History Schmistory: November 21. News from the Prince of Patents.
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
1877: Thomas Edison announces his latest invention, the phonograph, the first instrument able to reproduce a recorded sound, and one of the few inventions Edison might actually deserve a little credit for.
![By Levin C. Handy (per http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cwpbh.04326) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](http://www.teammarcopolo.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Edison_and_phonograph_edit1.jpg)
By Levin C. Handy (per http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cwpbh.04326) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
History Schmistory: November 17. Not your ordinary cat toy…
Saturday, November 17, 2018
1970: Douglas Engelbart successfully patents the computer mouse. His patent for computer cheese is still pending.
By SRI International (SRI International) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia CommonsBy SRI International (SRI International) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
History Schmistory: November 11. Coooold-snap!
Sunday, November 11, 2018
1911: Apocalyptic expectations went wild the last time we saw an 11/11/11, as The Great Blue Norther, a cold snap that produced record highs and lows on the same day, barreled through the central US, leaving much of the bewildered population with contrasting habiliments.
![By Adriano Agulló [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](http://www.teammarcopolo.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/800px-Barcelona_snowfall08032010.jpg)
By Adriano Agulló [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
History Schmistory: November 8. Rays of Hope.
Thursday, November 8, 2018
1895: Wilhelm Röntgen discovers the X-Ray almost completely by accident. And that’s when the fun began!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Historical_X-ray_nci-vol-1893-300.jpg
History Schmistory: October 13. Speaking of Galaxies…
Saturday, October 13, 2018
1773: The Whirlpool Galaxy is discovered by Charles Messier (‘s awesome telescopes.)
![By NASA and European Space Agency [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](http://www.teammarcopolo.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/800px-Messier51_sRGB.jpg)
By NASA and European Space Agency [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
History Schmistory: October 10. What about Spaceland Security?
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
1967: The Outer Space Treaty, signed by over sixty nations including the US, the UK and the Soviet Union, becomes official. It serves as a binding promise to keep space open for everyone to explore, and to not use it to store and/or fire weapons of mass destruction. Many feel the agreement only makes it easier for outside forces to take advantage of the opportunity.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Astronaut-EVA.jpg
A Name You Should Know: George Owen Squier
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
As an executive officer of the US Signal Corps, George Owen Squier helped the Wright brothers with their first airplane, and was even its first passenger. From there, he secured the first purchase of US military planes, launching a new ‘Aeronautical Division’ for which he was Major General during WWI. But that’s not even the coolest thing he’s done. George was also a wizard with electricity and radio technology, holding over 60 patents to his name. He invented multiplexing, which allows multiple signals to be transferred at once through a single wire, paving the way for new possibilities in telecommunication. He invented wired radio, or as he called it, “wired wireless”, as a replacement for the unreliable home radios of the era. Though it never became a household commodity in his time, (any of us with cable TV certainly owe him a tip o’ the hat) George wasn’t deterred by this minor setback. Instead he convinced businesses that piping music through their establishments would increase sales and productivity. He was right. Soon businesses across the US were playing music not through a single radio in the corner, but in several locations throughout their sotres and workshops, thanks to wired radio. His name for this new technology?
Muzak! That’s right, George Owen Squier is responsible for that cheesified version of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road you can never seem to get out of your head… Well he was still pretty awesome.
History Schmistory: September 17. The New Frontier…
Monday, September 17, 2018
1976: NASA unveils the first space shuttle, Enterprise. Shatner and Nimoy consider a comeback.
History Schmistory: August 19. To go where no man would dare go before…
Sunday, August 19, 2018
1960 – Sputnik Program: Sputnik 5 – the Soviet Union launches a satellite with 2 dogs, 40 mice, 2 rats and a variety of plants. The first animals to be launched into orbit and return safely. Not to take anything away from the first animals ever in space, fruit flies. Seriously. They did so well we sent them back a few years ago. Poor little guys…
![By Jack Dykinga, U.S. Department of Agriculture [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](http://www.teammarcopolo.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/800px-Female_Mexican_fruit_fly_insect.jpg)
By Jack Dykinga, U.S. Department of Agriculture [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
-We should give a shout to Laika, the original space dog, who unfortunately didn’t make it back. RIP widdle buddy!
![Laika Monument By Laika ac from USA (Laika) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](http://www.teammarcopolo.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Laika_ac_Laika_6982605741.jpg)
Laika Monument
By Laika ac from USA (Laika) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
History Schmistory: July 29. The Final Frontier…
Sunday, July 29, 2018
1958: President Dwight D. Eisenhower eagerly signs a federal statute that creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
![To infinity and beyond! By Bill Ingalls [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](http://www.teammarcopolo.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/800px-STS-135_begins_takeoff.jpg)
To infinity and beyond!
By Bill Ingalls [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Sadly, they were never able to get him back to his home planet.
