Congress debates auto safety

[EdP]

https://www.fastcompany.com/1174865/horseless-carriage-will-never-catch

In the late 1800s, Congress was so fearful of a new
explosive substance (gasoline) and the machines that used it (horseless
carriages) that it set up a Commission to evaluate the potential dangers. Among
other findings, the Commission concluded that these new machines could threaten
public safety, “hurtling through our streets” at speeds up to 20 miles per
hour. Reading the reports, you would conclude that this technology would never
catch on – – and, in the interests of the nation, never should.

 

[fourthirteen]

Interesting that you mention gasoline as I‘m convinced that if gasoline were invented today it wouldn’t be sold to just anyone on street corners. And if electricity were invented today it wouldn’t be allowed in open outlets in the house.

 

[Jhon]

Interesting that you mention gasoline as I‘m convinced that if gasoline were invented today it wouldn’t be sold to just anyone on street corners. And if electricity were invented today it wouldn’t be allowed in open outlets in the house.

Same for natural gas. Do you think in today's atmosphere they would allow that stuff to run underground all over the place.

 

[Trixie86]

Interesting that you mention gasoline as I‘m convinced that if gasoline were invented today it wouldn’t be sold to just anyone on street corners. And if electricity were invented today it wouldn’t be allowed in open outlets in the house.

No love for Nicky Tesla!

 

[EdP]

Same for natural gas. Do you think in today's atmosphere they would allow that stuff to run underground all over the place.

Every winter you hear of a couple of houses blowing up. Last week one did when a contractor hit a gas line.
That said, I'm very happy this house has NG gas for everything. My grill runs off it too. No tanks to play with.

I found that information for another discussion. A few people dwell on the negatives of EV, the grid, lack of charging, short range etc. Just as people were against the automobile but the problems were resolved. They will for EVs too in time.

 

[tarhoosier]

Gasoline was difficult to find in early years of motoring. It was sold at hardware stores as a solvent for oil based items such as paint and lubricants. My father, b 1905, told me in his childhood there was a doctor on his block who owned a new auto and used it to call on patients at their homes when public transportation was inadequate or unavailable. When father was ~5 yo the man and his wife invited him on a Sunday drive to a nearby town about 35 miles away. My father had rarely been outside his neighborhood and never out of town. The day came and off they went with dusters and such plus a packed lunch. No way to supply oneself otherwise. As the drive progressed the doctor occasionally used a measuring stick to determine the halfway point of fuel and at that point they pulled off the unpaved gravel road, spread a cloth and had their picnic. The small county seat town would have to wait for another trip. There was no fueling option at the time.
Range anxiety is not a new thing.

My father recalled being bitterly disappointed at not seeing this piffling place. It was equal to London or Paris in his mind.

 

[tarhoosier]

To complete the personal part of the story the doctor hoisted my father, as his 5 yo old self, onto his shoulders and stepped into the (quite high) auto and told the sniffling boy that if he squinted his eyes sufficiently he could just see Martinsville in the far distance. Eventually he was convinced that he had "seen" Martinsville at the horizon and the day went better from there. When he returned home his older siblings, age 9 and 12 asked him about the experience. He told them what had happened and they realized immediately the canard. They teased him with little mercy as only siblings can at having been (almost) to Martinsville. For years after in the family they shared a phrase "I can see Martinsville" when asked about some task unstarted or undone. Have you finished your homework? Did you clean the garage? Well, I can see Martinsville meaning I plan to or almost.

edit: this is RARE content