Background information
Why don't I put my fingers on the white walls
by Carolin Teufelberger
Mum, where is the rest of your family?
11.10.2018
Translation: machine translated
The nut belongs in every good household. It is the counterpart to the screw and ensures that it is bombproof. But where does it get its name from and does it have a father? The answer should have been clear to me long ago.
Lately I came across her again, the mother. Not the woman who gave birth to me, no, the counterpart to the screw. I met her in the bathroom. I was testing a toilet lid with shower function. To do this, I had to change my toilet attachment, which was held to the porcelain by a screw connection.
So while I was hanging under the toilet with a spanner, I asked myself for the umpteenth time why the nut is called what it is called. Is it perhaps because she holds the screw connection together like a mother holds a family together? But then where are the father and child? The answer is much simpler and more striking.
Father is found
Because the name is derived quite simply from biology. The father screw, nowadays just called the screw, is the part with the protruding cylindrical body, while the mother screw has a hole. Is it dawning on you yet? That's right, the male part is inserted into the female part. Makes sense, but my chaste, innocent thoughts didn't allow for such an interpretation until now.
The screw is no exception to this rule. In technology, it was and still is (sometimes) common to label things as male and female. Another example of this is cables. The male part is the one with the two or three pins attached, while the female part is the one with the holes.
The old prejudice has once again been confirmed. We humans can be as enlightened as we like and utilise the latest technology on a daily basis, but in the end it's all about sex - even when it comes to tool descriptions. <p
My life in a nutshell? On a quest to broaden my horizon. I love discovering and learning new skills and I see a chance to experience something new in everything – be it travelling, reading, cooking, movies or DIY.
Arts and crafts
Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest
Garden
Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest
Plants
Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest
2 comments
later