Browsing: Science & Technology

A Brief History On August 21, 1897, Ransom Eli Olds founded the car company that became the first assembly line producer of automobiles in the world.  Many people think it was Henry Ford that invented the moving assembly line for automobile production, and of course he did make major strides in that direction, but Ransom Eli Olds was the first. Digging Deeper For the next 107 years, Oldsmobile was known as a company that made upscale, comfortable cars and even produced some “muscle” cars along the way.  Officially called Olds Automobiles, the name was quickly shorted to Oldsmobile. Born in Geneva,…

A Brief History On August 19, 1940, the B-25 Mitchell was flown for the first time.  Although its service life did not extend as long as many other airplanes, this medium bomber was adapted for a huge variety of uses and configurations, making it one of the most versatile aircraft ever.  Here 6 (well, okay, actually 7) such multi-purpose aircraft are listed in the order the author finds most interesting or exciting.   Digging Deeper 6.  De Haviland DH.98 Mosquito. Entering service in 1941 as a high-speed unarmed bomber, the Mosquito was built mostly of wood, giving it a light airframe…

A Brief History On August 18, 1587, Virginia Dare was born in the Roanoke Colony in what is now North Carolina.  Each year the current residents of Roanoke Island celebrate her birthday with an Elizabethan Renaissance Festival. Digging Deeper Whereas the date of death is often known for many famous people throughout history, their births were mostly insignificant and thus not recorded.  For Virginia the exact opposite is true.  As the first child born to English settlers on the North American continent, her birth is important.  This is largely where her story also ends.  In fact it is unknown if and when…

A Brief History On August 16, 1944, the Nazis flew the prototype of the Ju-287 for the first time.  Manufactured by the German aircraft company Junkers, it was a 4-engine, jet-powered bomber whose forward-swept wings made it radically different from any other airplane in existence at the time. Digging Deeper With a turbojet engine on each side of its nose, and another under each wing, the Ju-287 flew to speeds of almost 350 mph, which was fast but still not fast enough. Originally it was supposed to have been equipped with even more powerful jet engines, but developmental difficulties meant that Junkers had to go with what was available, the Jumo…

A Brief History On August 14, 1880, work on the Cathedral of Cologne was finally finished after it had been started 600 years earlier!  One of the most iconic landmarks in Germany, the cathedral survived World War II despite having been hit by at least 14 bombs in the many bombing raids on the city.  Allied bomber crews even used it as a navigation point.  Nonetheless, the product most often associated with Cologne is, of course, Eau de Cologne, a perfume.  Many products are associated with the names of cities.  Here 10 of them are listed, in no particular order.   Digging…