I thought about that too, said "nah, too easy, everyone's seen that show, that must not be it" then watched them slowly unravel the fact that yeah, that's it. 😂😂
“The individual in question is, it may surprise you to learn, one whom your present interlocutor is in the habit of defining by means of the perpendicular pronoun." - Humpy
There was an incident in world war 1 (battle off Texel) where a German ship tried to dispose of its codebooks by tossing them overboard in a lead lined container... unfortunately for the Germans the container was waterproof and a British trawler was able to retrieve it afterwards.
At school we had a glockenspiel that was inside a briefcase, but the hinges had gone. So if you picked it up by the handle, it would swing open and a shower of metal keys would fall to the ground with a loud melodious clatter. You then were left with a jigsaw of identical looking pieces to shove back into place before your call came, and hope the right notes were where they were supposed to be.
It's interesting just how quickly sea travel has been forgotten when major diplomatic missions would have travelled by ocean liner well into the 1950s.
1. You can absolutely have an x-ray imaging without a backing plate (it's called backscater x-ray), Ben Krasnow over at Applied Science channel made one in his garage. Some airport people scanners work like that. 2. For a very long time, iron-based black ink was very popular, so a CT scan (or MRI) can be used to read text. I have read a paper on using a CT scanner to study ancient texts, too fragile to be opened up. Even some typewriter ribbons use iron gall ink, not to mention fountain pens. I recall a story (or an urban legend) of a book recovered from typewriter tape (rolled in it's cartrige) using a CT or MRI.
I've also read about some papers or ancient scrolls that were burned, but not to ashes, more like a charcoal state, and in the very recent past we were able to read the text using a new method. Not sure if it was a CT, MRI, or other machine. But same idea.
@@comicus01I actually remember something like that (not sure if it's exactly what you're referring to), but I think they used a particle accelerator and a detector to image (although not directly, some ridiculously complicated data processing was required and it took ages for anyone to be able to see any text at all in the mess of noise) a scroll or book of some kind (can't remember which).
@@nikkiofthevalley I think we are likely thinking of the same thing. If I think of it later, when I have time, I will do some hunting to see if I can find an article about it. But it's all really vague in my head. I think it was a collection of scrolls that were read. Books: if you go back far enough in time, all books were on scrolls or papyrus or whatever. i.e. the Dead Sea Scrolls.
I always thought the handle-on-the-hinge-side feature was so that the underling could place the case on the bigwig's desk and it would already be facing the right way for the bigwig to open it. Sort of like handing someone a tool with the handle towards them. It seems to me that describing the case as "lead-lined" was deceptively specific, since to make the case sink in water it just needs to be weighted (ballasted). It is not necessary for the lead to encompass (most of) the surface, which is sort of what "lining" implies.
@@lateralcast Makes sense and we can't expect ministers to have the common sense to know how to open up a briefcase. That's way above their intelligence level and why they have underlings.
@@Elwaves2925they tend to have stacks of these boxes every day. Having to turn them all around would add *seconds*, nay possibly *minutes* to their working days.
Lead would be a very poor choice for bullet proofing. It's a very soft metal and would probably do more harm than good if you tried to use it as body armour.
The hinge handle thing is quite wacky. I figured on the easy method to prevent users from forgetting to lock it - exclude any basic latching mechanism. No latch, just a lock, hold the thing closed by the hasp. Forget to lock the case, it flops right open, makes a mess, and makes you look silly. I guess in combination with a hinge handle that'd work to great effect, but if it closes with a latch, a hinge handle won't work out unless the latch alone is kinda weak.
Took me forever to get to the weight making it dense enough to sink, but I did get there before them! Also, my first idea for "can't forget to lock it" was that the key was simply captive in the lock, so you simply couldn't remove your key without locking the box up properly (there are locks that do this). Having it open on the bottom (because the edge with the handle is the top as it's being carried, of course) seems like a recipe for "secret documents scattered everywhere, being seen by people without clearance"...!
I thought of captive key too. But maybe they don't that because then there's a high risk that people will simply leave the key in the lock, and if the keys is on a ring with several other keys attached that an additional security vulnerability.
Xrays, much as Terrahertz scanners at modern airports do not necessarily need a receiver at the other side. Backscatter scanning is fairly standard tech by now, and in fact passive see-through Terrahertz scanners at airports don't even have an emitter, leveraging background radiation.
