Miscellaneous Technology

April 1, 1826

Samuel Morey patents the internal combustion engine. However, he didn’t have a car to rev it in to impress the chicks.

March 31, 1999

The hugely successful motion picture, The Matrix, is released on this day. Many call it a classic (ok, that’s me), many call it influential (ok, me again), but no one can deny the impact it had on many aspects of our society from the emerging tech culture, to the movie industry, to science-fiction, to political thinking. The Matrix won 4 Oscars, grossed over $463 million on a budget of $63 million, and was the first DVD to sell over 3 million copies. And who could forget some of the great quotes from this movie, including “Free … your … mind”, “Dodge this”, “There is no spoon”, “Don’t think you are – know you are”, “Welcome … to the real world”, “I know kung fu”, and “You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.”

March 31, 1880

Wabash, Indiana becomes the first city in the world to be completely illuminated by electric lighting. And the light was good.

March 30, 1950

Bell Telephone Labs announces the phototransistor, invented by Dr. John Northrup Shive. Often called an “electric eye”, a phototransistor is activated by light rather than electricity. It found early use in telephone switching systems for long distance service, allowing operators to quickly direct dial phones in distant cities. Today phototransistors find many uses in a variety of technologies such as computers, robotics, and industry.

March 25, 1996

The movie Twister becomes the first feature film released on DVD in the United States. I can tell you from experience that it sounds really good in surround sound! Make sure you have a good subwoofer!

March 24, 1896

Russian physicist Aleksandr S. Popov sends the words “Heinrich Hertz” over morse code through wireless telegraphy between two buildings at St. Petersburg University. While controversy exists over who technically invented the radio (Popov or Guglielmo Marconi), Popov’s transmission may have been the first recorded wireless audio transmission in history. Popov had no interest in patenting his creations and since Marconi commercialized his own technology, Marconi is considered the father of the radio in the world outside of Russia.

March 23, 1857

The world’s first commercial “safety elevator” goes into service at Haughwout Department Store in New York City. Created and installed by Elisha Otis it was powered by a steam engine which moved at a rate of 40 feet per minute and took 15 seconds to move between floors. By the 1870’s there were 2000 Otis elevators in service. The creation of a practical and safe elevator was a major step towards the development of modern skyscrapers since it made buildings with more than a few floors accessible to the general public. Ironically, this first elevator was shut down after 3 years because not enough customers wanted to use it! 

March 22, 1960

The first patent on a laser is issued to Arthur Leonard Schawlow and Charles Hard Townes, who assign it to Bell Telephone Laboratories. Still, no one has figured out how to attach these “lasers” to the heads of sharks. Throw me a frickin’ bone here!

March 20, 1800

Alessandro Volta sends a letter to Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society of London, describing his “electric pile”. This was the first device that could form a steady flow of electricity, now recognized as the first practical battery. Later called the “Voltaic Pile”, the entire reason Volta created the device was to prove another Italian scientist wrong. Luigi Galvani had incorrectly believed that frog muscles could generate electricity. Volta believed that the frog legs Galvani was using was simply reacting to electricity and set out to create proof. Regardless, within mere weeks the importance of this first battery was realized which allowed many further scientific advancements to be possible, such as electrochemistry. Recognizing the importance of his work, including the Voltaic Pile, the electrical unit of the Volt is named in Volta’s honor.

March 19, 1932

The Sydney Harbor Bridge first opens to traffic. Nicknamed “The Coathanger” because of its arch design, it spans 503m across Sydney Harbor and is the world’s tallest steel arch bridge at 134m high. Along with the harbor and the Sydney Opera House, the bridge forms part of the now legendary view of Sydney. The bridge took 1,400 workers and 8 years to complete, yet it took the government of Australia 56 years (until 1988) to fully pay off the cost of building the bridge.