UTAH (and Surrounding Areas) BS Thread

I'd just like to see how many grapes it'd take to get skins to replace "roughly 27 million tons of road salt every year" the article mentions. Pretty sure like 20% of that salt ends up on & under my truck.

 

More than what California wine country can offer, especially when they have been on fire for last couple of years.

 

Well since I happen to be bored, love a challenge, and have data available:

27 million tons of road salt equates to 11.4 trillion cubic centimeters of salt assuming sodium chloride (2.15g/cm3). Road salt can also be calcium chloride but at a density of 2.16g/cm3, the math is negligible between the two.

Using the density of a grape skin using a grape in my fridge, a razor, and a set of calipers, I have determined 27 grapes to a cubic centimeter. The result is you would need 420 billion grape skins assuming a 1:1 melt effect versus chloride alternatives based on volume used.

The US produced 7.1-7.4 million tons of grapes million tons of grapes in the past few years per reports from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Using 5 grams/grape as an approximate mass, and a pressed grape ratio of 55% of production (skins are a waste byproduct mainly as a function of wine production) we have a pool of 734.5 billion grape skins to potentially utilize as a country. This means we have a surplus over what would be needed for roads by 314.5 billion grapes. Since the VAST majority of grapes are grown in CA, (85+%), you can deduce that CA alone could supply waste grape skins to cover the roads with ease.





Sources:
Google (for masses, densities, etc)

On grape data:
http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7042e.pdf

 

LOL. this guy.

That said, the study says that the grapes are more effective at melting ice so you would need to use less to get the same effect. End result? even MORE grape skins available! aka...this could be used as an export to other countries...and part of trade wars. yay!

 

Ive thought about doing that but I don’t know if I can acquire another hobby. I’d have to give up something plus I’m not patient enough haha

 

Tell you what. Ive got a bunch of AR spare parts laying around Im tired of moving. Let me rummage through and see how much of an AR you could build out of this box. Youd need the receiver set and barrel, but grip, railed handguard and a few other pieces Ill bequeath to you if youd like.

 

I doubt that and I question that. All of it, the numbers, actual ability to produce the grapes, year after year and to cover all the roads multiple times a day. One wildfire can drastically affect those numbers.

 

You question publicly available data corroborated across multiple sources? Or this easily researched graph about US grape production and how consistent it is?

You could call into question my mathematical assumptions, or challenge we may already use a lot of those pressed grape skins for something already all day, but the underlying open source numbers? C'mon man.

End of the day, I don't really care. I'm just saying we COULD theoretically do it.

 

Well, if nothing else, it was an entertaining read. However, I’m not sure I’ve ever been this bored.

LOL! @Gunshot-6A put some serious thought into it. Give some credit.

 

Those numbers might be accurate, but it does not negate what a wildfire would do to those numbers.

 

Not to poke ya more but there's really not much patience required. AR Builds, if you have all the parts, take to time at all to put together. The hardest part of a build is figuring out what parts you want to use and if you're just going for the cheapest you can find, it makes it real simple.

 

This is some amazing number crunching. Coming from a fellow data geek and Excel aficionado.

 

The ACTUAL longest part is finding that detent spring that you sent into lunar orbit in your living room and spent 2 years looking for, and still couldn't find it even after you moved and looked all around on an empty floor.

 

I know WAY too much about grapes now.

 

Haha, too true.

 

There's supposed to be a spring there?!???! /S

 

allegedly

 

I just wanna point out that the Utah market prices for Land Cruisers is absurd! 27K for a 200K mile 100 series? Get outta here!

 

Aren’t they like 70 or 80k new?