manhole cover
an iron plate that covers an opening in the road (construction)
TRANSLATION
manhole cover = der Gullydeckel --- GOOGLE INDEX manhole cover: approximately 1,000,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Grant Avenue blast flings MANHOLE COVER into air
(San Francisco Chronicle)
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Eighteen MANHOLE COVERS have been stolen across North Somerset over the past three days.
(BBC News)
(San Francisco Chronicle)
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Eighteen MANHOLE COVERS have been stolen across North Somerset over the past three days.
(BBC News)
Did you
know?
manhole cover
noun phrase
- an iron plate that covers the opening in a road which a worker can enter in order to reach underground pipes, wires or drains which need to be examined or repaired
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
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One of the most pressing questions of the last few decades has been, "Why are manhole covers round?"
According to some urban legend sources, in the past Microsoft used this question during interviews for job candidates.
Answer: "You can tip a square manhole cover up on its edge and drop it through the hole on the diagonal. Similarly with ovals.
A circular hole, however, will defy the most determined efforts in this regard. (Keep in mind that there's a lip around the inside of the manhole that the cover rests on; this effectively makes the diameter of the manhole an inch or so less than that of the cover.) This means manholes are one of the few things in the universe that are absolutely fail-safe." (source: The Straight Dope)
Despite this, in the UK one can find not only round, but also square, oval and triangular manhole covers.
Note: Anyone interested in the history of manhole covers should visit the International Manhole Cover Museum in Ferrara, Italy.
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Do you know why manhole covers are usually round, and not square?"
noun phrase
- an iron plate that covers the opening in a road which a worker can enter in order to reach underground pipes, wires or drains which need to be examined or repaired
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
---
One of the most pressing questions of the last few decades has been, "Why are manhole covers round?"
According to some urban legend sources, in the past Microsoft used this question during interviews for job candidates.
Answer: "You can tip a square manhole cover up on its edge and drop it through the hole on the diagonal. Similarly with ovals.
A circular hole, however, will defy the most determined efforts in this regard. (Keep in mind that there's a lip around the inside of the manhole that the cover rests on; this effectively makes the diameter of the manhole an inch or so less than that of the cover.) This means manholes are one of the few things in the universe that are absolutely fail-safe." (source: The Straight Dope)
Despite this, in the UK one can find not only round, but also square, oval and triangular manhole covers.
Note: Anyone interested in the history of manhole covers should visit the International Manhole Cover Museum in Ferrara, Italy.
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Do you know why manhole covers are usually round, and not square?"
