Mother Of Invention - It Happened ToDay

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

February 11, 1847 - Thomas Alva Edison - the Wizard of Menlo Park - was born on this day.

If necessity is the mother of invention, Thomas Edison may not have been the father, but he was most definitely one of her consorts. Edison was one of the most prolific inventors in history and received over 1000 major patents for his inventions. The inventor and entrepreneur was born on this day in 1847.

Edison's inventions and business acumen greatly influenced the telephony and entertainment industries, besides his best known creation - the incandescent light bulb. Edison's earliest inventions were related to the telegraph and stock-ticker, and he made many improvements to his contemporary Alexander Graham Bell's telephone. While creating a better speaker for the phone, he was struck with the idea of capturing sound and being able to replay it. This lead to the creation of the phonograph 1878. The Kinetoscope, a cabinet that displayed moving pictures from a reel of film, and the Kinetophone which incorporated a phonograph to replay sound with the Kinetoscope's pictures would be unveiled in 1894 to display pictures taken with special camera Edison had created 1889, and the motion pictures industry was born.

Edison, the light bulb, and electricity are forever joined at the hip. While both the generation of electricity and the arc-light had been previously invented by others, neither were practical for everyday consumer use. The generating dynamos of the day were terribly inefficient and expensive to operate, and the open arc of electricity of the arc-light created a luminous glare too intense for general lighting purposes. Many other inventors were trying to create a light bulb for practical use in homes and businesses. However it was Edison that received the patent for the carbonized filament and brought the incandescent light bulb to the public. Legend has it that someone boasted that Edison had failed over 2000 times in creating the light bulb, to which Edison replied that he did not fail, but had discovered 2000 ways not to make a light bulb!

Edison was a truly successful inventor because he was also a savvy businessman who realized early on that his inventions would need both marketplaces and manufacturing plants. He knew light bulbs would be useless without a consistent and affordable electric supply, so he made innovations to the dynamo and in 1882 built the Pearl Street generating station and created the first public electric utility in Manhattan.

Quote for ToDay:
" Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration." - Thomas Alva Edison

No Strings Attached! - It Happened ToDay

No Strings Attached

February 7, 1984 - First Tetherless Walk In Space.

Life imitated art, or at least the comics, as NASA took another step towards the Buck Rogers image of mobility in outer space.

Bruce McCandless, a captain of the United States Navy, became the first person to fly freely in space on this day in 1984.

Captain McCandless had designed a rocket-pack that allowed him to fly over 100 yards away from the Challenger space shuttle. The rocket-pack apparatus powered McCandless at speeds as high as 17,000 miles per hour to keep up with the orbiting shuttle. His untethered space-walk lasted an hour and a half before he returned to the spacecraft.

Quote for ToDay:
"Dance like it hurts,
Love like you need money,
Work when people are watching."
- Scott Adams - The Way of the Weasel

Did Phil See His Shadow? - It Happened ToDay

Did Phil See His Shadow?

February 2nd - Imbolc, Candlemas, and in North America - Groundhog Day.

As the light grows longer
The cold grows stronger
If Candlemas be fair and bright
Winter will have another flight
If Candlemas be cloud and snow
Winter will be gone and not come again
A farmer should on Candlemas day
Have half his corn and half his hay
On Candlemas day if thorns hang a drop
You can be sure of a good pea crop
- traditional Scottish poem

We should really begin with the month "February", whose name comes from the ancient Latin februum which means purification and the Roman purification ritual Februa held on February 15th. Traditional gods associated with this time of year center on craftsmanship and water, particularly water for purification, hence Aquarius - the Water Bearer - is the season's zodiac sign. Hephaestus from the Greek pantheon is a patron of smiths, artisans, and sculptors; and Mimir in Norse legend; and in many pagan tales, it is at this time the god releases the goddess so she can bring fertility to the Earth.

From Celtic traditions we have Imbolc and St. Brighid, and later Candlemas, all embracing the goddess and celebrate the purification of the virgin. In ancient Scotland, Ireland and Wales, Imbolc was also a time of weather prognostication, and the tradition of watching serpents or badgers to see if they would emerge from their winter burrows is perhaps a precursor to the North American Groundhog Day.

The earliest known reference to Groundhog Day comes from James Morris' diary entry mentioned in The Folklore of American Holidays - by H. Cohen and T.P. Coffin - the Morgantown, Pennsylvania storekeeper wrote:

"Feb. 4, 1841 Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate."

February 2, 1887 was the beginning of celebrating Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, PA.


Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early Spring in 2007...like many human weather forecasters, he was wrong. You can click on the link to find out Phil's forecast for 2008...but remember, he's just a weather forecaster, check with your local gods and goddesses for purification!

from Grounghog.Org

Quote for ToDay:
"Advertising is the modern substitute for argument; its function is to make the worse appear the better." - George Santayana - philosopher, poet, and cultural critic

Europe United - It Happened ToDay

A United Europe

January 4,1999 - Launch of the €uro

Since the debut of the uniform European currency on this day in 1999, the Euro -or- ΕΥΡΩ has proven to be a formidable opponent to the almighty American dollar, and closed at 1.17 U.S. dollars on its first day of trading. In late 2000 through the first half of 2001 the Euro slipped to 83 cents, but since 09/11/2001 has steadily risen against the dollar and is currently trading around an all-time high of $1.48. The Euro began life on this day in 1999 as an "accounting" currency traded by the central banks, and the actual coins and paper bills did not begin replacing the old currencies in daily commerce until January 2002.

The Euro currency, which bears various European symbols and architecture, replaced fifteen of the older monetary systems of individual countries like the lira, mark, franc, and drachma. Several other sovereign countries (Monaco, San Marino, Andorra) that previously used currency of one or more of the now Euro countries have adopted the Euro as their official currency. Over the next six years nine more countries are scheduled to yield their individual currencies and switch to the Euro. The Euro is widely perceived to be a major global reserve currency, sharing that status with the U.S. dollar, albeit to a lesser degree. The U.S. dollar continues to enjoy its status as the primary reserve currency of most commercial and central banks worldwide.

The debut of the Euro marked the first time since the era of Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire that Europe is unified under a single currency.