Learn an interesting fact to share with friends and increase your Geek Cred!
In 1889, George Eastman received a patent for the first flexible celluloid film, Soon after being granted the patent, George Eastman introduced roll film, which moved photography into the mainstream. Learn more at http://www.madehow.com/inventorbios/19/George-Eastman.html.
In 1960, the Sperry Rand Corporation unveiled the Univac 1107. The Univac 1107 was the first computer to use thin film magnetic memory technology. This technology employed a four millionths of an inch thick layer of iron-nickel alloy on glass plates. Learn more at http://www.ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/BRL61-u2.html.
In 1975 , Byte Shop, the first retail computer store chain in the United States, opened in Mountain View, California. The Byte Shop is most famous for placing an order for the first fifty Apple I computers from Apple Computer. Owner Paul Jay Terrell’s order not
In 1945, Percy Spencer patented the microwave oven. Percy Spencer was working on developing a radar machine that involved microwave radiation for the Raytheon Manufacturing Corporation when he accidentally discovered that microwaves could heat food. Learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Spencer.
In 1768, the first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica was published. Encyclopedia Britannica, Latin for British Encyclopedia, eventually became the oldest continuously published English-language encyclopedia. Learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclopædia_Britannica.
In 1893 , the first electric car is built in Toronto, Canada. The result of a collaboration between patent attorney Frederick Featherstonhaugh, engineer William Still and carriage maker John Dixon, Featherstonhaugh drove his electric car for 15 years. Learn more at http://blogs.autonet.ca/time_machines/general/canadas-first-cars/.
In 1998, the Space Shuttle Endeavour was launched on the first mission to begin assembling the International Space Station (ISS). Two days later, the U.S.-built connecting node, Unity, was coupled with the Russian-built control module, Zarya, which means Sunrise, and the space station was a
In 1968, Control Data Corporation (CDC) announced the CDC 7600 supercomputer, considered by many to be the first true supercomputer. The CDC 7600 was capable of 15 million computations per second and placed CDC as the leader in the supercomputer industry. Learn more at http://www.computerhistory.org/VirtualVisibleStorage/artifact_main.php?tax_id=03.04.01.00#5.
In 1993, NASA launched the Space Shuttle Endeavour with an IBM ThinkPad 750 on board. On a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, the crew used a notebook computer in space for the first time. The IBM ThinkPad 750 was used to observe color
In 1936, Bell Labs tested coaxial cable for televisions for the first time. Coaxial cable was invented and patented by English engineer and mathematician Oliver Heaviside. Learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaxial_cable.
In 1983, Radio Shack announced the Tandy TRS-80 Model 2000 computer. The Tandy TRS-80 Model 2000 computer featured an 8 MHz Intel 80186 processor, 128KB RAM, two 720KB disk drives, and the MS-DOS 2.0 operating system for $2,999. It was the only computer to have
In 1975, the name “Micro-soft” was first used in a letter from Bill Gates to Paul Allen. Microsoft Inc. incorporated in the state of Washington in 1981 with Bill Gates as President and the Chairman of the Board and Paul Allen as Executive VP. Learn
In 1948 , the first instant camera, Polaroid Land Camera, went on sale at a Boston department store for $89.75. The camera, invented by Dr. Edwin Land, produced a sepia-colored photograph in approximately one minute. Land’s one-step process for developing and printing photographs revolutionized photography. Learn
In 1885, the earliest photograph of a meteor shower, Andromedids, was made. Andromedids had incredible displays of several thousand meteors per hour on November 27th in 1872 and 1885. Currently, there are only displays of less than three meteors per hour around November 14th. Learn
