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Things Fitting Perfectly Into Other Things: a celebration of kentucky

Cory Doctorow at 4:18 pm Wed, Feb 6, 2013

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The ThingsFittingPerfectlyIntoOtherThings Tumblr is a celebration of the phenomenon of kentucky in all its glory.

Things Fitting Perfectly Into Other Things (Thanks, Fipi Lele!)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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  • niktemadur

    Double whammy, it’s also Things On Top Of Other Things!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ixeRWrg0yg

    • timquinn

      By god, I believe that last bit was on film!

      • niktemadur

         We’ll have to tunnel our way out then.  Carry on, Sargent Major!

  • http://twitter.com/leftnotracks Scott Falkner

    We need a new Tumblr of rejected images of other people’s dicks.

  • MonkeyBoy

    Back when my son and I were making water rockets and things like spud-guns a lot of the shared “secrets” had to do with which common trash or plumbing fixtures were perfect fits.

    For example, In our distribution area the PET soda bottles used by Pepsi and Coke bottled brands were of slightly different diameters and if one fit inside the other then you could cut off parts and easily and strongly splice them together.

  • http://twitter.com/machinestate Who F. Cares

    Good stuff!  My worst kind of fidgeting by far is putting stuff inside other stuff.

  • moth rock

    a blogger is you!

  • http://twitter.com/meanidea len

    This is OCD porn.

  • http://illustratorhints.com/ Jesseham

    Oddly, right after I read this, a plastic cup of the perfect diameter slipped right down inside my garbage disposal.  Took 2 pair of needle-nose pliers, a butter knife and 10 minutes to weasel it back out of there.  
    I was too busy cursing to take a picture.

    • awjt

      Shred ‘n forget?

  • http://twitter.com/dryfoo G.L. Dryfoos

    Didn’t even have to look up “kentucky”.  Some words, like “lowther” and “gweek” are just too necessary to every lose.

  • kringlebertfistyebuns

    The only “kentucky” thing I ever concern myself with is bourbon.  I’m not sure how I feel about this newfangled business.

    • Ipo

       You drink it neat?  How fitting. 

      • robotnik

        So good!

  • PathosBill

    Where are the pics of your mom?!

    Seriously though, I’d never heard the term before despite being a obsessive kentucky-er (?). Now I feel whole. Thanks!

    • Luther Blissett

      Your thanks go to Mr. Douglas Noel Adams (1952-2001), and Mr. John Hardress Wilfred Lloyd. Douglas, we miss you.

      I can do pathos too, see? But then, I _really_ miss him. What a loss. I’d love to see him comment on… whatever he want’s to comment on.
      Ah, and because this can’t be posted to often: http://youtu.be/_ZG8HBuDjgc

  • http://artdonovan.typepad.com Art

    Daves’ Gourmet and the Drum Stick- 
    It doesn’t count.  It’s a simple force fit. 
    You can fit a drum stick into most anything. 
    Believe me. 
    People do it.

    • dculberson

       NO

  • showme

    I didn’t see the picture of a peener and a vajayjay.

  • fnc

    Just look at that kentuckied banana.

    http://i.imgur.com/lkwiD.jpg

    Yes, verbed.

  • Atomic Cow

    Seems kinda obvious that designers work with integer sizing, whether English or Metric.  Bound to end up with matching sizes.

    • MonkeyBoy

       Not really when you find something with an outside diameter that fits perfectly in the inside diameter of something else. The wall thickness is usually determined from strength needs, not being a nice even number.

      Also you have the case of shifting standards – for example a modern 2″ x 4″ is supposedly made out of stronger wood and while smaller is  just as strong as an old fashioned full size one.

      Just Look at these measurements of standard sched 40 1/2″ PVC pipe (different strengths have the same Outside Diameter (OD))

      OD:  .840″ (~7/8″, 21.336mm),  ID: .622″, Wall Thicknes: .109.

      The only way to make sense of these numbers would involve their history.

      Container dimensions are also partially constrained by shipping concerns. If you are going to manufacture PET soda bottles, then their diameter may be constrained so that they and stuff that packages them together can make maximal use of some standard size pallet.