Featured Rule of Thumb                 Surprise Me! 665 Entertaining INVITING GUESTS If you invite 100 people to a cocktail party, plan on 75 coming; 25 will send regrets. Alan Amsler, graphic designer Current Rating: 4.4 out of 10 based on 17 reviews Comments (1) You must login to Rate.

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5454 Trains
LONDON UNDERGROUND JOURNEY TIME (UK)
Allow 2 minutes for every station, including the one where you start, and 5 minutes for every time you change. This is good for zones 1 & 2; almost certainly for 3. Further out, call it 4 minute per station. The rule breaks down early in the morning & late (after 2330) at night. I was taught this in the late 1960 or early 1970s. It still works: the system is just about at capacity. I check it every week.
Richard Larkin, Retired electronics technician, London, United Kingdom
(1) Contributions from this contributor since (2013-06-16)
Current Rating: Unrated
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5453 Advertising
ADVERTISING'S REPITITION OF 3
Advertisers on radio & TV know that repeating the company’s name and phone number 3 times in a row implants their message to the listener/viewer. Pay attention to this practice before rating this Rule of Thumb.
Dave Agresti, Prof Criminology (retired), Tampa, Florida, United States
(66) Contributions from this contributor since (2008-04-15)
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5452 Miscellaneous
AS THE NOSE GOES, SO GOES THE TOES
Look where you want to go. Your feet, and your body, will follow. This is the basis for spotting. It is also very useful when driving.
Robert Fielder, IT Analyst, Brampton, Ontario, Canada
(5) Contributions from this contributor since (2011-06-02)
Current Rating: Unrated
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5451 Science
ADMINISTERING ETHER GAS
When calculating a dose of ether gas for a patient, consider that a 20 degree F increase in room temperature doubles the concentration of the gas. --Dr John Snow, anesthesiologist, 1847
Cally Arthur, distance learning coordinator, Ithaca, NY, United States
(2) Contributions from this contributor since (2008-11-18)
Current Rating: Unrated
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5450 Relationships
MAKING & BREAKING RELATIONSHIPS
It takes 2 people to make a relationship and only 1 to break it.
Dave Agresti, Prof Criminology (retired), Tampa, Florida, United States
(66) Contributions from this contributor since (2008-04-15)
Current Rating: 1 out of 10 based on 1 reviews
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5449 Animals
WHAT TO DO WHEN CONFRONTING A BEAR
If it's Black: Attack. If it's Brown: Stay down.
Jim Colby, Engineer, Concord, New Hampshire, USA
(5) Contributions from this contributor since (2008-01-08)
Current Rating: 5.2 out of 10 based on 4 reviews
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5448 Sports
LIFTING THE PUCK IN A HOCKEY SHOT
Timing is key in learning to load your stick and lift the puck in hockey in a hockey shot. Think of the word hotdog and imagine changing the emphasis from the first syllable (hot) to the second (dog.) That is, from HOTdog, to hotDOG! That's what it takes to successfully load the blade with the puck. To get it perfect, requires even more subtlety. Try the same exercise with a single syllable word, like the word "the." If you can switch the emphasis from the beginning to the end of a word like that, you'll have a good idea of the timing required to lift the puck effectively.
Joseph Bauer, Master Carpenter, Indian Hills, Ohio, USA
(35) Contributions from this contributor since (2008-01-08)
Current Rating: 8 out of 10 based on 1 reviews
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5447 Crime
SCARING OFF AN INTRUDER
As a professor of Criminology I’ve given my students a rule of thumb for property and home safety in case of an intruder. Whether or not you own a firearm, my thought is to Out-Do the Bad Guy and to keep you safe. If someone breaks in, shout out loud, HONEY,GET THE GUN even if you are home alone and don't have a gun. Most offenders I’ve talked to in jail and prison were given that scenario and those words changed their plans and they ran like hell. It tells the Bad Guy that there is more than one person at home and the other is on his-her way out packing heat. See Comments for more details.
Dave Agresti, Prof Criminology (retired), Tampa, Florida, United States
(66) Contributions from this contributor since (2008-04-15)
Current Rating: 7.7 out of 10 based on 4 reviews
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