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85-414: In many countries, kilometre zero (also written km 0 ) or similar terms in other languages (also known as zero mile marker , zero milepost , control stations , or control points ) denote a particular location (usually in the nation's capital city) from which distances are traditionally measured and some use this as their official country location or coordinates for faster search at space satellites, this

170-424: A l   t i r e   d i a m e t e r ) ( s t a n d a r d   t i r e   d i a m e t e r ) {\displaystyle (actual\ distance\ traveled)={\tfrac {((final\ odometer\ reading)-(initial\ odometer\ reading))\cdot (actual\ tire\ diameter)}{(standard\ tire\ diameter)}}} . It

255-415: A n c e   t r a v e l e d ) = ( ( f i n a l   o d o m e t e r   r e a d i n g ) − ( i n i t i a l   o d o m e t e r   r e a d i n g ) ) ⋅ ( a c t u

340-552: A carriage with odometer in his Euthimetria , a treatise on engineering. Levinus Hulsius published the odometer in 1604 in his work Gründtliche Beschreibung deß Diensthafften und Nutzbahrn Instruments Viatorii oder Wegzählers, So zu Fuß, zu Pferdt unnd zu Fußen gebraucht werden kann, damit mit geringer mühe zu wissen, wie weit man gegangen, geritten, oder gefahren sey: als auch zu erfahren, ohne messen oder zehlen, wie weit von einem Orth zum andern. Daneben wird auch der grosse verborgene Wegweiser angezeiget und vermeldet . In 1645,

425-457: A trip meter ( trip odometer ). Unlike the odometer, a trip meter is reset at any point in a journey, making it possible to record the distance traveled in any particular journey or part of a journey. It was traditionally a purely mechanical device but, in most modern vehicles, it is now electronic. Many modern vehicles often have multiple trip meters. Most mechanical trip meters will show a maximum value of 999.9. The trip meter may be used to record

510-400: A bicycle wheel. A flexible cable transmitted the number of rotations of the wheel to an analog odometer visible to the rider, which converted the wheel rotations into the number of miles traveled according to a predetermined formula. In 1903 Arthur P. and Charles H. Warner, two brothers from Beloit, Wisconsin, introduced their patented Auto-meter . The Auto-Meter used a magnet attached to

595-569: A crackdown by the People's Liberation Army . Following the crackdown, many of the student leaders escaped to the United States with the help of foreign intelligence agencies and other parties through Operation Yellowbird . The urban context of the square was altered in the 1990s with the construction of National Grand Theater in its vicinity and the expansion of the National Museum. Used as

680-474: A deviation of 0.2% from the actual distance (531 English miles). From the nine surviving bematists' measurements in Pliny's Naturalis Historia eight show a deviation of less than 5% from the actual distance, three of them being within 1%. Since these minor discrepancies can be adequately explained by slight changes in the tracks of roads during the last 2300 years, the overall accuracy of the measurements implies that

765-555: A gate in the wall of the Imperial City , was built in 1417 during the Ming dynasty . During the 17th century, fighting between Li Zicheng 's rebel forces and the forces of the Manchu -led Qing dynasty caused heavy damage to, or even destroyed, the gate. Tiananmen Square was designed and built in 1651 and was enlarged fourfold in the 1950s. The gate historically known as the "Great Ming Gate",

850-426: A lower mileage. Most odometers work by counting wheel rotations and assume that the distance traveled is the number of wheel rotations times the tire circumference, which is a standard tire diameter times pi (3.141592). If nonstandard or severely worn or underinflated tires are used then this will cause some error in the odometer. The formula is ( a c t u a l   d i s t

935-521: A monolith in Plaza Congreso in Buenos Aires . The work of the brothers Máximo and José Fioravanti , the structure was placed on the north side of Plaza Lorea on October 2, 1935; it was moved to its present location on May 18, 1944. An image of Our Lady of Luján (honored on the monolith as "the patron saint of the national road network") appears on the monolith's north face, a relief map of Argentina

