Browsing: Science & Technology

A Brief History On July 22, 1942, due to wartime demands on gasoline, the US instituted a national rationing program for this fuel.  World War II saw many items rationed, including fuels, tires, and even cars.  But it gets worse! Digging Deeper World War II begat the issuance of ration stamps, resulting in black market and counterfeit stamps. Dog food in cans disappeared, and toothpaste tubes were limited.  A national 35 mph speed limit was instituted, coffee availability was cut in half, shoes, bicycles, rubber products, many foods, coal, firewood, and medicines such as penicillin were rationed.  Silk was rationed,…

A Brief History On July 21, 2012, Turkish-American adventurer Erden Eruç, completed an historic first ever human powered circumnavigation of the Earth.  His official jumping off point was Bodega Bay, California on July 10, 2007, taking a rowboat across the Pacific Ocean. Digging Deeper He completed his journey around the World by rowboat, bicycle, canoe, kayak, and on foot until he reached California in 2012, the first person to accomplish the feat on his own power. The intrepid, brave, and sturdy man had traveled an incredible 41,196 miles in the 5 year odyssey, crossing the Equator twice but skipping some…

A Brief History On July 14, 2013, a statue of Rachel Carson was erected at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, commemorating her environmental activism, including writing the book, Silent Spring in 1962 that served to alert Americans about the dangers of pesticides. Digging Deeper Many persons have done service to mankind and deserve a statue.  Today, we ask you, who you would dedicate a statue to that does not already have statues in their honor? Here are some people we think are worthy of being immortalized on statues, and in any instance in which a statue already exists depicting any of these…

A Brief History On July 5, 1994, Amazon, the internet mega-retailer, was founded by Jeff Bezos, his creation eventually making him the richest person in the world, worth $194.4 billion.  Amazon provides an enormous inventory without the need for physical stores letting you shop at your desk. Digging Deeper The internet has brought incredible wealth to some people, placing them in the ranks of the wealthiest on the planet.  Here are some of those folks that used the internet to their financial advantage: Elon Musk, net worth $180.7 billion, made a lot of his fortune with PayPal, an online money…

A Brief History On July 1, 1966, Canada had its first ever color television broadcast in Toronto, Ontario.  Back when color TV hit the airwaves in the US, 1950 and 1951, no normal people had color TVs anyway.  1950s color TVs were horrible, with round screens that cut off a lot of the picture and garish colors like a bad cartoon. Digging Deeper TVs from the 1950s and early 1960s did not come with remotes, and they took forever to warm up, starting with a little dot of light in the middle that grew into a picture. Using CRTs and…