No Sleeping on the Job
Science brain teasers require understanding of the physical or biological world and the laws that govern it.
In a small metal fabricating shop two men were welding aluminum brackets when both men felt dizzy and collapsed before they could get out of the shop. A foreman bringing his truck in to be fixed at that moment opened a bay door and drove in. Seeing the men on the floor he jumped out and called for help. By the time paramedics got there the men were fine again. The foreman thinking the men were just fooling around ordered them back to work. He was considering firing them until he saw them weld after the incident. The welds were all black and uneven looking (proper aluminum welds never look this way). Then he realized what had happened and apologized to the men.
What happened?
HintWhen welding aluminum an inert, colorless, odorless gas called Argon is used to keep air (oxygen) from oxidizing the welds.
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Answer
The welders had a leaky valve on one tank and passed out when the Argon displaced all the oxygen in the small room they were welding in. The foreman opened the large bay door letting oxygen back in the room and revived the men. The foreman didn't realize the tank had leaked until after he saw the bad welds and realized the tank was empty. Then he knew what had happened.
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Comments
jimbo   
Apr 28, 2003
| I didn't quite solve this one. I thought it had to do with some kind of gas but I was thinking electric arc welding and some reaction between aluminium and welding rods. Good one. |
Pheonix_down
May 24, 2003
| Urg, I hate science |
gander  
Jul 18, 2004
| Being a part time welder, this was easy. And is always a concern when welding in a closed area  |
silly_goose
Jun 25, 2005
| Makes me think...my friend is a welder...I hope he's careful!! |
kibber
Sep 19, 2005
| TERRIBLE TEASER
way too many things have to be assumed (BAD) and you also have to be a welder to know this, which at last count, not many people are. i have a PhD in anthropology, and could ask some insanely difficult questions in the form of teaser and no one would get them right. is that fun? i didn't think so....so why do you do it? |
Warrior_Poet
Jan 19, 2006
| I'm not a welder and I knew it. Maybe anthropology majors are just morons. |
Warrior_Poet
Jan 19, 2006
| OD-1 don't worry about him he's just here to try and bring others down so he feels better. Good teaser man. |
bookworm91
Nov 11, 2007
| Nice teaser. I had no idea, but it was fun anyway.  |
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