Learn an interesting fact to share with friends and increase your Geek Cred!
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
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
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
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
In 1992, the first smartphone, IBM Simon, was introduced at COMDEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. The IBM Simon Personal Communicator sported many of the features considered standard for smartphones today – a touchscreen (albeit monochrome), icons, email, calendar, predictive typing and even a game, Scramble.
In 1904 , the first U.S. direct current, electric motor patent was issued to Mathias Pfatischer. Alternating current (AC) machines largely replaced DC machines in most applications following the invention of the induction motor. Learn more at http://ecmweb.com/archive/direct-current-motor-basics.
In 1877 , Thomas Edison announced the invention of his “talking machine.” Later dubbed the phonograph, the “talking machine” recorded and played sound using a tin-foil cylinder. Learn more at http://lightandsound.net.au/HistoryOfTalkingMachine.htm .
