Going Dutch

In the 16th Century, the Dutch became rich through trade. They developed the first ship dedicated to carrying cargo--the fluyt. It had twice the cargo capacity of other ships and could be operated by a small crew using automation such as pulleys. By using specialized shipyards that built only fluyts, though larger, the ship cost half what it cost to build a warship. The sails were of linen with some hemp threads making up the canvas or duck sailcloth. In fact, the word duck applied to cloth comes from the Dutch word for cloth doek. Duck for sailcloth entered English in the time when the Dutch dominated trade.

Not A Flash in The Pan

Did you know that a powerful strobe light was used as an electronic flash for military night aerial photography, during WWII? It lite up a square mile of countryside at a time revealing enemy troop movements, strength, and location. The flash tube was a tough monster made of 30 inches of strong, quartz glass, coiled into a xenon-filled spiral that withstood the 4,000 volts discharged through it. The tube fit into a reflector mounted in the plane’s belly or tail. Banks of capacitors, weighing up to 500 pounds each, were slung on the plane’s bomb racks and supplied power to the flash tube. A direct contact synchronized the flash to the equally over-sized aerial camera.

Bang-up Job

When we think of the assembly line, Henry Ford's auto factory is the first thing to come to mind, but actually several assembly lines predate Ford's. Samuel Colt established an early assembly line using interchangeable parts, more than half-a-century before Ford, for production of the Colt revolver at his factory in Hartford, .CT.

The Joke Is on You

During WWII, the Nazis built fake airfields, complete with wooden planes painted like real planes, to lure allied bombers away from real targets. The allied air-force easily saw through the ruse. They dropped wood painted like bombs on the fake airfields.

A Glowing Report

The granite in New York City's Grand Central Station gives off more radiation than is allowed in public areas of a nuclear power plant. Granite is a hard crystalline igneous rock often used as a building material. It forms when magma cools slowly beneath the Earth's surface. Granite is made up of quartz and feldspar with minor amounts of mica, amphibole, and other minerals that may include uranium. The pink granite colonnaded Grand Central Station was inspired by the Roman baths of Caracalla. Grand Central Station  was conceived to deal with congestion and opened for business on February 1, 1913. The lovely pink granite has a higher than average uranium content.

Timbuktu

The word Timbuktu conjures up thoughts of the exotic and distant. Timbuktu is actually a town in central north Africa in the country of Mali. It was an important stopping point on the cross Sahara caravan route. Timbuktu is located south of the Sahara Desert  and just north of the Niger River. The town thrived on trade in salt, ivory, gold, and slaves.

The Man in the Black Suit

Did you know that a painting of a man in a plain black suit would change the view of what leadership is and help shape the future? When you look at the full length portrait of George Washington, painted by Gilbert Stewart, what do you see? Do you notice that President Washington is posed in a luxurious European style room, however he manages to look dignified in a just a plain black suit. Actually, at the time the picture was painted, it was startling to see the leader of a country portrayed in such a way. Unlike other world leaders of that day, he does not wear ermine or even the officer's uniform he is entitled to. He is a man forging the role of the presidency. Washington must appear dignified without appearing glorified and powerful without being absolute. Did you know that the constitution makes little mention of presidential powers? It was Washington who started the practice of appointing a cabinet to advise him.