That´s a loooooooooooong mile :D

Swedish "mile", used in Sweden and Norway only.

Question about Japan:
Do you have to remove your shoes to enter a public toilet?

Question for US GOGgers:

Why is hot air based central heating so popular in the US?

My mum recently moved house, and unusually for the UK it had air ducts rather than the usual low-pressure water radiators.
She's in the process of having water central heating fitted as we all agreed the hot air system was really unpleasant. Apart from being noisy, it tended to make everyone's throats dry, somewhat like an electric-fan space heater.

Any American GOGgers who've experienced both types, do you have a preference?

I thought of another question:

In the US, there is an interstate highway system, with a bunch of highways being numbered; I believe this numbering goes from 1 to 95. North-south highways are given odd numbers, and east-west highways even ones. Do other countries have similar systems?

Related question: Does the EU have a system of naming or numbering highways that is consistent between the member nations?

To be honest, I didn't know the answer and I never thought about it before, but reading up on it now, it sounds like Germany has the same odd and even numbers rule as in the US, with just a few highways deviating from it.

The numbering depends on the importance or range of the highways, with one digit highways being of nationwide importance/range, two digits of regional one and three digits are the local/municipal ones. In those that have more than one digit, the first one stands for the approximate region the highway is in (e.g. Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich etc.)

EDIT: Oh, and they're all pre-fixed with an A for Autobahn.

The motorways in the UK are all numbered and prefixed with an M (e.g. the M6). I don't believe there's anything fancy like using even and odd number to distinguish N/S and E/W as both the M1 and the M6 are north-south roads (broadly speaking - there's no such thing as a straight line in the UK).

I don't live in Japan but I regularly go there to visit family.
The answer is nope lolz
But public toilets are worth visiting there are some exciting ones...

The weather in the parts of the US where I have lived is pretty humid, whether it is winter or summer. A forced-air HVAC system has the advantage of dehumidifying the air that passes through it whether it is in air conditioning or heating mode. Also, one unit acts as both air conditioner and heater, reducing the need for two separate systems and the associated maintenance costs. Not to mention that forced-air central HVAC seems to be easier to maintain (at least in my experience) from a single digital thermostat, thereby saving on energy costs.

Also, in my personal experience, steam radiators are just troublesome. Every place I've lived with them had a problem with mold/mildew because it seems like they always leak steam/moisture/condensation/what have you, and add water to already humid, water-laden air. Not to mention the creaks, groans, pops, rattles, and weird noises they make at all hours of the day and night. I'll never go back to radiators again, that's for sure.

Yeah, they say that about swingers clubs too. :-P

I can see the point in favour of integration with AC, but I've never known humidity to be a problem in winter - even here where winter usually means rain rather than frost.


I didn't mention steam radiators. That's a whole other kettle of fish from water radiators (which are a sealed system). Sealed low-pressure water radiators are 'humidity neutral' and neither add or remove moisture from the air in the room. They're also very quiet in my experience. Thanks for trying to answer, but it seems like you don't actually have experience of the type of central heating I was comparing to.

I'd never heard of those. I've had hot water (not steam) radiators for a long time - never had any complaints.

I guess steam radiators must have a vent on them that releases steam? I've never come across anything like they describe either.

Any Polish goggers? I'm considering visiting the country sometime in the future and wondering if visitors should know any "lesser known" tips.