In 1861, Johann Phillip Reis [German: 1834-1874] tried to develop a telegraph that transmitted sounds, which he called a telephone. Alexander Graham Bell in the 1870s had a similar idea; one telegraph wire could carry sounds of different pitches representing several messages at once.

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The first steam engines were used for pumping and transportation, but people quickly perceived that steam power could have additional applications. As early as 1732, steam pumps were used to raise water that could then flow over a waterwheel and power a mill. James Watt built the first steam engine that could efficiently produce rotary motion by itself in 1783, opening the way for steam to power mills directly. A cotton mill powered by steam opened in 1789 in Manchester, England, and most new factories used steam power until electronic motor replaced steam in the 20th century. Before steam, mills were powered by waterwheels or by animals.

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Born: September 13, 1851, Belroi, Virginia
Died: November 22, 1902, Washington, D.C.

In 1900, Reed, who had distinguished himself during 25 years as a military physician, was asked to head a commission to study yellow fever. This disease killed more Americans during the Spanish-American War of 1898 than were killed by the enemy. Yet no one knew what caused “yellow jack” or how it spread.

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A submersible is an untethered small submarine or robot submarine that has some purpose other than warfare. Today there are dozens of scientific, commercial, or military submersibles, and even tourist submersibles that carry visitors to the sea bottom. Most submersibles have ports and searchlights for viewing underwater scenes and many have mechanical arms for grasping objects and carrying them to the surface. Robot submersibles, sometimes called sleds, use television to transmit images to their operators. The robots can travel deeper and into situations, such as shipwrecks, where it would be unsafe for human passengers.

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Aristotle theorized about weather about 330 B.C.E., and his guesses, some close and others far wrong, persisted for the next 2,000 years. He thought  that the Sun draws both water and air upward to form clouds. Clouds return water as rain and air as wind, causing storms. When clouds bump into each other, the sound is thunder, and air pushed out in the collision burns as lightning.

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Sumerians as early as 3000 B.C.E. used straight pins made from either bone or metal as fasteners for clothing. About 1000 B.C.E., people in central Europe began to bend pins into a U-shape. By adding a second, hook-shaped bend at the top of one branch of the U, the pin could be closed. This type of “closing pin” could not stick a wearer very deeply because the hook stopped penetration, but the point could still scratch. Furthermore, the point could easily stray out of the hook. Romans improved this pin about 500 B.C.E. by adding a coiled spring to the bottom of the U.

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