The Gentle Slide of Progress
(8 votes, average: 4.38 out of 5)
Loading ...Sure the cars we make are a little less efficient than they were a hundred years ago, but now they can drive through mud and over trees. That’s gotta be worth something right? At least we don’t need a false trunk to smuggle liquor into the states anymore. (please ignore the family of Mexicans where my engine should be).
What’s that you say? Run a car on electricity? Boulder dash! That sounds like some kind of pinko commie propaganda!
News Flash!
The awesome possums at Joystiq were kind enough to include my first video game cartoon in their Weekly Webcomic Roundup. I enjoy their blog with the passion of the prepubescent Jeremy that still lives inside of me. He’s the one that says, “When you’re a famous webcomic author, and have sold many a t-shirt you will one day spend an entire day playing videogames.” Just one day should hold me over ’till my kids are in college.
April 16th, 2008 at 4:57 am
Gas 100 years ago… one word…
Leaded.
April 16th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Does lead give you better gas mileage? I’m not saying there hasn’t been any progress. What I am saying is there’s only been progress in ways that make people money without having to do much work.
June 7th, 2008 at 1:19 am
@Smitch
Actually 100 years ago. not leaded. Vehicles had rather large engines with low compression. Stuff had to run on white gas. Catalytic cracking heavier fuels to produce a better octane to pentane ratio was inefficient and so the search for other things such as tetraethyl lead to reduce detonation were researched by Kettering and Midgely in 1921 and its extreme toxicity killed some of the early researchers. It wasn’t until WWII and the requirements of efficiently burning dinosaurs to deliver massive loads of bombs and intense hails of bullets from the sky required engines with higher compression and therefore higher octane ratings to produce the required power which advanced the production of leaded gasoline.