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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread manhole #89657 12/16/2002 7:37 PM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 wwh Carpal Tunnel wwh Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 One of the "engines" episodes mentioned means ancient Greeks made starting of foor races fair. The "aphetes" = starter, operated a "hyslex" = starting gate" which was a clever device which used same mechanism as a catapult to whip the starting rope barrier out of the way of the runners, who had to have both feet in a shallow gutter called "balbis". But the site says there was a manhole for the starter. I couldn't figure out why that was necessary. Can you? http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~cls180/week3/menu3.html Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Share Post on Reddit Re: manhole #89658 12/16/2002 7:56 PM Joined: Aug 2000 Posts: 2,204 RhubarbCommando Pooh-Bah RhubarbCommando Pooh-Bah Joined: Aug 2000 Posts: 2,204 I purely guessing, Bill, but I hypothesise one of two reasons:- 1) He needed his eyes to be down at ground level so that he could see for certain that no one was stepping over the line before the start: 2) The catapult mechanism was so vicious that he needed to be in a protected place, so that it didn't do him irreparable damage. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Share Post on Reddit Re: manhole #89659 12/16/2002 8:19 PM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 wwh Carpal Tunnel wwh Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 Another URL:http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~clscs275/Games folder/basis.htm Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Share Post on Reddit Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary Forum Statistics Forums16 Topics13,916 Posts230,323 Members9,209 Most Online4,606 Sep 17th, 2025 Newest Members Peripatetic Toad, JerryC, blvd, Tony Hood, Wood Delivery 9,209 Registered Users Top Posters(30 Days) wofahulicodoc 26 A C Bowden 12 Top Posters wwh 13,858 Faldage 13,803 Jackie 11,613 wofahulicodoc 11,166 tsuwm 10,542 LukeJavan8 9,974 Buffalo Shrdlu 7,210 AnnaStrophic 6,511 Wordwind 6,296 of troy 5,400

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