CULTURAL QA 02-2023-14 BEING A COMPILATIONTHERE MAY BE ERRORS
Q1 Whythere is a V-Shape track in the middle of the railway track? Know its meaning! A1 Hemanth Kumar, Feb 11 When you travel inthe railway, then at some places you must have seen V shaped tracks on therailway track. Do you know why the railways need to install V shaped railsbetween two tracks? This would be especially visible on bridges.You must have seen it in some other places as well, but do you know why therailways need to put V shaped tracks in between two tracks. Let us tell youthrough this article. In Indian Railways, the two V tracks is not done forrunning, but these tracks are used to strengthen the main track.It is also called guard rail. Where is it used? Other tracksbetween two tracks are often used on deck bridges, level crossings and sharpturns. In fact, there is a possibility of the tracks turning due to theweight of the train while passing over the bridge, because there is no gripfrom the ground under the tracks. In this case, V shaped tracks are used tokeep the tracks firmly at one place. At the same time, on sharp turns, another side rail(track) is used along with the track. Due to this, there is less possibility ofderailment of the wheel even when the train is in speed on a sharp turn,because here the wheel moves between two tracks. At the same time, V-shaped track is also used at level crossings, because the part of thecrossing is made of cement.In such a situation, other rails are used between the tracks to keep thetracks firmly fixed. Let us tell youthat for the use of these tracks, the railway has fixed a scale, under whichthe weight of the track should not be less than 40 kg per meter. In this case,light and thin iron is not used. The distance should be 140 mm. Let us tell youthat the railway also takes special care of the distance in the use of thesetracks, under which the distance between the main and guard rail should not beless than 140 mm. Guard rail is single and double In some places theyare used differently. Therefore, this guard rail is of two types, that issingle and double guard rail. At some turns, work is done only with singleguard rail, while atsome places due to high risk, the railway uses double guard rail Q2 Whycan some parasitic worms live in the human intestine for several years withoutcausing serious disease symptoms? A2 Ken Saladin, Professor of biology,emeritus (retired)17h One reason can be low numbers of parasites, so theydon’t do enough damage to be noticeable. Another is that ahost-parasite relationship evolves, parasites tend to mutate and evolve to doless and less damage to their hosts, almost (or in actuality) becomingcommensals rather than parasites. To kill one’s host—one’s source of food,shelter, and other needs—obviously is bad for the parasite itself, so the parasitesthat do the most damage or cause the highest mortality rates are thought to bethose with the shortest evolutionary history of association with that host. Q3 Whatis the most "wow" moment you had while traveling? A3 Shaunak Bhattacharjeee, Lives inKolkata, West Bengal, India (1996–present)3h In October lastyear, I took a flight from Kolkata to Bangalore. As our flight took off fromthe Kolkata airport and made a steady ascent, I looked out of my window andnoticed a beautiful scenery! In a single view, I was able to observe so many important andhistorical places in Kolkata. There are sixplaces which were captured in this single aerial view and I have marked them bynumbers. The first one is the Victoria Memorial, one of the most popularmonuments in Kolkata. Built in 1921, this 56 metre tall structure was built for15 years in the memory of Queen Victoria. The vast openground that you see marked 2nd is Maidan, which is Kolkata's version of CentralPark. Spread across an area of almost 1,000 acres, it is the largest urban parkin India. The tall buildingthat you see marked as the 3rd one is The 42. With a height of 260 metres, this65-storeyed building is the tallest skyscraper in Kolkata and was also thetallest skyscraper in the country at the time it was constructed. The fourth isperhaps the most iconic structure in Kolkata — the Howrah Bridge. Constructed over the holyriver, Ganga, the 700-metre long Howrah Bridge was constructed in 1943 whichjoins the twin cities of Kolkata and Howrah. It is not just the busiestcantilever bridge in the world, but also the third-longest cantilever bridge inthe world, the longest in India. And the 5thbuilding that you are seeing is Nabanna — the office of the Chief Minister ofBengal, Mamata Banerjee and top officials in the government. And then, the 6thone may not be clearly visible, but one can identify the railway tracks. It isthe Howrah Railway Station.Opened in the year 1854, it is the oldest as well as the largest railway stationin India. Now, if you get tosee six such significant places in a single picture, wouldn't it make you go'Wow'? Q4 Isit true that half the people you meet are below average intelligence? A4 Claire Jordan, Degree in biology andfolklore; programmer, shop owner, secretary on newspaper Feb 8 Unless you are a psychiatric nurse or carer, slightlyless than half the people you meet will be below the median average.The reason is that although there are, by definition, as many people below themedian