We all know about the various Nobel Prizes, but many do not know how they came about. Each year on the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the prizes bearing his name are awarded “to those persons who shall have contributed most materially to the benefit of mankind during the year immediately preceding.”
Alfred Bernhard Nobel died in December 1896 and the first of the Nobel Prizes was presented in 1901 according to instructions in his will. Nobel chose this method to ease his conscience after inventing the deadly explosive, dynamite.
Dec 23, 2011
Predictions From the Past
This is the time of year when the predictors pontificate about the future. The Ladies Home Journal from December 1900 contained an article, “What May Happen in the Next Hundred Years.” Here are a few of the surprisingly accurate predictions from a hundred years ago:
There will probably be from 350,000,000 to 500,000,000 people in America and its possessions by the lapse of another century. (309 million as of 2009) Nicaragua will ask for admission to our Union after the completion of the great canal. Mexico will be next.
The American will be taller by from one to two inches. His increase of stature will result from better health, due to vast reforms in medicine, sanitation, food and athletics. He will live fifty years instead of thirty-five as at present.
There Will Be No Street Cars in Our Large Cities. All hurry traffic will be below or high above ground when brought within city limits. In most cities it will be confined to broad subways or tunnels, well lighted and well ventilated, or to high trestles with “moving-sidewalk” stairways leading to the top.
Trains will run two miles a minute, normally; express trains one hundred and fifty miles an hour. Cars will, like houses, be artificially cooled. Along the railroads there will be no smoke, no cinders, because coal will neither be carried nor burned. There will be no stops for water.
Automobiles will be cheaper than horses are today. Farmers will own automobile hay-wagons, automobile truck-wagons, plows, harrows and hay-rakes. A one-pound motor in one of these vehicles will do the work of a pair of horses or more. Children will ride in automobile sleighs in winter.
There will be air-ships, but they will not successfully compete with surface cars and water vessels for passenger or freight traffic. They will be maintained as deadly war-vessels by all military nations. Some will transport men and goods. Others will be used by scientists making observations at great heights above the earth.
Photographs will be telegraphed from any distance. If there be a battle in China a hundred years hence snapshots of its most striking events will be published in the newspapers an hour later. Persons and things of all kinds will be brought within focus of cameras connected electrically with screens at opposite ends of circuits, thousands of miles at a span.
Wireless telephone and telegraph circuits will span the world. A husband in the middle of the Atlantic will be able to converse with his wife sitting in her boudoir in Chicago. Grand Opera will be telephoned to private homes, and will sound as harmonious as though enjoyed from a theater box.
Hot or cold air will be turned on from spigots to regulate the temperature of a house as we now turn on hot or cold water from spigots to regulate the temperature of the bath. Central plants will supply this cool air and heat to city houses in the same way as now our gas or electricity is furnished.
Ready-cooked meals will be bought from establishments similar to our bakeries of today.
Microscopes will lay bare the vital organs, through the living flesh, of men and animals. The living body will to all medical purposes be transparent. This work will be done with rays of invisible light.
Fast electric ships, crossing the ocean at more than a mile a minute, will go from New York to Liverpool in two days.
There will probably be from 350,000,000 to 500,000,000 people in America and its possessions by the lapse of another century. (309 million as of 2009) Nicaragua will ask for admission to our Union after the completion of the great canal. Mexico will be next.
The American will be taller by from one to two inches. His increase of stature will result from better health, due to vast reforms in medicine, sanitation, food and athletics. He will live fifty years instead of thirty-five as at present.
There Will Be No Street Cars in Our Large Cities. All hurry traffic will be below or high above ground when brought within city limits. In most cities it will be confined to broad subways or tunnels, well lighted and well ventilated, or to high trestles with “moving-sidewalk” stairways leading to the top.
Trains will run two miles a minute, normally; express trains one hundred and fifty miles an hour. Cars will, like houses, be artificially cooled. Along the railroads there will be no smoke, no cinders, because coal will neither be carried nor burned. There will be no stops for water.
