Over two thousand years
ago, the Imperial Roman Empire attempted to conquer the world. They built the
first long-distant roads in Europe (and England) for their army to access the
new lands. These roads have been used ever since.
The standard Roman war
chariots were initially created just wide enough to accommodate the rear ends
of two war horses. These Roman chariots formed the initial ruts in these
newly-formed roads.
Those who utilized the
roads thereafter spaced their wheels to prevent the wagon wheels from being
damaged on the ruts. The distance between the ruts was 4 feet & 8.5 inches.
Thus, all future wagons in Europe (and England) were built to match the ruts in
all of the roads. If they were built with different wheel spacing, wagon wheels
would be subject to damage or being broken.
When the British created
the pre-railroad tramways, they used the same gauge -- 4 feet & 8.5 inches
between wheels, because those who built the tramways utilized the same jigs and
tools they used for building horse-drawn wagons -- thus, same wheel spacing.
When the British built
their first railroad tracks, they used the same gauge -- 4 feet & 8.5
inches -- still in use today.
When the Unites States
created the U.S. railroad system, the U.S. standard railroad gauge was 4 feet
& 8.5 inches.
Time Marches on -- the more
things change, the more they stay the same.
The Morton-Thiokol Company
manufactured the solid rocket boosters (SRBs) at their factory in Utah. The
engineers who designed the SRBs preferred to make them larger (wider) but were
constrained by the US railroad gauge of 4 feet & 8.5 inches because the
railroad line from the factory runs through a tunnel in a mountain. Since the
SRBs had to fit within the tunnel, the engineers deigned them to a smaller
size.
In January of 1986, the
space shuttle Challenger ended in tragedy and the death of 7 crew members,
attributed to a solid-fueled Thiokol rocket booster.
In 1989, Morton &
Thiokol split -- the chemical division went with Morton and the propulsion
division went with Thiokol, Inc.
In 1998, Thiokol changes
its company name to Cordant Technologies.
It's ironic how much impact
being a horse's ass can make on the world. And in human history, there have
always been more horse's asses than horses.
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Quote for the Day -- “He's of the colour
of the nutmeg. And of the heat of the ginger.... he is pure air and fire; and
the dull elements of earth and water never appear in him, but only in patient
stillness while his rider mounts him; he is indeed a horse, and all other jades
you may call beasts.” William Shakespeare
___________
Bret Burquest is the author
of 11 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a few dogs and has a driveway
of two worn ruts in the earth, wide enough for a standard automobile, leading
out to a dirt county road, wide enough for about 11 horse's asses.
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