as above it, the people who are the furthest below the median (e.g.adults with the mental development of an infant) are generally in hospitals,not walking about in the street. Q5 Whichculture’s narrative and records have been almost erased from history? A5 Quinten Roald Stärk, Studied Historyat Utrecht University Jan 6 Of the cultures andcivilizations that we know of there is one that sticks out as completelymysterious and erased from history. Potbelly Hill orGöbekli tepe in Turkish is a temple complex that 11.500 years ago was thecentre of a town/city in what is now the greater Sanliurfa region. All we know is that they were polytheistic and quiteadvanced with roads and running water. It has beenspeculated that they worshiped death and believed we become animals afterdeath. But that is about it, everything else has been erased by history. People often forget that human civilisation as we know itonly really started 5000 years ago with Egypt as our first modern country.Humans have existed for 200.000 years so wecomprise only a fraction of human history. Who knows how many cultures havecome before us and have been erased by time. Göbekli Tepe might just be theremnants of a human civilisation before us. Which could have been build on onebefore them. Who know Q6 Howdid Indian Railways solve the problem of track expansion? A6 Nihit Goyal, Indian RailwaysEnthusiast7y If you are talkingabout the width expansion of track then firstly the expansion is negligible... secondly the wheels of train arenot aligned on either side of tracks the way it seems to a layman...infact they are aligned towards the inner part of tracks and also some portion ofit remains on the track...thereis nothing on the outer part... ie. the wheels don’t encompass the whole trackwidth and hang on either side they just hang on inner side and some of it isplaced on the surface... So even if width expands or contracts a bit...the outerside of wheel just hangs the way it should as it never has to alignperfectly... IF YOU are talking about the length of railway then forevery 10 km or so ...switch expansion joints(SEJ) are placed on either side...so even when it expands ...the track piece will layover on other track piecea bit and because of joint the train will This is how the SEJ seems to us... This is the crosssection view....you can see how the pieces are laying on each other'sside...there has been some margin left for expected expansion and contracton soeven if that happens...the train will just roll on without having any alignmentproblems or so... My note- At one time there was gap between jointsof two tracks.(Tracks come as lengthy pieces) For running of high speed trainsthey are welded now and only at a distance of 10 KM gap is provided. Most of the friends may recollectanswering questions in middle school- why there is a gap between tracks in thejoint. Q7 Whatare the similarities and differences between India and Pakistan? A7 Atul Chaudhary, Political Observer Feb5 Similarity - Boththe countries became independent in 1947. Difference - India is now 5th largest economy in theworld & is on the way to become a superpower whereas Pakistan’s economy hasbeen collapsed & the country is fighting for its survival. Similarity - Boththe countries share same history. Difference - TodayIndia has a respectful space in the world & it is known for its talent,democracy, development , unity, industry etc whereas Pakistan has become a jokein the world & known only for terrorism, extremism, chaos, fragile economy,military dictatorship etc. similarity - Bothcountries’ leaders do foreign trips. Difference - Indian leaders go to strengthen ties, toattract investment, to participate in various international events etc butPakistani leaders visit foreign countries for only one purpose - BEGGING MONEY. Similarity - BothIndia & Pakistan are diverse countries (in terms of language, culture,religion, ethnicity etc) Difference - India is highly integrated and verymuch united even after such a huge diversity (because India respected its diversity)whereas Pakistan could not respect its diversity as Bangladesh has alreadysucceeded from it & many others (Baloch, Pasthuns etc) are fighting fortheir succession. Similarity - Both the countries had minority populationduring partition (in1947). Some Hindus, Sikhs remained in Pakistan & SomeMuslims remained in India during partition. Difference - Muslims population of India has remainintact (even increased faster than Hindu population) whereas minorities ofPakistan have been wiped out & today only few are left (and they’re in helllike situation). Similarity -Both the countries have a large poor population. Difference - InIndia, Government is providing them free ration at their doorsteps (to almost800 million people, which is four times than the whole population of Pakistan)whereas people of Pakistan (both poor & common men) are struggling forbasic food items, They’re not getting it even after paying higher price. My note- The differences told are by the personanswering and can be exaggeration also. I have added the QA forsimilarities. It is not good on the part of any person highlighting theminus of any country. We should recollect still we have trainservice between India and Pakistan and many travel between the two countires. Q8 Domost 65-year-olds