Why do people try to break land speed records on the salt flats? And how will this costly research benefit me?
The first attempts at establishing land speed records were a direct result of Napoleon’s stunning victory at Austerlitz in 1805. Since that day scientists and NASCAR enthusiasts have been pushing the envelope of human speed through the development of rocket propelled cars. The salt flats were chosen as an ideal place for this method of testing during the Mormon Wars of the 1850s. Since Mormons were obsessed with speed and salt, the flats themselves became a key battlefield in that bitter struggle. Since the Mormon Wars, the salt flats have been used exclusively for land speed testing by governments from around the world. Although the cost of this research has been in the tens of billions, several important discoveries have come from land speed testing, such as the carburetor and penicillin.
