* the similarity of locks
Posted on April 3rd, 2008 by Alex. Filed under IISc.
Story 1:
To lock up doors etc. and to keep things safe, it is naturally to use locks. The obvious purpose of locks is to make it hard for somebody to steal things out of a room or flick the owner’s bike/car. When I occupied my room in the students hostel, the hostel office provided a lock. In case that I loose my keys, I need to break this lock by myself which may result in a very exhausting work. Since this lock is not mine, but I would prefer to break my own lock and property, I bought a second lock in Yeshvanthpur, the village next to the IISc campus. The keys have a serial number with 5 digits, assuring the purchaser that many permutations exist.
After a while I visited a friend who has a lock from the same company. Although his serial number differs, he has exactly the same lock. I mean, lock and keys are exactly the same. So whenever I like, I could go to his room and he to mine. So what does the serial number mean? Is it serial at all?
Story 2:
I borrowed a bike from a friend of mine. Since he is currently out of campus for several months, I am using it. One day a friend called me in office and asked, if he can have to bike for the next hour or so, what was fine with me. So he came by to pick up the keys. 2 minutes after he left, he called and said that something is wrong with the bike. The neutral would not work and it would not start. He asked me to have a look. So I went to the parking slot and was quite surprised: He took someone’s bike and tried to start it. The only similarity between my and his bike was a broken blinker. It had a bigger engine and a different gearbox which was finally the reason, why he did not find the neutral. But the most suprising part was that the ignition worked and after finding the neutral, the bike started and ran smoothly.