• 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...
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April 26, 1953 To the editors of Nature: While it is not in my nature to sow discord, I find it difficult to remain silent at this juncture. The treatise by Messrs. Watson and Crick (“A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid,” Watson J.D. and Crick F.H.C., Nature, vol. 171 pp 737-738, April 25, 1953),...
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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...
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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...
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“I’ve always lived my life by a set of simple rules. Be the first guy in the dugout, be the last to leave. Run out every ground ball. Never start a fight, but never run away from one. Always tip your cap to a lady, especially if she’s carrying a goose. When you’re demanding...
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• On December 22, 1879, President Rutherford B. Hayes gave a speech in Philadelphia during which he extolled, at great length, the health values of vinegar. The speech rambled on for some 45 minutes, well beyond its allotted time, and made it vividly clear that Hayes consumed nearly a quart of malt vinegar each...
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