[Tako Kichi]

Something that I've always wondered is: Is the Ford "Oval" logo really an oval, or is it an ellipse?

According to AskDifference.com: "The main difference between Oval and Ellipse is that the Oval is a shape and Ellipse is a type of curve on a plane".

Oval vs. Ellipse - What's the difference? | Ask Difference

So one is a physical object and the other is a mathematical concept.

According to Wikipedia: An oval (from Latin ovum, "egg") is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one or two axes of symmetry of an ellipse. In common English, the term is used in a broader sense: any shape which reminds one of an egg. The three-dimensional version of an oval is called an ovoid.

Oval - Wikipedia

So I guess the Ford badge is really an 'ovoid' when it's a physical item on a vehicle and an 'oval' when on printed matter like brochures, decals or electronic devices.

[lesmore49]

Henry abhorred waste, so I can imagine that he would have balked at the thought of a team, unless, of course, there was simply more work than one man could do.

Not sure if I ever told the story, but if I did, it's worth telling again. Henry did not actually build Model T Fords prior to 1914. From 1909 to some time in 1914, most parts of the cars were, in fact, built by Dodge Brothers. Assembly took place at the Ford plant. Henry hated waste so, I read somewhere that he hit upon the idea to specify that the engines and planetary gearboxes Dodge Brothers supplied for the Model T's had to be delivered to the Ford plant in wooden crates of a specific size. The reason was that Henry figured that he could use those crates planks for the floor boards in the cars, thereby saving money not needing to buy wood for floorboards himself.

Now, most people think this is a bit of a tall tale to try and show how miserly Henry was. In our Ford Car Club in Cape Town there was a fellow with a completely original early 1912 Model T. When I say, completely original, the only things not original to the car are the tires. The car looks as worn as you would expect a 109 year old car to be. The fenders are almost devoid of paint as the paint has worn so thin over the years.
So, I asked him if I could have a look at the underside of the car. He, naturally, said "Sure". So, I got under the car and looked up. And there, on the wooden floor boards were the crate stampings for Dodge Brothers.

Isn't that something. I think Henry was a clever fellow when it came to figuring out how to get the most bang for his dollar. My father's first car was a 1926 Ford Model T, that he bought as a 16 year old in 1936. He said it had a hole in the gas tank and that when driving it, he had to continually chew gum. The reason, he would use chewed up gum to plug the hole in the tank. The gum would lose it's effectiveness after about 15 minutes, so he would chew to prepare the next plug. He had an extremely limited budget, as this was the depression and he was a kid.

There was a Ford assembly plant in Winnipeg from 1915-41 and they assembled Model T's during part of those years for the Western Canadian market. I'm sure his Model T was assembled in that plant.

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Ford Assembly Building / Manitoba Technical Institute / Robert Fletcher Building (1181 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg)

He eventually sold the Model T for a 1931 Chevy, then traded the Chevy in on a 1936 Nash. Then WW2, service in the military and after WW2, had a 1941 Mercury Convertible.

[lesmore49]

Bless him for that, it gave birth to Kingsford charcoal.
Originally called Ford charcoal.

I believe Henry Ford bought a forest in Michigan , as he liked to have control of his resources, used to build his cars.

[eddie1960]

Now that is an interesting and involved process Coke went through to develop their bottle.

I rarely drink soft drinks anymore, or soda as others call it. However my drink of choice in this category was always Coco Cola...the real thing, not new coke of diet coke.

I wasn't a Pepsi fan, although many are.

I did like the uncola...Seven Up, or ginger ale...but only of Canada Dry variety and not for any reasons of patriotism, but due entirely to taste.

Grape crush was another drink I liked, but not Mountain Dew.

I wonder if most people prefer Coca Cola or Pepsi...or maybe another brand ?

My childhood memories of manitoba in the 60s include visiting Gran in Brandon and chasing the mountain dew truck with other kids screaming yahoo mountain dew. the driver would stop and give us each a free bottle

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

.

[CharLac]

Now that is an interesting and involved process Coke went through to develop their bottle.

I rarely drink soft drinks anymore, or soda as others call it. However my drink of choice in this category was always Coco Cola...the real thing, not new coke of diet coke.

I wasn't a Pepsi fan, although many are.

I did like the uncola...Seven Up, or ginger ale...but only of Canada Dry variety and not for any reasons of patriotism, but due entirely to taste.

Grape crush was another drink I liked, but not Mountain Dew.

I wonder if most people prefer Coca Cola or Pepsi...or maybe another brand ?

Ginger Ale if anything at all

[eddie1960]

Ginger Ale if anything at all

Ginger beer, or Canada Dry Ginger ale, but rarely drink soda now, aside from sparkling water or quality tonic with Gin in summer

[CharLac]

Isn't that something. I think Henry was a clever fellow when it came to figuring out how to get the most bang for his dollar. My father's first car was a 1926 Ford Model T, that he bought as a 16 year old in 1936. He said it had a hole in the gas tank and that when driving it, he had to continually chew gum. The reason, he would use chewed up gum to plug the hole in the tank. The gum would lose it's effectiveness after about 15 minutes, so he would chew to prepare the next plug. He had an extremely limited budget, as this was the depression and he was a kid.

There was a Ford assembly plant in Winnipeg from 1915-41 and they assembled Model T's during part of those years for the Western Canadian market. I'm sure his Model T was assembled in that plant.

