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Cybersalt News

Oh look, Chicken Thursday!

Happy birthday to Grandma Cybersalt! She is the best person who ever happened to me in my life!

Today's video share is a good reminder to always have a shed handy: one never knows when they will need it!
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~ Pastor Tim 

The U.S.  Standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches.  That's an exceedingly odd number.  Why was that gauge used?

Because that's the way they built them in England, and the U.S. railroads were built by English expatriates.

Why did the English people build them like that?  Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad system 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 used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.

Okay!  Why did the wagons use that odd wheel spacing?  Well, if they tried to use any other spacing the wagons would break on some of the old, long distance roads, because that's the spacing of the old wheel ruts.

So who built these old rutted roads?  The first long distance roads in Europe were built by Imperial Rome for the benefit of their legions.  The roads have been used ever since.  And the ruts?  The initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagons, were first made by Roman war chariots made for or by Imperial Rome. They were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing.

Thus, we have the answer to the original question.  The United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches derives from the original specification for an Imperial Roman army war chariot.

Specs and bureaucracies live forever.  So, the next time you are handed a specification and wonder what horse's rear end came up with it, you may be exactly right.  Because the Imperial Roman chariots were made to be just wide enough to accommodate the back-ends of two war horses.

Ctrl + Alt + Del: Control yourself + Alter your thinking + Delete negativity.

"Be a Billionaire!"

and Help

Refugees and

Persecuted Christians

Having a little nap on the sofa before taking myself up to bed for my main sleep; I call that a snors d'oeuvre.

"As Christians, we can't say we are seeking to love our neighbor as ourselves and then do our work with mediocrity."

- Jordan Raynor, Master of One

During the Air Force Academy's basic cadet training, the new cadets, known as doolies, go through a ten-day encampment outdoors. Prior to being served in the chow tent, they are required to do pullups and then get in line to answer questions about the academy. If they answer correctly, they are allowed to proceed inside. If not, they are sent to the back of the line.

One doolie had been sent back a number of times because he didn't reel off the answers. When the poor cadet came up again, a sympathetic upperclassman asked him, "What does the abbreviation S. I. D. N. K. stand for?"

The doolie bowed his head and replied, "Sir, I do not know."

"Right!" the upperclassman said. "Go on in there and get some chow!"

Featured Illustrations are items well suited for illustrating or inspiring a point in a sermon, speech, or devotional. Funny, moving, or perhaps even graphic, the point of them is the point you make with them.

Susan Page writes . . . . 

- photo by Susan PageA good friend called and asked, “Do you want to go hiking tomorrow?”

I responded, “Have you seen the weather forecast?” Accounting for the wind chill the forecast predicted -19 Celsius.

"Oh, we’ll be fine!" was her enthusiastic response.

Always up for the challenge, combined with my love of the great outdoors and nature photography, I ate a hearty breakfast and bundled up for the weather conditions including wearing snow pants and a balaclava, which I rarely pulled out.

The Cybersalt Digest is a ministry of Pastor Tim and Cybersalt.