Automobiles will be cheaper than horses are today. Farmers will own automobile hay-wagons, automobile truck-wagons, plows, harrows and hay-rakes. A one-pound motor in one of these vehicles will do the work of a pair of horses or more. Children will ride in automobile sleighs in winter.
There will be air-ships, but they will not successfully compete with surface cars and water vessels for passenger or freight traffic. They will be maintained as deadly war-vessels by all military nations. Some will transport men and goods. Others will be used by scientists making observations at great heights above the earth.
Photographs will be telegraphed from any distance. If there be a battle in China a hundred years hence snapshots of its most striking events will be published in the newspapers an hour later. Persons and things of all kinds will be brought within focus of cameras connected electrically with screens at opposite ends of circuits, thousands of miles at a span.
Wireless telephone and telegraph circuits will span the world. A husband in the middle of the Atlantic will be able to converse with his wife sitting in her boudoir in Chicago. Grand Opera will be telephoned to private homes, and will sound as harmonious as though enjoyed from a theater box.
Hot or cold air will be turned on from spigots to regulate the temperature of a house as we now turn on hot or cold water from spigots to regulate the temperature of the bath. Central plants will supply this cool air and heat to city houses in the same way as now our gas or electricity is furnished.
Ready-cooked meals will be bought from establishments similar to our bakeries of today.
Microscopes will lay bare the vital organs, through the living flesh, of men and animals. The living body will to all medical purposes be transparent. This work will be done with rays of invisible light.
Fast electric ships, crossing the ocean at more than a mile a minute, will go from New York to Liverpool in two days.
What's in a Name, Crepuscular Rays
These are the rays of sunlight coming from a certain point in the sky. Also known as “God's rays.” I just call them awesome.
Dec 20, 2011
Moving Water
Have you ever noticed the water in your toilet moves on windy days? In many homes in the US, part of the plumbing system is a pipe that runs up and out to the roof. This outlet, called a “vent stack,” allows sewage gases to vent outside instead of through the toilet, sink or tub, which would make the house reek. The stack also allows air to move through the pipes, which makes waste-water drain smoothly and keeps gurgling to a minimum.
When the wind blows over the vent stack outlet on the roof, the air pressure in the pipe is lowered. This is Bernoulli’s principle in action, in your bathroom. The lowered pressure in the pipes creates a slight suction effect throughout the plumbing system, pulling on water in the toilet below. As the wind kicks up and dies down, the suction gets stronger and weaker, and the water in the bowl sloshes around accordingly.
When the wind blows over the vent stack outlet on the roof, the air pressure in the pipe is lowered. This is Bernoulli’s principle in action, in your bathroom. The lowered pressure in the pipes creates a slight suction effect throughout the plumbing system, pulling on water in the toilet below. As the wind kicks up and dies down, the suction gets stronger and weaker, and the water in the bowl sloshes around accordingly.
Flying Building Robots
This is amazing. Flying robots build a 19.7 foot structure.
The FRAC Centre in Orléans, France will for the first time host an exhibition to be built entirely by flying robots. Titled "Flight Assembled Architecture," the six meter-high tower will be made up of 1,500 prefabricated polystyrene foam modules. The exhibition has been developed by Swiss architect Gramazio & Kohler and Italian robot designer Raffaello D'Andrea, to inspire new methods of thinking about architecture as a "physical process of dynamic formation."
The installation involves a fleet of quadrocopters that are programmed to interact, lift, transport and assemble the final tower, all the time receiving commands wirelessly from a local control room. The tower, which will boast a height of 6 meters (19.7 feet) and a diameter of 3.5 meters (11.5 feet), will be constructed within a 10 x 10 x 10 meter (32.8 x 32.8 x 32.8 foot) airspace, in which up to 50 vehicles can be tracked simultaneously at a rate of 370 frames per second with millimeter accuracy. This "Flying Machine Arena" was developed by D'Andrea, and features a state-of-the-art motion capture system.
