Heard a young guy call a swing valve a 'vibe control' and it got me thinking

Was at a yard sale last weekend and some kid was selling an old dredge part. He called the swing valve a 'vibe control' and said it helped 'regulate the flow energy'. Made me laugh at first. But it got me thinking about how we used to just learn from old timers without all the fancy names. My first job in 2008 I didnt even know what a swing valve was, I just turned the wheel when the foreman yelled. Has anyone else noticed the language shift on job sites over the last 15 years?

2 comments

2 Comments

wells.amy26d ago

My first week on a job in 2010 I called a pipe wrench a "spinny grip thing" and my foreman still brings it up to embarrass me. That kid calling a swing valve a vibe control is exactly the kind of thing I would have done. I learned everything by watching and messing up, nobody sat me down with a manual. Now kids show up with phone apps for everything and talk like they're explaining quantum physics. But honestly, if a swing valve regulates flow and a "vibe control" helps control the energy, maybe the kid isn't totally wrong. Just feels weird when the old words start disappearing.

samf9526d agoTop Commenter

My buddy asked for a "twisty pipe bender" his whole first month on a commercial job.