Also, you would be able to read using x-rays, with modern digital detectors you can go down very far in resolution, and in miniscule differences in materials.
@@der.SchtefanI think they have even CAT-scanned some scrolls to "unroll" and read them. And had to figure out a lot of technology to be able to do that. The Herculaneum scrolls, mildly singed by Mount Versuvius erupting on them, if I'm not mistaken. (They are too brittle/charred to be unrolled physically)
My guesses re: lead lining were a) since it's lead-lined, the airlines won't let you check it, forcing you to carry it on, or b) so nobody can easily tell empty from full ones by the weight.
@@lrizzard Yes, that's my point. If it's always heavy, nobody can tell which ones are full, and thus its harder for a thief to target a loaded (and thus valuable) one.
The reasoning for the lead lining is so obvious that it hurts that I couldn't figure it out. Like, their whole thing for the longest time was ships. Of course they'd figure out to design briefcases for important documents to sink in a shipwreck.
♫rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves...♫ 😂 Being from an even more maritime-focused culture, I already knew the reason for lead-lined document cases, and remembered it immediately.
Which makes it all that much more hilarious to know that Operation Mincemeat worked by havin a supposed British agent wreck a boat and end up havin his dead body wash up on Spanish soil; still holdin one of these exact briefcases, just not one of the lead lined ones they wudve normally used for transportin such docs across open water The Germans were utterly hoodwinked by that ploy, and yet, if they knew this thing about British spies, which probs was actually known by many British ppl at the time given they had even used these briefcases for a rly long time; the ploy nvr wudve worked, bcuz they wudve known that it wudnt make sense for a briefcase to show up from a British naval accident
Well, it isn't "so obvious". I mean, why would it have to be _lining_ if all they cared about was overall weight? It could just have a lead bar at the bottom. Although you can't read something from afar with x-rays, you _can_ damage photographic media. If they were frequently carrying photographic film, that could also be a reason to _line_ it with lead (to make sure the film wasn't affected by any external radiation). And then there's actual radioactivity of the contents (they could be marked with some isotope to prevent forgery), which maybe they didn't want to be detectable from the outside. Lots of possible reasons, really (at least until he said the point was just the _weight_ - that did narrow it down).
@@AltonV - I'm not sure how that would improve things. I mean, you want it to hang down from the handle, and if the total weight is the same, then having the weight at the bottom also ensures it sinks faster (because the narrowest side will point down, in the water).
My grandfather served in the Marine Corps in WWII and he was working in New Caledonia. He was a bit older than the average Marine recruit, and he was a natural leader. Though it was not remotely related to his normal job he was assigned to hand deliver documents to HQ in San Diego. Once the delivery was made he was given 24 hours leave to visit his wife. My dad showed up 24 hours after he returned to New Caledonia.
I was envisioning a far more rube goldberg design where the handle retracted into the briefcase when you unlocked it, and wouldn't extend until you'd locked it again.
an Xray technique is used to evaluate historic paintings looking for features and details hidden by the top layers of paint. it is possible to find hidden inscriptions and overpainted original design
I was thinking along the lines of that they were using lead as a sealant because if the briefcase would drop into the water, it wouldn't damage the document because they used lead sealant.
I thought of ships and throwing the briefcase overboard and ensuring it sinks a good minute before Tom and the other two thought of it. I think they went through every transportation mode except for ships.
@@thekaxmax - The question was in the present tense, so it's a perfectly valid hypothesis (if there weren't simpler / less inconvenient ways to achieve the same).
@@RFC3514 The old reason still holds, as they still have some of the really old cases. Also, wire mesh does a better job against signals because weight--in fact, if you use lead for that is can be as thin as aluminium foil. For armour, lead is one of the worst possible metals for that task. The /only/ use for lead in this case is mass.
I feel like they covered a clue in a much older question, London used to have much fewer bridges? They were harder to build in the past. I would call the lid of a brief case the... lid as Tom clearly did when he stopped questioning himself :p
Me when they all started listin off every kind of transport except the obvs one here; "Boats! Its frackin boats, ppl!" I didnt know why it was boats, hadnt thowt that far ahead to get to sinkin in the Thames, but i knew it had to be boats bcuz old style transport that makes the most sense for travelin the furthest distances; so someone inevitably is gonna end up on them
My brain was going to "If you try to lift (and carry) it *unlocked* , the papers inside will just disappear straight down into the shredder under the office desk."
