Why does an orange fit in your hand?

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Atlynox
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Why does an orange fit in your hand?

Post by Atlynox »

Hello Coffee Shop,

I wondered in my sleepy dreams that Ï was on a planet where the people were 3x times the size I am.

(6 feet)

And they had oranges that where 3x times larger than our oranges. I was still 6 feet.

So I wondered: "Why does an orange fit in our hands?

Or is this an out of topic discussion, on which one will I find some clues?

Thank you!

Atlynox:thinking:
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Why does an orange fit in your hand?

Post by spot »

If I had dreams like that I'd stop eating toasted cheese for supper.

I suppose it's selective breeding, since there's no orange I can think of that's wild. The market pays more for oranges that go off the shelves quickly, and people presumably prefer their oranges hand-sized. If there were a market for larger citrus fruits we'd call them Grapefruit, and smaller ones would be called Clementines or Mandarins or Tangerines or Satsumas. Or Lemons. Or, reverting to oranges, those twee strong-flavoured whatsits. Kumquats.

Anyone three times your size would only evolve in low gravity, maybe they were spacefarers. Put them back on Earth and they'd never manage to stand up, their women's attributes would droop and their male parts would dangle. I bet their oranges would pancake too.
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Post by Oscar Namechange »

I have a suspicion as to why 50 pence pieces were made as they are... to get them out of my Brother's hand with a spanner.
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Why does an orange fit in your hand?

Post by spot »

Oscar Namechange;1466098 wrote: I have a suspicion as to why 50 pence pieces were made as they are... to get them out of my Brother's hand with a spanner.


That's an odd notion. The distance across the centre of a fifty pence piece is exactly the same from edge to edge regardless of the selected angle. What does the spanner grip?
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
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Why does an orange fit in your hand?

Post by FourPart »

spot;1466101 wrote: That's an odd notion. The distance across the centre of a fifty pence piece is exactly the same from edge to edge regardless of the selected angle. What does the spanner grip?


I remember reading once that the reason for a 50p & a 20p design was for the benefit of slot machines - something to do with the fact that the curve of one of the edges to the opposing point is the diamter of a full circle.
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Why does an orange fit in your hand?

Post by spot »

FourPart;1466111 wrote: I remember reading once that the reason for a 50p & a 20p design was for the benefit of slot machines - something to do with the fact that the curve of one of the edges to the opposing point is the diamter of a full circle.


I've racked my brain for the significance of coins or spanners to the size of oranges. Buggered if I know.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
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Why does an orange fit in your hand?

Post by FourPart »

spot;1466130 wrote: I've racked my brain for the significance of coins or spanners to the size of oranges. Buggered if I know.


State of the Art Vending | Fresh Vending
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Why does an orange fit in your hand?

Post by spot »

FourPart;1466136 wrote: State of the Art Vending | Fresh Vending


My word I'd not want to put one of those in my mouth. Eww, as my teenage acquaintances would put it.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
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Why does an orange fit in your hand?

Post by Bryn Mawr »

FourPart;1466111 wrote: I remember reading once that the reason for a 50p & a 20p design was for the benefit of slot machines - something to do with the fact that the curve of one of the edges to the opposing point is the diamter of a full circle.


I was under the impression that it was for the benefit of the partially sighted?
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Post by spot »

Bryn Mawr;1466199 wrote: I was under the impression that it was for the benefit of the partially sighted?


I think the word you're looking for there is Blind. Call a spade a spade.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
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Post by FourPart »

Bryn Mawr;1466199 wrote: I was under the impression that it was for the benefit of the partially sighted?
Curve of constant width - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Famous examples of a curve of constant width are the British 20p and 50p coins. Their heptagonal shape with curved sides means that the currency detector in an automated coin machine will always measure the same width, no matter which angle it takes its measurement from. The same same is true of the 11-sided loonie (Canadian dollar coin).

There exists a polynomial f(x,y) of degree 8, whose graph (i.e., set of points in R^2 for which f(x,y)=0) is a non-circular curve of constant width.[4] Specifically,

f(x,y)=(x^2 + y^2)^4 - 45(x^2 + y^2)^3 - 41283(x^2 + y^2)^2 + 7950960(x^2 + y^2) + 16(x^2 - 3y^2)^3

+48(x^2 + y^2)(x^2 - 3y^2)^2 + (x^2 - 3y^2)x[16(x^2 + y^2)^2 - 5544(x^2 + y^2) + 266382] - 720^3.


That's exactly what you thought isn't it.

