# This is weird...



## Ashful (Mar 10, 2014)

So, in filling out some paperwork, we just realized both my kids were born on a Friday, and so was my wife.

Then we looked at my birth date, and found I was born on a Sunday.  So was my only sibling, and my mother.

Statistically, this is impressive.  I wonder how often this happens, that all kids in a family / generation are born on the same day of the week as their mother.

_edit:  I'm no statistician, but I think the likelihood of this happening is (1/7)^3 = 0.29% in one generation.  Two generations all on the same day would be the square of that, but I think two generations each on their own day is only 1/2 that._


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## woodgeek (Mar 10, 2014)

The real question is how many questions like that can you ask?  Ask enough of them and one will have a weird answer! 

both of my kids were born on the same day of the year, 3 years (and 6 time zones) apart.


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## razerface (Mar 10, 2014)

My son and I were born on the same day of the year.

Red Skelton was born on that same day too,,,,I went to the worlds fair in 1964 with mom & dad,,where they had a machine. You entered your birthday and it spit out what famous people were also born on that day.


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## firefighterjake (Mar 10, 2014)

I was born . . . it was on a day of the week. I am pretty sure many other babies were born that same day . . . and I think some folks may have also died on that day. Strange, huh?


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## Ashful (Mar 10, 2014)

razerface said:


> My son and I were born on the same day of the year. Red Skelton was born on that same day too,,,,


So were one in seven famous people.  

I think my original math was flawed, in that it's 0.29% likely that all three were born on a given day (say Sunday).  However, given that you don't care what actual day the first was born on, it's actually just (1/7)^2 = 2% likley.  Still, highly unlikely... esp. two generations in a row...



firefighterjake said:


> I was born . . . it was on a day of the week. I am pretty sure many other babies were born that same day . . . and I think some folks may have also died on that day. Strange, huh?


Okay, wiseguy... but were you born on the same day as your mother and sibling(s)?


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## fossil (Mar 10, 2014)

Z-z-z-z-z-z-z


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## Ashful (Mar 10, 2014)

I see you are not easily impressed...


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## johneh (Mar 10, 2014)

Ok so you were all born nothing spectacular about that or was there
But try this one  My Mother died 01/01/01 
                          My Father died 02/02/02 
boy did we watch 03/03/03


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## firefighterjake (Mar 10, 2014)

Joful said:


> So were one in seven famous people.
> 
> I think my original math was flawed, in that it's 0.29% likely that all three were born on a given day (say Sunday).  However, given that you don't care what actual day the first was born on, it's actually just (1/7)^2 = 2% likley.  Still, highly unlikely... esp. two generations in a row...
> 
> ...


 

Nope . . . that would have made my mother my sister and my siblings would have been triplets if we were born on the same day. As for being born on the same day of the week . . . no idea. I just remember being happy to be born and get out of the womb.


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## guy01 (Mar 10, 2014)

firefighterjake said:


> Nope . . . that would have made my mother my sister and my siblings would have been triplets if we were born on the same day. As for being born on the same day of the week . . . no idea. I just remember being happy to be born and get out of the womb.


 Wow you have a very impresive memory!


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## Adios Pantalones (Mar 10, 2014)

The chances are 1/7 ^2, since the first date is fixed. The chance that the second would be born on the same day as the first, is one in seven. Therefore the chances of the third is one in seven squared. two point something percent.


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## Ashful (Mar 10, 2014)

Adios Pantalones said:


> The chances are 1/7 ^2, since the first date is fixed. The chance that the second would be born on the same day as the first, is one in seven. Therefore the chances of the third is one in seven squared. two point something percent.


Yep... already corrected myself in post #5.  That's per generation.  Then to have it repeat in two consecutive generations... very unlikely.


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## Adios Pantalones (Mar 10, 2014)

Yeah, I don't read so good.


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## Adios Pantalones (Mar 10, 2014)

Joful said:


> Yep... already corrected myself in post #5.  That's per generation.  Then to have it repeat in two consecutive generations... very unlikely.


I believe that the chance it would happen in two generations is one in 49. Is that right?


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## woodgeek (Mar 10, 2014)

The two generation case (on different days) is at least 1/7^4 = 4x10-4.  For every person in each group that does not have that birth condition, (like your father and you versus your mother and wife) you should increase the odds by 2 or 4 (if it had been your father rather than your mother, it would be just as weird).  That gets you to 1 in 500 or 1000.


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## hossthehermit (Mar 10, 2014)

I was born at night ............ it was dark ......................... couldn't see the calendar, so didn't know what year, month, day it was.................................... snowin' out and wicked cold ........................ figgered it prob'ly weren't August ..........................


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## Adios Pantalones (Mar 10, 2014)

This is as much as philosophical as it is mathematical. If the condition of the first group is predicted, then the odds are worse. If they are not, then it is a similar case to a second child being born on the same day as the first generational person. That was 1/7, not 1/49. However, the chances of a given family having two sets that follow this pattern are clearly much smaller than one in 49.


