Well, James Burke would likely say it's because the tape had to move at a given rate, which was determined by the most common spindle size, which was determined by the spindle-makers guild, whose production was driven by the thickness of a spindle used to thresh wheat.
You know some interesting stuff, Bill. The spindle makers guild?
Cool.
I know the thing about rewinding the tape with the pencil ... also taking up all of that slack when the stupid reels unwind themselves! What a pain in the butt that was.
I - um - made that up. Its a reference to the classic - why are the railroad tracks the width they are? Because thats the width of an oxcart - series of observations that he did make.
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Wonder if they made the capstan that size on purpose so you could spin them like that with a standard pencil. Or was it just a nice co-inky-dink?
Well, James Burke would likely say it's because the tape had to move at a given rate, which was determined by the most common spindle size, which was determined by the spindle-makers guild, whose production was driven by the thickness of a spindle used to thresh wheat.
You know some interesting stuff, Bill. The spindle makers guild?
Cool.
I know the thing about rewinding the tape with the pencil ... also taking up all of that slack when the stupid reels unwind themselves! What a pain in the butt that was.
I - um - made that up. Its a reference to the classic - why are the railroad tracks the width they are? Because thats the width of an oxcart - series of observations that he did make.
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