Tag: history
Ten unique cable car rides.
Emma Lazarus – The New Colossus
An evening pause: There are many intellectual fools these days who love to denigrate the United States and its history. These words, however, tell its true story, honestly and simply. Woe to us if we forget it.
Six images that ruined the lives of the individuals they made famous.
Six images that ruined the lives of the individuals they made famous.
Except for the last (which isn’t a photo), every one one of these images is iconic. That an innocent person was destroyed by each says a great deal about the decline of our culture in the past half century.
Six images that ruined the lives of the individuals they made famous.
Except for the last (which isn’t a photo), every one one of these images is iconic. That an innocent person was destroyed by each says a great deal about the decline of our culture in the past half century.
Scientists have finally discovered the forgotten formula for the concrete the Romans used.
Scientists have finally discovered the forgotten formula for the concrete the Romans used.
The secret to Roman concrete lies in its unique mineral formulation and production technique. As the researchers explain in a press release outlining their findings, “The Romans made concrete by mixing lime and volcanic rock. For underwater structures, lime and volcanic ash were mixed to form mortar, and this mortar and volcanic tuff were packed into wooden forms. The seawater instantly triggered a hot chemical reaction. The lime was hydrated—incorporating water molecules into its structure—and reacted with the ash to cement the whole mixture together.”
The Portland cement formula crucially lacks the lyme and volcanic ash mixture. As a result, it doesn’t bind quite as well when compared with the Roman concrete, researchers found. It is this inferior binding property that explains why structures made of Portland cement tend to weaken and crack after a few decades of use, Jackson says.
Scientists have finally discovered the forgotten formula for the concrete the Romans used.
The secret to Roman concrete lies in its unique mineral formulation and production technique. As the researchers explain in a press release outlining their findings, “The Romans made concrete by mixing lime and volcanic rock. For underwater structures, lime and volcanic ash were mixed to form mortar, and this mortar and volcanic tuff were packed into wooden forms. The seawater instantly triggered a hot chemical reaction. The lime was hydrated—incorporating water molecules into its structure—and reacted with the ash to cement the whole mixture together.”
The Portland cement formula crucially lacks the lyme and volcanic ash mixture. As a result, it doesn’t bind quite as well when compared with the Roman concrete, researchers found. It is this inferior binding property that explains why structures made of Portland cement tend to weaken and crack after a few decades of use, Jackson says.
The real cause behind the plane crash that killed Yuri Gagarin in 1968.
The real cause behind the plane crash that killed Yuri Gagarin in 1968.
The real cause behind the plane crash that killed Yuri Gagarin in 1968.
A man claims he has found a piece of debris from the Russian space station Mir in his backyard in northern Massachusetts.
A man claims he has found a piece of debris from the Russian space station Mir in his backyard in northern Massachusetts.
And I have a bridge I want to sell you. This story is very suspicious. No picture, the rock isn’t metallic, the NASA engineer who identified it isn’t identified even though he wrote a letter to the man, and it was found on the eastern United States even though Mir was de-orbited over the south Pacific.
If this story is true, than the journalist who wrote it did a really bad job of reporting it.
A man claims he has found a piece of debris from the Russian space station Mir in his backyard in northern Massachusetts.
And I have a bridge I want to sell you. This story is very suspicious. No picture, the rock isn’t metallic, the NASA engineer who identified it isn’t identified even though he wrote a letter to the man, and it was found on the eastern United States even though Mir was de-orbited over the south Pacific.
If this story is true, than the journalist who wrote it did a really bad job of reporting it.
John Wayne in The Longest Day
An evening pause: As this is June 6, the anniversary of D-Day in World War II, let’s watch John Wayne show us how Americans once did it. From the 1962 film, The Longest Day.
A museum holding the recovered remains of Henry the Eighth’s flagship the Mary Rose, which sank in 1545, has now opened.
A museum holding the recovered remains of Henry the Eighth’s flagship the Mary Rose, which sank in 1545, has now opened.
The images show a quite spectacular collection of artifacts, including the ship itself.
A museum holding the recovered remains of Henry the Eighth’s flagship the Mary Rose, which sank in 1545, has now opened.
