pointless?
pitch drop
(twiceydrinker hmmm is it pint time?, Fri 25 Jul 2008, 9:19, 12 replies)

creep of materials
theres a slower experiment than this - creep of metal molecules. If you put two metal objects together and leave them the molcules from one will slowly move to the other and join the metals.

This can take thousands of years to effect a "join" between the two. Rust does not count apparently.
( bazza van der trance , ooh baby baby, baby baby. Get up on this., Fri 25 Jul 2008, 9:58, closed)

Creep
I studied creep as part of my degree. It can also lead to metal fatigue. Fascinating eh?
(RobNob, Fri 25 Jul 2008, 10:11, closed)

Why wait?
Use a blow torch to speed up the whole experiment and you'll home in time for afternoon tea.
(The Archduke of South London I'm in your Girlfriend eating her organs, Fri 25 Jul 2008, 10:15, closed)

Glass is the same
If you have a look at some very old windows (such as a church with original stained glass windows) the glass is usually thicker at the bottom than the top as it has flowed due to gravity.
( thistle, Fri 25 Jul 2008, 10:22, closed)

Thistle
I heard that wasn't true, it's more down to the fact that they didn't have the technology to make decently flat, regular panes of glass.
( Cawl, Fri 25 Jul 2008, 10:36, closed)

^^
I was wondering when someone was going to mention this! Thanks!
(twiceydrinker hmmm is it pint time?, Fri 25 Jul 2008, 10:36, closed)

Yeah
the glass thing is an urban myth, like the one abotu Bob Holness playing the saxophone solo on Baker Street.
(Bazongaloid, Fri 25 Jul 2008, 10:45, closed)

not an urban myth
Nah, it is not an urban myth. In fact, you are supposed to turn your windows end-on-end once every few years or else they get very thin and weak at the top. Not so much the newer glass, but it is important with the older stuff. Stained glass isn't as bad either because the cellophane adds strength. Same with car windows and spectacles too.
( enoughblueskyforsailorstrousers, Fri 25 Jul 2008, 11:23, closed)

Mime, Wikipedia defies you
'The observation that old windows are often thicker at the bottom than at the top is often offered as supporting evidence for the view that glass flows over a matter of centuries. It is then assumed that the glass was once uniform, but has flowed to its new shape, which is a property of liquid. The likely source of this unfounded belief is that when panes of glass were commonly made by glassblowers, the technique used was to spin molten glass so as to create a round, mostly flat and even plate (the Crown glass process, described above). This plate was then cut to fit a window. The pieces were not, however, absolutely flat; the edges of the disk would be thicker because of centripetal force relaxation. When actually installed in a window frame, the glass would be placed thicker side down for the sake of stability and visual sparkle.[24] Occasionally such glass has been found thinner side down or on either side of the window's edge, as would be caused by carelessness at the time of installation.'

And Wikipedia is always right, otherwise I'd be failing my degree.
(Stu Moo winner of five nobble piece prizes, Fri 25 Jul 2008, 11:37, closed)

does
it say anything about cellophane? Or spectacles? Or gullibility?

:)
( enoughblueskyforsailorstrousers, Fri 25 Jul 2008, 11:40, closed)

Cellophane
An important ingredient in the medieval stained-glass window maker's artifacts then? I'm surprised they just didnt UPVC the lot to keep the draughts and the noise of planes out.
(Dr Teeth Who asked you, you fuckin' hobbit?, Mon 28 Jul 2008, 5:01, closed)

*Replaces grammar hat with logic hat*
If the glass was running then surely the image on the stained glass would be distorted?

Wait... my sarcasm meter is going off....
( TGB checking Off Topic is still shit at, Tue 29 Jul 2008, 12:41, closed)