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1020-708: A mural of the Xiaotangshan Tomb ). The odometer was used also in subsequent periods of Chinese history. In the historical text of the Jin Shu (635 AD), the oldest part of the compiled text, the book known as the Cui Bao ( c.  300 AD ), recorded the use of the odometer, providing description (attributing it to the Western Han era, from 202 BC–9 AD). The passage in the Jin Shu expanded upon this, explaining that it took

1105-742: A point of reference from the capital city. In Sarawak, kilometre zero of Pan Borneo Highway started in Telok Melano. In Sabah, the starting point for Kota Kinabalu City's kilometre zero began in front of the Sabah Tourism Board building, which used to be a post office during the British colonial era. Kilometre zero of Mexico is located next to the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City . The North Korean kilometre zero

1190-492: A prospective buyer; this is often referred to as " clocking " in the UK and " busting miles " in the US. This is done to make a car appear to have been driven less than it really has been, and thus increase its apparent market value. Most new cars sold today use digital odometers that store the mileage in the vehicle's engine control unit , making it difficult (but not impossible) to manipulate

1275-799: A replica in 1973. Traditionally, distances to Copenhagen , Denmark 's capital, were measured to the old city gates. City Hall Square (old Vesterport ) is the zero point for roads from south and west such as from Korsør or Rødby . For road from north such as from Helsingør or Hillerød , point zero is Østerport located on the North side of the inner city. Nørreport was used from Frederikssund , and Amagerport from Amager . There are old monuments at these locations. On railways distances are in general measured from Copenhagen Central Station . DR-1 , DR-2 , and DR-3 all depart from kilometre zero at Santo Domingo 's Parque de Independencia. Kilometre zero in Egypt

1360-541: A rotating shaft to induce a magnetic pull upon a thin metal disk. Measuring this pull provided accurate measurements of both distance and speed information to automobile drivers in a single instrument. The Warners sold their company in 1912 to the Stewart & Clark Company of Chicago. The new firm was renamed the Stewart-Warner Corporation. By 1925, Stewart-Warner odometers and trip meters were standard equipment on

1445-612: A similar device in chapter 34 of his Dioptra . The machine was also used in the time of Roman Emperor Commodus ( c.  192 AD ), although after this point in time there seems to be a gap between its use in Roman times and that of the 15th century in Western Europe. Some researchers have speculated that the device might have included technology similar to that of the Greek Antikythera mechanism . The odometer of Vitruvius

1530-510: A similar form to the mechanical device of the south-pointing chariot invented by Ma Jun (200–265, see also differential gear). As recorded in the Song Shi of the Song dynasty (960–1279 AD), the odometer and south-pointing chariot were combined into one wheeled device by engineers of the 9th century, 11th century, and 12th century. The Sunzi Suanjing (Master Sun's Mathematical Manual), dated from

1615-463: A single pole and two wheels. On the body are two storeys, each containing a carved wooden figure holding a drumstick. The road-wheels are each 6 ft in diameter, and 18 ft in circumference, one evolution covering 3 paces. According to ancient standards the pace was equal to 6 ft and 300 paces to a li; but now the li is reckoned as 360 paces of 5 ft each. [Note: the measurement of the Chinese-mile unit,

1700-561: A time when Deng Xiaoping was still consolidating power and China had suffered a rebuff in a border war with Vietnam early in the year. By 1984, with the situation much improved and stabilized, the PRC held a military parade for the first time since 1959. The aftermath of the Tiananmen Square massacre prevented any such activities in October 1989, but military parades have been held in 1999 and 2009, on

1785-444: A total of 285 teeth. Thus the motion is transmitted as if by the links of a chain, the "dog-teeth" mutually engaging with each other, so that by due revolution everything comes back to its original starting point (ti hsiang kou so, chhuan ya hsiang chih, chou erh fu shih). Odometers were first developed in the 1600s for wagons and other horse-drawn vehicles in order to measure distances traveled. Abramo Colorni (d. 1599) illustrated

