Found an old dredge manual with a wild fact about sediment flow

I was cleaning out my dad's garage over the weekend and found a dusty 1978 operations manual for a 'Lakeshore' model cutterhead dredge. Flipping through it, I saw a section on sediment types that said something I had to read twice. It claimed that for a given pump speed, fine silt can actually move through a 10-inch discharge line almost 40% faster than coarse sand of the same volume. I always figured the heavier stuff would just push through quicker with more force. The manual explained it's about how the particles interact with the water flow and each other, creating less friction. I did a quick check on our current job in the Mobile River channel yesterday, and watching the slurry, it kinda made sense. Has anyone else come across this kind of counter-intuitive detail in the older books?

Hot take: I put a dab of plumber's grease on a noisy dryer idler pulley and it ran silent for a month before failing completely.

The temporary fix masked the real issue, a worn bearing, and now I tell my customers in Phoenix that a squeak means replace, not lubricate.

Showerthought: a client said my survey questions were leading the answers

They pointed out I kept asking 'how much did you enjoy' instead of 'what was your experience'. I rewrote all 20 questions to be neutral. Anyone have a good example of an unbiased question format?

Finally got the hang of using old glass bottles without shattering them

I used to just try and drill them dry, but after breaking like five from a local creek, I watched a video that said to keep the bit and glass under water the whole time. Has anyone else found a better trick for cutting or drilling found glass safely?

I thought old rusty bolts were just trash until I glued a bunch to a piece of driftwood from Lake Michigan.

The way the light hit the rust next to the smooth, gray wood made this weird, cool texture I never expected, so has anyone else had a junk piece turn out better than the 'good' stuff they saved?

I used to proof my sourdough in a warm spot for 4 hours, now I do a cold ferment in the fridge for 18. The crumb is way better.

Was helping with a dig near Tucson and the lead archaeologist told me to always check the spoil pile twice.

Found a tiny turquoise bead everyone else walked past. How many small finds get missed like that?

Just realized I've watched over 500 anime episodes this year...

It hit me when I checked my tracking app and saw the count at 512. That's way more time than I thought I spent, and honestly, most of it was just okay seasonal stuff. Anyone else get a shock from their own viewing stats?

Warning: I was shocked to learn how much drafting software has changed since I started

Honestly, I was looking through some old project files from 2005 and realized the software we used then could only handle about 500 layers before it started lagging. Found that out in a trade magazine article comparing old and new programs. Anyone else remember those limits?

Found a copy of 'Glover' for N64 at a yard sale in Tacoma and the seller said 'My kid cried when he couldn't beat the haunted mansion level'