Word: ton
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...voyage had begun. A tug towed the 12-ton papyrus craft out of the harbor at Safi, Morocco, and then cast off, leaving Thor Heyerdahl and his crew to sail their weird wicker boat 4,000 miles across the Atlantic to Central America. The Norwegian adventurer, who proved with Kon-Tiki that man could navigate a raft across the Pacific from Peru to Polynesia, hopes to show that ancient Egyptians discovered the New World long before Columbus. After four days, Heyerdahl radioed that Ra was 133 miles along the predicted track, riding a strong current and floating well-quieting...
When a 163-ton abstract metal sculpture by Pablo Picasso was unveiled in the plaza of Chicago's Civic Center two years ago, one official was outraged. Describing the work as a "rusting junk heap," Alderman John Hoellen demanded in a resolution to the city council that it be dismantled. In all seriousness, he suggested replacing it with a 50-ft. statue of that modern folk hero and living symbol of a "vibrant city": Chicago Cub Infielder Ernie Banks...
...advertising that he found overly offensive. Still, the Examiner went ahead and ran the Sister George ad unretouched. Another display ad showed a motorcycle gang from Naked Angels closing in on a near-nude girl. The copy read, "Mad dogs from hell! Hunting down their prey with a quarter-ton of hot steel between their legs...
...West German builders have taken losses on the oilbergs. Because of technological quirks, the cost of a 200,000-tonner cannot be arrived at simply by doubling everything involved in turning out a 100,000-tonner. Germany's Howaldtswerke was seven months late in delivering the 191,000-ton Esso Malaysia because it sagged so badly on the trial run that it had to be reinforced with an extra 500 tons of steel. Sir John Hunter, chairman of Britain's Swan Hunter, concedes that "some of our costing estimates are still largely hopes...
...Though the Japanese compete fiercely with each other for orders, they have been sharing technological ideas since the Imperial Navy ordered them to do so before World War II. They have produced such innovations as computer-controlled cutting torches, self-propelled welders and devices that can flip over 80-ton subassemblies to make welding easier. These have helped reduce building costs from $91 a ton for a 100,000-d.w.t. tanker to $68 for a 300,000-tonner. Even the Japanese see an economic limit; they estimate that a 500,000-d.w.t. ship would cost them $80 a ton...