Small Gods (Terry David John Pratchett) читать бесплатно онлайн полную версию книги

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The (true) story goes that British Rail was having difficulty one winter getting trains to run on time, which they blamed on the snow. They were then quizzed as to why their snow-ploughs couldn’t deal with the problem. They replied that it was “the wrong sort of snow”, a phrase that has now entered the English idiom.

In defence of British Rail it should be pointed out that their remark wasn’t as silly as it seems at first sight: what happened was that fine, dry, powdery snow blew inside the traction motor cooling slots and, melting, caused the motors to arc over. It simply is very rare for British snow to be cold and dry enough to do this, hence the “wrong sort of snow” comment which the press, seeking as usual for any excuse to make fun of British Rail, leapt upon with great glee.