this post was submitted on 02 Dec 2024
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PSA in Naarm (Melbourne), Australia warning about the dangers of trams.

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[–] ftbd@feddit.org 42 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

Anything but the metric system

[–] ArcaneGadget@lemmy.world 18 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

It's anywhere from 21 to 96 tonnes depending on species and gender. Assuming average weight ranges. Writing that a tram weighs as much as 30 rhinos is about as useful as writing "quite a lot"...

[–] RootBeerGuy@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

How much different would a person come out in an accident with a 21 tonnes tram versus a 96 tonnes tram?

[–] jaybone@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

About 75 less damage.

[–] ArcaneGadget@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

About the same i guess. A lighter tram probably has a shorter braking distance though. And in relation to other vehicles 96 tonnes is a lot more kinetic energy and damage. But that's not really the point is it? The gist is; that this thing is heavy and moving at speed, so don't get in the way. But the way they have chosen to describe that, is hilariously convoluted and imprecise. Especially because most people, me included, have no concept about how much a rhino weighs, much less 30 of them...

[–] atro_city@fedia.io 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I'm a little surprised to see it in Australia. I thought they used the metric system... Are they being Americanized?

[–] Lux@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 3 weeks ago

If you say "21 to 96 tonnes", that seems like a lot. If you say "30 rhinos", thats something that you don't want to be in front of

[–] Voyajer@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

Ameristralia moment

[–] princessnorah@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 3 weeks ago

What an odd comment 🤔

[–] jaybone@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

How many Olympic swimming pools filled with jello is that?

[–] ArcaneGadget@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago

Damnit! Now you made me curious...

Alright! Here goes:

An Olympic pool is 50x25m and a minimum of 2m deep, 3m are recommended for multi-discipline pools. That's a minimum of 2.500m³ or 2.500.000L for the smallest pool and 3.750.000L for the recommended one.

According to WolframAlpha Jell-O has a density of 1.141g/L. That's 2.852,5T of Jell-O for the 2m pool and 4.278,75T for the 3m one.

According to Wikipedia; a rhino weighs anywhere from 21 to 96 tonnes depending on species and gender.

Assuming the 2m deep pool: That's between 0,0072 and 0,0337 Olympic pools of Jell-O. For the 3m one it's between 0,0049 and 0,0224 pools.

[–] LordAmplifier@pawb.social 2 points 3 weeks ago

It depends! Rhinos vary a lot in size and weight across species. A Sumatran rhino can weigh as "little" as 700 kg, an Indian rhino as much as 3,200 kg. It also depends on the specific Olympic-size pool you're talking about because they have a minimum depth of 2 m, but 3 m is recommended for multi-discipline use. The density of jello depends on the amount of sugar and gelatine in it, but Wolfram Alpha lists it as 1,141 grams per litre.

Thirty Sumatran rhinos would weigh 30*700 kg = 21,000 kg, and thirty Indian ones 30*3,200 kg = 96,000 kg. At a jello density of 1.141 kg per litre, that's 21,000 kg / 1.141 kg/l = ~18,405 litres of jello (~84,137 for the big ones). At their minimum depth of 2 m, 50 m length, and 25 m width, Olympic-sized pools hold 2,500,000 litres of water. 18,405 l / 2,500,000 l = 0.007362, or about 0.74% (0.03365, or 3.37%, for the big rhinos).

So, 30 grown rhinos are as heavy as 0.74% to 3.37% of an Olympic-sized swimming pool filled with jello.

This photo was taken in the state of Victoria in Australia. I checked out a few of trams in Melbourne, and one of their lightest models is the Z-class, which weighs 19,000 kg, and one of the heaviest is the E-class at 62,000 kg. The phrasing "as much as" and the lack of a specific rhino species makes this poster a little ambiguous because there's a wide range of possible weights, but technically, they aren't lying.

[–] princessnorah@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I think this is okay to post in this comm, but let me know if not 💜

[–] Sasha@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

They wrap the trams in it! So I'd think it's perfectly fitting.

[–] Sasha@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 3 weeks ago

And that's why we call trams rhinos now, I'm wondering if the hippo for buses will catch on next?

[–] pedz@lemmy.ca 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Huh, I've seen a French version of this while passing in Liège, Belgium. Ironically I'm pretty sure it's still in construction and don't have trams running in their streets yet.

[–] princessnorah@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 3 weeks ago

If they're up to the stage of construction where they are (or are about to) test the trams on the line, then it's probably very pertinent to educate other road users.

[–] MightyCuriosity@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 weeks ago