As The Toilet Turns
Custodial/Maintenance Staff Newsletter
August 1, 2005—Volume 4, Issue 2
The Year In Review—Part Two
Feature Articles—Part Two
The following questions are multiple choice. Pick your answer and then check it with the
answer key or look up the article from your collection of past issues.
February Issue—To avoid job monotony, (a)
quit, (b) run away, (c) irritate the teachers and
administrators, (d) act enthusiastic and do your
best.
NOT help get us prepared for the summer
cleaning? (a) communication, (b) telling the
teachers to clean their own rooms to save us
time, (c) a checklist of things to do, (d) ordering necessary supplies ahead of time.
March Issue—To do the best job possible
when cleaning, we should strive to make it (a) June Issue—Bonnet cleaning is also known as
organized, (b) efficient, (c) stream-lined, (d) all (a) spin pad, (b) surface pad, (c) absorbent pad,
(d) carbonated shampoo cleaning.
of the above.
May Issue—Which of the following would
Answers
February—(d), March—(d), April—(c), May—
(b), June—(b)
April Issue—Which of the following is NOT a
collar color designation? (a) pink, (b) rainbow,
(c) red, (d) gray.
Inside this issue:
Something Extra! 2
Hidden Message
Puzzle
It’s In the Contract
2
Fans—Continued 2
Scraper On A
Stick
2
Special Pull—Out 3
Section—Weights 4
and Measures
5
Bring in the Fans
Number— Is It Nu. Or No?
Summer months usually bring warmer,
drier weather. This is a great help for us
when we clean carpets. Carpets need to be
dried as soon as possible after cleaning, usually between 12 and 24 hours according to
some sources. The faster the better.
Since “no carpet-cleaning process is completely moisture free,” according to the
magazine Contracting Profits, it is imperative that carpets be dried quickly and in short
order. This will prevent mold and mildew
from becoming a problem, especially important when we’re dealing with hundreds of
kids and adults using these rooms daily.
A real asset to drying carpets is the fan or
“air mover.” Many types exist, but the construction is similar. Usually it is a large
turbo type fan that has a snout that sits close
to the carpet. When used, the air blows
across the surface increasing the effectiveness of Bernoulli’s law which was discussed
Have you ever noticed when reading a newsletter, flyer or some other regularly produced periodical that often at the top will be the terms Vol. and No.? For example, it may say Vol. 6, No. 2, that is
the sixth year (volume) the second issue (number) in that year. Obviously, the abbreviation vol.
means volume as is indicated by the letters used. But why is number abbreviated no. instead of nu.?
Before answering that, let’s look at a few rules of grammar. In this instance, we are interested in
shortened forms of words. Three major groups come to mind. The first group are known as contractions. (These are different from contractions where more than one word is shortened; e.g. “there is”
becomes “there’s.”) These contractions are shortened forms of words that begin and end with the
same letters as the original word but do not have a full stop or period. Examples would be govt, St
and Dr. The next group would be acronyms. These are shortened forms of words that are pronounced as words themselves. Some examples would be AIDS, NATO and LASER. (AIDS =
Aquired ImmunoDeficiency Syndrome; NATO = North Atlantic Treaty Organization; LASER =
Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation.) The third group are abbreviations.
These are shortened forms of a word that do not end in the same letter as the original. Usually periods are used. Examples might be vol., Sept., or rev. Depending on importance and how they are
used, abbreviations may use the first and last letter of the original word, or they may use just the first
part.
So what about number? The Latin word for number is “numero.” In this case, the abbreviation
chosen was based on its importance. Thus the first and last letter of the word were used giving us the
abbreviation “no.” This abbreviation first appeared in the 17th century. The more you begin to look
at abbreviations, contractions and acronyms, the more patterns you will see and the better you will
understand how many of the words in the English language were coined. Speaking of words being
coined, why is that term used? Find out in our September issue.
(Continued on page 2)
References: http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19971217
http://www.une.edu.au/tlc/aso/pdf/shortwords.pdf
As The Toilet Turns
(Continued from Fans)
August, 2005—Page Two
Something Extra! Hidden Message Puzzle
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Using words from previous Something
Extra! articles, find where they are
hidden in the puzzle. Once complete,
finish the puzzle by placing the letters
that are left (starting from the top) in
the spaces below to find the hidden
message. Some letters will be left
over and unused.
