Re: Technology and historical continuity...
On Thu, Jan 30, 2003 at 04:59:59PM +0100, Martin F Krafft wrote:
> 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. [...]
Very amusing. This story has shown up in my mailbox more than once.
Indeed, it appears to have been circulated in an astonishing variety
of contexts, from humour and railway web sites to the "Wine and Vine
Personnel" newslettter to "Theosophy World" (google is such a
wonderful thing).
But there are always contrarians:
http://www.snopes.com/history/american/gauge.htm
Cheers,
-Steve
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