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I threw a rock at one of them, missed him, and hit the governors on the steam engine. The rock broke the governors and caused the mill to be closed down for several hours. –Fred Mooney]

What’s a governor on a steam engine?  Well, steam governors are centrifugal devices that control the amount of steam available to power the engine.  Governors allow a fire of varying temperature to provide consistent power and speed.  You can think of them like an early version of cruise control.  The Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation provides a solid explanatory video.

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