Friday links

Fans of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: don't panic - today is Towel Day!

How to Ship a Beluga Whale via UPS..

The Long Way Round: The Plane that Accidentally Circumnavigated the World.

Why Are Our Brains So Big, Anyway?

If there were a kind of a fireman's pole from the moon down to the earth, how long would it take to slide all the way from the moon to the earth?

Why you wouldn't want to drink 19th century milk unless you knew it came straight from the cow.

ICYMI, Tuesday's links are here, and include Arthur Conan Doyle's (creator of Sherlock Holmes) birthday, what to do if you find yourself choking when no one's around, a 1927 documentary on how to dial a telephone, and a gallery of photos from the Halifax explosion - the naval accident that erased an entire city in Canada.

Tuesday links

Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, was born on May 22, 1859

Exercise for Women in the early 19th Century

What to do if you find yourself choking -- and no one's around.

1927 documentary on how to dial a telephone.

Gallery of photos from the Halifax explosion - the naval accident that erased an entire city in Canada.

Remembering the ‘Knocker-Ups’ Hired to Wake Workers With Pea Shooters.

ICYMI, Monday's links are here, and include the invention of the baby carrot, phrases commonly used today that come from obsolete technologies, a device used to resuscitate canaries in coal mines, Ziploc bag engineering, and the guy who makes the world’s best paper airplanes.

1927 documentary on how to dial a telephone

Model 102

I'm always fascinated by the technology of thisgs tha we take so completely for granted - the development of the telephone is an excellent example.

The rotary dial is a device mounted on or in a telephone or switchboard that is designed to send electrical pulses, known as pulse dialing, corresponding to the number dialed. The early form of the rotary dial used lugs on a finger plate instead of holes. 

The modern version of the rotary dial with holes was first introduced in 1904 but did not enter service in the Bell System until 1919. The rotary dial was gradually supplanted by Dual-tone multi-frequency pushbutton dialing, introduced at the 1962 World's Fair, which uses a keypad instead of a dial...

Older candlestick model

The Model 102 telephone (B1 mount/set) was Western Electric's first widely distributed telephone set to feature the transmitter and receiver in a common handset. Prior models had been of the "candlestick" type, which featured a transmitter fixed to the base, and a receiver held to the ear. The 102 was manufactured between 1927 and 1929.

More on the history of these telephone models at youtube.

via Kottke.

Monday links

The Guy Who Makes the World’s Best Paper Airplanes.

The Theater That Shakespeare Stole.

The Invention of the Baby Carrot

Phrases commonly used today which are derived from obsolete technologies.

This device was used to resuscitate canaries in coal mines.

The Surprisingly Complex Design of the Ziploc Bag.

ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include medieval fitness programs, an interactive map showing all of the roads leading to Rome, lost survival tips from 100 years ago (with illustrations), and the Great Sperm Race, scaled up to human size (plus bonus Monty Python). 

Friday links

The Great Sperm Race: The Most Extreme Race on Earth, Scaled To Human Size (plus bonus Monty Python). 

"Meet Glenn. Like most average men Glenn has no idea about the miracle of engineering tucked away in his pants." 

Medieval fitness programs.

A bank glitch gave a 24-year old, down-on-his-luck Australian man access to unlimited funds. Then he did exactly what you think he did with it.

An Interactive Map Shows Just How Many Roads Actually Lead to Rome.

25 Lost Survival Tips from 100 Years Ago – with Illustrations.

The Man Who Continuously Hiccuped for 68 Years.

ICYMI, Monday's links are here, and include the practice of execution by cannon, ancient Rome's urine tax, more human feet washing up in British Columbia, and pigeons with cameras.