Reuleaux polygon

[Mark A Mandel]

On Wed, 30 Apr 2003, James A. Landau wrote:

#In a message dated 4/30/2003 1:59:55 PM Eastern Standard Time,
#mamandel at UNAGI.CIS.UPENN.EDU writes:
#
#> I first recall hearing of [Reuleaux polygons] in a story by Poul Anderson,
#
#Poul Anderson "The Three-Cornered Wheel" which appeared in Analog Science
#Fiction when that magazine was printed in "bedsheet format", which was March
#1963 through April 1965.  I have no idea if it has ever been reprinted.  It
#was very minor Anderson, being a typical Analog gimmick story.  Some
#explorers needed to move something heavy (I forget what) but the autochthones
#worshipped the circle as holy and therefore circular wheels were taboo.  So
#the explorers pulled the expected rabbit out their helmets by using rollers
#in the shape of  Reuleaux triangles.
#
#My Analog collection is packed away in the attic so I can't look it up
#anytime soon.
#
#               - James A. Landau

It has, because I read it in a collection of stories about Nicholas van
Rijn and/or the Polesotechnic League... whose name, by the way, comes
from what? (And why don't we have a better way to relativize that
question?)

Thanks.

-- Mark A. Mandel