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Old 01-13-2008, 06:46 PM
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mudshark mudshark is offline
Is he ever gonna hit Krazy Kat, or what?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NAHTMMM View Post
Why do we open cans, bottles, toothpaste tubes, etc. by turning counter-clockwise but increase the volume on a radio by turning the knob clockwise?

Seems a bit inconsistent to me.
I think that's two separate things, really. Twist caps and such open with a counter-clockwise (or anti-clockwise, if you like) twist because someone (Archimedes, maybe) decided that a right-handed thread was The Way We Will Do Things (unless it really, really had to be left-handed.)

Volume knobs and other potentiometer-type controls work more in the reading-left-to-right sense -- Left = Lo/Min ---> Right = Hi/Max -- even though a rotary motion is used, it's a linear function.



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