Imagine a time when the idea of humans traveling into space was just a dream. It was the late 1950s, and the world was caught up in the excitement and tension of the space race. During this era, scientists were eager to understand how space travel would affect living beings. Enter Able, a rhesus monkey, …
Imagine a world where a head, severed from its body, could still be alive and functioning. Sounds like something out of a sci-fi horror movie, right? Well, back in 1987, this idea became a reality when a patent for “keeping a head alive” was issued to Chet Fleming (U.S. No. 4,666,425). This patent describes a …
Imagine a world where the common belief was that stress and spicy food caused stomach ulcers. Now, imagine being so convinced of a different cause that you’re willing to risk your own health to prove it. This is exactly what Barry Marshall did. In the early 1980s, he swallowed a beaker full of bacteria to …
A Genius Among Us: The Story Begins On this day, May 15th, many years ago, the prestigious Franklin Institute in Philadelphia became the backdrop for a remarkable event in the world of physics. It was on this day in 1935 that none other than Albert Einstein, a name synonymous with genius, was honored with the …
On this day, May 14th, let’s pause and reflect on a pivotal moment in our shared history. Back in 1796, in the quaint English village of Berkeley, Dr. Edward Jenner engaged in a simple act of scientific inquiry that changed the world. He administered the first vaccination against smallpox to young James Phipps, setting us …
Every day, we interact with simple objects whose presence we take for granted, barely pausing to consider their origins. Yet, behind these mundane items lie fascinating tales of invention, innovation, and sometimes, sheer accident. In this blog, we delve into the surprising histories of three everyday objects: zippers, paper clips, and tea bags. Each of …
In the annals of history, there are inventions that have transformed our lives—innovations like the light bulb, the automobile, and the internet. But what about the inventions that didn’t make the headlines? Hidden in the shadows are some of the quirkiest and most fascinating creations, ones that didn’t quite make it into the mainstream. This …
Imagine a world where we understand the exact workings behind when we feel sleepy or why at certain times of the day, we’re bursting with energy. On April 30th, 1994, a piece of this complex puzzle was placed when scientists at Northwestern University reported in Science magazine a groundbreaking discovery—a gene in mice that controls …
April 27th marks a pivotal date in the history of medical technology. On this day in 1880, the first U.S. patent for an electric hearing aid was issued to Francis D. Clarke and M.G. Foster. Their invention laid the groundwork for what would become a life-changing technology for millions. This blog explores the remarkable journey …
Today, on the 26th of April, we commemorate an extraordinary departure that took place in 1848, when two ambitious Welsh botanists, Alfred Russel Wallace, and Henry Walter Bates, embarked from Liverpool, England, bound for the vast, uncharted wilderness of the Amazon, South America. Their goal was to explore and document its teeming natural history, but …
