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Shedding water
If you happened to read the Daily Telegraph, back in June 1999, you might have run across this: “The Balkans conflict is at a watershed between a diplomatic settlement and the prospect of a ground war.” If you’re an English speaker from North America, you probably would have wondered, at least for a moment, what Continue reading
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Martina Raskova
Back in the days before GPS and similar systems, navigation was complex and difficult. It was one thing on a ship, which is moving at a reasonable speed, but as airplanes got bigger and capable of longer distances, somebody had to navigate a machine hurtling through an invisible fluid at super-high speed. On March 28, Continue reading
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A jury-rigged entry
Sometimes when a machine breaks, but real replacement parts aren’t available, you have to jury-rig a repair. This has nothing to do with trial juries, rigged or not. Originally this version of “jury” was a term sailors used for any makeshift repair they substituted for the original, usually in an emergency. You know, like when Continue reading
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Rigwelted
Even if you’re feeling perfectly healthy, it might not take much to render you rigwelted. I mean, one simple case of the flu and you could be reduced to lying in bed. Rigwelted! (like I said the first time). “Rigwelted” comes from the early 1800s, and originally meant lying helplessly on your back. But only Continue reading
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Jane Colden
One of the unfortunately recurring themes of International Women’s Month has been women whose achievements have been relatively ignored and overlooked. Women who want to simply participate in many areas, including engineering and science, have had to overcome barriers to entry that men simply haven’t faced (since the barriers were often created by those men). Continue reading
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Smells like Teen Petrichor
After a period of warm, dry weather, when it finally rains there’s often a very distinctive smell in the air. It’s a pleasant smell. It’s a smell with its very own word: “petrichor.” The fragrance is a little bit like wet dirt, but it doesn’t occur every time it rains — the preceding dry spell Continue reading
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Musterdevillers
When a dignitary of great fame but also unpredictable, unstable behavior visits a community unused to hosting such personages, local officials are often frightened and want to put forth the best possible appearance. You can see this sort of thing in North Korea, where you have to dress and act in specific ways when attending Continue reading
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Robert Frost
Today is the anniversary of the birth of Robert Frost, a 20th Century American poet born March 26, 1874 in San Francisco. Some poets achieve their greatest fame only after they’re gone, but Frost was widely celebrated during his lifetime, and is still the only poet to win four Pulitzer Prizes. Frost’s family moved across Continue reading
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A Month of Sundaes
In 1897, if you wanted a job in the new industry of dispensing soft drinks at a “soda fountain”, you might study a book. The book was the Modern Guide for Soda Dispensers by W. A. Bonham, and it had all sorts of useful information. One important part of the book was recipes. Here’s an Continue reading
About Me
I’m Pete Harbeson, a writer located near Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to writing my own content, I’ve learned to translate for my loquacious and opinionated pup Chocolate Bossypaws. I shouldn’t be surprised, but she mostly speaks in doggerel. You can find her contributions tagged with Chocolatiana.
Check out my other blog, Techlimitics, where I’m grappling with the nature of simplicity.
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peterharbeson@me.com