THE WRIGHT BROS. VS GLENN CURTISS
ON DECEMBER 17, 1903, on the windy sand dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright achieved the world’s first pilot-controlled, powered, heavier-than-air flight. Others before had piloted … Continue reading
GEORGE B. SELDEN VS HENRY FORD
IN 1879, GEORGE B. Selden patented the automobile. Selden wasn’t an engineer. He was a tinkerer, though, and more important, a patent attorney. Selden recognized the value of delaying the … Continue reading
TRANSAVIA PL-12 AIRTRUK
ODDITIES OF aviation usually exist in ones and twos. Yet the Transavia PL-12 Airtruk, one of the oddest, had a production run of 118 examples over a 27-year period, 1966 … Continue reading
HOLMES ON STAGE
PORTRAYERS OF Sherlock Holmes have had varied stage presentations. Here are several of my favorites, the CDs of which are available at Amazon.com. Replete with special effects, within the theater … Continue reading
A FORMULA OF BEAUTY
THIS CONVERSATION took place years ago, 1986, to be exact: “We all recognize that a 1964 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso is better looking than a 1958 Buick,” I said, “but … Continue reading
DAVE BRUBECK
ONE OF the giants of jazz, and of modern music in general, Dave Brubeck passed away December 5, just one day short of his 92nd birthday. Brubeck was more than … Continue reading
BERLIN AIRLIFT
AVIATION ATTAINED a high point of humanitarian achievement—and a major victory in the Cold War—with the Berlin Airlift. For almost an entire year, June 26, 1948, to May 16, 1949, more … Continue reading
HIGH ON SPEED
I HASTEN to say that this item has nothing to do with drugs. Rather, it’s on the perception of movement and its feeling of exhilaration. It’s also about bees and … Continue reading
CHEERS, PROF!
AN ITEM in a recent Science magazine, Vol. 338, 9 November 2012, had a great opening line: “Biodiversity has driven doctoral candidates from Trinity College Dublin to drink.” Having once … Continue reading
EV GLOSSARY
THIS IS a bit longer than the usual mini-essay, but for completeness it’ll be a single item. I’ll not fancy it up with photos or charts; it’s a glossary, pure … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 