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I had the opportunity to talk to Brett for some time at Bar Conference last February. He seemed kind of down, and I asked what the matter was.
“G,” he said, looking down at his feet “I’m getting old. I’m going to be 40 this year.”
“Aawwhh B,”I replied “You’re not old. I mean, in the whole scheme of things, even Mackin [webmasterworld.com] is a pup.”
While that did bring a small smile, I could not convince Brett that 40 is not ‘old’. Since he turns 40 on June 17th, I figure, he’s feeling really down right about now.
To make him feel better, I think we should show him all the things that are older than he is.
And hey, since MacGuru loves having contests in Foo, it seems appropriate to make it a contest. When it is all over, we can arrange the posts in chronological order for a timeline to present to Brett as a birthday gift. (What better gift than themed content for his site?) MacGuru will hand out awards.
Here are the rules:
1.Your post must be about an item that is older than Brett_Tabke. That is, invented before June 17, 1962 4:23 PM Central Daylight Time. (-6 hours from GMT)
2.Since Brett is a geek – and we want to give him themed content for his site – the item must be something from the Information Technology or Mathematics fields.
3.The item or one of its later derivatives must still be used in the field of Information Technology today.
4.You must have a link to a web page which proves the date the item was first invented.
5.Additional rule for Mivox, NFFC, Oilman only: Since you three find these contests so easy, you need more of a challenge. In addition to the first 4 rules, you must also link the inventor of your item to Brett’s home state of Iowa, or preferably, to Brett’s favorite college of Iowa State University.
Good luck
<added>The contest will end on Brett's Birthday: June 17.</added>
[edited by: grnidone at 5:52 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
Before large stores of information were held in computers, one had to go to a library to find any substantial amounts of information. The easiest way to find a specific piece of information was to use the ‘old fashioned database’ -- also known as the card catalog.
In 1898, the Library of Congress began to print catalog cards and started distributing them to other libraries in 1901. [loc.gov] While there were catalogs of libraries made much earlier [encyclopedia.com] than that, this could be argued as the first largely distributed modern database.
The Library of Congress card catalog, predecessor to today’s modern computer databases, is 104 years old.
Much, much older than Brett.
The librarian geek award [vitrailquebec.org] goes to grnidone
[edited by: Macguru at 7:45 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
added:
[islandnet.com...]
[edited by: Mardi_Gras at 6:05 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
Let's give the integrated circuit geek award [vitrailquebec.org] to Mardi_Gras
[edited by: Macguru at 7:46 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
1. before 62
2. a lot happened in around Iowa
3. really interesting story
[anb.org...]
Definetly deserves the Golden Horn-Rims Award [vitrailquebec.org]! Congrats!
[edited by: Macguru at 7:53 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
You need to put up a url to prove the date! (Rule number 4) ;)
Hint: You also might want to find something that is more than just 4 years older than Brett...we want to make him feel *young*.
Information technology covers a lot of ground..it doesn't have to be a computer to be considered 'information technology'... Example: printing press..
The Telephone
first demonstrated: June 25, 1876
by Alexander Graham Bell from Brantford, Ontario
The Inventor [fitzgeraldstudio.com]
definitely older than Brett
I got one for jatar_k [vitrailquebec.org] too!
[edited by: Macguru at 7:59 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
Happy Birthday there Brett! Gotta go, Windows Update has some new "patches" for me to install. :)
Sorry Key_Master, ritualcoffe beat you! We got consolation prices [vitrailquebec.org] too! Have a good download! :)
[edited by: Macguru at 8:03 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
Calculators go back to 17th century inventions, including Schickard's Calculating Clock (1623), Pascal's Pascaline (1642), and Leibriz's Stepped Reckoner (1673)--machine that used hand-made gears and wheels to do arithmetic.
Mechanical calculators were the precursors of modern computers. Definitely older than Brett.
[inventors.about.com...]
volatilegx deserves the geek power award [vitrailquebec.org]. Bravo!
[edited by: Macguru at 8:08 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
From Brett's very own home state of Iowa, in 1912, one Walter Sheaffer of Fort Madison invented the Sheaffer Pen... a great improvement on then-modern fountain pen technology:
Essentially, Walter Sheaffer invented a lever mechanism that fits smoothly into the pen's barrel, and with a single stroke, you're able to fill the pen's reservoir with ink directly from the bottle. [iowahistory.org]
Much older than Brett. <added>SO old in fact, Mr. Paperless-Lifestyle may have forgotten such contraptions ever existed!</added>
mivox (our resident favicon queen) gets smallest prop head award [vitrailquebec.org] I found.
