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Why are manhole covers in the U.S. round instead of square? A round manhole cover cannot fall through its circular opening, whereas a square manhole cover could be turned diagonally and fall through. Circular manhole covers are also easier to place back into original position, and do not need to be rotated for alignment.
The word "plumber" is derived from the Latin word for lead - Plumbum. Lead use to be the primary material used in the creation of pipeworks used to carry water into cities and towns, before it was found to be a cumulative poison.
Who invented the modern toilet? The flush toilet we use today came from a variety of inventions throughout history. In 1596, Sir John Harington invented a design that had a flush valve to let water out of the tank and wash-down design to empty out the bowl. In the 1880s, Thomas Crapper's plumbing company built flush toilets and received a royal warrant. He popularized the siphon system for emptying the tank, and replaced the earlier floating valve system, which was prone to leaks.
Who invented the shower? While rudimentary showers can be found throughout India, Egypt and Mesopotamia, the first real shower was invented by the Greeks around 300 B.C. Ancient Greek athletes would freshen up within the Stadiums using a piped in water supply that would spray down through showerheads shaped like the faces of boars and lions.
Hot water can be one of the most dangerous things in your home. At 120°F, 49°C, it would take 10 minutes to burn skin. At 125°F, 52°C, it would take 2 minutes to burn skin. At 140°F, 60°C, it would take 6 seconds to burn skin. At 150°F, 66°C, it would take 2 seconds to burn skin.
One of the biggest myths is on the direction the water in the toilet bowl swirls. Contrary to popular belief, the direction of the swirling water doesn't depend on whether the toilet lies in the northern or southern hemisphere. Instead, the direction the water takes depends on the direction that the bowl's rim jets are pointed. The water can be made to flush in either direction in either hemisphere.
Who's the most recognizable plumber in the world? Mario, the Italian-American plumber who lives in the Mushroom Kingdom. He is one of the most famous characters in video game history.
The average person will spend three years of their life on the toilet.
The average person visits the toilet six to eight times a day.
During these six to eight visits to the toilet a day, each individual uses approximately 57 sheets of toilet paper.
You have a 1 in 10,000 chance of being injured by a toilet.
The first toilet paper was invented in 1880, but it didn't come on a roll. Instead it came as a box, like tissues.
Scott toilet paper has been around over a hundred years. The company developed its toilet paper on a roll in 1890.
72.4% of people place their toilet paper to be pulled from over the roll, rather than under.
The toilet uses more water than any other appliance in the house.
More toilets flush during half time of the Super Bowl than during any other time of year.
A third of people flush their toilet while they're still sitting on it.
Rats can survive being flushed down toilets. On top of that, they can often return to the dwelling they were in via the same route.
Televisions are more common in Afghanistan than toilets.
A study conducted found that women wad toilet paper while men fold it.
Why Hot Water is Always on the Left Side of a Faucet?
Back in the 19th century, when indoor plumbing was introduced, water was brought into the home by hand pump. At the time, there was only one option that came out of the hand pump: cold water. Since most people were - and still are - right-handed, the pump was placed on the right side of the sink. Instant hot water was introduced many years later. With the cold water pump already occupying the right side of the sink or tub, the logical place to put the hot water faucet was on the left side of the cold water faucet. There you have it!
As for who came up with it, there's always.
Why Toilet Flush Handles are Always (or Usually) on the Left?
I mentioned above that since a majority of people are right-handed, early hand pumps were on the right side of a sink or tub. Meanwhile, toilet flush handles are always on the left. What's the deal?
Early indoor toilets had pull chains connected to overhead water tanks. Again, since most people were right handed, the pull chain hung down on the right side... the right side from the perspective of someone sitting "on the throne". As flush handles evolved into the levers we know them as today, they just happened to stay on that side; the left side from the perspective of someone looking at the toilet.
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What our customers
have to say | | |
Casey's Plumbing
"Very pleased with your company. I'll be recommending you to others". Jo Hodges, Milwaukie"Thom was always courteous of our home and went the extra mile for us". Cameron & Rhonda Azari"Excellent - Explained everything well. Even made friends with my dog". Ross Wine, King City"Thom was great! Professional and good about explaining the process". David Bleyle, Beaverton"Great workmanship; competent and skilled". Ken Moss, Gresham"We found all of your people to be professional, friendly and considerate". Michael Lowe, Beaverton"The best! I am continuing to recommend you guys". Carol Smith, Beaverton"I saw my neighbor using you guys and knew they only use good companies". Patricia Treece, West linn"As usual, work was performed promptly and explained in detail". Dan Ziglinski, Tigard____________________________________Thanks to all for the above comments!
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Recipe of the Month
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 Wild Rice Shrimp Saute
"The seafood is so good here in Florida, and shrimp is at the top of our list of favorites. Shrimp and wild rice make a delicious combination, and this dish is special enough to serve to company."
