general purpose maintenance and care suggestions to keep your machines runanother this month. Answer these three questions ning smoothly. Always check the owner’s manual for detailed care instructions.
correctly and your name will be entered to win.
Maintenance and custodial employees are eligiswitches, connections and plugs.
ble. Send your answers to Rick Bergum. A 1. Check the battery’s water level.
6. Check the belts.
2. Check the oil level.
name will be drawn on July 6th.
7. Check hoses and drains.
3. Check and lube any grease fit8. Check the wheels.
tings.
1. What is neutral on the pH scale?
9. Check the brushes or pads.
4. Use the right gas mixture.
2. Convert 212° Fahrenheit into Celsius.
10. Check squeegees or wands.
(Mixed or regular.)
3. When doing overtime custodial work on a
11. Check bulbs.
5. Check the electrical cords,
Sunday, what is the pay rate?
As The Toilet Turns
Intriguing Questions to Ponder
July, 2006—Page Three
What do you know about things in the world ? See if you can answer these questions. Check next month’s issue for the answers.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
How is a TV screen measured?
What does SM stand for under the name of a business?
How long is a regulation pool cue?
What is the formula for photosynthesis?
What is a hoop skirt?
Something Extra! - Crossword Puzzle
Looking at last year’s Something Extra! articles, see if you can solve the crossword puzzle below.
Clues for puzzle
Across
4.
6.
7.
9.
Also known as a typhoon or cyclone
Slang for small or inconsequential
High quality digital audio
Southern lights (Two words)
Down
1.
2.
3.
5.
8.
Glasses that get darker are
Low density polyethylene
Identified by boulevard, avenue, street and so on
Results in a true or false value
One of the three primary TV colors
Psychological or Real?
No matter how hard you try, it seems there’s always that one person who
says that the odor you removed from their room is still there even when you
know it is gone. You’ve used enzymes, odor counteractants and cleaners, yet
they insist the smell persists. Why the adamant attitude?
Psychological conditioning. According to the magazine Cleanfax, April,
2006 issue, even though an odor has been removed, “our brain tells us that the non-existent scent is
real, and for all practical purposes it is; our brain has been conditioned.”
For example. If a strong smell of urine was present in a carpet and a person smelled that smell
every time they entered the room, their brain becomes conditioned to the smell. Thus, even after it has
been cleaned and removed, their brain correlates that room with the urine smell. Each time they enter,
they “think” they smell the urine.
How can you fix this psychological problem? Cleanfax continues. “After removing the offending
odor, I spray the surface with a pleasant odor, and also use the same on all of the doorframes.
“Now when the customer enters the room, he or she will encounter a pleasant experience and over
the next several days the brain will be re-conditioned.
“After the new smell is gone, the brain will say that is still smells it.”
Fooling the mind is the biggest obstacle to overcoming that complaint after the problem has been
remedied. Explaining the situation, removing the offending odor, introducing a new, pleasant odor and
re-conditioning the brain are all factors involved in removing complaints about noxious odors.
1. Photochromic
2. LDPE
3. Road
5. Boolean
8. Green
Down
4. Hurricane
6. Peanut
7. Dolby
9. Aurora Australis
Across
Answers to Something Extra! crossword puzzle
Answers to Intriguing Questions to Ponder From the June Issue
1.
2.
What is a superhetrodyne receiver? A—A superhetrodyne receiver works on the principle the receiver has a
local oscillator called a variable frequency oscillator or
V.F.O. which maintains a constant difference between
itself and the received frequency resulting in a constant
intermediate frequency.
What is siping? - A—Cutting slits in rubber to improve
3.
4.
5.
traction. An example would be tires.
When were Mt. Rushmore’s presidential faces completed? A—October 31, 1941
What causes the Aurora Borealis? A—High energy particles from the solar wind trapped in the earth’s magnetic
field.
How much does a hockey puck weigh? A—5.5 to 6 ozs.