How Many Spaces To Use After A Sentence?

Apparently the answer is ONE. I can already feel myself wanting to use two spaces after each.  sentence.  I.  write!

According to an article on The Atlantic, the only reason that we ever used two spaces after the end of a sentence was because of a flaw in typewriters, and now every major style guide recommends just one space. Why did typewriters lead us to use two?

Well, with typewriters, all letters, numbers, and symbols all occupied the same amount of space (called "monospaced type"). So an "i" would take up the same amount of space on a line as a "W", thus leaving much more white space on the page. With more white space, it was harder to detect when a sentence ended, so the standard became to use two spaces.

Here's a great example from The Skilled Workman (which has a ton of typography tips for publishing):

Now, and since the 1970s, besides the little-used "courier" font, we use "proportional fonts" where the letters only take up the space they need. As a result, it's much easier to see where sentences end and begin. So the extra space has been dubbed "unnecessary".

To read the entire explanation from The Atlantic, click here. And for an interesting counter-argument, click here. :)

Typewriters didn't only affect our sentence-spacing, but the beginning (and arguably modern misuse) of the "Caps Lock" key. Check out a great article about that, too, on Slate.com: Click here!

What's Broasting?

Maybe you've seen prepared "broasted chicken" at the grocery store and wondered (as I have) what it is, and how it's different than roasted or fried chicken.

Broasting is actually a very special (and trademarked) method of preparing chicken, meats, and fish with a specific marinate, breading, and spices, and then pressure frying it. It's (basically) a quicker and less greasy way of frying that makes the food crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.

How come we don't hear of more people broasting? Well, it's only available for commercial use.  So you can grab a broasted whole chicken from your local grocer, or a leg from a fast food restaurant, but unfortunately you can't do this method at home.

Read more about this interesting cooking method at the Broaster Company website: broaster.com.

Side fact: L.A.M. Phelan, the inventor of the Broaster pressure fryer, also invented the the first automatic gasoline pump, the first automatic toilet, and the first automatic commercial refrigerator. We owe him a lot! :)

Trademarks, Copyrights, & Patents

Do you know what the difference is between these things?

As my former student Andrew pointed out, I have no real idea. :) So let's learn!

According to him:

Copyrights are for protecting an artists' creative works.
ie. J.K. Rowling has the copyright to the Harry Potter series.

Trademarks are for protecting the names and identifying marks used in commercial activity.
ie. The Target Corporation owns the trademark for its bulls-eye-target icon.

Patents are for scientific inventions, including machines, drugs, and the like.
ie. Apple has the patent for the iPod (and lucky them!).

Trademarks and copyrights don't need to be registered, though you get extra enforcement rights if you do register them. Patents have to go through the United States Patent & Trademark Office, and they have reviewers who look at applications and check to see whether the invention is actually new enough for a patent.

I could look all of this stuff up for you to name a source, but I believe Andrew! Thanks!

Why Americans' Steering Wheels Are On The Left

I just read in an old copy of "Invention & Technology" magazine (Winter 2009) about Henry Ford's Model T car turning 100 years old.

The article produced the following claim:

"Ford relocated the steering wheel from the right to the left side on the Model T, a custom followed by other car makers, in part, so that women might more easily access the curb from the car..."

Of course, this is under the assumption that the women would be passengers, and would therefore keep them safer (out of traffic) and cleaner (out of the muddy street) by allowing them to get into and out of the car on the curb.

Who could have ever thought women would be ever be driving cars? :)

Also, though, a 1909 Ford brochure explained that putting the driver on the left would help see oncoming traffic clearer (since they would be closer), and help them judge distances when passing or making left-turns. So it wasn't all about the ladies.

Why we drive on the right in the first place is another question I'll get to when I learn it! But I thought you might like to know some of the justification for why you hop in the left side of your car everyday to drive.

Happy Birthday Photoshop!

February 19th marked the 20th anniversary of the amazing photo-editing software Adobe Photoshop. Let me put that another way: a version of Photoshop premiered on 2/19/1989. I didn't think computers in the late-80's were even capable of displaying "photos"!

Appropriately, I used Photoshop to make this picture of the icon revolution. :)

Like a lot of cool inventions, Photoshop was developed at the University of Michigan by brothers named Thomas and John Knoll. Their father, Glenn Knoll, a professor at U of M, taught his sons an appreciation for both photography and computers. In 1987, PhD candidate Thomas began working on a computer program on his Apple Macintosh Plus to display grayscale images (since previously images were only in black and white pixels)... and the rest is history!

For a great description of Photoshop 1.0 and its features (including pictures), click here!

(source)

Play-Doh's Origins

A man named Joe McVicker invented a non-toxic doughy wallpaper cleaner in the early 1950's. In 1955, his sister-in-law, who was a teacher, complained to him that there wasn't a good modeling clay for her elementary students. Joe sent over some of his wallpaper cleaner and it was a hit with the kids. Play-Doh was born!

As a result, we've all been playing with the stuff for over 50 years. And McVicker became an accidental millionaire by age 27!

And the best part: if you have stained wallpaper, some white Play-Doh might do the trick!

