Category Archives: history

Dec28

the jetsons.

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while filling up my car with gas 

a man walked over to me saying

how it would have been great

if one of the inventions from ‘the jetsons’ show had come to be –

 a warm air pad that you walked on, so you were never cold

i reminded him of their version of the microwave

where you pushed a button and your food was cooked in seconds

from there it continued on, back and forth

with inventions remembered from the show

until we both of our cars were filled up

 going on our merry way

what an interesting conversation to have with a random stranger at the gas pump

perhaps he recognized a fellow jetsons fan

not your usual small talk, but rather refreshing

triggering memories of my favorite childhood cartoon.

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the jetsons premiered when i was 5 years old on abc tv (their first color show!) on sunday nights. i loved it instantly; the characters, the banter, the clothes, and all the cool space-age stuff. unfortunately it only ran for one season and then quickly disappeared from the airwaves, except in reruns and later movies.

here’s smithsonian’s take on the show:

It was 50 years ago that the Jetson family first jet-packed their way into American homes. The show lasted just one season (24 episodes) after its debut in 1962, offering television viewers a rather sunny and optimistic view of the future. Flying cars, moving sidewalks, and flat-screen TVs were the norm. Even the Jetson family’s sky home was considered envious. ABC set The Jetsons in 2062, exactly 100 years from the year that the show premiered. Based on the Jetson family’s phone number, one could argue that they didn’t live on Earth or just above it. The family’s phone number was VENUS-1234, meaning they were most likely residents on Venus. 

Regardless of its short-running timeframe, the show remains a point of pop culture reference all these years later. Some of the inventions that existed on The Jetsons are available today, and they did predict current technologies. Some examples include; interactive newspapers, robotic help, holograms, and drones. The most widespread Jetson-inspired invention  is the Apple Watch. It closely resembles the device George wore on his wrist to call work, make appointments, handle doctor visits, and much more.

Tesla is teasing us with self-autonomous vehicles, but people are still waiting for the highly-accessible flying cars used by the Jetsons. We may not have to wait another 50 years as a Slovakian company is currently working on a flying car prototype. Smithsonian Magazine said, “The Jetsons stands as the single most important piece of 20th-century futurism.” They claim the show “has had a profound impact on the way that Americans think and talk about the future.”

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image credit: hanna-barbera productions, abc tv, warner brothers archives,smithsonian magazine

Dec4

almost edible.

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Almost Edible, 106-Year-Old Fruitcake Found in Antarctica

Even the original owners didn’t want to eat it.

Fruit cake found at Cape Adare thought to be from Scott’s Northern Party (1911)

IT’S NOT THAT UNCOMMON RE-FINDING forgotten holiday fruitcake months after the event. More surprising, though, is when it’s over a century old. Conservators from the New Zealand-run Antarctic Heritage Trust found themselves faced with this kind of a figgy phenomenon while recently excavating an abandoned hut some 2,500 miles from the South Pole. Cape Adare, at Antarctica’s northeastern tip, was an important landing site and base camp used by early Antarctic explorers.

Made by the British brand Huntley & Palmers, which still exists today, the cake was wrapped in its original paper and stored in a tin-plated iron alloy box. While the tin had begun to deteriorate, the cake was in near-perfect condition and, according to the researchers, still looked “almost edible”.

In a statement, Lizzie Meek, the Trust’s Programme Manager-Artefacts, described the cake as “an ideal high-energy food for Antarctic conditions, and still a favorite item on modern trips to the Ice.” Despite that, researchers manage to hold off snacking on their discovery, which apparently smelled like “rancid butter”. In fact, the hut contained the best part of a picnic: sardines, “badly deteriorated” meat and fish and some more appealing “nice looking” jams.

In 1910, the British explorer Robert Falcon Scott made an ill-fated expedition to reach the South Pole and, on the way, explore the continent’s uncharted wastelands. The Heritage Trust believes the cake dates from his endeavor, known as the Terra Nova Expedition after the supply ship.

