the.com/platform
where the floor doubles as a soapbox and a stage all at once
means A raised flat surface to stand on — or, by extension, any structure, stage, or system that lets you reach, address, or serve people, from train platforms to political platforms to software platforms.
from From French 'plate-forme,' literally 'flat form' — 'plate' (flat) plus 'forme' (form, shape). It entered English in the 1500s meaning a ground plan or flat raised surface, and from there it climbed: a physical stage, then the figurative 'stage' a politician stands on (the published 'platform' of their party), and finally the digital ground we all stand on today.
- train origin
- named for raised railway slabs before it meant ideologies
- political plank
- party platforms are literally built from individual planks
- shoe height
- platform soles date back to ancient Greek theater
- physics trick
- platform diving plummets at 30 mph on impact
- oil giants
- offshore platforms can weigh more than a skyscraper
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