You don't need heavy ink to read using X-rays, a simple BIC pen is totally readable in x-ray plates, and in fact some technicians write on the plates using them so it can be seen in the x-ray negative after developed.
Yet civil servants and MPs still manage to leave important documents on trains all the time, so maybe the technology needs updating for the modern day.
@@thekaxmax : If the case was for _how_ the tax was spend, sure, I can see that. But if the was was for how much the government was _"owed,"_ the the case would be made to float, if dropped overboard.
There’s some confusion here brought on by terminology. Technically, a “briefcase” is soft-sided leather, stands upright with the handle at the top, and does, indeed, have a soft “flap” closure. What they’re talking about is a hard-sided *attache* case, which you set down on its side, to open its “lid”.
The English language has constantly changed for over 1000 years. One of those changes is that these days, most people accept that a hard sided case is a brief case. You should accept that change.
0:28 Lining with lead seems somewhat pointless and gimmicky, unless it's to be able to transport slightly radioactive elements without detection? I would think there are several other materials that are sufficiently dense without being as heavy as lead to prevent shining through it with visible light; and presumably if "bad guys" have access to the boxes for long enough to use high resolution x-ray machines or CT scanners to try to read a document that way; it's probably much quicker to break it open anyway. Besides it would have to be random lead "shrapnel" rather than a conventional flat uniform radiation shielding for it to block high powered X-rays; since as long as what you're imaging isn't alive; you can just increase the power or exposure time to see through a uniform layer of lead. A fairly straight forward design feature to avoid forgetting to lock them could be one or more of: a rather big and obvious key that isn't removable when the case is unlocked and no way to snap it shut without the key (just like most padlocks); a lid that doesn't stay shut unless locked; if it's really a briefcase with a handle: a handle that only stays on when locked.
1:46 And of course like Tom said; reading ink with x-rays is rather difficult anyway, so lead lining isn't making much difference. Though... maybe it's more intended to protect the contents from radiation (photographic film or sensitive electronics); I'm not sure if lead is particularly good at preventing radio waves; but adding the negligible weight of a copper or steel mesh wrapping the whole thing it would be pretty much impossible to interfere with or read electronics inside discreetly.
I'll make my guess right away after the question was asked... They were transporting film/photographs which are vulnerable to even the slightest amount of radiation But i have no clue why it would definitely need to be locked 🤔 EDIT: Yeah...i was completely off the mark 😂
X-rays are just like light, but we have not evolved the ability to detect x-ray light, mainly because the air is not transparent to x-rays so there are very few x-rays at the surface. Also X-rays are harmful to biology. We can see the spectrum we call visible light as that is what is useful to us. Some animals can see into the ultra violet, but these are all animals that have short lives. Animals that will be using their eyes for years need to protect their eyes from UV. We can't see infrared because our eyes are hot compared to the environment. IR cameras can only see what is warmer than the camera.
I do love simple design ideas that solve something even the brightest people might get stuck on for a long time. ... ... if you want the briefcase to open when you lift it if you forget to lock it: put the handle on the same side as the hinge. Gorgeous sollution!
That's not really a solution. If there's a latch, it will still remain closed (just not locked). What you really need to do is remove the latch, so that it's either open or locked (never just latched). And once you do that, it doesn't even matter which side the handle is on.
Er, no. The hinge is nearly always on the opposite side, relative to the handle (ex., handle at the "top" of the briefcase, hinge at the "bottom", in a normal carrying position). If you put the handle on the same side as the hinge (making that the top) and leave the lock on the opposite side (bottom), then picking it up when it's open will generally cause the contents to fall out.
@@RFC3514 I get what your saying but i dont think thats what they where saying, If anything moving the hinges to the top edge with the handle would hold a briefcase closed. i think what they where trying to say was moving the handle(not the hinge) to the skinny side of the briefcase changes how the centre of gravity moves AROUND the hinge. A hinge by definition must be on both sides of the hinge point.
@@SuperCloneRanger - So you think briefcases shouldn't bother with locks or latches, and just move the hinges to the top because "that would hold them closed"? Maybe bags should also move the opening to the bottom because having the handles on top will magically hold the opposite side closed? You should take that to Dragon's Den. 😉
As someone who spent too much time watching Yes Minister and seeing how the boxes worked, one half of this question was easy, the other was heavy.
I went straight to "Yes, Prime Minister" too because hiding stuff in Red Boxes is a plot point once or twice.
