Jayne80 character column limits in code are a legacy from 80 column text displays which are a legacy of IBM's 80 column punch cards which are a legacy of Roman chariots which had two side-by-side 40 column horses
ok maybe that last bit is a bit silly but it's no sillier than using a nearly 100 year old punch card standard on today's wide screen monitors
Lightning Duck@dotjayne Sopeqaking of Roman chariots, today's railroad gauge (space between rails, 4'8.5") is indirectly descended from the width of Roman chariots
Canageek@LightningDuck @dotjayne That is a myth actually, I can look up the full post about it if you want.
@Canageek @dotjayne I looked it up on snopes and it's not intentional but it traces back connections of "because of this, than that, because of that than more..."
Not direct now intentional but a series of happenstances that you can trace the link
Correct me if they're wrong because I thought it was an urban myth as well
Yimby Earth has moved!@LightningDuck @Canageek @dotjayne
It is indeed a myth.
There were several gauges in play in early railways, this one won out due to being wide spread. Was wide spread due to being used in mines Stephenson had worked for. Was not at all a standard. If there was a real connection to Rome it'd be a standard thing since then. It wasn't.
It was due to plateways in the UK mining industry.
https://youtu.be/zrq2_koM1zg?si=jK08qMjkPCyiNb3E
It is indeed a myth.
There were several gauges in play in early railways, this one won out due to being wide spread. Was wide spread due to being used in mines Stephenson had worked for. Was not at all a standard. If there was a real connection to Rome it'd be a standard thing since then. It wasn't.
It was due to plateways in the UK mining industry.
https://youtu.be/zrq2_koM1zg?si=jK08qMjkPCyiNb3E
Railway Gauges did NOT Evolve from a Roman Chariot.
RAK@YimbyEarth @LightningDuck @Canageek @dotjayne: And there are incompatible gauges not that far away; the gauge in the island of Ireland is 5'3", which only exists elsewhere in parts of Australia and Brazil.
@raktheundead @YimbyEarth @Canageek @dotjayne
The Snopes article does mention multiple gauges but talks about why the current most common gauge became predominate