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Archive: 2011 (94 Posts)

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Civil War Aeronautics

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

Will Lieut. Gen. Scott please see Professor Lowe once more about his balloon? This quote comes from a note that President Lincoln wrote to General Scott on July 25, 1861. Thaddeus Sobieski Coulincourt Lowe (Prof. T.S.C. Lowe) was an expert balloonist and would become the Chief Aeronaut for the United States Government during the Civil …

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Pic of the Week: Sunburst Grille

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

  The title of our blog post this week is “Sun Spots this Summer?” so we are highlighting one of the architectural grilles that resembles  a sunburst design. These grilles typically disguise the Adams Building’s ventilation system and are visible throughout the building. This one is a bit hard to spot (no pun intended!), since it …

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Pic of the Week: Discovery

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

One of our volunteers discovered this intriguing magazine while he was combing the stacks for interesting and lesser known publications. Discovery: an illustrated journal of scientific news and progress for everybody launched its first issue in May 1907. Its aim was  to bring the public in sympathetic touch with scientists and their work throughout the …

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Food Thrift: Scraps from the Past

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

Today’s post is authored by Constance Carter, head of the science reference section. Connie has written for us before, see her post - Celebrate with a Chocolate Chip Cookie. Today, as the country recovers from an economic downslide, we can seek our forebears’ advice and learn from their ingenuity. How exactly did they use their talents to …