A Brief History On August 13, 1913, Harry Brearley began production of stainless steel in Britain. A form of low carbon, high chromium (10.5% minimum, sometimes as much as 27%) steel, this wonderful stuff makes modern technology possible. Metallurgists had discovered the addition of chromium to steel increased the resistance to corrosion of the metal long before, and an American, Elwood Haynes, had applied for a patent to process and produce stainless steel in 1912. Digging Deeper Even before both of these groundbreaking metallurgists others had made serious contributions to the development of stainless steel, including Pierre Berthier of France…
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A Brief History On August 12, 30 BC, Cleopatra VII Philopater committed suicide by means of an asp bite (small cobra snake) to the breast. (Yes, that Cleopatra.) Through the centuries many people have killed themselves for a wide variety of reasons, including but not limited to shame, grief, to avoid execution, to avoid jail, terminal illness, and depression. Here we list 10 of the most famous or most interesting of these, with no significance to the order listed. Digging Deeper 10. Cleopatra, 30 BC. Having aligned herself with Julius Caesar and then Marc Antony, Cleo picked the losing side…
A Brief History On August 11, 1942, sexy Actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil patented frequency hopping radio signals, the science that became WiFi, Bluetooth, and Cell Phone technology. Known for her sexy movie roles, even including nudity, Lamarr was apparently brilliant as well, as are more entertainment celebrities than you may know. Here we list 5 of those smart entertainers. (The list is in no particular order.) Digging Deeper 5. Hedy Lamarr, Actress. Born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in Austria, 1914, Lamarr, of Jewish background, left Germany in 1933 with the advent of the Nazi regime. She died…
A Brief History On August 10, 1904, during the Russo-Japanese War history observed the first battle between modern steel battleships in the Battle of the Yellow Sea. (A minor battle had taken place a few months prior that lasted only 20 minutes that trapped the Russians at Port Arthur.) Digging Deeper The Battle of the Yellow Sea took place between what is referred to as Pre-Dreadnought type battleships, which were being built during this time. Still, the all steel Pre-Dreadnoughts were heavily armed with a main battery of 12 inch guns that could shoot to an unprecedented range of 8…
A Brief History On August 9, 1974, the Watergate presidential corruption scandal reached its climax when Richard M. Nixon became the first US president to resign, leaving Vice President Gerald R. Ford to become President after not having been elected as President or as Vice President. Digging Deeper The Watergate scandal started during the 1972 presidential campaign when operatives of the Nixon campaign broke into Democratic National Committee offices at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. and the five men were arrested on June 17, 1972. An investigation revealed the ties to the Nixon campaign, and the President sadly saw…