A Brief History On July 10, 1997, British scientists in London, England, reported that the DNA analysis of a Neanderthal skeleton gave credibility to the “Out of Africa” theory of human origins, including the likelihood of an “Eve” ancestress to all modern humans dated back to 100,000 to 200,000 years ago. Some other scientists have since pushed back the possible date of origin of the human species to over 300,000 years ago, still believed to have originated in Africa. Digging Deeper The idea that every single human being on Earth has a common ancestor, the fabled “Eve,” is supported by…
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A Brief History On July 9, 1962, the United States Defense Atomic Support Agency and Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) launched a rocket from a remote Pacific Ocean island called Johnston Island (or Johnston Atoll), a rocket carrying a thermonuclear bomb (aka, Hydrogen Bomb) into space. The Thor rocket carried a W49 thermonuclear warhead, a 1.4 megaton yield device, that was detonated 250 miles above the Earth, about 900 miles West-Southwest of the Hawaiian Islands. The blast took place about 11 pm local time in Hawaii. Digging Deeper This particular nuclear test in space was called Starfish Prime, an operation within…
A Brief History Around the year 1495, Italian polymath Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (1452–1519) designed and possibly constructed a humanoid automaton known as Leonardo’s robot, or Leonardo’s mechanical knight. During the 500 years that followed da Vinci’s efforts, many other inventors have also worked to create robots, with such notable examples as 1985’s R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy), a toy robot accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). More recently, Travelmate Robotics, a company based in the U.S., has uniquely created the world’s first robot assistant and self moving suitcase. Their patented technology allows their robots to follow you…
A Brief History On June 30, 2009, one of those fantastic tales you think you would only see in the movies or in a fantasy novel really happened when an airliner crashed near the Indian Ocean island of Grande Comore, killing 152 of the 153 aboard the Airbus A310 jetliner. The sole survivor on the flight from Yemen to the Comoros Islands was a girl of 14 years of age, found 13 hours after the crash bobbing in the ocean while clinging to floating wreckage. Digging Deeper Yemenia Flight 626 featured an Airbus twin engine jet airliner, model Airbus A310-324,…
A Brief History On June 18, 1923, an American legend was born when the first Checker Taxi Cab hit the street in Chicago, the product of a Russian American Jewish immigrant named Morris Markin. Having immigrated to the United States in 1912 at the age of 19, Markin narrowly missed the European conflagration that was World War I. An ambitious and determined businessman, he manufactured pants for the US Government during World War I before turning to the growing automobile industry in 1921. Digging Deeper Markin’s move into the auto industry was of major significance to the future of the…