Wann, the Queen of the Yukon, and "Tarmac"

This is a photo of Clyde Wann, back when he owned the Queen of the Yukon (sister to Lindbergh's Spirit of St Louis.) Your Blogress is presenting this photo, because it's a great photo (somewhat photoshopped, I admit), but also, because it is a good excuse to tell you about "tarmac".

If you have been an attentive reader of this blog, you will know that the "Queen" and other bush planes are buried under the "tarmac" of the Whitehorse Airport.

Once upon a time, roads were built in the old Roman way, that is with big stone blocks. A smart Scotsman named John MCADAM (b 1756), in charge of roads to the Bristol (England) Turnpike Trust, figured out that better roads would result by using layers of tiny stones (ones that could fit in a labourer's mouth). Such roads were known as "Macadamized" roads. When the car arrived, and dust became a problem, TAR was added to the macadamized road surface, and ... voila!! ... "tarmacadam"... and then "tarmac."

Also, the need for tiny stones necessitated a new kind of labourer, a 'stonebreaker', who sat and broke stones with a hammer... gruesome job, eh??