I know it could be called a manhole coz the hole on a man’s body emits stinking stuff from it & stinks to high hell (especially when they’ve had curry, beer, kebab, FOOD in general!)

But why is it a MANHOLE?

answers on a postcard

If Richard Feynman were asked this question:
http://www.sellsbrothers.com/fun/msiview/#Feynman

Hilarious!

It’s simple, elegant and effective. Can’t be dropped into the shaft. Simple to fabricate. Strong. Impossible to improperly install.

Jesus, this is a no-brainer.

Only an arrogant egotistical jackass—more concerned with “making his mark” than with delivering the best solution to his customers—would choose to use a second or third rate design like a non-round manhole cover.

I don’t know I’d say a cylindrical pipe is the natural shape for a human being climbing down a ladder, though. Square also works well when you put the rungs down one corner. The other corners give good elbow, rump, & heel clearance.

And for anyone who thinks you’d have to be an untrained twit to drop a cover down a shaft, keep in mind that the people doing it do it at all hours, in all weather, and during long overtime responding to emergencies.

I explore drains. Not sewers, drains, which also commonly have round manhole covers. The snide tone of the above suggests that you have never actually had to lift a manhole cover. They are heavy. Very heavy. The process of pulling one back over a shaft when entering a drain can easily result in it falling in if it is not round, which will probably kill you and anyone else below you. I have seen non-round manhole covers fall into drains.

Willow of the Sydney Cave Clan.