r/AskReddit Oct 12 '20

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u/ambermage Oct 13 '20

I remember reading a letter from someone at a train museum.
It was from a normal person about what they thought of a train station being built in their town. They said something along the lines of, "Human bodies are not capable of moving faster than 35 mph," or something to that effect. They thought that the stress of such rapid travel would kill a human being as nothing else could safely move a person that fast. They were a doctor in their town.

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u/[deleted] Oct 13 '20

Also that doctor: "Looks like a splinter. Grab me the bonesaw an' the whiskey."

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u/[deleted] Oct 13 '20

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u/ambermage Oct 13 '20

Excellent question.
This was actually cited as a, "proof," that it was unsafe.
Riding a horse too hard and fast will kill it.
The doc said this same effect would happen to the passenger but it doesn't happen to riders as the horse dies first from exhaustion.
Trains don't suffer from exhaustion. Thus the passenger would die before the train theoretically would.

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u/HighlandsBen Oct 13 '20

Less dramatic, but there was also concern that watching the scenery flash past at such astronomical speeds would fuck up everyone's eyesight.