sit at home all day just eat, sleep, and watch TV? A8 Shiva Shukla, Process Engineer atIndian Oil Corporation Ltd. 6h It totally depends, on a lot of factors Your occupation:— My father is now aretired medical officer. He is still into his service at his terms &conditions, although earning only penny from it. But he has kept himself busyby going to a clinic and spending time with his patients. He is maintaining a disciplinedschedule and is happy & engaged. My father in law is now a retired air force officer. Hegot so many offers to join but due to change of location he denied them all. Currently he is seating idle. Butnot just eating, sleeping & watching TV. After his retirement he hasdeveloped keen interest in agriculture. He is very active andmanages the village farming with help of YouTube. He is daily learning newthings and also implemant them for more productivity in his land. One of my uncle is now an retired engineer from TATAsteels, everytime I have gone to his home I saw him in front of TV doing nothing.He is happy in spending his life that way. 2- Your nature- Your retirement lifestyle will surelydefine how your nature and attitude has been all these 60years. If you were anintrovert and never liked talking and interacting with people around you, youcan't expect people will come and ask your well-being when you are residingfull time on a chair. Social life matters a lot. 3- Your attitude- Once I visited an old age home,there I met an aunt, herchildren were residing in USA & she was willingly residing in Old age home.She told us that she didn't liked the life of US when she spend 1 year with herchildren there. So she came back and started living in an old age home asliving with same age companions was more cheerful than living in a home all alone.She rented her house and is now happily spending her life on her terms &condition. She goes on hiking & do parties as well. With her positiveattitude she might be living the best phase of her life. 4-Your interest — I met an auditor during an auditmeeting at my company. The chief auditor sir was a senior citizen aging 70+.While interacting with him I get to know that he completed his education as auditor after gettingretired and is now running his own auditing company. He hastravelled 39 countries and has been recommended by chief politicians for PadmaShri awards 10 times (although he haven't received it yet, but as a proof hewas carrying all the recommended letters with him). So, retirement is not a phase it's starting of a new lifeand it totally depends on an individual how they treat it.Even if one wants to work it's good but if someone just want to sitidle and watch TV its equally good. As it's the last phase of life, let them enjoyas they want. My note- I think the question must be 75 + than 65+.Most retired are active in one way or other till 75. Irrespective of previoushealth condition, many problems creeps in after 75, and compels many to be nearTV (TV is informativeand educative) or just manages their own things like bath, wash,water plants etc. Many have dementia by the time. Creativity gets lost. Even walking becomesimpossible for more distance. There can be exemptions. I am 79+ and I canrecollect very well how I was when 65+ and now in 75+. One thing developas age advance is inertia. Now I am not able to walk more than 700 metres at a stretch and I donot take risk. I hire taxi/auto as the work deserves. I try to be active in groups, but I know very well thereis inertia crept in to me. Q9 IsGreat Britain still ethnically white like it was years ago? Is London stillfull of white guys in top hats (Eastern Canada is all black brown and yellowpeople)? A9 Claire Jordan, Worked in Fleet Streetand Isle of Dogs as secretary at Daily Telegraph15h Don’t be silly. London hasn’tbeen full of men in top hats for 150 years, and even bowler hats went out offashion about 50 years ago. Top hats are only worn as a kind of playingdress-up at a few very special occasions, such as the races at Ascot. The majority of people in Britain are white but there’s asubstantial South Asian community, and smaller black and East Asian ones.But a lot of the white people are of foreign origin and *this has always beenthe case*. They are mainlyItalians, Ukrainians, Poles and Romanians, and the Italian and Ukrainiancommunities in Scotland go back about 150 years. London is a big mixing bowl.If you want directions in London, ask somebody black (unless they’re in Africanrobes) - they’re the group least likely to be tourists and most likely to reliably speak English. Q10 Docows typically not enter temples in India? A10 Devala Rees, Hindu practitioner andscholar of Pagan religions Feb 7 Cows typically donot enter temples in India, mainly for a very simple reason: Cows aren’t big fans of stairs.But cows typically assemble outside of temples in the courtyard, where they arefed. Here’s a photo I recently took of cows who have gathered outside the ShriKedarnath Temple in Uttarkashi, India, where they know they will be fed atcertain times: All the above QA are from Quora website on 18-02-2023 Quora answers need not be100% correct answers . Compiled and posted by R. Gopala Krishnan,79 years, on 19-02-2023 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/132376322.2425442.1676787474709%40mail.yahoo.com.
