Bookie Challenge WebsiteWho's in control? The horses' asses
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Who's in control? The horses' asses
Guest 10/3/2009, 9:46 am
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 designed 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 had used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.
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 (including England) for their legions. Those 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. Therefore the United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. Bureaucracies live forever.
So the next time you are handed a specification/procedure/process and wonder 'What horse's ass came up with this?' you may be exactly right. Imperial Roman army chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses. (Two horses' asses.) 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 in 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, and 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? Ancient horse's asses control almost everything... and CURRENT Horses Asses are controlling everything else.
Why was that gauge used? Because that's the way they built them in England, and English expatriates designed 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 had used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.
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 (including England) for their legions. Those 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. Therefore the United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. Bureaucracies live forever.
So the next time you are handed a specification/procedure/process and wonder 'What horse's ass came up with this?' you may be exactly right. Imperial Roman army chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses. (Two horses' asses.) 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 in 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, and 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? Ancient horse's asses control almost everything... and CURRENT Horses Asses are controlling everything else.
Guest- Guest
Re: Who's in control? The horses' asses
Magic 10/3/2009, 1:20 pm
There has been many differnt track sizes around the world over the years and we do still have some of the "narrow" tracks running here in the US but those are mostly for tours on the old steam trains (I watch them on the RFDTV channel)
Of course changing size would be hard to do since the train has to fit the tracks and we need these to haul stuff all over NA
And to think back just 100 years ago all we had was trains and almost no cars or trucks........just horses......asses
Dip weeds these days act like it has always been like it is today.
And NASA does use truck shipment when they can but they also need security since we have those "ELF" type jackasses running around trying to blow-up or light things on fire (their parents must have had a bit too much LSD in the 60's)
I actually have some video I taped years ago when they were testing the new rockets after the Challenger incident.
I'm probably the only one that didn't work for NASA or one of the companies involved that has been watching every launch and even taping and staring at rockets laying on the ground on a short track shooting fire out of the boosters
Always thought I was going to be on the moon or Mars when I grew up after watching the early days when I was a kid.
They had to wait so long thanks to whiney hippy's that say it is a waste of money that now I will be waaaay over the hill before they even start the next moon project or send a manned mission to Mars.
Hope to be around long enough to watch on tv still.
Of course changing size would be hard to do since the train has to fit the tracks and we need these to haul stuff all over NA
And to think back just 100 years ago all we had was trains and almost no cars or trucks........just horses......asses
Dip weeds these days act like it has always been like it is today.
And NASA does use truck shipment when they can but they also need security since we have those "ELF" type jackasses running around trying to blow-up or light things on fire (their parents must have had a bit too much LSD in the 60's)
I actually have some video I taped years ago when they were testing the new rockets after the Challenger incident.
I'm probably the only one that didn't work for NASA or one of the companies involved that has been watching every launch and even taping and staring at rockets laying on the ground on a short track shooting fire out of the boosters
Always thought I was going to be on the moon or Mars when I grew up after watching the early days when I was a kid.
They had to wait so long thanks to whiney hippy's that say it is a waste of money that now I will be waaaay over the hill before they even start the next moon project or send a manned mission to Mars.
Hope to be around long enough to watch on tv still.
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Re: Who's in control? The horses' asses
cravnravn 10/4/2009, 3:02 am
THAT IS A STRANGE NUMBER, BUT THEN AGAIN CONSIDER THE SOURCE, THE bRITS ARE A STRANGE GROUP THEMSELVES.
Ever been to Harpers Ferry Wva? theres a train tunnel Im pretty sure thats the Potomac, but the opening is so small that if you are in that tunnel, it isnt allowed but folks do it. and a train comes you better hop you are by the cutouts in the side of the tunnel, so you can get into one, and you better not be over weight, that train will get you.
Good piece ther Norm, a Horses Ass, hmmm never would have thunk it.
Ever been to Harpers Ferry Wva? theres a train tunnel Im pretty sure thats the Potomac, but the opening is so small that if you are in that tunnel, it isnt allowed but folks do it. and a train comes you better hop you are by the cutouts in the side of the tunnel, so you can get into one, and you better not be over weight, that train will get you.
Good piece ther Norm, a Horses Ass, hmmm never would have thunk it.
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Re: Who's in control? The horses' asses
dblshockpwr 10/4/2009, 9:06 am
heh heh...
For some reason this is the first thing I thought of ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGKoE6EhLgo
For some reason this is the first thing I thought of ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGKoE6EhLgo
dblshockpwr- Shock and Awe
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