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## Warm_in_NH (Mar 10, 2014)

You had to know it was coming....


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## BrotherBart (Mar 10, 2014)

If a train leaves Salt Lake City and a train leaves Atlanta...


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## tigger (Mar 10, 2014)

I joined a golf club and was assigned member number 408.....3 months later my son is born at 4:08 in the morning. Every time I order a beer after a round I think of that morning! I'm taking that picture drinking a beer in an Adirondack chair.....think life is great


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## bmblank (Mar 10, 2014)

Does anybody else reading this thread find that being an engineer ruins a lot of movies?


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## firefighterjake (Mar 10, 2014)

BrotherBart said:


> If a train leaves Salt Lake City and a train leaves Atlanta...




Are these freight trains or passenger trains?


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## fossil (Mar 10, 2014)

Crude oil.  How long until they're both derailed?  Show your work.  Neatness counts.


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## bmblank (Mar 10, 2014)

It depends on how many marshmallows you can fit in a doghouse.


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## ironpony (Mar 10, 2014)

Lets see, Joful is an engineer so he might be driving one of the trains, probably passenger. If I remember correctly from a post in another thread Joful referred to himself as ' a semi intelligent engineer, hence he is easily amused.

I actually find number coincidences like this very interesting. I am off to look up all the days of our family  and see if there is anything interesting. off the top of my head though son daughter dad 7, 14, 21 day of the month. I'll be back shortly.


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## ironpony (Mar 10, 2014)

did some checking NADA.............


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## Ashful (Mar 10, 2014)

ironpony said:


> Joful referred to himself as ' a semi intelligent engineer, hence he is easily amused.


Too wet to go out in the woods, just loaded the last stick of my 2013/2014 wood into the stove last night.  Too cold to start tearing open the next round of windows that need rebuilding on this old house.  Yeah, I'm bored.

I did get to re-handle an old axe this evening.


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## ironpony (Mar 11, 2014)

Joful said:


> Too wet to go out in the woods, just loaded the last stick of my 2013/2014 wood into the stove last night.  Too cold to start tearing open the next round of windows that need rebuilding on this old house.  Yeah, I'm bored.
> 
> *I did get to re-handle an old axe this evening.[/*quote]
> 
> ...


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## yooperdave (Mar 11, 2014)

Now, if this thread was posted a month or two earlier, I would have accused the OP of being a bit "shack happy"!  But since the thaw is started in the lower states, well.....


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## Ashful (Mar 11, 2014)

yooperdave said:


> Now, if this thread was posted a month or two earlier, I would have accused the OP of being a bit "shack happy"!  But since the thaw is started in the lower states, well.....


My lawn is still about 50% covered in snow.  The 50% that's exposed is too wet to even walk on.  Flooding everywhere.

If it were a month or two earlier, I'd be out in the woods cutting on firmly frozen ground.


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## Ashful (Mar 11, 2014)

ironpony said:


> Sounds like a simple task to most, stick in handle and drive in wedge, haha. It take a lot of time and skill to fit it properly...


I learned to re-handle hammers and axes from my grandpa, about 30 years ago, but now I'm debating my technique.  After fitting the handle (test, look for rub, draw knife or rasp as needed, re-fit, look for rub... repeat), I would always mark a cut line flush with the top of the head, remove the head, cut the handle, re-install the head, cut the wood wedge to match the length of the eye, pound that in, and then install two serrated metal wedges either perpendicular or at an angle to the wooden wedge.  Always worked pretty well, as I suspect it has for more than 200 years.

However, I recently saw a few instructionals on guys promoting the idea of leaving the handle protrude 1/8" - 1/4" up past the head, for better holding.  So, I gave this a try, and also decided to smear some Titebond II wood glue on the wood wedge before pounding it in, as it helps lube the wood and will also help keep it when the glue cures.  All good.  However, when I pounded in the metal serrated wedges perpendicular to the wooden wedge, they caused some splitting of this protruding 3/16" stub of handle above the head.  Not a big deal (doesn't affect the important parts of the handle), but it makes me wonder if these steel serrated keeper wedges are even necessary, particularly if gluing the wooden wedge.  I saw one gub'ment published article stating they are not in the preferred plan.

When I used to cut the handle flush to the top of the head, I never even noticed this / was always happy using the steel wedges to keep the wood one in place.


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## razerface (Mar 11, 2014)

i would think it only split the wood because it was above the steel,,,uncontained. It probably does the same job down lower. I also use the steel wedges. I cut my handles off flush because i think it looks better. I have even cut them a hair short, then poured different stuff (over the years) on top to seal the end and look nice.

(only on thursdays that fall on the 5th day of the week)


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## ironpony (Mar 11, 2014)

I have always left the handle a little "proud" and installed a wooden wedge only. After it is cured then sand to slightly "proud". Theory behind this is when sticking out and driving in the wedge it allows the wood to mushroom on top of the head, has someplace to move to being it is not contained in the head.
Has worked for me.