The images show a quite spectacular collection of artifacts, including the ship itself.
Sixty years ago today Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the peak of Mt. Everest.
Sixty years ago today Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the peak of Mt. Everest.
Sixty years ago today Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the peak of Mt. Everest.
Tests have now shown that at least one bead from an Egyptian tomb was made from a meteorite.
Tests have now shown that at least one bead of jewelry from an Egyptian tomb was made from a meteorite.
The tube-shaped bead is one of nine found in 1911 in a cemetery at Gerzeh, around 70 kilometres south of Cairo. The cache dates from around 3,300 BC, making the beads the oldest known iron artefacts in Egypt.
An early study found that the iron in the beads had a high nickel content — a signature of iron meteorites — and led to the suggestion that it was of celestial origin2. But scholars argued in the 1980s that accidental early smelting efforts could have led to nickel-enriched iron3, while a more recent analysis of oxidised material on the surface of the beads showed low nickel content4.
To settle the argument, Diane Johnson, a meteorite scientist at the Open University in Milton Keynes, UK, and her colleagues used scanning electron microscopy and computed tomography to analyze one of the beads on loan from the Manchester Museum, UK. The researchers weren’t able to cut the precious artefact open, but they found areas where the weathered material on the surface of the bead had fallen away, providing what Johnson describes as “little windows” to the preserved metal beneath.
The nickel content of this original metal was high — 30% — suggesting that it did indeed come from a meteorite. To confirm the result, the team observed a distinctive crystallographic structure called a Widmanstätten pattern. It is only found in iron meteorites, which cooled extremely slowly inside their parent asteroids as the Solar System was forming.
Tests have now shown that at least one bead of jewelry from an Egyptian tomb was made from a meteorite.
The tube-shaped bead is one of nine found in 1911 in a cemetery at Gerzeh, around 70 kilometres south of Cairo. The cache dates from around 3,300 BC, making the beads the oldest known iron artefacts in Egypt.
An early study found that the iron in the beads had a high nickel content — a signature of iron meteorites — and led to the suggestion that it was of celestial origin2. But scholars argued in the 1980s that accidental early smelting efforts could have led to nickel-enriched iron3, while a more recent analysis of oxidised material on the surface of the beads showed low nickel content4.
To settle the argument, Diane Johnson, a meteorite scientist at the Open University in Milton Keynes, UK, and her colleagues used scanning electron microscopy and computed tomography to analyze one of the beads on loan from the Manchester Museum, UK. The researchers weren’t able to cut the precious artefact open, but they found areas where the weathered material on the surface of the bead had fallen away, providing what Johnson describes as “little windows” to the preserved metal beneath.
The nickel content of this original metal was high — 30% — suggesting that it did indeed come from a meteorite. To confirm the result, the team observed a distinctive crystallographic structure called a Widmanstätten pattern. It is only found in iron meteorites, which cooled extremely slowly inside their parent asteroids as the Solar System was forming.
Twenty vials of Apollo 11 moon dust have been found in storage after forty years.
Twenty lost vials of Apollo 11 moon dust have been found in storage at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory after forty years.
Not surprisingly, NASA is demanding them back.
Twenty lost vials of Apollo 11 moon dust have been found in storage at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory after forty years.
Not surprisingly, NASA is demanding them back.
Some of the Earth’s creepiest places.
Some of the Earth’s creepiest places.
Most of these aren’t natural places, but weird human ruins or artifacts of some kind.
Some of the Earth’s creepiest places.
Most of these aren’t natural places, but weird human ruins or artifacts of some kind.
A first look at the Saturn 5’s F1 engines that were recovered from the ocean floor.
A first look at the Saturn 5’s F1 engines that were recovered from the ocean floor and are being restored for museum display.
A first look at the Saturn 5’s F1 engines that were recovered from the ocean floor and are being restored for museum display.
Becket
An evening pause: “Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?”
Watch how a politician gets his underlings to do his dirty work, while keeping his own hands clean. From the 1964 film, Becket. Click through to part 15 to see that dirty work being done.
Barnes Wallis: the man behind World War II’s Dambusters.
Barnes Wallis: the man behind World War II’s Dam Busters.
Barnes Wallis: the man behind World War II’s Dam Busters.