100 Years of Concrete Roads!

In 1909, the first mile of concrete road in the world was laid on Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan between Six Mile (McNichols) and Seven Mile. It was 18 feet wide (now it gets as wide as 5 lanes in each direction at that location!) and cost a little over $13,000 (around $1 million in today's dollars).

The road was studied by road builders from all over the country to see how the concrete withstood traffic and the elements. It inspired many modern highways to be built!

And it all started in the Motor City itself!

(via waymarking.com)

Know The Secret Knock?

In case you don't have your own bouncer to guard your room, Steve Hoefer has invented has invented a device that will unlock your door if someone knows the correct "secret knock"!

If someone knocks out the wrong code, the mechanism ignores it and door stays locked. It can also be reprogrammed if the correct knocking-series gets into the wrong hands (har har).

ps. I bet it could also be helpful for those of us who have locked ourselves out on occasion!

Remote-Control Bowling Ball

The new RC900 remote-control bowling ball by 900 Global makes "I hope I break 100" a lot more realistic for us amateur bowlers!

Marketed to kids and people with physical limitations, I think this could also be a nice $1500 present for anyone who wishes their video games were a little more like "real life". :)

Inflatable Seat Belts

The Ford Motor Company recently announced that they are going to put a new safety feature in their Explorers next year: inflatable seat belts! The technology combines a regular seat belt with an airbag, and will increase the safety of backseat riders, particularly children and the elderly.

The new seat belts are wide and, according to test subjects, comfortable. When inflated, they distribute the impact over an area five times larger than traditional seat belts, which will lower the risk of serious injury substantially.

Yay for safety! Check out the video:

How A Sewing Machine Works

I had to bust out my sewing machine last weekend to put some finishing touches on my Halloween costume. Every time I use it, I wonder, "How on earth does this work?"

Luckily for me, the good people at Bits & Pieces found this helpful animated gif to demonstrate the fascinating process:

Although I can see it with my own eyes, I am still amazed that it works! It's such a mechanical engineering marvel. :) And this technology has stood the test of time: this basic sewing machine function has been in use for over 150 years!

Smart Speedbumps

Cool new technology for people who respect speed limits and hate speed bumps:

Concerns over the environment — and the utter annoyance of having to brake and accelerate frequently — have prompted one Mexican state government to embrace a "smart" speed bump that could make driving smoother, without sacrificing safety.

The device, being developed by Mexico-based Decano Industries, automatically lowers into the ground when drivers go the speed limit or slower. Drive too fast, and the bump stays up.

"With this speed bump, people will feel rewarded for obeying the law," says Carlos Cano, the company's president.

Brilliant! I can't wait for them to make their way into the States!

(for more info & my source, click here)

A Little Toilet History

Believe it or not, the basic mechanisms of the modern "flushing toilet" were invented in 1596 by Sir John Harington, and was called the Ajax. Sir John installed one in the palace of Elizabeth I of England, but it's rumored that she did not like using it because it was too loud.

A variety of designers and inventors tweaked the design for the next 300ish years before plumbing companies like Thomas Crapper's really popularized the technology and flushing toilets started appearing more in private homes.

It makes one wonder why took so long for flushing toilets to become a household staple. I mean, I know it was probably due to some cost or mass production issue, but I feel like I would have made it a priority! :)

Onto the obvious questions:

1. Did the nickname "john" for a toilet come from Sir John Harington?

Not that I can see. Toilets (flushing or non) began being called "johns" in the mid-1800s, probably because, at that time, some people referred to outhouses as "johnny houses". I don't imagine these people had access to the full history of the toilet to know who Sir John even was!

2. Well, did the nickname "crapper" for a toilet come from Thomas Crapper?

No, says snopes.com. The word "crap" actually originated around 1845, which was about 35 years before TC went into the toilet industry. Maybe his name inspired his profession?

DEKA Fabulous

There is an amazing new technology that government engineers have created for soldiers and veterans who have lost limbs. DEKA has almost perfected an unbelievable robotic arm that can move just by the wearer thinking about moving it, just like how one would move their biological arm.

When we think about moving, say, our pointer finger, our brain sends a signal through the spinal cord, which branches out into hundreds of nerves, which tells our pointer fingers to move. When an arm is cut off at the shoulder, those impulses are still sent through those nerves, but there is no longer a limb to move.

The old solution was typically just a hook on the end of a rigid prosthetic, and the wearer would just have to learn how to "make it work".

This new technology taps into those severed nerve-endings and translates them into a robotic arm's motion that is similar to the motion of a flesh arm. As a result, these veterans who have not had use of their arms for years (~40 years for Vietnam Vets) can finally use an arm and hand to brush their teeth, type on a computer, or do any of the other infinite activities the rest of us do every day... just by thinking about doing it.

Although this new robotic limb can be moved, the person using it cannot feel what they are touching; so it's difficult to discern how hard to grip something (think a lot of smashed eggs). DEKA came up with a cool solution: a vibrating cuff on the shoulder that vibrates harder the harder the hand is gripping something!

I am obsessed with this DEKA arm. To learn more, click here to see a video and read a summary of a CBS "60 Minutes" special about it.