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.

[–] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 118 points 2 years ago (1 children)

the maximum output of a horse can be up to 15 horsepower,

That's the problem. The unit was not developed on the maximum power a horse could put out. It was intended to be what a typical horse could continuously sustain throughout the work day.

[–] jarfil@beehaw.org 4 points 2 years ago

Also why switching horses was a thing: a fully rested horse could run at a higher hp, then change horses and the new one could keep outputting thevhigher up whilecthe previous one rested.

Like switching rechargeable batteries, only the battery was the horse.

[–] Rubanski@lemm.ee 53 points 2 years ago (1 children)

HP from now on is called humanpower.

[–] original_ish_name@lemm.ee 26 points 2 years ago (1 children)

It's called "Health Points" smh

[–] Rodeo@lemmy.ca 6 points 2 years ago

Just another silly quirk of the imperial system.

Metric uses kilowatts.

[–] affiliate@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago

you have to be a horse to do the tour de france

[–] ForestOrca@kbin.social 4 points 2 years ago

Keep questioning! For Science!

[–] Mac@mander.xyz 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Pro sprinters (cyclists) can temporarily put out over 2hp according to their data logs.