You’re not going to believe the full name(s) of the person born today in 1728: Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-André-Timothée d’Éon de Beaumont OR Charlotte-Geneviève-Louise-Augusta-Andréa-Timothéa d’Éon de Beaumont. Ze is usually known as either the Chevalier d’Éon or the Chevalière d’Éon. It’s a pretty good story. d’Éon was born in a hotel in France into a poor family. At least so we think… Continue reading

A professional author is generally considered prolific if they publish, say, 20 or more books. They’re generally considered popular if they sell, say, 2 or 3 million. But Edward Stratemeyer, who was born October 4, 1862, did just a little bit better than that. He published over 1300 books that sold over 500 million copies.… Continue reading

One oddity of the very odd US educational system is that top universities try to diversify their student populations in countless ways, including applicants’ locations. That’s not necessarily strange at all, except that in practice, if you’re a mediocre high school student from Wyoming, the least populated US state, you have a far better chance… Continue reading

There was a very unusual person born October 2, 1914 in Los Angeles, California. I’m talking about John Parsons — and the first thing about him is his name; he always went by “Jack Pastons,” but his birth name was Marvel. Not his surname; his given name; Marvel Whiteside Parsons. He evidently changed it (or… Continue reading

September 29th is the birthday of a writer so significant that his native language is still referred to as his. It’s Miguel de Cervantes, who wrote Don Quixote. He wrote in Spanish, which is still sometimes called “the language of Cervantes.” And Don Quixote, which was the first modern novel, and written hundreds of years… Continue reading

These days we’re all used to a whole ecosystem around creative works like music, academic underpinnings of them, like music theory, and considered commentary from people like critics. None of that is new; in the 17th and 18th centuries all those things existed in Europe. One difference was that in those days, not everybody had… Continue reading

In the US during the 1800s and into the 20th Century, a popular form of entertainment was the traveling magic show. These were much more than just a lone magician with a top hat an a rabbit; they had a whole cast of assistants, roadies, and large stage illusions. Some of the magicians were nearly… Continue reading

When you’ve been out for a run, a bike ride, a sports game, or a walk you might need something to drink. Water is effective, of course, but it’s actually not the best because while it replaces some of what your body loses in perspiration, it doesn’t have electrolytes. Robert Cade, a physician in Florida… Continue reading

As everybody (now) knows, that first ray of sunlight you see in the morning took several minutes to travel from the sun to your window. Back in the day, although some speculated that light had a finite speed, nobody was really sure. But thanks to the chief of police in Copenhagan, now we not only… Continue reading

Here in 2023 we have our share of well-known, successful technologists who also seem to have some, shall we say, ‘non-mainstream” ideas. But that’s nothing new. Jacques Vallée’s 83rd birthday is today, and he was that guy several decades ago. Vallée was born in France in 1939 and became a professional astronomer in 1961. That… Continue reading