Clang, clang went the trolley, until the buses arrived
From June 14, 2008: Today’s questions:
Phoenix used to have streetcars, and now we are launching a light-rail system. Why did we get rid of streetcars decades ago? If light rail is now such a great idea, why did we get rid of the original streetcars? Phoenix did indeed have streetcars from 1887 to 1948.
The system started out with horsedrawn cars and went electric in 1893. The city of Phoenix bought the system from its private owners in 1925 and upgraded it, adding modern streetcars. The system had its ups and downs. The trolleys were hot in the summer and cold in the winter. On the other hand, they ran every 10 minutes and a ride was just 5 cents.
Anyway, to answer your question, the streetcars went out when buses came in. At the time, that was deemed to be progress.
I learned this at phoenixtrolley.com, the website of the Phoenix Trolley Museum.
Why are our high and low temperatures recorded in the shade, and what is the meteorologist’s definition of “shade”?
If you just put the thermometer out in the direct sunlight, you would be more or less measuring the temperature of the thermometer itself and not the temperature of the air around it.
Most National Weather Service stations place their thermometers in a white wooden box with louvered sides. It stands around 5 feet off the ground.
That way the thermometer is reacting to the air around it and not the heat it would absorb from direct sunlight.
My husband says that the parents of the mother are always called nana, or nanny, and papa, and the parents of the father are grandma and grandpa. Have you ever heard that?
No, I haven’t. It’s silly, and so is your husband.
I think you should call your grandparents whatever you want — or whatever they want — or whatever family tradition dictates.