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1870-615: A venue for mass gatherings since its creation, its flatness is contrasted by both the 38-meter (125 ft)-high "Monument to the People's Heroes" and the "Mausoleum of Mao Zedong". The square lies between two ancient, massive gates: the Tiananmen to the north and the Zhengyangmen, known as Qianmen , to the south. Along the west side of the square is the Great Hall of the People. Along the east side

1955-536: Is also used for measuring distances between different countries around the world. Historically, they were markers where drivers could set their odometers to follow the directions in early roaming guide books . One such marker is the Milliarium Aureum ("Golden Milestone") of the Roman Empire , believed to be the literal origin for the maxim that " all roads lead to Rome ". Argentina marks kilometre zero with

2040-671: Is at Kim Il-sung Square in the capital Pyongyang . Kilometre zero for roads from Oslo , the capital of Norway , is at the address Observatoriegata 1 . Kilometre zero for most railways in Norway is 0.27 kilometres (0.17 mi) westwards into the Oslo Tunnel , based on the location of the former Oslo East Station . The Panamanian kilometre zero is at the Martin Sosa Bridge on the Simon Bolivar Avenue (Transisthmian Highway) in

2125-708: Is at the Attaba Square Post Office in 1st of Abdel Khaliq Sarwat Pasha Street, Cairo . Kilometre zero in Ethiopia is in Menelik II Square, Addis Ababa , in front of St. George's Cathedral ; it is the point from which all Ethiopian highway distances are measured. The point was designated by Emperor Haile Selassie in 1930. Kilometre zero in Finland is at the Erottaja square in central Helsinki . Point zero of

2210-498: Is common for odometers to be off by several percent. Odometer errors are typically proportional to speedometer errors . Tiananmen Square This is an accepted version of this page Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square ( / ˈ t j ɛ n ə n m ə n / ) is a city square in the city center of Beijing , China , named after the Tiananmen (" Gate of Heavenly Peace ") located to its north, which separates it from

2295-584: Is marked by a monument, forming the number "zero". The starting point was initially reckoned from the threshold of the Buda Royal Palace , but it was taken down to the Széchenyi Chain Bridge when it was built in 1849. The city of Kecskemét also has a zero kilometre stone on Kossuth Square. In India, the Zero Mile Stone is a monument in the city of Nagpur , Maharashtra. The Zero Mile Stone

2380-586: Is on the middle of Nihonbashi bridge in Tokyo , the capital city of Japan . Tokyo Station is considered the originating point of the national railway network and has several posts and monuments indicating kilometre zero for lines originating from the station. The kilometre zero in Kyrgyzstan is located in its capital Bishkek , at 42°52′35.8″N 74°36′25.4″E  /  42.876611°N 74.607056°E  / 42.876611; 74.607056 Kilometre zero for

2465-629: Is on the south face, plaques in honour of José de San Martín are west, and on its eastern side, the date of the decree and the name of the relevant authorities. Highways in Australia are usually built and maintained by the states and territories . In the state of New South Wales , highway distances ( mileages ) were traditionally measured from a sandstone obelisk in Macquarie Place in Sydney , designed by Francis Greenway in 1818. The obelisk lists

2550-401: Is the National Museum of China dedicated to Chinese history predating 1919. Erected in 1989, Liberty, a statue representing the western icon previously held her torch over the square. Since Dec 15, 2021, visitors must make a reservation before entering the square area. Tiananmen Square has been the site of a number of notable political events, student protests, and armed conflict. Among

2635-462: The 50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China in 1999; the Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident in 2001; military displays and parades on the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China in 2009, and a terror attack in 2013 involving a vehicle that plowed into pedestrians . In 2023, police detained over 20 people, including Activist Alexandra Wong , on the 34th anniversary of

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2720-806: The Altar of the Twelve Gods in the ancient agora of Athens . So, that altar can be considered the first kilometre zero in human history. Nowadays, the kilometre zero for Greek highways is the National Observatory of Athens . The kilometre zero is located at the National Palace in Guatemala City . The National Palace is also the residence for the Guatemalan president. Traditionally, milestones for Castle Peak Road , Tai Po Road and Clear Water Bay Road ,