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Ford Assembly Building / Manitoba Technical Institute / Robert Fletcher Building (1181 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg)

He eventually sold the Model T for a 1931 Chevy, then traded the Chevy in on a 1936 Nash. Then WW2, service in the military and after WW2, had a 1941 Mercury Convertible.

When Dad was working for an Oil Survey company in Northern Alberta, he drove a Model T for a while. He said with the tall skinny tires, it worked well in the ruts and mud.

[StiffLegged]

According to AskDifference.com: "The main difference between Oval and Ellipse is that the Oval is a shape and Ellipse is a type of curve on a plane".

Oval vs. Ellipse - What's the difference? | Ask Difference

So one is a physical object and the other is a mathematical concept.

It might be fairer to say the ellipse is mathematically defined, the oval isn't. Young Bertie should have covered conic sections in his mathematical studies by now and will have come across the equation for the ellipse. Whether he ever uses this hereafter remains to be seen!

[bertwert]

Young Bertie should have covered conic sections in his mathematical studies by now and will have come across the equation for the ellipse. Whether he ever uses this hereafter remains to be seen!

Indeed...

(x2/a2) + (y2/b2) = 1

Though it's often easy to confuse with a hyperbola...

(x2/a2) - (y2/b2) = 1

[lesmore49]

When Dad was working for an Oil Survey company in Northern Alberta, he drove a Model T for a while. He said with the tall skinny tires, it worked well in the ruts and mud.

I come from a Manitoba farming family ,although I was a city boy, first gen off the farm, but back in the teens and the '20's the Model T, I'm told was very good down dirt roads in the spring, when the gumbo was deep, wet and sticky. The T had plenty of ground clearance and those tall, thin tires sliced through the mud.

I have a pix somewhere from around 1923 and there is great grandpa in the farm yard with his Model T.

[lesmore49]

Ginger beer, or Canada Dry Ginger ale, but rarely drink soda now, aside from sparkling water or quality tonic with Gin in summer

I recall Ginger Beer, even had one or a couple. I rarely drink soft drinks now too. Couple of weeks ago I had my first soft drink in about a year, Grape Crush. It was good.

But nowadays, my drinks are water, V8 juice low sodium, a couple of decaf coffees and sometimes a decaf tea and that's about it. Oh yeah, the odd zero beer.

[lesmore49]

My childhood memories of manitoba in the 60s include visiting Gran in Brandon and chasing the mountain dew truck with other kids screaming yahoo mountain dew. the driver would stop and give us each a free bottle

https://youtu.be/A_eSUBotF64


.

Did the Mountain Dew driver 'hook' you and your buddies into becoming life long Dew drinkers ?

Think I was an older teenage when Mountain Dew came here, by that time I was a confirmed Coca Cola guy.

[Parallax]

I come from a Manitoba farming family ,although I was a city boy, first gen off the farm, but back in the teens and the '20's the Model T, I'm told was very good down dirt roads in the spring, when the gumbo was deep, wet and sticky. The T had plenty of ground clearance and those tall, thin tires sliced through the mud.

I have a pix somewhere from around 1923 and there is great grandpa in the farm yard with his Model T.

They were particularly good in those conditions with the tractor conversion installed. ?Doodlebug? 1923 Ford Model T farm tractor conversion
They have one of these in the collection at Pioneer Village in Minden, Nebraska. It's one of my favorite places in the country to visit. It was started as a collection by the guy who patented Plexiglass and grew to one of the largest collections of memorabilia there is. I swear, if this isn't true it should be; they have one of everything ever made.

[mkgd1]

You don't see that kind of covered badging or tail lights that move to the side to display a car gas tank pipe, anymore.

when I first went to Nigeria in 1977, I inherited a 1975 Mercedes 230.6 as a company vehicle. When I picked it up, it was almost empty. I drove to the nearest gas station, got out and could not find the filler cap. After scratching my head for a few minutes a beggar stepped forward and pulled down the hinged license plate to reveal the cap. I felt like an idiot but it meant a couple of Naira in his bowl

[lesmore49]

when I first went to Nigeria in 1977, I inherited a 1975 Mercedes 230.6 as a company vehicle. When I picked it up, it was almost empty. I drove to the nearest gas station, got out and could not find the filler cap. After scratching my head for a few minutes a beggar stepped forward and pulled down the hinged license plate to reveal the cap. I felt like an idiot but it meant a couple of Naira in his bowl

I remember the hinged license plate hiding the gas cap, but on American cars. When I was a very young man, a couple of buddies worked as gas station attendants and part of their job , apart from fixing flats and changing oil was to fill up gas tanks for customer's. This was in the late '60's , when a lot of American cars had hidden gas tank filler nozzles. Hiding the gas tank filler seemed to be a common design feature on cars made in the '50's and '60's.

As far as I know they were never stumped, probably due to helpful owners.

I had three VW Beetles (old, air cooled engine jobs) and my '61 had a well hidden gas tank filler. You had to pop the front hood to get to the filler and gas up. Also the engine was in the rear....but V-Dubs were so common back then the old line about popping the front hood to see no engine there, and then sound the alarm that the engine has been stolen ....didn't fool many, if any.

How did you fond the Mercedes 230, inline six ? Pretty good, reliable car ?