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Added By: Jeremy
Added on: 05/28/2008 @ 10:21:39 AM
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My Car Gets Forty Rods to the Hogshead

This is pretty funny.
View External Link [cuckooscall.blogspot.com]
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jeremy.jpgJeremy - Robots don't say 'ye'
05/28/2008 @ 10:35:29 AM
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I guess Snopes says it's not exactly true, or at least not really that big of a deal.

http://www.snopes.com/history/american/gauge.asp
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matt.jpgMatt - 3941 Posts
05/28/2008 @ 10:35:58 AM
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Jeremy Wrote - 05/28/2008 @ 10:35:29 AM
I guess Snopes says it's not exactly true, or at least not really that big of a deal. http://www.snopes.com/history/american/gauge.asp


I was just writing a post with the same info.
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Matt screwed with this at 05/28/2008 11:28:43 am
face.bmpCarlos44ec - 2079 Posts
05/28/2008 @ 11:18:38 AM
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This would have counted as something that blows my mind.
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fry6beeu9.jpgJeremy - 9543 Posts
05/28/2008 @ 11:25:02 AM
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Well it is still basically true. The only "factual" errors were how we went about basing our design on England's (though it is true we did) and that tunnels are not just wide enough for the tracks, but I don't think anyone pictured that, and at any rate it's not like the tunnels are a mile wide, they are still based on the width of the track.

Snopes' point is that it's obvious, not that it's false, per se. Still though, if you've never thought about it, it isn't that obvious, and therefore IMO still counts as interesting.

IMO their point that it wasn't the only gauge of track at one point in time in the US is non sequitur since the story is about the gauge we DO use today. It would be a little like saying your heritage is irrelevant because you weren't inevitable.
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Jeremy perfected this 3 times, last at 05/28/2008 11:36:15 am
2887.gifAlex - I was too weak to give in Too strong to lose
05/28/2008 @ 01:16:08 PM
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The part about the tunnel does seem really iffy. But otherwise there seems to be a pretty good chain of evidence there, regardless of motive.
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jeremy.jpgJeremy - 9543 Posts
05/28/2008 @ 01:52:02 PM
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Well, again, I don't think the original post means that if the track is 4 feet, 8.5 inches that there's a tunnel somewhere that's 4 feet, 9.5 inches wide. At some level though the specifications for making tunnels have to be based on how large of cargo one is allowed, which is likely based on how wide/tall you can be to still be stable on a wheel base of 4 feet, 8.5 inches. There's probably a tunnel somewhere in America that is as narrow as it can possibly be to fall under those specs. If the tracks were 6 feet wide the specs on the minimum width of a tunnel would likely change.

Personally I would file it under an oversimplification for the point of telling the story without every little bit of minutia than I would an "error".
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thumbnailCAW1I0O3.gifMatt - Washington Bureau Chief
05/28/2008 @ 01:55:14 PM
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Jeremy Wrote - 05/28/2008 @ 11:25:02 AM
IMO their point that it wasn't the only gauge of track at one point in time in the US is non sequitur since the story is about the gauge we DO use today. It would be a little like saying your heritage is irrelevant because you weren't inevitable.


I think it is valid, since it shows that the straightforward, "mindless" progression over time was less straightforward, and perhaps less "mindless" that the story implies.
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jon.jpgJon - 3443 Posts
05/28/2008 @ 02:28:20 PM
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"So, a major Space Shuttle design feature of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system..."

Wait, "most advanced transportation system"? Are they talking about a space shuttle or the segway?
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jeremy.jpgJeremy - 9543 Posts
05/28/2008 @ 02:46:48 PM
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Yeah, that's probably the biggest error in the post. Those shuttles are pieces of s by modern standards, though they've probably been retrofitted with modern stuff. They are intricate/complicated maybe, but I don't think those automatically imply "advanced."

Edit: Though I suppose they would have been talking about when they were originally designed, at which point they probably were the most advanced.
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Jeremy messed with this at 05/28/2008 2:52:36 pm
jon.jpgJon - Nutcan.com's kitten expert
05/28/2008 @ 03:58:40 PM
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Just for clarification, I wasn't really knocking the shuttles as much as making a segway joke.

Though, since you brought it up, I have heard people talk about how the shuttles should be retired and stuff like that, but I have very little knowledge on the subject so I don't really know what to make of it.
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jeremy.jpgJeremy - No one's gay for Moleman
05/28/2008 @ 05:17:10 PM
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Incidentally, a car getting 40 rods to the hogshead is roughly 504 gallons per mile or 0.00198 miles per gallon.

Maybe Abe should try a hybrid.
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