#technology history

[thoughtportal]

He didn’t invent anything

[x-heesy]

Couple riding battery-powered scooters, 1918

#history #historyofart #historycal #historyfacts #historylovers #historyinpictures #historymade #historygeek #historyera #historyphoto #historyclass #historychannel #historylesson #historygram #historynerd #historytour #historyofphotography #historyplace #historylover #historyphotographed #historymatters #historyoffashion #historyiscool #arthistory #historical #historicalplaces #historicalpix #historicalclothing #historicalphotos #historicalromance #historicalmonument #historicalfacts #historicalart #historicalsnapshots #historicalphotography #historicalphoto #historicalpictures #historicalhome #historicalcenter #historicaldesign #historicalfantasy #historicalusociety

Memories by Waldeck 🎧

[indelibleevidence]

Brace yourself - I'm going to make an 'old person' post. 😁

When I was a toddler, back in the mists of time (a.k.a. the mid-to-late '80s), my dad was a TV technichian. Part of his job was to deliver people's new TVs, sit in their living room, hook them up to the power, then tune in the channels for them.

What this involved was getting your TV guide magazine, then sitting in front of the TV and doing a weird kind of manual search through the static, like tuning in a radio with a dial, but you needed a clear sound AND picture. None of the channels were visually labelled, so you had to get a good reception, then try to figure out what channel it was based on what your TV guide said was airing at the time. And then you'd allocate the signal you were receiving to correspond to one of the numbered buttons on your remote, so you could just skip straight there with one button press next time.

Luckily, the UK only had 4 channels at the time (it went up to 5 in the early 90s, and that was a Big Deal because we got a whole new soap opera), so it would only take about 15 minutes to figure out. This was pre-satellite/cable channels, so your choice of what to watch was very limited. And you could do it yourself - you didn't need a technician - but it could be a bit of a chore, and it was a service the store offered, so people paid for it.

I have no idea where I was going with this post (something, something, 'wow, technology really has evolved!') but there you go. That's the work that put food in my mouth as a kid.

[millionmovieproject]

X

[awesome-casuallyfamouscollector]

Railway bridge and Zemgales bridge across Daugava seen from above, Riga, Latvia, 1938. Source:  Latvian Railway History Museum

During World War II, the Zemgales bridge was blown up in battle on June 29, 1941, and again in October 1944. It was never rebuilt..

[cmdrjanus-2]

Konrad Zuse: German inventor and computer pioneer

[makereadgrow]

We wouldn't have tech without textiles

So the other night during D&D, I had the sudden thoughts that:

1) Binary files are 1s and 0s

2) Knitting has knit stitches and purl stitches

You could represent binary data in knitting, as a pattern of knits and purls…

You can knit Doom.

However, after crunching some more numbers:

The compressed Doom installer binary is 2.93 MB. Assuming you are using sock weight yarn, with 7 stitches per inch, results in knitted doom being…

3322 square feet

Factoring it out…302 people, each knitting a relatively reasonable 11 square feet, could knit Doom.

[thoughtportal]

During the Second World War, six talented mathematicians were brought together to make history. These women had one mission: to program the world’s first and only supercomputer. Speaking with Rachel Dinning, Kathy Kleiman explores the vital but overlooked role the “Eniac 6” played in the history of computing during and after the Second World War.

[ronk]

The Antikythera Mechanism

The Antikythera Mechanism has captured the imagination of archaeologists, mathematicians, and scientists

A hundred and twenty years ago, divers discovered a shipwreck off the island of Antikythera in Greece. What they found changed our understanding of human history. The mysterious Antikythera Mechanism has captured the imagination of archaeologists, mathematicians, and scientists ever since. It even inspired the plot for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny! Using the latest 3D x-ray and…

[ancientbreadandbones]

This is why history and archaeology are complementary sciences. It turns out that the famous complaint tablets sent to Ea-Nasir have a lot to do with the geopolitics of his time, the economy, and the technology available. History is written in this holistic way, from the more broad to the more specific and (or) vice versa.

What's the first question that really pops into peoples' minds about Ea-Nasir? I'm trying to write this history down, but I'm struggling.