It was probably true of the old Threepenny Bit as well (ah, yes, I remember them well).
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Post by spot »

FourPart;1466214 wrote: It was probably true of the old Threepenny Bit as well
Good lord no - it has to be a prime number of sides for it to work[1], the portcullis thruppence had an even number of sides, they were parallel. You could even twist them with a spanner. The earlier silver thruppence that went in christmas puddings was round.





[1]: or odd, anyway. the prime number bit is intuitive guessing and possibly wrong.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
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Post by FourPart »

Actually, the silver threepence came much later - introduced by Queen Victoria, before reverting to the original dodecagon.
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Post by spot »

FourPart;1466223 wrote: Actually, the silver threepence came much later - introduced by Queen Victoria, before reverting to the original dodecagon.


No no no - the twelve-sided coin was invented from scratch in 1937, it never existed before then.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
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Post by Bryn Mawr »

FourPart;1466214 wrote: Curve of constant width - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



That's exactly what you thought isn't it.

It was probably true of the old Threepenny Bit as well (ah, yes, I remember them well).


That is certainly the mechanics of their construction and explains why they still work in a vending machine but why go to the trouble of making them that way in the first place?

As I say, my understanding was that the underlying reason was to allow the partially sighted (not just the blind but those with, say, only peripheral vision) to pick out the coins more easily.
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Post by FourPart »

The 12 sided version was introduced in '37, but the 3d coin has been about since about the 17th Century.
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Post by LarsMac »

What has any of this got to do with really big guys with Oranges?
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Post by spot »

FourPart;1466283 wrote: The 12 sided version was introduced in '37, but the 3d coin has been about since about the 17th Century.
It was the "reverting to the original dodecagon" I was puzzled about.



LarsMac;1466290 wrote: What has any of this got to do with really big guys with Oranges?
Spanners, apparently. Ask the one from Gloucestershire.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
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Post by High Threshold »

Atlynox;1466080 wrote: Hello Coffee Shop,

I wondered in my sleepy dreams that � was on a planet where the people were 3x times the size I am.

(6 feet)

And they had oranges that where 3x times larger than our oranges. I was still 6 feet.

So I wondered: "Why does an orange fit in our hands?

Or is this an out of topic discussion, on which one will I find some clues?

Thank you!

Atlynox:thinking:


This is the very reason why clementines and mandarins were invented.
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Post by Fuzzy »

Because I've stuck the cucumber up my bum to keep my hands free.

A dumb question deserves an intelligent answer.
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There must be more than one Fuzzy on this forum.
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Post by AnneBoleyn »

High Threshold;1469785 wrote: There must be more than one Fuzzy on this forum.


there are 2, male & female (fuzzywuzzy) & both are australian!
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Post by High Threshold »

AnneBoleyn;1469816 wrote: there are 2, male & female (fuzzywuzzy) & both are australian!


That explains it: One crude, foul and masculine - the other soft, gentle and feminine. "Where the women glow and men chunder" :guitarist
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Post by Snowfire »

I'd never describe fuzzywuzzy as soft and gentle
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Post by AnneBoleyn »

thanks, never heard of 'chunder' before (barf) ;-)
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Post by High Threshold »

Atlynox;1466080 wrote: Hello Coffee Shop,

I wondered in my sleepy dreams that � was on a planet where the people were 3x times the size I am.

(6 feet)

And they had oranges that where 3x times larger than our oranges. I was still 6 feet.

So I wondered: "Why does an orange fit in our hands?

Or is this an out of topic discussion, on which one will I find some clues?

Thank you!

Atlynox:thinking:
The answer to your question is quite simple. God created heaven and earth. Only when he had finished with that did he create man. The simple fact of the matter is that He began in Florida and it is not really a matter of created oranges to fit into the palm of your hand but rather to create man in proportion to what He had already achieved. Orange you glad he didn't create watermelons first?

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Post by G#Gill »

High Threshold;1484389 wrote: The answer to your question is quite simple. God created heaven and earth. Only when he had finished with that did he create man. The simple fact of the matter is that He began in Florida and it is not really a matter of created oranges to fit into the palm of your hand but rather to create man in proportion to what He had already achieved. Orange you glad he didn't create watermelons first?






