Analog Nation

• On September 27, 1951, a team of anthropologists from Indiana University discovered the oldest shopping cart ever found. Working at a dig site in Egypt, the team believed at first that the relic was some sort of bronze cage or basket. Once they unearthed the handlebar and wheels, they realized the magnitude of their [...]

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• On September 1, 1904, Cardinals pitcher Reginald “Pants” Dixon was beaned in the head by one of his own pitches. • On September 2, 1906, Reginald “Pants” Dixon mistakenly arrived in Pittsburgh for a game against Philadelphia. Dixon pitched five innings against the Pirates anyway, getting tagged for a 5-0 loss. • On September [...]

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• On August 18, 1883, Thomas Edison completed a working prototype for what is widely regarded as his worst invention, the pedal-operated pencil breaker. The shoebox-sized contraption, which weighed over thirty pounds, was designed to sit on the desk of a clerk or accountant, who powered it with his feet. Why an accountant would need [...]

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• On July 21, 1989, the worst domino-related incident on record occurred at Union Station in Kansas City, MO. Over 846,000 dominoes experienced an “unplanned collapse event” (UCE), tumbling haphazardly after a passer-by slipped on the freshly mopped floor. Domino wranglers on hand were powerless to stop the event once it began. When the dust [...]

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• On June 8, 1654, Louis XIV celebrated his coronation as King of France by kicking off a feast that lasted 94 days. For the duration of the feast, the sixteen-year-old monarch rose from his chair only to relieve himself, returning swiftly to his place at the head of the table. He slept in short [...]

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• On May 11, 1071, Lord Archibald Renton first proposed the theory that humans need to breathe air. Renton, who was court physician to William the Conqueror, broke from standard medical theory of the time, which held that the purpose of breathing was to expel dark vapors from the body. Such vapors were considered a [...]

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