Conservators from the Trust have been working on restoring and documenting almost 1500 artifacts from the Cape for the past year. Once they’ve finished their conservation efforts, everything will be returned to the Ice for future explorers to find and enjoy—though they may want to avoid sampling the fruitcake.

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“this is true; virtually all edible substances, and many automotive products,

are now marketed as being low-fat or fat- free. americans are obsessed with fat content. 

-dave barry

 

 

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credits: antarctic heritage trust, natasha frost, gastro obscura

Nov29

of books and brews.

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Ann Arbor Book History: “Hold my beer,” 1875.

The Michigan Argus revealed tricks of the trade for preserving books,

one of which involved beer.

Books and brews have always made a great combination .

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(note: the closest i’ve come to this is when spilling a beer on a book

and unsure if it actually helped to preserve it)

 

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“books and beer are the best and worst defense.”

-sherman alexie

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credits: ann arbor district library, ann arbor book society, the michigan argus

Oct10

gichi-gami.

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Ojibwe entering the gichi-gami

(artist unknown)

In honor of Indigenous Peoples Day

City of Ann Arbor Land Acknowledgment: 

Equity and justice are at the center of our city’s critical principles. In that light, we’d like to take a moment to honor the geographic and historic space we share. We acknowledge that the land the City of Ann Arbor occupies is the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary lands of the Anishinaabeg – (including Odawa, Ojibwe and Boodewadomi) and Wyandot peoples. We further acknowledge that our City stands, like almost all property in the United States, on lands obtained, generally in unconscionable ways, from indigenous peoples. The taking of this land was formalized by the Treaty of Detroit in 1807. Knowing where we live, work, study, and recreate does not change the past, but a thorough understanding of the ongoing consequences of this past can empower us in our work to create a future that supports human flourishing and justice for all individuals.

 Lake Michigan is named after the Ojibwe word “mishigami” which means “large water” or “large lake.”

Also known as Michigamme/”mishigamaa” meaning “great water“, also etymology for state of Michigan.

The Great Lakes were called  “gichi-gami” (from Ojibwe gichi “big, large, great”; gami “water, lake, sea”).

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“man belongs to the earth, the earth does not belong to man.”

-ojibwe saying

 

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credits: project.geo.msu.ed, city of ann arbor, ann arbor public libraries

Sep27

“well, i didn’t vote for you.” – peasant to king arthur (monty python and the holy grail)

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an adventurous visit to the michigan renaissance festival

way back when

in days of yore

i took my daughters

to this very shire

 all of us dressed up

now my grandsons

have picked up where we left off

 as brave knights

“look, it’s my duty as a knight to sample as much peril as I can.”

– Sir Galahad (Holy Grail)

people enjoying the day

being whoever they imagine themselves to be

villagers from far and wide are all welcomed here

no matter their dress or look or form

 and what could be better than spying a kilted warrior brave enough to pick up his own hot latte?

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“live every day as if it’s a festival. turn your life into a celebration.”

-shri radhe maa

Sep18

creature comfort.

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one of the many beautiful and curious creatures at the belle isle aquarium

The Belle Isle Aquarium was designed by famed Detroit architect, Albert Kahn, and opened in August, 1904. It is the oldest aquarium in the country and has served the Detroit community as a beloved attraction for generations. In 2005, the city of Detroit announced that the Aquarium was to be closed due to lean economic times for the city. The building remained closed to the public until the Belle Isle Conservancy reopened it on September 15, 2012. Since its reopening, the aquarium has exploded in popularity, evident by the attendance numbers that have soared over the course of the last decade. “Momentum” is truly the best term for what is happening in this historic building. A work-in-progress, the aquarium continues to grow and flourish as new exhibits and fish are added, tanks are restored, and history is preserved for generations to come.

“the universe is full of the lives of perfect creatures.”

-konstantin tsiokovsky 

Aug28

first one.

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just got my license plate renewal notice in the mail

wish i could get this one.

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A rare, first-of-its kind Chicago license plate, ‘the holy grail’ is up for auction

A black-and-white aluminum plate stamped with just the single numeral “1” gives bidders a chance to earn a piece of automotive history. The plate was made in 1904, the first year that Chicago made metal license plates, and the only year the city made plates from thin, stamped aluminum.

