Scandinavia and the World
Scandinavia and the World

Comments #9821985:


Tarmaque

665
Hangry computer 16 9, 4:15am

@Kvaseren That theory predates electronics. The original joke was in reference to Lucas electrical systems on cars and motorcycles as early as WWI. It goes as such:

How Electricals Work:

One recent afternoon while I was laboring in my workshop, a basic truth was revealed to me. I was a bit overwhelmed, so obvious and beautiful, as is the case with the fundamental principles controlling our universe. After years spent pondering their complexities, it was suddenly clear to me how motorcycle and automobile electrical circuits operate. It is the smoke that makes them work. Surely this is so. Each time the smoke escapes from a circuit, the devices connected to it stop working.

Of Course! Remember the last time smoke escaped from a Lucas voltage regulator? It immediately stopped functioning. The veils fell from my eyes as I marveled at this. The wiring harness carries smoke from one device to another. When the main circuit springs a leak, it lets the smoke out of everything all at once, then nothing functions. Since the generator does a lot of work, it requires a lot of smoke. That is why the wire to the generator is so thick.

Consider this well. Lucas electrics appear much more prone to leak than, for instance, Bosch. Why is this so? Aha! Lucas is British. All things British tend to leak. Convertible tops leak water, brake systems leak brake fluid, engine sumps leak oil. It is my experience that British tires leak air, and down through recorded history the British defense establishment has leaked secrets. So the natural order of things calls for British electrical systems to leak smoke more readily than those from other cultures.

It's all so very simple when a fundamental truth becomes clear.


The obvious corollary joke is,
"Why do the English like warm beer?"
"Because Lucas makes their refrigerators."