Railroad tracks.
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 in Washington are controlling everything else
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Father's Gift
A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer"s showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.
As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car.
Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study.
His father! told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box.
Curious, but somewhat Disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bhagavad Gita, with the young man"s name embossed in gold.
Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said, " With all your money you give me a Bhagavad Gita? And stormed out of the house, leaving the Bhagavad Gita.
Many years passed and the young man was very
successful in business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family,but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him since that graduation day.
Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son.
He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.
When he arrived at his father"s house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father"s important papers and saw the still new Bhagavad Gita, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bhagavad Gita and began to turn the pages.
His father had carefully underlined a verse, "Lord Krishna would give whatever his devotee asks for, do that son whenever someone comes to you for help" As he read those words, a car key dropped from the back of the Bhagavad Gita. It had a tag with the dealer"s name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words...PAID IN FULL.
How many times do we miss God"s blessings because they are not packaged as we expected ? I trust you enjoyed this. Pass it on to others. Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for...!
IF YOUR GIFT IS NOT PACKED THE WAY YOU WANT IT , IT"S BECAUSE IT IS BETTER PACKED THAT WAY! ALWAYS APPRECIATE LITTLE THINGS;
THEY USUALLY LEAD YOU TO ATTACHMENTS!
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Fwd: FW: So, you think you know it all??????????????
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Fwd: The Rat!
showed a large cage with a male rat in it. The rat was in the middle
of the cage. Then, the professor kept a piece of cake onside and kept
a female rat on the other side. The male rat ran towards the cake and
ate it. Then, the professor changed the cake and kept some bread . The
male rat ran towards the bread. This experiment went on with the
professor changing the food every time. And, every time, the male rat
ran towards the food item and never towards the female rat. Professor
said: This experiment shows that food is the greatest strength and
attraction.
Then, one of the students from the back rows said:- "Sir, why don't
you change the female rat? She may be his wife!
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5 Questions You Should Never Ask Your Girlfriend
Let's face it, women have the ability to read much more into a question than is meant.
For instance, a guy asks what the time is, and she hears, "I'm bored, I want to leave, I wonder if this relationship is working for me,
I think I may be able to escape in the next few minutes, I wonder what I am doing here?" He wanted to know what the time was,
because he needs to take his tablet an hour after supper. So what do the following questions mean to women?
Are you going to be much longer?
She hears : Here I am sitting on my backside waiting in the car, while you are packing the baby's bag, sorting out the dog, wrapping
the birthday present, dealing with YOUR mother's phonecall, setting the alarm and locking the house. What is taking you so long?
Why does this question irritate women?
This question merely reveals your husband/boyfriend's complete lack of understanding about what it takes to get ready to go on the
road. And this is what makes women angry. Leave it to the man in your life, and you will arrive at the party without a present, without
clean nappies for the baby, and to top it all, a call from the alarm company, saying the armed response says the dog is trotting around
inside the house and they hope that is what set off the alarm.
Don't you think you should start running again?
She hears : You are getting fat and I think it is because you are not getting enough exercise. Pick up two more kilo's and I am out of here.
Why does this question irritate women?
It makes them feel that they are being prescribed to in how they should look, what they should wear in order to be found acceptable.
Men just don't understand that many women deal with baby blues or the difficult boss by eating a second slice of chocolate cake,
followed by a cream caramel delight, rum 'n raisin ice cream and rounded off with a sweetie pie.
What's for supper?
She hears: Your place is in the kitchen. I don't care if your work a full day like I do, supper is your responsibility and I am hungry.
Why does this question irritate women?
It makes them feel as if the bulk of the household responsibilities is still theirs, even if they work fulltime or earn more than their
husbands. Especially if they shopped for the food, cooked yesterday and put three loads of washing through the machine in the last 24 hours.
What was your previous boyfriend like?
She hears: I don't like the thought of your being with anyone else, even if I didn't know you then. I really want to hear that he was
a right royal jerk, useless in bed, couldn't hold down a job and generally disliked by all your family and friends.
Why does this question irritate women?
It makes them feel cornered – previous boyfriends are actually private territory and have nothing to do with present relationships.
When women are hesitant to discuss previous relationships, men often react as if they are somehow being excluded and as if the
woman has something to hide. We all have secrets and private things about which we don't talk to anyone.
Who was that you were talking to?
She hears: I don't trust you. I don't like you talking to other men. You're mine, mine, mine and don't you forget it. How much did that smile really mean?
Why does this question irritate women?
It makes them feel as if they are being treated like possessions and not human beings. Everyone needs friends and women certainly
do not want to sleep with every man they smile at. Heavens, that would include the 72-year-old butcher on the corner.
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