THE WRIGHT 1903 ENGINE PART 1
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS designed and developed the first powered heavier-than-air craft with theoretical as well as practical considerations. “The Wright Brothers—Aero Theoreticians” here at SimanaitisSays described one aspect of this, … Continue reading
VACATIONING IN EUROPE—1909 STYLE
THE IDEA of a European vacation in 1909 was different from one today. There was no jet lag. No carefully sized carryons. But it did call for suitable planning. My … Continue reading
THE AMERICAN AUTO FACTORY—A MINI HISTORY
THE AMERICAN AUTO business began some 120 years ago. What was originally small-shop, hand-made, one-off fabrication evolved into a highly automated, complex, internationally integrated industry. Olsen and Cabadas’s fine 2002 … Continue reading
TIDBITS ON AUTOS—FROM THE BEST SOURCES
EVEN IN these days of e-this and e-that, I find the weekly print Automotive News the most useful and authoritative source of what’s happening in the world auto industry. And … Continue reading
ETYMOLOGY—KAKISTOCRACY, KLEPTOCRACY
ALAS, WHAT an optimist I was back in April 2016! In what turned out to be the first of my Etymology for our Times series, the topic was ”Governing by … Continue reading
AMMONIA FROM A REVERSE FUEL CELL
AMMONIA, NH3, is used primarily as fertilizer, at an annual expenditure of $60 billion worldwide. It’s estimated that at least half the nitrogen in the human body today is traceable … Continue reading
ON THE IMPORTANCE OF HISTORY
WE SEEM to be burdened at the moment with the least historically informed leader in U.S. history. I offer our president’s misdating the career of Andrew Jackson (“I mean, had … Continue reading
HOLMES AND RUGBY (MOSTLY RUGBY) PART 2
Yesterday at SimanaitisSays, we encountered the challenge of understanding rugby jargon, part of “The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter.” Here in Part 2, we profit from editor Leslie S. Klinger’s … Continue reading
HOLMES AND RUGBY (MOSTLY RUGBY) PART 1
IN HIS YOUTH, Dr. John H. Watson played rugby, or rugger, as it was also called at the time. He mentions this in chronicling “The Sussex Vampire,” a Holmes adventure … Continue reading
CELEBRATING SIR FRANCIS BEAUFORT
THIS SUMMER has had a lot of hot air, everywhere from Washington, D.C., to Helsinki, and back. This got me thinking of how we measure its forceful expenditures. Add to … Continue reading
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