From an article on Discover.com. Fact number 13 is one of the most interesting…
#13. During a railway expansion in Egypt in the 19th century, construction companies unearthed so many mummies that they used them as fuel for locomotives.
So how many mummies does it take to move a steam-powered train? What is the BTU conversion of mummies to coal or wood? I imagine burning mummies contain far less potential energy when compared to wood or coal.
However, if I were in a saloon talking with my fellow train engineers, I’d totally brag about my mummy-powered train. I’d probably even make a joke about people dying to make my train the fastest in Egypt.
(They might beat me up because of that joke, but it would be worth it.)
-Dave
P.S. – I wonder if there were ghosts on those Egyptian trains? Do I smell a plot for a good horror story?
