Learn an interesting fact to share with friends and increase your Geek Cred!
In 1895, Wilhelm Röntgen discovered x-rays. A week after his discovery, Rontgen took an X-ray photograph of his wife’s hand which clearly revealed her wedding ring and her bones. Learn more at http://inventors.about.com/od/xyzstartinventions/a/x-ray.htm. Photo credit: NASA
In 1994, radio station WXYC launched the world’s first internet radio broadcast. WXYC 89.3 FM is the non-commercial student-run radio station of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WXYC.
In 1928, the first Motogram machine was installed on the New York Times Building in Times Square. Invented by Frank C. Reilly, the Motogram was one of the earliest outdoor incandescent message reader boards that provided the passing public with breaking news as it happened.
In 1967 , NASA launched the ATS-3 communications satellite. The ATS-3 satellite provided emergency communications links during the 1987 Mexican earthquake and the Mt. St. Helens volcano eruption and supported the Apollo moon landings with real-time TV transmissions for broadcasting by Radio Caracas in Venezuela.` Learn
In 1982, Compaq announced the Compaq Portable. Weighing 28 lbs. and nicknamed “the sewing machine”, the Compaq Portable was the first successful IBM PC clone. Featuring a 4.77MHz Intel 8088 processor, 128 to 640KB RAM, a nine-inch monochrome monitor and a 320KB 5.25-inch disk drive,
In 1973 , NASA launched Mariner 10, the first space probe to reach Mercury. Mariner 10 was also the first spacecraft to use the gravitational pull of one planet (Venus) to reach another (Mercury) as well as the first spacecraft mission to visit two planets. Learn
In 1920, KDKA in Pittsburgh, PA went on the air as the first commercial radio station. KDKA signed on the air and, at 8:00 PM, began transmitting updates on the presidential election returns. Learn more at http://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-30F.
In 1962, the Soviet space probe Mars 1 was launched. Mars 1 was the first attempt to probe Mars. Unfortunately, contact was lost with the spacecraft 60 million miles en route to Mars. Learn more at http://www.spacetoday.org/SolSys/Mars/MarsExploration/MarsProbesPast.html.
In 1956, George Dufek became the first American to land by air at the South Pole. Admiral George J. Dufek of the US Navy landed at the South Pole in an R4D-5L Skytrain (C-47 Skytrain) aircraft. Learn more at http://www.eoearth.org/article/South_Pole?topic=49460.
In 1888, John Loud was granted the first U.S. patent for a ballpoint pen. His design consisted of a tiny rotating ball bearing that was constantly coated with ink by a reservoir above it. While this invention worked for rough surfaces, it was not well
In 1998, John Glenn returned to space at the age of 77. John Glenn first made history in 1962 as the first American to orbit the Earth. As a Payload Specialist on the Space Shuttle Discovery, he became the oldest person to fly in space
In 2002, Palm introduced the Palm Tungsten T and Palm Tungsten W handheld computers. The Palm Tungsten T featured a 175 MHz ARM 925 processor, 16MB RAM, a voice recorder, Bluetooth wireless support, a 320×320 screen, a Secure Digital slot, and Palm OS 5.0 and
In 1997, Intel bought Digital Equipment’s semiconductor operations for $700 million. The purchase of the semiconductor unit was part of an agreement between the two companies. Some other aspects of the agreement were a 10-year patent cross license agreement and Digital developing a full line
In 1966, the first Pacific communications satellite, Intelsat 2, was launched. Launched for placement above the Pacific, Intelsat 2 failed to achieve synchronous orbit. Despite this, it was used to transmit live television and other communications traffic. Learn more at http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/bss/factsheets/376/intelsat_ii/intelsat_ii.html.