2805-728: The Forbidden City . The square contains the Monument to the People's Heroes , the Great Hall of the People , the National Museum of China , and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong . Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China in the square on October 1, 1949; the anniversary of this event is still observed there. The size of Tiananmen Square is 765 x 282 meters (215,730 m or 53.31 acres). It has great cultural significance as it

2890-504: The GPO building in Princes Street. For most mainline railways, miles are measured from the associated London terminal station . The 0 km point for the whole London Underground network is located at Ongar railway station which is actually no longer part of the network and is only operated as part of a heritage railway . See also: In Ancient Greece , distances were measured from

2975-755: The General Post Office on the city's main thoroughfare, O'Connell Street . In Jerusalem , its kilometre zero or zero point is at Jaffa Gate . Some say it is at The Garden Tomb . However, there is no precise marker, as of today. However, the Railway system uses a different kilometre zero point at the former Haifa East railway station . The Italian kilometre zero is on the top of the Capitoline Hill in Rome . Kilometre zero in Japan ( 日本国道路元標 , Nipponkoku Dōro Genpyō )

3060-691: The Liberty Road was erected in Sainte-Mère-Eglise , liberated by U.S. paratroopers on 6 June 1944. Initially, the origin point of all Prussian roads leading to and from the capital Berlin was at Dönhoff-Platz in the city centre (1730–1875) and in 1975 a reconstructed milestone was placed in front of the Spittelkolonnaden  [ de ] at Marion-Gräfin-Dönhoff-Platz. (Coordinates: 52°30′39″N 13°23′56″E  /  52.5108°N 13.3990°E  / 52.5108; 13.3990 .) In

3145-448: The Ming tombs . This gate had a special status as the "Gate of the Nation", as can be seen from its successive names. It normally remained closed, except when the emperor passed through. Commoner traffic was diverted to side gates at the western and eastern ends of the square, respectively. Because of this diversion in traffic, a busy marketplace, called "Chess Grid Streets", was developed in

3230-402: The huang men court people (i.e. eunuchs, palace officials, attendants and familiars, actors, acrobats, etc.) that would follow the musical procession of the royal 'drum-chariot'. The historian Joseph Needham asserts that it is no surprise this social group would have been responsible for such a device, since there is already other evidence of their craftsmanship with mechanical toys to delight

3315-409: The 3rd century to 5th century, presented a mathematical problem for students involving the odometer. It involved a given distance between two cities, the small distance needed for one rotation of the carriage's wheel, and the posed question of how many rotations the wheels would have in all if the carriage was to travel between point A and B. The historical text of the Song Shi (1345 AD), recording

3400-458: The 50th and 60th anniversaries of the PRC's founding. One year after Mao's death, a mausoleum was built near the site of the former Gate of China along the main north–south axis of the square. In connection with this project, the square was further increased in size to become fully rectangular and being able to accommodate 600,000 people. In 1989, Tiananmen Square was the site of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests that culminated in violence and

3485-608: The 5th year of the Thien-Sheng reign-period (1027 AD) the Chief Chamberlain Lu Tao-lung presented specifications for the construction of odometers as follows: What follows is a long dissertation made by the Chief Chamberlain Lu Daolong on the ranging measurements and sizes of wheels and gears, along with a concluding description at the end of how the device ultimately functions: The vehicle should have

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3570-623: The Englishman Thomas Savery . Benjamin Franklin , U.S. statesman and the first Postmaster General , built a prototype odometer in 1775 that he attached to his carriage to help measure the mileage of postal routes. In 1847, William Clayton and Orson Pratt , pioneers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , first implemented the Roadometer they had invented earlier (a version of

3655-505: The French national highways is located in the city square of Parvis Notre-Dame – Place Jean-Paul II of Paris facing the main entrance of Notre-Dame with the medallion installed in 1924. (Coordinates: 48°51′12″N 2°20′56″E  /  48.8534°N 2.3488°E  / 48.8534; 2.3488 ). It was established by King Louis XV in April 1769. A commemorative kilometre zero for

