"pulled by two babushkas" ??????
I thought a babushka was a scarf Eastern European women wore on their heads
to signify that they were married, also worn back in the '60's by Midwestern
Catholic women lacking a hat for church.
-----Original Message-----
From: Wright, Larry <larry.wright@usop.com>
To: National Corporation (E-mail) <tigers@autox.team.net>
Date: Wednesday, March 15, 2000 2:05 PM
Subject: inquiry 031500b
>Duncan wrote:
>>Sorry for the non-tiger content but don't factoids make life fun...
>>> The US standard railroad gauge (width between the two rails) is 4
>>> feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge
>>> use
>
>>In WW II, the German army got bogged down when
>>they reached the Russian border due to having to re-lay
>>all the railroad tracks. Russia's track gauge was different.
>
> Instead of being on the "Roman Plan", w/the tracks the width of two
>horses' behinds, in ancient Russia the carts were pulled by two babushkas.
>Much wider...
>
> This whole discussion of the 'inherited size' of railroad gauges --
>first posted by Steve Laifman way back in 1996 -- reminds one of the
Tiger's
>inheritance of the Alpine's floorpan, and the Husky's before that, and who
>knows what before that. A "clean slate" design could have been much
>different.
>
>Lawrence R. Wright, Purchasing Analyst
>U S Office Products, Mid-Atlantic District
>Formerly Andrews Office Products
>larry.wright@usop.com
>Ph. 301.386.7923 Fx. 301.386.5333
>
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