“Tunneling on railroads is being pushed to an extreme. Even where a detour would avoid a bore, engineers seem to have a peculiar gratification in piercing the earth. Apart from the pride of a great work completed, is it not possible that the fascination of delving after the mysterious and unknown may be a clue to the present rage for tunneling? We tunnel under lakes for water, through mountains for roads intended to save time and distance, and even propose to unite countries, severed by seas, with tunnels. This age may be called the age of the earth-borers.”
—Scientific American, January 1867
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