Browsing: Science & Technology

A Brief History On January 31, 1930, the 3M Company (then going by the name of Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing) revealed Scotch Tape.  This product, consisting of clear cellophane tape with a pressure-sensitive adhesive on one side, would become a household and office necessity. Digging Deeper 3M has since ridden the success of Scotch Tape to produce many products bearing the Scotch brand that have nothing to do with the original product, one example being the stain repellent Scotchguard.  3M first began advertising with the familiar tartan plaid (Wallace type) in 1945.  Today, many manufacturers produce adhesive tape, but most folks generically call these products “Scotch Tape” as…

This Just In! A couple of days ago, we reported on the mainstream media’s gloomy prediction of a potentially catastrophic snow storm striking North America on January 26-27, 2015. Yet, now such news reports as this one are slamming how Winter Storm Juno did not exactly live up to the “sky is falling” hype.  Even Wikipedia mentioned the “Forecasting controversy” in their article on the storm, with “A number of New York City residents criticized New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s decision to shut down the city’s subway system for the first time ever due to snow.  The nor’easter dropped much less snow in…

A Brief History On January 28, 1887, Fort Keogh, Montana was the scene of what was probably the most bizarre snow storm in recorded history.  Established as an Army outpost in the wake of the Little Big Horn massacre of Lt. Col. Custer’s 7th Cavalry, the fort was named after Capt. Keogh who had died in that action. Digging Deeper On this remarkable snowy day in 1887, astonished soldiers witnessed the falling of perhaps the largest snowflake ever, measuring a massive 15 inches wide by 8 inches thick!  If you think that is impossible, then you can go argue with The Guinness Book of…

A Brief History To our North American readers, please be safe this week as we our currently being slammed by an historic winter storm. Digging Deeper In Ashland, Ohio, where I live, I woke to about half a foot of snow on my driveway and spent an hour or so working the snow blower as my father drove the tractor with the snow plow blade on trying to clear our country driveway.  My morning class at Kent State University at Stark was also cancelled.  In fact, some 165 closings and delays occurred in Northeast Ohio alone this morning due to Winter Storm Juno, part…

A Brief History On January 2, 2009, Maria de Jesus of Portugal died in her home at age 115.  At the time of her death, she was the oldest living person in the world and the 20th oldest recorded person ever to live.  Maria ate fish, but not meat, and never drank alcohol or smoked.  Digging Deeper Every so often, you hear of a centenarian who drank and smoked every day of his or her life right up to the end, which was not the case with Maria.  So what does the trick?  Did Maria live so long due to her healthy diet and habits? …