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[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/upLoads//2009/07/The-Washboard-Effect.mp3[/podcast]
Saskatchewan, as has oft been noted, has a lot of roads: more than 190,000 kilometres in all, in fact, giving it one of the most extensive road systems in Canada.
Not all of those roads are paved, however. In fact, most aren’t. And as anyone who has had occasion to drive extensively on the rural road system can tell you, while gravel roads are better than mud roads, they have their own...interesting...characteristics, of which one of the most annoying is the “washboard effect.”
Washboards are fine if you’re a 19th century pioneer woman trying to clean the clothes or the abs of a 21st century male bodybuilder, but washboard-like ridges on a road are downright dangerous, reducing traction, causing extreme wear and ...
Posted by Edward Willett at 17:23, July 15th, 2009 under Blog, Columns, Science Columns |