Is no one else going to talk about how weird it is to see a square manhole cover? Now there's a risk of dropping the cover down the hole due to the shape.
It’s not a manhole, it’s way too small. But yeah not sure why it’s square. Could be European, they do weird stuff like that all the time.
I see small square junction box things like this all the time in California. Mostly in-between where two homes' lawns meet. The one I had in my lawn before I moved to an apartment sucked because it was slightly raised from the grass and was in an awkward position to try and get the mower around.
Square covers like this are common globally. AFAIK also in the US:
https://manholecoversdirect.com/products/square-manhole-covers-and-frames/
Setting square tiles or paving stones around a circular cover is a pain in the ass.
But it wouldn't be the first time the US is weird, like the whole imperial measurements thing, so whatever. Or maybe you live in a state that decided square manhole covers were biblically incorrect.
For a while in the programming world "why are manhole covers round?" was a common question to be asked in interviews. I had no fucking clue the first time I was asked, but subsequently I would put on my deep pondering face and reason through it out loud and arrive at the correct answer, which never failed to impress the interviewer. After a few years I started owning up to the fact that I (and everyone else) had already heard that question.
Knowing that I never saw a manhole cover with a stripe facing the right direction, I'm pretty sure, they do it intentionally.
They don't make enough and they want to spread pain
I choose to believe this one was done specifically to fuck with OP and ruin their day.
My expectation is maintenance workers, who have to get in there for some reason, do it to mark the ones they have already done.
If you look at the top one, the hook to remove it is oriented the same way.
That's close to what I've read on reddit years ago - that they do it on purpose do that it's easier to find the cover the next time it needs service.
The summoning circle is broken! You're free!
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
- manhole covers are heavy af
- if improperly handled they can take your finger in an instant
- that square cover might be able to fall into whatever it is covering.
If that were an actual manhole you'd be right, but its obviously not.
- No
- No
- No
- 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.
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 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.
Or do it to post a picture
But that wouldn't be /c/mildlyinfuriating
Square holes are asinine, so easy for them to get dropped in.
They probably did it on purpose - i would have lol
Is it now..? Then go ahead and fix it if it is really "more than mildly infuriating".
Came here to say something but everyone already said it.
You do in fact exist in the world, you aren't a bystander, you can actually do things like turning the manhole cover.
They did. Then they took a picture and posted it here to outage everyone.
OP, is that Spain?
Italy
Someone deffo turned it after it was already put down to get this
The line looks like it'd fit if the square was rotated, so that means someone picked up the cover and either intentionally or unintentionally put it back down with the line going in the other directions instead of back in line with how it was painted
Common sense is way too much for people. I too think it’s likely for someone to have placed it incorrectly so that a glance they would know if they had already accessed what was inside.
