Three combinations as topics for speeches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One speech topic type is a combination of two rather different things. Some combinations are brilliant while others are more questionable.

 

Boat + Army Truck = DUKW

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In World War II the DUKW  (a six-wheel all-wheel-drive Army truck with a boat hull added) was developed for amphibious landings. 21,000 were built. They could swim at 5 knots in smooth water, go ashore, and drive at 50 mph on good roads. The driver could control the tire pressure from 10 psi for soft sand to 40 psi for paved roads. There was a centrifugal bilge pump capable of 260 gallons per minute. In the two months following the D-Day landings, DUKWs delivered 40 percent of the supplies landed on the Normandy beaches. As shown above, they also could cross rivers to avoid guarded or damaged bridges. Long after the war some were enlarged, and still are used for duck tours in harbors and on lakes.   

Gardening + Model Railway = Garden Railway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A garden railway is a model railway system set up outdoors in a garden, as shown above. As a child I recall model railways being mainly for the Christmas season, and often placed beneath the tree. Often there is no room inside the house for them to be set up all year. Gardens offer more room, but being outdoors causes more wear and tear than indoors. There was a Garden Railways magazine which ends in Fall 2020. 

 

Cross-country Skiing + Rifle Shooting = Biathlon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Biathlon is a curious combination included in the Winter Olympics. Jerry Seinfeld had a routine where he asked about alpine snipers, and suggested an even stranger combination for the Summer Olympics - swimming and strangling.