MOTnews 42 (21/02/2003)

BAKER'S OVENS WEBSITE

Our previous MOT news brought in a big enthusiastic response. Many owners of baker"s ovens, oven locations, bakery restorers, etc. have already been reported to us. The first reports have already been incorporated and we are now proud to announce the "birth" of the first version of the baker"s oven site. Visit www.mot.be/bakehouses and see the result.

TRUE OR FALSE

You certainly remember the brightly coloured rubber bouncing balls you used as a child to create havoc on the playground. Many windows succumbed to them and even today rubber bouncing balls are still a revered toy.

Rubber bouncing balls first appeared on playgrounds in the twentieth century.

ANSWER to TRUE or FALSE in MOT-news 41 (17/01/2003)

The initials W.C. stand for Sir William Constables, the name of the noble who came out with this famous invention in the 16th century.

FALSE

The term W.C. stands for "Water Closet". It is not the name of the inventor, but the room containing the toilet with a water seal. This water seal put an end to the inconvenience of chamber pots and other earlier forms of toilets.

It was a certain Sir John Harington, the godson of the English Queen Elizabeth I, who published a treatise in 1597 describing the watercloset with drawings.

The water seal is an efficient way of trapping the odour from the toilet.

A certain quantity of water always stays in the toilet outlet, which prevents the smell from the sewer or cesspit below rising up into the room; in other words, it is a real water seal.

The odour trap system is now found in all toilets and basins. The outlet from the toilet or basin has an S shaped tube (a siphon) which always contains a certain quantity of water which makes the return of the odour impossible.

Only at the end of the 18th century did the water seal become more popular and, when sewage facilities were improved in the 19th century, the toilet as we know it today - fortunately - come into general use.

SAY WHAT?

In this MOT-news item we try to explain proverbs and sayings that have their roots in our technical history. Similar proverbs are found in different languages, but each language has it"s own typical sayings. Therefore we do not translate this item in English.

KIDS news: something to tell your kids this evening

MOT AFTERNOONS

If you have not yet registered for our exciting MOT afternoons, here is your chance to do so. There are still a few places available for the March series.

The MOT afternoons are held every Wednesday afternoon at Guldendal 20, 1850 Grimbergen. We start at 1:30 p.m. and say goodbye to all participants at 4 p.m. One afternoon costs EUR 2.50.

The programme is as follows:

• Wednesday 12 March: clog painting
• Wednesday 19 March: making candles
• Wednesday 26 March: decorating flowerpots