3740-400: The French mathematician Blaise Pascal invented the pascaline . Though not an odometer, the pascaline utilized gears to compute measurements. Each gear contained 10 teeth. The first gear advanced the next gear one position when moved one complete revolution, the same principle employed on modern mechanical odometers. Odometers were developed for ships in 1698 with the odometer invented by

3825-500: The Great (r. 336-323 BC) as by his bematists Diognetus and Baeton. However, the high accuracy of the bematists's measurements rather indicates the use of a mechanical device. For example, the section between the cities Hecatompylos and Alexandria Areion, which later became a part of the Silk Road , was given by Alexander's bematists as 575 Roman miles (529 English miles ) long, that is with

3910-666: The Lands and Surveys Department. All national distances from Santiago , the capital of Chile , originate at the Km. 0 plaque at the Plaza de Armas main square in its downtown. (Coordinates: 33°26′16″S 70°39′02″W  /  33.4378°S 70.6505°W  / -33.4378; -70.6505 .) Chile's Autopista Central – Eje Norte-Sur (the eastern segment of the Panamerican Highway that passes through Santiago) has its kilometre zero at

3995-556: The People's Republic of China (PRC), the Great Hall of the People and the Revolutionary History Museum (now the National Museum of China ) were erected on the western and eastern sides of the square. For the first decade of the PRC, each National Day (October 1) was marked by a large military parade in Tiananmen Square, in conscious emulation of the annual Soviet celebrations of the Bolshevik Revolution. After

4080-462: The US (and many other countries), vehicle mechanics are also required to keep records of the odometer any time a vehicle is serviced or inspected . Companies such as Carfax then use these data to help potential car buyers detect whether odometer rollback has occurred. Research by Irish vehicle check specialist Cartell found that 20% of vehicles imported to Ireland from Great Britain and Northern Ireland had had their mileometers altered to show

4165-711: The area, hence there was the Legation Quarter immediately to the east of the square. When the forces of the Eight-Nation Alliance besieged Beijing during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, they badly damaged the office complexes and burnt down several ministries. After the Boxer Rebellion ended, the area became a space for the Eight-Nation Alliance to assemble their military forces. In Beijing, Tiananmen

4250-418: The bematists already must have used a sophisticated device for measuring distances, although there is no direct mention of such a device. An odometer for measuring distance was first described by Vitruvius around 27 and 23 BC, during the First Punic War , although the actual inventor may have been Archimedes of Syracuse (c. 287 BC – c.  212 BC ). Hero of Alexandria (10 AD – 70 AD) describes

4335-421: The capital Panama City . The Pakistani zero point is the Zero Point Interchange in Islamabad , the capital of Pakistan . It is the busiest interchange of Islamabad. Odometer Possibly the first evidence for the use of an odometer can be found in the works of the ancient Roman Pliny (NH 6. 61-62) and the ancient Greek Strabo (11.8.9). Both authors list the distances of routes traveled by Alexander

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4420-411: The centre of Charing Cross in London , there is a plaque bearing the inscription: On the site now occupied by the statue of King Charles I was erected the original Queen Eleanor's Cross , a replica of which stands in front of Charing Cross station. Mileages from London are measured from the site of the original cross. In Scotland , distances from Edinburgh are measured from a bollard in front of

4505-404: The completion of every li, the wooden figure of a man in the lower storey strikes a drum; at the completion of every ten li, the wooden figure in the upper storey strikes a bell. The carriage-pole ends in a phoenix-head, and the carriage is drawn by four horses. The escort was formerly of 18 men, but in the 4th year of the Yung-Hsi reign-period (987 AD) the emperor Thai Tsung increased it to 30. In

4590-430: The crackdown, a man, dubbed Tank Man , was photographed obstructing a column of tanks on Chang'an Avenue near the square. Other notable events included annual mass military displays on each anniversary of the 1949 proclamation until October 1, 1959; the 1984 military parade for the 35th anniversary of the People's Republic of China which coincided with the ascendancy of Deng Xiaoping ; military displays and parades on