Each quadrocopter is fitted with custom electronics and on-board sensors to allow for precision vehicle control, whilst also providing the opportunity for pre-programmed flight paths, which could include arcs and spirals. Furthermore, the fleet management technology helps avoid collisions by taking over when the flying robots get too close to each other. The same technology is also used for automating routine take-offs, landings and vehicle calibration and charging.
The Flight Assembled Architecture exhibition will be on display at the FRAC Centre from December 2 through to February 19, 2012.
The FRAC Centre in Orléans, France will for the first time host an exhibition to be built entirely by flying robots. Titled "Flight Assembled Architecture," the six meter-high tower will be made up of 1,500 prefabricated polystyrene foam modules. The exhibition has been developed by Swiss architect Gramazio & Kohler and Italian robot designer Raffaello D'Andrea, to inspire new methods of thinking about architecture as a "physical process of dynamic formation."
The installation involves a fleet of quadrocopters that are programmed to interact, lift, transport and assemble the final tower, all the time receiving commands wirelessly from a local control room. The tower, which will boast a height of 6 meters (19.7 feet) and a diameter of 3.5 meters (11.5 feet), will be constructed within a 10 x 10 x 10 meter (32.8 x 32.8 x 32.8 foot) airspace, in which up to 50 vehicles can be tracked simultaneously at a rate of 370 frames per second with millimeter accuracy. This "Flying Machine Arena" was developed by D'Andrea, and features a state-of-the-art motion capture system.
Each quadrocopter is fitted with custom electronics and on-board sensors to allow for precision vehicle control, whilst also providing the opportunity for pre-programmed flight paths, which could include arcs and spirals. Furthermore, the fleet management technology helps avoid collisions by taking over when the flying robots get too close to each other. The same technology is also used for automating routine take-offs, landings and vehicle calibration and charging.
The Flight Assembled Architecture exhibition will be on display at the FRAC Centre from December 2 through to February 19, 2012.
More Uses for Peanut Butter
A label that can be removed easily without leaving any glue behind has yet to be invented. Fortunately, we have peanut butter. Rub some of the tasty spread on the label glue and rub with a cloth.
To help eradicate the smell of fried fish, take a tablespoon of peanut butter after you have finished frying and drop it in the frying pan and fry it off for a minute or two. The smell of peanut butter is the house is much more enjoyable than stale fish and oil.
Peanut butter is a perfect gum remover. It can remove gum from kids hair and it will remove gum from carpet and any other object that is tainted with the chewy stuff. Rub some peanut butter into the gum and you can wipe the whole mess off with a cloth.
To help eradicate the smell of fried fish, take a tablespoon of peanut butter after you have finished frying and drop it in the frying pan and fry it off for a minute or two. The smell of peanut butter is the house is much more enjoyable than stale fish and oil.
Peanut butter is a perfect gum remover. It can remove gum from kids hair and it will remove gum from carpet and any other object that is tainted with the chewy stuff. Rub some peanut butter into the gum and you can wipe the whole mess off with a cloth.
Dec 16, 2011
Happy Friday
When our pleasures have exhausted us, we think we have exhausted pleasure.
I am never too exhausted to enjoy another Happy Friday!
I am never too exhausted to enjoy another Happy Friday!
Obituaries
Here is a web site that shows obituaries for the whole country. LINK You can look up hundreds of newspapers from the US and abroad. You can look up by time period. You can even set up a reminder for the name you are searching, so that when a person dies, you can receive a notice. It has funeral home locators, and many more features. This sounds a bit morbid, but I know some folks are interested in relatives that live far away and may not have any other way of finding out.
One featured item was that Alan Sues, from the 1960s "Laugh In" show, passed away last week at age 85.
Before I write about stuff, I usually like to try it, so I did. Here is the answer that came back from my search, "We're sorry, there are no obituary search results for 'shubnell'." Don't know why they were sorry, I was delighted.
