Hand Crank Research Articles

Truck Drivers' Language

F YOU OVERHEAR a conversation between two or more people who talk of 'dangling in Mexican overdrive while the tattletale indicates all is well' or 'bobtailing into town,' you can be sure that you are listening to professional truck drivers. Some of the words and terms of the trucking industry have been carried over from earlier days of teamsters and steamboat men, but many have been invented by present-day drivers. The flavor of teamster and steamboat men is seen in twin screws and rig. In trucking, twin screws mean that there are two sets of rear wheels that are powered, and a rig is a truck or combination made up of a tractor, semitrailer, trailer, or other rolling equipment. Jimmie screamer, though, is a product of recent times and is used when speaking about a diesel-powered truck that emits a high whining sound. From Seattle to Boston and from San Diego to Miami, truck drivers use many words and terms that are standard for the industry, but other words and terms are in the process of being accepted or rejected. The American Trucking Associations, Inc., suggests that creeper gear is the lowest gear or combination of gears on a truck and that a truck being operated in this gear is down in the corner, but thirteen of thirty-two drivers disagree and say that grandma is the lowest gear or combination of gears and that a truck operating in the lowest gear or combination of gears is simply in grandma. This paper has been prepared from information furnished by the American Trucking Associations, Inc., Washington, D.C., and by thirty-two drivers from the following cities: Kansas City (4); San Francisco (4); San Diego (3); Denver (4); Dallas (3); Chicago (I); Minneapolis (2); Houston (i); Atlanta (2); Miami (2); New Haven (2); Wheeling (i); Johnson, Rhode Island (z); and Charleston, South Carolina (i). These are the words and terms most widely used: ARMSTRONG STARTER, n. A hand crank. BALLOON FREIGHT; FLUFF; RIDIN' LIGHT, n. Light, bulky cargo. BIBLE, n. The rule book. BODY, n. A semitrailer. BULL HAULER, n. One who hauls livestock. BUTTON HER UP, v. phr. To tie down a load. CACKLE CRATE, n. A truck hauling live poultry. COWBOY, n. A reckless driver. DOLLY, n. A retractable support for a semitrailer when it is not connected to a tractor. DROP IT ON ITS NOSE, v. phr. To drive a tractor away from a semitrailer before lowering the dolly.

Hand-operated barium pump assembly for examination of the colon.

The pump shown in Figures 1 and 2 is used in double-contrast studies of the colon as a booster for thick barium. The pump itself consists of a hand crank (A) and rubber blades on a steel shaft (B) that rotate in a plastic cavity (C). The plastic cavity has an inlet (D) and outlet (E), with rubber tubing connections. The cavity is closed by a screw-type plastic cap (F) sealed by a rubber ring gasket. On one surface of the plastic cavity there is a raised flat area. When a blade passes over this raised area it is bent backward, increasing the space between it and the blade ahead. Increasing the space between the blades creates a suction filling the space with barium. The backward bent blade decreases the space between the bent blade and the one following, forcing the barium through the outlet. This pump has several desirable features. It is easily taken apart for cleaning. The flow of barium is controlled by the rate of rotation, and stopping the pump stops the flow. This is extremely important, for the quality of the air-contrast study is largely dependent upon introducing an exact amount of barium. The pump does not build up a back pressure against resistance to the flow such as might be encountered in bowel obstruction, or produced by a kinking in the rubber tubing or by other causes. A minimal resistance to the flow results in a bending of all the rubber blades with no flow, making the pump completely safe. Combined Pump adnd Enema Can Standard Bracket The barium pump described above is conveniently operated when fixed by a bracket to the left-hand side of the x-ray table footboard. It is also desirable to suspend the enema can from the footboard (Fig. 1). Therefore, a combined pump and enema can bracket was designed which fits all makes of x-ray tables. The bracket is mounted permanently to the footboard, but the pump and standard can be removed when not in use. The bracket does not interfere in any way with the operation of the table. The combined pump and enema can standard bracket consists of a 3/8-inch thin-wall tubing (I) (Fig. 2), with a thin metal band welded to the ends. The bands curve around the footboard and tighten behind it with a turnbuckle. Also welded to the tube is a metal slot (G) of such size as to accommodate exactly the insertion of a metal plate (H). This plate is bolted to the pump; inserting the plate into the slot fixes the pump to the permanently mounted bracket. Attaching and removing the pump can be accomplished in a matter of seconds. A 3/8-inch metal rod enema standard (K) was designed to be inserted in the tube of the mounting bracket. This standard is usable for the conventional barium enema examination as well as the double-contrast study with thick barium. At Low-Pressure Check Valve The T low-pressure check valve (Fig. 3) is an added convenience.