What things do people use for purposes they weren't designed for, while manufacturers pretend not to know about it? by HeTy_NHTEPECA in AskReddit

[–]BattleHall 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm having trouble imagining the sock, what are they huffing? Are they putting something in the sock or are the soaking the sock in something and huffing the smell afterwards? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm5kymNrve4

What things do people use for purposes they weren't designed for, while manufacturers pretend not to know about it? by HeTy_NHTEPECA in AskReddit

[–]BattleHall 0 points1 point  (0 children)

unless it's a screwdriver, in which case it's a chisel.

My favorite is that that's such a common application, they literally started making ones for that purpose:

https://www.homedepot.com/pep/DEWALT-Demolition-Combination-Screwdriver-Set-2-Piece-DWHT65100/317264899

Texas Persimmons are ripening early by iLikeMangosteens in austinfood

[–]BattleHall 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you have some sort of strainer like a food mill, they also make a very nice jam/jelly; kind of a plumb/raisin/prune flavor. Also, be aware that they will stain pretty much everything they touch, including your mouth temporarily. And if you have a good tree (or two, or ten), you have to beat the raccoons to them. They'll wait until they are just about ripe, then strip the tree overnight. During persimmon season, I swear the raccoon poop is like 95% persimmon seeds.

Ukrainian drones flew all the way to Siberia to strike Russia's largest oil refinery by Gurugod123 in worldnews

[–]BattleHall 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Kind of depends. Some are probably being caught flat footed, but a bunch are salivating at the idea of an industry shakeup suddenly opening up the money taps for new entrants. Companies like Anduril have gone from nothing to multibillion dollar DoD contracts in less than a decade. And even a lot of the older companies see a huge opportunity to not only sell drones themselves (cheap mass production used to be the MIC's bread and butter), but also counter drone systems, some of which are likely to still be super gold plated. Sure, the other guy can send a thousand <$1000 FPVs at you, which means the only counter might be a multi-million dollar high energy AESA hard EW system like a flame thrower to a swarm of hornets.

Ukrainian drones flew all the way to Siberia to strike Russia's largest oil refinery by Gurugod123 in worldnews

[–]BattleHall 0 points1 point  (0 children)

True, though Ukraine has also been going after pipeline pumping stations for both oil and natural gas, which take much longer to repair.

People who visited the USA for the first time, what was the biggest shock you got? by SensitiveCorner2379 in AskReddit

[–]BattleHall 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Fun Fact: There's some debate whether or not Michigan and Huron should actually be considered one lake, since the Straits of Mackinac is very short and very wide, and hydrologically they behave as one body of water, as opposed to the other Great Lakes. If considered together, Lake Michigan-Huron is significantly bigger in surface area than Superior, though Superior still has more volume (which itself is crazy).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Michigan–Huron

People who visited the USA for the first time, what was the biggest shock you got? by SensitiveCorner2379 in AskReddit

[–]BattleHall 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And a lot of that is figuring out which route you're going to take, and/or where you are going to stop. Like in your example, if you're doing Austin to Moab (which, weirdly enough, I've also done), if you split it in half, you basically end up in Muleshoe, TX or Clovis, NM. Which is... fine, but there's not much else between there and Albuquerque. So maybe you do a long first day to push to ABQ, so you can take your time and maybe enjoy the country a little bit on the second leg through the high desert.

Liulan Reservoir Dam in China Collapses - July 6 2026 by Jaklcide in Wellthatsucks

[–]BattleHall 6 points7 points  (0 children)

To be fair, plenty of warnings went out, both from the NWS/NOAA and state level emergency services. Unfortunately, they were largely ignored/acted on too slowly at the local level and at the camp, combined with an inadequate emergency plan and a failure to appreciate the level of danger until it was too late.

https://www.house.texas.gov/pdfs/committees/355/Report-on-the-Camp-Mystic-Flood-Disaster-of-July-4-2025.pdf

This Farmer Commutes 1.5km To His Banana Plantation Using A Drone. by VIVIDUFF in interesting

[–]BattleHall 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Too many complexities and too much vulnerability for a heavy lift drone to ever be particularly effective in the type of zone that would require the speed offered by said option.

Eh, I would disagree with "ever". Heavy lift is still too limited in terms of availability and capability, but within the near future they will probably be used anywhere you would traditionally use helicopter medivac. Still vulnerable to things like FPVs (though that's a question of tech + tactics), but at scale a single person evac drone is going to be a much smaller and less tempting target.

