They really aren’t that heavy. When I was little, maybe 5 or 6, me and my best friend went to a construction site (excavators and cranes, so cool), snuck around on there during off hours (probably super dangerous, but here I am) and took some metal hooks, made from that metal grid stuff they use often in construction.
We then went and opened the actual manhole covers in my backyard with them, and even climbed down there (not that interesting, basically a few meters deep, with a small open sewage line running at the bottom).
Long story short, two pre school boys could open them by themselves in the 90s
Manhole covers are not heavy as fuck. They’re meant to be able to lift out. I’ve lifted far larger ones than this no problem.
This manhole cover is at most 30x30cm judging by OP’s foot, so weights at most a few kilos.
This is a small cover, probably covering a drain, not a hole to the centre of the earth. I have a few around the house. Cable tie, piece of string, lift it out no problem. You lift and slide it aside, it’s not going to fall in unless you’re a complete moron or drunk. If it does fall in, you pull it out, because it doesn’t weigh 100 kg.
If you’re worried that this would take your finger off, you’re the kind of person who should hire an electrician to change a light bulb.
Yes it is. In any rectangle, by definition the diagonal cross section will always be longer than the longest side. Therefore given that this is a relatively 2d shape in 3 dimensional space, it will be able to pass through the hole.
Depends. The cover is resting on the inside lip which prevents moisture getting in. Ie. this cover is actually significantly bigger than the hole it’s covering.
Eg. if this cover is 25x25, but it’s covering a hole which is less than 18x18 (c=25.5), it’ll be quite hard to drop the cover in.
I think you’re misunderstanding. Yes, it cannot fit in when it’s angled properly to fit into the hole. However, if you angle the plate 45 degrees and lift one end of the plate, it will fall into the diagonally. That’s why manholes are round shaped. There is no angle for a round cover to fall into the hole itself.
Don’t be lazy.
Get a cable tie or some tongs, pull it out, rotate it, done.
Less effort than it took to take this picture and post it on here.
easy peasy. just lift the 100 kilo chunk of iron with some tongs. /s
If that were an actual manhole you’d be right, but its obviously not.
They really aren’t that heavy. When I was little, maybe 5 or 6, me and my best friend went to a construction site (excavators and cranes, so cool), snuck around on there during off hours (probably super dangerous, but here I am) and took some metal hooks, made from that metal grid stuff they use often in construction.
We then went and opened the actual manhole covers in my backyard with them, and even climbed down there (not that interesting, basically a few meters deep, with a small open sewage line running at the bottom).
Long story short, two pre school boys could open them by themselves in the 90s
Because 10lb is so heavy
Plot twist: OP is actually the one who twisted this into the wrong orientation in the first place
There’s a risk that if you try to turn the square cover that the cover will fall into the hole. It’s really strange that it’s square and not round.
It’s not even slightly strange. These are incredibly common all across Europe and the world.
It’s a small cover, almost certainly to service the nearby drainpipe or perhaps for the water or gas connection to a house.
The chance of it falling in the hole is zero unless you’re trying to do it on purpose. Lift and slide, done.
And even if it does fall in, you can simply reach in and pull it out.
That’s not how geometry works
Yes it is. In any rectangle, by definition the diagonal cross section will always be longer than the longest side. Therefore given that this is a relatively 2d shape in 3 dimensional space, it will be able to pass through the hole.
Depends. The cover is resting on the inside lip which prevents moisture getting in. Ie. this cover is actually significantly bigger than the hole it’s covering.
Eg. if this cover is 25x25, but it’s covering a hole which is less than 18x18 (c=25.5), it’ll be quite hard to drop the cover in.
The problem is the hole is smaller than the cover. If they were the same size it would fall though
I think you’re misunderstanding. Yes, it cannot fit in when it’s angled properly to fit into the hole. However, if you angle the plate 45 degrees and lift one end of the plate, it will fall into the diagonally. That’s why manholes are round shaped. There is no angle for a round cover to fall into the hole itself.
You are right, never mind. I was thinking Pythagorean theorem
I’m pretty sure the reason is that the hole isn’t deep enough for it to matter. That’s nowhere near big enough to be a manhole.