“Only a handful of these were made,” said Mike Donley of Donley Auctions. “And it’s number 1. It doesn’t get any lower than that.”

Before Illinois began making statewide license plates, Chicago issued its own plates between 1903 and 1907, Donley said. From that era, auctioneers said, those made in 1904 are the rarest. For the next few years that followed, the flimsy and damage-prone aluminum plates were replaced with heavy-duty solid brass. Even more rare, this plate is graded “VG,” or very good condition.

This particular plate was issued to prominent Chicago lawyer and art collector Arthur Jerome Eddy, who in 1900 became the first person in Chicago to receive a license badge for a motor vehicle. Before plates were distributed, license badges, meant to go on drivers’ coats, were issued to drivers as a way to tax city residents for funding road projects, Donley said.

Eddy was an early adopter of automobiles, Donley said. He set an auto distance record in 1901 by driving 2,900 miles from Chicago to Boston and back over two months, The New York Times reported. He even published a book about it the following year — one of several he authored — titled Two Thousand Miles On An Automobile.

Eddy also helped found the Chicago Motor Club in 1902, to advocate for driver rights and promote safe vehicles and roads. That club has since evolved into the American Automobile Association (AAA). He’s also credited with putting Chicago on the map of the modern art world, according to auctioneers, by drawing interest to the Art Institute of Chicago.

More recently, this plate belonged to Lee Hartung, a well-known collector of motor vehicles, who died in 2011. Much of his personal collection was auctioned off years ago but, when his partner was preparing to sell their house, she found a stash of more auto memorabilia — including the No.1 plate.

Donley estimated the plate will sell for around $4,000 to $6,000 at the auction, which ends today. But the intrigue it has garnered could hike up the bids. The auctioneer took the plate to a license plate show over the weekend, where he said the item attracted collectors from out of state to see the plate and gauge its authenticity. “There’s a lot of interest in this,” Donley said.

as close as i can come, is owning this foam fan finger

 

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“you have to be odd to be number one.”

-dr. seuss

 

 

 

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credits: emma bowman, npr, donley auctions, new york times, cpr news

Aug27

on the water.

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beautiful and  enlightening experience

kayaking through detroit’s canals

that i never knew existed

with detroit river sports

then paddling into the detroit river

bounded on either side by the united states and canada

learning history and tales of

bootlegging, river islands, mansions, auto barons, inventors, and boatmen

finishing with a lovely relaxed dinner

canal side

at coriander kitchen and farm

fresh farm to table fare

all in the heart of the city.

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“if there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.”

-loren eiseley

Aug17

“if you see me, cry.”

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Hunger Stone :

Recent droughts in Europe once again made visible the “Hunger Stones” in some Czech and German rivers.

These stones were used to mark desperately low river levels that would forecast famines.

This one, in the Elbe river, is from 1616 and says: “If you see me, cry.”

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“when the well is dry, we will know the worth of water.”

-benjamin franklin

 

 

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credits: history review

Jul14

the french connection.

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Washington and Lafayette at Mt. Vernon

 

In honor of the anniversary of Bastille Day-

 The Marquis de Lafayette, 19, arrived in the new world to join America’s revolutionary cause in 1777. Right off the bat, he made a powerful friend: George Washington instantly took a liking to the Frenchman and within a month, Lafayette had effectively become the general’s adopted son. Their affection was mutual; when the younger man had a son of his own in 1779, he named him Georges Washington de Lafayette.

The day after the storming of the Bastille, the Marquis de Lafayette became the commander of the Paris National Guard. In the aftermath of the Bastille siege, he was given the key to the building. As a thank-you—and to symbolize the new revolution—Lafayette sent it to Washington’s Mount Vernon home, where the relic still resides today.

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“Rien.”

(nothing)

-Diary entry of Louis XVI on Bastille Day

 

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Bonne fête nationale! 

 

 

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Source credits: Mark Mancini, Mental Floss, Google Images