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## razerface (Mar 11, 2014)

ironpony said:


> I have always left the handle a little "proud" and installed a wooden wedge only. After it is cured then sand to slightly "proud". Theory behind this is when sticking out and driving in the wedge it allows the wood to mushroom on top of the head, has someplace to move to being it is not contained in the head.
> Has worked for me.


usually the head opening (on mine) is flared to allow spreading inside


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## Ashful (Mar 11, 2014)

Time to rename this thread:  "This is weird... handling an axe."


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## begreen (Mar 12, 2014)

Better to call the thread cabin fever part 3.


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## Ashful (Mar 12, 2014)

Got a call from a neighbor looking to sell some rounds.  I told him I'd take 3 - 6 cords, depending on what he has, if he can cut to 20" lengths.  I might be getting busy, sooner than I thought.

More importantly, seeing as my previously figured budget of 5.5 cords per year was WAY low, I might be able to stack this new stuff for 2015/2016, and pull some of the wood I had already split and stacked for that season forward for next year.  New budget = 8 cords per year.


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## razerface (Mar 12, 2014)

_New budget = 8 cords per year._

even with your planned improvements and taking into account the hard winter?


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## bmblank (Mar 12, 2014)

5.5 to 8 seems like a huge increase. I knew it was a rough winter, but was it really 45% worse?


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## Ashful (Mar 12, 2014)

bmblank said:


> 5.5 to 8 seems like a huge increase. I knew it was a rough winter, but was it really 45% worse?


Well, it was worse, but irrelevant.  It would take me a lot more than 8 cords of wood to heat this joint 100% with wood, but I figure that's about as much as I can (sanely) process and load per average year.  Last year I ran out of wood in the first week of March, having one stove running all year, and the second stove coming online in January.  This year I had both stoves running from late October, but realized as early as Christmas that I was running out of wood very fast.  I went back down to one stove, and still ran out in February.

So, in reality, I could probably burn 12 - 15 cords per year, trying to heat this place.  I just don't see myself as having the energy to do that.  I'll try 8 cords the next year or three, and see how I manage keeping up with that.  I've always felled, limbed, bucked, split, stacked all my own wood.  This year I'm looking at buying some rounds or logs, to offset the extra time.


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## Lake Girl (Mar 12, 2014)

Joful - you got to get out of the house and drive that train more 

As to birthdate oddities -  when working on the family history, my Mom's way of remembering the date of death of her paternal grandparents was easy - my birthday and hers, approximately two weeks apart in the same year - remembering the year was a different story!  They were long gone before my Mom's time; her father was 18, second oldest with the baby being 2.  Hard times but they hung in there.  Found their Irish origins but the older records are gone - wrong faith at the wrong time.  The house still stands and when I last checked still had Breens residing there in County Clare

Then there is my middle boy - His Gram told him he had to be born the next day because he would then have the same birthday as her Mom.  Since he's a good boy, he listened to his Gram

Checked my kids - only one born on the same day of the week as me....


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## Backwoods Savage (Mar 13, 2014)

Another one. Birthday time. Mine, my wife's and her mother's all on the same day. In addition, I know of 4 other people born on that same date.


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## Ashful (Mar 13, 2014)

Backwoods Savage said:


> Another one. Birthday time. Mine, my wife's and her mother's all on the same day. In addition, I know of 4 other people born on that same date.


This date wouldn't be precisely 40 weeks after New Years Eve or St. Patty's Day, would it?


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## Backwoods Savage (Mar 13, 2014)

No, but does point to a winter conception.


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## Ehouse (Mar 13, 2014)

Joful said:


> I learned to re-handle hammers and axes from my grandpa, about 30 years ago, but now I'm debating my technique.  After fitting the handle (test, look for rub, draw knife or rasp as needed, re-fit, look for rub... repeat), I would always mark a cut line flush with the top of the head, remove the head, cut the handle, re-install the head, cut the wood wedge to match the length of the eye, pound that in, and then install two serrated metal wedges either perpendicular or at an angle to the wooden wedge.  Always worked pretty well, as I suspect it has for more than 200 years.
> 
> However, I recently saw a few instructionals on guys promoting the idea of leaving the handle protrude 1/8" - 1/4" up past the head, for better holding.  So, I gave this a try, and also decided to smear some Titebond II wood glue on the wood wedge before pounding it in, as it helps lube the wood and will also help keep it when the glue cures.  All good.  However, when I pounded in the metal serrated wedges perpendicular to the wooden wedge, they caused some splitting of this protruding 3/16" stub of handle above the head.  Not a big deal (doesn't affect the important parts of the handle), but it makes me wonder if these steel serrated keeper wedges are even necessary, particularly if gluing the wooden wedge.  I saw one gub'ment published article stating they are not in the preferred plan.
> 
> When I used to cut the handle flush to the top of the head, I never even noticed this / was always happy using the steel wedges to keep the wood one in place.




All us Gandydancers hung our mauls as you mentioned above leaving a little sticking out, as per Ironpony's reasoning below.  we used one large steel wedge at 45 slant to the wood wedge and countersunk it with the head of a spike.  This kept it from working loose.


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