tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34533114.post288607369627953529..comments2023-11-02T03:50:06.516-04:00Comments on Life at Patience Corners: Isn't motorcycling dangerous enough already?Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01495761149470856230noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34533114.post-63812488145931446132008-01-29T09:26:00.000-05:002008-01-29T09:26:00.000-05:00Uhhh... but lead acid batteries *do* explode. Batt...Uhhh... but lead acid batteries *do* explode. Battery acid isn't explosive, but hydrogen gas... well, remember the Hindenburg?<BR/><BR/>Food for thought:<BR/>http://rayvaughan.com/battery_safety.htmAndyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03226787274021701941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34533114.post-60719660740556245602008-01-27T06:42:00.000-05:002008-01-27T06:42:00.000-05:00The warnings are what they are because product lab...The warnings are what they are because product labelling (inside the package) has been completely taken over and run by liability lawyers. (The outside of the package is still done by the marketing folks, of course.) Even products that are inherently safe have multiple warnings. Most of these warnings are either too obvious to bother about, or utter nonsense, but the lawyers figure that a larger number of scary warnings is better because it'll hopefully make people more careful and result in fewer lawsuits. Or something.<BR/><BR/>They have a valid point about the sulfuric acid being corrosive, but you already knew that.<BR/><BR/>You can ignore the warnings that make no sense. For example, battery acid is not generally known to be particularly explosive. You can make some kinds of batteries blow up by hooking them up to a charger backwards, but if you hooked up the motorcycle battery backwards the vehicle would not start (and so the alternator would not run). Lithium ion batteries have been shown to heat up and catch fire sometimes if they discharge too quickly (e.g., if the device they power has a short circuit), but I've never heard of a lead-acid battery doing that. No, I'm pretty sure the explosions warning is nonsense. The motorcycle battery is probably NOT going to blow the seat off the cycle at any moment, sending the rider flying head-over-heels across three lanes of traffic, and frankly no quantity of terrifying warnings on the label would be adequate to protect them from lawsuits if it did.<BR/><BR/>That could be an amusing scene in a cartoon, though. Imagine, for instance, if Wile E. Coyote were using an ACME motorcycle to pursue the Road Runner...Jonadabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17960094338418224109noreply@blogger.com