I thought about that too, said "nah, too easy, everyone's seen that show, that must not be it" then watched them slowly unravel the fact that yeah, that's it. 😂😂
@@stamfordly6463 "Wanted in the communications room. A Mr John Walker."
- "Johnnie Walker?"
"Yes, from the Scotch Office... Sorry. Scottish Office."
“The individual in question is, it may surprise you to learn, one whom your present interlocutor is in the habit of defining by means of the perpendicular pronoun." - Humpy
I don't think there's such a thing as "Too much time" when it comes to Yes, Minister.
There was an incident in world war 1 (battle off Texel) where a German ship tried to dispose of its codebooks by tossing them overboard in a lead lined container... unfortunately for the Germans the container was waterproof and a British trawler was able to retrieve it afterwards.
Hahaha, that's quality German engineering, that is, unfortunately the engineers didn't speak with the users, that's German organisation.
I thought this comment was going to end with "the container was waterproof, and there was enough air inside that it floated".
"You can just bludgeon..."
Tom, with the briefcase, in the sitting room!
Tom, with the briefcase, at the mildly interesting location :)
At school we had a glockenspiel that was inside a briefcase, but the hinges had gone. So if you picked it up by the handle, it would swing open and a shower of metal keys would fall to the ground with a loud melodious clatter. You then were left with a jigsaw of identical looking pieces to shove back into place before your call came, and hope the right notes were where they were supposed to be.
It's interesting just how quickly sea travel has been forgotten when major diplomatic missions would have travelled by ocean liner well into the 1950s.
1. You can absolutely have an x-ray imaging without a backing plate (it's called backscater x-ray), Ben Krasnow over at Applied Science channel made one in his garage. Some airport people scanners work like that.
2. For a very long time, iron-based black ink was very popular, so a CT scan (or MRI) can be used to read text. I have read a paper on using a CT scanner to study ancient texts, too fragile to be opened up. Even some typewriter ribbons use iron gall ink, not to mention fountain pens. I recall a story (or an urban legend) of a book recovered from typewriter tape (rolled in it's cartrige) using a CT or MRI.
I've also read about some papers or ancient scrolls that were burned, but not to ashes, more like a charcoal state, and in the very recent past we were able to read the text using a new method. Not sure if it was a CT, MRI, or other machine. But same idea.
@@comicus01I actually remember something like that (not sure if it's exactly what you're referring to), but I think they used a particle accelerator and a detector to image (although not directly, some ridiculously complicated data processing was required and it took ages for anyone to be able to see any text at all in the mess of noise) a scroll or book of some kind (can't remember which).
@@nikkiofthevalley I think we are likely thinking of the same thing. If I think of it later, when I have time, I will do some hunting to see if I can find an article about it. But it's all really vague in my head. I think it was a collection of scrolls that were read.
Books: if you go back far enough in time, all books were on scrolls or papyrus or whatever. i.e. the Dead Sea Scrolls.
I always thought the handle-on-the-hinge-side feature was so that the underling could place the case on the bigwig's desk and it would already be facing the right way for the bigwig to open it. Sort of like handing someone a tool with the handle towards them.
It seems to me that describing the case as "lead-lined" was deceptively specific, since to make the case sink in water it just needs to be weighted (ballasted). It is not necessary for the lead to encompass (most of) the surface, which is sort of what "lining" implies.
That's also part of it - it also ensures the keyhole is facing the user when opening and locking.
@@lateralcast Makes sense and we can't expect ministers to have the common sense to know how to open up a briefcase. That's way above their intelligence level and why they have underlings.
@@Elwaves2925they tend to have stacks of these boxes every day. Having to turn them all around would add *seconds*, nay possibly *minutes* to their working days.
While it just needs to be weighted such that it rapidly sinks even when empty, they achieved this ballast by lining the boxes with lead.
I was thinking much more modern, like the lead made the case bulletproof in the event of an attack or something! That's incredibly interesting!!
You'd be better off with steel plate in that case. It's much stronger but also lighter and probably cheaper.
You wouldn't use lead for that, steel is more effective at far less weight
Lead would be a very poor choice for bullet proofing. It's a very soft metal and would probably do more harm than good if you tried to use it as body armour.
Bullet-proof (or resistant) briefcases do exist and are used by some VIP-protection details today.
