The Browser - Winter Gauges

The Battle Of The Gauges

Patricia Fara | History Today | 3rd March 2022

The piecemeal growth of the railways across Britain as different entrepreneurs expanded their networks resulted in two different track gauges and a lot of passengers changing trains unnecessarily. The two rival campaigns came to represent much more than just metal rails: "Which should have priority: technological progress, private profit or public safety?" (1,920 words)

On Winter

Matt Dinan | Hedgehog Review | 2nd March 2020

The choice to live in a place with regularly inclement weather forces a counter-cultural way of living — more cautious and risk averse. With climate change upon us, this tradition is valuable. "Winter, perversely intensified by hotter summers, is good practice for a coming age of constraint. Snow forces literal slowness and uncertainty on a culture focused on the quick and the sure" (1,781 words)

Video: Piano’s Darkest Secret | Musical Basics. Pianist documents his attempts to find a concert-standard piano with slightly narrower keys to suit his hands and escape classical piano's "deadly curse" of the small handspan (19m 12s)

No matter how big your hands are, you can always enjoy a subscription to The Browser:

Caroline Crampton, Editor-In-Chief; Robert Cottrell, Founding Editor; Jodi Ettenberg, Associate Editor; Uri Bram, CEO & Publisher; Al Breach, Founding Director

Editorial comments and letters to the editor: editor@thebrowser.com‌‌ | Technical issues and support requests: support@thebrowser.com‌‌ | Or write at any time to the publisher: uri@thebrowser.com

Proudly published with Ghost, the fiercely independent website and newsletter platform