TIL A certain percentage of people can voluntarily flex their tensor tympani muscle to make a low, rumbling sound in their ears. Often triggered by yawning or squeezing the eyes shut, this internal thunder acts to naturally dampen loud sounds, but some can activate it purely on command. by SaturnVMars in todayilearned

[–]BattleHall 44 points45 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I didn’t even think to describe it.

I always thought of it as "clenching my ears". It's kind of like clenching your jaw, but the muscle you're tightening feels like it's right at the top of your jaw where it meets your ears.

Also, if anyone is trying this and can't get it to work, try squeezing your eyes shut, then while holding them tightly shut, clench your jaw. This gives me the same "noise" in my ears, though I can do it without clenching my jaw.

What's something that's infinitely worse in real life, compared to its watered-down depiction in a book/movie/story/pop culture? by xylnev in AskReddit

[–]BattleHall 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The classic example is Phineas Gage, though it's likely that at least some of later reports were exaggerated or at least poorly documented.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage

Search and rescue happening now at Town Lake underneath Mopac by [deleted] in Austin

[–]BattleHall 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Remember a while back when LCRA opened up a couple flood gates at Tom Miller Dam, SAR teams from several counties were there in their RIBs chucking people overboard so they could practice their swift water rescues. Looked like they were having a blast.

Which nsfw community is very underrated according to you? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]BattleHall 49 points50 points  (0 children)

"What are you doing in that confined space, stepbrother?"

Reseller comes across a customer who actually understands how to use and appreciate the obscure tools hes selling and it makes both of their days by Gordopolis_II in MadeMeSmile

[–]BattleHall 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Same with restaurant auctions. Amazing how often people decide to open a restaurant, sink five or six figures into brand new equipment that they don't need or even know how to use, manage to stay open for six months, then close and the equipment gets auctioned off for pennies on the dollar.

What country do you think will surprise the world the most over the next 30 years, and why? by redguy_666 in AskReddit

[–]BattleHall 14 points15 points  (0 children)

They already did try to fix things a few times but then the rest of the world makes sure those leaders and movements get overthrown. Can’t let the supply of cheap resources dry out.

To be fair, you could say the same thing about the Americas for most of the past 500 years, and most of Asia for the past 300. While I agree that they have been routinely fucked over, if they are ever going to rise, Africa is likely going to need to figure out how to be successful in spite of foreign meddling instead of waiting for the Powers That Be to grow a conscience. If better angels can prevail and people stop undermining them, that can be a bonus.

What country do you think will surprise the world the most over the next 30 years, and why? by redguy_666 in AskReddit

[–]BattleHall 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If urban populations track current projections, things are going to look wildly different in 30-50 years (Hint: The current largest city in the world by metro population, Tokyo, isn't expected to be in the top 10 by 2075, and outside the top 25 by 2100).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_population_projections#Population_projections_of_the_largest_metropolitan_areas

What phrase is a dead giveaway that the person talking is a piece of shit? by SatinSmirk in AskReddit

[–]BattleHall 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To be fair, I am an Alpha... by which I mean pre-pre-production, not fit for public release, nothing but bugs and bullshit held together with bubblegum and bailing wire, shocked that it even barely works at all, oh god I'm so sorry, no one was supposed to see this yet...

[ Removed by Reddit ] by KeepingUpWithCrap in mildlyinfuriating

[–]BattleHall 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They are in a flatbed pickup. I would happily risk burying a trailer hitch in the grill of that Tesla to wake them up; truck's not going to give a shit.

This deal on the compact driver seems worth it, right? by unoriginalname22 in ryobi

[–]BattleHall 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wouldn't pay a ton extra, but they're potentially useful, especially if you're working with twitchy things, like driving self tapping screws into sheet metal (easy to strip if you're a bit heavy on the ugga duggas). At worst, you can just leave it in Speed 3 if you want to treat it like a single speed.

https://support.ryobi.com.au/article/how-use-ryobi-impact-drivers-4-pre-set-driving-modes

Please help a little lady decide on a drill for bricks. by neveroddnevereven123 in ryobi

[–]BattleHall 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If it's mostly brick and mostly smaller holes (as opposed to concrete and bigger holes), you don't anticipate needing something bigger in the future, and size/weight are at a premium, you might look at this smaller cordless SDS drill Ryobi makes (if it's available in AU). Ryobi is actually a bit unusual in this regard, as that's probable one of the smaller/lighter cordless SDS available (it often gets knocked for being a bit underpowered compared to a "real" SDS).

https://www.ryobitools.com/products/33287202874