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One featured item was that Alan Sues, from the 1960s "Laugh In" show, passed away last week at age 85.
Before I write about stuff, I usually like to try it, so I did. Here is the answer that came back from my search, "We're sorry, there are no obituary search results for 'shubnell'." Don't know why they were sorry, I was delighted.
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French Fries
They are the most eaten vegetable in the U.S. The Potato Council in the U.K. has put forth a petition to Downing Street to re-classify it as a “supercarb,” a new food group that, according to the council’s website, would help highlight “how much goodness potatoes contain.” French fries cooked in bacon fat contain even more goodness.
What's in a Name, Togas and Tunics
Most men and women in Ancient Rome wore a basic undergarment called a tunic, which they belted at the waist. The length and design of the tunic distinguished the wearer's social status. Elite Romans wore longer tunics with stripes, whereas slaves and manual laborers generally wore tunics that came above the knee and allowed freer movement. Only male citizens were allowed to wear the togas. These draped over the body on top of the tunic.
Chicklets
There are only a few companies today that still make chewing gum from natural chicle and other natural gums. Today, most chewing gums are derived from man-made materials that provide highly consistent chewing quality. Chicle continues to be the common word for chewing gum in Spanish. And, of course Chiclets gum, which is named after chicle.
Chiclets is another old-time classic gum brand that has been available for generations and can still be enjoyed today in its original form and flavor. Frank H. Fleer based his product idea on a confection that was popular around the turn of the 20th Century, candy coated almonds.
Peppermint Chiclets were introduced in 1906 and are the original candy coated chewing gum. Over the years, Chiclets have been made in many different flavors and colors. In 1929 when a box of ten Chiclets cost a nickel, a billboards and print advertising called the product "Peppermint gum iced with candy."
In 1899 the leading gum manufacturers organized themselves into a conglomerate called the American Chicle Company. Gum makers in the organization included Adams, Beeman, Primley, Curtis, and S. T. Britten. In 1914, Fleer merged his company with the American Chicle Company.
Chiclets Tiny Size® were introduced in 1962, the same year that American Chicle was purchased by the Warner-Lambert Company. Warner-Lambert became part of Pfizer in 2000, and most recently was acquired by Cadbury. That is a lot of gummy maneuvering.
Chiclets is another old-time classic gum brand that has been available for generations and can still be enjoyed today in its original form and flavor. Frank H. Fleer based his product idea on a confection that was popular around the turn of the 20th Century, candy coated almonds.
Peppermint Chiclets were introduced in 1906 and are the original candy coated chewing gum. Over the years, Chiclets have been made in many different flavors and colors. In 1929 when a box of ten Chiclets cost a nickel, a billboards and print advertising called the product "Peppermint gum iced with candy."
In 1899 the leading gum manufacturers organized themselves into a conglomerate called the American Chicle Company. Gum makers in the organization included Adams, Beeman, Primley, Curtis, and S. T. Britten. In 1914, Fleer merged his company with the American Chicle Company.
Chiclets Tiny Size® were introduced in 1962, the same year that American Chicle was purchased by the Warner-Lambert Company. Warner-Lambert became part of Pfizer in 2000, and most recently was acquired by Cadbury. That is a lot of gummy maneuvering.
Dec 13, 2011
Nano Sim
Those little cards in cameras and phones are about to get much smaller. At .47 x .35 of an inch, it is 60% smaller than the regular SIM cards in a majority of the devices out on the market. It is also 15% thinner than previous SIM cards. They will be out early next year. A few reasons why this is important - they are cheaper, also they are smaller so there is more room in devices (or the devices can be smaller), and they are faster. The best reason is they have nano in their name and I love anything nano.
Bacon Squeezins
The Bacon Squeezins Water Bottle is a stainless steel water bottle with screenprinted graphic of Mr. Bacon enjoying a refreshing drink of delicious liquid fat. It holds 20 oz (600 ml)
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