Is it them or is it me?

[YM-Mundrabilla]

Is it them or is it me?

A rhetorical question, of course, as I already know that it must be 'them'.

Just reading a 'most informative and highly technical' news item on the SBS (Oz TV) website a minute ago:

'''''' It's longer than two buses, weighs more than a Boeing 747 fully loaded with passengers and can pull 16 Statues of Liberty over a mountain.

.......... boiler able to hold enough water to cover an area the size of a basketball court to the depth of a high-top shoe. ''''''

It's the newly overhauled Union Pacific Big Boy 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive and, obviously, I am now much wiser due to the technical detail provided.

The world has gone mad and the pig ignorant are taking over, but not to worry some of us older members might get out just in time.

Geoff (YM)

[Dartskipper]

Ah, the fabled Union Pacific "Big Boy". A class of steam locomotive built for a specific purpose, to haul extremely long freight trains over difficult terrain. Wonderful to see that one of these magnificent beasts is in full working order again.


Not sure if they could haul Big Ben, 55 London buses, the Houses of Parliament and all of Times Square across the Colorado wilderness though.

[YM-Mundrabilla]

If only something could haul the Parliament House and its contents from Canberra to the middle of the Nullarbor Plain ................ oops too close to Mundrabilla for my liking.
It is supposed to be the 'Westminster System' - perhaps you would like it back? I knew that there was supposed to be a marine component somewhere.

[Harry Nicholson]

Originally Posted by Dartskipper

Ah, the fabled Union Pacific "Big Boy". A class of steam locomotive built for a specific purpose, to haul extremely long freight trains over difficult terrain. Wonderful to see that one of these magnificent beasts is in full working order again.


Not sure if they could haul Big Ben, 55 London buses, the Houses of Parliament and all of Times Square across the Colorado wilderness though.

Reminds me of the line from Eskimo Nell: 'Have you ever felt the piston thrust of a giant CPR . . .?'
What's the next line?

[BobClay]

What in the hell are they going to do with all those 'Statues of Liberty ?' ….

[Dartskipper]

Stand one at each end of the old London Bridge maybe?

[YM-Mundrabilla]

Is the price of scrap copper calculated in Statues of Liberty?

[Farmer John]

"with the punishing force of a thousand horse
Well you know what pistons are..."

At some point someones testicles are compared to to "Granite knobs on a garden gate". That is a measurement that is not often seen and I feel it is exaggerated.

[Harry Nicholson]

Originally Posted by Farmer John

"with the punishing force of a thousand horse
Well you know what pistons are..."

At some point someones testicles are compared to to "Granite knobs on a garden gate". That is a measurement that is not often seen and I feel it is exaggerated.

But Eskimo Nell was an infidel,
as good as a whole harem,
With the strength of ten in her abdomen
and her rock-of-ages beam.

It's on the internet now . . there's nowt sacred these days.

[Tom Alexander]

Originally Posted by Harry Nicholson

But Eskimo Nell was an infidel,
as good as a whole harem,
With the strength of ten in her abdomen
and her rock-of-ages beam.

It's on the internet now . . there's nowt sacred these days.

There is a story about Sergeant King of the Royal Mounted Police who was stationed in the far North, and had taken up a relationship with Nell.

He was sent all the way down to Edmonton to brush up on his fire arms training, and when he returned he had the "crossed rifles" badge newly sewn onto his sleeve.

Nell asked him what the badge was for and he replied "gunnery".

Nell said, "Hell, I've had that for years but no one ever gave me a badge for it !!"

[Varley]

I do not understand why Olympic swimming pools are cited as shorthand for an enormous quantity. If the Olympic's was the same as Titanic's it was only 10 metres by 4.5 or so. Not sure of the depth but can't have held much more than 50 tonnes.

[YM-Mundrabilla]

Doco on Cruise Ships just aired on TV in Melbourne.

Some cruise boat under construction when the doco was made 'is/will be six metres longer than the height of the Eiffel Tower'.

Despite finding it 'most (un) informative' I still have faith that we are not all that bloody stupid.

[YM-Mundrabilla]

Couple more oddities on TV docos in Melbourne in the last day or three:

• Wind turbine diameters are measured in London Eyes.
• Wind turbine speeds are measured in MPH rather than RPM.
• Queen Mary was George VI's wife.