The Dot Throughout History

Polka dots have oft been considered one of fashion’s most fanciful patterns — a playful fabric print for the young and young-at-heart alike. The term “polka dot” was first spotted in American magazines around the late 1800s, dubbed for the polka, the Eastern European dance that was popular at the time. The flirty filled-in circles immediately sparked a…

Computer Games

In 1952, A.S. Douglas wrote his PhD degree at the University of Cambridge on Human-Computer interraction. Douglas created the first graphical computer game – a version of Tic-Tac-Toe. The game was programmed on a EDSAC vaccuum-tube computer, which had a cathode ray tube display.

William Higinbotham created the first video game ever in 1958. His game, called “Tennis…

The History of Transportation

3500 BC Fixed wheels on carts are invented – the first wheeled vehicles in history. Other early wheeled vehicles include the chariot. 3500 BC River boats are invented – ships with oars 2000 BC Horses are domesticated and used for transportation. 181-234 The wheelbarrow is invented. 770 Iron horseshoes improve transportation by horse 1492 Leonardo da Vinci first to seriously theorize about flying…

Soft Drink History

Soft drinks by definition are carbonated drinks that are non-alcoholic. Carbonated soft drinks are also refereed to as soda, soda pop, pop, or tonic.

1798 The term “soda water” first coined. 1810 First U.S. patent issued for the manufacture of imitation mineral waters. 1819 The “soda fountain” patented by Samuel Fahnestock. 1835 The first bottled soda water…

History of Microscopes

The definition of a microscope: An instrument for viewing objects that are too small to be seen easily by the naked eye.

* Circa 1000AD – The first vision aid was invented (inventor unknown) called a reading stone. It was a glass sphere that magnified when laid on top of reading materials. * Circa 1284 – Italian, Salvino D’Armate is credited…

Evolution of Submarine Design

1578 The first submarine design was drafted by William Borne but never got past the drawing stage. Borne’s submarine design was based on ballast tanks which could be filled to submerge and evacuated to surface – these same principles are in use by today’s submarines. 1620 Cornelis Drebbel, a Dutchman, conceived and built an oared submersible. Drebbels’ submarine design was the first…

History of Lighting and Lamps

The first lamp was invented around 70,000 BC. A hollow rock, shell or other natural found object was filled with moss or a similar material that was soaked with animal fat and ignited. Humans began imitating the natural shapes with manmade pottery, alabaster, and metal lamps. Wicks were later added to control the rate of burning. Around…

The History of the Incandescent Lightbulb

1809 – Humphry Davy, an English chemist, invented the first electric light. Davy connected two wires to a battery and attached a charcoal strip betwween the other ends of the wires. The charged carbon glowed making the first arc lamp.

1820 – Warren De la Rue enclosed a platinum coil in an evacuated tube and passed an electric current through…

History Photovoltaics Timeline

1839: Nineteen-year-old Edmund Becquerel, a French experimental physicist, discovered the photovoltaic effect while experimenting with an electrolytic cell made up of two metal electrodes. 1873: Willoughby Smith discovered the photoconductivity of selenium. 1876: Adams and Day observed the photovoltaic effect in solid selenium. 1883: Charles Fritts, an American inventor, described the first solar cells made from selenium wafers. 1887: Heinrich Hertz discovered that ultraviolet light altered…

The History of Communication

3500 BC to 2900 BC     The Phoenicians develop an alphabet. The Sumerians develop cuneiform writing – pictographs of accounts written on clay tablets. The Egyptians develop hieroglyphic writing. 1775 BC     Greeks use a phonetic alphabet written from left to right. 1400 BC     Oldest record of writing in China on bones. 1270 BC     The first encyclopedia is written in Syria. 900…

The History of Chewing Gum and Bubble Gum

By the early 20th century, Americans could not get enough of the confection called chewing gum invented by Thomas Adams.

Timeline

* The ancient Greeks chewed mastiche – a chewing gum made from the resin of the mastic tree. * The ancient Mayans chewed chicle which is the sap from the sapodilla tree. * North American Indians chewed the sap from spruce…