In 1907, the Chicago Post observed:
“it is too soon to lament the horse. We have not yet come to the day when we must decide whether to pet him, as the dog, or eat him as the amiable cow. Our sentiment for the noble beast will remain, and with the heaviest work undertaken by insensitive strength his lost will probably be improved.”
[Source: The Electric Vehicle and the Burden of History]
In this chunkily high-minded description of the changing role of the horse in the face of motorization, we find the wonderful phrase “insensitive strength” standing in for motor vehicles. Insensitive here not meaning brutish or unable to enjoy a good cry, but in its first and now-obsolete meaning: inanimate. As always, The Oxford English Dictionary:
Not sensitive 1. Destitute of feeling or consciousness (in general); not sentient; inanimate. Obs.
1610 HEALEY St. Aug. Citie of God 471 Though man be not insensitive, yet this sence of his..is justly termed rather death then life.
a1694 TILLOTSON Serm. (1743) IX. clxxvi. 4110 This faculty is that which constitutes the difference between sensitive and insensitive creatures.
1713 DERHAM Phys.-Theol. IV. i. 85 Sensitive or insensitive Creatures.
Image: Alfred Fuhrman via the California State Library.
Do you know if there are government based grant or rebate programs fpr retrofitting a car with improvement that make the car more energy efficient? Something similar to the dollars that a homeowner can receive for changing out the windows or replacing the ac/heating system.
I have looked in a lot of places and some suggested that I ask you, since you know so much about the green energy.
Thank you
Have a great day!