In 1920, The New York Times ridiculed Robert H. Goddard and claimed that rockets could not function in space. On July 17, 1969, a day after the Apollo 11 launch, NYT formally acknowledged their error.
technology
Shenzhen, China went from sleepy fishing village…
Shenzhen, China went from sleepy fishing village (pop 30K) to a global city of over 10 million that produces 90% of world’s electronics. With some of the tallest skyscrapers on earth. All in a mere 35 years.
More Africans have access to cell phone…
More Africans have access to cell phone service than piped water and electricity. In Africa, less than one in three people have a proper drainage system, half of the population live in areas without paved roads, and only 63% have access to piped water. Yet, 93% of Africans have cell phone service.
A French law demands that manufacturers…
A French law demands that manufacturers display how long their appliances will last. French companies have to inform consumers how long spare parts for the product will be available or risk a fine of up to €15,000 (£11,000).
According to top addiction experts…
According to top addiction experts, “Giving your child a smartphone is like giving them a gram of cocaine”.
A business in Texas still uses a 1949 IBM 402 punched…
A business in Texas still uses a 1949 IBM 402 punched card computer. It still runs all of its accounting work (payroll, sales, and inventory) through the IBM 402.
Instead of using refrigerated trucks to deliver medical supplies to people…
Instead of using refrigerated trucks to deliver medical supplies to people who live in the deserts of Africa, inventors have built solar-powered refrigerators that can be carried by camels, and so the medicines are delivered via refrigerated camel. Apparently it wasn’t that easy to build a camel-carried refrigerator. It had to be lightweight, but also sturdy enough to survive the motion of being on the camel as well as the extreme desert conditions.
The rotary phone was invented by an undertaker…
The rotary phone was invented by an undertaker. The operator in his hometown was married to his competition, so the rotary dial was a way to bypass the human operator.
A programmer developed an operating system…
A programmer developed an operating system called TempleOS since 2003. Hospitalized for mental health problems, he believes that TempleOS is literally the Third Temple as biblically prophesied. Per God’s “instructions,” the OS uses a 640×480, 16 color display, and uses the language HolyC.
The New Zealand town of Brightwater had…
The New Zealand town of Brightwater had 5 electric street lights in 1911 powered by a hydroelectric generator which was auto-controlled by a flock of chickens. At night, the chickens would go inside their coop and their weight would close an electric circuit, turning on the street lights.