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| NEWSLETTER - JULY 13 |
| Before you look at today's web page, see if you can answer some of these questions about the events that happened on July 13. Some of the names are very familiar. Others will likely stump you. Tickle your curiosity with these questions, then check your answers on today's web page. |
| Quotations for Today |
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| QUIZ |
| Births |
| A mathematician and educator, born on 13 Jul 1944, invented a toy that became popular in the 1980s. The toy consists of 26 small cubes that rotate on a central axis; nine coloured cube faces, in three rows of three each, form each side of the cube. When the cube arrangement is randomized, the player must then return it to the original condition of faces with matching colours, which is one among 43 quintillion possible configurations. Can you name this man - and name his national origin? |
| Deaths |
| Gabriel Lippmann (1845-1921) was a French physicist, who received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1908 for an advance in photography. Lippmann was a giant of his day in classical physics research, especially in optics and electricity. He worked in Berlin with the famed Hermann von Helmholtz before settling in Paris to head (in 1886) the Sorbonne's Laboratories of Physical Research until his death. His inventions include an instrument for precisely measuring minute differences in electrical power. What was the invention for which he was awarded a Nobel Prize? |
| James Lind (1716-1794) was a Scottish physician, "founder of naval hygiene in England," whose recommendation on the diet of seamen resulted in the prompt eradication of scurvy from the British Navy. (The Dutch had implemented this practice almost two centuries earlier.) Lind also recommended shipboard delousing procedures and suggested the use of hospital ships for sick sailors in tropical ports. In 1761, he arranged for the shipboard distillation of seawater for drinking water. What was the life-saving change in diet he recommended? |
| Events |
| On 13 Jul 1836, John Ruggles of Thomaston, Maine received a patent from the U.S. Patent Office, for a traction wheel used in locomotive steam engines. Before this one, there had been 9,957 patents issued. Ruggles was Chairman of the Committee on Patents of the U.S. Senate, and was instrumental in patent law reform. However, in 1838, a Senate select committee investigated corruption charges against Senator Ruggles relating to a patent application. What was the U.S. Patent Number of Ruggles' patent? |
| On 13 Jul of a certain year, a power failure blacked out New York. Starting at about 9 pm, four lightning strikes on high-voltage transmission lines within the course of about half-an-hour knocked out electricity and plunged millions of residents of New York City into darkness. The city was already in the midst of a financial crisis and high unemployment. Responding to the tension of the times, mobs set fires, smashed windows and hauled away food, clothing and appliances. It took 25 hours to restore power to the entire city. About 4,500 people were arrested during the riots, which resulted in damage estimated at $61 million. In which decade did this happen? |
| Answers |
| When you have your answers ready to all the questions above, you'll find all the information to check them, and more, on the July 13 web page of Today in Science History. Or, try this link first for just the brief answers. |
| Fast answers for the previous newsletter for July 12: Buckminster; George Washington Carver; outboard motor; Panama Canal; foghorn. |
| Feedback |
| If you enjoy this newsletter, the website, or wish to offer encouragement or ideas, please write. |
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