How the size of the Space Shuttles fuel tanks were determined by Horses' Arses!

Did you know that the width of the US railway tracks is exactly 4 feet 8.5 inches?

A little research brings to light an interesting chronology. The original railway tracks throughout the US were laid by the same people who laid the first tram tracks in the cities across America. What would be more logical than to use the same measurement used while building tram tracks that had proven perfectly workable for decades? So far, so good. But why would tram builders settle for such a bizzare number?

Because the infancy of tram building saw many horse-wagon builders switch form wagon building to tram building. Along with their expertise in building carriages of all sorts came their tools and the measurements they used to build horse-wagons. OK, so why would horse-wagons use such an unmanageable number?

Because the horse-wagon building tradition of America started in England. Any other measurement than 4 feet 8.5 inches would have spelt instant doom for any carriage on English roads. 4 feet 8.5 inches was the standard measurement on all road in England.

Now that we have followed the trace all the way back to old England, there is only one question that remain to be asked. Who constructed the first "highways" throughout much of Europe? The Romans created Europe's first system of highways to speed up commerce but more importantly, to be able to swiftly move troops across their vast empire.

The initial use for these roads were intended for Roman war chariots. Any other user of these roads had to follow the measurements laid out by the legionnaires or risk breaking the axle. And since the Roman Empire has standardized measurement systems for their equipment, it is the military planners of ancient Rome who homogenized the roads to be built in this unwieldy width. 4 feet 8.5 inches is the axle-width of a standard Roman war chariot. It is exactly the width that will comfortably hold two horses side by side to pull a war chariot.

Unquestioning following of ancient traditions has led to a bizarre situation where two standard Roman horses' bums dictate the diameter of the Solid Rocket Boosters for the Space Shuttle. How could that be? Simply because the company responsible for building the Solid Rocket Boosters, Thiokol, is located in Utah. Originally, Thiokol preferred to design the Solid Rocket Boosters with a wider diameter but was faced with a minor snag. To get the boosters to the launch site in Florida meant shipping the boosters by train. The train would have to cross mountains and tunnels. The tunnels were only slightly wider than 4 feet 8.5 inches, which means that the originally designed boosters would have gotten stuck in the tunnels. It was back to the drawing board for the Thiokol team to design a sleeker booster to fit through the tunnels.

This is how it came to be that the design of the boosters for man's most advanced propulsion system was decided upon by two Roman horses' arses!

 Kenneth Gomez. http://www.kgomez.com