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Category: Inventions

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Flights of Fantasy and Fact: Man-made Wings in Literature and History subject of Dec. 3 program

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

Today’s guest blog post is by science fiction and fantasy author Fran Wilde, who will be visiting the Library on Dec. 3 to talk about “Flights of Fantasy and Fact: Man-made Wings in Literature and History”. Wilde is also a technology consultant and former engineering and science writer. Her short fiction has appeared in publications …

Print shows Thomas Jefferson, full-length portrait, facing slightly right, standing beside a table; he is lifting from the table the Declaration of Independence with his right hand and pointing to it with his left hand; there is a bust of Benjamin Franklin on the table, as well as several books. On a small table to the right is a single-disc electrostatic generator and beneath that, resting on the floor, is a globe.

Counting the Miles: Thomas Jefferson’s Quest for an Odometer

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

Today’s post is guest authored by Julie Miller, historian of early America in the Library’s Manuscript Division. Julie has written for Inside Adams before- see her post on “The President and the Parsnip: Thomas Jefferson’s Vegetable Market Chart (1801-1808).” Thomas Jefferson, who liked to count and measure everything, coveted an odometer. While in Paris as …

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Pedaling Through History: A Look at Cycling Collections Across the Library of Congress

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

The Library’s curators and specialists are gearing up and pounding the pedals for an exciting tour of the Library’s collections related to the history of cycling for visiting historians of the International Cycling History Conference.  On Friday August 8, 2014 from 1:30-3:00 p.m. the Mumford Room, in the Library’s Madison Building, will be the hub …

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Getting Around: Presidential Wheels

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

Today’s post is authored by Constance Carter, head of the science reference section. Connie has written for Inside Adams before- see her posts on Civil War Thanksgiving Foods,  Food Thrift, the Chocolate Chip Cookie, LC Science Tracer Bullets, and her mentor Ruth S. Freitag. Knowing my interest in all things presidential, a colleague recently left a copy …

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300 Years of Imaginary Space Ships: 1630-1920

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

The following is a guest post from Trevor Owens, Special Curator for the Library of Congress Science Literacy Initiative and Digital Archivist in the Office of Strategic Initiatives.  He is also the author of the Inside Adams post on Envisioning Earth from Space before We Went There. While humans didn’t build apparatus capable of traveling to the …

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No Opera, No X-Rays!

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

The following is a guest post by Emmy-Award-winning engineer Mark Schubin who is a frequent researcher at the Library of Congress. He has been writing about the intersecting histories of opera and media technology since 1972 and currently serves as engineer-in-charge of the Metropolitan Opera’s Media Department. In October 2011, Mark gave a presentation at the Library …

Photographic print. Inflation of the balloon Intrepid to reconnoiter the Battle of Fair Oaks; Lowe, not visible in this image, is standing to the right of the balloon.

The Aeronauts

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

Last week I had the fantastic opportunity to give a gallery talk in the Library’s Civil War in America Exhibit Hall about the role of technology during the U.S. Civil War. There were many technologies or tools in use or being developed at this time, such as the telegraph, ironclad steamships (e.g. Merrimack and Monitor), railroads, …