Geek Facts

In 1936, the Hale telescope, the first telescope with a 200-inch-diameter reflecting mirror, was shipped from Corning, New York to Mt. Palomar Observatory in California. The lens of the Hale telescope weighed 20 tons. It took two weeks by train, at a maximum speed of […]

In 1928, U.S. astronaut James A. Lovell Jr. was born. James Lovell had several “firsts” – the first to complete 4 spaceflights, the first to make 2 flights to the Moon and man’s first flight around the Moon. In addition, he was aboard Gemini 7

In 1930, the planet Pluto was named. The name Pluto was suggested by Venetia Burney, an 11-year old school girl in England. Due to stricter guidelines put in place in 2006 defining what a planet is, Pluto is no longer considered to be a planet.

In 1965, Gemini 3, the first U.S. 2-man space flight, launched. Gemini 3 was the first crewed Earth-orbiting spacecraft of the Gemini series. It was piloted by astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom and John Young. Learn more at http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1965-024A

In 1993, Intel introduced the Pentium processor (80586). Codenamed P5, the Intel Pentium was a replacement for the 80486 processor and originally sold for $878.00. Learn more at http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/p/pentium.htm

In 1884, US mathematician George D. Birkhoff was born. In 1931, Birkhoff’s discovered what is now called the ergodic theorem. Ergodic theory is a branch of mathematics that studies dynamical systems with an invariant measure and related problems. Learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergodic_theory

In 1891, Dayton Scale Company, the first computing scale company, was incorporated in Dayton, Ohio. It was part of the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company and became an IBM division in 1933. The Dayton Scale Division was eventually sold to the Hobart Manufacturing Company. Learn more at http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/attic2/attic2_057.html

In 2003, Adam Osborne, founder of Osborne Computer Corporation, died. In 1981, Adam Osborne introduced the first portable computer, the Osborne 1. The computer weighed 23.5 pounds and cost $1,795. Learn more at http://entrepreneurs.about.com/od/famousentrepreneurs/p/adamosborne.htm

In 1782, Dutch mathematician Daniel Bernoulli died. The Bernoulli Principle states that the pressure of a fluid, liquid or gas decreases as its speed increases. Learn more at http://plus.maths.org/content/daniel-bernoulli-and-making-fluid-equation

In 1787, physicist Georg Simon Ohm was born. Georg Ohm was able to define the fundamental relationship between voltage, current, and resistance. Ohm’s Law states that the amount of steady current (I) through a material is directly proportional to the voltage (V) across the material

In 1750, astronomer Caroline Herschel was born. She was the first woman to discover a comet. The comet, discovered on August 1st, 1786, was named “Herschel” and is also known as “first lady’s comet”. Learn more at https://thescienceclassroom.wikispaces.com/Caroline+Herschel

In 1995, for the first time, thirteen people were in space. It was a joint US – Russia effort consisting of eight American and five Russian astronauts. Learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spaceflight_records

In 1970, Digital Equipment Corporation introduced the PDP-11 minicomputer. The PDP-11 was a series of 16-bit minicomputers sold by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) from 1970 into the 1990s and was one of a succession of products in the PDP series. Learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDP-11