Lesson plan
Pulled tail
Pulled tail is the colloquialism referring to the act of a guard or conductor of a railway to apply the emergency brakes when something unexpected has been noticed. This could be an excess of speed in a section of line known to have a lower speed, or strange noises and shaking that might indicate that the train has derailed or something has broken. In the United States, local colloquialisms include 'pull the air' or 'big hole' as verb phrases describing this same action. In the UK, colloquially the guard would drop the tap and the passenger pull the chain to apply the emergency brake.
Article summary
Pulled tail is the colloquialism referring to the act of a guard or conductor of a railway to apply the emergency brakes when something unexpected has been noticed. This could be an excess of speed in a section of line known to have a lower speed, or strange noises and shaking that might indicate that the train has derailed or something has broken. In the United States, local colloquialisms include 'pull the air' or 'big hole' as verb phrases describing this same action. In the UK, colloquially the guard would drop the tap and the passenger pull the chain to apply the emergency brake.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.