Horses design modern rockets - The Orange Mane

BroncoHI · 06-03-2004, 05:30 PM

Does the statement, "We've always done it that way" sound familiar to you?

The U.S. 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 U.S. 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! But 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 apparently 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 behind came up with it, 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, a 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 behind!1

Rock Chalk · 06-03-2004, 05:49 PM

Haha.

I knew this but its still funny everytime I read it.

No1BroncoFan · 06-03-2004, 06:04 PM

Hate to burst your bubble, but it's an urban legend.

Still funny though.

Ben

Rock Chalk · 06-03-2004, 07:33 PM

Doh.

You cant trust anything anymore can you?

Rock Chalk · 06-03-2004, 07:40 PM

Well I read what's his face's synopsis on why it isn't true and have come to the conclusion that he just has a different viewpoint than what was presented (both here and in the email about this I have seen).

INDIRECTLY, the width of rail systems derived from the width of Imperial Roman Chariots. One says because it was just easier to keep that width since it had been establish and the other says its due to resistance to change within the human species. Both are probable conclusions. Neither side (snopes or the above post/email) has provided more than speculation and drawn assumptions based on perfunctory evidence.

Snopes even mentions that its Not entirely false, or true to some extent or another.

No1BroncoFan · 06-03-2004, 09:07 PM

This one refutes it a little better. Of course all urban legends will have some grain of truth.

My favorite hoax/urban legend site is hoaxbusters. I especially like "Columbia Explosion Pictures." It's a series of screenshots taken directly from "Armageddon."

Ben

Rock Chalk · 06-03-2004, 09:53 PM

I like the show mythbusters. Those two crack me up.

06-03-2004, 05:30 PM	#1
BroncoHI Seasoned Veteran Ainokea Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Honolulu Posts: 397	Horses design modern rockets Does the statement, "We've always done it that way" sound familiar to you? The U.S. 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 U.S. 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! But 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 apparently 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 behind came up with it, 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, a 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 behind!1

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06-03-2004, 05:49 PM	#2
Rock Chalk Cheeky Bastards Laus Deo Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: The Backside of the Internet Posts: 29,940 Adopt-a-Bronco: Chris Harris	Haha. I knew this but its still funny everytime I read it.

06-03-2004, 06:04 PM	#3
No1BroncoFan Old School If you have to ask, you don't know Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Rocky Mountain High Posts: 3,106	Hate to burst your bubble, but it's an urban legend. Still funny though. Ben

06-03-2004, 07:33 PM	#4
Rock Chalk Cheeky Bastards Laus Deo Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: The Backside of the Internet Posts: 29,940 Adopt-a-Bronco: Chris Harris	Doh. You cant trust anything anymore can you?

06-03-2004, 07:40 PM	#5
Rock Chalk Cheeky Bastards Laus Deo Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: The Backside of the Internet Posts: 29,940 Adopt-a-Bronco: Chris Harris	Well I read what's his face's synopsis on why it isn't true and have come to the conclusion that he just has a different viewpoint than what was presented (both here and in the email about this I have seen). INDIRECTLY, the width of rail systems derived from the width of Imperial Roman Chariots. One says because it was just easier to keep that width since it had been establish and the other says its due to resistance to change within the human species. Both are probable conclusions. Neither side (snopes or the above post/email) has provided more than speculation and drawn assumptions based on perfunctory evidence. Snopes even mentions that its Not entirely false, or true to some extent or another.

06-03-2004, 09:07 PM	#6
No1BroncoFan Old School If you have to ask, you don't know Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Rocky Mountain High Posts: 3,106	This one refutes it a little better. Of course all urban legends will have some grain of truth. My favorite hoax/urban legend site is hoaxbusters. I especially like "Columbia Explosion Pictures." It's a series of screenshots taken directly from "Armageddon." Ben

06-03-2004, 09:53 PM	#7
Rock Chalk Cheeky Bastards Laus Deo Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: The Backside of the Internet Posts: 29,940 Adopt-a-Bronco: Chris Harris	I like the show mythbusters. Those two crack me up.