Servings 4
Prep time 15 min
Cook time 35 min
Original Recipe Yield 4 servings
Ingredients
2 1/3 cups water
4 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (6 ounce) package long grain and wild rice mix
1 pound uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons chopped green pepper
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
Directions
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine water, 1 tablespoon butter, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and pepper; bring to a boil. Add rice with seasoning packet; return to a boil.
Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium heat, melt remaining butter. Add shrimp, green pepper and onions. Cook and stir for 7-9 minutes or until shrimp turn pink and are cooked through. Add rice; heat through.
A special thanks to Alllrecipes.com for this contribution.
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 November 2010
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Greetings!
I don't know about you, but I can hardly believe that it's almost Thanksgiving already. Given that the holidays are upon us, is your home prepared for your expected guests? Are your drains draining well and your toilets functioning properly? If not, why not get them taken care of now, on your schedule before they become an emergency. Wouldn't it be terrible to have a plumbing failure during your holiday celebrations? So again, take care of these problems now while our schedule is open enough to get the work done when it's convenient for you. I am pleased to announce some changes for our monthly E-Newsletters. Readers have expressed to us that a shorter version would be helpful to their fast paced schedules so starting this month, there will be two emails a month. One for Casey's Plumbing and one for Metro's Best Electric. In each, you will enjoy the same top notch information that you're used to but will receive it in two mailings. Thanksgiving truly is a time for family and reflection. As I reflect back on 2010, I want you to know how thankful I am for each and everyone of you! Without great clients like you, we couldn't exist and again, I am truly thankful for you and your continued patronage. Finally, happy Veteran"s Day to our vets and I also wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. I hope you too take some time to reflect on all your blessings. Until next month,  Brenda Casey / Owner and Operations Manager P.S. for those of you who missed our recent "How To Winterize Your Home", instructions - click here to see them. They are very detailed and cover the proper way to drain your outside faucets.
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Are all contractors the same?
In a word - NO! | |
More often than not, when a customer calls us for service, one of the first questions are "how much will this cost"? Certainly this is a reasonable question but it shouldn't be your only question. After all if the "cheapest", were always the best choice, we would all be driving Hugos.
There are some significant differences between Casey's Plumbing and some of our "cheaper" competitors. Consider the following...
- All employees at Casey's Plumbing are background checked and tested for substance abuse. Before you dismiss this as something unimportant or maybe you think, "well everyone does this, right?" No- not everyone does it. As a matter of fact, only a very small percentage of the quality contractors will test their employee applicants. Doesn't matter? Did you know that one of the main trades taught in prison is plumbing and electrical.
- We offer lifetime warranties on workmanship. We are so confident that our work is second to none, that if there is ever a failure in our work that can be attributed to workmanship, we will repair it again for FREE! it doesn't matter if the work happened 15 years ago; if we made a workmanship error, it will be taken care of for free!
- Our warranties are second to none! All service and repair work is warrantied a full two years covering parts and labor. If you are one of our Diamond Club Plus clients, your warranty is for three years! (Excludes drain work).
- Our water heater packages are second to none! First we offer more options than anyone else. Choices that include lifetime warranties on parts AND labor and free annual maintenance service. Note: Others will only cover labor, the expensive part of your plumbing bill, for one year.
- We respect your property. All our technicians are trained and equipped to protect your home while they are working in it. They will wear shoe covers, use mats and tarps where necessary to cover your property.
Final thought, our technicians will make every effort to use bathroom facilities before or after your service call. If they do need to use your facilities, they will show you and your home the up most respect and leave the facilities exactly as they found it. I know that this last item - using your bathroom, is an awkward subject to tackle but consider the following story courtest of Angie's List.
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THE FIRST THANKSGIVING | | |
Most stories of Thanksgiving history start with the harvest celebration of the pilgrims and the indians that took place in the autumn of 1621.
Although they did have a three-day feast in celebration of a good harvest, and the local indians did participate, this "first Thanksgiving" was not a holiday, simply a gathering. There is little evidence that this feast of thanks led directly to our modern Thanksgiving Day holiday.
Thanksgiving can, however, be traced back to 1863 when Pres. Lincoln became the first president to proclaim Thanksgiving Day. The holiday has been a fixture of late November ever since.
However, since most school children are taught that the first Thanksgiving was held in 1621 with the pilgrims and indians, let us take a closer look at just what took place leading up to that event, and then what happened in the centuries afterward that finally gave us our modern Thanksgiving.
The Pilgrims who sailed to this country aboard the Mayflower were originally members of the English Separatist Church (a Puritan sect). They had earlier fled their home in England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to escape religious persecution. There, they enjoyed more religious tolerance, but they eventually became disenchanted with the Dutch way of life, thinking it ungodly. Seeking a better life, the Separatists negotiated with a London stock company to finance a pilgrimage to America. Most of those making the trip aboard the Mayflower were non-Separatists, but were hired to protect the company's interests. Only about one-third of the original colonists were Separatists.
