In the Coal Mining Region of eastern Pennsylvania, Appalachian valleys from Harrisburg to Scranton contain prized veins of hard, black Anthracite coal. From the Civil War to the 1940’s, coal was the undisputed King of Fuels in the United States and the world. For Schuylkill County, there was one big problem, getting all that precious blackContinue reading “The Mahanoy Plane – the Mother of all Inclined Railroads”
Category Archives: Historic Technology
人工智能的祖父——差分机
今天的人工智能[AI]的诞生，都要归功于“差分机”。这台19世纪的手摇计算机很难用语言描述。其中一台陈列在美国国家历史博物馆的史密森尼学会展厅里。虽然它很少吸引人群，但毫无疑问，差分机是迈向高功率ChatGPT的第一步继续阅读 “人工智能的祖父——差分机”
SKYLAB – America’s Forgotten Space Station
The International Space Station, ISS has been in operation since 2000. But America’s very first space station was SKYLAB. It helped pave the way for permanent operations in low-Earth orbit over 50 years ago. Skylab spent six years in orbit from 1973 to 1979, with three successive three-man crews on board for a record settingContinue reading “SKYLAB – America’s Forgotten Space Station”
Electric Vehicles have Existed for OVER 150 YEARS
Electric vehicles have been around a lot longer than most people think. Certainly longer than Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors. In fact, electric cars appeared in the mid-1800’s, long before the internal-combustion engine was invented.
The Forgotten Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
For an entire generation, the name Jacques Cousteau was synonymous with undersea exploration. He was a famous French explorer, inventor, and researcher. He co-invented the Aqua-Lung, better known today as SCUBA. On board his equally famous ship, the Calypso, he hosted dozens of TV documentaries from the 1960s thru the 1980s, exploring the world’s oceans.Continue reading “The Forgotten Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau”
The Forgotten Palomares Nuclear Bomber Crash of 1966
There was a time during the Cold War when nuclear warheads were not only sitting in ballistic missile silos, but also flown 24/7 by large bombers.
The 10 Most Successful Vaccines in History
We used to take vaccines for granted. After all, they’ve been around for decades, some given to our grandparents and even great-grandparents. So much so, we were shocked by a modern pandemic in 2020, due in part to the lack of a ready COVID vaccine. How could that be? Anti-vaxxers likewise have been with usContinue reading “The 10 Most Successful Vaccines in History”
Welcome to the Gates of Hell – the Darvaza Fire Crater
There are some places on earth, whether natural or man-made, that simply defy description. This is certainly one of them. At Darvaza, deep in the heart of Turkmenistan’s Karakum Desert, there lives a large, fiery crater that glows hellish-red, both day and night. Known locally as the Gates of Hell, it is NOT volcanic. ThisContinue reading “Welcome to the Gates of Hell – the Darvaza Fire Crater”
The Forgotten Graf Zeppelin, Hindenberg’s Big Brother
While the Hindenburg is the most notorious airship that ever flew, primarily due to its Titanic-like end in the U.S., its predecessor, the Graf Zeppelin, was the most successful.
Does HAARP Study the Weather … or Control it?
The HAARP military research program in central Alaska has been a darling of conspiracy theorists for over a decade, claiming it does everything from control the weather to controlling people’s minds.