Jonathan Edwards – Sunshine (Go Away Today)
An evening pause:
How much does it cost, I’ll buy it.
The time is all we’ve lost, I’ll try it.
But he can’t even run his own life
I’ll be damned if he’ll run mine.
The irony of this song is that it was written during the Vietnam War as a protest against the war and the draft. Today, most of the same anti-war protesters that sung it then, now want that same government to run our lives, even though it can’t run its own.
The story of the youngest survivor of the Buchenwald concentration camp to be liberated by the Americans.
The story of the youngest survivor of the Buchenwald concentration camp to be liberated by the Americans.
At age seven, he was separated from his mother when she thrust him over to the men’s side during deportation. “Tulek, take Lulek,” she said, entrusting him to Naftali in the hope that the men were more likely to survive. Naftali smuggled him into the Buchenwald labor camp since a child his age would have been exterminated on the spot if discovered. Rabbi Lau thus became the youngest and smallest inmate in the camp. His survival over the next year was largely due to Naftali’s constant self sacrifice and protection.
You don’t have to be Jewish or even believe in God to agree with this man that miracles do happen every day.
The story of the youngest survivor of the Buchenwald concentration camp to be liberated by the Americans.
At age seven, he was separated from his mother when she thrust him over to the men’s side during deportation. “Tulek, take Lulek,” she said, entrusting him to Naftali in the hope that the men were more likely to survive. Naftali smuggled him into the Buchenwald labor camp since a child his age would have been exterminated on the spot if discovered. Rabbi Lau thus became the youngest and smallest inmate in the camp. His survival over the next year was largely due to Naftali’s constant self sacrifice and protection.
You don’t have to be Jewish or even believe in God to agree with this man that miracles do happen every day.
A close study of human bones recently uncovered from Jamestown’s early “Starving Time” have revealed evidence of cannibalism.
A close study of human bones recently uncovered from Jamestown’s early “Starving Time” have revealed evidence of cannibalism.
This really isn’t news, since we have always had firsthand accounts suggesting cannibalism during that terrible winter of 1609. It is, however, the first empirical proof of that cannibalism.
A close study of human bones recently uncovered from Jamestown’s early “Starving Time” have revealed evidence of cannibalism.
This really isn’t news, since we have always had firsthand accounts suggesting cannibalism during that terrible winter of 1609. It is, however, the first empirical proof of that cannibalism.
Smithsonian researchers have recovered a short recording of Alexander Graham Bell’s voice, made in 1885.
Smithsonian researchers have recovered a short recording of Alexander Graham Bell’s voice, made in 1885.
Smithsonian researchers have recovered a short recording of Alexander Graham Bell’s voice, made in 1885.
A new report from Russia suggests that the undeployed antenna on the Progess freighter will interfere with ISS’s docking port and prevent a docking.
A new report from Russia suggests that the undeployed antenna on the Progess freighter will interfere with ISS’s docking port and prevent a docking.
It appears that the antenna would allow a soft docking but prevent the hard docking necessary to allow for the opening of the hatch. Something similar to this had happened on the Russian Mir station in the 1987. Two astronauts did a space walk to clear the hatch of a piece of debris. Now the Russians are suggesting again that if a hard dock becomes impossible a spacewalk be performed to get the antenna out of the way.
A new report from Russia suggests that the undeployed antenna on the Progess freighter will interfere with ISS’s docking port and prevent a docking.
It appears that the antenna would allow a soft docking but prevent the hard docking necessary to allow for the opening of the hatch. Something similar to this had happened on the Russian Mir station in the 1987. Two astronauts did a space walk to clear the hatch of a piece of debris. Now the Russians are suggesting again that if a hard dock becomes impossible a spacewalk be performed to get the antenna out of the way.
R.I.P. Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013).
R.I.P. Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013).
One of the giants of the 20th century. As she said in her final speech as Prime Minister in 1990,
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R.I.P. Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013).
One of the giants of the 20th century. As she said in her final speech as Prime Minister in 1990,
» Read more
British scientists have located the underwater remains of one of the man-made Mulberry harbours built by the British to support the D-Day Normandy invasion.
