A Conversation for The Manifesto for the Campaign to rename Thursday, "Thing"
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R195700WayneFrWpgDD#22 Agent Of ZedDragon AvengerOfGods LordOfGhost Member Of The Assassins Guild and The Great God Of Boogie! Posted Feb 9, 2005
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Ivan the Terribly Average Posted Feb 9, 2005
I haven't won on this page yet.
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R195700WayneFrWpgDD#22 Agent Of ZedDragon AvengerOfGods LordOfGhost Member Of The Assassins Guild and The Great God Of Boogie! Posted Feb 9, 2005
Does the statement, "We've always done it that way" ring any bells? The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used? Because that's the way they built them in England, and English expatriates built the US Railroads.
Why did the English build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used. Why did "they" use that gauge, then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.
Okay! Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break on some of the old, long distance roads in England, because that's the spacing of the wheel ruts.
So who built those old rutted roads? Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (and England) for their legions. The roads have been used ever since.
And the ruts in the roads? Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing.
The United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. And bureaucracies live forever.
So the next time you are handed a specification and wonder what horse's ass came up with it, you may be exactly right, because the Imperial Roman army chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two war horses.
Now the twist to the story...
When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at their factory at Utah. The engineers who designed the SRBs would have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains. The SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track, as you now know, is about as wide as two horses' behinds.
So, a major Space Shuttle design feature of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse's ass.
...and you thought being a HORSE'S ASS wasn't important!
Still UsWe Win!!!
The Last One To Post Here Wins
R195700WayneFrWpgDD#22 Agent Of ZedDragon AvengerOfGods LordOfGhost Member Of The Assassins Guild and The Great God Of Boogie! Posted Feb 9, 2005
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Bold Ferret - God of Three Sided Squares, Helium Filled Lemmings and A Slightly Bent Teaspoon Posted Feb 9, 2005
Thanks for the insight into "What the Romans did for us". I need more information to fill my head with!
PS. I win
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Ralph the Wonder Llama and André the dodo; Excrement Occurs Posted Feb 9, 2005
Great story!
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Bold Ferret - God of Three Sided Squares, Helium Filled Lemmings and A Slightly Bent Teaspoon Posted Feb 9, 2005
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Ralph the Wonder Llama and André the dodo; Excrement Occurs Posted Feb 9, 2005
Nope, I win!
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Ralph the Wonder Llama and André the dodo; Excrement Occurs Posted Feb 9, 2005
You did. And now it's me again!
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MysteriousOneWoS/Darth Horrifus - Thingite Well of Souls and member of the MotMV, Chief of the ICUP and Founder of the Mint Posted Feb 9, 2005
I win.
The Last One To Pist Here Wins
bunnyfrog will never die Posted Feb 9, 2005
Winnnnn, winwinw in winwinwi nwi nwinw inw inwinin. Win.
Oh and I win.
The Last One To Pist Here Wins
MysteriousOneWoS/Darth Horrifus - Thingite Well of Souls and member of the MotMV, Chief of the ICUP and Founder of the Mint Posted Feb 9, 2005
I win.
Key: Complain about this post
The Last One To Post Here Wins
- 16961: R195700WayneFrWpgDD#22 Agent Of ZedDragon AvengerOfGods LordOfGhost Member Of The Assassins Guild and The Great God Of Boogie! (Feb 9, 2005)
- 16962: jaz'd(ace & yada yada *sigh* chocolate yada) (Feb 9, 2005)
- 16963: Ivan the Terribly Average (Feb 9, 2005)
- 16964: jaz'd(ace & yada yada *sigh* chocolate yada) (Feb 9, 2005)
- 16965: R195700WayneFrWpgDD#22 Agent Of ZedDragon AvengerOfGods LordOfGhost Member Of The Assassins Guild and The Great God Of Boogie! (Feb 9, 2005)
- 16966: jaz'd(ace & yada yada *sigh* chocolate yada) (Feb 9, 2005)
- 16967: R195700WayneFrWpgDD#22 Agent Of ZedDragon AvengerOfGods LordOfGhost Member Of The Assassins Guild and The Great God Of Boogie! (Feb 9, 2005)
- 16968: Bold Ferret - God of Three Sided Squares, Helium Filled Lemmings and A Slightly Bent Teaspoon (Feb 9, 2005)
- 16969: Ivan the Terribly Average (Feb 9, 2005)
- 16970: Ralph the Wonder Llama and André the dodo; Excrement Occurs (Feb 9, 2005)
- 16971: Bold Ferret - God of Three Sided Squares, Helium Filled Lemmings and A Slightly Bent Teaspoon (Feb 9, 2005)
- 16972: Ralph the Wonder Llama and André the dodo; Excrement Occurs (Feb 9, 2005)
- 16973: mazie (returning soon...) (Feb 9, 2005)
- 16974: Ralph the Wonder Llama and André the dodo; Excrement Occurs (Feb 9, 2005)
- 16975: MysteriousOneWoS/Darth Horrifus - Thingite Well of Souls and member of the MotMV, Chief of the ICUP and Founder of the Mint (Feb 9, 2005)
- 16976: lil ~ Auntie Giggles with added login ~ returned (Feb 9, 2005)
- 16977: originalBillyBob (Feb 9, 2005)
- 16978: bunnyfrog will never die (Feb 9, 2005)
- 16979: MysteriousOneWoS/Darth Horrifus - Thingite Well of Souls and member of the MotMV, Chief of the ICUP and Founder of the Mint (Feb 9, 2005)
- 16980: lil ~ Auntie Giggles with added login ~ returned (Feb 9, 2005)
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