| Wednesday, December 17, 2008 |
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| Wrights' Flight |
SpotlightThe Wright brothers made their historic first airplane flight on this date in 1903 at Kitty Hawk, NC. First Orville and then Wilbur took their invention to the sky for about a minute each. Though others had flown in gliders and balloons, the Wright brothers' flights were considered the first gas-powered, sustained flights in a heavier-than-air vehicle. Orville's flight lasted 12 seconds, and traveled 37 m/120 ft. Wilbur flew the only controlled flight of the day, 279 m/852 ft in 59 seconds.
Quote"If we worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true really is true, then there would be little hope for advance."
Question of the DayWhen did the Wright brothers decide to build an airplane?
In 1894, their interest in flying was inspired by the gliding flights of the German pioneer Otto Lilienthal and they studied all that was known on the subject at that time...
Word of the daypenitentes
Penitentes are a snow formation found at high altitudes. They take the form of tall thin blades of hardened snow or ice closely spaced with the blades oriented towards the general direction of the sun. Penitentes can be as tall as a person.
Penitentes were first described in the literature by Darwin (1839)....
Schoolkids are commonly taught that the Eskimos of Alaska have dozens of words for snow. As it turns out, English has plenty, too.
Today's History
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| PM Harold Holt, Spearfishing |
- Shimabara Rebellion: Japanese peasant uprising began due to heavy taxation; about 37,000 were beheaded (1637)
- Harold Holt: the Australian prime minister went missing and was presumed drowned while swimming off the coast of Portsea, Victoria (1967)
- Project Blue Book: US Air Force investigation into UFOs was terminated; the conclusion was that sightings were due to mass hysteria, hoaxes, mistakes and the like (1969)
- NAFTA: trade agreement was signed by Canada, the US and Mexico (1992)
Today's Birthdays
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| Eugene Levy |
- John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892): poet and abolitionist
- Arthur Fiedler (1894-1979): conductor of the Boston Pops
- Art Neville (71): musician, The Neville Brothers
- Eugene Levy (62): actor, A Mighty Wind, American Pie; also, actors Armin Mueller-Stahl (78), George Lindsey (73), Tommy Steele (72), Bernard Hill (64), Christopher Cazenove (63), Bill Pullman (55), Sean Patrick Thomas (38), Giovanni Ribisi, Marissa Ribisi and Sarah Paulson (all 34) and Milla Jovovich (33)
- Peter Farrelly (52): film-maker, There's Something About Mary