4675-499: The disaster of the Great Leap Forward, the CCP decided to cut costs and have only smaller annual National Day celebrations in addition to a large celebration with a military parade every 10 years. However, the chaos of the Cultural Revolution almost prevented such an event from taking place on National Day in 1969 but did take place in 1966 and 1970. In 1971, large portraits of Karl Marx , Friedrich Engels , Vladimir Lenin , Joseph Stalin , Sun Yat-sen , and Mao Zedong were erected in

4760-404: The distance traveled on each tank of fuel, making it very easy to accurately track the energy efficiency of the vehicle; another common use is resetting it to zero at each instruction in a sequence of driving directions, to be sure when one has arrived at the next turn. A form of fraud is to tamper with the reading on an odometer and presenting the incorrect number of miles/kilometres traveled to

4845-444: The distances to various locations in New South Wales at the time. For the railway, it is at platform 1 of Central station . The General Post Office building in Melbourne traditionally serves this purpose in Victoria . In Western Australia , road distances are measured from "Point Zero", which is by the old Treasury Building on the corner of Cathedral Avenue and St Georges Terrace in Perth , because this building once housed

4930-416: The emperor and the court. There is speculation that some time in the 1st century BC (during the Western Han dynasty), the beating of drums and gongs were mechanically-driven by working automatically off the rotation of the road-wheels. This might have actually been the design of one Luoxia Hong ( c.  110 BC ), yet by 125 AD the mechanical odometer carriage in China was already known (depicted in

5015-407: The first three highways extending from the city centre in Kowloon to the rural areas, were all measured from the Star Ferry pier at Tsim Sha Tsui. There are still milestones preserved today but there is no Milestone 0. However, modern highways in Hong Kong no longer use this system. Each trunk route has its own Km. 0 at one end. The Zero Kilometre Stone in Budapest , the capital of Hungary ,

5100-403: The floor in the centre of the main hall is a replica 25 carats (5.0 g) diamond, which marks kilometre zero. The original diamond, said to have belonged to Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and have been sold to the Cuban state by a Turkish merchant, was stolen on March 25, 1946, and mysteriously returned to the President, Ramón Grau San Martín , on June 2, 1946. It was replaced in El Capitolio by

5185-399: The intersection with the Alameda del Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins , the capital's main avenue. (Coordinates: 33°26′46″S 70°39′39″W  /  33.4462°S 70.6607°W  / -33.4462; -70.6607 .) China Railway 's kilometre zero is at the entrance to the Fengtai Yard on the Beijing–Guangzhou railway just outside its capital Beijing . This point was historically

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5270-470: The large fenced square to the south of this gate. In 1860, during the Second Opium War , when British and French troops occupied Beijing, they pitched camp near the gate and briefly considered burning down the gate and the Forbidden City. Ultimately, they decided to spare the Forbidden City and instead burn down the Old Summer Palace . The Xianfeng Emperor eventually agreed to let Western powers barrack troops – and later establish diplomatic missions – in

5355-426: The li, was changed over time, as the li in Song times differed from the length of a li in Han times.] The vehicle wheel (li lun) is attached to the left road-wheel; it has a diameter of 1.38 ft with a circumference of 4.14 ft, and has 18 cogs (chhih) 2.3 inches apart. There is also a lower horizontal wheel (hsia phing lun), of diameter 4.14 ft and circumference 12.42 ft, with 54 cogs, the same distance apart as those on

5440-578: The major roads radiating from Antananarivo , the capital of Madagascar , is on the square in front of the Soarano Railway Station. Kilometre zero for roads and highways in Peninsular Malaysia is located in front of Johor Bahru General Post Office. It is one of the rare cases where the national kilometre zero is not at the capital (in this case, Kuala Lumpur ) due to the fact that the distances for three major backbone routes ( Federal Routes 1 , 3 and 5 ) are measured from Johor Bahru, where they meet. In addition, Kuala Lumpur has its own Zero Mile marker as