ABBREVIATIONS
BATTERY
CELLULOSE
CIRCUIT
FRACTAL
HOUR
LIGNIN
MANDELBROT
PARASOL
PHOTON
PLASTINATION
POUND
TURBULENCE
UMBRELLA
WITHERS
__ __ __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __
__ __ __
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __ __.
in the March 1, 2004 issue of As The
Toilet Turns in the Science Corner
article. This helps dry the carpet
much quicker and also helps prevent
the possibility of browning. Some
fans also heat the air. According to
the previously mentioned magazine,
‘turbo fans move a vast amount of
air, more than a household fan.’
Using fans that heat the air also
“accelerate the process” of drying. If
carpets are not dried quickly,
“moisture in the carpet can create a
ground fog or swamp effect that
needs to be disturbed by fans, or that
can greatly retard the drying process.”
Thus, after cleaning carpeting, use
all available sources for drying that
you have at your disposal; the sun,
warm air, good extraction equipment
and of course some type of highspeed air mover.
Scraper On A Stick
Tired of always bending over to
scrape gum, corners, edges and anything else that gets on the floor?
Why not try constructing a versatile
and simple tool for the job.
Take a scraper and an old
wooden pole off of a dust mop handle or another floor tool. Depending
on your ambition, you can either
solidly tape or bolt by drilling holes
through the pole your scraper to the
handle. Cut the handle to the desired length and you have an easyto-use, back-saving, multi-use tool
for scraping the floors!
It’s In the Contract
sated for a minimum of two (2) hours per call. “Special Services” is any work noncontiguous with the regular daily work
Contracts, agreements, instructions and similar documents shift or on an employee’s day of rest (except transportation
are usually not the first thing one picks up when they feel like extra trips).
reading for a bit. However, these documents are often the most
important ones that should be read. Following are some further 7.3.2—Employees absent from work shall not be eligible for
excerpts from our current contract that you may not have
special services or other work opportunities on the day
known about.
of absence.
7.2.1—At the discretion of the Superintendent, during
7.4—All employees reporting to work shall receive a
the periods when school is not in session, the workweek
minimum of two (2) hours pay at base rate, even
and shift of employees may consist of four (4) consecuthough the employee is dismissed from regular shift
tive days of ten and one-half (10 1/2) hours a day, includbecause of school closures; provided, however, that an
ing a forty (40) minute uninterrupted lunch period and also employee shall not receive such compensation when the emincluding a fifteen (15) minute first half and a fifteen (15) min- ployee has reasonable notice from the District not to report.
ute second half rest period.
The District, at its option, may require two (2) hours work at
the time of call.
7.3—Employees called for special services shall be compen-
As The Toilet Turns
Special Pull-Out Section—Page 1/3
August, 2005—Page Three
Taken from: http://www.m-w.com/mw/table/weight.htm
WEIGHT AND MEASURES1
UNIT
EQUIVALENTS IN
OTHER
UNITS OF SAME
SYSTEM
ABBREVIATION
OR SYMBOL
METRIC EQUIVALENT
WEIGHT
Avoirdupois2
ton
short ton
20 short hundredweight,
2000 pounds
0.907 metric ton
long ton
20 long hundredweight,
2240 pounds
1.016 metric ton
short hundredweight
