# What does "Double-wide" connote? (Non-American asking) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 17, 2022, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705 "2022-12-17T16:49:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/104 "2022-12-21T18:52:47Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#): > > Central Arizona Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/105 "2022-12-21T18:57:59Z")
There is a major railyard about two miles from this mobile home park. During the Vietnam War, there was a major explosion of ordnance in the railyard. We didn’t live here at the time, but people who did said that a lot of the homes were knocked off their foundations. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/106 "2022-12-21T19:01:59Z")
Wow, that’s something nobody plans for! How horrible for everyone! Do you know if the homes were attached, I don’t think that was common practice in the '70’s. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/107 "2022-12-21T19:03:47Z")
You mean attached to each other? No, they were stand-alone. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/108 "2022-12-21T19:05:52Z")
I think she meant attached to the foundations. That are often anchored down these days. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/109 "2022-12-21T19:05:56Z")
Yes, attached to the foundations or jacks? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/110 "2022-12-21T19:07:35Z")
On jacks, I think. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/111 "2022-12-21T19:18:38Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > There is a major railyard about two miles from this mobile home park. During the Vietnam War, there was a major explosion of ordnance in the railyard. [Roseville?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_Roseville_Yard_Disaster) ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/112 "2022-12-21T19:21:04Z")
Yes. Though I live in the next city over, ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/113 "2022-12-21T23:03:00Z")
One reason trailer parks get nailed by tornados is that they tend to be out on the outskirts of cities, and therefore more likely to get hit in the first place. I was living in Edmonton in 1987 when we got a tornado that hit the Evergreen trailer park and killed a bunch of people. The tornado was heading for the city and then deflected around it, and right into the trailer park. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/114 "2022-12-21T23:16:15Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > One reason trailer parks get nailed by tornados is that they tend to be out on the outskirts of cities, and therefore more likely to get hit in the first place. What? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/115 "2022-12-21T23:31:03Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > What? There’s a commonly-held, but inaccurate, belief that big cities have features which keep tornadoes from hitting them. > [@](#): > > Cities are equally vulnerable to tornadoes, despite what experts say is a persistent misconception that tornadoes can’t or don’t happen in them. > > “[The belief that] ‘The buildings will stop it,’ or thinking cities don’t have tornadoes because of tall buildings, fewer trees or the urban heat island — those are all false,” said Victor Gensini, a meteorology professor at Northern Illinois University. > > “Tornadoes are agnostic,” he added. “The parent storm that causes the tornado — the supercell — doesn’t care what’s underneath it, whether it’s farm field or city.” > **[Cities are vulnerable to tornadoes, too. Here’s what to do if one is headed...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/03/23/do-tornados-hit-cities/)** > > Tornadoes strike in every country, and urban areas are not immune. > **[Why don't tornadoes hit cities more often?](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experts-tornadoes-cities/)** > > Could global warming make this a more frequent occurrence? ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/116 "2022-12-22T01:54:41Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > > [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > > > One reason trailer parks get nailed by tornados is that they tend to be out on the outskirts of cities, and therefore more likely to get hit in the first place. > > What? Yes, what? Lived 60 years of my life in tornado land. Omaha was hit hard by a tornado in 1975. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/117 "2022-12-22T02:28:58Z")
Huh. I thought there was an effect that caused tornados to tend to move around large cities. If that’s incorrect, it’s my bad. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/118 "2022-12-22T03:06:19Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Yes, what? Lived 60 years of my life in tornado land. Omaha was hit hard by a tornado in 1975. It makes no sense to assert that tornadoes are less likely to hit a city. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/119 "2022-12-22T03:07:34Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I thought there was an effect that caused tornados to tend to move around large cities. If that’s incorrect, it’s my bad. Cities occupy less land area than non-cities in most regions. That is the likely reason. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/120 "2022-12-22T04:35:29Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Cities occupy less land area than non-cities in most regions. That is the likely reason. Exactly, and that’s pointed out in the articles I included. It’s simply a matter of odds. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/121 "2022-12-22T05:38:12Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Exactly, and that’s pointed out in the articles I included. It’s simply a matter of odds. I don’t know of any trailer parks that got taken out by wind but I can remember when the Deer Valley one got hit by a [plane.](https://www.9news.com/article/news/small-plane-crashes-into-mobile-home-park-in-phoenix-at-least-one-person-dead/73-345496700) Just another example of the dice rolling badly for a residential area. While I did feel very badly for the residents of the park, I was really happy that the office building I worked at didn’t get hit because the landing strip was a block away. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/122 "2022-12-22T18:11:04Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@Acsenray](#): > > > > What? > > There’s a commonly-held, but inaccurate, belief that big cities have features which keep tornadoes from hitting them. You hear of tornado damage to trailer parks more often because of the poor construction of mobile homes. Plus it’s easier to shift the homes, especially if they’re on jacks instead of a foundation. A small tornado could devastate a mobile home park while only taking a few shingles off of the neighboring insta-subdivision. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705/123 "2022-12-22T19:18:11Z")
I think we also underestimate just how many American neighborhoods are actually trailer parks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-double-wide-connote-non-american-asking/976705.md?page=7)