Word: ringed
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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January's disaster was the result of 38 degrees temperatures, which weakened an O ring, one of a pair of synthetic-rubber washers that keep hot gases from squirting through tiny gaps in the joint between sections of the solid-fuel rocket. When the O ring failed, escaping gas cut into the shuttle's liquid-fuel booster like a blowtorch and triggered a massive explosion. The modified design, said Thomas, will make a repeat catastrophe virtually impossible...
...most important changes are a new material for the O rings (probably a nitrosilicon rubber), which NASA expects to pass tests down to 31 degrees, and a small heater installed at each joint, just in case. Another is a "capture latch," a metal lip containing an added O ring, which would force escaping gas to turn an extra corner and lose momentum. The maximum distance that joints can pull apart under the stress of launch will be reduced from the current one thirty-thousandth of an inch to one-fifth that figure. A "vulcanized, rubbery substance" will replace the putty...
...anyone convicted of selling as little as $50 worth of crack be liable to life in prison. Local police in the state have begun confiscating the cars of cruising crack buyers. Meanwhile, federal agents arrested Jose Giraldo, the alleged primary East Coast contact for a $600 million international drug ring. They also nabbed Michael Phillippo, the manager of a posh Westchester, N.Y., country club, as another alleged ring operative. Police found more than $3.1 million in $20 bills stashed behind Phillippo's wine rack...
...crowd murmurs with excitement. In seconds he has pulled the Polaroid pack from a superannuated Speed Graphic at the finish line. To a mixture of cheers and groans, he proclaims Pigmalion the winner -- by a snout, of course. Pigmalion's supporters happily line up to get a key ring from Heinold Hog Market of Kouts, Ind., sponsor of the races. Admission and a betting ticket are free. Wagering for money is strictly prohibited...
Having one of your own is a phrase with a ring to it, and since the mid- 1960s, when only one privately owned railroad car rolled in the entire country, it is a ring that more than a few people have answered. Railroad slang for privately owned stock is "private varnish," and a magazine by that name is sent to some 3,000 train buffs. The American Association of Private Railroad Car Owners has 157 full and 240 associate members, and 230 cars are registered in Amtrak's Washington headquarters, most of them lavishly furnished and all fully functional...