Why are manhole covers round?
 

Please discuss.

so the manhole cover doesn't fall in the manhole

if it was squared or rectangle it could fall down there, imagine the shit people could do.

Um... Because manholes are round?

wrong.
try again.

you're too smart to play this game :Graucho

1. So they won't fall through the hole
2. So they will roll

1. is incorrect.
2. is one good reason . . .

Manholes, which interconnect underground sewerage pipes, and serve as a point of entry for cleaning the pipes, are located at every major sewer pipe junction, and are capped with round manhole covers. The reason for the circular construction of these covers is, quite simply, that covers of any other shape would fall through the manholes by virtue of their varying diameters. Circular manhole covers do not vary in width, or in diameter, as is the case with these other shapes, thus remaining in place despite the street traffic running roughshod over them.

Manufacturers craft the manhole covers together with the smaller sized lip, upon which they rest, at the same time to ensure a tightly sealed fit. Additionally, the manufacture of circular manhole covers is easier and more accurate than the manufacture of covers of any other shape. Lastly, round manhole covers, once removed, require less lifting and less manpower, as their shape allows them to be rolled.

also, Round covers can cover holes no matter how they are oriented vis-à-vis the hole.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&i...oogle+Searc h

http://web.ask.com/web?q=Why+are+man...%3F&o=0&qsrc=0

Why think, when you have the internet?
http://www.nikora.com/puzzles/WhyAre...oversRound.htm

So they don't fall in!

Manholes, which interconnect underground sewerage pipes, and serve as a point of entry for cleaning the pipes, are located at every major sewer pipe junction, and are capped with round manhole covers. The reason for the circular construction of these covers is, quite simply, that covers of any other shape would fall through the manholes by virtue of their varying diameters. Circular manhole covers do not vary in width, or in diameter, as is the case with these other shapes, thus remaining in place despite the street traffic running roughshod over them.

Manufacturers craft the manhole covers together with the smaller sized lip, upon which they rest, at the same time to ensure a tightly sealed fit. Additionally, the manufacture of circular manhole covers is easier and more accurate than the manufacture of covers of any other shape. Lastly, round manhole covers, once removed, require less lifting and less manpower, as their shape allows them to be rolled.

EDIT: See, you got your answer form the same place I did, yet you told Dildozer that he was incorrect. I vote that he should be given the opportunity to beat you to a bloody pulp for it.

So Dildozer was essentially correct.

Now for the more important question: Who really gives a fuck?

Discuss.
:glugglug

Pay attention, I already copied and pasted that ; )

Pay attention. I already went back and edited it.

http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...s+a+fuck%3F%22

Couldn't find it. :(

I would have bet so the rather round laborers who need to go through them fit!

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---- = ground level


I got into this discussion about 2 weeks ago with an engineer. He was taught the same thing I quoted above about 20 years ago in school.

It's wrong.

So they can double as frisbees.

My bad, Truth. It seems that John was the idiot who told dildozer that he was incorrect, not you. My bad, I apologize.

that's a much better answer than the common one! :thumbsup

hahahahaha

you might want to look into this a little bit . . . before you start calling people names :Graucho

Let me re-phrase . . .

It is not correct to say that manhole covers are round because "it won't fall in the manhole".

carry on . . .

as long as the manhole cover diameter is greater than the man hole, it is impossible for the cover to fall thru the manhole.

Because the manhole is round silly.

:1orglaugh

Closest yet. It's so the teenage mutant ninja turtles have a ready supply of spare weapons. I thought everyone knew that!

:thumbsup

Is this prison lingo talk????

:1orglaugh

So why are pipes round? :Graucho

There is a sublime simplicity to anything round. I assume that for a variety of reasons, pipes, manholes, etc. are round due to this simplicity.

More specifically, I like the following reasons...

1.) It can't fall in because the diameter is the same everywhere.

2.) It is easy to replace a manhole cover, because you don't have to rotate the heavy cover, it fits at any orientation.

3.) Moving heavy things is easier if they can be rolled.

More cynically, I suspect they are round because someone made them round once, and then it was easier to keep doing it the same way. That's how most standards arise.

Standardization.
You and I think alike.

for strength.. Just as with an arched top, as opposed to a flat top..

They asked my friend that at Microsoft during his day-long interview... interesting.