5525-442: The mechanical carriage's functions, and as one li is traversed, a mechanical-driven wooden figure strikes a drum, and when ten li is traversed, another wooden figure would strike a gong or a bell with its mechanical-operated arm. Despite its association with Zhang Heng or even the later Ma Jun (c. 200–265), there is evidence to suggest that the invention of the odometer was a gradual process in Han dynasty China that centered around

5610-467: The mileage electronically. With mechanical odometers, the speedometer can be removed from the car dashboard and the digits wound back, or the drive cable can be disconnected and connected to another odometer/speedometer pair while on the road. Older vehicles can be driven in reverse to subtract mileage, a concept which provides the premise for a classic scene in the comedy film Ferris Bueller's Day Off , but modern odometers add mileage driven in reverse to

5695-416: The modern odometer), which they attached to a wagon used by American settlers heading west. It recorded the distance traveled each day by the wagon trains . The Roadometer used two gears and was an early example of an odometer with pascaline-style gears in actual use. In 1895, Curtis Hussey Veeder invented the Cyclometer . The Cyclometer was a mechanical device that counted the number of rotations of

5780-426: The most notable events that have occurred on Tiananmen Square were protests during the May Fourth Movement in 1919, the proclamation of the People's Republic of China by Mao Zedong on October 1, 1949, the Tiananmen Square protests in 1976 after the death of Zhou Enlai , and the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre after the death of Hu Yaobang , which was suppressed in a military crackdown. Shortly after

5865-457: The number of pebbles. Whether this instrument was ever built at the time is disputed. Leonardo da Vinci later tried to build it himself according to the description, but failed. However, in 1981 engineer Andre Sleeswyk built his own replica, replacing the square-toothed gear designs of Leonardo with the triangular, pointed teeth found in the Antikythera mechanism . With this modification, the Vitruvius odometer functioned perfectly. The odometer

5950-482: The people and events of the Chinese Song dynasty (960–1279), also mentioned the odometer used in that period. However, unlike written sources of earlier periods, it provided a much more thoroughly detailed description of the device that harkens back to its ancient form ( Wade-Giles spelling): The odometer. [The mile-measuring carriage] is painted red, with pictures of flowers and birds on the four sides, and constructed in two storeys, handsomely adorned with carvings. At

6035-415: The same as on the "turning-like-the-wind wheel" (1.2 inches). Next, there is fixed (on the same shaft) a small horizontal wheel (hsiao phing lun) 3.3 inches in diameter and 1 ft in circumference, having 10 cogs 1.5 inches apart. (Engaging with this) there is an upper horizontal wheel (shang phing lun) having a diameter of 3.3 ft and a circumference of 10 ft, with 100 cogs, the same distance apart as those of

6120-410: The small horizontal wheel (1.5 inches). When the middle horizontal wheel has made 1 revolution, the carriage will have gone 1 li and the wooden figure in the lower story will strike the drum. When the upper horizontal wheel has made 1 revolution, the carriage will have gone 10 li and the figure in the upper storey will strike the bell. The number of wheels used, great and small, is 8 inches in all, with

6205-663: The southern gate to the Imperial City stands near the center of the square. It was renamed the "Great Qing Gate" during the Qing dynasty, and the " Gate of China " during the Republican era . Unlike the other gates in Beijing, such as the Tiananmen and the Zhengyang Gate , this was a purely ceremonial gateway, with three arches but no ramparts, similar in style to the ceremonial gateways found in

6290-462: The square the largest and most spectacular in the world and intended to hold over 500,000 people. In that process, a large number of residential buildings and other structures were demolished. On its southern edge, the Monument to the People's Heroes has been erected. Concomitantly, as part of the Ten Great Buildings constructed between 1958 and 1959 to commemorate the ten-year anniversary of

6375-520: The square, painted by artist Ge Xiaoguang , who is also responsible for producing the famous portrait of Mao that hangs over the Gate of Heavenly Peace. In 1980, with the downgrading of political ideology following Mao's death, the portraits were taken down and thenceforth only brought out on Labor Day (May 1) and National Day. Ten years later, in 1979, the CCP again decided against a large-scale celebration, coming at

