Anyone know where this term (blistering speed) comes from?
Is there a record of people getting skin blisters from speed, or does it possibly refer to paint or other material?
My guesses – something to do with the pressure of the wind allowing blisters to form, perhaps making a small air bubble even bigger. Or if human-related, caused by nervous gripping of the controls, increased blood flow, and the like.
panama jack
If you want to travel faster than light, you’ll have to be an electron.
Good question.
My WAG always was that it was an extension of heat as applied to great speed. Rockets, tires, lightning, meteors, etc, everything solid that goes exceptionally fast gets hot. Heat=blisters.
If I recall correctly, blisters also form on inferior tires at high speeds and temps… Maybe that has something to do with it.
Helpful as always,
Could it have something to do with steam trains? Trains had a “fireman” in the engine whose job it was to load wood/coal into the boiler and to keep it running to keep the steam pressure up. In order to go faster you had to have more steam, which means you need a hotter fire. “Blistering Speed” could refer to pushing the engine to the point that everything in the cab got so hot that it would blister you if you touched it.
It occurs to me the same thing could be said about steamships (or any steam engine).
So:
hotter fire = more steam = more speed
hotter fire = more heat = blisters
Just a WAG.
Merriam-Webster®’s Collegiate® Dictionary
Main Entry: blis·ter·ing
Function: adjective
Date: 1562
: extremely intense or severe
Merriam-Webster only gives the one meaning, and dates the origin of the word to 1562, so one might have to look that far back to find the origin of the expression “blistering speed.”
Run -fast- on a gym floor.
stop in such a way, that your skin rubs on the floor, but not so hard that the skin comes off, just hard enough to create sufficient friction to cause a second degree burn.
Voila! A blister from speed. That’s my guess.