[ad_1]
Q: I’m a keen horse racer but I’ve never seen a jockey with a beard or mustache. Is there a reason for this?
There is no explicit prohibition on beards in the British Horseracing Authority’s rules and regulations. It is a matter of high standards and tradition. Beards are so unusual that Martin Lane and Ahmed Ajabi (head of Sheikh Mohammed’s racing and breeding company Godolphin) are the only professional jockeys I can remember sporting them. Lane recalls the hostility he encountered at Chelmsford when he grew a beard. Interviewed afterwards, he said: “Trainers are clean-shaven every day – they expect us to be clean-shaven every day, and that’s the way it is now, and I can imagine it will be the same for the foreseeable future.” He said he would never wear a beard to a major event like Royal Ascot. Ascot Or the glorious Goodwood.
Glenwise, Manchester
The British Horseracing Authority’s rules do not explicitly prohibit beards.
Facial hair is so unusual that when Martin Lane grew a beard he recalled how having a beard was met with hostility in Chelmsford.
It seemed reminiscent of 19th century horse training institutions.
At the time, it was not uncommon for jockeys to start their apprenticeship at a very young age, and it was clear that they were all rookies.
Trainers of the time viewed running a stable as an extension of their own moral standards and expected the same ideals from jockeys, who were considered their property.
Therefore, strict rules are imposed in terms of morals and personal habits.
Frederick James Archer (1857-1886) is regarded as the most accomplished jockey of his time.
He began to perform the indenture at the age of 11, and in the conditions of the indenture signed with horse trainer Matthew Dawson, he agreed that the above-mentioned Fred “shall serve his master faithfully, keep his master’s secrets, and gladly execute his master’s lawful orders. He shall not harm his master, nor any other person, but shall do his best to inform or immediately warn his master; he shall not waste his master’s property, nor lend it to anyone illegally; he shall not commit adultery or marry during the above period;
“He shall not, without his master’s permission, play cards, dice, or any other unlawful game, with his own or any other person’s goods, during the said period, so as not to cause loss to his master; nor shall he buy or sell goods; nor shall he frequent taverns or theatres, nor leave his master’s service unlawfully by day or by night, but in all things he shall behave as a faithful apprentice to his master and all that belongs to him…”
The contracts are for a period of five years.
Although things and times are constantly changing, trainers still have high demands on all relevant personnel within the organization, including personal appearance.
While there are exceptions, it is not common even on today’s racetracks.
David Urquhart, Burntisland, Fife
Q: Who coined the term ‘urban legend’?
Strange stories or myths with a modern twist that are passed off as true stories were originally called urban myths. The term was first used by American sociologist William H. Friedland in his 1960 conference paper, Some Urban Myths of East Africa.
The first person to use the term “urban legend” in the way we understand it today was American folklorist Richard M. Dotson. In his book Our Living Tradition (1968), he wrote: “Urban legends are about ghost hitchhikers, stolen grandmothers, and dead cars.” The term was popularized by American folklorist Jan Harold Brunwand, especially after his best-selling book The Vanishing Hitchhiker (1981).
Daniel Keen, Bicester, Oxon
Question: What fuel/propellant does the International Space Station use when it needs to move?
The International Space Station (ISS) is the result of international cooperation to build an advanced laboratory in low Earth orbit.
Russia’s Zvezda module provides the critical propulsion system for the International Space Station. Its thrusters use so-called hypergolic propellants, a mixture of fuel and oxidizer that self-ignites when the two elements come into contact with each other.
The fuel is UDMH and the oxidant is nitrogen tetroxide.
In addition, the International Space Station can also use the engines of docked spacecraft for maneuvering, such as the Russian Progress resupply vehicle.
Occasionally, American segments also use control moment gyroscopes, but these require no fuel because they use momentum to adjust direction.
RDK Salmon, Plymouth
The International Space Station at Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA
[ad_2]
Source link