[edited by: Macguru at 8:16 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
and rather than just retyping everything to fill in G's rules you can all look it up yourselves ;)
oilman gets the OAL CUSTOMER SUPPORT TRAINEE AWARD [vitrailquebec.org]. That will teach you! :)
[edited by: Macguru at 8:20 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
The Analytical Engine [fourmilab.ch]
somewhere around 1837
by Charles Babbage
A classic! since it's your second price, you deserve an animated gif [vitrailquebec.org]!
[edited by: Macguru at 8:37 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
and rather than just retyping everything to fill in G's rules you can all look it up yourselves
Which is why I originally omitted the URL from my post.
The abacus is a calculator whose earliest known use is circa 500 BC. by the Chinese civilisation, although it has been suggested that its use goes back to 3000 BC. Addition, subtraction, division and multiplication can be performed on a standard abacus. [sciencenet.org.uk]
MUCH, MUCH, MUCH older than Brett...
Ha! the abacus... since you did better than the first try, here is a larger one [vitrailquebec.org].(sorry could not find her with a smile)
[edited by: Macguru at 8:45 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
[inventors.about.com...]
Here is Mardi_Gras [vitrailquebec.org] after he lost his compass[/url].
[edited by: Macguru at 8:54 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
Early 1940's
The process to produce large quantities of high-purity uranium metal was developed at Iowa State as part of the Manhattan Project during World War II.
[uiowa.edu...]
[iastate.edu...]
Of course you get the army geek award [vitrailquebec.org] on this one, what else?
[edited by: Macguru at 8:56 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
You get this one too [vitrailquebec.org]! congrats!
[edited by: Macguru at 9:00 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
<added> Ooh, nice one volatile! :) </added>
I'm statistically certain that one of the decendants of the original Olmec is living in Iowa.
Too bad the Olmecs did not have a web site, see rule # 4. (I am pretty sure many Olmecs live in Redmond too! ;)
[edited by: Macguru at 9:04 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
hey, it's science... I'm pretty sure mathmematics were involved...
But you need to understand the those aren't ISU's strong points.. now if you included agriculture :)
[edited by: seth_wilde at 7:44 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
[activemind.com...]
Derivatives of this old beast are still used today for Astronomical reasons.
Stonehenge, you said Stonehenge? Too bad I got this one [vitrailquebec.org] handy! Please give me some accurate 'Astronomical reason' (or a bribe) and I might review.;)
[edited by: Macguru at 9:50 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
Invented in or first used in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell
We still use telephones right?
[si.edu...]
See brett you aint that old.... Well actually 40 is pretty... Just Kidding!
I wanted to add a few more....
Samuel Morse's original telegraph transmitter and receiver, 1837
Morse/Vail telegraph key, 1844
Invnetor:Samuel Morse
Morse/Vail telegraph register, 1844
Invnetor:Samuel Morse
A Bell commercial magneto-telephone from 1877
Inventor:Alexander Graham Bell
45 rpm record player manufactured by RCA, 1949
Inventor: THe original inventor of the phonograph was John Kruesi, an employee of Thomas A. Edison in 1877 couldnt find an exat inventor for this one.
Link to all these items and more...
[photo2.si.edu...]
-Donny
Sorry Dpeper, but Jatar_k was already busy on the phone. But we can award you the 2002 RCA Victor Dog Award [vitrailquebec.org] for the record player.
[edited by: Macguru at 10:15 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
(added) Konrad Zuse, creator, 1941.
Long before Brett was born. Getting older: think of it as aging like a fine wine...
PS: I'm older than Brett too.
(added) I'm 46+, created in California in 1955 by New Yorkers Joe and Bea Sullivan ;)
Hey WebRookie! The first Gizmo Quiz topic ever! Haaaa, good old memories [vitrailquebec.org]!
[edited by: Macguru at 10:21 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
Date and Inventor(s), please! ;)
see also : [bletchleypark.org.uk...]
Happy Birthday
Welcome to WebmasterWorld Staffa! Haaa Colossus, memories... my mom [vitrailquebec.org] (on the right) talked so much about it.
[edited by: Macguru at 11:00 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
The transistor? You get the average geek award [vitrailquebec.org] for this one, fair? ;)
[edited by: Macguru at 11:05 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
Reference: [cs.nyu.edu...]
Mivox beat me to it :(
Please don't be sad! We got something for you [vitrailquebec.org] anyways. Enjoy!
[edited by: Macguru at 11:09 pm (utc) on June 13, 2002]
You can delete the post if you want :)
