Popular Science Augments Reality

This month's issue of Popular Science will be the first monthly U.S. consumer magazine to bring an editorial feature to life by way of a new augmented reality technology from Aurasma that unites the physical and virtual worlds to deliver a unique and interactive experience for readers. You can hold your phone up to the printed page and it will show a video of someone talking about the article to provide more background info. Here is a LINK that shows how it works. Another great example of where art meets science.

Daimler and Benz History

Long before there was Daimler Benz and Mercedes, there were two car companies. At the same time that Karl Benz was developing his three-wheeler in Mannheim, Germany, in the 1880s, Gottlieb Daimler was creating the world's first four-wheeled automobile with an internal combustion engine in Stuttgart, 75 miles away.

Incidentally, Benz' wife, Bertha used her dowry to pay off his debts and keep him in business. She also undertook the world’s first long-distance car journey, and is acknowledged as the first lady motorist in history.

Daimler received his patent for a "vehicle with gas or petroleum drive machine" in 1885. Benz built three gas engine models between 1885 and 1887, and received the patent for his design in 1886.

In the United States at the time, cars powered by steam, gasoline, and electricity were all proliferating on the roadways.

In April 1900, Emil Jellinek, an Austrian businessman made an agreement with DMG (Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, or Daimler Motor Company) to buy and resell its cars. He decided to use his young daughter's name, Mercedes, as a product name. Jellinek ordered 36 vehicles at a total price of 550,000 marks, equivalent to over 2 million dollars today. A few weeks later, he placed a new order for another 36 vehicles.

This first ‘Mercedes’ was developed by Wilhelm Maybach, the chief engineer at DMG, and it is regarded today as the first modern automobile.

After various iterations, in November 1921, DMG applied for patents for a three-dimensional three-pointed star enclosed in a circle and it became a registered trademark in August 1923. Daimler and Benz merged in 1926.  Now you know how all the names and pieces fit together.

Finding Stuff

When you are reading a long page and just looking for a name, you can hold down the CTRL key and hit the letter F. A box will open on the bottom of the screen and you can begin typing the word. It will find and highlight that word on the page. This also works in Microsoft Word documents. If the word is not found, the box will turn pink to let you the word is not on the page.

What's in a Name, Bloomers

Amelia Jenks Bloomer was born in 1818. She was a women’s rights advocate, social reformer and temperance advocate. She married Dexter Bloomer, who encouraged her to write for his newspaper. Later she wrote for her own periodical about women's rights.

Among other things, she worked for more sensible dress for women and recommended what was called the Bloomer Costume in 1849. Bloomer believed that “pantalettes” were appropriate clothing for women. These were baggy pants that narrowed at the ankles and were meant to be worn under dresses. Bloomer advocated them because they both preserved a woman’s decency and  allowed her to participate in more activities without having to worry about indecency. That is why bloomer panties were named after her. Elizabeth Smith Miller introduced the costume, but it was Amelia that gave bloomers the name we still use today.

Later she established churches, helped pass suffrage legislation, and she even founded the Soldier’s Age Society. In 1871, she became the president of the Iowa Women Suffrage Society and helped pass a law that put an end to the distinction between male and female property rights. She petitioned congress to either end her taxation or end the “political disabilities” that did not allow her an active role in the government.

Boiling Tips

Here is an easy way to remember what to put in boiling water vs. room temperature water. Whatever grows below ground, like potatoes, should be placed in room-temperature water and brought to a boil. Whatever is grown above ground, like Brussels sprouts, should be placed in boiling water and then cooked until done.

Toilet Tales

In 2009, cosmonaut Gennady Padalka complained to a Russian newspaper that he wasn't allowed to use the bathroom on the American side of the Space Station.

As it turned out, Padalka actually blamed the closed bathroom door on the Russian government, which had started charging NASA for resources used by American astronauts in 2003.

The United States reciprocated by asking the Russians to keep out of its facilities, including the toilet, which NASA paid $250 million to develop. Padalka told the newspaper that the bathroom shutout was having a real effect on his cosmonauts' morale.

Castle Stairs Facts

Castles were always built with a spiraling staircase that turned clockwise. This design served a practical purpose, because incoming bad guys would ascend the stairs and have a huge disadvantage with their sword arm. Since most people are right-handed, the advantage was to the castle occupants descending the stairs with their sword-arm free to attack.

Earthquakes

Last time I checked, there were 6,714 earthquakes during the past 30 days. There were 189 over 2.5 magnitude in the past week. Here is a site to keep on your favorites list for when you want some details. It has an interactive map along with useful info. LINK

Happy Friday

The conqueror is regarded with awe, the wise man commands esteem, but it is the kind who wins our affections.

I hold them in esteem and regard with awe the kind people who always have a Happy Friday!