Browsing: Science & Technology

A Brief History On April 10, 2018, adherents of the Anglican Church celebrate the Feast Day of St. William of Ockham, the Franciscan theologian and philosopher that gave us the logical tool known as Occam’s Razor, an idea oversimplified as ‘the briefest, most likely explanation is the best.’ Digging Deeper Born in Ockham, Surrey, England around 1285, William joined the Franciscan Order as a lad and was probably educated at Oxford, believed to have completed his studies in theology for a master’s degree which was apparently not awarded (for unknown reasons). William wrote an unpopular commentary on the Peter Lombard…

A Brief History On April 9, 1937, a Japanese aircraft made the first ever flight by a Japanese built airplane to London, England, when the Mitsubishi Ki-15 Karigane nick named “Kamikaze” made the nearly 4 day flight. Not to be confused with the World War II Japanese suicide airplane missions dubbed Kamikaze (Divine Wind), this flight was purely peaceful in purpose, though it should have given a wake up call to British and American war planners that the Japanese aircraft industry had indeed entered the world stage as cutting edge in technology. Digging Deeper The Kamikaze, piloted by Masaaki Iinuma…

A Brief History On April 4, 1883, Peter Cooper died at the age of 92 in New York City, the same city he was born in. His legacy still affects us today, although many of our readers may not even be familiar with him. A businessman, inventor, philanthropist, and politician, Cooper left a positive influence on the United States of America that deserves remembering. Digging Deeper Born in New York, he was of English, Dutch and French ancestry, and was adopted as a baby. His father was a hat maker, and Peter continued in the trades, working in cabinetry, hat…

A Brief History On April 2, 1911, the Australian Bureau of Statistics conducted their first ever national census. Most countries conduct some sort of periodic census, and we here in the United States do so every 10 years, a critical process that results in how many representatives to Congress each state gets (and electoral votes) and how Federal funds are distributed. In 2018, the Trump Administration announced the 2020 Census questionnaire would include a question asking if the respondent was a citizen or not, a volatile and contentious issue being debated at this time. Digging Deeper That first Australian census…

A Brief History On April 1, 2018, we have just 2 words for you, April Fools! This time instead of publishing a satirical spoof containing false stories, we will list 10 times real people really got fooled, either as individuals or as a group. Digging Deeper 1. US Public, War of the Worlds. On October 30, 1938, CBS radio in the United States aired a for radio adaptation of the HG Wells 1898 science fiction story, The War of the Worlds, directed and narrated by Orson Welles. In spite of periodic reminders that the program was a work of fiction,…