To be fair, Jack Churchill would absolutely have had a bulletproof metal briefcase weighted for clobbering Germans. :-)
The hinge handle thing is quite wacky. I figured on the easy method to prevent users from forgetting to lock it - exclude any basic latching mechanism. No latch, just a lock, hold the thing closed by the hasp. Forget to lock the case, it flops right open, makes a mess, and makes you look silly. I guess in combination with a hinge handle that'd work to great effect, but if it closes with a latch, a hinge handle won't work out unless the latch alone is kinda weak.
Took me forever to get to the weight making it dense enough to sink, but I did get there before them!
Also, my first idea for "can't forget to lock it" was that the key was simply captive in the lock, so you simply couldn't remove your key without locking the box up properly (there are locks that do this). Having it open on the bottom (because the edge with the handle is the top as it's being carried, of course) seems like a recipe for "secret documents scattered everywhere, being seen by people without clearance"...!
I thought of captive key too. But maybe they don't that because then there's a high risk that people will simply leave the key in the lock, and if the keys is on a ring with several other keys attached that an additional security vulnerability.
I was thinking "the handle is the lock", so you couldn't carry it without locking it.
Fabulous. 😊 And I just love seeing how Tom's mind works; it's a thing of joy!
Xrays, much as Terrahertz scanners at modern airports do not necessarily need a receiver at the other side. Backscatter scanning is fairly standard tech by now, and in fact passive see-through Terrahertz scanners at airports don't even have an emitter, leveraging background radiation.
Also, you would be able to read using x-rays, with modern digital detectors you can go down very far in resolution, and in miniscule differences in materials.
@@der.SchtefanI think they have even CAT-scanned some scrolls to "unroll" and read them. And had to figure out a lot of technology to be able to do that.
The Herculaneum scrolls, mildly singed by Mount Versuvius erupting on them, if I'm not mistaken. (They are too brittle/charred to be unrolled physically)
it's a LID, Tom. It's the briefcase lid.
Thank you for this!
My guesses re: lead lining were a) since it's lead-lined, the airlines won't let you check it, forcing you to carry it on, or b) so nobody can easily tell empty from full ones by the weight.
wouldnt it be the opposite, since its always heavy because of the lead, it would be harder to understand whether its full or not
@@lrizzard Yes, that's my point. If it's always heavy, nobody can tell which ones are full, and thus its harder for a thief to target a loaded (and thus valuable) one.
@@macdjord oh i see. looks like my dyslexia kicked in I read it as "somebody" lol
Really interesting to learn!
More Julian and Tibees please
The reasoning for the lead lining is so obvious that it hurts that I couldn't figure it out.
Like, their whole thing for the longest time was ships. Of course they'd figure out to design briefcases for important documents to sink in a shipwreck.
♫rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves...♫ 😂
Being from an even more maritime-focused culture, I already knew the reason for lead-lined document cases, and remembered it immediately.
Which makes it all that much more hilarious to know that Operation Mincemeat worked by havin a supposed British agent wreck a boat and end up havin his dead body wash up on Spanish soil; still holdin one of these exact briefcases, just not one of the lead lined ones they wudve normally used for transportin such docs across open water
The Germans were utterly hoodwinked by that ploy, and yet, if they knew this thing about British spies, which probs was actually known by many British ppl at the time given they had even used these briefcases for a rly long time; the ploy nvr wudve worked, bcuz they wudve known that it wudnt make sense for a briefcase to show up from a British naval accident
Well, it isn't "so obvious". I mean, why would it have to be _lining_ if all they cared about was overall weight? It could just have a lead bar at the bottom.
Although you can't read something from afar with x-rays, you _can_ damage photographic media. If they were frequently carrying photographic film, that could also be a reason to _line_ it with lead (to make sure the film wasn't affected by any external radiation).
And then there's actual radioactivity of the contents (they could be marked with some isotope to prevent forgery), which maybe they didn't want to be detectable from the outside.
Lots of possible reasons, really (at least until he said the point was just the _weight_ - that did narrow it down).
@@RFC3514 maybe they lined it with lead instead of a lead bar so the weight would be more evenly distributed? Maybe to make it easier to handle?
@@AltonV - I'm not sure how that would improve things. I mean, you want it to hang down from the handle, and if the total weight is the same, then having the weight at the bottom also ensures it sinks faster (because the narrowest side will point down, in the water).
My grandfather served in the Marine Corps in WWII and he was working in New Caledonia. He was a bit older than the average Marine recruit, and he was a natural leader.