British scientists have located the underwater remains of one of the man-made Mulberry harbours built by the British to support the D-Day Normandy invasion.
British scientists have located the underwater remains of one of the man-made Mulberry harbours built by the British to support the D-Day Normandy invasion.
An expedition financed by Jeff Bezos has recovered two Saturn 5 F-1 engines from the ocean bottom.
An expedition financed by Jeff Bezos has recovered two Apollo-era Saturn 5 F-1 engines from the ocean bottom.
An expedition financed by Jeff Bezos has recovered two Apollo-era Saturn 5 F-1 engines from the ocean bottom.
Visiting a nuclear missile silo
A fuel line for the Titan missile.
Last week my oldest friend Lloyd and his wife Denise came to visit Diane and I here in Tucson. One of Lloyd’s requests was to visit the Tucson Missile Museum. This museum is built at the site of one of the now disabled missile silos built in the 1960s as a means for launching nuclear weapons against the Soviet Union. Fifty-four silos total had been built and operated, with eighteen of those silos scattered around the Tucson, Arizona area. When the U.S. signed a nuclear arms treaty with the Soviet Union in the 1980s these silos were then shut down and sold. Some became private residences. Others remain buried and abandoned.
One silo, however, was kept as intact as allowed by treaty and made into a museum in order to preserve this artifact of history. Because Diane and I happen to know Chuck Penson, the archivist at the museum, we were able to arrange an augmented tour of the facility. Below are some of my pictures as Chuck took us down into the deepest bowels of the silo.
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Seven sound recordings made before Thomas Edison.
Seven sound recordings made before Thomas Edison.
Seven sound recordings made before Thomas Edison.
Mr. Smith goes to Washington filibuster
An evening pause: In honor of Rand Paul’s filibuster today, let’s watch Jimmy Stewart perform a movie filibuster from the (1939) movie, Mr. Smith goes to Washington.
As Mr. Smith says, “Somebody will listen to me.”
A sunstone, used by mariners to judge the position of the Sun when it is cloudy, has been found at a 16th century shipwreck.
A sunstone, used by mariners to judge the position of the Sun when it is cloudy, has been found at a 16th century shipwreck.
A previous study showed that calcite crystals reveal the patterns of polarized light around the sun and, therefore, could have been used to determine its position in the sky even on cloudy days. That led researchers to believe these crystals, which are commonly found in Iceland and other parts of Scandinavia, might have been the powerful “sunstones” referred to in Norse legends, but they had no archaeological evidence to support their hypothesis—until now.
A sunstone, used by mariners to judge the position of the Sun when it is cloudy, has been found at a 16th century shipwreck.
A previous study showed that calcite crystals reveal the patterns of polarized light around the sun and, therefore, could have been used to determine its position in the sky even on cloudy days. That led researchers to believe these crystals, which are commonly found in Iceland and other parts of Scandinavia, might have been the powerful “sunstones” referred to in Norse legends, but they had no archaeological evidence to support their hypothesis—until now.
New research concludes that it was a static electric spark that set fire to the Hindenberg in 1937.
New research concludes that it was a static electric spark that set fire to the Hindenberg in 1937.
New research concludes that it was a static electric spark that set fire to the Hindenberg in 1937.
Proof that cats have been walking on important stuff for basically forever.
Funny: Proof that cats have been walking on important stuff for basically forever.
Funny: Proof that cats have been walking on important stuff for basically forever.
The House yesterday voted to rename the Dryden Flight Research Center after Neil Armstrong.
Don’t they have better things to do ? The House yesterday voted to rename the Dryden Flight Research Center after Neil Armstrong.
As I noted previously, I disagree strongly with this action. To honor Armstrong properly we should name something really important after him. But it is shameless and wrong to steal the honor from Hugh Dryden in doing so. Armstrong, a modest and honorable man, would have surely protested this action himself.
Don’t they have better things to do ? The House yesterday voted to rename the Dryden Flight Research Center after Neil Armstrong.
As I noted previously, I disagree strongly with this action. To honor Armstrong properly we should name something really important after him. But it is shameless and wrong to steal the honor from Hugh Dryden in doing so. Armstrong, a modest and honorable man, would have surely protested this action himself.