enthalpy

Tuesday, November 27, 2007


Ever wonder where that man-hole cover came from? It ain't Pittsburgh.
Eight thousand miles from Manhattan, barefoot, shirtless, whip-thin men rippled with muscle were forging prosaic pieces of the urban jigsaw puzzle: manhole covers.

Seemingly impervious to the heat from the metal, the workers at one of West Bengal’s many foundries relied on strength and bare hands rather than machinery. Safety precautions were barely in evidence; just a few pairs of eye goggles were seen in use on a recent visit. The foundry, Shakti Industries in Haora, produces manhole covers for Con Edison and New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection, as well as for departments in New Orleans and Syracuse.
Also interesting about The New York Times story? Double click on any word in the story, and dictionary.com pops up with its definition. I had no idea it did that, but pretty cool.



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