Though it was not remotely related to his normal job he was assigned to hand deliver documents to HQ in San Diego. Once the delivery was made he was given 24 hours leave to visit his wife. My dad showed up 24 hours after he returned to New Caledonia.
If you look closely at the Chancellor's Red Box that they hold up on Budget Day, you can see the handle is on the hinged side
Great question!
"The flap is very heavy"
- Tom Scott 2023
I was envisioning a far more rube goldberg design where the handle retracted into the briefcase when you unlocked it, and wouldn't extend until you'd locked it again.
So good to see my favourite British UA-camr , Tom, in the same piece as my fave Aussie UA-camr, Julian. Bonus!
Britain and criminal Britain
an Xray technique is used to evaluate historic paintings looking for features and details hidden by the top layers of paint. it is possible to find hidden inscriptions and overpainted original design
I was thinking along the lines of that they were using lead as a sealant because if the briefcase would drop into the water, it wouldn't damage the document because they used lead sealant.
“The flap is very heavy.”
Ooer missus? 😂
I was thinking about buoyancy and it automatically sinking in case of an emergency pretty fairly early on, for once I’m impressed with myself.
"Don't tell him, Pike!"
The "rabbit is the secret paperwork" is basically just photos of Jimmy Carter being attacked by a swamp rabbit.
*ding* *ding* *ding*
*_Mystery Biscuits!_*
I thought of ships and throwing the briefcase overboard and ensuring it sinks a good minute before Tom and the other two thought of it. I think they went through every transportation mode except for ships.
Well I knew red boxes opened on the "wrong" side, but it never occurred to me to wonder why. Doh.
I thought the lead was to disrupt wireless signals from cellphones or computers.
A simple (and much lighter) steel mesh would generally accomplish that.
It was done way way before the discovery of radio.
@@thekaxmax - The question was in the present tense, so it's a perfectly valid hypothesis (if there weren't simpler / less inconvenient ways to achieve the same).
@@RFC3514 The old reason still holds, as they still have some of the really old cases. Also, wire mesh does a better job against signals because weight--in fact, if you use lead for that is can be as thin as aluminium foil.
For armour, lead is one of the worst possible metals for that task.
The /only/ use for lead in this case is mass.
I've just realized, watching few of these, Toby, doesn't have a greenscreen. That's a wallpaper. An actually interesting background. (I think!)
The papers burn up without the proper pass code.
And these days they use a park bench..... 😆
I got the lock part almost immediately but the lead I just couldn't think of the lead bit
that is really interesting!
I feel like they covered a clue in a much older question, London used to have much fewer bridges? They were harder to build in the past. I would call the lid of a brief case the... lid as Tom clearly did when he stopped questioning himself :p
Me when they all started listin off every kind of transport except the obvs one here; "Boats! Its frackin boats, ppl!"
I didnt know why it was boats, hadnt thowt that far ahead to get to sinkin in the Thames, but i knew it had to be boats bcuz old style transport that makes the most sense for travelin the furthest distances; so someone inevitably is gonna end up on them
Also, these are British government boxes. Nobody should forget the British Royal Navy.
My brain was going to "If you try to lift (and carry) it *unlocked* , the papers inside will just disappear straight down into the shredder under the office desk."
Took me until eight minutes and the mention of various modes of transport predating cars to figure it out. It should have been so bloody obvious.
I thought the lid was just so heavy that you need to hold it open. And when you let go of the lid, it falls down and automatically closes somehow
Toby has really cool hair. Also she teaches science, which is super badass.
8:32 tom said "Ferries" though I think "wherries" is more appropriate
You don't need heavy ink to read using X-rays, a simple BIC pen is totally readable in x-ray plates, and in fact some technicians write on the plates using them so it can be seen in the x-ray negative after developed.
8:49 dude i thought it was a notification
Yet civil servants and MPs still manage to leave important documents on trains all the time, so maybe the technology needs updating for the modern day.
the lead is to add flavour
Um, actually, a Herculaneum scroll was recently read using X-ray imaging.
transmission imaging, which is what he described. There is reflection x-ray scanning, but won't read print
I though they were design to carry Madam Curie's radioactive notes on radioactive elements.
for government documents?
@@thekaxmax : If the case was for _how_ the tax was spend, sure, I can see that. But if the was was for how much the government was _"owed,"_ the the case would be made to float, if dropped overboard.
