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Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
You might think this post will be about the battle between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49’ers in Superbowl XLVII (2013). This post is not about the players or the teams, but about a part of the game. Plain and simple, I am writing about the turf grass (natural and synthetic) because in …
Posted in: Heritage Months, Holidays, and Today in History, Inventions, Sports
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
As we approach the end of another year of the Gregorian calendar, publishers and the media provide a look back at their top news stories or ‘best of’ from the past year. Scientific publishers also provide retrospectives of the year that tend to focus on top inventions, such as Popular Science’s Invention Awards (also see …
Posted in: Heritage Months, Holidays, and Today in History, Inventions
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
The following is a guest post by Emmy-Award-winning engineer Mark Schubin. 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 on the “Fandom of the Opera: How a …
Posted in: Guest Blog Posts, Inventions, Sports
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
This week I participated in the Science at Risk: Toward a National Strategy for Preserving Online Science meeting hosted by the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP). During this two-day meeting the Library’s recently-retired manuscript specialist Len Bruno took us on a journey through the scientific treasures of the Library’s Manuscript Division. On display were items …
Posted in: Aeronautics/Astronautics, Inventions, Pic of the Week
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
Today’s post is from science reference librarian Margaret Clifton. She is also the author of Saving Energy: The Fall Back Position, Stars in his Eyes and Sun Spots this Summer. I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night – Sarah Willams (1837-1868)* In February of 2010 I wrote a post for Inside …
Posted in: Aeronautics/Astronautics, Astronomy/Mathematics, Guest Blog Posts, Inventions, Lunchtime Lectures and Videos
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
Disregard what you learned from the history books about the first sound movie, first color TV program, first stereo broadcast….because opera did it first! Some of the first synchronized sound movies were of opera arias shown at the Phono-Cinema-Theatre at the 1900 Paris World’s Fair. A sound movie of the complete opera Faust was released …
Posted in: Inventions, Lunchtime Lectures and Videos
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
Today’s post is by 2011 Junior Fellow Brian Horowitz of Montgomery College in Maryland. Brian is also the author of the Art of War…and of Sandwich Making and Stumbled upon in the Stacks– a brief biography of Brevet Major Alfred Mordecai. In elementary school my favorite lunch consisted of a peanut butter and jelly (PB&J) sandwich in a brown …
Posted in: Cookbooks and Food, Inventions
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
Have you ever seen a Revolvator?It is a portable elevator or tier machine from the early 20th century. The ceilings in the Science and Business reading room are around 35 ft, so when a light bulb needs to be replaced or the ceiling needs to be patched up, the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) breaks …
Posted in: Inventions, John Adams Building, Pic of the Week
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
In the spirit of the holiday season, we are highlighting another Everyday Mystery relevant to this time of the year: Who invented electric Christmas lights? The short answer is Thomas Alva Edison and Edward H. Johnson. After all, Edison created the first practical light bulb and successfully strung together the first strand of electric lights …
Posted in: Heritage Months, Holidays, and Today in History, Inventions