6460-614: The start of the line; the marker is a simple concrete marker, with "0" painted on it. There is no ceremonial plaque. The kilometre zero point for highways is at Tiananmen Square , just outside the Zhengyangmen Gate. It is marked with a plaque in the ground, with the four cardinal points, four animals, and "Zero Point of Highways, China" in English and Chinese. Cuba 's kilometre zero is in its capital Havana in El Capitolio . Embedded in

6545-414: The total as if driven forward, thereby accurately reflecting the true total wear and tear on the vehicle. The resale value of a vehicle is often strongly influenced by the total distance shown on the odometer, yet odometers are inherently insecure because they are under the control of their owners. Many jurisdictions have chosen to enact laws which penalize people who are found to commit odometer fraud . In

6630-498: The vast majority of automobiles and motorcycles manufactured in the United States. By the early 2000s, mechanical odometers would be phased out on cars from major manufacturers. The Pontiac Grand Prix was the last GM car sold in the US to offer a mechanical odometer in 2003; the Canadian-built Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis were the last Fords sold with one in 2005. Most modern cars include

6715-420: The vertical wheel (2.3 inches). (This engages with the former.) Upon a vertical shaft turning with this wheel, there is fixed a bronze "turning-like-the-wind wheel" (hsuan feng lun) which has (only) 3 cogs, the distance between these being 1.2 inches. (This turns the following one.) In the middle is a horizontal wheel, 4 ft in diameter, and 12 ft circumference, with 100 cogs, the distance between these cogs being

6800-587: The zero point used to be at St. Thomas Cathedral , but now it is at the Horniman Circle . In Chennai , kilometre zero is at the midpoint of Muthuswamy Bridge on Muthuswamy Road near the Chennai Fort railway station on the south-western side of Fort St. George . In Iran , the Azadi Tower in its capital Tehran serves as the kilometre zero. In Ireland , distances from its capital Dublin are measured from

6885-580: Was also independently invented in ancient China , possibly by the prolific inventor and early scientist Zhang Heng (78 AD – 139 AD) of the Han dynasty . By the 3rd century (during the Three Kingdoms Period), the Chinese had termed the device as the 'jì lĭ gŭ chē' (記里鼓車), or ' li -recording drum carriage' (Note: the modern measurement of li = 500 m (1,640 ft)). Chinese texts of the 3rd century tell of

6970-445: Was based on chariot wheels of 4 Roman feet (1.18 m) diameter turning 400 times in one Roman mile (about 1,480 m). For each revolution a pin on the axle engaged a 400-tooth cogwheel thus turning it one complete revolution per mile. This engaged another gear with holes along the circumference , where pebbles ( calculus ) were located, that were to drop one by one into a box. The distance traveled would thus be given simply by counting

7055-605: Was erected by the British Raj , and consists of four horses and a pillar made of sandstone. There is no verifiable evidence that it is a monument locating the geographical centre of colonial India in the city of Nagpur, or that the Zero Mile Stone was erected by the British to use this point to measure all the distances. Incidentally, the city of Nagpur lies geographically central to all the four major metros of India, viz. Chennai , Mumbai , Kolkata and New Delhi . In Mumbai ,

7140-528: Was re-developed from an insular imperial quarter to a larger public space viewed as consistent socialist political. Over the 1950s, the square was quadrupled in size. In 1954, the Gate of China was demolished to allow for the enlargement of the square. In November 1958, a major expansion of Tiananmen Square started, which was completed after only 11 months, in August 1959. This followed the vision of Mao Zedong to make

7225-571: Was the site of several important events in Chinese history. Outside China, the square is best known for the 1989 protests and massacre that ended with a military crackdown due to international media coverage, internet and global connectivity, its political implications, and other factors. Within China, there is a strict censorship of knowledge of the crackdowns by the Chinese Communist Party . The Tiananmen ("Gate of Heavenly Peace"),

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