@@arikwolf3777 govt secrets are govt secrets, contents are immaterial.
Not locking those briefcases would lead to a lot of meet cutes
4:05 the guy that looks suspiciously like a time traveling young George Lucas thinking about Indiana Jones? 😛
As someone particularly interested in naval history, half of this episode was very interesting to me... and the other half incredibly infuriating xD
There’s some confusion here brought on by terminology. Technically, a “briefcase” is soft-sided leather, stands upright with the handle at the top, and does, indeed, have a soft “flap” closure. What they’re talking about is a hard-sided *attache* case, which you set down on its side, to open its “lid”.
And so what everyone thinks of when they think of a briefcase is actually an attache?
The English language has constantly changed for over 1000 years. One of those changes is that these days, most people accept that a hard sided case is a brief case. You should accept that change.
They are most definitely both considered brief cases now
Who writes these questions?
Listeners
The word in French is "manteau".
2:43 Nah, that's what their henchmen are for
0:28 Lining with lead seems somewhat pointless and gimmicky, unless it's to be able to transport slightly radioactive elements without detection? I would think there are several other materials that are sufficiently dense without being as heavy as lead to prevent shining through it with visible light; and presumably if "bad guys" have access to the boxes for long enough to use high resolution x-ray machines or CT scanners to try to read a document that way; it's probably much quicker to break it open anyway. Besides it would have to be random lead "shrapnel" rather than a conventional flat uniform radiation shielding for it to block high powered X-rays; since as long as what you're imaging isn't alive; you can just increase the power or exposure time to see through a uniform layer of lead.
A fairly straight forward design feature to avoid forgetting to lock them could be one or more of: a rather big and obvious key that isn't removable when the case is unlocked and no way to snap it shut without the key (just like most padlocks); a lid that doesn't stay shut unless locked; if it's really a briefcase with a handle: a handle that only stays on when locked.
1:46 And of course like Tom said; reading ink with x-rays is rather difficult anyway, so lead lining isn't making much difference.
Though... maybe it's more intended to protect the contents from radiation (photographic film or sensitive electronics); I'm not sure if lead is particularly good at preventing radio waves; but adding the negligible weight of a copper or steel mesh wrapping the whole thing it would be pretty much impossible to interfere with or read electronics inside discreetly.
I'll make my guess right away after the question was asked...
They were transporting film/photographs which are vulnerable to even the slightest amount of radiation
But i have no clue why it would definitely need to be locked 🤔
EDIT: Yeah...i was completely off the mark 😂
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X-rays are just like light, but we have not evolved the ability to detect x-ray light, mainly because the air is not transparent to x-rays so there are very few x-rays at the surface. Also X-rays are harmful to biology.
We can see the spectrum we call visible light as that is what is useful to us. Some animals can see into the ultra violet, but these are all animals that have short lives. Animals that will be using their eyes for years need to protect their eyes from UV.
We can't see infrared because our eyes are hot compared to the environment. IR cameras can only see what is warmer than the camera.
I do love simple design ideas that solve something even the brightest people might get stuck on for a long time.
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if you want the briefcase to open when you lift it if you forget to lock it: put the handle on the same side as the hinge. Gorgeous sollution!
That's not really a solution. If there's a latch, it will still remain closed (just not locked). What you really need to do is remove the latch, so that it's either open or locked (never just latched). And once you do that, it doesn't even matter which side the handle is on.
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6:50 'The handles on the same side as the hinge' makes no sense, a hinge by definition must be on both sides.
Er, no. The hinge is nearly always on the opposite side, relative to the handle (ex., handle at the "top" of the briefcase, hinge at the "bottom", in a normal carrying position). If you put the handle on the same side as the hinge (making that the top) and leave the lock on the opposite side (bottom), then picking it up when it's open will generally cause the contents to fall out.
@@RFC3514 I get what your saying but i dont think thats what they where saying, If anything moving the hinges to the top edge with the handle would hold a briefcase closed. i think what they where trying to say was moving the handle(not the hinge) to the skinny side of the briefcase changes how the centre of gravity moves AROUND the hinge. A hinge by definition must be on both sides of the hinge point.
@@SuperCloneRanger - So you think briefcases shouldn't bother with locks or latches, and just move the hinges to the top because "that would hold them closed"? Maybe bags should also move the opening to the bottom because having the handles on top will magically hold the opposite side closed? You should take that to Dragon's Den. 😉