Things that make you think "WTF??"

Quote: Nareed

Yesterday evening a coworker attempted to check the balance on his debit card at the ATM. after inserting the card, typing the PIN and selecting "balance," the machine replied "Error: card does not exist."

A year ago, was at my ATM, withdrew cash, see a receipt, I check the balance, WTF, all my money is gone. I freak.
I'm thinking my account got hacked. I pay bills online through my bank account so I thought I was vulnerable.
I rush home, sign onto my account, whew, its all there.
Look at the ATM receipt, its from the person that used the ATM before me. LoL

Quote: terapined

A year ago, was at my ATM, withdrew cash, see a receipt, I check the balance, WTF, all my money is gone. I freak.
I'm thinking my account got hacked. I pay bills online through my bank account so I thought I was vulnerable.
I rush home, sign onto my account, whew, its all there.
Look at the ATM receipt, its from the person that used the ATM before me. LoL

I most commonly get those short moments of alarm when I forget I parked my car in a different place. Last a couple seconds.

One time I owned a blue French car. Back then you opened the driver's door with a key, physically inserted in a lock.

One day, after visiting a friend, I walked to where I'd parked, placed the key in the lock, opened the door and got in. As I sat down I became aware that this was not my car. for one thing it had a stick shift, for another the interior fabric was beige rather than gray.

I got out, closed the door and locked it with the key (that car did not allow you to lock from the inside). And wouldn't you know it, my car was behind this one. Both were blue.

What struck me as terribly odd was the key worked for both locks.

Quote: Nareed

What struck me as terribly odd was the key worked for both locks.

I had a minor accident and had to replace the door on my RV Camper that I tow behind my car.
The RV repair place replaced the door.
I go to pick up my RV, ask for a new key for my new door, they told me the old key will still work. WTF.

Quote: Nareed

What struck me as terribly odd was the key worked for both locks.

It may not be as odd as it first appears. You say "back then". So what, '90? Before that?

Pre-computer age, parts were made by press and stamp. Cheap, efficient, but not very precise. The tolerances were just too great. So the little amount a tumbler could move only allowed for 4 or 5 different "stops".

A lock is also a small device, so you can only fit a few tumblers inside one. 4 or 5 tumblers with 4 or 5 stops, do the math (Seriously, do it. It's above my abilities). What you're left with is a lock that can only manage a few thousand or a few tens of thousand combinations.

The lock on your Fiat is the same lock in the Strada, and the 175, and 500, and the Panda, and the... you get the idea. Every Fiat has the same lock. So those 10,000 combinations are spread over, what, 2,000,000 cars per year? There's gonna be some repeats. A lot of them.

It was common, especially pre-80, for large dealerships to run into this problem. A blue Ford van needs a repair, the monkey goes and gets the van, does the repair, and lo! is was the OTHER blue van that needed the fix. But since the key fit...

Nowadays, the materials and computers allow for much finer tolerances. I think GM now boasts 1.5mm different lock combos, making these "master key" situations much less likely. Add in the radio transponders that some of them have now, and they're truly unique. Of course, lose that key and you'll be paying $2k to have it replaced, but hey! At least you're not driving off in someone else's Mondeo anymore =p

Quote: Face

It may not be as odd as it first appears. You say "back then". So what, '90? Before that?

I'd rather not say. But it was before '90.

Quote:

Pre-computer age, parts were made by press and stamp. Cheap, efficient, but not very precise. The tolerances were just too great. So the little amount a tumbler could move only allowed for 4 or 5 different "stops".

Sure, I get it. And even this French manufacturer made millions of cars every year. But it just seems the odds of a key being able to work a randomly chosen other car should be small even then. If not, then perhaps a thief could steal one set of keys, and use that to open a few cars per week.

Quote: Nareed

But yesterday as I was getting into my car for the drive home, I suddenly noticed four rather long, thin red lines running from a bit above the wrist to the knuckle of my index finger. I don't recall scratching there, or brushing against a rough wall, nor falling down or anything else that would explain it.

Upon further examination, the scratches match the position of my finger nails. Or in CSI parlance, they are "consistent" with the position my nails would have if I had scratched the back of my hand.

I have to conclude it was me.

I still don't recall scratching there at all, though. Perhaps it happened while I was asleep? Is it even possible?

Quote: Nareed

Perhaps it happened while I was asleep? Is it even possible?

Of course it is. And it has provided hilarity to young boys since time beyond reckoning.

Quote: Face

4 or 5 tumblers with 4 or 5 stops, do the math (Seriously, do it. It's above my abilities).

It's not that tricky.
T ^ S = L
Tumblers ^ Stops = Lock combinations


I used to own a 2003 Ford Windstar, with the digital key lock on the door. I.E. There were five buttons, each button having two numbers. And it was a five 'digit' combination. 10 ^ 5 = 100,000 combinations, right?

Wrong. Although the buttons had two numbers each, there was no way to differentiate between the two numbers on the button. So five 5 number pairs is 5 ^ 5 = 3,125. Just a little bit shy of the 100,000 combinations the salesman suggested.

So I just got an email from HR directed at the whole company saying that "the use of cell phones, either personal or company-issued, is forbidden within company offices or installations during the workday."

I can't wait for the next time one of the owners call me and I can't answer. "I'm sorry, but it's your own cockamamie policy, boss!" :)