Forget watermelons, I'm just glad that it wasn't the pumpkin that was created first ! :yh_rotfl
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Post by High Threshold »

G#Gill;1484399 wrote: Forget watermelons, I'm just glad that it wasn't the pumpkin that was created first ! :yh_rotfl


I BEG TO DIFFER: :)



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Post by Smaug »

High Threshold;1484410 wrote:


It's a mutant!!:wah:
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Post by High Threshold »

Smaug;1484426 wrote: It's a mutant!!:wah:
A mutant??? I'll have you know that my parents were married nearly a year before I had that photo taken! I am their legitimate offspring! :p
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Post by G#Gill »

High Threshold;1484410 wrote:


Oh gawd !!!!!! :yh_rotfl :yh_rotfl




That's the best I can do for the moment ! Although I have seen pumpkins even bigger than your pic of that huge watermelon, but can't find one yet !
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Post by High Threshold »

G#Gill;1484478 wrote: Oh gawd !!!!!! :yh_rotfl :yh_rotfl




That's the best I can do for the moment ! Although I have seen pumpkins even bigger than your pic of that huge watermelon, but can't find one yet !
Well done!

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Post by Smaug »

High Threshold;1484476 wrote: A mutant??? I'll have you know that my parents were married nearly a year before I had that photo taken! I am their legitimate offspring! :p


I shudder to think what the labour pain would have been like!!:yh_rotfl:yh_rotfl:lips:
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Smaug;1484492 wrote: I shudder to think what the labour pain would have been like!!:yh_rotfl:yh_rotfl:lips:


:wah:
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Post by G#Gill »

I guess I must have found a pic. of an extremely large pumpkin at last ! :wah:

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Post by Smaug »

That's a flaming big pumpkin! Wonder how much it weighs? Bet you'd get a double hernia if you tried to lift it on your own!
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Post by High Threshold »

G#Gill;1484526 wrote: I guess I must have found a pic. of

an extremely large pumpkin at last ! :wah:




Several in fact! I imagine they are something on the order of Margaret Rutherford's breasts. Large and, uh :thinking: …. soggy.
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Post by G#Gill »

:yh_rotfl That's rather norty of you HT ! Yes, we know that Ms Rutherford was a rather large person ! ;)
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Post by High Threshold »

G#Gill;1484543 wrote: That's rather norty of you HT ! Yes, we know that Ms Rutherford was a rather large person !
What I omitted is that I loved her dearly. She was wonderful!

Here she is - fetching up her pumpkins for the fair no doubt:



And for a fantastic ear-gasm that will put tears to your eyes ......



Oh, how I miss those days!

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Post by Atlynox »

Thanks for the answers,

I stand under a tree now, while I write, waiting for a pumpkin to fall on my head.

There must be a relation between my hand and a fruit tree!

One day my dreams will reveal the mystery of proportions.
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Post by Ahso! »

Maybe, just maybe, if you're lucky, you'll have one of those really big and heavy pumpkins fall on you and end your inquisitive thoughts.
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Post by Fisher Amen »

Maybe God made them that size so that we could eat them easier.
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Post by magentaflame »

Atlynox;1466080 wrote: Hello Coffee Shop,

I wondered in my sleepy dreams that � was on a planet where the people were 3x times the size I am.

(6 feet)

And they had oranges that where 3x times larger than our oranges. I was still 6 feet.

So I wondered: "Why does an orange fit in our hands?

Or is this an out of topic discussion, on which one will I find some clues?

Thank you!

Atlynox:thinking:


Now I'm wondering about grapes. a singular grape to be exact.
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Ahso!;1486133 wrote: Maybe, just maybe, if you're lucky, you'll have one of those really big and heavy pumpkins fall on you and end your inquisitive thoughts.


That'll do it.

I know I'm doomed after asking this but..............why is a Pumpkin falling from a tree?
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Post by spot »

magentaflame;1510146 wrote: I know I'm doomed after asking this but..............why is a Pumpkin falling from a tree?


Sometimes you're just plain odd - where else would you tether your pumpkin if you'd just rode into town. They're forever wriggling the rein free if you leave them too long, they don't like direct sunlight.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
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Post by magentaflame »

spot;1510147 wrote: Sometimes you're just plain odd - where else would you tether your pumpkin if you'd just rode into town. They're forever wriggling the rein free if you leave them too long, they don't like direct sunlight.


I put mine on the front verandah where its cool. They last a few months.
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Post by gmc »

Bring back turnip lanterns for halloween.
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Post by FourPart »

gmc;1510311 wrote: Bring back turnip lanterns for halloween.


That's another thing - I used to live just outside Liverpool. For some reason they call Turnips Swedes & vice versa, so a Turnip Lantern is actually a Swede Lantern. This doesn't just apply to lanterns, it relates to the vegetables themselves. Basically, as far as I'm concerned, a turnip is the one about the size of a cricket ball (and just as hard), and the swede is the yellow one nearer to the size of a football.
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Post by magentaflame »

I've just read through this thread again.

Is LSD becoming a party drug again?
The 'radical' left just wants everyone to have food, shelter, healthcare, education and a living wage. Man that's radical!....ooooohhhh Scary!
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