[fcfvafeed]

Unleashing the Power of Streaming: From Concept to Global Phenomenon

In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, few innovations have had as profound an impact as internet streaming. What began as a mere concept, a seemingly far-fetched idea of delivering media content over the World Wide Web, has blossomed into a global phenomenon that has reshaped the way we consume entertainment, information, and education. The Origins of a Digital Revolution The roots of…

[awesome-casuallyfamouscollector]

Yet, price data from Europe’s five biggest carmakers (BMW, Mercedes, Stellantis, Renault, and Volkswagen) shows that they have raised the prices of their cheapest models by up to 41% since 2019, almost double the average EU cumulative inflation (21%). Notably, the price of small, affordable models, the Peugeot 208, Seat Ibiza and Renault Twingo, which previously retailed at (€10,300-€15,500) have increased by almost €6,000. The more premium but still small Mercedes A and B class models increased in price by over €10,000. The price increase of 7% of the BMW Series 1 and 2 was more limited only due to a sharp reduction in pricing since May 2023(..)

P.S. Today, the concept of "affordable" car or "people's car" is disappearing faster than last year's snow! In essence, the light passenger car is completely deliberately turned into a privilege of the ruling class... but the people have an answer - an old, used and heavily smoky diesel. More and more often I meet people who say: "The government will only take my old diesel from the late 1990s and early 2000s off my dead hands...Mostly new ICE vehicles are expensive junk...: expensive to buy, expensive to own, expensive to drive, expensive to maintain and repair...poorly designed and manufactured. After the warranty expires, many of these new car models will be a nightmare of expensive repairs

[realityfragments]

Writing Software Nostalgia.

It wasn’t long ago I mentioned that I had picked up Scrivener, and I’m enjoying it. It’s very much becoming a valuable tool for me as I plod away. I make my writing mistakes much more quickly now, and I can correct them much more quickly mainly because of the research capacity of the software. I’m not easily impressed. It’s pretty cool, though not as cool as Stephen King balancing a typewriter…

[awesome-casuallyfamouscollector]

The 1980s are the best time in human history...

The sounds of the 80s.

[nasa]

One Giant Leap for Mankind

Millions of people around the globe will come together for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games later this month to witness a grand event—the culmination of years of training and preparation.

Fifty-five years ago this July, the world was watching as a different history-changing event was unfolding: the Apollo 11 mission was landing humans on the surface of another world for the first time. An estimated 650 million people watched on TV as Neil Armstrong reached the bottom of the ladder of the lunar module on July 20, 1969, and spoke the words, “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”

While the quest to land astronauts on the Moon was born from the space race with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, this moment was an achievement for the whole of humanity. To mark the world-embracing nature of the Moon landing, several tokens of world peace were left on the Moon during the astronauts’ moonwalk.

“We came in peace for all mankind”

These words, as well as drawings of Earth’s western and eastern hemispheres, are etched on a metal plaque affixed to a leg of the Apollo 11 lunar lander. Because the base of the lander remained on the Moon after the astronauts returned, it is still there today as a permanent memorial of the historic landing.

Microscopic messages from kings, queens, and presidents

Another artifact left on the Moon by the Apollo 11 astronauts is a small silicon disc etched with goodwill messages from leaders of 74 countries around the world. Each message was reduced to be smaller than the head of a pin and micro-etched on a disc roughly 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) in diameter. Thailand’s message, translated into English, reads: "The Thai people rejoice in and support this historic achievement of Earth men, as a step towards Universal peace."

Curious to read what else was inscribed on the disk? Read the messages.

An ancient symbol

The olive branch, a symbol of peace and conciliation in ancient Greek mythology, also found its way to the Moon in July 1969. This small olive branch made of gold was left on the lunar surface during Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s 2.5-hour moonwalk. The olive branch also featured on the Apollo 11 mission patches sewed on the crew’s spacesuits. Designed in part by command module pilot Michael Collins, the insignia shows a bald eagle landing on the Moon holding an olive branch in its talons.

We go together

As NASA’s Artemis program prepares to again land astronauts on the Moon, including the first woman and the first person of color, this time we’re collaborating with commercial and international partners. Together we will make new scientific discoveries, establish the first long-term presence on the Moon, and inspire a new generation of explorers.

Is aerospace history your cup of tea? Be sure to check out more from NASA’s past at www.nasa.gov/history.

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