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[–] 144 points 3 years ago (17 children)

It's true!

Although it may seem safe to assume that one horsepower is the output a horse is capable of creating at any one time, that is incorrect. In fact, the maximum output of a horse can be up to 15 horsepower,[2] and the maximum output of a human is a bit more than a single horsepower. For extreme athletes, this output can be even higher with Tour de France riders outputting around 1.2 horsepower for around 15 seconds, and just under 0.9 horsepower for a minute.[3]
https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Horsepower

I must now once again question the nature of reality.

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  • [–] 70 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    Wasn't one unit of horsepower meant to represent sustained power, not peak power of a horse?

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  • [–] 35 points 3 years ago

    Average, not necessarily sustained. Horse gotta rest at some point regardless of how much power it’s putting out

    Iirc it’s an average over 1 day (24hrs) without regard to rest. So even sustained a horse is putting out more than 1hp at any given point in time

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  • [–] 6 points 3 years ago

    It's just playing with fractions and linear extrapolation. Horsepower has a time denominator. If you measure how fast I can run (not fast) in .1 second intervals, then take the highest number and extrapolate that to miles per hour it will seem impressive.

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    [–] 98 points 3 years ago (8 children)
  • [–] [S] 49 points 3 years ago (7 children)

    Opposite problem. B Horse has 0.75 horsepower.

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  • [–] 14 points 3 years ago (4 children)
  • [–] 96 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    Horsepower is averaged based on an extended time period, how much power a horse can put out on average while constantly working. They can't do 15 hp on a constant basis, they can only do it for a relatively brief period of time, so their average is 1 hp. A 15 hp engine can run at 15 hp for a much longer period of time, which a horse can't do. If the engine was hypothetically capable of working consistently without ever breaking down, it would be able to run at 15 hp indefinitely. But even with the machine's lifespan in mind, it can still run for years at the same output, which is impossible for a horse.

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  • [–] 39 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    I think it’s between 1 and 15, depending on factors like how tired, or if his horse girlfriend broke up with him for that dumb old stud.

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    [–] 34 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    Watts are superior for this reason.

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  • [–] 28 points 3 years ago (6 children)

    1 horsepower is supposed to be the rate a shitty old timey horse can work over the course of a whole day. Also it was created as a way to market steam engines to replace horses as a source of mechanical power so there was an incentive to lowball the horse.

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    [–] 17 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    Over a short period of time, they calculate, a horse can exert up to 14.9 horsepower.

    source

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    [–] 17 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    There's a difference between maximum power and maximum continuous power. It's like your car engine; it might be rated for hundreds of horsepower, but most of the time cruising down the highway it might be making 20 or so just to keep you loafing along.

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  • [+] 16 points 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago) (6 children)
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    [–] 12 points 3 years ago (9 children)

    So how much HP does Bojack Horseman have?

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  • [–] [S] 19 points 3 years ago (7 children)

    If a human has 1 (according to another comment) and a horse has 15, then I'm going to say that a "horseman" has 8.

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  • [–] 7 points 3 years ago (6 children)
  • [–] [S] 14 points 3 years ago* (5 children)

    That's a tough one. They're also half and half, but they're more horse where it counts for HP than Bojack.

    Hmm... let's say 13. Because a human torso is probably heavier than a horse head. Final answer.

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  • [–] 5 points 3 years ago*

    Would a centaur have double sets of organs? Like two hearts, four lungs, etc.?

    My question I guess is more, is the human part self-sufficient? Could you amputate the horse and end up with just the upper body of a human, and would it be functional?

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    [–] 11 points 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago) (1 child)

    Li'l Sebastian ran at about 5 HP 15000HP! I stand corrected

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    [–] 9 points 3 years ago

    Every kilowatt has 1000 watts

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  • [–] 9 points 3 years ago

    Interestingly, I read the images as skeletor, if you know what I mean

    nyaaaaah

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  • [–] 7 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    Guess we now have to change to duck power instead

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