100 pounds, 0.05 short tons
45.359 kilograms
long hundredweight
112 pounds, 0.05 long ton
50.802 kilograms
hundredweight
cwt
pound
lb or lb avdp
also #
16 ounces, 7000 grains
0.454 kilogram
ounce
oz or oz avdp
16 drams, 437.5 grains,
0.0625 pound
28.350 grams
dram
dr or dr avdp
27.344 grains, 0.0625 ounce
1.772 grams
grain
gr
0.037 dram, 0.002286 ounce
0.0648 gram
Troy
pound
lb t
12 ounces, 240 pennyweight, 5760 grains
0.373 kilogram
ounce
oz t
20 pennyweight, 480 grains,
0.083 pound
31.103 grams
pennyweight
dwt also pwt
24 grains, 0.05 ounce
1.555 grams
grain
gr
0.042 pennyweight,
0.002083 ounce
0.0648 gram
As The Toilet Turns
Special Pull-Out Section—Page 2/3
August, 2005—Page Four
Apothecaries'
pound
lb ap
12 ounces, 5760 grains
0.373 kilogram
ounce
oz ap
8 drams, 480 grains, 0.083
pound
31.103 grams
dram
dr ap
3 scruples, 60 grains
3.888 grams
scruple
s ap
20 grains, 0.333 dram
1.296 grams
grain
gr
0.05 scruple, 0.002083
ounce, 0.0166 dram
0.0648 gram
CAPACITY
U.S. liquid measure
gallon
gal
4 quarts (231 cubic inches)
3.785 liters
quart
qt
2 pints (57.75 cubic inches)
0.946 liter
pint
pt
4 gills (28.875 cubic inches
473.176 milliliters
gill
gi
fluid ounce
fl oz
fluid dram
fl dr
minim
min
4 fluid ounces (7.219 cubic
inches)
8 fluid drams (1.805) cub
inches)
118.294 milliliters
29.573 milliliters
60 minims (0.226 cubic inch) 3.697 milliliters
1
/60 fluid dram (0.003760
cubic inch)
0.061610 milliliter
U.S. dry measure
4 pecks (2150.42 cubic
inches)
8 quarts (537.605 cubic
inches)
bushel
bu
35.239 liters
peck
pk
quart
qt
2 pints (67.201 cubic inches) 1.101 liters
pint
pt
½ quart (33.600 cubic
inches)
8.810 liters
0.551 liter
British imperial liquid and dry measure
4 pecks (2219.36 cubic
inches)
2 gallons (554.84 cubic
inches)
4 quarts (277.420 cubic
inches)
bushel
bu
peck
pk
gallon
gal
quart
qt
2 pints (69.355 cubic inches) 1.136 liters
pint
pt
4 gills (34.678 cubic inches) 568.26 milliliters
gill
gi
fluid ounce
fl oz
fluid dram
fl dr
minim
min
5 fluid ounces (8.669 cubic
inches)
8 fluid drams (1.7339 cubic
inches)
60 minims (0.216734 cubic
inch)
36.369 liters
9.092 liters
4.546 liters
142.066 milliliters
28.412 milliliters
3.5516 milliliters
1
/60 fluid dram (0.003612
cubic inch)
0.059194 milliliter
As The Toilet Turns
Special Pull-Out Section—Page 3/3
August, 2005—Page Five
LENGTH
mile
mi
5280 feet, 1760 yards, 320
rods
1.609 kilometers
rod
rd
5.50 yards, 16.5 feet
5.029 meters
yard
yd
3 feet, 36 inches
0.9144 meter
foot
ft or '
12 inches, 0.333 yard
30.48 centimeters
inch
in or "
0.083 foot, 0.028 yard
2.54 centimeters
AREA
square mile
sq mi or mi2
acre
640 acres, 102,400 square
rods
2.590 square kilometers
4840 square yards, 43,560
square feet
0.405 hectare, 4047 square meters
square rod
sq rd or rd2
30.25 square yards, 0.00625
25.293 square meters
acre
square yard
sq yd or yd2
1296 square inches, 9 square
0.836 square meter
feet
square foot
sq ft or ft2
144 square inches, 0.111
square yard
square inch
sq in or in2
0.0069 square foot, 0.00077
6.452 square centimeters
square yard
0.093 square meter
VOLUME
cubic yard
cu yd or yd3
27 cubic feet, 46,656 cubic
inches
0.765 cubic meter
cubic foot
cu ft or ft3
1728 cubic inches, 0.0370
cubic yard
0.028 cubic meter
cubic inch
cu in or in3
0.00058 cubic foot, 0.000021
16.387 cubic centimeters
cubic yard
1
2
For U.S. equivalents of the metric unit see Metric System table.
The U.S. uses the avoirdupois units as a common system of measuring weight.