Jeff's Knowledge Nosh

Your daily bite of miscellaneous information.

Scramble!

Yesterday we continued the discussion of signals, and in a way, today continues on the theme with a signal for a different transportation mode: walking. Specifically, this post is an ode to the scramble. Found increasingly in major metropolitan areas, scramble...

Switches and Signals

Happy Thanksgiving! Last week's post before the holiday introduced subway signals, and today continues on the topic (make sure you've read the prior post before proceeeding). Think about the red signal. Often indicating “stop,” it tells trains to, well, stop. But...

Clear Ahead

Every day, millions of people rely on subways and trains to travel, and the signal system akin to more advanced traffic lights is responsible for ensuring their safe operation. Ever wonder how they work? You're about to find out. Most railroads operate by defining...

Sideways Falls

As you'll likely notice, yesterday's post has been delayed until today. What's the excuse? Being out of the country. Although currently writing this from a train in Toronto, today's topic relates to the wonder that is Niagara Falls. Home to three distinct waterfalls...

Status in the Sky

While flights may be delayed for a multitude of reasons, the vast majority are associated with airport-wide events (rather than mechanical or airline system issues that impact only a subset of one's operations). Luckily, data for those types of events is aggregated...

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More Knowledge Noshes Below

Mind the Leaves

Slippery Rail Season is one of the most dreaded times of year for any rail-based transit system; however, it’s one of the least understood phenomenons by the public and is often heralded as a lame excuse for poor service. Here’s what happens. During the autumn season,...

Spooky Baseball Celebrations

As I recover from spending more than eighteen hours in the field supporting rail operations for the Boston Red Sox’s World Series victory parade and train service to Salem for Halloween, I couldn’t help but think back to the 2008 Phillies World Series which also fell...

Salem Village

Many know of the Salem Witch Trials, but what actually happened? Quite simply, during the late 1600s in the puritan village of Salem, a young woman became ill. Given limited medial knowledge for the time, the doctors simply could not identify a cause for her state....

October Heads

By the title of the post, you might be thinking of jack-o'-lanterns. But there's another important type of head in October: Head Races! Many types of sports have elite courses and races, including the Boston Marathon, the St Andrews Golf Course, and the Kentucky...

Fortuna, Not So

There once was a cow named Fortuna who lived in the area near Lansdale, PA. Nearby was the Reading Railroad, whose tracks connected Doylestown, PA with Center City Philadelphia. One fateful day, ironically-named Fortuna was crossing the tracks on the cowpath when ol'...

Je M’appelle KESSLER Jeff

Comment vous appelez-vous? Quel est votre nom? If you ask someone their name in French, you might expect a reply with a typical first and last name. But what about in written works? For someone like me, you might see it listed as KESSLER Jeff. Why the different layout...

People & Places

We end this week with a relatively quick but useful tidbit: What do Americans, Californians, New Yorkers, Texans, Europeans, Canadians, Mexicans, and "Massholes" alike have in common? They're all demonyms! Demonyms are words used to identify the people associated with...

Gridded Intuition

Everyone knows Boston’s roads are somewhat nonsensical. Curving through the city, intersecting at odd angles, and having crazy conventions where Winter Street becomes Summer Street, navigating Boston without a GPS is nearly impossible. Contrast that with Philadelphia,...

Driving Me Crazy

Consider a map of North America… but don’t look at one! Instead, think about the United States and how a typical North American map would appear. With that in mind, consider the following facts: Washington, DC is further north of San Fransisco New York is closer to...

Tiny Tax Exempts

Find anyone who works for a large nonprofit, and they’ll likely be familiar with that organization’s IRS acceptance letter (approving the organization’s tax-exempt status). However, tiny nonprofits often don’t know they’re entitled to the same tax-exempt status...

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