Word: steelyard
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...STEELYARD BLUES...
Thaddeus Fairbanks invented the platform scale in St. Johnsbury, Vt. in 1830. It was the first substantial improvement in the art of weighing since the Romans developed the graduated steelyard. Before he died, the taciturn, ingenious Vermonter was honored as one of the great inventors of the 19th Century. He was knighted by the Emperor of Austria, awarded high Saracenic orders by the Bey of Tunis. In the U. S., Fairbanks scale were used in every general store, post office and coal yard. Their accuracy was proverbial. Huge freight car scales were supposed to respond to the weight...