Ride-along

A ride-along is an arrangement for a civilian to spend a shift in the passenger seat of an emergency vehicle, observing the work day of a police officer, firefighter, or paramedic.

Ride-alongs are offered by many police departments around the world. There is a minimum age to participate in a ride-along. Depending on the department, it is often somewhere between the ages of 14 and 18. When participation of those under 18 is permitted, consent from a parent or legal guardian may be required. Those with criminal records or problems on previous ride-alongs may also be barred from participation. The most common form of ride-alongs are Law Enforcement Explorers, Auxiliary or Volunteer Police officers and participants in Citizen's Police Academy programs.

People go on ride-alongs for various reasons. These include interest in a future career in law enforcement, personal interest in law enforcement without such a career, journalists wishing to write reports, and those interested in community relations. Some emergency departments require dispatchers to go on ride-alongs so they can get a first-hand feel for the area they are responsible for. Regardless of the reason, all citizens who meet the department's eligibility requirements are generally welcome on a ride-along.

Ice cube

An ice cube is a small, roughly cube-shaped piece of ice (frozen water), conventionally used to cool beverages. Ice cubes are sometimes preferred over crushed ice because they melt more slowly; they are standard in mixed drinks that call for ice, in which case the drink is said to be "on the rocks."

Origin

American physician and humanitarian John Gorrie built a refrigerator in 1844 with the purpose of cooling air. His refrigerator produced ice which he hung from the ceiling in a basin. Gorrie can be considered the creator of ice cubes, but his aim was not to cool drinks: he used the ice to lower the ambient room temperature. During his time, a dominant idea was that bad air quality caused disease. Therefore, in order to help treat sickness, he pushed for the draining of swamps and the cooling of sickrooms.

Methods of production

Ice cubes are produced domestically by filling an ice cube tray with water and placing it in a freezer. Many freezers also come equipped with an icemaker, which produces ice cubes automatically and stores them in a bin from which they can be dispensed directly into a glass.