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 spec and told we have always done it that way and wonder what horse's ass came up with that, you may be exactly right, because the Imperial Roman war 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 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. 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.

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My cat's breath smells like cat food.

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It is so hard to look cool walking down a hill!

Time? There's time here in Pixies? Where? Where are my tablets?

BTW, how many know that in some circles, like aviation, there is

a long second, 23.59.59 to 00.00.01?

There is no 00.00.00 in airline schedules.

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Calm, quiet, smooth, devastating

Took me 24 hours to read PF's posts in this thread.

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*Diva*



"Never shall I forget the time I spent with you. Please
continue to be my friend, as you will always find me yours."
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

I write Diva, you read. Sounds like a couple horses asses to me. LOL

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I have to go get something to eat now.I'm diabetic & it took so long to read PFs replies,that it's time to get nourishment or I'll
have a low-sugar reaction! Irish

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Irish---Better to be dead & cool,then alive & uncool!
(Harley Davidson & the Marlboro Man)

Being a nurse I am always on duty, so time doesn't matter. As for hair lice. Stay out of hay!

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Half of a set :halo:

Techie talk turns me on :lust:

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A blessed thing it is for any man or woman to have a friend, one human soul whom we can trust utterly, who knows the best and worst of us, and who loves us in spite of all our faults.

Cheyanne---Techie,Techie,Techie,Techie,etc. Irish

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Irish---Better to be dead & cool,then alive & uncool!
(Harley Davidson & the Marlboro Man)

Do I get the LixyChick Award or Cheyanne?

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Can you handle us both???? :lust:

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A blessed thing it is for any man or woman to have a friend, one human soul whom we can trust utterly, who knows the best and worst of us, and who loves us in spite of all our faults.

I'm sure!





At least I've been dreaming about it a lot.:lust::lust:

Meet you on the corner at 13:05.

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ROFLMFAOAPMMFP!!!!

OMGGGGGGG! This is the funniest thread (not to mention one of the most informative) I've read in months!

White Noise's cat's breath stinks........we have new time standards (old ones too).......and Chey, me and PF are having a threesome!!!!!!!!!!! I swear..........I haven't laughed this much in forever! I love you guys! TY for the pants peeing!!!!!

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Minds are like parachutes. They only work when they are open.

~Thomas Dewar~

And.....we got him sammiched too.....^^^^^^^

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Minds are like parachutes. They only work when they are open.

~Thomas Dewar~

and while we're on the subject of time.....(see?.....you thought I got off the topic again.....huh?)

PF? Could you just get that time machine up and running once and for all.....so I don't have to contend with these fuck'in grey hairs ever again!!!!!!!???????

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Minds are like parachutes. They only work when they are open.

~Thomas Dewar~