oh, wikipedia, my love.

one of the things i love about wikipedia is the fact that anyone can edit an article; this policy sometimes leads to something that i’ll call “intelligent vandalism”:

(from the article “tramway français standard” – a mass-produced light-rail vehicle in france)

Engine: Two young strapping lads are equipped with a bicycle attached to a chain. This additionnal power gives the TFS a high acceleration and makes it easy to use on strong gradients and lines with additonnal [sic] stops with a top speed of 70 km/h. The only slight problem is the lads need to be fed and clothed, resulting in an expensive upkeep lest they die.

milan might disagree with me, but i’d argue that, if all you need are two strapping young lads to power a tramway, then the answer to clean, renewable energy is under our nose, and the french could finally get rid of its politically-contentious 80% nuclear energy supply.