Learn an interesting fact to share with friends and increase your Geek Cred!
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.
Geek Fact for December 7th Read More »
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.
Geek Fact for December 6th Read More »
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/.
Geek Fact for December 5th Read More »
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
Geek Fact for December 4th Read More »
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.
Geek Fact for December 3rd Read More »
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
Geek Fact for December 2nd Read More »
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.
Geek Fact for December 1st Read More »
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
Geek Fact for November 30th Read More »
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
Geek Fact for November 29th Read More »
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
Geek Fact for November 28th Read More »
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
Geek Fact for November 27th Read More »
In 1832, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker , the first female surgeon in the U.S. Army, was born. Dr. Walker was the first woman ever awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Later revoked in 1917 over some confusion about rightful recipients of the award, it was later
Geek Fact for November 26th Read More »
In 1905 , the first U.S. advertisement for a radio receiver is published in the journal, Scientific American. The ad was for a telegraph transmitter, priced at $8.50, from The Electro Importing Company, which imported specialized electronic equipment from Europe and helped to supply many of
Geek Fact for November 25th Read More »
In 1639, the first known observations and recording of a transit of Venus were made. The observations were made by the English astronomers Jeremiah Horrocks and William Crabtree. Horrocks was able to make three measurements and calculate for Venus its transit path, angular size, and
Geek Fact for November 24th Read More »