The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one. And the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast -- including 91 Indians who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. It is believed that the Pilgrims would not have made it through the year without the help of the natives. The feast was more of a traditional English harvest festival than a true "thanksgiving" observance. It lasted three days.
Governor William Bradford sent "four men fowling" after wild ducks and geese. It is not certain that wild turkey was part of their feast. However, it is certain that they had venison. The term "turkey" was used by the Pilgrims to mean any sort of wild fowl.
Another modern staple at almost every Thanksgiving table is pumpkin pie. But it is unlikely that the first feast included that treat. The supply of flour had been long diminished, so there was no bread or pastries of any kind. However, they did eat boiled pumpkin, and they produced a type of fried bread from their corn crop. There was also no milk, cider, potatoes, or butter. There was no domestic cattle for dairy products, and the newly-discovered potato was still considered by many Europeans to be poisonous. But the feast did include fish, berries, watercress, lobster, dried fruit, clams, venison, and plums.
This "thanksgiving" feast was not repeated the following year. Many years passed before the event was repeated. It wasn't until June of 1676 that another Day of thanksgiving was proclaimed. On June 20 of that year the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, held a meeting to determine how best to express thanks for the good fortune that had seen their community securely established. By unanimous vote they instructed Edward Rawson, the clerk, to proclaim June 29 as a day of thanksgiving. It is notable that this thanksgiving celebration probably did not include the Indians, as the celebration was meant partly to be in recognition of the colonists' recent victory over the "heathen natives,"
A hundred years later, in October of 1777 all 13 colonies joined in a thanksgiving celebration. It also commemorated the patriotic victory over the British at Saratoga. But it was a one-time affair.
George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, although some were opposed to it. There was discord among the colonies, many feeling the hardships of a few pilgrims did not warrant a national holiday. And later, President Thomas Jefferson opposed the idea of having a day of thanksgiving.
It was Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, whose efforts eventually led to what we recognize as Thanksgiving. Hale wrote many editorials championing her cause in her Boston Ladies' Magazine, and later, in Godey's Lady's Book.Finally, after a 40-year campaign of writing editorials and letters to governors and presidents, Hale's obsession became a reality when, in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving was proclaimed by every president after Lincoln. The date was changed a couple of times, most recently by Franklin Roosevelt, who set it up one week to the next-to-last Thursday in order to create a longer Christmas shopping season. Public uproar against this decision caused the president to move Thanksgiving back to its original date two years later. And in 1941, Thanksgiving was finally sanctioned by Congress as a legal holiday, as the fourth Thursday in November.
Courtesy of "The Thanksgiving Story"
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A Word From The General Manager
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It's getting to be a real problem in our world today. Innocent homeowners call contractors looking to have work performed on their home.
A service person shows up, and the homeowner doesn't think twice about letting that person into their home. They presume that person is honest and coming to help them with their problem. All too often these seemingly innocent calls turn tragic.
Not long ago, I read about a Florida woman who was killed by a registered sex offender who was performing work in her home. In another instance, a service technician in the Minneapolis area was convicted on several counts for stealing from customers' homes. In yet another story, an unsuspecting housewife in Missouri hired a contractor only to have him call back two weeks later and make lewd remarks over the telephone. What if this guy had done more than just make telephone calls? You don't think about this possibly happening until it's too late.
You and your family deserve to feel comfortable and safe in your own home; to live life without fear. Women home alone with small children, the elderly, or the disabled shouldn't have to be wary of their security when calling a contractor. As a person who's been in this industry for years, it sickens me that this has
become an issue... but it has.
Knowing this, we have made a commitment to you and all of our loyal customers. You will never have to worry about a person from our company that enters your home or be concerned about their true intentions. As a service to you, every single one of our employees is background checked and drug tested. No criminal or drug addict will ever wear one of our uniforms. We have one of the most difficult hiring processes around, and only people of high moral character are given the opportunity to be employed by us. We then take these hard working people and provide them with the best technical and communication training offered in the country. So, you'll know that when one of our people shows up, they're upstanding citizens who are eager and able to help you with any and all of your home's needs.
Many contractors in the home services business do not bother to practice such stringent policies... But that's what distinguishes us from the rest. Indeed, recently when screening applicants to fill an opening we had for a journeyman plumber, only a very small percentage passed the drug screening. And these people are now working for someone!?
When you call Casey's Plumbing, Rooter n Drains or Metro's Best Electric, you know you're dealing with professionals who care about your personal safety, the safety of your family, and the well-being and security of your home. We feel that's the least we can do for you.
Thanks your continued patronage.
Sincerely,
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